Truth 46. A little formal recognition goes a long way

In his best-selling book, Emotional Intelligence, author Daniel Goleman cites the ease at which managers criticize an individual's performance—yet hold back on showing gratitude.

This is an important habit to break if you're a faulty praise practitioner.

Our ears enjoy a compliment. Often, it can make the difference in your attitude for the day. More so, as a motivational managerial tool, it can help you retain your best employees, as countless studies and workplace climate surveys indicate that paying attention to your team members, beyond money, is a significant key to their productivity and job satisfaction. In fact, the number one reason executives leave their jobs is a lack of praise and recognition.

As a manager, you must remember that everything you accomplish—change—is through people. And if you want to keep them happy and satisfied, recognizing your colleagues through expressions such as "Good job," "Way to go!" and "Thank you" must be a part of your verbal repertoire.

These words should come across with forethought and sincerity.

When you catch a team member doing something right—no matter how relatively slight it may seem—personally acknowledge it as soon as possible. To the extent possible, personally convey the message.

Too many words too often may come across as superficial; too little too late, and the linkage between the action and the praise is lost.

Where you praise an individual is as important as the act itself.

Libby Sartain, former vice president of people at Southwest Airlines, recounts when one of their pilots, Roger Way, successfully avoided what would have been a sure tragedy by deftly landing a plane with inoperable landing gear. As the story is told, Captain Way happened to be visiting the company's headquarters shortly thereafter. When word spread that he was in the building, an impromptu gathering involving hundreds of their employees was arranged in the lobby.

This public event not only gave Captain Way recognition for his extraordinary efforts, but it helped to generate goodwill and promote team-building.

How you pay attention to employees, including addressing workplace environmental concerns, provides you with many options.

In the classic Hawthorne studies conducted by Elton Mayo from 1927 to 1932 at a Western Electric manufacturing plant outside Chicago, many workplace variables were altered (lighting, rest periods, payment incentives, supervisory styles, and so on) with increases in productivity and morale resulting. Mayo concluded that job satisfaction increased as workers were given more freedom; that interaction and cooperation created a high level of cohesiveness; and that job satisfaction and productivity depended more on a feeling of self-worth than environment.

What you praise individuals for should be of significance, and it should be consistent with the organization's values. This will reinforce the behavior and set a tone for others.

Related to this, you should take every opportunity to share and give credit—commemorating the accomplishment of significant accomplishments or milestones. But don't dwell here unless you're at a journey's end, as you will need to refresh and refocus the team.

Also, the form of recognition is important, and it need not be costly. For, while many companies have budgets for recognition programs with every bell and whistle imaginable, your personalized efforts might include a handshake, a note of thanks, taking an employee to lunch, giving a voucher good for "dinner for two," a service award, a gift certificate, a special bonus, or spontaneous time off. Outside of work, sending a birthday card, sending flowers for an appropriate occasion, or attending a personal event—like a wedding or funeral—is all very appropriate.

Recognition isn't the only organizational determinant of job satisfaction and employee motivation (as others include the relationships with one's supervisor and peers, the perceived quality of supervision, the work itself, social stimulation, personal engagement, and working conditions), but it's critical for your managerial success.

 

Part X: The Truth About Sustenance

 

Truth 47. Your best investment is in... YOU

If you're standing still, you're falling behind.

As we have touched upon, visible and subtle change is happening all around us all the time. It impacts our business, the marketplace, our relationships, our work processes and practices, and our need to get results. The way we anticipate change, plan for it, digest it, and respond to it must change as well.

Education is the great equalizer. It provides you with the credentials that should open doors and open minds. It generates energy and perspective. It gives you new ideas, levels of understanding, and an appreciation for business complexities. In the best case, it also teaches you how to apply what you've learned.

But hitting the books isn't enough. You must explore other areas of continuous learning.

Anticipate

If you still use a VCR, you're in the slow lane. If it still blinks 12:00, that's a bigger problem.

Try to anticipate the next resource needs of your organization (technology, people, equipment, materials, services, and so on) and their potential organizational application. If possible, get ahead on the learning curve.

