Companies  have to up their game in terms of recruiting if they want to be effective and land the best out there.  Here are a few actions that can have significant impact:

1. Job Descriptions

I am coaching a top-level executive right now as he prepares to switch jobs.  He always comments how poorly written the job descriptions he sees when reviewing possible positions.  And this is true in most cases.  The majority of job descriptions have been recycled so much they all appear the same and quite frankly are outdated as well.  Plus they usually aren’t written in a way that inspires passion. You can either do a full rewrite to the standard job description or add an addendum that speaks the very essence and excitement of the job.

2. Evaluate Your Recruiting Process

Another missed opportunity is the ability of organizations to really evaluate the recruiting process so that it is user friendly and enticing to potential candidates.  This means that it should be fluid and have points of value-add throughout the process unique to the company.  Equally important is the positive attitude and helpfulness the HR professional shows throughout the process. Remember, particularly in the beginning of the process, the HR person is the face of the company to the recruit.  I have had clients tell me that they had cut of conversations with organizations just because the HR recruiter was either so unprofessional or just plain lackluster.

3. Good Recruiting = Good Selling

Internal recruiters and hiring managers really need to have an intimate knowledge of the company brand and must be able to exude the brand with excitement when working with potential job candidates.  Do not forget to leverage the unique reputation of the company and reinforce that message throughout the recruiting process.

4. Networking for Recruiters

Just as I tell my coaching clients in job transition that the best jobs are usually found through their networking efforts so this is true for finding the best talent.  Organizations needs to be active in a variety of networking groups.  By doing this, you will have created informal access to great candidates and contacts.  And this expands to the use of networking tools such as the ever increasing importance of Linked-in.  The days of simply posting a job are long gone.

If organizations start going after great talent after the economy ramps up it will be too late.

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Look at the companies who are moving forward, such as Google with its release of Plus. Great companies control their own destiny.  And yes they might stub their toe now and then but they succeed even when things do not go well by “failing forward” meaning that not only do they learn from their mistakes but their mistakes come out of a proactive effort to improve things beyond the status quo.

I am not advocating boldness for the sake of being bold or reckless, but I am saying that good companies have aggressively surveyed and scanned the environment and are re-inventing themselves to deliver an appropriate response.  And these are the companies who have the head start and will lead in the future.

Below are seven bad but tempting approaches to avoid when deciding on strategic direction.  The thing that all of these approaches have in common is that they give the appearance and sense of action but are really non-committal and passive in nature. If you are in a “wait and see” mentality you are no longer in the game; you are watching from the sidelines.

1-Being Faux Opportunistic- Being opportunistic is a good thing. But you have to be opportunistic within your strategy and in a proactive way.  Just saying “we should be opportunistic” as a strategy is saying very little if there are no boundaries or active searching in place.   You can only get there by having clear plan that allows you to adjust it and take advantage of unanticipated opportunities.  Being opportunistic does not mean we wait until an opportunity comes to us and we will grab it. It means putting things in motion, making things happen and being in the right place at the right time to leverage good circumstances.

2- Dabbling- When it comes to strategy, companies must resist the temptation to only “dabble.”  Dabbling is weak and only in an extreme exception can be productive.  If you want to try out something you may as well commit to it.  Of course you still need to plan, monitor, evaluate success and adjust, but give it a real try.  Without strong intention you are better not even attempting it.

3- Avoid answering the hard questions unlit a later time. I have been around too many executive teams these days that are tempted to keep deferring the real tough questions until later.  In looking back, many executives will tell you that they responded slower than they should have to the economic turndown hoping that it would end soon or not be as harsh as it was looking to be.  The tendency in this scenario is either denial or a form of analysis paralysis, always requiring endless discussion before taking a stand. Take on the tough questions, as they do not magically go away. Remember, hope is not a strategy.

4- Solving non-critical problems. This is another wrong turn.  I have seen executives and executive teams get all excited and hyped up solving problems that are peripheral to the real challenges of a company.  This scenario gives the sense that you are doing something of value when there is little payoff — not to mention the fact that you just wasted a good deal of time and energy.

5- Going Nostalgic- referring to, explaining, or defending the past. By nature great companies are always looking forward.  They appreciate and are rooted in the past, focus on the moment but look forward particularly when it comes to strategy.  There is little gained in direction setting when time is wasted referring to, explaining, blaming or defending the past.  This usually comes out when someone gets a little defensive about prior decisions. You should learn from and build off the past but the past shouldn’t limit the way you analyze the future.

