Horizon Point Consulting

Author: Mary Ila Ward

  • 4 Workplace Innovations on Repeat

    4 Workplace Innovations on Repeat

    Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to serve on a panel discussing workforce and skills challenges created by the automotive industry’s shift to electric vehicles (EVs).  

    I’m no expert on EVs.  I’m no expert on cars. 

    But I drive one. And it broke down at the end of last week. 

    I got off the interstate from a work trip, headed into my hometown on a highway connecting the interstate to my neighborhood.  When I went to accelerate on the highway, the RPMs jumped way up, and it did not want to shift gears for me to accelerate effectively. Luckily, I got home going about 10 miles per hour, not trying to force the car to shift into second gear. 

    We had it towed to the dealership where I was told that the issue was “probably the transmission.”  I was then told it would take two weeks to get a technician to diagnose it. Then, if it was the transmission, it would be about two months before they could get to it.  

    I took a deep breath (I’m in my car A LOT, I’m not quite sure how to go without a car for a day, much less two months) and asked, “So is the challenge you all are dealing with because you don’t have enough labor?”

    He breathed a sigh of relief- I think he was afraid I was going to bless him out- and proceeded to tell me in great detail about all the labor challenges they have. Namely, that they had the only transmission guy in our county and that it takes two to three years to train someone effectively to fix transmissions.  He also told me there were 40 cars in front of mine if it was, in fact, the transmission that needed to be replaced. 

    We have a workforce shortage with the current labor skills needed to make and fix cars.  If we can’t handle the current challenges, how can we expect to handle future ones?  The good news is EVs don’t have multi drive transmissions, I have learned :).  Do we have people trained to work or gearboxes (my understanding of what replaces a transmission)?  I doubt it. 

    This is not just a phenomenon in the automotive industry, it is in almost all of them. As we innovate products, services, and technology exponentially, we’ve also got to continuously innovate our workplaces through people practices.  And, unfortunately, we are lagging behind here, thinking that what worked yesterday will work today.  It won’t. The labor force is telling this loud and clear. 

    We also need to capitalize on the opportunities brought about by innovation that can help us rethink the workplace and how work gets done and in what types of cultures it can succeed. 

    I think we could all take a good look back at the automotive industry and how Henry Food transformed it approximately 100 years ago to help pose us well for the next 100 years:  

    1. Early Exposure Matters: Henry Ford showed that early exposure to a variety of skills and work opportunities need to be widespread and that skills in one industry are readily transferable to another.  For example, Ford grew up on a farm. He taught himself to fix watches and this helped him learn basic mechanical skills. These skills, no doubt, helped him in creating “horseless carriages.”
    2. Learning by Trial and Error: This tinkering also shows that Ford learned by trial and error.  By doing. Failing. Trying again, and again, until it worked. 

    We need to be applying these truths in our homes and schools.  Exposing kids at an early age to a variety of domains and subjects and ways of thinking and giving them tools to “tinker” with is necessary for them to learn by trial and error.  I would also postulate that time to be “bored” fosters this tinkering too.  When kids are over scheduled, they don’t “play” and therefore they don’t “tinker.”  

    1. Compensation Matters:  Ford’s company was plagued by very high turnover rates.  According to The Henry Ford Foundation, “Turnover was so high that the company had to hire 53,000 people a year to keep 14,000 jobs filled. Henry responded with his boldest innovation ever—in January 1914 he virtually doubled wages to $5 per day.”   Ford realized that he needed to pay people a premium for the repetitive work they were doing, and that doing this would help lower costs, not raise them.  He also was very clear that the people he employed needed to be able to afford what they were producing.
    2. People don’t want to work all day, every day. They are more productive when they don’t.  Ford is largely credited with the creation of the 40-hour workweek (although union pressure may have led him there). He changed the workweek from six days to five without changing compensation. We are now in a world largely talking about the value gains in a four-day workweek. As innovations increase productivity, should people be able to take advantage of these gains to work less with the same pay? Or should we at least provide people with autonomy to decide how to do the work in order to produce the results that are needed?  I think these are discussions of merit. 

    Innovating is not just about creating something from scratch.  It also includes recycling the old to create the new. 

    How will you innovate your workplace through old lessons learned? 

  • What Kind of Intelligent Are You?

    What Kind of Intelligent Are You?

    Did you like school growing up? Were you one of the “smart” kids or did you just get by? Were you bored in the classroom or excited to be there?

    How about at work? Are you one of the “smart” ones? 

    When you are training or in a learning setting on the job, do you pick up on concepts quickly or do you find yourself being one of the “slow” ones?  Does the learning engage your attention or leave you questioning why you are doing what you are doing? 

    Whatever category you fall into, I’d challenge you-and maybe more importantly, those teaching and leading- to think about the source of the ease or difficulty.  This may have more to do with how things are being taught and whether they cater to specific types of intelligences rather than whether or not people are “smart”. 