Be a consummate reader

On a daily basis, grab the newspaper and stay abreast of the day's business and political and headlines. Also, getting to the bookstore or browsing the Internet should allow you to find materials where you can refresh, close information gaps, or get acquainted within your function or industry.

Have curiosity

"What's become clear since we last met?" is a quote attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson. These few words outline the philosophical underpinning for life-long personal growth and professional development through curiosity and engagement.

Generally speaking, successful leaders have a natural curiosity about the organization that causes them to ask questions aimed at improving operational effectiveness and efficiency. If you do not have such curiosity, it would be wise to list this as an area for development, as it will serve you well in the long term.

Stay "linked" to your customer

Although very successful in the television industry, Andy Hill will be the first to tell you that he's a bit of a Hollywood outsider.

Several summers ago, Andy accompanied his son Aaron to a music arts camp in Michigan. In doing so, Andy, along with 1,500 young adults and 2,500 others of parenting age, attended the camp's Fourth of July concert. As the conductor introduced the traditional service academy songs, he invited all of the veterans in the audience to stand and be recognized. As the veterans rose, the 1,500 young adults spontaneously erupted into a standing ovation. There was likely not a dry eye to be found.

Why is this important? As Andy suggests, this was the target audience for the quality shows he was providing oversight for at CBS in the 1990s (Touched by an Angel, Walker, Texas Ranger, and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman). It wasn't for executives in New York and Los Angeles, but for the Midwestern folks with heartland values that he was rubbing elbows with on a steamy July night. Presumably, had Andy stayed within the confines of Hollywood that July, he would have missed both the personal bond of sharing that moment with his son, as well as the important input from the people whom his programming efforts were intended for.

Join professional associations

Pursue appropriate memberships and attend professional meetings. These are great opportunities for informational and experiential exchange.

Pursue training opportunities

A motivational speaker once asked an audience of mid-career professionals if they knew the difference between "training" and "education."

When no hands were raised, the speaker then asked how many in the audience were parents of teenagers. Many people nodded.

He then asked those parents if they preferred for their children to be taking a course titled "sexual education" or "sexual training."

His point was made.

Training represents the transfer of knowledge or skill. In attending various training courses—for leadership, technical proficiency, or personal effectiveness—your challenge is to convert the course materials to action—as opposed to allowing them to collect dust on a shelf.

Keep your network alive

As previously mentioned, keep a small trusted circle of external advisors and counselors in your address book. Reach out as needed. Better yet, advise them on how best they can help you. Likewise, certain coworkers can provide expertise, opinion, or assistance in reading the cultural tea leaves.

Be bold

Jim Whittaker, the first American to climb Mount Everest, observed, "You never conquer the mountain. You conquer yourself—your doubts and your fears."

What are your professional fears, and how will you tackle them?

 

Truth 48. Your title is manager; your job is teacher

As much as you may think or hope, sending your adolescent child to a sports camp for a couple weeks doesn't necessarily mean that he or she will be the next Michael Jordan or Billie Jean King.

This same principle holds true at work.

As a manager, you have a vested interest in enhanced employee proficiency and shared learning. These are prerequisites for the production of high-quality products and services. When all team members are skilled and qualified in the activities and processes they're required to perform, there will be fewer errors/corrections, higher productivity, and greater employee satisfaction/morale.

Your challenge in this regard is twofold: to determine whom to invest in and how much.

Start by selecting the "right" people to develop.

Within your organization, there are people dedicated to the customer. They have a results-orientation. They're technically competent and have a high aptitude for learning. Their attributes include enthusiasm, a desire to make a difference, commitment, and the highest standards for excellence. They're your best performers. They welcome "stretch" objectives. These are the employees—your "A" players, who deserve your time and attention.

How do you invest in these people?

First, consider the learning methodology preferred by the individual. People learn and become motivated in different ways—including seeing and reading; listening and speaking; and touching and doing. Work with each individual to determine his strength and maximize the opportunity for learning accordingly. For example, kinesthetic learners favor special projects, committee involvement, job sharing, job rotation, shadowing, simulations and modeling, and role-playing. On the other hand, visual learners prefer independent learning, case studies, classroom experience, observation, learning maps, study sabbaticals, and white papers.