6- Providing critique instead of providing solutions. As you know this is a pet peeve of mine, executives thinking that their greatest contribution to the company is being critical of ideas without proposing any solutions.  And what can often happen in a strategy session is that this approach becomes a communal experience ending in a feeding frenzy of sorts. Beyond the critique of solutions being offered be prepared to spend more time in creating the best way forward.

7-Embracing designed vagueness. This means throwing out impressive sounding platitudes without the detail or clear direction to make them meaningful.  For example I will often hear that the company should have ‘managed growth” because growth at all costs is bad and that no growth is bad.  Sounds great on the surface — and hard to argue with — but what direction does that statement really provide? So do not stop at platitudes: explore and define the actual ideas underneath.

So how do you avoid the approaches above?  Often by just putting them out there you take away their power and willingness of people to utilize them. Some organizations will identify these traps and call their peers out on them when any of the approaches are being employed—sometimes with gentle words and sometimes with a crumpled piece of paper.

It is imperative to choose a direction because by choosing a direction you now have an actual course to correct.  Your direction should be clear and strong but at the same time not inflexible or untouchable.  By avoiding the above temptations a direction that is intentional and deliberate can guide your company, even in the toughest times.

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Focus on Essential Business Performance and Roll with the Rest

It is amazing to see so many executives focused on the non-essential aspects of the business.  Even through the downturn I have observed a resistance to dealing with the real issues. Too many executives are focused on the non-core issues. Others have fallen into the trap of being penny-wise and pound-foolish.

I am sure that part of this came out of the effort to gain a bit more control in a very unstable world and volatile market.  Getting your hands around some minor issues must have provided a level of satisfaction.  But of course this focus is counterfeit

And this trend did not stop at corporate initiatives but spilled over into employee leadership.  Too many executives started to focus on peripheral behavior of employees. Again, it was tempting to become nitpicky instead of bringing a sense of calm and control.  When it comes to your reports and employees, figure out what is non-negotiable (specific performance goals and behavioral expectations) and roll with the other stuff.  Be hard on results not on people or you will lose them.

Increase Employee Motivation by Seeing Them as Brilliant and Good

These have been negative times for many businesses, And it is easy to let this negativity spread. But leaders are expected to set the right tone and be positive, especially through tough times.  This is an essential aspect of what it means to be a leader.  Be careful not to let your anxiety spill over into how you view your employees.

The temptation here is to see your employees as things, cogs in the machine to be manipulated to meet the business goals.  Do this and you will force them to abandon you.  If you see them this way they will sense this both at the conscious and subconscious levels.  A significant part of getting the best out of your employees is to see them as brilliant.  Employees have this way of stepping up to meet your expectations.  If you see them as a pain or as a nuisance far less important than everything else there will be a self-fulfilling prophesy in play.  But if you see them as great and as part of the solution there is a much better chance that they will live up to that expectation.

Get Excited about your Business Strategy and the Future

If you as a leader are not excited about the future how will anybody else be excited? Do not fall into the trap of running your business as an academic exercise.  If  only it were as easy as the business simulations that you participated in at business school. Your excitement and hope for the future will help get the positive energy flowing again and will supply the fuel for your employees to push through tough times.

Your business is not a mechanized contraption. It  is made up of people, people who can bring the “x-factor” to overcome obstacles and innovate your organization to new success.  Today, visible leadership is as important as ever.  And please do not think enthusiasm is just about being a cheerleader.  You should express your optimism in your own style. It’s not about faking it; it’s about finding your authentic expression of optimism and enthusiasm.

Focus on the core, get the best out of your people by expecting the best, and get the whole organization excited about the future by being excited yourself.

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For many years now I have been a big proponent of organizational Mission Statements and yet at this moment I find myself telling some of my clients to

“Stop it already with the Mission Statements!”

Seriously, the mission statement is something that I have felt so strong about for many years, and now I am telling companies to stop doing it.

Why, you might ask.  Well, it is not so much that that Mission Statements no longer have an important purpose because they do; but it is that their purpose, like so many things in business, has been corrupted, diluted, and adulterated. Companies are wasting way too much time developing anything but a real Mission Statement

Writing a Real Corporate Mission Statement

A real mission statement is something that is supposed to be meaningful, an anchor and standard by which to make decisions, run the business and engender engagement.  But now most mission statements mean very little. In fact, some of the worst companies out there have the most beautiful, poetic and inspirational mission statements around.  This is because their mission writing exercise had little to do with  identifying and articulating what the company is at its best.  It rather was an exercise in prose to make something that sounded good to check it off the list.

