Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Talent Management and Development

We provide full service talent management and talent development consulting services. Read our blogs in this category for stories and best practices from real clients and real research.

  • Our Schedules Communicate Priorities

    Our Schedules Communicate Priorities

    On a Sunday morning about 7 AM, I was in the middle of a run. It was a quiet, beautiful fall morning until I looped back around and through the sports and water park complex near my house.  Cars started driving by and turning into the parking lot by the tennis center. I could hear an abundance of tennis balls popping off rackets as, what seemed to be, many people warming up.

    I’ve run by on other Sunday mornings about that time to see what couldn’t be older than five and six-year-olds warming up for soccer matches. The minivans and SUVS of their parents had to have filled the parking lots with license plates from other counties and even other states before the sun even woke up.

    On a Sunday.

    Call me old fashioned, but this early morning quest for getting more travel soccer, or travel tennis, or travel whatever sport in for young kids just blows my mind, even if it is driving in tons of revenue for my hometown as people come and put heads in beds with their entire family for an elementary school kid to play sports all weekend.

    What is the reasoning behind what has seemed to largely be held by society as a day of rest a day to get in more sports, Sunday after Sunday? Maybe it is the mindset of practice makes perfect as I wrote about last week, but whatever it is, it’s communicating that the sport, whatever it may be, is the priority. Our schedule communicates our priorities. On the weekend, family time isn’t the priority, or church or even time for a kid to rest a little and enjoy a free day to just be a kid.

    I’ve had several discussions revolving around this idea of how priorities are being communicated to kids. One mom whose little girl isn’t even six months old mentioned her concern with her family growing “overscheduled” as kids’ activities develop. Another expressed concern over an hour worth of homework for her daughter on a night when she had church and dance.  My own mother even expressed her observation about how kids don’t have time to just be kids anymore.

    Even the Today Show had a segment addressing the increase in homework kids have to complete these days, with one teacher expressing it is not the amount of homework but the amount of extracurricular things on kids’ calendars today that results in what should take 15 minutes of homework “double and triple” that amount of time because, by the time the student actually sits down to do the homework, they have already had so much packed into their day that they are just DONE (fast forward to 2:15 of the clip to hear this comment).

    Traveling and playing soccer all day every weekend for a season to me, brings on the sense of DONE before the week even starts.  Especially for a six-year-old.

    But if I’m honest with myself, I worry that I’ll be sucked into the travel soccer or tennis or baseball or dance craze with my own son and daughter (who will arrive in March) and they are only two and not even born yet.   When everyone is doing it, aren’t you just supposed to follow suit?

    What does this have to do with leadership?

    Whether we are the leader of our households or the leader of a team or company, or even the leader of our own lives, realizing that we are communicating priorities to our people and ourselves by how we prioritize time is important.

    Do you occupy your own time or your team’s with multiple meetings? I had one professional in leadership class tell me most of his weeks are composed of 30 hours on average of meetings.   By the time he was able to get to the work that he was supposed to do as a result of all these meetings, he was just DONE, not being able to contribute meaningfully to his purpose, and therefore his ability to produce value, for the organization.

    Maybe as a parent, we do want sports or other extracurricular activities or homework to be the priority for our children. But my challenge would be, if one thing takes the priority, by the time they get to everything else are they just DONE? And is it even what they want? Is what we schedule helping them express who they are and how they can contribute to the family and to society in a meaningful way or is the schedule communicating something else entirely?

    As a leader, help people define how they contribute meaningfully and then avoid overschedule them with things that don’t help them see this through.  

    Where are you, your team, or your family overscheduled with things that don’t truly matter?

  • The Way We Fail at Work with our Words and our Gifts

    The Way We Fail at Work with our Words and our Gifts

    Expressing love at work may seem like a little too much.  But in reality, showing love is really showing people you care.  It isn’t about recognizing people’s accomplishments, it’s about appreciating people for who they are. 

    When we are talking about love at work, we are really talking about how to show people you appreciate them.  We talked about how to apply quality time as a love language at work on the blog last week. Quality time is a love language that is sometimes hard to know how to apply to work, but the love languages that are most and least desired in terms of frequency of those who have completed the Motivating by Appreciation (MBA) Inventory assessment-a tool to assess showing appreciation through the love languages at the office- are two of the most frequently used forms of showing appreciation at the office. 

    But are we applying these two love languages correctly? 

