Monte Pedersen

The CDA Group LLC  

The CDA Group LLC is an independent leadership training firm specializing in strategy execution management for senior executives and their businesses. This involves one-on-one coaching, senior leadership team development and hands-on training for frontline personnel. We make the people in your 

We teach and connect your people in how to get results. We make them people that can be counted on to deliver, and get them better at doing it every year.

Principal

Sodexo Education Services

Responsible for the operations and management of Sodexo dining service accounts within the higher education market for the states of Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.  Led a team of professionals that managed a portfolio of over 90 accounts across three business disciplines.  Key roles involved major project development and implementation, senior executive relationship building, contractual negotiations and strategic new business development.

Regional Vice President

Off Campus Solutions

Off Campus Solutions (OCS) a subsidiary of Sodexo, USA developed off campus programs for colleges, universities and their students. OCS builds comprehensive solutions for the student community, starting with their on campus meal plan and subsequent evolution to a program that creates value for students who live, work, and spend money off campus. OCS creates customized programs that allow students to spend their dining dollars at local restaurants and merchants off campus. The student account may or may not be linked directly to the student ID card, but in both cases it acts as a declining balance card. Additionally, OCS creates local merchant networks and aide those merchants in how best to provide value to students and their off campus needs.

Senior Vice President

The CDA Group is a unique leadership training firm that specializes in strategy execution. A completely operations-based system and process that helps leaders achieve their strategic initiatives and get better at it every year. 

✔Their expertise lies in building a framework for effectively managing your business by embedding the discipline of execution into your team's daily pattern of management. The result of which is;  

* a more aligned and collaborative workforce,
* reinforcement of organizational values and core behaviors,
* streamlined communications and operational clarity,
* greater levels of accountability, and
* aggregated data for better decision making,

They meet every client and their teams where they are at, providing "Leadership through the Lens of Execution" utilizing a cloud based software application that collects the "actionable intelligence" necessary to build the support structure and communication processes necessary to manage each team member on an individual level. They instruct and build upon your company's ability to be "emotionally intelligent" creating greater self-awareness and social relationships between team members, partner companies, clients and customers.

www.clarifydeployachieve.com

The CDA Group is an independent leadership training firm that specializes in helping small to middle sized businesses and organizations achieve their strategic objectives-every year and continue to get better and better at it.  

We believe that most businesses excel at creating the plan for what they want to achieve.  Nobody understands or carries those aspirations better than CEO's, Senior Leaders and Business Owners.  

Where problems arise is when the business fails to execute on the plan and team members don't understand what is expected of them.  

That's where we come in...experts on execution management that are dedicated to the concept of "Execution Mastery" or the process of Clarifying, Deploying and Achieving organizational initiatives.

It's easy to knock bad MEETINGS, especially the ones where we feel like we're having a migraine, empty stomach, and leg cramps all at once. They can truly ruin your day.

Everyone complains about going to too many meetings. Still, holding and managing effective meetings is a big part of every leader's job. 

In his 2004 book, "Death by Meeting," Patrick Lencioni emphasizes the importance of structuring and conducting meetings "to align with the organization's goals, encouraging productive communication and decision-making, rather than letting meetings become time-wasting ordeals." 

Lencioni's approach emphasizes the importance of structure, purpose, and team dynamics in making meetings more effective. By implementing these principles, leaders can transform meetings from time-wasting events into valuable tools for communication, decision-making, and problem-solving within their organizations. 

Here's how you can hold better meetings as a leader:

* Define the Purpose by clearly articulating the purpose of the meeting. Ensure that everyone understands why the meeting is being held and what outcomes are expected.

* Create a Compelling Agenda by developing a well-structured agenda that outlines the topics to discuss and the time allocated to each. Focus on critical issues and avoid unnecessary items.

* Use different meeting types, from daily check-ins to weekly team meetings, monthly individual progress meetings, and quarterly off-sites. Varying the type of meetings lets people know it's OK for meetings to not all be the same.

* Be ruthless in your time management by sticking to the schedule, start and ending on time, and allocating time based on the importance of each agenda item.

* Encourage healthy conflict by creating an environment where team members feel comfortable expressing their opinions and engaging in healthy debates. 

* Focus on results by ensuring that meetings are outcome-driven. Discuss decisions, actions, and responsibilities. Clarify what needs to be done after the meeting and put it in writing.

Finally, one additional practice for all leaders concerning meetings. Lead by example. As a leader, set the tone for meetings by being punctual, engaged, and committed to the meeting process.

By implementing these recommendations, organizations can transform their meetings from time-wasting affairs into productive and purposeful gatherings that contribute to achieving goals and objectives.

Meetings are necessary for our business lives; they don't have to suck. 

As a leader, you need to take responsibility for holding better meetings.

I recommend you start today.

#ceos #leadership #meetings #execution

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Your world at work might be fine, with everyone getting along and no visible signs of drama or turbulence. However, trust me when I share this: If your culture doesn't eradicate toxicity, it's still likely happening.