A real mission statement comes from deep inside the collective of the organization.  It should be the real purpose and driver of why the organization exists.  But through the years instead of reaching deep down for mission creation, organizations find themselves in endless and mindless wordsmithery, arguing semantics and trying to make something sound great instead of creating something meaningful and valuable.

Too often the mission statement is written to sound good to the external market instead of becoming the anchor and reason of the organization’s existence.  Then add a few people from the Marketing department and it becomes nothing more than a new tagline for the company.  At that point it has degraded into an ad campaign, as opposed to something that shapes the company.

Testing for an Effective Mission Statement

The efficacy of the Mission Statement is not measured by whether it is inscribed in a gold plaque with fancy backlighting posted in the main lobby of the corporate office. Or if it each employee has memorized it according to a company mandate.  The real test is if it is influencing employees’ action every day, anchoring decisions large and small.  Too many companies make their mission statement after weeks of mind-numbing work and then never refer to it again.  At best, it is taken out once a year at the strategic planning meeting for a quick review.  If this is the case, the company should just stop pretending that they have an authentic mission.

The check-points for an effective Mission Statement are these questions:

1. Does it clearly and explicitly express the purpose of the organization?
2. Does it call employees at all levels to action? (in how they work and in the decisions they make)
3. Is the Mission Statement used as the backbone to make strategic choices?
4. Was it made to ‘impress’ the outside world or it is raw and bold, rallying the people inside the company to make sure it is actualized?
5. Are your employees motivated and willing to commit to it?

And the 6th checkpoint might be: “Is it original and bold?”  This is because every company now has the terms (in one way or the other) “best in class,” “employer of choice” etc. in their mission statement. That is SNORING-BORING and non-differentiating. You will know when your mission statement is right when you connect to it at a visceral level.

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That is all well and good and makes a lot of sense and is even inspirational. But the challenge with any presentation like this is how to make it reality.  The workplace is not a neat and tidy place nor is it always inhabited by people with pure motives or high maturity.  All those cool diagrams on the whiteboard and bullet points may sound so lovely and truly resonate with us but life is not a safe white board or auditorium.  This however does not negate any of what is being said.  The key then is to take what is being presented and make it work for you as a leader.

Step one is to always be clear on the goals.  Without this foundational step, things become unraveled and turn to chaos.  As a leader, be sure to be clear on the standard in excruciatingly vivid detail.  Too many leaders are more interested in keeping control and managing the people towards results when in fact it is much better to manage the results and lead the people.  But this is scary to the lesser manager because in the end they know the buck stops with them.

The rule then to unleash the autonomy, challenge, mastery and the ability to make a contribution for your employees is to be crystal clear what the results are and how those results are non-negotiable.  And you as a leader in turn must let go, go with the flow or even laugh at all the rest.

This is related to my maxim that “All leaders must be in control without being controlling.”

You do not want to waste time and demotivate your employees on the ticky tack stuff.  Let them be who they are and let them approach things in their own way.  But only and always be uncompromising on the results.

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Of course when you go to a well run meeting that has a purpose and stays on that purpose, it feels awesome, empowering and dare I say invigorating.  But today I just want to call out those people who use meetings to defer Decision-Making. I have been observing this more and more over the past years.  Managers will have a meeting on a very important subject and it just does not seem to go anywhere, it just meanders.  Now, I am not talking robust brainstorming or intense discussion, I am talking about meaningless rehash or conversations about non-critical issues for the sake of…I really do not know what.  But it seems that the manager does not want to be decisive and make a decision.  There is such a hesitance these days with so many managers to make a decision and move forward—this is very weak.

And the capper is that these managers will hold meeting under the false pretense of getting everyone’s input or trying to build consensus. (And don’t even get me started on the bastardization of Consensus Building.)  Both of those things are good and important but if you already got them, no need to go back over and over.

So, if you are a leader who might be using meetings to delay decision-making, please stop!  Be honest with yourself about this.  Artificially delaying decision-making creates a whole array of issues including timing issues of original challenge, disengagement of the team, loss of momentum and a backlog of other decisions that you have to make.  Get good as being decisive and learn a variety approaches to decisions-making.