    The most frequently used method of showing appreciation at the office is tangible gifts, yet it is the least frequently desired.  The employee recognition industry is a multi-billion dollar one.  But according to research cited in The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, “Only 6% of employees choose tangible gifts as their primary language, and 68% report it is their least valued appreciation language.” 

    The most desired form of showing appreciation- chosen by approximately 45% of employees surveyed through the MBA– is words of affirmation.  People wanted to feel appreciated by what you say to them. 

    The fact that the most frequently used way to thank people, or to show them appreciation, is the least desired one and that the most desired is so desired one points to what I think may be wrong with showing appreciation in the workplace in general. 

    We go wrong with gifts and we go wrong with words because we don’t do a good job of making them personal.   In fact, we’ve written about the best way to thank employees is to make it personal. 

     

    The Way We Fail at Work with our Words

    The way we make our words of affirmation mean nothing is by: 

    1. Not being specific. Saying, “thank you” or “atta boy” and leaving it at that.  We need to personalize our appreciation with specifics.  What did someone do or how do they consistently behave that you appreciate?
    2. We give our words in the wrong context.  Some people like public praise and some do not.  Making our words personal means knowing the right context to give them in.  Research cited in the The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace notes that 40-50% of employees do not want to receive recognition in front of a large group.  Most of the time though, words of appreciation are given in a formal setting with a large group once or twice a year at company events. 
    3. We only provide words of affirmation when performance warrants it.  Sometimes we need to praise for consistent behavior over time that is actually a reflection of someone’s character.  This still needs to be specific, but often people want to be noticed for who they are, not whether it led to an immediate result or not.  Character, in fact, is what leads to lasting results. 

     

    The Way We Fail at Work with our Gifts

    Tangible gifts are most often given to recognize people, not to show appreciation to them.   We get a watch or a plaque for our years of service, or a gift card for Christmas.  These are the types of things that make the employee recognition industry big business.  But they aren’t the things people desire. 

    Gifts go wrong when: 

    1. They aren’t personal. Does everyone want a watch or a plaque?  I really don’t care to have either myself.  What actually often means the most is when a tangible gift is given that you show you know a person well enough to give them something they want.  Giving someone a gift they don’t want or value actually has a worse effect than giving no gift at all. 
    2. They are lip service to appreciation.  When everyone gets the ham for Christmas every year, do you actually feel any appreciation?  My guess would be no. Especially if you are a vegetarian.  Lip service for appreciation is usually so depersonalized. 
    3. Stuff is the focus instead of experiences.  Gifts often fail to be what people actually want in a tangible gift.  What people often want if they value gifts are really experiences, not stuff.  They want tickets to the sports game, a gift certificate to the spa, or a small getaway.  But again, be sure not to violate number one.  Don’t give me a sports tickets and don’t give my husband a trip to the spa. 

     

    How often do you use words or gifts to show appreciation at work?  Which one do you default to and why? And do you make your words and your gifts personal?

  • Don’t Hoard Your Organization’s Wealth

    Don’t Hoard Your Organization’s Wealth

    “Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.” – Robert Boyce

    Organizations contain a wealth of knowledge. Some organizations spread that wealth, and some hoard it. Those that share the wealth of knowledge maximize their potential success. 

    I’m currently reading The Starbucks Experience by Joseph Michelli and even though my brother and sister-in-law are both former partners (that’s what Starbucks calls their employees), I had no idea just how strong of an emphasis Starbucks places on knowledge at all levels of the organization. From formal training and incentives for completion, requiring partners to sample all core products twice per year, providing every partner with one bag of coffee each week so that they stay familiar with products, and encouraging partners to share their knowledge with customers to help educate them on products, Starbucks understands the value knowledge adds to their business, the partner experience, and the customer experience. 

    Starbucks has over 11,000 locations worldwide, and a level of financial resources for training that most organizations don’t have. So how can smaller organizations help employees share the wealth of knowledge? 

