Leading with Integrity

Reinvigorate your leadership practice in 2023 with this philosophy.

If we dissect the root cause of interpersonal conflict, we find it’s nothing revolutionary. It is often about an absence of integrity. To me, integrity is the amalgamation of honesty and respect. If this is seemingly rudimentary… good! It won’t be easy to forget. Are you truthful on a daily basis? Do you respect your peers? If you answered “yes” to these two questions, you are well on your way to leading with integrity. But if we are being completely honest with ourselves, odds are there’s room for improvement.

According to Mindy Mackenzie there’s a truth telling crisis in corporate America. All too often individuals are concerned about the consequences of the truth and lack the courage to tell it. (Fostering inclusive climates support truth telling!)

It’s unlikely that managers set out to lead with an absence of integrity, but when there are tight deadlines, process conflict, personality clashes, and the like, managers are poised to become stressed. Unfortunately, stressed managers may stretch the truth to superiors in the name of saving face and may also fall into the pit of credit theft. A integritous leader would not do either of these things.

But, if you aren’t investing in your personal development (by reading this blog) who will help keep you accountable? Work to create a network of people you respect, are respectable, and can help guide you in the best of -- and most challenging -- times. It's never too early to establish this. 

What’s beautiful about truth-telling is it’s cyclical. When a leader has a fierce team of honest confidants, they are less likely to become ego-maniacs. Similarly, when the developing manager encourages his or her team to tell the truth, regardless of whether they will like the feedback, they perpetuate the truth serum culture.

It’s when you lose the drive to be honest that we compromise ourselves and pave the path for a false reality – one where truth is non-existent. Have you ever been afraid to tell the truth, fearing disapproval, belittlement, or conflict? It’s up to you to ensure this is not the reality for your team.

In 2023, guide your decision-making and communication as a manager through the lens of honesty and respect. It won’t go unnoticed.

My Boss Never Learned How to Manage (Well)

If you follow me, you know I write about how to manage well, and that good managers are ultimately leaders. As perplexing as this concept might be, it’s actually quite intuitive, as Lisa Gillette and I spoke about last week. As a manager you must be tactical and manage a process; as a leader your job is to inspire and motivate your people.

If the focus is on procedural cadence alone, a manager may be quick to critique and slow to encourage (forgetting that vital human element). And herein lies a shared sentiment among many: "My boss never learned how to manage well.”

I am confident in my assertion that control-based issues (which inspires fears in team members and not empowerment) is a direct result of insecurity. But this isn’t shocking if your manager was never taught how to manage. [Spoiler: Most people aren’t and you might not be able to wait for them to get savvy.]

A common theme I witness in start-ups and mid-sized corporations alike, is a severe case of control through intimidation and minimization. In long form, they need everyone - especially those senior to them - to think they know what they’re doing, even amidst arguable incompetence. And, what’s more, this energy permeates throughout the team with credit theft at the helm.

This raises a combination of issues to address, but we’ll focus on just one to start: What do you do when your boss is quick to minimize (pointing fingers or never taking ownership), and slow to award credit or give recognition for your work? 

It's not about you.
When your boss is reactive and dismissive, it's hard not to take it personally. So what can you do about it? You can count to 10 and take deep breaths (to engage your parasympathetic nervous system); You can realize that this is a communication inadequacy, and you can talk to them about it. “When I hear you respond this way it makes me feel like I am not doing a good job. Am I misunderstanding you?” You can tell them what you need: Your manager may need to smooth some rough edges, but they also are not mind readers.

Communicate.
Ah, yes, the notorious directive to communicate. But seriously. Sometimes managers are in their emotional brain - waving through the motions and focusing only on work output, with little empathy or concern for others. But what happens when a level-headed team member raises concerns about this behavior? I'll tell you what: They are taken aback and it just may encourage some self-reflection.

Here are three communication talk tracks that you can adopt or tweak for your comfort level when you're feeling belittled:

1. "In order for me to be the most effective I can be, I need to feel supported and I am not receiving that [support] [recognition] [respect]. Are you willing to work with me toward rectification?"

2. "It seems there's concern around my capabilities. What can I do to earn your trust?" 

3. "I suspect we can be more effective; Can you help me understand your frustration toward me?" 

The best thing to do when you're addressing conflict, especially of this nature, is to remain calm and clear-headed. Envision yourself assuming an inquisitive nature, not a combative one. Note: Being calm does not minimize your strength! Ultimately, addressing these issues can change your manager's behavior, improving the environment you face each day. 

Even if your boss never learned how to manage well, don’t lose hope yet. Take it upon yourself to manage-up and try the above. Questions or comments? Feel free to share. 

People Management Strategy: A Tip

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

Last quarter I wrote about increasing performance by improving team engagement. Assessing engagement levels, or lack thereof can help organizational leaders diagnose cultural challenges and implement solutions. 

What is interesting about leadership consulting is clients often seek advice and support when there is emerging dissonance – whether interdepartmentally or at the individual level – or akin to the example of when performance is suffering. And this is what I want to focus on today: A tip on how to be proactive in your people management strategy. 

