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How I see it

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GETTING EVERYBODY ON BOARD by Oren Harari (July, 2004) Often, when working with clients on strategic issues, after we finally shape some bold new initiatives that are likely to create real value, I get a variation of the following question: “This is great, but how do we get everybody on board?” The question is a valid one, because it recognizes that for any strategic initiative to succeed, everyone in an organization must be involved, enthused and committed. Yet for many managers, the very idea of mobilizing employees to strive for bold goals seems to be a strange and alien challenge. For this reason, I hereby offer four courses of action that will guarantee that your people will “get on board”, not simply show up for work. But be forewarned, you have to embrace all four paths; you can’t pick and choose. Secondly, be forewarned that these four paths aren’t easy ones—which I suppose is why good leaders aren’t as plentiful as investors would like. So whether you’re a CEO, a division general manager, or a department head, get ready, here they are: 1. Get curious. During his military career, Colin Powell made an interesting observation: “You’re a good leader when people follow only out of curiosity.” People follow when they believe that the leader is heading in a direction that’s unchartered, interesting, daring, audacious, or unorthodox. Conventional objectives like improving efficiency and boosting earnings are worthwhile and desirable, but on their own they rarely arouse passion. Remember-people don’t need to be inspired to come to work, but they do need to be inspired to “get on board”. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer puts it another way: “What makes morale good or bad is the sense of the future. Are we working on something important? Are we changing the world? Is that an opportunity to benefit financially? Those are the kinds of things that make a difference to people.” So examine your value proposition, your basic approach to your business, your products, and your relations with stakeholders. If you’re dealing with these issues in a conventional, same-old-same-old, or me-too manner, you’re unlikely to raise peoples’ passion. The first step in getting people “on board” is to raise their curiosity. 2. Open the windows. The great management sage Peter Drucker was once asked how he was able to foresee so many important business trends. His response: “I look out the window.” Too often, only a select few in a group or organization gain regular access to critical external information like new competitive trends, shifts in consumer desires, swings in capital markets, significant demographic changes, and the challenges and opportunities emerging from globalization and technological advance. But it’s precisely that accessibility that generates the urgency to change and the direction to march—for those select few who are in the know. But for everyone else, whose windows to the outside environment are closed and behind blinds, it’s business as usual. Since they’re not exposed to the same data that generates angst or enthusiasm among leaders, they don’t see any particular need to get on board when those same leaders call for a new way of doing things. Why fix it if it ain’t broke? It’s a logical question when you don’t see any data to suggest otherwise. Frequently, even relevant “internal” data like costs and expenses are tucked away from people. Is it any wonder they don’t see any urgency to change? So if you want people to get on board, help them open their windows and urge them to look at the world outside. Expose them to the same eye-opening information you have, and discuss it openly. If they don’t have the skills to analyze and interpret the data, then provide them with coaching and education. You don’t need to have a Ph.D to intelligently appraise a competitive analysis or a market research study. Remember—people get on board when they look outward and see for themselves the reasons for change. 3. Open the doors. Managers who work behind closed doors virtually insure that they’ll have problems in getting others on board. Closed doors—and the metaphor “closed door management”-- do not enhance communication, collaboration or esprit d’corp. On the contrary, they generate anxiety, uncertainty, insecurity, powerlessness, ignorance and skepticism among the very people whose cooperation is desired. At the same time, closed door management deludes leaders into thinking they’re in the loop with their people and can simply create collaboration and support by fiat. If you want people jumping on board, the solution is simple: open the doors. Keep your planning and decision-making processes as transparent and inclusive as possible—even when the subject matter is unpleasant. Tap into the brains, talents and spirits of the people whose commitment you’ll need to forge forward. As a leader, yes, set the tone, set the basic direction, set the basic value proposition, and involve others in business analysis, strategic thinking and operational problem-solving thereafter. If this sounds too alien, perhaps you need to rethink the kinds of people you’re hiring and promoting, and the kinds of tools and training you’re providing them. Make it a point to challenge any vestiges of closed door cultures: hierarchical power trips, turfism, information hoarding, and the like. Especially in a digital economy, where decentralized technology and the Internet allow immediate, unfiltered access to any data and any individual anywhere, closed door management creates barriers and friction that are completely counterproductive. To ride the wave of modern technology, and to rouse others to feel confident and desirous of forging forward, open the doors. 4. Start driving. In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins uses a bus as an excellent metaphor of a new strategic and cultural direction. Imagine a leader telling people that they must decide whether they want to get on the bus (embrace the new strategy/culture) or not. Let me take Collins’ metaphor a little further. At some point, once leaders have clearly articulated the new mission and have gone through steps 1, 2, and 3 above, they have the right to expect people to take personal responsibility for making a big decision: Are they going to get on board the bus or not? The leader’s job is to be inclusive (everyone’s invited on board), helpful (everyone will get tools, education and time to get over the learning curve), and reassuring (it’ll be scary, it’ll be exciting, and we’ll all go through it together). But at a certain point, it’s time for the leader to get behind the wheel and start driving away. Once the journey begins, the leader has to insure that the people on the bus are more satisfied than those who have chosen to stay behind. Those who are on board must get the most attractive educational opportunities, job and project assignments, career advancement opportunities, and pay increases. If the leader doesn’t differentiate properly between those who have chosen to board and those who haven’t, he or she will wind up insuring that the ones on bus become the most dissatisfied and cynical. By unapologetically reinforcing the critical mass of people on the bus, leaders bolster team spirit and team focus. They also send an unmistakable message to those who chose to stay behind: One, this bus is bound for glory, and two, you can still board if you want. But at a certain point, the bus stops are few and far between, and we might want to consider that you’ll be happier in another organization. So don’t procrastinate; start driving the bus, and tell everyone to get off their seat and help you weave through the inevitable bumps, potholes and thunderstorms. It’ll be an exhilarating journey to a profitable destination, and if you follow the four “rules” I’ve outlined, you won’t need to ask “how do I get everyone on board” ever again. << prev - -   July, 2004   - - next >>