Breaking the Chains of Culture - Slides used in Webinar with the Best Practices Institure - April 2009

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-BREAKING THE CHAINS OF CULTURE – is the result of looking at thousands of issues that impact an organizations ability to be as successful as possible. Most of these issues result from individuals not having relationships where they trust each other.Just imagine if you only had to deal with the work task and not the people issues related to it. In many cases we would argue that the people and relationships they have take more time and energy to work on than the actual work itself. Having productive relationships is the key to organizational success.Having trust is the key to having successful and relationships.

-CHANGE – And it s in many ways. A change that seems good in one area may cause problems in other areas.- e.g. Outsourcing of our customer service department to another country may cut costs, but what happens when the new computer you bought doesn’t work and you have to call customer service and tell them the cable that is about 3 inches from the bottom does not seem to plug in and they don't know what “inches” are. It makes it hard to make sure you are talking about the same thing. To solve a problem it helps for everyone to know what the problem is.-GLOBALIZATION – Standards, quality levels. Anyone old enough to remember the first Japanese cars that were sold in the US? They were junk and Toyota was even one of the brands. What do you think of Toyota today? (quality). -MOBILITY – People move, things change at a much greater pace. How do you quickly build a trusting relationship. (It could be jobs, schools, houses). -SPEED -- You can’t sit back and watch what will happen – you need to be out there making things happen.-TECHNOLOGY – Used the right way can be a differentiator and can change the marketplace you are in.-STANDARDIZATION – Along with change – how quickly can you adapt and be productive. E.g. cell phones – the capability increases at a rapid pace, but can you just pick up and learn the new things or is it a radical change where you have to learn everything from the beginning again in order to get the latest enhancements. (Product Innovation).-DIVERSITY – No longer just a US term and about getting “so many of this category and so many of that”, but getting people with different insights that together can make a difference in all you do. Just a note in the US we have tried to make everyone the same , in other parts of the world they have allow people to keep their identity and have focused on inclusion . -NEED OTHERS TO GET THINGS DONE – No one person can know or do it all. You need to have a strong network of individuals that you can count on to get things done..

WE WILL GO INTO THESE MORE, BUT SOME KEY AREAS INCLUDE:-DIMENSIONS OF TRUST – Looks at the relationship of CONFIDENCE and how it impacts FEAR and the RISKS we are willing to take.-BARRIERS TO BUILDING TRUST – Often come from what we have learn and from what has made us successful in the past. - e.g. getting results, but not necessarily seeing if the results were achieved in a collaborative team oriented way.-IMPACT ON THE ORGANIZATION’S TALENT BASE – Relationships are key to an organization’s success. How well people work together has a direct impact on the organization’s level of success.-BUILDING A CULTURE OF TRUST – There are some things that can be done to help build a culture of trust. We’ll look at these in more detail as we go along.

-TRUST – It is important to have a common understanding and context with others regarding what you are communicating about. Here is how we look at “trust”.Keep in mind that just saying “I trust you.” may not really mean that trust is there. It has to be developed, it is more than just words. It is feelings and actions that go with what is said. Trust often takes time to build.

-THE IMPACT ON RELATIONSHIPS – In any organization there are a number of different relationships. PEER-to-PEER, SUBORDIANTE TO SUPERVISOR, INDIVIDUAL to TEAM., DEPARTMENT TO DEPARTMENT. - The level of Trust determines how effective these relationships are.-THE IMPACT ON PRODUCTIVITY – what we get done today. -When teams trusted each other they focus on reaching goals and not worry as much about the relationships and the issues related to the relationship.-THE IMPACT ON INNOVATION – what we can do in the future.-Individuals and teams were willing to try more and newer things. They don't FEAR RISKS and EMBARASSMENT. -THE IMPACT ON THE ABILITY TO CHANGE. -With all the changes related to; mergers, acquisition, globalization, and pressure on new product development TRUST is a key in making things happen more quickly and with less cost and issues. -In some organizations individuals have been in their roles a long time and to change carries risk. Where relationships built on trust it is easier.

