Leadership is influence, and to effectively influence others, a leader must be clear about where he or she is going. It’s a clear vision that gives others something to aspire to and work toward. The challenge is that often leaders are so caught up in the midst of the day to day that they fail to take time to reflect on what’s most important and what it is they truly want.
I am such a visionary myself, so it’s no surprise that one of my absolute favorite things to do is to lead others through a creative visioning exercise. In my experiences with this type of work over the last ten years, I am continually amazed at how leaders respond to the process. If at first a bit resistant, they typically emerge feeling empowered and energized.
The visioning process usually works like this:
Step 1: Look to the past for key themes
After affirming what’s most important to the leader (his or her core values), he or she will work through an exercise that serves as a trip down memory lane and identifies key situations/life events that have shaped his or character; reflecting upon these events, the leader identifies theme(s) surrounding those situations.
Step 2: Consider the possibilities of what could be
Using the themes and core values as a strong foundation, the leader then answers a series of questions about the meaning and fulfillment in the work that he or she does.
Step 3: Bring the vision to life
At this point, the leader has a lot of thoughts in his or her head and words on paper. Through a creative, vision-board exercise, the leader brings the vision to life through images, colors, words, etc. This visual helps to tell the story of what it is the leader is creating. The picture below shows a group of leaders who currently went through this process.
As part of a ten-month leadership development initiative at Savvis, a global leader in cloud infrastructure and hosted IT solutions for enterprises, leaders spent time articulating their vision for their roles in helping the organization accomplish its goals.
We’ve previously defined the corporate university (click here to read the blog post “Defining Your Corporate University”) and with this clarity and consensus in mind, we are ready to get started.
Well, not quite yet. We still have more clarifying to do so that we can determine the purpose and establish an initial build-out plan.
This diagram illustrates the different phases of university development and is a great guide to start the initial build-out. Depending on your resources, urgency, and current state, you may be ready to start with any of these phases. Your first step, then, is to determine where you want to be and where you are in the life cycle of university development.
Source: Adapted from Jansink, F. (2005). The knowledge-productive corporate university. Journal of European Industrial Learning, 29(1), 40-57.
Many companies with whom we work on university development want to see results right away. But even though you’re being strategic about the entire university design process, you’re not going to be in the Strategic Phase until you’ve laid some groundwork. That groundwork requires thoughtful planning on how the university will need to function operationally and what tactics need to be put into place to achieve the strategic objectives.
If it hasn’t become apparent to you already, you will realize that one person can’t build a corporate university on their own. We will talk about that further in a future post, but in the interim, I’d love to get your thoughts on this life cycle. Do you agree with these phases? Are there any phases missing?
Linda Dausend is a consultant at FlashPoint. She consults with clients on talent management, helping to align their human resources programs with organizational strategies.
Stay tuned for more from Linda in this blog series about corporate universities. It’s easy to get our blog updates! Just look for Feed Subscription in the right column of our blog and enter your email address. Our blog updates will be delivered to your email inbox.
The authors cited several experiments leading to the conclusion that powerful people run a higher risk of making flawed decisions because their power gives them a high confidence in their judgment; thus, they don’t feel a need to seek or listen to advice from others. And in fact, those defined as “powerful” made less accurate judgments than those in the control group or low-power group. In this context, power was defined as an individual’s “capacity to influence others, stemming in part from his or her control over resources, rewards, or punishments.”
I imagine most of us can recall a situation where someone in authority didn’t listen to what we could clearly see as the “right” path because they were so heavily vested in their own ideas. The question I have now is how do those in power temper their confidence to allow for external viewpoints and advice, while at the same time ultimately make decisions? We praise decisiveness in leaders and we also praise the humility required to seek and listen to counsel. It seems that this fine line is a tightrope leaders must walk every day. The closest I have come to an answer is summed up in the article subtitle, “Overflowing with confidence, many leaders turn away from good advice.”
Perhaps the key is to keep confidence in check. I think most leaders would self-evaluate to say they do a good job of this—so is that reality or just their perception fed by being overconfident? This makes my head spin.
I am so curious about your thoughts and ideas. How do leaders balance the humility to ask and listen with the need for decisive and quick action?
Jennifer Rufatto is a consultant at FlashPoint. She focuses her consulting in the areas of workplace learning and leadership development.
So, you’d like to start a Corporate University. Great! I don’t think you’ll regret your decision to do so; but, before we talk about all the great outcomes that a university can provide, let’s take a step back and define a “corporate university.”
