Off Topic - Why I Wrote an Aviation Book

My blog is focused on helping organizations maximize their strengths to become great places to work. However, I am stepping slightly off topic to explain why I wrote a short book about aviation. There are some connections to my standard topic, though and I hope you will find the insights to be of value.

Like many people who publish blogs, I am a writer at heart. Writing comes naturally to me; words generally flow easily from my head to my fingers. Put simply, I love to write. Publishing a book has been a long-held dream.

In 1978, I took a flight lesson - followed by another, and more still. Within nine months, I held a pilot's license. My husband, Roger obtained his pilot's license less than two years prior; together we flew throughout the Northeast and even as far as the Bahama out-islands. Flying provided us with a perspective on life that few people ever know.

Unlike writing, flying did not come easily to me. It was a challenge, every step of the way. I worked harder than most to earn my private pilot's license and the same is true for every rating that followed. As a result, flying bolstered my confidence in ways that no other life experience has yet matched.

In 1991, my family moved to Maine when I was offered a position as VP of HR at a regional healthcare system. Soon after the move, Roger launched an aviation business in the community of Auburn-Lewiston. Measured by population, the area is the second largest in the state, and is home to a reasonably good-sized airport. Through sheer perseverance and an unwillingness to listen to the naysayers, Roger built the business into one of the most respected aviation companies in Northern New England. When the business was in its eighth year, I left my job at the healthcare system to help manage the now sizeable company.



Beechcraft King Air B-100
The aircraft featured in The Flight Level Chronicles

My years with our company were, without question, the most enjoyable of my career thus far. I wore many hats: pilot, chief marketing officer, head of HR, government relations liaison, hangar sweeper, toilet cleaner and more. Roger and I frequently flew together, especially after we sold the company and spun off a one-airplane charter operation with our Beechcraft King Air. Along the way, I kept a diary of sorts, recording some of the most interesting flights and memorable characters that we were privileged to fly. Those recordings became the basis for my book, The Flight Level Chronicles.

Writing this book brought me back to an interesting time in my life. Through this process, I am experiencing valuable lessons that one can apply to daily life, business, leadership, or organizational transformation.

1. Pursue your passion. Everyone says it, few of us do it. There's always a reason to put off the "want-tos" in favor of the "must-dos." Pursuing my passion has improved my writing, taught me the nuances of publishing, introduced me to online marketing, and, like flying, has given a boost to my confidence.
2. Listen to your fans - but listen more closely to your critics. Family and friends served as pre-readers for my book. The praise felt wonderful, but real improvement came through honest, candid feedback.
3. Understand what you want to accomplish - and why. Some of my readers asked, "Who is your audience?" Others asked, "What is your goal; why are you writing this book?" Understanding the answers to those questions was critical to making the book the best it could be and determining what, if any, post-publication plan to implement.
4. Even great can always be better - but focusing on perfection can hinder success. I am a near-perfectionist, a bit of an obsessive type. I read four proofs of the book and each time, I found a word to change, punctuation that wasn't quite right, or tense that wasn't consistent. After the fourth proof, Roger instilled a bit of reality. "You will always find something to change," he said. "If you continue on this path, the book will lose the voice and the charm of the author. Just let it go." And I did.

Finally attaining my goal, holding my tangible, published book in my hand is a dream come true. I will be honored if you'll read it, either in paperback, Kindle or Nook format. If you find the book enjoyable, I will be even happier that I was able to provide you with a pleasant diversion through the pastime I truly love to pursue.

The Gift of Time

I have been spending quite a bit of time recently talking with leaders in various organizations. My information quest seeks to identify what leaders need most from their organizations. Here's what I've learned:

1. Universally, leaders want to be great - not just good, but great.  Not one person has stated or even implied, "Don't bother with support; I'm quite happy being mediocre." Most leaders do see themselves as good leaders, each believing that he or she gives the best effort each day. A desire to improve, a willingness to learn and a commitment to the team is consistently evident among the cross-section of leaders I've encountered.




Leaders are consistently asking
 for more time to be leaders


2. Every leader has more to do.  Job responsibilities have expanded horizontally or vertically, and sometimes in both directions. This is true even in the few organizations that avoided layoffs during the Great Recession. Companies that were in survival mode are transitioning to growth mode and all are hesitant to add staff. Doing more with less is the norm; leaders are directing larger numbers of staff and in some cases, supporting the team by performing staff-level work when necessary.
3. Leaders have a hard time saying "no."  Staff members need help. Bosses need help. Leaders, with a desire to do their best, rarely say no. Instead, they stretch themselves thinner and thinner, in an attempt to satisfy all.
4. The little things go first. As leaders work to juggle priorities and manage time, some activities fall from the list. Out of necessity, leaders resort to doing less of what they perceive will have least impact if undone. The list often includes informal chats with staff, brief check-ins on project teams, self-development and time for personal reflection.