Second, share and apply the learning.

Comedian Sam Levenson once stated, "You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can't possibly live long enough to make them all yourself."

Case in point, Tom Watson, Sr., IBM's founder, handled a promising executive's failed business gamble not by firing him but by suggesting that the company had just invested $10 million—the cost of his business blunder—in his education. Watson understood that experience is the best teacher and that individual and collective learning may be derived from failure and success alike.

Third, learn how to teach.

Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden has a wonderful sign over his desk that reads, "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts."

Quite an instructor in his own right, Wooden pushed hard and demanded the most. He boiled teaching down to four basic components that are universal in application:

• Demonstration— This is providing someone with a pragmatic example to follow. Be it how to bank a 15-foot jumper or how to make a sales cold call, followers are shown or told of the proper technique to execute their responsibilities. For this step to have maximum effectiveness, leaders must provide rationale, tools, and related resources.
• Imitation— This involves initial trial, trying to reproduce and apply what has been demonstrated.
• Correction— This entails enhanced trial, with the goal of eliminating deviations.
• Repetition— This requires performing the task over and over, striving for quality and perfection with each attempt.

These four components may be used for teaching basketball, the alphabet, skilled carpentry, and finance. Use them, embrace them, and share them.

Fourth, provide appropriate encouragement.

In a recent interview, former New York Giant quarterback Phil Simms touched on the topic of encouragement. It seemed Phil was taking the field before a big game, feeling some anticipatory jitters—which became amplified as his fiery coach, Bill Parcells, approached him.

However, rather than the coach badgering Phil of his day's "to-do's," Parcells told Phil that if he did not throw at least a couple of interceptions, he would not be trying hard enough.

That comment broke the tension, instilled confidence, and provided encouragement for Simms to put forth the needed effort.

 

Truth 49. Trying to be all things to all people is a slippery slope

Did you know that Karoh-shi is the Japanese word meaning "death by overwork," and it's recognized as a cause of mortality?

Alex was hired into a position of significant organizational authority. New to this role, he could say "no" to no one, and he devoted the majority of his waking hours to his work—trying to quickly make a name. Unfortunately, he also held others to this standard and publicly berated those who failed to do so. It got to the point, over time, where nervous breakdowns, anxiety attacks, and increased absenteeism and turnover on his team became the rules—not the exceptions.

Despite numerous interventions by head of human resources and threats by the CEO, Alex's promises to amend his ways were empty. In fact, he pushed himself and those remaining even harder. As further consequence, not only did his once-promising career suffer a major setback (as he was eventually terminated), but also his largely ignored personal life also crashed and burned. Three marriages, children with significant drug issues, legal mishaps, ethical lapses, and health concerns all transpired. Ultimately, he relocated to other pastures, running from a closet full of skeletons.

Alex's mistakes were many, but the root cause of his problems was his inability to identify and focus on what should have been his main concerns.

While it sounds easy to prioritize your time and attention, it's not. Many parties and interests, in many directions, are pulling at you during times of change—inside and outside of work. This is why you must be concerned with where and how you're spending your time.

Where your time is spent may be addressed with a threefold approach.

First, take a brief personal inventory of how you spend your time—on and off the job—from the alarm clock's call. Allowing time for eating, grooming, and some basic chores, you may be surprised at some of the findings when you look at a week's snapshot.

Second, on a daily basis, make a to-do list—ranking activities in terms of importance and urgency, and allowing some time for crisis management. Anticipate deadlines and practice self-discipline. Try to stick to the list. This can keep you on task and give you a sense of accomplishment as activities are completed.

Third, on a longer term basis, avoid spreading yourself too thin by making an index card your best friend. On this card, list your key five or six current life priorities (family, work, school, professional development, gym time, piano, fishing, and so on) and place the card in a visible place by your desk. Refer to it frequently. If where you are spending the majority of your time isn't on or related to this prioritized list, why are you doing it?

