I started my career in operations. It was a great laboratory for learning how to get things done and deliver results. Like everyone starting any new discipline, it also required constant new learning. As I became more experienced, I developed different habits of mind and mindset. This is normal. But it turns out these more “experienced” habits of mind and mindset can, if we are not careful, get in the way of upgrading our knowledge. 
 
It’s clear that clients still like to hire people who have “done the job” before. They want the candidate to already have the requisite skills and experience to quickly perform. Though I understand this, I don’t think it should be the first thing, or at least the only focus of the candidate they choose. 
 
Given the state of workplaces today, the skills I recommend that you look for in most (if not all) applicants are curiosity, learning agility and compassion, for self and others. 
 
Curiosity is the foundation needed to learn everything. If we think we already know, then we are much less likely to be curious. The lack of curiosity in our society is like an epidemic and I see it migrating to workplaces. Most of us now live in bubbles determined by our socioeconomic status (among other things). This is bad for anyone who wants to expand and grow their business and employees. Growth requires curiosity. 
 
Curiosity has a universal language and presence. We know when someone is curious or has a strong opinion because even if they don’t say anything, it shows up in their body. You can test this by thinking back on the feelings and sensations you observe in your body when you are genuinely curious. Then think about what it feels like to know and be right. The presence and mindset that most of us have when we think we know, usually serves as a big barrier to sensing what we don’t know, listening to others and being open to alternative data. What we don’t know is expanding exponentially every moment. 
 
Work is changing and technology is changing even faster. To be really skillful at something can become a roadblock to being quick to understand what we don’t know, the humbleness to recognize it, and the agility to learn the new skills fast. Knowing how to learn is a whole set of must have skills. Often the more experienced a person is, the less they remember how to learn and how uncomfortable it feels to be incompetent. This last part leads to my third, and maybe most important must-have skill: compassion for self and others.
 
If we all need to be willing to learn constantly (and we do), then we need to develop greater comfort with the emotions that accompany “not knowing”. Not knowing is hard for most competent adults. But like every skill, the more we practice being curious and learning agility, the more we can grow our comfort with the inherent ambiguity and discomfort of not knowing something. Even better, we may learn to find greater joy in learning when we start to better balance the ever-present inner critic. 
 
If you are worried that being compassionate will mean you have to lower your standards, expect less of others and that you and your team will not perform as well, search out Kristin Neff’s research, or get her wonderful book, Self-Compassion. She has studied the benefits of self-compassion and they are substantial for human beings and organizations of every type. 
 
So, while you search for a digital native or a sales leader who has the track record you need, also inquire about the candidate’s curiosity, learning agility and ability to be compassionate to themselves and others. You will find someone much more prepared for the future and maybe even next month. 
 
Moira Clarke founded Leadership Consulting Partners 19 years ago to help companies advance their leadership and people systems. If you are reading this to the end, and you find value, please say so and share with others on LinkedIn and Twitter. Thank you! 

Though I am an external consultant, I often work with clients for many years and this allows me to get to know and understand their leaders and culture. I covet this because the truth is I often miss being a part of a team. So working with clients long-term, nurtures my need to do meaningful work that creates a tangible and positive impact. This type of work, grounded in knowledge and influence, always requires greater relationship and trust whether you are an internal employee or an external consultant. 
 
After transitioning from an interim executive role (I wrote about this in my last blog post), I was struck by the elevated standards that organizations are now setting for leaders and their teams. And truthfully, I see this at most of my clients. It used to be enough to deliver outstanding results, but more than ever organizations are rigorously tracking how this gets done and the impact on their workforce. I see more genuine concern for whether employees are being offered opportunities to develop in a work environment where their leader cares about them.
 
Beyond all the engagement surveying clients do, I observe this in the myriad other ways. Especially in the conversations I have with leaders. I hear it discussed often in executive team meetings and routinely when working with client boards. There is greater awareness and effort to create working environments where employees can excel both professionally and personally.
 
But when I talk with the rank and file or review client engagement surveys, it’s clear that most organizations are still working to crack the code and have some disconnect between what they are intending and what is actually experienced by employees. Our work and employers are now more responsible than ever for delivering more of the meaning, learning, development and connection that we human beings want in our lives. This used to be the function of our religious, civic and membership organizations. But fewer of us are joining these. 
 