These recurring themes are escalating into a crescendo from leaders to their organizations. "If you truly want to help us be good leaders," they say, "Give us more time."

Good leaders need time so that they can develop the skills needed for a breakthrough to greatness. Great leaders rely on time as a critical strategic element in their toolkit.  Yet, even these great leaders are asking organizations to review the pace of change, assess projects, and reorder priorities so that they can get back to basics. Basics include face-to-face communication with staff, personalized interactions and caring dialogue. Back to basics is all about allocating time to laugh, enjoy each other, and function as a cohesive team.
The senior leaders of the very best organizations are taking notice.  They are listening and evaluating, determining how best to balance the very real need to maintain constant forward momentum with a renewed focus on the human element.

In the meantime, leaders can benefit from reading and reflecting upon two great articles: 

1. Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time, by Tony Schwartz and Catherine McCarthy, published in the Harvard Business Review, October, 2007.
2. No Work-Life Balance? It's Your Fault, by Rachel Emma Silverman, published in The Wall Street Journal blogs on April 7, 2011.

Reflections from the 2011 Great Place to Work Conference

I recently enjoyed two days of idea exchange with many of the best companies to work for in America. The 2011 edition of the annual Great Place to Work conference was hosted in Denver, Colorado. The event centers on content-rich keynote addresses and meaningful workshops. Unlike many HR conferences, there is no cavernous vendor hall or constant pitches for the latest commercial product designed to solve every workplace dilemma.

This marked my third trip to the Great Place to Work conference and as has been the case in the past, I came home not with a goodie bag full of plastic desk toys, but with actionable best practices to adapt for my organization. Here are a few of my key takeaways from this year's event.

1. Never Rest: Even organizations that are already recognized as best places to work need to be constantly attentive to their employees. The best of the best do not bask in their accolades. These companies are constantly striving to maintain high levels of employee engagement and ensure ongoing employee satisfaction. The rewards are high workforce retention, excellent customer satisfaction and industry-best financial performance.




Employee perception is the real driver of best place status


2. Listen, Clarify, Listen Again: Best place status depends largely on the perception of the employees who work for the organization. It is possible to win workplace awards that are simply a stamp of approval for a well-written application. Truly meaningful awards, such as Fortune's Best Companies to Work for in America depend on input from a random sample of employees. The single best way for an employer to understand and respond to employee needs is to listen continuously. A future blog will take a closer look at tools and techniques used by the best of the best.
3. Adapt, Don't Adopt: Building upon the strategic importance of listening, it is important to respond to the specific needs of the employees within the organization. It's tempting to grab the latest glitzy employee benefit, but any action taken to improve employee engagement must resonate with your staff.
4. Basics First: Maslow's Hierarchy has survived over time for a reason. It's accurate and it works. Companies on the road to attain best place recognition must start with an audit of the basics. In workplace terms, these are pay, benefits and environment. Ensure that these elements solidly address the needs of employees are positively perceived before introducing more sophisticated perquisites.

There were many other learning points from this conference. The most valuable experiences were gleaned from small group or one-on-one conversations with colleagues willing to share what has worked for them and what has failed. Continuous learning is a hallmark of best places, and there is no better way to learn than to dialogue with organizations that are constantly striving for excellence.

You Get What You Measure

"Results-Driven, Solid ROI, Quantifiable Outcomes"

When these terms are used to describe a leader, the reaction is likely to be very positive. These phrases conjure up images of a successful "producer,” someone who accomplishes goals and gets things done. The individual may contribute greatly to the bottom line of the organization. Who wouldn't want such a person as a company leader? The reality is that many organizations don't - and most shouldn't.

This is bold statement is intended to evoke strong immediate response.  But step back from the surface of the description above and look a bit deeper.  The discussion concerns leaders and a few key qualities are missing from that superstar profile. Absent from the descriptive terms are the soft qualities of a leader, attributes that are more difficult to effectively measure. They include:

1. Compassion: A great leader cares about people. While an overuse of compassion hampers a leader's ability to manage difficult developmental conversations, some degree of caring has to manifest itself in the leader's daily interactions with staff, peers, clients and superiors.  The antonym of compassion is arrogance. That attribute that has toppled many otherwise "successful" individuals.
2. Sense of Team: The workplace is increasingly complex. Matrix work relationships are common in many organizations. Most organizational projects require support from cross-functional experts. Those who cannot operate comfortably and effectively in a team environment will struggle to succeed as leaders.
3. Trust: The single most important attribute that any leader must possess is the ability to win - and retain - the trust of direct reports and others. Trust is the capital that sustains a leader when the inevitable difficult times emerge. Employees will listen, accept and follow a leader through the darkest times if that leader has consistently demonstrated that he or she can be trusted to do what's right for the group as a whole.