There are probably as many definitions as there are organizations that have universities (which is estimated to be about 2,000 today), but the best definition I found was from Mark Allen, Ph.D, and the author of The Corporate University Handbook (AMACOM 2002). Dr. Allen defines it as “…an educational entity that is a strategic tool designed to assist its parent organization in achieving its mission by conducting activities that cultivate both individual and organizational learning, knowledge, and wisdom.”
More than anything, a corporate university strives to align employees’ performance with the strategic direction of the company. The training is connected to competencies, for example, or to specific business objectives. It’s typically built using a leveled approach and with frequent benchmarks to measure success in achieving the corporate mission.
A university is so much more than a name, a new logo, and t-shirts. That’s why it’s critical that you first define what the university is for your organization.
In the coming months, I’ll review a corporate university that we recently developed with one of our clients. I’ll also share other key aspects about this comprehensive training solution, including:
Defining outcomes
Crafting a vision
Achieving support
Getting funds
Designing the structure
We’d love to hear what you think about corporate universities, what definition you might offer up and, if you have one, how it works and what advice you can provide.
Linda Dausend is a consultant at FlashPoint. She consults with clients on talent management, helping to align their human resources programs with organizational strategies.
Stay tuned for more from Linda in this blog series about corporate universities. It’s easy to get our blog updates! Just look for Feed Subscription in the right column of our blog and enter your email address. Our blog updates will be delivered to your email inbox.
Recently, during the kick-off of a twelve-month leadership development process (using the Leadership Challenge® Workshop content), a past participant described his experience to a group of leaders being introduced to the process. He summed up his experience as “life changing” and shared examples of ways the experience had impacted him.
As I’ve facilitated these types of long-term engagements, I’ve heard hundreds of similar descriptions. Below is a sample of reactions, pulled from emails I have received from participants in the Leadership Challenge® Workshop experience:
“This is life changing and could not have come at a better time. I learned a lot about myself as a leader and have cemented my core values—honesty, achievement, dependability, and happiness. My core values are what drive me every day and if I hold true to them, they should allow me to focus on what I feel is important.”
“This process has brought me closer to my true self. There is always a trigger behind one realizing one’s destined path – I have seen it countless times in my life. I am so thankful that this has come into my life – the trigger which has helped shape my professional and PERSONAL evolvement.”
“I had a moment today that the training helped me through…I got really frustrated because of something a team member said, and instead of reacting, I remembered my values; I listened and filtered out the content and helped my team member with a solution. I can see that I have really grown through this process.”
I’m not surprised when I hear these reactions as something magical happens during the process—participants are reminded of their intrinsic value. What they often discover is that which makes them most effective as a leader has been with them all along—they just need to get out of their own way.
FlashPoint offers a public Leadership Challenge® Workshop each spring. If you are interested in learning more about this experience, please click here for additional information.
Andrea Moore is a Senior Consulting Manager at FlashPoint; Andrea focuses on leadership development, training and performance improvement solutions, and one-on-one coaching.
For many managers, end-of-the-year activities include completing employee reviews as part of a performance management system. Giving year-end feedback is something that some managers view as “checking one more thing off the list.” Some employees view the activity as a “necessary evil.” Often, this is a missed opportunity to start the new year with a bang—especially with high performers. In 2011, the high performers did most things very well; yet, managers often feel compelled to give “developmental” feedback. Managers feel they aren’t doing their job if they can’t find something that is less than awesome. As a result, high performers leave the review slightly miffed that the manager documented an obscure area of improvement just to ensure the review wasn’t too glowing.
I am going to suggest a very radical approach to performance reviews for high performers. Focus on all they did well and … end the review. Resist adding the developmental feedback—unless it is actually a critical success factor.
High performers are high performers because they self-analyze and independently seek to improve. Ask them what they would like to improve in 2012, identify how you can help them, and conclude the review without saying anything negative. Discuss personal growth and development in 2012, but frame it from a perspective of what they want to accomplish and not from the often misused perspective of “no one is perfect,” “we don’t want them too big for their britches,” “everyone has the ability to improve,” etc.
While some of those axioms are true for some people, I believe that high performers will appreciate managers identifying how they can help them move in the direction they want to go. Try ending the review with a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and keep up the great work in 2012.
Jennifer Rufatto is a consultant at FlashPoint. She focuses her consulting in the areas of workplace learning and leadership development.