-AS AN EXERCISE – THINK OF A RELATIONSHIP YOU HAVE WITH SOMEONE YOU INTERACT WITH REGULARLY, Q -What has enabled you to trust them?A – Some things might include; having common goals, the ability to speak the same language, similar training and background, common values and beliefs, and from a communications perspective being open about how you feel and allowing the other person to be open about how they feel. - Not necessarily agreeing, but being open to try to understand.Q – What has inhibited you from trusting the other person?A –Some things that may inhibit trust in a relationship include; different value systems, different goals, different methods of accomplishing goals, people saying one thing, but their actions indicate another thing.ONE OF THE MAJOR CONTRADICTIONS I SEE IS THAT ORGANIZATIONS TALK ABOUT TEAM WORK, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO REWARDS AND PUNISHMENT THEY REWARD AND PUNISH AT THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL..-By knowing what brings us together and what keeps us apart we can start by focusing on commonalities to enable the relationship. By starting out discussing things we agree on we can build and understand why individuals believe the way they do.

-You hear a lot about an organization’s culture and the impact it has on how individuals interact. Here is an example of “getting results” and “the method used”. This is one example, but it sets the tone for interactions.A defining characteristic of an organization’s culture is not only if the individuals in it get results, but how they get the results.It sets the tone for how closely individuals work together (collaboration) or how much they compete with each other (competition). Finding the right balance is key.Q: Can Anyone think of any examples where organizations have been successful, but have had their tactics questioned?A: Enron, WorldCom, Lucent – CEO paid over $2 million dollars in a year when the stock lost 90% of its value. GE gets results, but can be a tough culture – Bottom 10% replaced every yeas. VS. Proctor and Gamble – in the past only hired out of school and only promoted from within.

PAST EXPERIENCES – Our past experiences and what we have learned from them sets the framework for how we approach new situations. The problem is that what worked in the past may not be the best way to deal with the future. -PERSONAL VALUES AND BELIEFS – These may not be the result of experiences, but could be learned responses to dealing with a situation. Often we are impacted by those around us. We tend to adopt their belief system in order to fit it.-REWARD SYSTEMS – Are they designed for individuals or teams. Winner take all or gradual gain. Remember if – the reward pie is a fixed size, for me to get more you have to get less. So trust and sharing are held back.-FILTERS , Halo-effect, primacy / recency effect. Impressions we build from our experiences.Q; Anyone have an example?- Remember the Biases exercise from the book? Q: Any insights you care to share?

Another component is not only “TRUST”, but the level of trust (or HELP) individuals have or are willing to give others. There is a wide range, from . . .- SABOTAGE, which is not HELP at all, but actual deliberate intent to cause harm. This can happen when one individual “blindly” trusts another or where one individual disguises an offer to help, but in reality is only looking for ways to benefit themselves.- AVOIDANCE, where an individual that can help purposely does not .- HAND-OFF, can be good or bad depending on the intent of the person handing it off.- DIRECTION, providing assistance, but trusting the other person knows how to do things or where to get the resources.- GUIDANCE, where an individual provides assistance, but also checks in regularly to make sure things are going according to plan.- ASSISTANCE, offering actual help in getting something done.- MENTORING, giving guidance base on ones expertise and experience. Knowing how to deal with things are work through things when they don’t go according to plan. - DO IT ALL, simply doing the work, which can be good or bad. Good if it helps the person get things done and personally develop, Bad if it just lets the person get out of doing the work.

-Often problems start un-intentionally. One person does something for their own best interest, but in the process it negatively impacts someone else.- Small misunderstanding turn into major controversies where power and control become the focus rather than reaching goals and doing what is right.- This often happens when an individual joins a new group or organization. They enter with a background that worked for them in the past, but in the new environment things just don’t work the same way. It does not matter if the persons approach or process are better than what the organization currently does. It is simply “not how we do it here.”

-It is also important to keep culture in mind.-AMERICAN CULTURE / NO MORE IMPORTANTLY AMERICAN CORPORATE CULTURE – For me to get more you have to get less, so why should we work together.The same if you look at REWARDS we encourage team work , but reward individuals. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN AT A COMPANY MEETING AND SOMEONE GETS AN AWARD AND INSTEAD OF BEING HAPPY FOR THE PERSON EVERYONE WONDERS HOW AND WHY THAT PERAON GOT THE AWARD?-Other cultures approach things differently- Asian - the group-GV Japanese experience – Hi – yes I understand you not necessarily that I agree with you.

SCENARIO:You have two individuals (say salespeople). One does her work, builds a plan, works her plan. She is a good engineer and gets things done without much fanfare. Individuals respect her and she rarely puts in long hours or works on weekends.The other engineers also gets things done on time. She is a confident speaker who rarely plans things out. When she runs into an issue she lets everyone know and tries to get help from wherever she can. Her team frequently works long hours and into the night.QUESTIONS:- Who is the better engineer?- Which type of engineer usually gets recognized and rewarded?- What does that say about an organizations reward systems?- What are the ramifications to the people (team) working with this individual? Morale, burnout, turnover.-DOES A FIREMAN HAVE TO START A FIRE TO LOOK GOOD IN PUTTING IT OUT?- ALSO does anyone know what SANDBAGGING is and how the game works.