Companies own (at least) part of this. With technology, we are now almost always available and “on”, no matter where we are. And the metrics for engagement have changed. Work is demanding, whether directly or implied, more of our attention. So it makes sense that we are relying on work to meet more of our human needs. 
 
It’s also creating a new employment contract that goes something like this, “I commit to working way more than I should. You, employer, commit to creating a place where I can do meaningful work that I care about, where I can learn and experience positive relationships and connection, and where I know my manager cares about me as a human being.” It’s a tall order. It’s all doable. But it takes a very intentional and integral, whole systems, approach. And it takes time. There isn’t usually a quick fix or the promised “five simple steps” because each organization is unique. This work is at the core of why my organization development practice exists and I’d like to help more organizations achieve it. 
 
Moira Clarke founded Leadership Consulting Partners 19 years ago to help companies advance their leadership and people systems. If you are reading this to the end, and you find value, please say so and share with others on LinkedIn and Twitter. Thank you! 

I recently worked with a client as their interim Chief People Officer. To say it was an education, is an understatement. It’s been over 10 years since I was “embedded” with a client, even part-time. As an external consultant, I work remotely for most of the project creation and development work I do. I am in the client’s offices for program delivery, facilitation and other team and collaboration meetings. I have worked with the CEO of this company for over 11 years as he grew his career. We know each other well. I think the world of him. So, though this was not my normal “gig”, I said “yes”. I am so very glad I did.
 
The interim role gave me a chance to work with a CEO I love, an amazingly capable board Chairman and their very committed board. The board meetings felt like master classes. With their rich and varied corporate experiences, I learned so much from all the board members. I got to work with a very intelligent, passionate executive team who were also good human beings. They were a lot of fun. But if I am honest, the thing I loved the most was the chance to have a “do-over” with leading a team. 
 
I was not always proud of the shadow I cast as a leader in the past. I had my first people manager role at 27. My favorite thing about it was getting things done, delivering results and the chance to be a part of developing others. As I continued to grow my career, I did some things very well. I also made more than my share of mistakes. Though I believe I was better able to demonstrate my care for people in my last internal leadership role, it still wasn’t what I was known for. My brand was always about delivering for the business and too much about me driving the results. I was less skillful at being a leader who knew how to inspire the best from others and with whom people loved to work.
 
When I was advancing in my career, it didn’t get in my way. Thankfully, the standards for how leaders treat and engage people are way higher today and I think they should be. I believe leaders need to be equally relentless about creating value for the business and demonstrating genuine care for the people. And I know that you can’t have one without the other. 
 
After 19 years as an organization development consultant, much challenging and powerful personal development work, heaps of learning in action and tons of practice with client’s real teams and leaders, I felt that I would be better the “next time”. But if I am honest, I still had doubts.
 
The interim role gave me a chance to put all my learning to the test. I felt I knew how, but could I actually improve engagement on a team, even in an interim role?  I am happy to say  the answer is yes. We were able to measure improvement of the team’s engagement scores from when I started to when I left. I was also able to measure it in myriad other qualitative ways. What was already a very talented, smart, funny, committed human resources team when I met them, seemed more connected to their true source of power – their ability to work together to leverage their best. They started to realize the amazing value they bring to the business and became more comfortable collaborating with their partners across the business as equals. Though they and I have more development ahead, we made substantive progress.
 
I am so grateful for the chance to work with them and dearly miss them. And I know they will continue to expand the impact of the important work they do. 
 
Moira Clarke founded Leadership Consulting Partners 19 years ago to help companies advance their leadership and people systems. If you are reading this to the end, and you find value, please say so and share with others on LinkedIn and Twitter. Thank you! 

A couple years ago a board member I had worked with at another client called and asked if I would work with their CEO and his team on an executive development project. As this was aligned with the work I do and a typical request from clients, I was excited about the opportunity to work with a new company and team. I had also really liked working with this board member at his other organization. After I had conducted the needs assessment, I wrote a preliminary proposal for the work. Even though I was clear about the expected deliverables and outcomes, a few board members wanted to know if I would provide an “evaluation of the CEO”. After some back and forth, I turned the job down. Here’s why.
 