If you are in a meeting that feels like its sole purpose is to be an accomplice in deferring a managerial decision, be bold and help the manager frame the issue, identity a decision-making process, and move forward.  Be comfortable with respectfully asking the purpose of the meeting and about relevant milestones regarding key decisions.

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How to balance challenge and skill

Here is a diagram from psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience” that illustrates the balance of challenge and skill that make satisfying work satisfying:

Perhaps some of you reading this are horrified that I am ratting you out to your boss. Nope. I’m not suggesting that managers work their employees harder. That’s not the point. If anything, I’d like to see managers team up with workers to identify and create that optimum “flow” state in every workday. It might result in more work; it might result in less. In either case, it will result in good work and satisfied, loyal, healthy employees.

The workflow conversation

The first step is for managers and workers to have a frank conversation about workflow. In order to make this conversation productive, everyone will need to drop the overworked act. You know what I’m talking about: the conversations about how busy and overextended you are. “Busy-busy-busy.” “Crazy day, huh?” “Whew, I’ve got a to-do list as long as my arm.” Even if you really are overworked, this conversation makes it feel like good workers are the ones who are stretched beyond their limits. It gets competitive and encourages dishonesty.

Employees who are avoiding this conversation have good reason to be nervous. Companies that are looking to cut jobs may be on the hunt for underworked workers. So how about turning this into an opportunity to shine? “Hey, boss. I can handle more than you are giving me, and I’d actually like the challenge. Can we brainstorm some other projects I can take on?”

Ideas for how to grow as a manager

On a human level, the most important thing is not to let your job turn you into a vortex of stagnation. It is important to continue growing, taking risks and challenging yourself – even if that means cutting into your evening TV viewing.  Here are some ideas:

• Exercise. If your job doesn’t get your heart racing, a good cardio routine will do the trick. You need this sort of thing to stay healthy.
• Adopt a hobby. Take that creative writing course, or voice lessons. Join a chess club. Do something that makes you a more well-rounded, interesting person.
• Get personal with co-workers. Finding things to appreciate about your employees and discovering stuff you have in common, can make the day go by faster.
• Challenge yourself. Find a work-related challenge and go after it. How neat can you get your office in the next two hours? How many people can you sign up for a food drive?
• Consider restructuring. You may be happier converting your job to a part time or work-from-home scenario. If your employer sees the logic of cost-saving that goes with restructuring your job, they may go for it.
• Snap out of it! Most important: Break up your routine, so you can break up your thinking about what is possible and get yourself re-engaged.

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Imagine getting paid a generous salary for this job:

• Comfortable window office
• New computer
• No one looking over your shoulder
• Generous deadlines
• Predictable eight-hour day
• Freedom to listen to music and surf the internet at your desk

Sounds pretty sweet, huh? It’s not. Believe it or not, this job is hell.

You must punch a timecard each time you arrive at work, leave at the end of the day, or take a break. If you are late for work by more than three minutes, or if you forget to take a break when one is scheduled, you must write a note of explanation that goes into your work file. And here’s the kicker: You may have up to five hours of actual work to complete each week. To put it another way, out of a typical eight-hour workday, you have less than an hour of actual work.

I’m not making this up. This is an actual job a friend of mine had for more than two years. That was two years of misery.

Recently a number of friends and clients have quietly confessed to me that during their workday they have a lot of time on their hands. The boredom is almost painful at times they say. And they are unwilling to discuss the situation with their bosses for fear of getting fired.

Because of the nature of surveys, it would be nearly impossible to find out how common this phenomenon is. Even in anonymous surveys, people would be unwilling to admit that they are not earning their keep. But I suspect this scenario is more common than most people think.

There is a part of our brain that guides us to seek out comfortable situations and avoid stress or challenge.

This is the part of us that wishes to sustain the sense of “free ride” that comes with being underworked. On some level, we actually believe that “down time” is the most desirable state we can find ourselves in. Well, it turns out this is wrong. We actually need a certain amount of stress and challenge in order to thrive and find satisfaction in daily life. Boredom extracts such a heavy toll on our minds and bodies that it may as well be stress.

Part -2  to follow.

