You can’t trade your company’s culture in as if it were a used car.  For all its benefits and blemishes, it’s a legacy that remains uniquely yours.  Cultures evolve over time—sometimes slipping backward, sometimes progressing—and the best you can do is work with and within them, rather than fight them.~Jon R. Katzenbach, Ilona Steffen, Caroline Kronley

I’ve read a number of articles and studies about why strategic plans fail and have attempted to steer leaders clear of those obstacles. I’ve come across numerous articles that not only highlight, but emphasize the critical nature of a strategy aligning with a culture in order to have that strategy be embraced by the organization.

Authors Katzenbach, Steffen, and Kronley wrote a thought-provoking article in HBR entitled, Cultural Change that Sticks: Start with What’s Already Working. There are many great takeaways from this article, but I’m going to highlight the nuggets that really stood out to me. The author trio said…

Leaders: Start with What’s Already Working

Too often an organization’s strategy, imposed from above, is at odds with the ingrained practices and attitudes of its culture. Leaders may underestimate how much a strategy’s effectiveness depends on culture alignment. Culture trumps strategy every time.

Change is Hard

Studies show that only 10% of people who have had heart bypass surgery or an angioplasty make major modifications to their diets and lifestyles afterward. We don’t alter our behavior even in the face of overwhelming evidence that we should. Change is hard. So you need to choose your battles.

Observe the behavior prevalent in your organization now, and imagine how people would act if your organization were at its best, especially if their behavior supported your business objectives. Ask the people in your leadership groups, “If we had the kind of culture we aspire to, in pursuit of the strategy we have chosen, what kinds of new behaviors would be common? And what ingrained behaviors would be gone?”

It’s tempting to dwell on the negative traits of our culture, but any corporate culture is a product of good intentions that evolved in unexpected ways and will have many strengths. If you can find ways to demonstrate the relevance of the original values and share stories that illustrate why people believe in them, they can still serve your organization well. Acknowledging the existing culture’s assets will also make major change feel less like a top-down imposition and more like a shared evolution.

I’ve watched numerous organizations struggle to implement their strategic plan. In retrospect, in several cases I can see where the strategy was asking the organization to make a cultural leap that probably felt like they were trying to straddle the Grand Canyon. I would argue that it’s always good to challenge yourself in a strategic plan, but starting with what’s working within your culture as a launching pad certainly makes all kinds of sense.

Swim Downstream

It’s kind of like choosing to swim downstream and throwing in a new stroke every so often to continue to evolve overtime—gradually, intentionally, and gently.

We as a people have such purpose today. It is to make kinder the face of the nation and gentler the face of the world. ~George H.W. Bush, January 20, 1989 Inauguration

This past week while the nation said a final goodbye to our 41^st President, several images that stood out to me. One of those images was the friendship that developed between George H .W. Bush and Bill Clinton. This friendship reminded me of one of the points in Simon Sinek’s forthcoming book, The Infinite Game. Simon makes a case for the idea that leaders who view leadership from the paradigm of an infinite game will have a worthy rival as opposed to a competitor.

A Worthy Rival

A worthy rival is acknowledged and treated with respect. Our success or failure isn’t measured against them. Our rivals push us to improve. We are constantly striving to become a better version of ourselves. Ultimately, we are competing against ourselves.

Who are the beneficiaries when leaders become rivals instead of competitors? The followers! Using politics as an example, imagine two candidates who are pushing each other to become better, who create strategies as if their #1 competitor is themselves. We get two better candidates from which to choose!

Leaders Have a Worthy Rival Mindset

Last week CNN reported, “Once political rivals, Presidents Bush and Clinton ended up forming an unlikely friendship.”CNN quoting Bush, “Just because you run against someone does not mean you have to be enemies. Politics does not have to be mean and ugly.”

This CNN piece was titled The letter George H.W. Bush left for Clinton is a lesson in grace. If you have or haven’t read this letter, I believe it’s worth repeating. It’s a wonderful example of a leader’s worthy rival mindset.

Dear Bill,

When I walked into this office just now I felt the same sense of wonder and respect that I felt four years ago. I know you will feel that, too.

I wish you great happiness here. I never felt the loneliness some Presidents have described.

There will be very tough times, made even more difficult by criticism you may not think is fair. I’m not a very good one to give advice; but just don’t let the critics discourage you or push you off course.

You will be our President when you read this note. I wish you well. I wish your family well.

Your success now is our country’s success. I am rooting hard for you.

Good luck—

George

May all leaders find the courage to become a worthy rival, and lead with grace, as did George H.W. Bush.

Failure to collaborate was, ironically, a function of their excelling at the jobs they were hired to do and of management reinforcing that excellence. ~Carlos Valdes-Dapena

Stop Wasting Money on Team Building is an article title I’ve seen pop-up in social media over the past couple of weeks. I decided it was time to give it a read. I agree with the basic premise of the author. Spending lots of money on activities like rope courses, cooking classes, etc. provides a short-term bonding experience. Unfortunately, when back at the office and faced with tense situations and conflict, that “team building” will have disappeared.

I believe that some of the emphasis on team building over the past number of years has swung the pendulum too far in one direction. Leaders assume that nearly every effort in organizations should be completed in collaboration. And all that collaborating makes organizations more effective. We need collaboration. We need to be more strategic and thoughtful about when collaborating really is the best approach.

Basketball team?

Some authors suggest that real teams, the most collaborative teams, resemble the highly interdependent and constant interaction of a basketball team. This is contrasted with a golf team, made up of highly independent team members. I’m going to step-out and disagree with this perspective.