The human resources profession is placing increasingly stronger emphasis on human capital metrics; that is, measuring the effectiveness of employee-focused strategies. In many cases, these metrics are also being applied to the evaluation of individual leader effectiveness. Organizations must guard against reliance on a preponderance of bottom-line focused metrics and ensure that balance exists. It is equally, if not more important to gauge the leader's performance on true human-focused competencies such as those listed above.

If the concept seems difficult to accept, consider two recent examples of results-oriented rainmakers who have stirred significant controversy and created chaos in human relationships within their organizations.  Lead actor Charlie Sheen is credited with a major role in the success of the television series, Two and a Half Men. However, his incredibly poor human relations skills caused his employer to terminate his contract. Warner Brothers made the difficult but commendable decision to put people ahead of profits.  So, too did Time, Inc., with the abrupt termination of CEO Jack Griffin after just six months on the job. Griffin's cost-cutting and organizational effectiveness measures may have had potential to contribute significantly to the company's bottom line, but at significant expense to its people.

Metrics and pure-dollar ROI are important, but human outcomes cannot always be fully quantified by statistical measures. Organizations will be well served to ensure that any leader evaluation system includes an effective consideration of the human side of leadership. You will get what you measure.

Leaders are the Keepers of the Culture

It is impossible to understate the importance of leaders to sustaining culture. Leaders are the face of the organization to numerous internal and external constituencies. The larger the organization, the more critical the role of its leaders.

Author and speaker Peg Neuhauser's first and now classic book draws parallels between organizations and tribes.  "Tribal Warfare in Organizations" depicts corporate departmentalization - what many of us have come to call silos - as warring tribes in action.  The organization's leaders, especially its senior leaders, are akin to tribal elders. 

Neuhaser subsequently expanded the concept in a later book, "Corporate Legends and Lore," which emphasizes the power of storytelling as an underpinning of corporate culture. In a tribal environment, the stories are handed down from elders to junior tribe members.

Consider these concepts in tandem. The organization possesses a culture, which is supported or undermined by the "tribal" sub-cultures within departments or divisions.  Every organization has unwritten rules, or stories. These strategies for survival are passed along to new employees, who must quickly learn them in order to meld and ultimately succeed.

The role of the leader includes responsibility to carry out the organization's policies and protocols, set the tone for a specific operating division and guide a group of employees. In many organizations, especially in larger ones, leaders operate with a great deal of independence. Leaders are entrusted with tremendous power, whether or not they or the organization realizes this. 

Leaders set an example that employees follow.  A strong, positive leader encourages company loyalty by nurturing staff and modeling core organizational values.  Less skilled leaders can quickly cause staff to become disengaged by verbalizing displeasure with initiatives, criticizing senior leaders and second-guessing decisions.

There are certain strategies that organizations can deploy to ensure that leaders understand and effectively execute their all-important role in cultural preservation.

1. Assess and evaluate leaders based on key organizational metrics.  If employee engagement is critical to the organization, an engagement metric must be included in the leaders' evaluation and reward system. A bottom-line driven organization should reward leaders, at least in part, on profitability. This strategy-aligned approach to leader rewards supports cultural alignment in an objective and measurable manner.
2. Sharpen the focus on leadership quality.  Some organizations display greater leniency toward leaders than toward their staff-level employees. Leaders often have long tenure and may have deep relationships across the organization. But these factors cannot be allowed to enable a leader's substandard performance.  Leaders who are not performing to standard must be addressed in an "up or out" manner. Performance improves (moves "up") or the leader moves out.
3. Identify and articulate core leadership competencies.  The organization must pinpoint and communicate the qualities and behaviors expected of all leaders.  Appropriately developed competencies will be linked to the organization's culture and provide a common framework within which all leaders can operate.
4. Invest in leadership development.  Good leaders can become great through education, experiential learning and best practice sharing. Organizations with strong cultures consistently invest in leader development, because they understand that sustaining the culture depends largely upon skilled, knowledgeable leaders.

Leaders and tribal elders share a common bond. They model desired behaviors, pass along the stories and sustain the norms of the group.  They are the keepers of culture, empowered with responsibility to preserve the past and nurture the future.