Engagement research repeatedly shows that employees look to opportunities for growth and development for continued engagement, but it’s not enough to encourage participation in a learning exercise; to fully maximize the experience, the participant’s manager needs to be involved to help facilitate the development process.
In a 2009 ASTD (American Society of Training and Development) research paper, The Value of Evaluation, authors explore the complex issues of learning evaluation and measuring the success of training initiatives. While the paper is full of valuable information for learning professionals, there is one particular message that resonated with me—learning professionals have a tremendous opportunity to leverage the participant’s manager in the development process. Unfortunately, I don’t think that the participants’ managers always understand their role or how they can support.
For example, in the research paper, authors shared results from a study in which managers were asked to what extent they are held accountable for setting goals with employees prior to training and for giving employees opportunities to use new knowledge after training. As you can see below, the percentage of managers who are setting goals with employees prior to training is very small. The case is similar with the percentage of managers giving employees opportunities to use new knowledge after training. I believe that if each of these activities happened more often, it would have a tremendous impact on the transfer of learning from training to job performance.
So, what’s the message? HR and learning professionals who are leading/supporting training initiatives need to ensure that managers are involved in the process. Below are some activities that you can incorporate into your development process:
Prior to the design of any training/development, meet with the participants’ managers to find out what the needs are. Ask them what success looks like for their employee’s participation in the training.
Educate/coach managers to support the development of their employees.
Coach managers/provide clear expectations on their role in following up with employees after training and their role in giving employees an opportunity to use the skills learned in training.
Provide a participant/manager conversation guide to structure conversations during a training/development initiative. This will help ensure that participants are connecting with their managers throughout the development process.
Andrea Moore is a Senior Consulting Manager at FlashPoint; Andrea focuses on leadership development, training and performance improvement solutions, and one-on-one coaching.
One of my favorite commercials is from Monster.com where a child states, “I wanna claw my way up to middle management.” I remember the first time I became an assistant manager. I was so excited to send my new business cards to my whole family (even though they live in Colorado and couldn’t do business with me) and I readily gave one to anyone who would take one. We all love the American success story about the person who started in the mail room and worked his way up to CEO—what a great story. Everyone should strive to accomplish that, right?
What happened to simply being “the best” at what we do? Why if we are considered “the best,” do we have to get promoted to feel valued? By that rationale, Peyton Manning should be the coach and not the quarterback. Imagine what would happen to the Indianapolis Colts if Curtis Painter took over and Manning was simply his coach? Do you remember when Magic Johnson tried to coach? He failed miserably, yet no one would argue that he is one of the greatest basketball players of all-time. The role of being a coach is different from being a player. Just like the role of being a manager is different from being a contributor. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of contributors who have what it takes to be a manager and I firmly believe that leadership can be taught; but, it is not for everyone and that should be ok.
So, what do you do? You can’t stop promoting from within your organization because you do not want employees to feel stagnate.
Here are some considerations:
How does a promotion impact your customers?
Think about how you show that you value your employees. Does everyone know how they contribute to the success of your business? What is their impact on your business?
Do a job analysis and consider job enrichment and/or enlargement versus simply promoting people into management. Few people want to do the exact same job each day, but it doesn’t mean the only way to change that is through promotion.
Consider a pay-for-performance compensation plan as many people want and take a management position simply because it pays more.
Ask employees how they feel about their contributions and their role within your organization.
There was a time in my career when I would have ranked advancement as the most important part of my job. As I have matured in my career, I value the impact I can have on an organization. It didn’t come naturally and it took a lot of work. I now chuckle a bit when I hear titles dropped in conversations. My current title will not raise the eyebrows that my CEO title once did, but I can tell you confidently that I would have a much larger impact on your organization today than I would have six years ago.
In HR consulting, often I hear leaders say that team building is great—but they just don’t have time.
When I drill down, the assumption I find is that team building needs to take hours—even days—to be effective. In reality it is the value of consistent team building that has the greatest impact rather than the amount of time spent.
Give yourself a break! Team building can be done in 15 minutes or less! To make it most effective decide on what message(s) you want your team building to convey and center your activities around that message. Consider the following examples:
Message: Value the unique contributions of each person within the team.
Team Exercise One:
Have each team member take a piece of paper and write their name at the top. Pass the paper clockwise and when they get someone else’s paper, they should write one thing they value about that person. Continue passing the papers until each person has their own paper back. Have team members take turns reading their paper out loud. Finally, close the exercise by encouraging team members to keep this paper handy when they need to remember what their team values in them. This exercise not only builds the esteem of each person, but reminds everyone to think about what they value in each other.