Rumors, gossip, back-stabbing comments, and even sabotage. Workplace drama takes many forms, all detrimental to employee health and threatening organizational success. 
 
Drama in the workplace happens daily and at almost any time in most organizations. If you've ever held a job, you've likely seen drama or experienced it firsthand. When it happens, you cannot take it personally.
 
Here's why it happens and what can be done about it.
 
Bad behavior at work often occurs as a LEARNED practice. It is largely understood to be part of a company's culture when it happens continuously. The hard truth of workplace drama is that when we tolerate it, we incur damage commensurate with the time it takes to resolve it.
 
Businesses that regularly experience "workplace drama" suffer from a cultural deficit related to having no established "core behaviors." Core Behaviors are defined as the “minimum behavioral standards for everyone on the team." 
 
They are the boundaries that keep the team honest, aligned, and collaborative.
 
When cultural deficits appear, they allow negative behaviors to take root. Behaviors that range from petty gossip and backstabbing to major work disruptions that are sizeable enough to upset departments and derail entire workdays. 
 
To eliminate workplace drama, leaders can take these three steps; 
 
1) Implement a strong cultural foundation by establishing Core Behaviors that spell out acceptable behavior for everyone on the team. These behaviors must be non-negotiable and become the ante (cost of admission) for being on the team. 
 
 You're dismissed from the team if you refuse to abide by them. 
 
2) When drama occurs, bring the involved parties together and inform them that you care about them all as people. You want the best for them; however, let them know you value the company and its well-behaved people more. 
 
This is where a leader draws the line and chooses courageously to put an end to the drama.
 
3) Make it clear that their errant behavior won't be tolerated any longer, then ask them to collectively find a resolution or resolve it by leaving the company. Then, walk away.
 
At that point, continuing with or without the drama becomes their decision. 
 
They decide what is most important for each of them. They can continue creating problems or focus on being amicable and contributing team members.
 
Remind them that staying and working together comes with a paycheck and benefits.
 
How do you deal with workplace drama? Do you take it personally?
 
#leadership #ceos #workplacedrama #execution

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How do you hire the best people? It’s a common question that can have a tremendous bearing on the success of any organization.
 
At a high level, many leadership experts will tell you what you need to hire to get the results you need. For instance, Patrick Lencioni describes and talks about the key character traits of being humble, hungry, and smart. We all want those individuals, but we can’t easily decipher those traits from a resume and interview process. 

So what do we look for?

To go deeper, we must source and hire people who can deliver results. We need to hire highly productive people.

Highly productive people consistently achieve their goals and produce valuable outcomes while managing their time, resources, and energy. Productivity doesn’t mean busyness; it means efficiently using one's skills to accomplish meaningful goals and tasks.

Here are some defining characteristics that separate highly productive team members from good team members:

1) Productive team members have well-defined goals. They know what they want to achieve in the short and long term, and their actions align with those objectives.
2) They readily identify tasks and activities that will most impact their goals. They prioritize what they do based on importance and urgency, focusing on high-value activities.
3) Productive team members allocate their time wisely, utilizing techniques, systems, and processes to effectively manage their daily responsibilities and allocate sufficient time to accomplish their goals. They are also good at minimizing distractions.
4) The highly productive are adept at focusing and concentrating on a singular task. They minimize interruptions and avoid multitasking and time-wasting activities, allowing them to work with deep concentration and produce results at a higher-quality level.
5) They are effective at communicating with all stakeholders.  Productive team members communicate their expectations, progress, and potential barriers they may encounter with others on the team. They don’t hold back from speaking openly.
6) They believe in work-life integration, managing their workload in ways that allow them to fulfill both their professional and personal responsibilities.

Hiring for higher levels of productivity is important. Still, it's essential to consider other factors, such as cultural fit, collaboration, teamwork, and a willingness to learn new things. 

Balancing productivity with these qualities can lead to better hiring decisions and build a more well-rounded and successful workforce.

How do you determine who’s productive and can get results?

#ceos #leadership #productivity #execution
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Leading people in a new direction requires leadership; it's one of the hundreds of ways a leader can exert influence. Leading others or getting your followers to take action takes multiple skills. It is all influence.
 
This is an important concept to understand because leaders need to stand out; we must see them as the individuals in charge. As followers, we need to know they're capable of leading us. Leaders openly exhibit these skills during the discharging of their responsibilities.
 
What we see, we believe. Therefore, a leader's clear and visible actions are essential to us. This makes leadership largely a visible practice.
 
It provides us with proof, which is necessary because "he who thinks he leads, and no one follows, is simply taking a walk," according to John C. Maxwell.
 
Still, it takes more than visible actions to lead. There's another part of leadership that we do not immediately see; it's comprised of the inherent skills that reside inside the person who leads.
 