The Wrong Ingredient Can Ruin the Dish

Have you ever set out to make your favorite recipe, only to find you've run out of a key ingredient? If this happens in the middle of preparation, it's tempting to substitute an ingredient that seems similar.  Occasionally it works and once in a great while, if you're lucky, the dish may be improved.  However, changing ingredients without careful aforethought can ruin the dish.

The same is true when it comes to hiring employees. Great workplaces know that a key ingredient in the great place formula is the organization's employees. As organizations grow, the continual challenge is to attract and retain staff who share a true commitment to the organization's values.

It can be difficult to accomplish this. After all, most applicants work hard to project the best image possible. Savvy job seekers study the organization ahead of time, know its values and prepare to respond to interview questions with answers that they believe the organization will appreciate. How can an employer protect its culture and ensure that new hires represent the right ingredients?

1. Understand Cultural Anchors:  These are the key values that support the organization's culture. Cultural anchors are not mission or vision statements. They are single words or small phrases that describe values that differentiate the organization. Cultural anchors are those attributes that can never be sacrificed or compromised. One organization where I have worked is, above all, compassionate.  When faced with difficult times, the organization would always make decisions that placed compassion above all else. Hiring individuals who don't share this key value will, over time, erode the organization's prized culture.
2. Find Employees That Fit:  Vacancies are costly, but the impact of a poor hire ripples through the organization.  The recent case of  Jack Griffin, Time, Inc. CEO illustrates this point. Without casting blame on anyone, it is apparent that Mr. Griffin did not fit the culture. In just six months, a clash of styles escalated into a very difficult and uncomfortable situation for all
3. Involve Many in the Interview Process: Tempting as it may be to expedite the hiring process by involving only a few, there is great benefit derived by gathering opinions and perspectives from a cross-section of current employees. Some organizations go to great lengths to place applicants in real-life situations, so that true behaviors can be accurately assessed.  Not every organization has this luxury, but all can and should ask employees at various levels to participate in the interview process - and value feedback on an equal scale.

A close friend told of trying her hand at an old family meatloaf recipe. She inadvertently used quick oats instead of breadcrumbs.  "It was edible, but it just wasn't the same," she said.  When faced with hiring challenges, you may elect to compromise your tried and true recipe by opting for candidates who don't quite fit your organization's culture. But the outcome may just destroy the "family recipe" that your organization has worked so diligently to preserve.

Best Places to Work and Star Athletes

What do we know about star athletes?  All have the following traits in common:

• A relentless passion to be the best
• Commitment to invest necessary resources to be the best
• A drive to constantly assess and repair any personal shortcomings
• It's not about a single competition - it's an ongoing journey

Organizations desiring to achieve best place to work status can learn valuable lessons from star athletes.  Becoming a best place to work and more importantly, maintaining the status once attained, is a process not a single event. It is a commitment to upholding a specific kind of workplace culture.

Let's examine each of the aforementioned star athlete traits, in the context of best place to work status:

1. A relentless passion to be the best:  The first step to achieve best place status is to examine the underlying motive of company executives.  Is it a drive to win an award or a desire to create an meaningful employment experience? Awards are won and competitions end.  Employees feel the tug of "flavor or the month" programs that have no depth.  A high-value employment experience is woven into the fabric of the culture.  Employees constantly feel the effects, through the actions of caring leaders and a healthy organizational climate.
2. Commitment to invest necessary resources to be the best: Even the best places experience business challenges. During the Great Recession, many best places to work had to make difficult decisions that impacted workers. Best places to work invested the key resources of time, attention and fiscal balance to preserve the business without persecuting the people.
3. A drive to constantly assess and repair any personal shortcomings: Employee needs are not static. Best places to work are constantly examining the organizational climate, assessing what employees value most and working to bridge the gaps between the two. Yesterday's approach to the workforce may not engage today's workers. Best places know this and commit to continuous improvement.
4. It's not about a single competition - it's an ongoing journey: Being named a best place to work feels wonderful. It is validation of hard work and attention to employees. Yet many best companies never enter these competitions. They simply do what's right for employees, because it's the right thing to do. With the proliferation of small or local best place to work competitions, it's possible for many companies to achieve some level of best place status.  But the awards are of secondary importance to those companies that are truly best places to work. Their gold is found in creating and maintaining an exceptional employment experience.

Star athlete status involves hard work and continuous improvement. The same is true of best place to work status.  If you're truly committed to being a best place to work, you'll be embarking on a journey, not just entering a single competition.