-OVERT vs. COVERT CONFLICT-OVERT: May not like, but know where you stand. Positions are on the table and it is up to the individuals to build and present their point of view.-COVERT: Often don’t know what the issue is. Focus is more often on destroying a person than dealing with the issue.-BEST to confront, bring the issue into the open. Let each side present their case. Make decisions based on facts not just feelings.

-Issues come up, but what makes a difference is how we react to what has happened.-To often individuals try to AVOIDE a problem hoping it will go away. Unfortunately the problem usually gets worse and seldom goes away.- It is best to handle a problem straight forward as it is happening.- Understand what happened. Try to determine why. Look for alternatives to deal with the real problem. - Involve others as needed.-Ready, Fire, Aim – Often a symptom of a “Controlling Manager” . Isn’t sure what went wrong or why, but will take some action in hope that things get better or at least go away for a while. Unfortunately things seldom just go away.-Blaming Others – Some individuals in order to avoid accountability or anything that may hurt their reputation will deliberately blame others. A short-term strategy that usually causes more problems for them in the long-run.

-BENEFITS OF POOR COMMUNICATION. - We would anyone be a poor communicator. Q: Anyone ever work with someone who just does not communicate?Q: Does it frustrate you more than a person who does and you disagree with? Q: Anyone ever seen a person that has been successful by not taking action and not communicating?GV: Air Force – ANG perspective on troops coming home.

-GROUND RULES: Could be around process – return all phone calls and emails within 24 hours.-COMMON LANGUAGE: GV / Japanese experience “HI” yes I understand vs. yes I agree.-COMMON POING OF REFERENCE: - Codes, Standards, Regulations—e.g. in accordance with IRS Regulation XYZ this is what we do.- Trade Language (e.g. I’ve got 110” deadhead going to Chicago.) Q: Anyone understand this?- Organizational Culture-OPENNESS: Environment that allows questioning / listening.-SENDER-encodes—TRANSMISSION—RECEIVER-decodes (NOISE)-LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION—AWARENESS, INFORMATION, MOVE TO ACTION-Snowflake exercise???

-LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION: Not everyone can know everything.- Based on what you are trying to accomplish. It might be worth asking:- What level of involvement do I want.-AWARENESS: Just have a general knowledge.-UNDERSTANDING: Know how things work.-COMMITMENT: Want support.-ACTION: Actually get them to do something.-BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: RELATED TO LEVELS OF LEARNING:- Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation.

-Today one of the hot topics in organizations is TALENT MANAGEMENT..-The area of RECRUITING AND SELECTION – Finding the right people, selecting the right people for the positions available.- WHY DO PEOPLE WANT TO WORK FOR CERTAIN COMPANIES –Its the CULTURE, BRAND.CAREER DEVELOPMENT – How do people progress in an organization. How are Career Paths laid out.PERF ORMANCE MANAGEMENT – How individuals are evaluated. What Feedback is given.-TURNOVER – FORCED = GE Voluntary = would be something like Civil ServiceREMEMBER PUSH vs. PULL from the book.Q: What are the implications?A: Pull – People are attracted in, Push – they want to leave, bad conditions,

-FEAR – Can be both good and bad. Protect us from harm, but also can hold us back from trying to do something new and different.-PERSONAL FEAR – or self-doubt can be a lack of confidence. Ask why? Then Plan, Practice, study, train, or network to understand the real RISK involved.-FEAR OF OTHERS – what they can do to us. Ask why would they want to hurt us? Is it a threat? What is the fear based on? Can the relationship change or your relationships with others overcome this.-FEAR OF THE ORGANIZATION – Less than in the past. People have more options and are not locked into one organization for life.--TO OVER COME:- Recognize where the fear comes from and how great of an impact can it truly have.What alternatives and contingencies are available.? What is the worst than can happen? What most likely will happen?Alliances; Can working with others help you overcome this.

-KNOW YOURSELF – What are your personal strengths and weaknesses.-KNOW OTHERS – Do you have a network of individuals that have the skills to complement yours and will help you when needed.-WORK WITHIN YOUR COLLECTIVE STRENGTHS – What talents does your network have and how can you best leverage them.