Citing from John Maxwell's 21 Laws of Irrefutable Leadership, these inner strengths that leaders have are:
 
* Character-the inner person that contains the depth of who a leader is,
* Relationships-the people a leader knows that they can leverage for the success of their followers (team) and organization,
* Knowledge-the things a leader knows,
* Intuition-what a leader feels, the numerous intangibles that lead to well-thought-out decision-making,
* Experience-where the leader has been in the past that helps them to lead in the present,
* Prior Success-what gives a leader confidence to confront future issues,
* Ability-what a leader can do to lead their followers to victory.
 
We can't always openly see these skills, but we need to know and trust that they are there. 
 
Last, and likely the two most important skills a leader must possess are the ability to "see more and see before" others. Leaders must have the vision and foresight to stay ahead of everything: the future, the competition, and other elements beyond their control.
 
If leaders can't think critically and assess situations, prepare their followers for what is next, or guide them in a new direction, they will likely lose their team and miss out on success.
 
What leadership skills most prevent your team or organization from succeeding?

#ceos #leadership #skills #execution

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Learning has never been easier. It's all around us, and now we've been given unprecedented access.

Formal education is no longer the principal way to draw knowledge and learn. We now all learn daily by being involved, asking questions, and participating in life.

Today, change in anything occurs so fast that by the time textbooks are written, their content may well be out-of-date or obsolete. 

According to Sir Kenneth Robinson, the late author, speaker, and advisor on education in the arts, "Some of the most brilliant, creative people I know did not do well at school. Many of them didn’t really discover what they could do—and who they really were—until they’d left school and recovered from their education."

Our current model for education is rapidly being changed by complexity and technology, and most agree that it's time. Educational institutions that used to have a monopoly on providing information and knowledge are seeing their business model significantly altered.

Information can now be found everywhere, and with a simple "click," anyone can access and learn about anything. Not to mention it is offered in several versions taken from alternate perspectives. 

We are fortunate, and it's an advantageous time to be alive and learn from so many different mediums. 

Despite having access to more information, data, and otherworldly learnings, pieces are still missing. Some would call this out under other names, such as wisdom, experience, thought leadership, and stories. Some might classify it simply as the ability to "read between the lines." 

To process information and quickly get the thrust of what it means. 

The ability to interpret and understand the information we receive and quickly apply it to our lives. It's committing these valuable learnings to our memory and making them stick. 

We can call these "life lessons". 

Robert L. Joss, Dean Emeritus of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, provides us with some "Life Lessons," known more simply as the wisdom that accrues after we endure all our formal and informal instruction. 

Information we retain because we've had it ingrained in our minds after we leave our formal education and start learning how to be successful in the real world. Many would call this, the school of hard knocks.

It's a great list, and while I don't profess to understand #10 and the game of Cricket very well, I get his drift. "that integrity and honesty are necessary if we succeed in the right way and over the long term." 

We renew ourselves continually and do not fear mistakes or failure, as life-long learning is a prerequisite for whatever happens next. 

Enjoy these lessons, grasp them quickly, and remember these words from Sir Kenneth: 

"What you do for yourself dies with you when you leave this world; what you do for others lives on forever."

#ceos #leadership #lifelessons #execution

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It's time to bust another myth...did you know that....

"There is no such thing as strategic planning". There I said it. The cat is out of the bag. 

There's strategic thinking, and then there's planning (implementation)." The two cannot exist together. They are two separate disciplines, co-dependent but very different.
 
Why is this distinction important to make?
 
When one considers that the number one problem in the execution of strategy is "vague or inadequate strategic thinking" (Vanderbilt University - Owen Graduate School MGT, Joseph Ryan), it's easy to understand why so many organizations get strategy wrong or struggle with its implementation.
 
Various factors cause unclear strategy or inadequate strategic thinking. Here are the most common:
 
1) Lack of clarity or alignment: Without a clear direction (think goals, vision, mission, and strategic objectives), it becomes challenging to develop a coherent and effective strategy.

2) Insufficient analysis and information: It becomes difficult to formulate a robust strategy without a thorough understanding of the internal and external factors influencing the organization. We're talking about inadequate research, analysis, or gathering of the right information.

3) Having a limited long-term perspective: Focusing only on short-term gains or immediate challenges leads to reactive rather than proactive strategies.

4) Lack of involvement and collaboration: Planning requires input from diverse perspectives from various individuals or groups to ensure a comprehensive approach. When we don't get the right people involved, our strategy suffers.

5) Organizational culture and leadership: This one is big! A culture that doesn't prioritize strategic thinking or value innovation and creativity can hinder the development of clear strategies. Similarly, ineffective leadership that doesn't encourage strategic thinking or fails to provide guidance and support equally contributes to unclear strategies.
 
This isn't the end of the list, as organizations face other problems in creating strategies before attempting to execute them. However, it's important for organizations to address these causes and create an environment that allows for clear and effective strategic thinking. 
 
This must involve improving communication channels, promoting a culture of innovation, investing in research and analysis, involving all team members, and regularly reviewing and modifying strategies when business circumstances change or warrant doing something different.
 