    And in most formal learning environments, we tend to only cater to two of the nine intelligences postulated by Harvard Professor Howard Gardner- linguistic intelligence and logical-mathematical intelligence.  Gardner says of these intelligences, they are “particularly important for learning in the kinds of schools that we have today- ones that feature listening to lectures, reading, writing, and calculating- and they are crucial on those tests that purport to assess human intellect and cognitive potential.” 

    But Gardner says we get it all wrong if we stop here.  Other intelligences that Gardner suggests from his research are: 

    “Noncanonical” Intelligences: 

    • Musical Intelligence: “Facility in the perception and production of music.” 
    • Spatial Intelligence: “The capacity to form spatial representations or images in one’s mind, and to operate upon them variously.”
    • Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence: “The capacity to solve problems or create products using your whole body, or parts of your body like your hand or your mouth.” 
    • Naturalist Intelligence: “Entails the capacities to make consequential discriminations in the natural world.” 

    Personal Intelligences: “Knowing Human Beings”

    • Knowing Oneself: Self-Awareness
    • Knowing Others

    Existential Intelligence: “Religious” or “Spiritual” intelligence

    I’d venture to guess that as you read this list, there are one or more where you feel like you excel.  Is it recognized in your workplace?  Does learning content cater to your style? 

    If you are a leader or trainer/facilitator, I’d encourage you to examine your learning opportunities at work to see if you are reaching everyone in your audience with their particular intelligence so you can capitalize on all people’s “smarts”. 

    Some ideas for doing so: 

    • Incorporate games and puzzles 
    • Incorporate music 
    • Incorporate outdoor activity and/or break up content where breaks in learning require participants to move around and go outside if possible
    • Provide things to “fidget” with
    • Get people to draw in order to convey thoughts and learning- to visualize concepts
    • Have people interact with others regularly- through questions, role play, case studies, etc.
    • Provide questions for self-reflection and thought and the time to do this
    • Get people to teach what they have learned to others- creating and incorporating their own ideas for conveying concepts
    • Give tools for people to practice and apply learning on the job and record and report their findings in the format or mode they prefer

    When we begin to realize that all people are “smart”, we can then use that information to make sure we are incorporating a variety of ways to make sure our workplaces allow for the expression of each individual’s unique talents and contributions. 

    What kind of intelligent are you? 

  • 3 Steps for Leading through Pressure & Change

    3 Steps for Leading through Pressure & Change

    Coal can’t be transformed into a diamond and a pearl can’t become a pearl without pressure and change.  We know that beauty is created through times of pressure and change. For leaders, it is often where the most growth and learning takes place. However, more often than not, it is less than enjoyable.  It is stressful. It is hard.  And this can keep us from learning and growing amidst the difficulty if we don’t know how to effectively handle it. 

    And if we are honest, in the world of leading and living today, when is there ever time that is not seeped with some level of pressure and change? So how do we navigate it?  How do we see beauty in both the process and the outcomes and navigate the stress and difficulty with a sense of purpose and energy? 

    A book and a podcast I’ve engaged with recently, have helped provide some key insights into this: 

    1. Know your default.  If you’ve heard us say at once at Horizon Point, you’ve heard it a million times: strong leadership is always built with a strong foundation of self-awareness.  When it comes to pressure and changing situations, is it your default to turn inward or outward? Do you tend to focus on what you need and keep it in, or do you focus on whatever everyone else needs trying to please people to respond? Knowing your natural inclination will be the first step in helping you better navigate the pressure and change. 

    2. Question yourself and the situation. In the Making It Work Podcast Episode 59- Staying Composed Under Pressure, Dr. Rob McKenna encourages asking these (among other) questions of yourself:  

    • Why are you leading this situation? Another way to ask this is, “Why are you here for these people?” According to the research by Dr. McKenna, a sense of purpose was the number one indicator of ability to successfully lead under pressure.  If you know your purpose, you are able to appreciate the stakes that make a difference.  
    • If this goes well, what is the positive potential that will open up? The second best indicator of leading well under pressure was the leader’s ability to focus on the potential.  It’s not optimism or pessimism, it’s “I have a half full glass full of water, what could I do with that?” It causes centering for the leader. The research showed that it helped moderate success especially in leaders who tend to take things personally. And their research showed that most leaders do take things personally. 

    What is your PURPOSE and what is the POTENTIAL? You will most likely have to return to these questions and the answers to them often, especially in extreme times of pressure and change. 

    3. Share the story.  In Changing Minds by Howard Gardner, a theme around changing minds- especially in what the author defines as a heterogeneous group- is the leader’s ability to 1) be who they say they are or “practice what they preach” and 2) narrate, or put into story form, purpose and potential. This then translates to purpose and potential for others.  And purpose and potential combined lead to action.  

    When we know ourselves, ground ourselves in purpose and potential and then share this through authentic stories, we are better able to lead ourselves and others through challenging times of pressure and change. 

    What helps you to lead well in pressure and change? 

  • 4 Lessons in Personality from Hamilton

    4 Lessons in Personality from Hamilton

    Because we like to give experiences instead of stuff at our house, our daughter’s Christmas present was a trip to see Hamilton.  She loves the music and was so excited about her first big girl trip to the theater. 