My first question when a client wants to work on executive development is to ensure they want development and not performance management. You shouldn’t hire an executive coach for someone who is not performing. Period.
 
Their CEO had worked with them for more than 7 years and by all the financial metrics, was doing a good job. The board confirmed they wanted to “develop” this executive and his team. But after writing the proposal, it became clear that what this company wanted was to help them fire their CEO. The company and CEO parted ways shortly after I declined the project. Since confidentiality is important to me, for the record they have never been a client. I know they are a good organization and do important work that I admire. But like many executive teams, the board was trying to avoid a direct conflict. As can sometimes be the case, companies want to be able to say, “the consultant recommended we do this” and willing consultants, for a fee, will help them. But I believe there is a better way to look at this and propose a more holistic way to resolve it.
 
It’s no surprise that with ever increasing technological change and automation, change is a constant for most businesses. A leader who was a great fit in a given business situation or cycle, may no longer be a fit when things change. Whether this happens 3, 5 or 10 years later, it is the reality. This also happens when a new leader comes in, assesses their team and decides that in order to execute on their strategy, they need to make changes on their team. No one needs to be at fault. It can be very frustrating for clients when an executive doesn’t step up, or grow and change at a pace commensurate with the needs of the business. But I don’t like blaming people for what I see as a normal business fit issue and I certainly don’t help clients “evaluate” someone with whom they have substantial experience (way more than I will ever have). In my mind, it is unethical. It is also not aligned with my values. I want to help organizations and their leaders get better. Sometimes businesses don’t have time for this and the executive doesn’t have interest in becoming what they need. I understand.  
 
When, for whatever reason, an executive or leader is no longer a fit for the business, the best approach is the most direct one. Start a conversation. Honestly share what you need from the role and the performance and other gaps for the individual in the role. It may be that the executive isn’t as happy in the role either. It’s better to be open about the fit issue, discuss it and decide on a transition plan. 
 
Moira Clarke founded Leadership Consulting Partners 18 years ago to help companies advance their leadership and people systems. If you are reading this to the end, and you find value, please say so and share with others on LinkedIn and Twitter. Thank you! 
   

Work has been a little chaotic lately. Some really interesting projects and a few new clients leave me feeling mostly excited, useful and happy. But there are also things happening in client systems about which I am puzzled. I am spending extra time reflecting, trying to figure out the most effective approach and interventions. The familiarity of the work doesn’t make it any less daunting but having time to reflect, does. 
 
I am noticing that clients are almost all universally trying to do too much. They have too many priorities and seem hesitant to focus on the ones that matter most. This often leaves them feeling less satisfied with the outcomes even though they are working harder, when it might actually be better to stand back from their work. Standing back, or “on the balcony” as Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linksy describe in their book Leadership On The Line (still one of my favorites), is more necessary than ever and notably absent from most of our corporate systems. “I don’t have time to pull back. Where in an 80-hour work week would that fit?”, a client asked me recently. The truth is, I am not sure where it fits in an 80-hour week. But the 80-hour week is just one symptom of a bigger problem.
 
It’s true our species is built for action, struggle and hard work. We all know that work that involves physical labor requires we take breaks, eat and rest. Work rules on job sites structure this into the day to keep workers safe.  If they don’t, they can suffer dire consequences. For my clients, who are all knowledge workers, there are no compelling safety issues that demand breaks. There is no doubt in my mind, however, that doing demanding intellectual, collaborative or creative work requires built-in breaks or pauses to stop the action and reflect. It’s beyond the problem of making mistakes, though this is a part of it because it includes mistakes in relating, communicating and most importantly, judgement. Mistakes like these are actually way more time consuming to fix than prevent. It seems simple. It’s not. We still think that doing things faster and "powering through" is the best way to get things done. It’s not. In fact the busier you are, the more important it is to pause, reflect and integrate.
 

• Pause –Take a break from the action
• Reflect – Breath, look at what is happening around you. Observe, in real time, the consequences of the work you and your team are doing and the decisions you are making. Consider where the consequences or outcomes are meeting your intentions and where they are not.
• Integrate – Use what you have observed and learned to make a slight change, iterate, course correct, fix, re-direct or recognize, celebrate and move forward.  