You may actually find this index card exercise to be personally invigorating, particularly if you involve others in the creation process.

As far as how your time is spent, you need to manage peaks and valleys (everything can't be a fire drill) and hone your skills of delegation.

Delegation is critical. It helps you develop your team and ultimately plan for succession. It also helps people grow and become motivated. Finally, it helps you balance your workload, as well as others'.

To delegate effectively, you must be comfortable in giving up control (though not responsibility) for a task. You must also have confidence in the ability of others to help. Like all areas of performance management, this involves assigning the task, setting expectations, providing resources, outlining timetables, and establishing feedback loops.

Delegation initially works best for simple tasks. As your faith and confidence grow in others, you may delegate more complex assignments. Be sure to ask the individual if she's comfortable with the responsibility and authority that you're giving. Your range of delegation runs the gamut of asking someone to analyze a situation to having her determine and implement the corrective measures necessary.

Closing Thoughts

Bob Dylan was right then, and he is right now: The Times They Are A-Changin'.

These turbulent times demand a range of professional challenges and accountabilities. For management, you must provide purpose, set direction, organize and engage followers, enhance performance and productivity, and get results. Managing change is complex, fast-paced, and dynamic, and it involves many activities such as coaching, supervising, and disciplining. By role, it may be described with equal parts of words and actions.

The purpose of this book is to dispel some of the myths about managing organizational change by blending some how-to human resources guidance with contemporary research. It's my sincere hope that I've accomplished these outcomes and that you will join me in constantly pushing the envelope to find and share ways to make us better managers, and by consequence, to make our workplaces more satisfying, enjoyable, and productive.

 

References

Providing context

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Truth 1

AIS: The American Institute of Stress. "Job stress." Retrieved February 9, 2007 from www.stress.org

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Truth 2

Bennis, W. G., & Nanus, B. (1997). Leaders: Strategies for Taking Charge (Second ed.). New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., p. 37–39.

Coles, R. (2001). Lives of Moral Leadership: Men and Women Who Have Made a Difference. New York: Random House, p. 129.

Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (1995). The Leadership Challenge: How to Get Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers, p. 214.

Kuczmarski, S. S. & Kuczmarski, T.D. (1995). Values-based Leadership: Rebuilding Employee Commitment, Performance & Productivity. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc., p. 109.

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Truth 3

Bolles, R. N. (1996). What Color Is Your Parachute? Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, p. 174–175.

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Truth 4

Watkins, M. (2003). The First 90 Days. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. p. 216–223.

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Truth 5

Hackman, J. R. (2002) Leading Teams: Setting the Stage for Great Performances. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, p. 223–225.

Truth 6

Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School. p. 25–31.

Truth 7

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Hiam, A. (2003). Motivational Management. American Management Association: New York, p. 28–31; 82–83, 160–163.

Truth 8

Hyland, P. (personal communication, July 4, 2006).

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Society for Human Resource Management (global forum). 2002 Global Leadership Survey, Alexandria, VA.

Truth 9

Watkins, M. (2003). The First 90 Days. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing.

Truth 10

Sartain, L., & Finney, M. (2003). HR from the Heart. American Management Association: New York. p. 28–29.

Watkins, M. (2003). The First 90 Days. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. p. 106–113.

Truth 11

Friedman, T. L. (2006). The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century. New York: Farrer, Straus and Giroux.

Truth 14

Bennis, W. G., & Townsend, R. (1995). Reinventing Leadership: Strategies to Empower the Organization. New York: William Morrow Company, p. 37.

Collins, J. C. (2001). Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., p. 118–119.

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Hamel, G., & Prahalad, C. K. (1994). Competing for the Future: Breakthrough Strategies for Seizing Control of Your Industry and Creating the Markets for Tomorrow. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, p. 16–17.

Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School, p. 68–69, 72.

Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (1995). The Leadership Challenge: How to Get Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers, p. 97, 124.

White, R. March 29, 2007, private conversation.