Whether you are unsure where to begin with your people operations or are already aware of some issues needing resolve, I want you to think about managing people (and crafting or maintaining a company culture) as a constant. It is not ripping off a bandaid nor is it a checkbox on your to-do list. Sorry, people are complex! And that complexity includes an array of considerations – not only personal circumstances, but professional demands, social tensions, political unrest, and the like. This gestalt view is a helpful way to see the world; the ebbs and flows of life will remain regardless of a team win or losing an at risk client. It is part of everyday life. 

Thus, when determining or refining a people operations strategy, look for a solution that is comprehensive and less segmented, e.g., “one-and-done training.” For example, while unconscious bias training is of utmost relevance and is a mainstay for DEI programming, I argue that this should not be a stand-alone program. Instead, it should be baked into the coaching curriculum for management education. It’s not an add-on but rather an integral part of managing. If we want to build inclusive workplaces, the subject matter of inclusion must be fundamental, not additional.  

If I think about any large group presentation I’ve ever attended, I will be the first to admit that I must take notes. Otherwise, I tune out. Adults have an average attention span of 8.25 seconds – yikes! While I won’t pick apart why our attention spans are decreasing, I will make this point: If we are sitting for a 60-minute training, it better be compelling. But what happens when it’s not? It is a missed opportunity for learning.

This is why incorporating fundamental concepts into regular discourse is more effective. A person engaged in 1:1 conversation is significantly more likely to stay focused than when he is one of many in the crowd, thanks to decreased distractions and stimulation — and this is why I include inclusion education in all of my management coaching. It’s simply foundational and will not only improve psychological safety (a factor to increasing engagement) but will be a more cost-effective, and proactive, approach to learning and development within the business. 

Get in touch to learn how I can help your team.

Need to Drive Performance? Check Engagement.

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

Research shows that the key factor in promoting higher performance is engagement. It’s not employee satisfaction or even commitment to the job. Thus, it is critical that people (and notably managers) develop a clear understanding of what engagement is and is not for their team members.

Why might this exercise of identifying strategies to increase engagement be worthwhile? Well, in companies where ~65 percent of employees are engaged, shareholder returns are approximately 24 percent. Compare that to companies with only ~55 percent engagement: Shareholder returns are as low as 5 percent! What’s more, teams with high engagement experience less than a third of turnover compared to those not engaged.

Engagement is a commonly used term and it is often times conceptualized in much the same way as other employee attitudes (such as satisfaction and commitment). While engagement is related to these attitudes, it is distinct. Rather than defining the terms, let’s consider what it looks like. 

People who are engaged are absorbed in their work – both physically and mentally. In fact, engagement is something you can see in people – it is visible in the form of high levels of effort, involvement, and even mindfulness. An engaged individual is often energized by their work and difficult to distract. These individuals value and identify with the work they are doing (so much so the work might not even feel like work). They are slow to discourage by obstacles (in fact, they thrive on solving problems), and they sincerely care that things go well. 

Now that we know what it looks like, and we know that it’s a silver bullet for company performance (if you are interested in more data justification, drop me a note), how do we actually increase engagement? 

There are three drivers of engagement. These include Psychological Meaningfulness, Psychological Safety, and Psychological Availability. 

The first dimension is called Psychological Meaningfulness and this is having a reason to engage. This has much to do with the characteristics of one's job; it is essential that positions are structured to include “high motivating potential.” Jobs that have high motivating potential tend to be challenging and allow space for both autonomy and impact. 

The second dimension is called Psychological Safety. While intuitive, this has to do with whether or not people experience the freedom and the safety to engage in their work rather than feeling like they have to protect themselves in some way. (Have you ever felt like you couldn’t dare speak up with a suggestion to do something differently? Yeah, you’ve experienced a situation without complete psychological safety). 

The third dimension is Psychological Availability. This has to do with the capacity to engage. “Do I have what it takes to engage fully in my job?” This is much more circumstantial for the individual. Take a person’s physical energy, for example. If there is a poor balance between work and home, renewal is hard to come by and that will undoubtedly put a strain on the job (think burnout). The other facet of this third dimension is a person's confidence in their ability to do the job. In order for people to be really engaged in their work, they have to feel confident that if they invest themselves in their work, they're likely to succeed. And this is why reskilling, continual training, and developmental opportunities and feedback are essential. 

In Brief: 

1. Psychological Meaningfulness: Having a reason to engage

2. Psychological Safety: Having the freedom and safety to engage

3. Psychological Availability: having the capacity to engage (and support to do so)

These dimensions have a great deal of nuance and if you are presently experiencing an engagement crisis you are not alone. Many companies are facing a heightened challenge with engagement after well over two years of employees managing heightened emotional and physical stressors. If this is the case for your group, contact me.

Bear in mind there is also a significant amount of reading you can do on the topic of employee engagement if you prefer a self-study approach. Thanks to the seminal research of William Kahn who crafted the Work Engagement Theory and is also considered the Father of Employee Engagement, there is much to be gleaned from his work on how to increase not only company performance and employee retention, but will also improve the health and well-being of your employees.