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Breaking the Chains of Culture - Slides used in Webinar with the Best Practices Institure - April 2009 - Presentation Transcript

How to Make a Difference in Interacting with Others. George Vukotich, Ph.D.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT • Change (in many ways) • Globalization • Mobility • Speed • Technology • Standardization (or lack of) • Diversity Need others to get things done.
KEY AREAS  Dimensions of Trust  Barriers to Building Trust  Impact on the Organization’s Talent Base  Building a Culture of Trust
TRUST The sharing of information and feelings with others with the hope that by sharing it will bring us closer to the person we share with, and that they may have some ideas or offer to help us in some way.
WHERE TRUST MAKES A DIFFERENCE  Impact on Relationships  Impact on Productivity  Impact on Innovation  Impact on the Ability to Change
DIMENSIONS OF TRUST Th E ... N C en n e ID E Ih av eo F m N e co so CO le ns ss eq TRUST e FE av ue Ih AR nc in TRIAD n es of he … W And I am willing to RISK more in
ENABLERS AND INHIBITORS ENABLERS INHIBITORS
WHO WE IMPACT Why we want IN drives what and NS to do things… TE how we act… O Organization R AC TI VA TI O TI Teams N O S M Individuals RELATIONSHIPS which impacts our capacity to trust others.
RIGHT RESULTS RIGHT WAY Culture of “Winner Take All” Successful Individual Successful Organization No Collaboration Right Results Collaboration, Sharing, Development Review Strategy Opportunity to Develop Review Individual Organization and Individual Wrong Results Wrong Way Right Way
BARRIERS TO BUILDING TRUST  Past Experiences  Personal Values and Beliefs  Rewards Systems  Filters and Biases
DEGREES OF TRUST (HELP) Do it All Mentoring Increasing Degrees of Assistance Desire to Help You Guidance Direction Hand-off Avoidance Sabotage Increasing Degrees of Commitment to You
BARRIER BUILDERS MISPERCEPTIONS … Le to ad ad Le to … DAMAGED MISSED REPUTATIONS Lead to… OPPORTUNITY
GETTING A PIECE OF THE PIE
HERO’S real WHO’S THE HERO?
CONFLICT BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS OVERT COVERT
FIXING SYMPTOMS OR SOLVING PROBLEMS  Things happen – what makes a difference is how we react to what happens.  Avoidance  Ready, Fire, Aim  Blaming others
COMMUNICATION BENEFITS OF POOR COMMUNICATION • Minimizes the impact of poor planning • Cuts down on questions • Easier to deny what you said later on • Way to gain/maintain power • Helps you preserve mystique and hide insecurities • Minimizes opposition and criticism
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION - Ground rules - Common language, structure, process - Common point of reference - Openness to asking / sharing / clarifying
LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION ACTION COMMITMENT UNDERSTANDING AWARENESS
DECISION MAKING HIGH EMPOWERMENT •Group Decides •Get Recommendations from the Group •Gather Information from the Group •Sell the group on your decision •Tell the group what to do LOW EMPOWERMENT
THE STATUS QUO rt Sa fo fe om 3 Sides of ty C the Status Quo Familiarity
IMPACT ON AN ORGANIZATION’S TALENT BASE  Recruiting / Selection  Career Development  Performance Management  Turnover:  Forced vs. Voluntary  Push / Pull Factors
DIMENSIONS OF MANAGEMENT LOW DEPENDENT REFERENT need for EXPERT control HIGH MICRO need for CONTROLLING MANAGER control LOW HIGH level of level of knowledge knowledge
FEAR  Personal Fear (self doubt)  Fear of Others (what they can do to us)  Fear of the Organization (larger fear)  Recognize where it comes from  Alternatives / Contingencies  Alliances
HOW TO BUILD TRUST . st ne Va ho lid d WHAT at an in en g BUILDS ot op he TRUST g rs in . Be Accepting risk collectively.
HOW TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE le In op v ite Pe 3 Key … … D ge Solution ia ga lo g En Techniques Support…the Outcome
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT  What can be done to accelerate trust building?  If trust is damaged how can it be repaired?  Does the level of trust have an impact on the overall success of individuals and organizations?
WHAT CAN YOU DO f el Kn rs Keys ow u Yo O to ow th e Kn rs Success Work Within Your Collective Strengths
How to Make a Difference in Interacting with Others. George Vukotich
BREAKING THE CHAINS OF CULTURE BUILDING TRUST IN INDIVIDUALS, TEAMS, AND ORGANIZATIONS George Vukotich, Ph.D.