Truth 15

Badaracco, J. L., & Ellsworth, R. R (1989). Leadership and the Quest for Integrity. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, p. 49.

Mercer Delta Consulting, LLC. (1998). "The congruence model: a roadmap for understanding organizational performance." Mercer Delta Insights. New York: Mercer Delta Consulting, LLC, p. 6.

Price Waterhouse Change Integration Team. (1995). Better Change: Best Practices for Transforming Your Organization. New York: Irwin Professional Publishing. p. 7–10.

Tregoe, B., Zimmerman, J. W., Smith, R.A., & Tobia, P. (1989). Vision in Action: Putting a Winning Strategy to Work. New York: Simon & Schuster, p. 38.

Truth 16

Hiam, A. (2003). Motivational Management. New York: American Management Association, p. 89.

Price Waterhouse Change Integration Team. (1995). Better Change: Best Practices for Transforming Your Organization. New York: Irwin Professional Publishing. p. 15–21.

Truth 17

Bennis, W. G. et al. (advisory board). (2002). Business: The Ultimate Resource. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing, p. 1044.

Blanchard, K., & O'Connor, M. (1997). Managing by Values. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., p. 39–44.

Coles, R. (2001). Lives of Moral Leadership: Men and Women Who Have Made a Difference. New York: Random House, p. 129.

Collins, J., & Porras, J. I. (2002). Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., p. 48.

Collins, J. C. (2001). Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., p. 195.

Gittell, J. H. (2003). The Southwest Airlines Way, McGraw-Hill, New York, p. 42.

Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (1995). The Leadership Challenge: How to Get Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers, p. 213–215.

Kuczmarski, S. S., & Kuczmarski, T. D. (1995). Values-based Leadership: Rebuilding Employee Commitment, Performance & Productivity. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc., p. 53–58.

Maister, D. (1997). True Professionalism: The Courage to Care About Your People, Your Clients, and Your Career. New York: The Free Press, p. 75.

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Truth 18

Bennis, W. G., & Townsend, R. (1995). Reinventing Leadership: Strategies to Empower the Organization. New York: William Morrow Company, p. 130–136.

Catell, R. B., Moore, K., & Rifkin, G. (2004). The CEO and The Monk: One Company's Journey to Profit and Purpose. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

O'Toole, J. (1996). Leading Change—The Argument for Values-Based Leadership. New York: Ballantine Books, p. 74–75.

Truth 19

Crawford, V. (1988). From Confucius to Oz. Singapore; Landmark Books. p. 80.

Truth 20

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Tubbs, S. L., & Moss, S. (1977). Human communication. New York: Random House, Inc., p. 13.

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Truth 22

Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School, p. 115.

Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (1995). The Leadership Challenge: How to Get Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers, p. 124–126.

Truth 23

Bjelland, O. M. (1994). Organizing for global renewal. The Performance Agenda—Managing Change in the New Economy. Oslo, Norway: The Performance Group, p. 51–64.

DePree, M. (1992). Leadership Jazz. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., p. 26–32.

Hamel, G., & Prahalad, C. K. (1994). Competing for the Future: Breakthrough Strategies for Seizing Control of Your Industry and Creating the Markets for Tomorrow. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, p. 66.

Mercer Delta Consulting, LLC. (1998). "The Congruence Model: A Roadmap for Understanding Organizational Performance." Mercer Delta Insights. New York: Mercer Delta Consulting, LLC, p. 2–8.

Price Waterhouse Change Integration Team. (1995). Better Change: Best Practices for Transforming Your Organization. New York: Irwin Professional Publishing, p. 105–107.

Truth 24

Haigh, W. T. (1996). "Effective retention strategies." Overview presented at the annual conference for the International Association of Corporate and Professional Recruitment, Philadelphia, p. 4.

Hamel, G., & Prahalad, C. K. (1994). Competing for the Future: Breakthrough Strategies for Seizing Control of Your Industry and Creating the Markets for Tomorrow. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, p. 245.

Smart, B. D., & Smart, G. H. (1997). "Topgrading the organization." Directors & Boards. Spring.