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I have witnessed many of these discussions myself and have heard many stories about this most excruciating decision, in particular over the past few years. What is interesting is that there are similarities that are in common with all/most of the companies:

• Huge amounts of energy and time are expended on this issue even though the budget for this initiative had been determined months ago and is a relatively small item.  Now, there is great value in improving and correcting strategy as you go along when necessary but it just seems disproportionate to be looking at such a small line item in a vacuum and spending so much time on the morality of the action.
• The decision was so tough that a conclusive decision was not made until the last possible moment.  This results into two possible scenarios. First, the company finally determines that clients really like the cards (or even expect them) and that this is an important marketing spend.  Because this decision is made at the last minute, execution is often highly flawed.  The card design is inferior, the right people do not sign the cards, or the cards arrive too late (it is not enough just to get them to the client before the holiday but have them there for the client to notice the weeks before the actually holiday) to name a few.  The second scenario is that the powers that be make a late decision to cancel the Holiday cards in the name of saving money and being fiscally responsible. Then a less than stellar email goes out to the company explaining why the decision was made often with a very self-righteous attitude.  Hmmm.
• When executives, sales people, account managers get wind that cards or gifts are not going out they end up doing it themselves.  This takes time out of their day and usually costs more than if the company used their economy of scales to get this done.

Sound familiar? I hope not but it might.

So what is the answer? Well, it will be different for each company. For some companies their Holiday card or gift is a part of the brand, for others might be an obligatory action with little value.  For some industries it is a pure necessity.  Some companies may find value that each account manager is trustworthy enough to do their own thing with Holiday cards and the results are highly customized.

But here is the grind.  Holiday cards, although a small line item, are given inordinate amount of attention and review because they are such high a profile item and can be observed by everyone in the company.  This really distorts the decision making process and can really skew the decision-makers response.

First, the decision should not be made in a vacuum but in relationship the entire marketing strategy. Second, the decision should be verified by at least September so that proper and graceful execution can be realized just like you would do for any other marketing campaign. (Duh.)  If the decision is made not to send out cards, make it early and thoughtfully and move on.

I wish executive who fret about the Holiday card debate would spend the same amount of rigor and time on some of the most significant issues of the organization.

Lastly have a great, renewing and sacred Holiday. (And yes, consider this my Holiday card to you.)  Peace.

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Last week I was leading a retreat for group of high-potential middle managers assembled with the task to improve their particular operations.  It was to be an exciting and forward looking day.  Their director came in at the beginning and provided good direction and a positive hope for the future.  It was not as well received as she had hoped. And so began my facilitation of the group.

This group of managers was tired, frustrated, and out of synch.  It was weird to see this as I new this group pretty well and knew that they are truly talented, intelligent and strong. The culprit here of course has been living through the past years of the down economy.  I affectionately call it the Grind. Forecasts have been week, people have taken pay cuts, more work is being piled on them, and there seems to be very little light at the end of the tunnel. I understand this. And even though people know that this is what happens in a downturn, that many others have lost their jobs, and that the grass is not necessarily greener somewhere else (as most companies today are in this situation) they are angry and looking for someone to blame.

Ah the moment of truth for a leader right?  Tough situation, temptation to blame someone else and a seemingly lack of hope, sure sounds like it.

So before we began any type of action planning we dealt with the emotional and psychological forces present.  Take this as a lesson that it is feeble to try to action plan when emotions are high whether they are being expressed explicitly or beneath the surface.   These particular emotions were being manifested as self-censoring, choosing the safe solution, low energy and disengagement to name a few. We processed “what was up” and acknowledge the real frustration and concern.  In plain and unfanciful terms things had ‘sucked’ for a while.  The group worked through it and finally got to a place to come to grip with what they had to do and laugh at the absurdity of the rest.

In time, we did all that needed to be done in terms of brainstorming, assessing and creating the project plans for the chosen initiatives.  It was all in their hands and they new they had a job to do.  It truly was inspiring.  In the end they were cheering each other on and coming up with the greatest of ideas to impact the business for the best.

To wrap it up it was obvious what needed to be said.

“Go be great!  Don’t ask for permission, don’t wait for someone to tell you to be great, and certainly don’t wait for the perfect time to be great. First, you are asked to be great just by being here, if someone has to ask you to be great you probably are way behind to race, and there will never be a better time to be great than right now.  And if the company comes down on you for being great, you probably do not want to work here anyway.  But guess what, they hired you to be great so go do it.”

Bring great and bold is not about being reckless but about making a significant contribution. And when you are great you give people the nudge they need to do the same.  Continue to find you leadership voice and just be great.

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