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| Moose Still on the Loose |
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I
continue to use the analogy of "Moose-on-the-Table" with many
management teams to get at issues that are blocking their progress but
aren't being discussed (click here for an excerpt from The Leader's Digest explaining this concept: www.clemmer.net/excerpts/authentic_comm.shtml.
I
was working with the head of a small professional services organization
where prior to the retreat, her autocratic style was identified as a
big Moose hindering the team. During our offsite retreat this Moose was
joined by equally large siblings in a Moose-on-the-Table exercise
showing that professional staff was very inhibited by feelings of very
low trust, respect, and openness within the organization. When faced
with this type of feedback, too many leaders discount, rationalize and
(consistent with the problem) try to command the Moose to go away
(often by expressing extreme annoyance with people who point to the
Moose). Of course, it doesn't. It just starts hiding under the table
and lurking in the hallways as part of whispered conversations.
I
encouraged the leader to use the Moose feedback (and work that will
emerge from a teamwork and communication initiative they launched as
result of the retreat) as the key opportunity to reduce the "We/They
Gaps" between the leadership team, professional staff, and
administrative support staff. I pointed out to her that this is a great
chance to examine the leadership team processes around meetings,
planning/review/follow-through, Staff Forum, and decision-making. I
suggested she might find the following articles on our web site useful:
www.clemmer.net/excerpts/leadership_keys.shtml
www.clemmer.net/excerpts/pp_teams.shtml
www.clemmer.net/excerpts/empower_word.shtml
One
of the major problems within this organization is that the biggest
Moose was sitting in the chair at the head of the leadership table. Her
style and approach shut down debates and discussions and created
unhealthy jockeying and politics among the team. This rippled out in
the organization through turf battles, disrespect, and blaming.
I
tried to coach her toward getting feedback on her leadership and
working to shift her style. Unfortunately, she would not look in the
mirror. As far as she was concerned, the problem was with everyone
else's leadership. The rift between her, her team, and the rest of the
organization grew ever bigger and the organization's results steadily
declined. She is no longer there today.
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| Moose Tracks: Signs of Moose-on-the-Table |
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Here's an assessment exercise from The Leader's Digest: Practical Application Planner.
It's designed for all members of a team and/or people reporting to the
team to anonymously complete and then have all the views confidentially
compiled to get an overview picture of whether there are Moose to be
tracked down. Our on-line assessment facilitates the confidential
completion of this survey with the results automatically compiled. Go
to www.clemmer.net/books/tldsurvey.shtml for details.
Rate the following for signs of "Moose" that may need to be addressed by our team:
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1.
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The real discussion happens after our meetings.
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2.
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People agree - then go and do their own thing.
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3.
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Commitments aren't kept and deadlines are missed.
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4.
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Once the team leader gives her or his opinion, everyone agrees or remains silent.
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5.
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Sudden surprises often "come out of the blue" from within our own team/ organization.
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6.
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The team leader dominates meetings/discussions.
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7.
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Our meetings waste time and leave participants frustrated.
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8.
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We avoid discussing particularly touchy issues.
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9.
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Conflicts often get personal.
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10.
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We rarely debate all sides of important decisions.
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| Moose Hunting: Ways to Reduce or Eliminate Moose |
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Selected from the new Leader's Digest: Practical Application Planner
- Brainstorm
potential Moose issues by asking for ideas on the "dumbest things we do
around here," "biggest barriers to reaching our goals," "major
implementation issues we need to address," "pet peeves," "dumb rules
and forms," "things that drive you crazy," or the like. List each
point. Cluster the similar points until you have 5 - 7 major groupings
or clusters. Identify those things you or your team directly control,
can influence, and don't control at all. Prioritize the things you
control and get ideas/volunteers/plans to address them. Do the same for
things you can influence. Discuss how you can all accept and let go of
the things you can't do anything about.