 
Repeat. Build it into your processes. Agile and lean practitioners know this and wire it into their daily meetings. But all leaders and their teams would benefit from it. Like any practice, you have to be consistent about using it to make it a habit. Start. Now, let’s talk about your 80-hour work week. . .
 
Moira Clarke founded Leadership Consulting Partners 18 years ago to help companies advance their leadership and people systems. If you are reading this to the end, and you find value, please say so and share with others on LinkedIn and Twitter. Thank you! 
   

Talent assessment needs to evolve in big ways. Many clients know this and are making changes but I don't think they are substantive. As many large companies, Adobe, Accenture, GE and Microsoft to name a few, are changing their performance management system in substantial ways, we need to make the same big shifts in talent assessment and succession.  
 
Complex, adaptive issues, disruption, shortening business cycle times, and the need for greater collaboration among more diverse employees means that assessing talent has become more challenging. It is no longer enough for someone to play well with their manager and direct team, though both are still an important metrics. More and more we need to ensure people manage well across more complex, matrixed organizations and influence people who may not be in their immediate sphere of influence.
 
To ensure that leaders are effective, up, down and across organizational borders (and global boundaries) talent assessment must better leverage collective intelligence. The direct boss should still have a say in who gets promoted. But select peers and superiors across the organization should also be asked to provide feedback. Sometimes I feel that the boss should have the least input because they have formal authority. There is a strong incentive for their direct team to “manage up” well.  Delivering results for the organization and boss is an important ticket to entry, but it can no longer be the only metric for promotion. It is really how leaders act when they think no one is watching or evaluating that is much more informative. In talent reviews, leaders need to share and discuss a wider array of performance metrics, including:
 

• How effective is the leader with people who don’t report to them? Are they informal leaders of leaders? In other words, do their peers respect them and listen to them? (Peers are usually  the toughest audience)
• Does their brand of leadership and style attract and grow great talent? 
• Do they develop their own people? Do they mentor people outside of their function or organization?
• How effective is their team working with other teams? Does this leader collaborate well to bring about excellent results, even if not for their own operating unit? 
• Have they demonstrated effectiveness with diverse groups of employees? Do they have positive, effective relationships with all types of people in the organization or only people with whom they have more in common? 
• Do people inside and outside their organization respect and like them? 

 
Direct managers often don’t know all (or half) of this. But their colleagues across the organization do. This collective experience provides richer data and a more holistic view of a person’s real leadership impact. Organizations should set up talent management processes to capture and leverage it. There are lots of ways to gather collective intelligence in talent assessment but however you go about it, make it transparent and communicate it. In this way, you can create a level playing field and everyone knows what is expected. The way you assess and grow talent is culture creating – so it is worth the time to upgrade your system.
 
I am very aware that most leaders covet their ability to promote their best employees. When I discuss this more collaborative talent review process, clients most often tell me that they want to retain the decision on who to promote. I understand. And I know they may be short changing organizational performance by not considering a holistic approach. I also tell them not to try this more rigorous collaborative process unless they are willing to fully engage, listen and be open to changing their opinion.  
 
Moira Clarke founded Leadership Consulting Partners 18 years ago to help companies advance their leadership and people systems. If you are reading this to the end, and you find value, please say so and share with others on LinkedIn and Twitter. Thank you! 

This is the third and last post in a mini-series I am doing on performance management. I want to focus this post on the micro-moments throughout the year that allow you as a leader to practice developing others through recognition and positive feedback that are an integral part of creating a high performing culture. 
 
One of the personality assessments I use more often these days is the Hogan Assessment. The leadership report includes development scales and potential “derailers”. It also includes a Motives, Values and Preferences Inventory that provides clarity on values and drivers. One of the key drivers the Hogan measures is recognition. This is about recognition as in being “known, seen and visible” for work well done. This measure is not really about money – there is another scale called “commerce” for that. Some of us really love recognition, others don’t need it as much. Like all measures of healthy personality, we fall somewhere along a continuum or scale. 
 
I score slightly below the middle on recognition. It can be important to my feeling good about work but it has to be real and for significant contributions. I am not a person who needs it for doing small stuff. But when I do something really great, I love hearing about it.
 