First, we must understand that what we may have thought we were doing was "strategic planning" when in reality, that doesn't exist. 

To win at strategy requires that we start with better strategic thinking. 
 
And that is real. 
 
#ceos #leadership #strategicthinking #execution

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CULTURE is always at or near the top of the list of organizational items to improve or fix. Connecting a company's culture to its strategy is one of the most difficult challenges a leader will ever face. 

Here's why:
Beyond being time-consuming and requiring large amounts of energy and effort aimed at transformational change, many leaders and their teams aren't up to the challenge. 

They don't go into the initiative prepared to do what needs to be done and once they meet some resistance, their commitment wanes. They find it easier to maintain the status quo than do what it takes to transform their organization completely.
 
This ultimately becomes the perpetual back-and-forth battle between short and long-term thinking. Let's face it: there's great comfort and security in focusing on the near term.
 
Boardview, an Amsterdam-based marketing/technology firm that researches strategy and execution, has done some interesting studies that reinforce the difficulty involved with tying culture to strategy. 

Here are some of their findings:
 
* 80% of a workforce’s primary motivators, necessary for putting extra energy into change (or other efforts), are never tapped into by leadership,
 
* Fewer than 33% of senior executives direct reports clearly understand the connection between company priorities and their strategy,
 
* 60% of leaders think less than 20% of the workforce has a basic understanding of company strategy and can explain it
 
* 37% of leaders say gaining support across their entire organization is the toughest strategy implementation challenge they face.
 
With gaps the size that these statistics point out, it's not hard to understand why strategy is rarely tied back to culture. 

If your plan is to change or re-engineer your organization's culture, here's the starting blueprint. 
 
Great culture is an execution accelerator. When you can establish your culture and align your people with what you are attempting to accomplish operationally, the chances of transforming your organization increase as well.
 
Your people must always know what is expected of them and how they contribute to strategic success. Their work and level of productivity are outcomes of how you lead them. At a basic level, they want three things:
 
 1) To belong, be seen, and heard,
 2) To know that what they do matters, and
 3) That what they do can and will be measured.
 
If you want to tie your culture back to your strategy. Stop thinking about how the company results affect you, and start thinking about how your team members impact the results. 
 
Therein lies the answer to why fixing culture is always at or near the top of the list.

LEADERS set the tone for company culture.  
 
#ceos  #leadership #culture #execution

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Imagine a world where you set no goals at work, and your organization doesn't require you to set any. How far will an organization like this go? 
 

An organization that sets no goals operates without a clear sense of direction, purpose, or measurable objectives. A lack of focus, accountability, and structure can lead to many challenges and negative business outcomes in these environments.
 
Here's what contemporary goal-setting practice looks like in many organizations; some set goals because:
 
* They believe they need them; most goals like this are NOT well thought out, well-written, or supportive of higher-level goals and objectives.
* Goals are a way of awarding bonuses. These may or may not support anything beyond a financial target. Still, they could drive some efforts. 
* They work as a way to augment career development. These goals are most often assigned by HR and given to everyone.
* They want the tasks and activities of the team to align with the company's strategic objectives. 
 
If you've had a long enough career and been involved with one or more companies, you've likely experienced one or two of these practices. Perhaps you've experienced some that are not listed here.
 
There's also significant inconsistency in how goals get created. Consider;
 
* Some people are asked to develop and write their goals on their own,
* Many people are told what their goals need to be,
* Some are created by support functions (e.g., HR, Finance, Sales) and then distributed to everyone,
* Some are developed collaboratively by team members with their managers.
 
So, what's the best or most ideal practice/process for setting effective goals? 
 
It combines several of the aforementioned practices and includes the following developmental criteria;
 
1) Goals should be collaboratively developed. At a minimum, it is developed between a direct report and their manager.
2) Goals should be tailored (customized, specific) to capitalize on each direct report's strengths or avoid weaknesses.
3) Goals must stretch individuals, causing them to go beyond their current capabilities; there should be no "fluff" or easy elements to accomplish.
4) Goals should be a mix of (20%) personal or career aspirations and (80%) focused on operation needs that support company-based initiatives.
5) Goals must go beyond day-to-day responsibilities and support the organization's learning, growth, or improvement. 
 
Everyone should be involved in goal-setting and play a part in developing goals for themselves and their teams.  
 
If we want solid execution, setting goals needs to be an annualized practice. When goals drive no strategic objectives, we have nothing more than our day-to-day job responsibilities to carry the organization's success. 

Goals must be a priority in every organization. 

#ceos #leadership #goalsetting #execution 

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They call it a "circle of INFLUENCE" for a reason. Stay with me here!



We've all heard the expression, "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." We may believe we can achieve everything we need in our lives and careers alone. 

But it's a myth that we should carefully rethink.

However talented and smart we are, it still takes more. You may want to think about this, "Teamwork" is the fuel that allows common people to achieve uncommon results." 
 