Watkins, M. (2003). The First 90 Days. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing, p. 162–167, 170–171.

Truth 25

Bennis, W. G. et al. (advisory board). (2002). Business: The Ultimate Resource. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing, p. 1125.

Sartain, L., & Finney, M. (2003). HR from the Heart. American Management Association: New York. p. 106–107.

Truth 26

Lockwood, P. J. (personal communication, March 30, 2007).

Tomassi, K. D. "Most common resume lies." Forbes.com. Retrieved May 23, 2006 from http://www.forbes.com/2006/05/20/resume-lies-work_cx_kdt_06work_0523lies_print.html

Truth 27

Grove, C., & Hallowell, W. (2002). "Diversity in business." Alexandria, VA: Society for Human Resource Management. Retrieved in June from http://shrm.org/hrresources/whitepapers_published/CMS_000235.asp#P-4_0

Hastings, R. (2006). "Research shows business benefits from diversity." Alexandria, VA: Society for Human Resource Management. August, p. 1. Retrieved from www.shrm.org/diversity/library-published/nonIC/CMS_018181.asp.

D. Pelz, "Some Social Factors Related to Performance in a Research Organization," Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 1, 1956.

L. Hoffman & N. Maier, "Quality and Acceptance of Problem Solutions by Members of Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Groups," Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, Vol. 62, 1961.

D. Hambrick & P. Mason, "Upper Echelons: The Organization as a Reflection of Top Managers," Academy of Management Review, Vol. 9, 1984.

P. McLeod & S. Lobel, "Effects of Ethnic Diversity on Idea Generation in Small Groups," paper presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management, 1992.

W. Watson et al., "Cultural Diversity's Impact on Process and Performance," Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 36, 1993.

Truth 28

Bliss, W. G. (2004). "Executive assimilation." Alexandria, VA: Society of Human Resource Management, November.

Truth 29

Downs, A. "Downsizing with dignity: more pitfalls of downsizing." Retrieved March 13, 2006 from http://humanresources.about.com/od/layoffsdownsizing/a/downsizing_2.htm

Downs, A. "Downsizing with dignity: you can downsize with care—for people and the business." Retrieved March 13, 2006 from http://humanresources.about.com/od/layoffsdownsizing/a/downsizing.htm

Gittell, J. H. (2003). The Southwest Airlines Way. New York: McGraw-Hill, p. 243.

Sartain, L., & Finney, M. (2003). HR from the Heart. New York: American Management Association, p. 224–228.

Truth 30

NJ Department of Personnel (July 1998). Certified Public Managers Program, Learner's Guide, Module 3, p. 12 of 46.

Schaeffer, L. D. (October 2002). "The Leadership Journey." Harvard Business Review. p. 42–47.

Society for Human Resource Management (2005). The SHRM Learning System, Section 3: Alexandria, VA: Human Resources Development.

Truth 31

Arul, M. J. "Powers of power." Institute of Rural Management, Anand. Retrieved March 20, 2007 from http://members.tripod.com/~arulmj/powers.html

Hackman, J. R. (2002). Leading Teams: Setting the Stage for Great Performances. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, p. 154–155.

McClelland, D. C., & Burnham, D. H. (1976). "Power is the great motivator." Harvard business review, 54 (2); p. 100–110 as noted by Arul.

Truth 32

Buckingham, M. (March 2005). "What great managers do." Harvard business review, p. 72.

Gittell, J. H. (2003). The Southwest Airlines Way. New York: McGraw-Hill, p. 204.

Hackman, J. R. (2002) Leading Teams: Setting the Stage for Great Performances. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, p. 95.

Price Waterhouse Change Integration Team (1995). Better Change: Best Practices for Transforming Your Organization. New York: Irwin Professional Publishing. p. 171–181.

Sirota, D., Mischkind, L. A., and Meltzer, M. I. (January 2006). "Stop demotivating your employees!" Harvard management update, 11 (1), p. 1.

Townsend, P., & Gebhardt, J. (1997). Five-Star Leadership: The Art and Strategy of Creating Leaders at Every Level. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., p. 131.