Team Exercise Two:
Prior to the meeting, have each team member map out the core responsibilities of their job and identify what other roles on the team are impacted by each responsibility. In the meeting, have team members pair up and give them three minutes to share their maps with their partner. Do four rounds of this and then come back and debrief by explaining that nothing we do is in a vacuum. Encourage them to get with each other before the next meeting and add more detail to their maps. Managers could have many uses for these maps; yet, the primary goal is to get the team thinking about how what they do impacts others on the team.
What quick and effective team building ideas do you use? Please share!
Jennifer Rufatto is a consultant at FlashPoint. She focuses her consulting in the areas of workplace learning, leadership development, and strategic planning.
As part of the 2010 Indiana State Human Resources Conference, FlashPoint asked HR professionals across the state to tell us about the innovative HR-related programs they have introduced at their organizations. I had the opportunity to collect these innovative ideas and present them at the conference where attendees were invited to vote for the idea they considered most innovative. While a winner was selected (to be highlighted here soon), FlashPoint thought that all the ideas were deserving of a little more attention. Now I get to share the details of these exciting and innovative programs. My hope is that these “mini case studies” will inspire you and your organization to be innovative!
Innovative idea submitted by: Deb Lang, Director, Training
The Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc. (Midwest ISO) is an essential link in the safe, cost-effective delivery of electric power across all or parts of 13 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Manitoba. As a Regional Transmission Organization, the Midwest ISO assures consumers of unbiased regional grid management and open access to the transmission facilities under the Midwest ISO’s functional supervision.
Coaching Certification (Peer Coaches)
Joellyn: Can you briefly describe your innovative HR-related program? Deb: The employee coaching certification program is designed to create peer coaches within the organization. The program consists of classroom training, hands-on coaching, and a final assessment before employees are given the designation of peer coach. Employees are nominated for the coaching program based on criteria including corporate reputation, degree of influence, role within the organization, and relationship skills. Coaches are given assignments that support existing development programs.
Joellyn: Why did you develop this program? What problem/situation were you hoping to address?
Deb: This program provides a resource within each division—someone who assists employees with topics ranging from how to have a career discussion with their supervisor to identifying how to strengthen leadership skills.
Joellyn: Why do you consider it innovative?
Deb: Innovation is found in providing a structured way for employees to empower other employees and, in the process, to provide a non-threatening way to discuss issues (note: coaches are provided with parameters regarding the topics they can address and topics they should refer to a supervisor or HR professional).
Joellyn: What impact have you seen? How did the program address your problem/situation and how has it improved the company and/or the HR function?
Deb: Impact is seen in two areas:
Increasing awareness of internal coaches regarding the impact coaching can have if done properly
Providing a resource to employees who can help them identify how to become stronger employees (creating a more personalized approach to development)
Although the majority of coaching engagements are through assignments made as part of development programs, coaches are now being requested by employees and, in the case of development program assignments, coaches are now seeing requests for extensions beyond the one or two pre-planned sessions. This is occurring with minimal promotion of the program within the organization.
What idea does this inspire for you and your company? Each month I’ll highlight another HR-related innovative idea. I invite you to subscribe to this blog so you don’t miss other, similar posts. Joellyn Detjen is marketing manager at FlashPoint and helps tell the company’s story.
As part of a ten-month leadership development initiative at Savvis, a global leader in cloud infrastructure and hosted IT solutions for enterprises, leaders spent time articulating their vision for their roles in helping the organization accomplish its goals.
We’ve previously defined the corporate university (
So, you’d like to start a Corporate University. Great! I don’t think you’ll regret your decision to do so; but, before we talk about all the great outcomes that a university can provide, let’s take a step back and define a “corporate university.”
For many managers, end-of-the-year activities include completing employee reviews as part of a 
One of my favorite commercials is from Monster.com where a child states, “I wanna claw my way up to middle management.” I remember the first time I became an assistant manager. I was so excited to send my new business cards to my whole family (even though they live in Colorado and couldn’t do business with me) and I readily gave one to anyone who would take one. We all love the American success story about the person who started in the mail room and worked his way up to CEO—what a great story. Everyone should strive to accomplish that, right?
In HR consulting, often I hear leaders say that team building is great—but they just don’t have time.
As part of the 2010 
