Leadership Update 16 of 2017 - Superboss Series

shawnsher
Jun 16, 2017
5 min read

Superbosses Series (Part Seven) – A Leader is a Chief Reminding Officer (CRO)

The seventh trait shared by superbosses is their recognition of their roles as the Chief Reminding Officer or CRO of the organisation.
Everyone talks about communication being a crucial part of leadership, but they all too often fail to clarify what that means. When it comes to the leader of an organisation, whether that is a CEO running a company or a manager heading a department, the most important part of communication has to do with consistently reminding people what is truly important.
This need to do so is especially critical in our current times. A study published by Harvard Business School showed that the number one failing with our current education system is that it has produced an era of technocrats who are unable to think critically for themselves. This study concluded that the failure of our education system is that it has produced a crop of people that while being technically competent at their jobs, are not capable of thinking whether doing the particular task is worth doing in the first place. In other words, we are producing skilled engineers and technically proficient employees who can perform A or B effectively but are not capable of questioning whether doing A or B is worth doing in the first place.
This finding points to the dire need for more effective communication within organisations.
The best leaders understand that they are Chief Reminding Officers, and that there is no such thing as too much communication. The best organisations in the world today are the ones where the leaders are constantly reiterating the organisation’s culture, strategy and priorities. Why don’t leaders do this? There are two reasons:

Many leaders fear over-communicating

Some companies fear over-communication, which they deem as wasteful and inefficient. Some fear that over-communicating may have the impact of insulting their audience.
Superbosses however realise that no employee has ever left a company with the complaint, "That leader just communicated with me too much"
In fact, it is not until the leader is so tired of communicating a message that employees are just starting to believe and internalise it. Some leaders haven’t clarified what they need to be communicating
The purpose of over-communication is not simply about volume – flowing employees with e-mail, text messages, videos or posters – it is about getting in front of them as often as possible to intentionally remind them about what really matters. To do that leaders must take the time to answer the six critical questions at the heart of organizational clarity,

Why does the organisation exist?
How do we behave?
What do we do?
How will we succeed?
What is most important - right now?
Who must do what?

The answers to these questions form the basis of almost all substantive communication that a leader must convey.
Whether you are a CEO, CFO, Head of HR or a Departmental Manager, think about doing this favour to your employees. Ask yourself, ‘In what way can I be a better CRO to them?

This update is sent as part of our Leadership update series. We hope you enjoyed this update. If you are looking at a structured programme designed to help you get the best out of your people, see the course below.

Building a ‘Healthy’ Organisation

A 1 and ½ Day In House Training Programme

Overview

Traditional ‘team-building’ sessions where employees get together to perform activities like rope climbing and forming trust circles while useful do not achieve any lasting long-term impact. Studies show that the most benefit such traditional team-building activities have does not last longer than a 2-4 month period. To have a lasting impact, your team sessions need to have more depth. For starters, employees within your team need to develop genuine ‘vulnerability’ based trust with one another. The word trust here does not refer to the predictive sense of trust where we come to say things like

‘I have worked with him before, I know what he is like and I can anticipate what he will do next or how he will respond.”

Rather, vulnerability based trust comes when people within the team implicitly trust one another enough to make statements like,

‘I don’t know the answer’

“I need help’

‘I made a mistake’

‘Can you help me on this, you are better in this area than me?’, or even

‘I’m sorry but what I did yesterday was wrong’

When people are able to be that transparent with one another, it changes the dynamic of an organisation completely and they learn to trust one another inherently. However, the leader needs to go first and must be prepared to walk the talk…

Once this is established, the organisation can then move on to address the second issue that can derail team success; and that is failure to communicate with clarity. Once clarity has been established, the next step involves over-communicating clarity. The final steps involves encouraging employees to work from a position of ‘strength’, where people are encouraged to work from an understanding of their unique strengths and to use this awareness to frame issues from a ‘problem’ focus to a ‘solution’ focused approach.

What You Will Gain From This Session

You will gain from a step by step methodical approach on how to:

Cultivate an environment where team members implicitly trust one another to get the job done,
Create a team atmosphere where everyone feels comfortable addressing the difficult issues in ensuring that ‘buy-in’ and commitment is achieved
Ensure your team members are all united behind a common and singular goal
Understand each of your team members strengths and how to use this to the team’s maximum advantage
Develop a mind-set where your team automatically moves toward finding a solution instead of dwelling over a problem.

Agenda

Day One

9.00am – 10.30am

Introduction to the Healthy Organisation

Smart Organisation v Healthy Organisation – most organisations are ‘smart’ but are we ‘healthy’
Why a ‘healthy’ organisation always beats a ‘smart’ organisation
Exercise – test on ‘how ‘healthy’ is your team?’
The 5 Reasons Teams Fail and How they Impede Organisational Health
Failure to build ‘genuine’ vulnerability based trust
Avoidance of Conflict & Discussion on Difficult Issues
Failure to communicate with clarity
Lack of appreciation and understanding of each other’s strengths
Failure to Generate Buy-In and Commitment

10.45am – 12.45pm

Building ‘Genuine’ Trust at Work

Start with values – be clear on ‘what you stand for’
Exercise on connecting your personal values with organisational values
Video Presentation – communicating your personal values with your team
How to initiate genuine two-way interactions with your team members

Lunch

2 pm to 3.30 pm

Getting Comfortable With Conflict

How to build an environment where people feel free to voice their uncertainties and disagreements
Exercise – Techniques and strategies on how to promote open sharing and discussions
Managing Meetings Successfully

m to 5 pm

Communicating with Clarity

Identify our thematic goal exercise – our rallying cry

‘If we accomplish only one thing during the next 3/6 months, what will it be?’ OR

‘What is the one critical activity we need to accomplish in the next 6 months where if we looked back six months from now and have failed to accomplish it would mean that we have failed?’

How to ensure your thematic goal is cascaded down to your subordinates with clarity
Group Presentation on Thematic Goals

Day Two

9.00am – 10.30am

Communicating With Clarity (continued)

Answering the six critical question surrounding your business

Why does the organisation exist?
How do we behave?
What do we do?
How will we succeed?
What is most important - right now?
Who must do what?

10.45 am to 12.45 pm

Having Strength Based Conversations with Your Team

Moving from a ‘problem centred’ to solutions focused approach to dealing with work issues
Role play – How to have a ‘solutions’ based approach to discussions
Generating Buy-In and Commitment from Your Team members

Review and Closing