When we achieve something great, by putting in significant individual effort, we will likely still have others to thank for helping to contribute to its success. 
 
Investing in those around us is the most significant commitment anyone can make in their work. When I say "us," I'm talking about those people directly within our circle of influence:
 
 * the people we report to, 
 * those that report to us, and 
 * those peers across functions that we work most closely with. 
 
These are the people with whom our success ultimately resides: our teams and those key relationships within them. Because of this, they require our full attention.
 
One of our primary responsibilities is to spend the necessary time developing these essential relationships. If we believe that we don't have enough time to do this, then we don't have enough time to do our jobs.
 
Our role and, ultimately, our ability to be successful with our work, will depend on those around us also succeeding. You can't survive going it alone or avoid the consequences of being a poor or unenthusiastic team member. Team players don't have a high degree of tolerance for anyone who carries a "lone wolf" attitude.
 
So, what's the best way to invest in your team?
 
Start by learning how to address problems quickly. Our natural inclination is to always protect ourselves first by avoiding conflict. Rather than facing issues head-on, we tend to step over or around them. If we can deal with problems at the moment and confront them openly and honestly, we'll find that they get resolved much quicker, boosting levels of trust and respect between everyone on the team.
 
In our circle of influence, we want to become known as someone who can be counted upon to deliver results. Someone who does what they say they will do, someone who executes.
 
Next, work to help others on the team to be their best. Do this as much as possible. Find the problems between the team and its key objectives, then work collaboratively to eliminate them.
 
Finally, understand that having a good working relationship with those on your team will enhance your position and influence within your company and demonstrate to others how to do it successfully. 
 
Once you start committing to the success of others, you'll never turn back from it. 

Think of it as the newest and most crucial part of your job.

Now think about this. What are you doing to help grow your "circle of influence"?
 
 #Leadership #execution #relationships #success

Here's my latest article about the impact of execution on company culture. No, it's not about the myth of "culture eating strategy" for breakfast. It's much better! 

#ceos #leadership #culture #strategy #execution  

Open article: The Impact of Execution on Company Culture by Monte Pedersen

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/impact-execution-company-culture-monte-pedersen?trackingId=uSflZlkW4I0nQqItJw%2FtIQ%3D%3D

Have you ever had to tell someone at work "No"? Even someone you like and respect? It may seem like a forbidden utterance and an expedited way to the unemployment line, but hear me out.
 
Don't think of the act itself or the short-term uneasiness it may bring you; think about what it can positively do for you and your career. 

Embracing the power of saying "no" can transform your professional life, leading to increased productivity, improved work-life integration, and a greater sense of self-worth.

Most of us have fallen into the trap of being that perpetual "Yes" person. We agree to every task, project, or request that comes our way, often at the expense of our well-being. We fear that saying "No" may lead to negative consequences, causing us to fall out of favor with a colleague or potentially termination.

Saying "no" is the first step towards setting healthy boundaries. It communicates that you respect your time and energy and encourage others to do the same. When colleagues and managers see that you have well-defined limits, they are more likely to respect and appreciate your honesty.

When you say "No" to requests that aren't aligned with your primary job responsibilities or area of expertise, you free up the time and mental space to excel at what you’ve been hired to do. This heightened focus leads to improved performance and recognition.

Contrast telling people “No” with overcommitment, which can lead to burnout, stress, and, ultimately, decreased productivity. Saying "No" when necessary allows you to strike a healthier balance between your professional and personal life.

Learning to say "No" also forces you to evaluate your priorities and make more informed decisions about where to allocate your time and energy. This can lead to better decision-making at work and in your personal life.

Authenticity is a cornerstone of building trust and strong relationships. Saying "No" honestly and respectfully demonstrates your commitment to open communication and integrity. You’re saying to someone that “you have very sound judgment and reasoning for not being able to comply.”

Finally, it's important to note that saying "No" often requires finesse. It's not about outright refusal but thoughtful consideration and seeking alternative solutions where possible. If you’re part of a workplace culture that values and respects boundaries and open communication, this can greatly alleviate the fear of retribution for saying "No."

The power of saying "no" at work should not be underestimated.

Wielding tact and honesty can transform your work life into a more fulfilling and sustainable journey that reflects a true commitment to personal productivity and organizational success.

Don’t wait until the negative symptoms of saying "Yes" catch up to you, before changing your thinking about saying "No".
 
#ceos #leadership #sayingno #execution

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When we hire people into management positions, we often assume they can lead others and take them through a complex strategy. However, nothing could be further from the truth.
 
This flawed assumption also applies to some organizations' senior people who have never been provided adequate leadership training or been exposed to their company's strategic plans.
 
Worse yet, some organizations focus a large portion of their resources on an individual's career or personal development versus training their work efforts against key initiatives that drive the organization's strategic objectives. 
 
A team member's personal development is essential. However, it should never be considered the best way to accomplish the operating results an organization needs. 
 