Leaders should not underestimate the importance of knowing where they fall and where their team falls on this scale. It matters. If it is important to you, you should own it and let others in your circle know it.  Many of the executives that I have worked with have at least a middle to middle-high need for recognition. And when they don’t get it, it can zap their energy. Especially when they report to the CEO or board. There is often not a lot of recognition happening at that level. Perhaps folks at the top think that the large compensation package makes up for low/no recognition. In my experience, our humanness and the needs that come with it, are hard to shake regardless of our pay grade. 
 
Often when I ask a client if they have ever shared their need for positive recognition with their boss, they almost universally look at me like I am crazy. It’s a shame because if it is important to you, it should matter to your boss. It is also important to know your team member’s recognition needs. Simple questions at the start of working with them will allow you to customize the recognition you provide:

1. Tell me about two of your favorite experiences being recognized by a boss or colleague.
2. (If not obvious from the first question) When someone recognizes you, do you prefer it be shared in a team or in a 1:1 meeting? Do you have a preference?
3. Have you ever had an experience where you were recognized and due to the message or way it was done, it didn’t feel positive to you? What happened that made it that way for you?

If you are still reading, you may be shaking your head and saying, “heck, no one has ever asked me about this and I still keep bringing my best.” I understand. I used to feel the same way. But then I saw all the research on positive feedback and recognition and started using it in my work and seeing how motivating it can be when done well and I am reformed. It now falls into the “duh” bucket because it can have such a positive impact on someone who values it and it is pretty much free. 
 
It does take time to reflect, make it personal and meaningful. “Good job” does not cut it. Sharing specifically why something was good work, what it meant to you (the team, the enterprise) and why the contribution matters will make it powerful. Writing it down helps you fine tune it. The return on investment is worth it.   

Moira Clarke founded Leadership Consulting Partners 18 years ago to help companies advance their leadership and people systems. If you are reading this to the end, and you find value, please say so and share with others on LinkedIn and Twitter. 

The timing for this post is intentional. You are done or almost done with your performance reviews and your goals are set. We are still in Q1 and your team has three more quarters to knock performance out of the park.
 
No matter if you are the CEO or a team leader, how you manage your own performance casts a long shadow over your team. Though you are not the sole owner of creating a culture of feedback, or a vibrant learning culture, you are one of the most important.  Learning agility – how openly and quickly you learn from experience and apply it to your leadership and work, will impact the learning agility of your team.  For me it is usually ranked number one or two for important leadership competencies.  If you score high on learning agility (taken from the wonderful Center for Creative Leadership: https://www.ccl.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/LearningAgility.pdf), you demonstrate the ability to:
 

• Innovate – you are not afraid to challenge the status quo
• Perform – Remain calm in the face of difficulty
• Reflect – Take time to reflect on your experience
• Risk – Purposefully put yourself in challenging situations
• Don’t Defend – Open to learning and resist the temptation to become defensive in the face of adversity

 
In my experience, very few leaders do all of these well. But if they do most, they have a better chance of modeling and achieving a more agile learning culture.  However, if you say you want feedback and ask for it but get defensive when a courageous colleague gives it to you, don’t be surprised if you struggle to create a learning culture. Nothing shuts down a feedback loop faster than getting defensive and sending the message that no matter what they say, they really don’t want feedback.
 
You can’t and shouldn’t be the only person who provides feedback to your team. In fact, I would make a case that peer feedback can be even more powerful because if someone is managing up well but not laterally, or down, peers know it.  But, at every level, the leader sets the stage for a more agile learning culture, or not.
 
So back to creating the culture. There are more pieces to this but if you model learning agility for your team and colleagues, then you can move to the next step which is to normalize feedback. For me this includes actions like:
 

• Having a standard item on your team agenda, “What did we learn from this project and what will we do differently?” Then make sure there is follow through to the next project.
• Adding a half-hour to each of your team meetings every other month or so to carve out time for peer feedback. Tell your team it is their job to appreciate one meaningful action a peer took and one request or change they would like them (or their team) to make. Then check in the next meeting and see if they are making the changes to which they agreed. And encourage them to not wait for meetings to do this.
• At least a couple times a year add an agenda item to your one-on-ones asking what each of your direct reports needs from you to be more successful. Set the expectation that they appreciate one thing you do and provide one thing you could do better or change to support them, their team or their work. Let them know you are open to this at any time (not just when you set it up).

