July 4th Friday Freetime
By Michelle Malay Carter on July 4, 2008
Today is Independence Day in the US.
Went to the beach yesterday. Fishing and fireworks today.
I’ll catch back up with you next week.
Filed Under Requisite Organization | Leave a Comment
What Does Managerial Leadership Look Like? A Requisite Approach
By Michelle Malay Carter on July 2, 2008
Elliott Jaques’ Requisite Organization model does a great job of defining a set managerial leadership behaviors which, within a Requisite Organization leadership framework, would become explicit accountabilities of all managers.
- Two way managerial teamworking
- Context setting
- Planning
- Task assignment
- Personal effectiveness appraisal of direct reports
- Merit review
- Coaching
- Selection and induction
- Deselection and dismissal
- Continuous improvement
Simple? Yes. Practiced? Maybe
These practices are simple on their face, but remember, systems drive behavior. Therefore, an organization’s leadership system (or lack thereof) has a huge influence upon whether these behaviors can occur and do occur.
I’m OK. You’re OK. Let’s fix the system.
Does your manager carry out these practices? Do you? Does your leadership system specify and reinforce these behaviors?
Filed Under Accountability, Corporate Values, Employee Engagement, Executive Leadership, Managerial Leadership, Organization Design, Requisite Organization, Strategy, Talent Management | Leave a Comment
Why Perfect Candidates Still Fail on the Job
By Michelle Malay Carter on June 29, 2008
Recruiting Effectiveness Metrics
I recently read a blogger proposing that recruiters should be measured not only by how many slots are filled or how quickly the slots are filled, but also by the first year’s performance of the candidates they place. I agree that how many and how quickly will not tell the whole story, but neither will candidate performance in the role.
An Inadequate and Unfair Measure
Candidate performance would not be a fair measure for recruiter effectiveness because once the candidate is placed, the candidate’s performance will be highly contingent upon their manager’s effectiveness and their manager’s cognitive capability.
A person can be perfectly suited for a role as it is defined and still not be effective or productive on the job.
The Manager’s Role in Employee Effectiveness
The manager defines and assigns the work. The manager provides the context. The manager allocates the resources. The manager judges the performance. The manager gives feedback. The manager coordinates the work of his direct report team.
When a manager cannot or will not do all of these managerial leadership accountabilities, the performance and effectiveness of the employee will suffer. More on the cannot and will not in my next post.
We Employee People To Make Judgments, not Calculations
Try as we might, we will never be able to measure effectiveness via metrics. Effectiveness must be judged. Metrics calculate; leaders make judgments.
I’m OK. You’re OK. Let’s fix the system.
I am Not My Metrics
Have you ever had your “metrics” imply you were ineffective?
Filed Under Accountability, Corporate Values, Employee Engagement, Executive Leadership, Managerial Leadership, Organization Design, Requisite Organization, Talent Management, Work Levels | 4 Comments
Can We “Luck” Our Way into Effective Organization Structure? A Friday Funny
By Michelle Malay Carter on June 26, 2008
If we don’t really understand work levels or human cognitive capability in terms of levels, what do you think the probability is that we will luck our way into effective organizational structure to carry out our strategy and live our values?
As probable as this, I suspect…
I’m OK. You’re OK. Let’s fix the system! It starts with design not default!
Filed Under Corporate Values, Executive Leadership, Requisite Organization, Strategy, Work Levels | 1 Comment
If I’m Not What I Do, Who Am I?
By Michelle Malay Carter on June 25, 2008
I took a values inventory from Values Technology and received my initial feedback today.
One of the questions I was asked is, what question defines where you are at the moment? My question that I have been pondering for about 5 years is:
If I’m not what I do, who am I?
Can you answer that question for yourself?
Filed Under Corporate Values, Personal Observation | 5 Comments
Michelle Malay Carter Interview on the Epic Living Hour
By Michelle Malay Carter on June 23, 2008
As promised, here is my Friday interview with Eric Pennington on his Epic Living Hour radio show.
I’m OK. You’re OK. Let’s fix the system.
Filed Under Corporate Values, Employee Engagement, Executive Leadership, Felt Fair Compensation, Managerial Leadership, Organization Design, Requisite Organization, Talent Management, Work Levels | Leave a Comment
Anticipation - Are You a Penguin or a Polar Bear? A Friday Funny
By Michelle Malay Carter on June 20, 2008
If Friday is the last day of the workweek in your part of the world, I hope you are excited about the prospect of some relaxation, recreation, and rejuvenation this weekend.