This is why effective strategy execution starts with managing individual performance. This is the ONLY way to align the daily tasks and activities of everyone on a team with the organization's key initiatives and business outcomes. 
 
Managing the execution of your strategy must ensure that all managers begin each day knowing what they're responsible for and what they need to accomplish:
 
* They need an accurate list of their Primary Job Responsibilities,
* They need a set of Goals over and above their daily duties  
* They need a regularly scheduled meeting with their manager to be accountable to company objectives, measuring the progress of both their responsibilities and goals.
 
Without these elements, your people will likely "keep themselves busy" or "work on projects with their team that have never been canceled." They may perform their job well but aren't likely performing to their potential or focusing on the organization's needs.

All your people, not just new managers, need to be connected to your business outcomes.

It's essential that organizations invest in the development and success of their new managers. Organizations can help these individuals overcome their initial struggles and become effective and confident leaders by providing the necessary support and resources.

Support and resources that teach them how to execute. How to get things done.
 
Does your organization connect its new managers to business outcomes?
 
 #ceos #execution #businessoutcomes #leadership

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If you haven't been paying attention to your middle managers and all those great individuals on their teams, it's time to start seeing them for all they do. 
 
 
Not only are middle managers critical to everyday operational success, but they've never been more important as it relates to the future of our organizational success. Think about this for a moment:
 
Middle managers serve as the “bridge” in your organizational hierarchy between leadership and the front lines. They ensure that strategic objectives are effectively translated into actionable plans for their people so they result in tangible outcomes. 

Their ability to manage teams, act as a feedback loop to leadership, and ability to execute strategies is essential for the success and growth of the business.

Additionally, we can safely assume that 2/3 or more of your future leadership teams will come from the ranks of front-line workers and middle management.
 
This tells us that business leaders must continuously invest in and work to expand these managers' abilities and business acumen to prepare them for future roles. Not enough organizations give solid consideration to developing these individuals, even when it's in their best interest.
 
With many being raised on the organization's front lines, these team members carry with them the "institutional memory" of the business. They figuratively “know where the bodies are buried,” understanding recent and past history.  

Their experience is invaluable in helping them navigate through almost any operating challenge.
 
As the graphic indicates, middle managers are "ideally positioned to balance the objectives of senior leadership with daily operating realities." This is something that many organizations continuously struggle with. 
 
The development process required to help middle managers prepare for future success must include;
 
* Teaching managers to understand the difference between being strategic versus tactical,
 
* Training them in how to execute a planned strategy effectively,
 
* Teaching them to use foresight and intuition versus always being reactive,
 
* Demonstrating how they can add value to the organization versus simply accomplishing things.
 
While senior executives formulate an overall strategy, middle managers are responsible for implementing and executing it at the operational level. They break down high-level goals into actionable tasks, allocate resources, and monitor progress to ensure the strategy is effectively carried out.
 
Middle managers play one of the more important roles in supporting the execution of your business strategy. Isn't it time we recognized this and started investing in them?

What do middle managers do for your organization?
 
#ceos #leadership #middlemanagers #execution

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Do you lead with courage, or do you let circumstances and fear of conflict dictate your actions? We all know how we want to lead and be seen as leaders, but what’s your truth?

Strong leadership is evidenced when a leader steps up, makes a hard decision, and then stands her ground for as long as it takes to see the change through to its fulfillment. 
 
When this happens, it takes tremendous courage and the potential tolerance to be universally disliked and not care about it. 
 
In their book "Discovering Execution" (2016), Miles Kierson and Gary Tomlinson discuss leaders who, when confronted about organizational change, always "want to run it by their team" first, fearful of making the call or decision on their own. 
 
This is not to say that leaders shouldn’t consult with their teams and the experts they have access to; they should. It says that a leader should never be afraid to make a decision that goes against what the majority believes. Especially when they believe the decision they are making is the right one.
 
When a leader defers a difficult decision to others, they abdicate their responsibility, attempting to "share" the cost of making a hard decision. This practice is akin to "getting everyone's fingerprints on a hand grenade" if it goes off! It's a move made to "spread the blame around," helping deflect criticism away from the leader. 

This is the furthest thing from courageous leadership.

There will always be decisions that only the leader in charge can make. When leaders try to make a decision they alone should make into a “team” decision, it almost always results in a "no" vote. You will never get a group of people to make a hard decision for you.

Humans are neurologically hardwired to avoid anything uncomfortable. We will always take the safest path that benefits us most or won't compromise us. 
 
This is true of any change and includes learning something new or implementing a new process or system. We fear anything that leaves our normal management pattern (read comfort zone). 
 
No matter the size of the effort, the cost, or the benefits and advantages of the change, it doesn't matter. We still fear it.
 
This is why strong and courageous leaders are needed. These are the leaders who stand by their decisions. They go all in and, by doing so, can bring others along with them, educating and leading them in making difficult but effective decisions. 
 
Their convictions tell them they're doing the right thing, and their vision for the organization further confirms this.
 