First of all, there is a great deal of research that indicates that we are most innovative and creative when working alone, independently. Second, sometimes too much collaboration results in group think. You’re not finding the best answer but instead the one you’ve collectively gravitated towards.

Or relay team?

Is there a happy medium? I think so. I’ll stick with the sporting analogy and suggest that team building needs to focus on becoming better relay teams. There is significant time spent working independently. Similar to a relay team, the handoffs become extremely critical. So critical that the handoff can mean the difference between winning and losing.

This also means a shift in prioritizing our “team building” efforts. The author of Stop Wasting Your Money on Team Building points out, the priority shifts to establishing accountability. For those individuals involved in this research, they said that “collaboration is an idealized and vague goal with no concrete terms or rules. Collaboration is messy. It dilutes accountability and offers few tangible rewards.” Consequently, here are three things this group of employees did differently that resulted in significant organizational performance improvements – a different way to look at team building.

• Build collaborative commitments into individual performance objectives
• Co-create a list of behaviors expected of each other in support of those commitments
• Agree upon how to hold yourselves accountable

I think this is much more like a relay team. Recognize that some efforts are completed more effectively without a great deal of collaboration, but within the context of collaborative commitments (like a relay handoff). Then determine behaviors to support those commitments (decide which relay handoff technique you’ll use). Finally, how will you hold yourselves accountable (will you win or lose the race).

In a nutshell

Team Building = Building Accountability

Research shows that personal power actually interferes with our ability to empathize. People who have power suffer deficits in empathy, the ability to read emotions, and the ability to adapt behaviors to other people. ~Lou Solomon

I recently met with a potential client who is seeking someone to help them to better live out their values, specifically around diversity. During our initial conversation I provided an example of an intervention that I have found helpful with other clients. When they are ready (this typically isn’t in the first meeting), I’ll ask everyone in a group or team to identify two things for each person.

• One thing that the team member contributes that makes the team better. The single biggest area of strength as it pertains to the impact on this group.
• One thing that the team member does that sometimes hinders this team. One aspect they could improve upon.

They seemed a bit apprehensive by my suggested intervention. They asked if a subordinate would give feedback to their supervisor. Well, yes. In my opinion, if a supervisor isn’t ready to hear feedback from the people they supervise, then they really aren’t ready to be a supervisor. This is why people with power suffer deficits in empathy.

It Starts Small

According to Solomon, deficits in empathy start small. Leaders with power might throw their weight around, then demand special treatment. They practice isolated decision making – getting their way. Before you know it, they are using their power for their own benefit.

So what can leaders do if they think they might have crossed the line?

Solomon says, “leaders must be willing to risk vulnerability and ask for feedback.”

Asking for feedback doesn’t mean you are losing your power. It means you are using your power most effectively for the team and the organization. It’s one step to help keep you from abusing your power, and allowing you to maintain your ability to empathize.

Leaders Adapt Behavior to Other People

Another intervention I use frequently is I ask team members to spend a week intentionally looking for ways they can adapt their behavior to other people. This too can be challenging for leaders with power. They don’t spend much time thinking about what other people need from them, especially in terms of behaviors.

For example, a leader in power might be someone who is very comfortable forging ahead on a project with very vague direction. However, other people need more specific details to get started on a project. Neither behavior is right or wrong; they are simply different. It’s the leader’s responsibility to adapt their behavior in order for others to have the best chance possible to achieve success. In other words, empathize!

If you have power, have you checked your empathy deficit lately?

When a [leader] doesn’t have gratitude, something is missing in his or her humanity. A [leader] can almost be defined by his or her attitude toward gratitude. ~Elie Wiesel (Romanian-born American Jewish writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor)

Thanksgiving is the time of year when we pause and have a heightened sense of gratitude. What comes to mind for me this week is a TED Talk by Christine Porath. She describes how Doug Conant, CEO of Campbell’s Soup Company turned the company around by being mindful of every touchpoint with employees.

Leaders are Tough-minded on Standards and Tenderhearted with People

Porath: When my friend Doug Conant took over as CEO of Campbell’s Soup Company in 2001, the company’s market share had just dropped in half. Sales were declining, lots of people had just been laid off. A Gallup manager said it was the least engaged organization that they had surveyed.

Within five years, Doug turned things around. Within nine years, they set all-time performance records and racked up awards, including best place to work. How did he do it? For Doug, it all came down to being tough-minded on standards and tenderhearted with people. For him, it’s all about these touchpoints, or daily interactions with employees, whether in the hallway, in the cafeteria, or in meetings. If he handled each touchpoint well, employees would feel valued.

Doug also showed employees that he was paying attention. He hand wrote over 30,000 thank-you notes. This set an example for other leaders. Leaders have about 400 of these touchpoints a day. Most don’t take long, less than two minutes each. The key is to be agile and mindful in each of these moments.

I’m in awe over the idea of 30,000 handwritten thank-you notes! I’m also in awe over the fact that a Holocaust survivor (Elie Wiesel) would say that a person can almost be defined by their attitude toward gratitude.

Imagine 400 touchpoints a day. Even if a leader only works 40 weeks a year, that’s 80,000 touchpoints! To be agile and mindful of those moments all throughout the year, not just the weeks falling between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. That’s a different type of leadership.

Grateful Leadership

Judith Umlas author of Grateful Leadership says “grateful leaders are those who see, recognize, and express appreciation and gratitude for their employees’ and other stakeholders’ contributions and for their passionate engagement, on an ongoing basis.”

Note: this is not an annual event around the holidays, it’s what grateful leaders do on an ongoing basis.

Want to evaluate your leadership? Ask yourself: What’s your attitude toward gratitude?