 
Of course, there is more you can do. I mentioned the above short list because it is doable and will go a long way to creating a “norm” that you expect and welcome feedback and that you expect your team to do the same. The vision is for everyone to keep honing their edge, learn to be effective with a diverse set of colleagues (and bosses) and continue to get better collectively.  It’s pretty cool because there is absolutely no downside and much to be gained by creating a more agile learning culture.
 
Moira Clarke founded Leadership Consulting Partners 18 years ago to help companies advance their leadership and people systems. If you are reading this to the end, and you find value, please say so and share with others on LinkedIn and Twitter. Thank you!
 

In early March many clients are in the middle of their annual performance review process. Though much has been written about companies making dramatic changes to their performance reviews, the annual review is still a standard organizational practice for most organizations. Apropos, I am going to do a short series on performance management practices and for this post I will start with a few fundamental questions.
 
What and who are you really evaluating?
 
You are evaluating:

• The performance of an individual
• In a role
• In your organization

 
Before you say, “duh”, let me explain. Almost universally when clients discuss individual performance, they focus on the person’s strengths, weaknesses and goal achievement. They often fail to articulate the context. The context is the system (small and large) and business situation in which the role currently exists. It’s very important to understand that you are not reviewing a person’s worth as a human being but the contribution they make and value they bring to a specific role.  I want leaders to articulate this consistently in their performance conversations (preferably all year long) and to ensure that their team understands it. It matters because context, more than anything else, impacts performance. Strengths and weaknesses are almost always based upon the situation. In other words, the leader is saying, “given the business situation and the priorities, expectations and requirements for this specific role, here is how you are doing…”
 
This has become an even more important frame because as organizations change faster so do the knowledge, skill requirements and expectations of many of their positions. Leaders need to talk about this, and hopefully more often than the annual performance review.
 
When a client is describing a leader, who is underperforming and they are preparing to deliver the dreaded “below expectations” rating, I like them to frame the context first. If newer to the role did the individual demonstrate they had the right knowledge when they were hired? Did the position expectations change due to an important business change? If they have been with the organization for a while, what was their past performance? In which roles did they excel? What has changed in the role, the division or the organization that may have impacted the role?  You get the idea. 
 
Most importantly, when a manager is preparing for their performance conversations, I want them to consider each situation more holistically. This is just as important when the performance is excellent as when it is below expectations. But it is always more difficult when delivering a lower performance rating. My main point is to take the time to put the performance evaluation in the proper context and make sure you communicate that.  People are way bigger and more amazing than their deficits and   strengths. But you are evaluating their performance in a role they are being paid to accomplish. So it’s important to say, “here is where you need to learn and grow given your past experience, knowledge and where we need to take this role.” Then you can talk about what’s possible going forward given the role, the individual and the context.

Like most skills, even complex ones like strategic thinking, we now know that if you want to get better at it, you can.  It’s true that some personality variables make us more likely to naturally think more strategically, but everyone, even those not predisposed to, can get better.
 
In my experience, if clients want to learn to think more strategically they need to:
 

• Schedule time for reflection
• Get outside of their normal routine

 
Sounds very simple but both are difficult. Clients are inundated by massive amounts of communication. Their in-box and all of the internal communication applications and software (not to mention social media with which we all feel compelled to interact) demand more and more of their time. In the hyper collaborative environments that most work, their day is packed with meetings.  It’s no wonder that when I ask clients when they have time to reflect, they look at me like I have asked them to perform neurosurgery.
 
Getting a handle on your schedule is probably one of the most important aspects of preparing to be a more strategic thinker. If your day is spent blocking and tackling, and for most leaders it is, then you need to find a way to free up some space for “think time”. And once you do, you can’t use it to catch up on your e-mail. It’s not about action at this point, it’s about reflection.
 
Getting outside your normal routine requires you to spend time reading things you might not normally read, conversing with people inside and out of your organization who have different roles and accountability (and different backgrounds than you) and attending events that involve people outside your organization or even industry.  If you want to view the world more holistically, and to think strategically you do, you need to view the world beyond your own.
 
I love helping clients and their teams expand their ability to think strategically because I know it will improve their impact, planning, goal setting and performance. You have to be intentional and patient. It takes time. It’s worth it.