    • Encourage a learning and teaching environment. Studies show that up to 90% of what we learn is through informal training. But most organizations focus their attention on formal training such as classes or certifications, with limited funds to support these efforts. When I chose a career in HR I knew very little about it. I was fortunate to work for a company that encouraged a learning and teaching environment. While I was encouraged to get certified, most of what I learned about HR I learned through those that I worked with. When client issues arose that I didn’t know how to handle, I was encouraged to seek the help of senior team members. As I advanced in the organization, I became that senior team member that others sought out for help. Ask yourself “what is one thing I taught someone this week?” and “what is one thing I learned from someone this week?” 
    • Cross-train and up-train staff. Giving employees insight into other areas of the business has many benefits. One way to do this is through cross-training, giving employees the opportunity to walk in other’s shoes so to speak. It helps create an understanding of the various departments and positions within the organization, encourages communication and collaboration, and increases employee engagement. In addition to cross-training, organizations need to plan for their future and up-training is a great way to prepare employees for advancement. As the saying goes, a leader’s job is to help develop their staff to one day take their place. Too often organizations create a succession plan but fail to prepare employees for advancement. 
    • Utilize internal resources. Training doesn’t have to be costly. A great way to reduce training costs is to use the resources you have within your organization. By providing internal training, an organization ensures that the training is relevant to the organization’s business and employees are better able to relate to the training. A great way to provide internal training is to have employees lead lunch and learn sessions. Employees are given the opportunity to share a glimpse of what they really do and share their expertise with their peers. It’s also a great way to help employees understand how the work of an individual or a department contributes to the overall goals of the organization. 

    While the return on investment may not be measurable using metrics, the sharing of knowledge has many benefits for employees, organizations, and their customers. The sharing of knowledge creates a culture of collaboration, improves employee morale, increases productivity, and contributes to organizational growth. Organizations see an improvement in problem-solving, decision-making abilities, customer delivery, and reduction in the loss of know-how due to turnover. 

    Does your organization share its wealth of knowledge or hoard it? 

  • Leaders, So What Is Skill and What Is Will?

    Leaders, So What Is Skill and What Is Will?

    Related Blog Posts:

    Leaders, Know the Skill and Will of Those You Lead

    The Lactation Consultant For the Love, Leave Me Alone!: How (Not) to Lead When Skill and Will Are High

    Tell ?Show ? Do: Leading when Someone has High Will and Low Skill

    Find Another Seat (or Challenge) or Get Off the Bus? How to Lead when Skill is High but Will is Low

    A Final Thought on Leading for Skill and Will: It’s a Long Term Game, Not a Short One

  • A Final Thought on Leading for Skill and Will: It’s a Long Term Game, Not a Short One

    A Final Thought on Leading for Skill and Will: It’s a Long Term Game, Not a Short One

    I’m on a plane with my third-grade son, traveling to Washington D.C. He is taking a math test beside me.  We are headed up to our nation’s capital for a work conference I have, and he and my dad are along for the ride. 

    He’s coming to actually see some of the things he’s been learning in school about government and democracy.  With the trip being counted as a “field trip” for him instead of an absence, the schoolwork, including tests he’s missing, come with us. He is to complete them and return them for grading the Monday after we arrive home.

    He finishes and says, “Don’t check it, mom, that is Mrs. Armstrong’s (his teacher) job.”

    It’s like he knows I have the temptation to “check it” and justify “helping” him, which he knows is straight-up cheating.  I resist the urge to check it and put it away. Later I do check it, though.  He’s missed one.  And I again resist the urge to give it back to him and tell him, not the answer, but “Hey, why don’t you look at this one again?”  Still straight up cheating, but I’d be dishonest if I acted like the temptation to fix his mistakes and or help him make a perfect score isn’t there.

    And this temptation is also present in any leadership situation.

    The one he missed is an easy one, one that he just didn’t take his time on.  And knowing his biggest struggle in math is not getting the right answer, but taking his time to get the right answer, I silently think about ways to help him take his time without fixing his test so that he gets a 100 next time instead of a 98.

    But, I “allow” him to miss one and in the long run, he will be better for it. The perfect score isn’t nearly as important as him learning through doing things on his own and learning the consequences of not taking his time. And of course, most importantly, the hard lessons won in doing things with honesty and integrity learned through a leader modeling that behavior for him. Or wait, he actually modeled this for me first. 

    As we wrap up our posts on leading through skill and will, I think it warrants a pause in considering leading in the moment for short term gain versus leading for long term outcomes and results. Leading is a marathon, not a sprint.

    We practice leading through skill not to satisfy our own short-term needs, nor the short-term needs and desires of those we lead. We practice it because it is a process that fosters learning.  Learning that isn’t fleeting, but learning that is lasting and transferable across domains and that builds character.

    So the next time you have to diagnose someone’s skill and will and then use that knowledge to lead them, see yourself as their coach and teacher, not their boss (or parent).  

    Hopefully, the learning will come in the form of not just better skill acquisition and motivation but also with growth that lasts, growth that fosters transferable skills and integrity.

     

    How do you foster long-term learning and growth with those you lead?