But my greater hope would be that on Monday morning, you would have that same sense of optimistic anticipation as you return to work. For about 80% of workers, this is not the case. My optimistic anticipation when I head into my office to work is to change that heartbreaking statistic.
Come Monday morning, are you a penguin or a polar bear? Watch the video below and take 43 seconds today for a smile. (Audio alert: There is music with this video, if you don’t want to share, turn down your volume.)
Filed Under Employee Engagement, Requisite Organization | Leave a Comment
Join Me at BlogTalkRadio’s The Epic Living Hour - Friday, June 20
By Michelle Malay Carter on June 18, 2008
I’ll be a guest on Eric Pennington’s BlogTalkRadio show, The Epic Living Hour. Please join us Friday, June 20th, at 12:30 EDT.
Click here to both set up an email reminder for yourself and to listen live. If you care to participate on Friday, you can in at +1 347 945 5139.
If that time is not convenient for you, I’ll post a link to the interview next week.
I’m OK. You’re OK. Let’s Fix the System.
Filed Under Requisite Organization | 4 Comments
Organizational Structure - What If…
By Michelle Malay Carter on June 18, 2008
Jack Fallow had this to say about my lamentation on organizational structural failures:
Yes it is a problem that we under-engineer work environments and structures.
Typically, the engineer, first decides that weight bearing strength of 1000lbs is necessary, then adds 50% for security. Next, they choose the best material to carry the strain. Then, they make over-abundant connections so that should any fail, there will be back-up. This is followed by the installation of a safety net underneath.
But as for people? Well, they can sink or swim!
What if we….. established workers, offered them 50% more training than they needed, doubled their connections inside the organisation, built safety nets underneath them and checked that they were carrying the weight? We might do better. That would be engineering with an attitude!
Wow, what if? I’m OK. You’re OK. Let’s fix the system
Filed Under Corporate Values, Employee Engagement, Organization Design, Requisite Organization, Strategy, Talent Management | 2 Comments
Structural Failures within Organizations - Close is Not Good Enough
By Michelle Malay Carter on June 17, 2008
Steve Roesler throws out the concept of applied management in his latest post on employee survey research. I couldn’t agree more that we need more applied management within organizations.
And I would ask, just what are we applying?
Is Close Good Enough?
Engineers take natural laws and science-based knowledge and use this inform to inform their designs. If I need to build something that can bear 1000 pounds of weight, I dare not choose a building material that bears 950 pounds. It’s just a little off, but it’s a mistake that could have devastating consequences. Close is simply not good enough.
Requisite Design - Requisite Means As Called for by the Nature of Things
Until we understand and apply the natural laws surrounding work complexity and human capability, we will continue to suffer “structural failures” within organizations, and our employees, managers, and organizations will continue to suffer the consequences of this ignorance.
Matching People to Jobs - When Close Isn’t Good Enough
If I have a level 2 job (which can be scientifically measured using time span of discretion), and I fill it with someone currently capable of high level 1 work (which can be assessed as well), it’s very close, but the person will not be capable of performing level 2 work at this time.
Structural Failure
The result is a “structural failure” which will impact the employee, the manager, and obviously the organization.
Structural Failures Often Masquerade as Competency and Personality Issues
My consulting work is rooted in pointing out structural failures to clients. Structural failures often masquerade as personality conflicts, attitude problems, and incompetence. As long as we continue to view them this way, the answer will be to fix the people. How is that going for you? Have you read your employee engagement survey results?
I’m OK. You’re OK. Let’s Fix the System(s)
As you know, I will argue that the system has failed in this case of mis-hiring. First, the job design system is not science-based and without a much needed measurement component for role complexity level, and the candidate screening process fails to screen for cognitive capability level.
One in Three Employees is Mismatched to His Role
PeopleFit research shows that 35% of employees are mismatched to their roles. We have a structural failure rate of 35% on this one factor alone.
Save the Planet!
Would you ride in an elevator that had a structural failure rate of 35%? How about 0.35%? Yet, many of us spend five days a week optimistically ”giving our lives over to organizations” that suffer from severe structural failures. If you don’t think that depression, stress, abuse, and all forms of mental illness are not fueled by this reality, you’re missing the big picture.
Have you suffered from a structural failure within an organization?
Filed Under Employee Engagement, Executive Leadership, Managerial Leadership, Organization Design, Requisite Organization, Strategy, Talent Management, Work Levels | 7 Comments
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