Leadership
Aug. 31st, 2012 01:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_sn0wygooseHave you ever wondered why there is such discontentment in employment? Even today when employment rates globally are at historic high levels, there are employees whom dream of nothing but walking out on their employment situation and bid their tyrannical overload superior a short and acetic adu. Here is a rather funny but quite sad example.
A colleague of mine at the Law Firm of Armand Legg(*) regaled me with a story about how she was appointed by her section to be on the United Way Committee and what happened during the “kick off” meeting; which is the initial planning meeting for the fundraising events.
For those of you who don’t know A) what the United Way is; and B) Why it’s not a good thing; let me explain. First, the United Way is an umbrella organization which raises monies for community based social services. Laudable and noble in its’ efforts. But, those whom are assigned to be on the United Way Committee usually must entice and cajole their colleagues into giving money or organizing events which will produce organizational giving. Normally not a post of honor – like a used car salesperson to an unsuspecting customer.
But, I digress.
My colleague began her tale with the normal chaos associated with a luncheon meeting, finding the line, selecting a plate, serving your selections. No one really wanted to be there, and the lunch provided was really a Pro Forma to foster a sense of camaraderie before the drudgery began.
Then she said something odd and amazing, she said that Attorneys and Secretaries began re-arraigning the chafing dishes, the office administrator instead of directing the staff person who set up the room to bring more tables and chairs, began without a word to change the set up. And the staff person whom was in charge of setting up was left standing bewilderment.
This struck me as odd; I thought, why would you do this during the luncheon? Why not ask the staff person to change if something was not working or had planned in advance to change on the fly?
If this were the only indicator of something not quite right, it would be enough for any business consultant to zero in on the mechanics of leadership and what was missing from the equation.
But it was not.
What happened next was the truest indicator of something rather wrong with the structure under the veneer of paneling. She said, many of the secretaries and staff members began voicing discontent over a proposed change in the buy-in where you can purchase for a monthly donation the opportunity to wear casual clothing on Friday. A lot of resentment poured into the room from this discussion; such as why did the Attorneys win all the raffles and never the staff; why the bidding during the auction, the largest fundraising event during the United Way compaign, traditionally exceeded most staff members budges within the first 15 seconds of bidding? And most galling for the staff was why during the United Way campaign only fraction of the Attorneys participated and nearly all of the staff contributed the work?
These were only the tip of what was disclosed by my friend’s story; there was much more.
But I think you can see the point - that there are some management employer relation issues boiling over. Anyone who has serviced under Arms understands what was wrong; anyone who has worked for a Sigma 6 company knows; or anyone who has worked for a fantastic core-competency company knows what was wrong. And before my conservative friends can make the argument that the Attorneys generate all the revenue, are entitled to the perks, and therefore should make the rules; let me say this, what are the rules the Attorneys are making and are those rules and expectations clearly expressed in writing and in action to the staff? If those rules and expectations exist, why were they not clearly communicated in coaching and in action? And lastly, why did they interfere instead of letting the staff DO THEIR JOB?
Employees want to be lead; want to know where their leaders are taking them; desire to know what exactly their jobs are and what is needed to do the job; and want to perform the job with the leeway to make corrections if something does not work.
It does not happen overnight, and it does not happen without all of management agreeing on a common shared goal. It takes time and long-term commitments.
For example, written job duties and do they clearly note what is going to happen without any vague language. In those duties, clearly write out what is expected from the staff to encourage optimal performance, and what intrinsic rewards can the staff expect (such as public recognition of their efforts, or a thank you note or card, or just someone saying, “You did a great job”).
Using the luncheon as an example, what were the exact duties for setting up a luncheon and did they have a clear understanding of what could happen if more people showed up (or should they be permitted to show up if the rules were not clearly noted to reply by such a time or don’t come by). From my colleague’s story, it appears none of these questions were asked or written out before the luncheon.
Another point here was why wasn’t the staff people asked to make changes? By doing the re-arranging themselves, they clearly communicated to staff that their actions were not welcomed, wanted, appreciated, or they had the skill to correct the situation. Simple ask bring in more chairs, tables, and serving ware to accommodate the additional people. And if the chafing dishes were not accessible, ask the staff to make the change; that’s what the staff is there for, to ensure the event was correct. In short, HANDS OFF; use your words. Another way to have handled this situation was to advise in advance that some changes may be required at the last minute and they should have the leeway to make changes and corrections as needed; in short, if they see more people than was arranged, let them make the decision to add more and back their decisions with encourage for taking initiative.
Now, not every Law firm will adhere to the principals of leadership. Some will continue to manage as does Armand Legg. But, some will take the lead in the 21st century and focus on more leadership – definition, expectations, and initiative. And those will be the firms to watch out for.