    The first time I saw Hamilton was on Broadway, a week before the whole world shut down because of the pandemic.  I was not familiar with the storyline or the music then, so I was in overdrive trying to process all that I saw and heard.  I’m still in overdrive trying to process all I’ve seen and heard since then and learn from it. 

    Three years and a pandemic later, my second experience was seeped with thoughts and learning I, personally, gained throughout the pandemic as well as what the first show had taught me to be prepared to take away. 

    What I found most striking this time around was the contrast between Hamilton and Burr and the build up to the ultimate duel and death of Hamilton. It is a classic study in personality science. 

    Here’s what I took away: 

    1. “He has nothing to prove, he has nothing to lose.” vs “a legacy to protect”.  These lyrics help us understand that when it comes to personality, our forefathers and their situations actually shape how we behave.  In fact, the situations may actually affect the genes that are passed down as seen in some new genomic science you can read about in Super Genes.  Hamilton and Burr were both orphans, but in very different contexts.  Burr came from a good family, Hamilton came from nothing.  This impacted how they saw the world and what behaviors they exhibited.

    How has your background, in which you had no choice in the matter about, shaped your personality?

    2. “You never back down, you never learn to take your time” vs “wait for it”.  The main way you see the contrast between Hamilton and Burr- that is at least in part due to the situations they were born into- is in the contrast between two personality poles- fast paced and outspoken versus cautious and reflective. 

    The DiSC Model illustrates these poles.  The model emphasizes how our natural inclinations towards one of the extremes can create a variety of conflict between individuals if they are seen as opposing approaches that become right or wrong.  This view can lead to villainization as opposed to the view that opposites attract and complement one another.  When people also retreat to the extremes, instead of being able to self-monitor on what behaviors are best served given the situation and the people, major conflict erupts. In Hamilton and Burr’s case, it festered for years, and then it led to death.   

    Do you allow people’s differences to polarize or complement? 

    3. “It’s Quiet Uptown.” The common consensus in personality science is that personality is usually solidified around the age of 25.  Your nature and your nurture pretty much combine and by 25 and your personality becomes more of a set rather than fluid state.  

    However, key life events, usually in the form of major changes and tragedy, can shift our personality.  This is no better seen in the song “It’s Quiet Uptown”. This song illustrates how, following Hamilton’s infidelity and the death of his son, he moved his family uptown and found solitude in what was quite contrary to his “you never back down, you never learn to take your time” personality into a slower paced, quiet life.  The key events altered his personality, or at least for a time, the way his personality manifested itself in the form of his behaviors. 

    Have you experienced life altering events that have altered your personality and behavior? 

    4. “The world is wide enough.”  After Burr shoots Hamilton,  his monologue makes such a climactic point.  He realizes the world was wide enough for both he and Hamilton to exist, thrive in fact, but it’s too late.  What would the world have been if Burr and Hamilton had worked together, seeing their opposing personalities and  perspectives as an asset instead of a liability? 

    What would the world look like if you joined forces with your “foe” and used his or her differences to help shape a partnership of impact? 

    What would things look like if we could see the future instead of reflect on it?  No one knows “who lives, who dies, who tells your story,” but if we can learn about how our situations, experiences, and personalities shape us and those around us, maybe we can at least “stay alive” to write a better history where people work together instead of tearing each other apart. 

  • Our 2023 Theme: An Abundance of Space

    Our 2023 Theme: An Abundance of Space

    “I’m learning that I deserve to take up space,” said one team member at our yearly planning meeting. 

    “There’s an abundance of it,” said another in keeping with something each of us found ourselves recognizing- the contrast between abundance and scarcity mindset– in 2022. 

    “I find that when I give permission to take up space, I’m better at making space and giving space to others,” said yet another member of the team. 

    And later when a meeting notice went out to the whole team at a time that wasn’t the best for one team member, our discussion had given her the permission to say, “I’m going to take up space here, and say this doesn’t work best for me,” then she suggested another time where she knew she and the rest of our team would be best to work together on the subject of the meeting.   She knew herself and all of us well enough to know that a Thursday morning would be much better than a Friday afternoon for all of us to think creatively. 

    As we thought about what our theme would be for 2023, we realized the continuity of a word that kept coming up last year, “abundance” and a new one that seemed to be surfacing this year, of “space”.    

    And I found nothing better that illustrates what we mean by this than the poem “Our Deepest Fear” by Marianne Williamson that is reflected so well in the movie Coach Carter. 

    I hope you’ll take a minute to watch it.  It explains what we mean by this year’s theme so much better than I can. We at Horizon Point hope that this year you will take up space and share space with others, because there is an abundance of it. 

    Our Deepest Fear
    By Marianne Williamson

    “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
    Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
    It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
    We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’
    Actually, who are you not to be?
    You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.
    There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking, so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
    We are all meant to shine, as children do.
    We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
    It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
    And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
    As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”