Truth 33

Bacal, R. (2000–2006). "Performance enhancement: diagnosing performance problems." Retrieved from http://performance-appraisals.org/Bacalsappraisalarticles/articles/diagper.htm

Carnegie, D. (1981). How to Win Friends and Influence People. (Second ed.). New York: Pocket Books, p. 207-208.

Truth 34

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Truth 35

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Truth 48

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About the Author

William S. Kane is a highly accomplished human resources executive with experience in all aspects of global functional management. He has specific expertise in leading, planning, and executing the human capital strategy associated with profitable business transformations—including startups, large-scale mergers and acquisitions, and enterprise-wide stabilization and repositioning.

Bill has held senior positions for a variety of multinational industrial leaders, such as International Flavors and Fragrances Inc., Electrolux/Frigidaire, and FMC Corporation—companies with sales volumes ranging from $250 million to $17 billion, with more than 100,000 employees. He's presently the vice president of human resources and general administration for Kyowa Pharmaceutical in Princeton, NJ.

Bill is an adjunct professor in the MAOB graduate-level certificate program in leadership studies at Fairleigh Dickinson University, as well as a frequent guest lecturer at Montclair State University and at Rutgers University. His professional memberships include the New Jersey Human Resource Planning Group (NJHRPG), the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and the national Academy of Management (AOM). He's also a mentor in the nationally recognized leadership program for Women Unlimited and in the Beyond the Banks executive program at Rutgers College.

Bill's perspective on matters of corporate responsibility and human resources has been featured in USA Today, National Business Employment Weekly, and The Financial Times. He has also appeared at New Jersey gubernatorial press conferences, New Jersey congressional hearings, and at forums sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Labor and the New Jersey Network.

Bill is currently studying for his Ph.D. in human and organization development at the Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California. As an extension of his academic efforts, Bill has collaborated with John Wooden, UCLA's Coach Emeritus, and Andy Hill, authors of the best-selling book Be Quick But Don't Hurry, to create and conduct management training seminars for corporate clients, civic groups, and students seeking to lead their teams toward optimized and sustained performance (www.woodenwayleadership.com).

Bill holds three master's degrees: an MA from Fielding in human and organization development, and an MBA in management and an MA in organizational psychology from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He earned his undergraduate degree from Rutgers College.

Bill is a resident of Westfield, New Jersey. He may be contacted at [email protected].

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank several people for their faith in me during this project, including

Coach John Wooden and Andy Hill for their confidence and enthusiasm.

Jennifer Simon of Pearson for this opportunity.

Russ Hall and John D. Kammeyer-Mueller for their editorial eyes.

Rob Gilbert and Richard White for their faith and prodding, and sounding-board guidance.

My professional colleagues Andy O'Connor (Jr. and Sr.), Carolyn Ott, Frank Palma, Kathy Strickland, Dale Winston, Laurie Murphy, Marcia Glatman, Emil Vogel, Bob Mintz, Keith Mullin, Phil Masin, Mike Brenner, Susan Bishop, Stuart Lipper, and Bob Marino.

My academic advisors of influence through the years: Bob Chell, Paul Strauss, Keith Melville, and Charlie Seashore.

Some present and former coworkers, especially Bill Cassidy, Jerry Senion, John Warren, David Owen, Tom Moran, Raj Sinha, Dick Furlaud, Paul Maccaro, Shigeru Kobayashi, Phil Chaikin, and Phyllis Lockwood.

Friends Jim Johnson, Terri Freeman, Bob Cahill, Laura and Rodger Studwell, Bob Lackaye, Tom Decker, Rick Elliott, Bret Schundler, Neil Horne, the late Gary Kehler, Holly Robertson, Franci Ferguson, George Clay, and the late Pat Hyland.

Brothers Dennis and Bob; and especially David for his ongoing support.

Sons Billy, David, and Michael for their tolerance and patience.

My wife Coleen for her love and endless encouragement that withstood many of my tests.

My late mother for her heart; my father for his lap.

You're all very special.