Great leaders must always have the courage to stand alone.
 
Think of the last major decision that you made impacting your team.
 
Did you lead courageously?
 
#ceos #leadership #courageousleaders #execution
 
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In any business, there is always that ONE person. The individual who holds most of the cards as it relates to our job, our future in that company, and, for the time being, our career. I'm talking about "the boss."
 
Singlehandedly, they control anywhere from 50-70% of how we perceive our job and feel about our company (Goleman 2016).
 
So why do so many of us never expand our efforts with them and do what it takes to make the manager-direct report relationship as strong as possible? Are we afraid of something?

Peter Drucker once said, "So much of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to work." Unknowingly, we likely contribute to this difficulty by not considering our role in the manager and direct report relationship. 
 
Put another way, are we doing all we can to "manage up" effectively?
 
Those who lead and manage us are just like us. They only know what they know, so why not take responsibility for building greater trust and respect in the relationship and let them know about us?
 
A responsible and effective leader will always ask questions and do their best to discover what's important about every team member. They seek to understand how we like to work, what we're skilled at, and what we struggle with. Our leaders should know what matters to us when they want to manage us effectively and help us get better.
 
So what happens when a manager fails to ask the right questions or asks no questions of us?
 
Mary Abbajay, author of the book "Managing Up: How to Move Up, Win at Work, and Succeed with Any Type of Boss" has some excellent suggestions (in the accompanying infographic) for anyone looking to improve their relationship with their boss. 
 
What you'll learn is that the responsibility for managing goes both ways. You own up to 50% of the relationship and have a stake in your bosses' success. Counter to that, your boss also has a stake in your success. 

If they're not helping you to achieve your aspirations, you had better approach them and ask why. We all want to be successful, to be led and directed in positive ways. Still, we must let our manager (or leader) know we are here to support them. 

We must let them know what they can count on us to do for them. 
 
And that starts by letting them know all about us. 
 
Are you effectively "managing up?"
 
#ceos #leadership #managingup #execution
 
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Leaders love the quick fix. Buy it, bring it in, implement it, and get it working. Great in theory, but how often have we seen "the flavor of the month" excite us and then quickly fade away?
 
We can always question leadership's commitment by their actions. However, their willingness and courage to transform their organizations truly tell us where their hearts and minds are. 

Do they want to see substantive change, or are they happy simply chasing the symptoms of what ails the organization? Things like culture, alignment, engagement, communication, and others.
 
If you, as a leader, believe a quick fix is all your business needs, and you’ve not identified what exactly needs fixing, then the chances are fairly good that you may never know. 
 
This is the challenge of continuously leading and managing your business in the short term. 
 
Business success takes more than recruiting better talent, adding new software, or experimenting with a new business model. It requires discipline. Having the discipline developed over time to effectively implement and accomplish the strategic (what's most important to you and sustains the business). 
 
Ultimately, success can only come from leading for the long term. This requires a dedicated commitment to building company culture and living your values. From the foundation up, it must include everyone to work its best. 
 
Managing the successful execution of your business can only happen when you have a framework, a system, and a process that aligns the daily tasks and activities of everyone on your team with the business outcomes you need. 
 
Having a great business, happy and contented team members, and solid control over business operations are all great things. 
 
The only problem is this: It's not a quick fix. You'll never get there by chasing the symptoms. 
 
#ceos #leadership #quickfix  #execution

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Participating in or working to help build an exceptional business strategy has always been one of an organization's more prestigious activities. 

As leaders, we rejoice in our highly visible and potentially impactful creation. 

That is until we realize it will take five to ten times the effort to get our people prepared and knowledgeable to execute it. We do this by working collaboratively and assuming that what we've built is the “right strategy” for the organization. 
 
"Although most organizations rely on communication plans to make the shift from strategic thinking to strategic acting, communication is not enough to drive execution. Strategy execution is about action", according to Peter Bregman, CEO of Bregman Partners.
 
Knowing that leadership speed is about initiating action, we need a way to initiate actions quickly once the strategic plan is in place. A well-thought-out plan that will align the thoughts, activities, and strengths of everyone on the team with the organization's needed results. 
 
This actionable process must start by defining what Bregman calls the "Big Arrow." That one needed result (big outcome) we want to achieve.  
  
Absolutely critical to the process is keeping all of our people focused on their contributions; no matter how big or small, they're important. They must be completed on a timely basis and done well. 
 
Throughout the strategy process, it's imperative that leaders work alongside their people. This is best accomplished by holding "one-on-one" progress meetings. These sessions must be used to monitor, measure, and track the progress of everyone's efforts. 

If anyone's efforts fall short, it becomes known immediately, and the responsible manager and direct report develop a plan for getting back on track.
 
Collecting data and information from these sessions is critical to understanding what did and didn't work. This information's documentation helps us plan effectively for the next year and future strategies. 
 
Leadership teams benefit by having this line-of-sight into real-time data and information. They find it helpful in determining where to allocate their time, targeting areas requiring more focus or support. 
 
