Almost everyone knows that leadership is a lot easier to talk about than to do. Unlike management, which is easier to analyze and teach, leadership is more mystical and is often best learned by doing. There is a professor who begins his class by writing on the board, "Knowing is one thing; doing is another." Unfortunately, many of us know, or think we know, quite a bit that we do not do. This is especially true in terms of organizational dynamics.

Most organizations yearn to change in positive ways and directions, but the truth is that most change efforts fail. The key to effective change is effective leadership--leadership that is committed to creating a sense of urgency, developing a guiding coalition, and maintaining the focus, follow-through, and discipline to accomplish the desired change. Learning how to lead organizational change is a work in progress. It works best on the back of coalition initiatives that provide opportunities for teams to see and feel real progress and move ahead. It requires that leaders at all levels assess individual and team capabilities and work diligently and daily on building current strengths and mitigating weaknesses. Key elements entail honestly examining strategic vision, challenging fundamental assumptions about leadership, re-evaluating functional structures, and testing decision-making processes and outcomes.

For nearly three decades, we have helped a variety of organizations, profit and non-profit, public and private, through the change management process. While each such effort is unique, our role includes helping the senior team examine where it is and where it wants to go and developing an interactive plan on how to get there, while simultaneously helping the team and the organization get an honest inventory of its leadership capabilities. There is an old adage that says if you don't know where you're going, it doesn't make any different how you get there. That's true.

So step one is to work with the leadership team in getting an untainted assessment of where they are and then plot out a general course to get to the future goal. The map for this road trip cannot, however, be so rigid that it violates the fundamental nature and principles of the organization itself. It has to be sufficiently supple and responsive to engage other organizational constituencies, but disciplined enough to maintain momentum toward the change target. In fact, inability or unwillingness to sustain disciplined momentum is where many organizations fail. This is also where professional coaching and support are most critical in achieving successful organizational change and in simultaneously further developing leaders who are reinvigorated rather than exhausted in the process.

Leading change indeed is not easy, but its rewards are seldom matched. Developing Leaders.

With the salary administration program review and update season just around the corner, please let us know as early as possible if you plan to re-examine internal job relationship as part of the annual review process. Such internal reviews are commonly prompted by significant organizational change, including re-alignments, addition of new functions, growth, redefined jobs, and personnel changes.

Since full program reviews require re-examining internal job relationships, more time is required in the planning and preparation process to be sure salary review programs are completed before the new salary administration plan year is underway. Pay Right.

"Ninety-one percent of all ideas fail . . . ." Can you imagine that? Conception versus execution.

In working with client groups, it's always interesting and exciting to hear new ideas from employee groups for improving the way things works. What's really surprising is then to hear, "We brought that up a couple of years ago, but nothing ever happened?" "In fact, we are really good at encouraging and generating ideas, but for some reason we can't seem to get them implemented." It's an all too familiar refrain.

Someone once said that one mediocre idea executed is worth more than a million brilliant ideas unexecuted. In modern management parlance, this common problem is called the "Strategy-Execution Gap." It is a well worn subset of current management, leadership, and project management thinking and training in efforts to improve overall organizational performance. In terms of this article's title, it's as if we were putting our weapon into firing position (strategic planning), aiming (determining the goals), and then failing to pull the trigger. How many holes will there be in the target? The answer is clear and indisputable.

While there are lengthy and insightful articles on the reasons for this organizational problem, key factors include lack of commitment and discipline and under-developed or under-utilized communication. Encouraging and raising employee expectations without delivering results creates a sense of organizational impotence that dampens morale and esprit. Over time, this lack of recourse, which is often perceived as just a "feeling," will ultimately shutdown new ideas and sap organizational vitality.

While we recently notified our HRA Employee Handbook clients of the importance of Social Media Policy, we believe the subject bears repeating because of potential vulnerabilities. If you haven't reviewed your handbook in this and other areas of change such as FMLA, ADA, etc., you may find your policies need significant revision.

Recent National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) conclusions underscore the prudence of communicating guidelines for use of social media like Face Book and others in ways that could be harmful to employees or other constituencies, directly or indirectly. The case involved an employee terminated for making remarks about her supervisor on her Face Book page. The NLRB took the position that the employer violated the employee's rights since the communication took place during non-working time and without employer provided equipment. There were other allegations as well, including the employer's failure to allow the employee union representation during an investigation of the matter.

Along with company cyber policies governing employee use of employer-owned computers, Internet, email, phones, copiers, etc., you may want to articulate the company's position on the use of social media when there are implications for other employees, customers, and other constituencies. This area is, of course, sensitive since employers have limited influence when it comes to what employees do on their own time and equipment. On the other hand, providing no guidance on such matters where an employee may refer to the company, customers, or other employees can result in allegations of hostile work environment and other matters that negatively impact morale and organizational health in general. Plan ahead.

Warm regards

Dave Martin

610-869-4494

HRA Services, Inc.
www.hraservices.com