Your firm, ALP Executive Consulting Resources, helps business leaders engage the assets, strengths, core competencies and driving motivations to best align with organizational goals. Is it common to find people aren’t good fits for their organization but might be for other businesses?
More common than you might think. When leaders do not succeed, it is rarely because of business knowledge or intellectual horsepower. Usually their style, approach, habits, core values or motivations do not fit. For example, a new executive who drives for win/win solutions will not likely succeed in a “take no prisoners” business — a key part of why the Aetna-USHealthcare merger was a rocky, expensive experience. Successful leaders carefully evaluate whether a move to a new company or culture, or even an internal promotion to work for a new boss, will be a wise move.
What is the best way to deal with an employee who has reached the pinnacle of his career? How do you motivate an employee who might be valuable but will not advance further?
People are not as ambitious as often thought. People in senior roles often think almost everyone below them has similar ambition, but this is often not true. For Mary, her desired pinnacle may well be CEO, but for Jack, his may be to just be valued and appreciated, in word and dollars, for his deep expertise. One of the best things a manager can say to a valued subordinate is something as simple as, “A key part of my job is helping you get your important work done, to succeed and thrive in your career. So, as you consider what you need to get done this year, what would be the two most important areas you will value my support, help or feedback … and how often would you like to discuss this?” You would be amazed how motivational this simple question and offer of help can be. Of course, the boss has to follow through.
Your firm also focuses on executive on-boarding and assimilation. Why are they important?
New executive failure within the first three years can be as high as 40 percent. On-boarding and assimilation refers to the activities, support, guidance and feedback a new executive should get during the critical first 18 months when a new executive is under a microscope when all actions and decisions — large and small — are evaluated. It is when reputation gets established, and the hard truth is, “Reputation has a long tail.” Once established, it is very hard to change. Effective on-boarding and assimilation provides critical guidance and feedback for key leadership issues such as: 1) Am I communicating with people in a way that works? 2) Am I making decisions too fast or too slow? 3) Have I met not just the key senior people to learn from and influence, but also those ‘hidden’ leaders and important experts further down who are key? and 4) Am I striking the right balance between strategic and operational actions?”
You help companies develop 360-feedback systems. How do they work at bettering performance?
Well-organized, 360-feedback systems help managers get accurate data about how their leadership enables successful performance and results. It gives leaders unbiased data about how their actions and decisions are experienced by those above them, their peers and their subordinates. It enables leaders to know when their “best intentions” are experienced as positive and productive vs. misinterpreted or result in actually confusing, annoying or demotivating others. You would be amazed at how often executives’ good intentions and strong skills can have a dark side. For example, one executive took great pride in his ability to “be candid, direct and a straight shooter.” He genuinely valued this and saw it as “the core of his integrity.” Effective 360-feedback helped him realize the behaviors he engaged were often perceived by others as “arrogant, abusive and insulting.” As a result, key people avoided him and critical data was not being shared with him because people did not want to have to deal with his “candor” and “direct” manner. He would come across as “shooting the messenger” without even realizing it.