In the meantime, I gave my colleague the name of a great head-hunter.
* = Armand Legg is not a real firm.
A colleague of mine at the Law Firm of Armand Legg(*) regaled me with a story about how she was appointed by her section to be on the United Way Committee and what happened during the “kick off” meeting; which is the initial planning meeting for the fundraising events.
For those of you who don’t know A) what the United Way is; and B) Why it’s not a good thing; let me explain. First, the United Way is an umbrella organization which raises monies for community based social services. Laudable and noble in its’ efforts. But, those whom are assigned to be on the United Way Committee usually must entice and cajole their colleagues into giving money or organizing events which will produce organizational giving. Normally not a post of honor – like a used car salesperson to an unsuspecting customer.
But, I digress.
My colleague began her tale with the normal chaos associated with a luncheon meeting, finding the line, selecting a plate, serving your selections. No one really wanted to be there, and the lunch provided was really a Pro Forma to foster a sense of camaraderie before the drudgery began.
Then she said something odd and amazing, she said that Attorneys and Secretaries began re-arraigning the chafing dishes, the office administrator instead of directing the staff person who set up the room to bring more tables and chairs, began without a word to change the set up. And the staff person whom was in charge of setting up was left standing bewilderment.
This struck me as odd; I thought, why would you do this during the luncheon? Why not ask the staff person to change if something was not working or had planned in advance to change on the fly?
If this were the only indicator of something not quite right, it would be enough for any business consultant to zero in on the mechanics of leadership and what was missing from the equation.
But it was not.
What happened next was the truest indicator of something rather wrong with the structure under the veneer of paneling. She said, many of the secretaries and staff members began voicing discontent over a proposed change in the buy-in where you can purchase for a monthly donation the opportunity to wear casual clothing on Friday. A lot of resentment poured into the room from this discussion; such as why did the Attorneys win all the raffles and never the staff; why the bidding during the auction, the largest fundraising event during the United Way compaign, traditionally exceeded most staff members budges within the first 15 seconds of bidding? And most galling for the staff was why during the United Way campaign only fraction of the Attorneys participated and nearly all of the staff contributed the work?
These were only the tip of what was disclosed by my friend’s story; there was much more.
But I think you can see the point - that there are some management employer relation issues boiling over. Anyone who has serviced under Arms understands what was wrong; anyone who has worked for a Sigma 6 company knows; or anyone who has worked for a fantastic core-competency company knows what was wrong. And before my conservative friends can make the argument that the Attorneys generate all the revenue, are entitled to the perks, and therefore should make the rules; let me say this, what are the rules the Attorneys are making and are those rules and expectations clearly expressed in writing and in action to the staff? If those rules and expectations exist, why were they not clearly communicated in coaching and in action? And lastly, why did they interfere instead of letting the staff DO THEIR JOB?
Employees want to be lead; want to know where their leaders are taking them; desire to know what exactly their jobs are and what is needed to do the job; and want to perform the job with the leeway to make corrections if something does not work.
It does not happen overnight, and it does not happen without all of management agreeing on a common shared goal. It takes time and long-term commitments.
For example, written job duties and do they clearly note what is going to happen without any vague language. In those duties, clearly write out what is expected from the staff to encourage optimal performance, and what intrinsic rewards can the staff expect (such as public recognition of their efforts, or a thank you note or card, or just someone saying, “You did a great job”).
Using the luncheon as an example, what were the exact duties for setting up a luncheon and did they have a clear understanding of what could happen if more people showed up (or should they be permitted to show up if the rules were not clearly noted to reply by such a time or don’t come by). From my colleague’s story, it appears none of these questions were asked or written out before the luncheon.
Another point here was why wasn’t the staff people asked to make changes? By doing the re-arranging themselves, they clearly communicated to staff that their actions were not welcomed, wanted, appreciated, or they had the skill to correct the situation. Simple ask bring in more chairs, tables, and serving ware to accommodate the additional people. And if the chafing dishes were not accessible, ask the staff to make the change; that’s what the staff is there for, to ensure the event was correct. In short, HANDS OFF; use your words. Another way to have handled this situation was to advise in advance that some changes may be required at the last minute and they should have the leeway to make changes and corrections as needed; in short, if they see more people than was arranged, let them make the decision to add more and back their decisions with encourage for taking initiative.
Now, not every Law firm will adhere to the principals of leadership. Some will continue to manage as does Armand Legg. But, some will take the lead in the 21st century and focus on more leadership – definition, expectations, and initiative. And those will be the firms to watch out for.
In the meantime, I gave my colleague the name of a great head-hunter.
* = Armand Legg is not a real firm.