- The
worst thing you can do is ask for input to identify Moose issues and
then not deal openly and effectively with them. You're better off to
not ask if you aren't going to follow-through. Follow-up to see if team
members feel you have done all you can to address it.
- Potential ways to play with the Moose-on-the-Table approach:
- Give everyone on your team a little toy stuffed Moose.
- Hold a Moose hunting retreat/meeting and give everyone Moose hunting T-shirts.
- Get
team members at a meeting to write down and hand in a few of the
biggest Moose they feel are present. Cluster the similar issues and
hold a secret ballot vote on the top clusters.
- If you suspect people aren't being open during a discussion, ask, "Is there a Moose-on-the-Table we need to talk about?"
- Get
a consultant/facilitator outside of your team to run focus groups,
conduct confidential interviews, or do a survey of your team to
identify and prioritize Moose issues.
- As a meeting participant, you might frame an issue with, "I'd like to put a little Moose-on-the-Table..."
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Permission to Reprint: You may reprint any items from the Leader Letter in your own print publication or e-newsletter as long as you include this paragraph:
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"Reprinted with permission from the Leader Letter,
Jim Clemmer's free e-newsletter. Jim Clemmer is a bestselling author
and internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, workshop/ retreat
leader, and management team developer on leadership, change, customer
focus, culture, and personal growth. His web site is www.clemmer.net."
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Thoughts That Make You Go Hmmmm...
On Moose-on-the-Table Issues
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"I
sat at a table where rich food and wine were in abundance, and
obsequious attendance, but sincerity and truth were not; and I went
away hungry from the inhospitable board."
- Henry David Thoreau, Walden
"One
of the greatest challenges a leader faces at the height of his or her
career is not simply allowing people to speak the truth but actually
being able to hear it."
- Warren Bennis
"The
best servants of the people, like the best valets, must whisper
unpleasant truths in the master's ear. It is the court fool, not the
foolish courtier, whom the king can least afford to lose."
- Walter Lippman
"All
too often, behind failed products, broken processes, and mistaken
decisions are people who chose to hold their tongues rather than to
speak up. Breaking the silence can bring an outpouring of fresh ideas
from all levels of an organization - ideas that just might raise the
organization's performance to a whole new level."
- Leslie Perlow and Stephanie Williams, "Is Silence Killing Your Company?" Harvard Business Review, May 2003
"Dr.
Paul Brand was for many years a missionary doctor in India working
among lepers. His greatest risk was contracting the disease himself and
suffering the progressive deadening of his nerves. He had a practice of
taking a scalding hot bath once a week. As he felt the pain in all of
his extremities, he knew that he had not contracted the dreadful
disease. To him, pain meant life. The pain of honestly facing mistakes
means life for the firm."
- C. William Pollard, The Soul of the Firm
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| More on Traveling With the Wind in Our Hair |
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Following
is another reader's story on the importance of taking the time to
reflect, rejuvenate and notice the simplest of pleasures:
Hi Jim,
I somehow missed your wonderful story in the August letter
as I was speed-reading my way through e-mails but just now took the
time to find and read your article. Both your original story and another reader's anecdote struck a very common note.
My
parents have a wonderful cottage on a lake where the only access is via
boat. Some years ago as my folks were starting to fail they bought a
20-foot pontoon boat (a party boat). It revolutionized opening and
closing the cottage and just daily existence. It has a full canopy and
curtains and one can sit inside, protected from the world. It also
sports a 60 horsepower engine, which on a party boat is quite a motor
(my nickname on the lake is the "flying boat"). For four years, I have
been shuttling my daughter, hauling old people and groceries and
cruising on particularly lovely summer nights watching the sun go down.
All from inside the boat, under the protection of the curtains, with
the throttle at full tilt. My daughter enjoys the front seats and fresh
air and wind in her hair. I find the curtains too time consuming and
hard to take off and put back on.