Getting team members to connect and communicate regularly is the only way flawless execution occurs. We must be able to tell each other the truth and call each other out when operations are not functioning as planned.
      
No difficult conversation is not worth having at the expense of organizational success.
 
As Bregman shares, "Strategy execution is not about a moment in time; it’s thousands of moments across time. If we don't effectively manage the people responsible for making those moments happen, we will still have an execution problem."

Now, do you still believe that developing a strategy is prestigious?
 
#ceos #leadership #execution #strategy

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Owning our work goes beyond just completing tasks; it's about embodying a proactive and passionate approach to what we're producing, whether a product, a service, or anything else involving our effort and contribution.
 
To "own our work" means taking full responsibility, pride, and control over our creative or productive output, including those within our charge.

Whenever there is a negative outcome to a process we're involved in, or maybe it's a complex challenge that didn't go well? How many of us would automatically look inward at our role before considering the role that others played?

Great leaders question their role and complicity in any issue or event before affixing blame or taking punitive action. They understand that ownership is more than taking credit for successes. It's also embracing challenges and failures as part of the job. 
 
"A leader must own everything in their world." Until this happens, we will never reach the success and accomplishment we seek.
 
Most of us learned the hard way, witnessing and dealing with difficult experiences over many years of leading teams. When problems occurred, we ran for cover, sought excuses, or found someone to blame. 
 
Behavior like this comes from self-preservation and fear of having difficult conversations. It was OK to have people on our teams fall short of expectations or fail because we could still lead unaffected, believing that any shortfall or failure was on someone else.

Our flawed thinking was that the outcome was never the result of our leadership or direction.
 
It's a great example of when we disavow ownership, holding back effort and support due to ego, pride, conceit, self-identity, and self-worth. It is the poorest example of how to lead and an insult to those we've been given the privilege of leading.
 
"Often, the most difficult ego to deal with is our own," according to Jocko Willink, business leader, keynote speaker, and former US Navy Seal and co-author of the book "Extreme Ownership, How US Navy Seals Lead and Win" (2015). 
 
Truly great leaders own every inch of real estate they and their people inhabit regardless if it's a win, loss, mistake, success, or failure. They make no excuses and take full ownership. 
 
They shield their team from criticism and harm, addressing any failure as part of an "after-action review" or similar process. They ensure that nothing is left unsaid or unattended, helping to keep everyone on the team aligned, accountable, and working together.
 
Taking ownership as a leader is different from being accountable. If you, your team, or your organization lack the tools and resources to get the job done, YOU must ensure they get what they need, no one else.
 
We can only execute and optimize results when we approach everything by taking ownership. 
 
Do you own everything in your world?
 
#ceos #leadership #ownership #execution
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In every business, there are two critical elements; one is a strategy and the other is execution.

These are two completely different disciplines that must operate as parallel processes. They must be fully integrated and dependent upon one another yet managed as two separate functions. 
 
You can't execute without a strategy; a strategy does you no good if you lack the ability to execute it.
 
According to Roger Martin, former Dean of the Rotman School of Business, University of Toronto, the difference between them is. "Strategy is your best guess at how the business will perform. It’s largely a theory. You cannot predict how it will happen. Planning (the execution) is something that is within your power. You control it."
 
Most leadership teams don't try to organize and mobilize the resources needed to formally "take on execution."  They don't understand that it needs to be a core competency within their organization. 

This isn’t hard to imagine; businesses operate daily in the status quo. They may not show improvement, grow, or capitalize on opportunities, but they can function. 
 
There are seven reasons why leadership teams fail to take on execution as a dedicated effort and commit to it.
 
1) Until leaders discover execution for themselves, they don’t see its value.
2) Leaders who have never been held accountable for results are terrified of the idea of it.
3) Leaders, in general, are risk averse and don’t want to be held to their promises.
4) Most leaders only want to be comfortable in their job.
5) The organizational drift (the direction the business is headed in) is built on avoiding discomfort.
6) Leaders believe that the language and actions required to manage execution effectively will “turn off” their people. 
7) There is a lack of courage and commitment on the part of senior leaders to try it.

Despite these reasons, managing execution is viewed by leadership teams as additional work and commitment, which it is. 

It requires continuous effort, ongoing oversight, and significant involvement from your teams. And it takes action.

Actions are the real-time movements and adjustments that are needed to make sure what you’re doing is supporting the achievement of your strategic objectives. 
 
It takes strategy from being something we pay attention to sparingly to being the central focus for how the organization functions and operates.  
 
The real question for leadership teams is, "How badly do you want to;

*align your people?
*achieve your annual plan consistently? 
*get increasingly better at both strategy and execution?"
 
Organizations that desire these three things must look at strategy execution as the missing link to their business success.

Most of all… 
 
They must be stronger than their excuses. When they are, they will find the price to be worth it. 
 
 #ceos #leadership #strategy #execution
 
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