This
past Labor Day Sunday, it was time for the boat to come out of the
water. Neighbors called and offered to pick us up from the marina in
their party boat. The curtains were off and the boat was completely
stripped, ready for storage. As we started away from the dock, I
noticed how freely my daughter's hair blew in the wind, how the sun
shone on her gorgeous head. I noticed the feel of the wind in my hair
and the smell of the water. It was a rebirth and I wondered what I had
been doing for the past four years.
Our
neighbors picked us up and as we left the channel, the husband
commented to his wife, "Bet she's seeing cottages she didn't know were
there!" I turned to him and exclaimed that I was at that very moment in
the midst of a very large "AH HA" and realized that I sped everywhere
from under protection and had missed a great deal of living. There was
in that instance a rebirth! And I announced that come spring when the
boat was back in the water it was going to be "topless" all the way -
at a snail's pace to boot! We enjoyed a lovely last cruise under one of
the sunniest days of the season.
It's funny how so many individuals are having that momentary lapse of sanity isn't it!
Katie
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| Change Lessons from Hermit Crabs |
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One
of the rewards of being in my line of business is that I get to meet a
wide variety of very interesting people doing this type of work. I met
Donald Cooper five years ago and he's become a very good friend.
Besides being a funny and fascinating guy with lots of stories to tell
(his family owned Coopers, the famous Canadian sporting equipment
company), Donald is an outstanding speaker and seminar leader on
marketing, service, and business excellence (his web site is www.donaldcooper.com).
After a trip to Atlantic Canada and Prince Edward Island, Donald included this passage in an e-mail to me:
We
saw hundreds of hermit crabs that have no shell of their own so they
'occupy' the empty shell of some other critter. They walk around with
this borrowed shell on their back and when danger threatens, they
retreat inside the shell. As they grow, they outgrow their adopted home
and rather than be limited by their immediate surrounding, they
cheerfully (I'm just supposing about the 'cheerfully' part) go in
search of a larger shell. There's got to be two or three life and
business lessons that we can learn from this - like knowing when it's
time to move on because you've outgrown where you are.
Donald
is so good at keeping his eyes open and finding leadership analogies in
daily life. Hermit crabs are a good metaphor for growth and
adaptability. We all need to figure out how to protect ourselves while
continuing to grow.
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| Top Improvement Points from September |
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| Rare Public Upcoming Workshops in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia |
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If
your organization has been striving to improve customer service levels
but not quite pulling it together, you may want to attend my two-day Leading a Customer-Centered Organization
workshop in Vancouver or Mississauga. I have distilled 20 years of
research, experiences, best practices, and leadership/personal
development into this intensive session. Check it out at www.clemmer.net/events/dcco/dcco.shtml.
Vancouver, BC - January 11-12, 2005
Mississauga, ON - February 7-8, 2005
Leadership
is clearly THE key to success. That's why it's such a popular topic.
But despite all the talk about leadership and change, many "change
fatigued" people are still struggling with how to strengthen their
leadership and how to help their team/organization successfully
navigate change. Join me in Calgary or Kitchener for two intensive days
at my Leading @ the Speed of Change workshop. Check it out at www.clemmer.net/events/lsc/lsc.shtml.
Calgary, AB - January 13-14, 2005
Kitchener, ON - May 31 - June 1, 2005
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| Feedback and Follow-Up |
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I am always delighted to hear from readers of the Leader Letter
with feedback, reflections, suggestions, or differing points of view. I
am also happy to explore customized, in-house adaptations of any of my
material for your team or organization, drop me an e-mail at [email protected].
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I hope to connect with you again next month!
Jim
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post or pass this newsletter on to colleagues, clients, or associates
you think might be interested. If you received this newsletter from
someone else, and would like to subscribe, click here: www.clemmer.net/subscribe.shtml Phone: (519) 748-1044 ~ Fax: (519) 748-5813 ~ E-mail: [email protected]
www.clemmer.net | | | | | |
| Copyright 2004, Jim Clemmer, The CLEMMER Group |
