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April 2009
Email: gcohen@co2partners.com
Dear Readers,
As an executive coach, I help people find alignment: alignment within themselves, with others, and with their organization.
Typically, we begin by studying significant outcome gaps (the difference between expected outcomes and actual results) and work backwards to the behaviors that led to those outcomes. This process may create awareness of a blind spot that, once revealed, can easily be corrected.
Awareness of a problem doesn't always result in immediate correction, however. The behavioral imprinting, in ourselves or others, can be so strong as to resist correction.
It's often helpful to investigate the emotion(s) that triggers a specific behavior. Emotions can defy cool-headed logic, but once an emotion has been identified and divorced from a certain behavior or act, it loses some of its power.
Let's say you're in a meeting, and you're frustrated with the control being exerted by the facilitator. The more you resist the facilitator's decisions, the more that facilitator and your peers get frustrated with you, and the more you want to take control of the situation. Anger. That's what you're feeling. Do you really want to derail the meeting and engage in petty disagreements? No. If you pause and take a meta-cognitive approach, you can separate yourself from the anger. You may still feel frustrated and angry, but you will recognize that it's an unhelpful emotion in this situation and modify your behavior accordingly. If you're having trouble doing this, here's a trick you might try: Think of a person who would feel differently than you do in this particular situation (Gandhi, perhaps!) and imagine what he would do differently. Then co-opt or channel that person's behavior.
I've heard people say, "I've spent thousands of dollars to discover my real feelings with the help of a therapist." Discovering your feelings is important, but so is the ability to change those feelings. If you want to affect your outcome gaps, you must learn to separate yourself from your feelings, or condition yourself to feel differently. Only then will you be able to change your behavior.
Your values are often responsible for kicking your emotions into gear, resulting in unconstructive behavior. If you want alignment--with yourself, coworkers, and the organization--make sure that your values are in sync. Start by ranking your values, if you haven't done so already. You can do so for free at CEOTEST.com. If you have ranked your values and synched them with the organization's, and you're still experiencing outcome gaps, losing your grip on emotions, or having trouble modifying behavior, ask, "Are my feelings in alignment with these values or am I just feeling old imprints?"
Because of a calendar snafu, I recently found myself without plans in New York City. As I was walking through Central Park, I found myself feeling alone. People who know me well know that I'm susceptible to loneliness. I was able to reduce the impact of that emotion in New York, however, simply by recognizing its origin: old imprints.
The more you know and operate by your values, and the more you're able to separate yourself from old behavioral imprints, the more likely you will find yourself in true alignment with others or recognize impediments for what they really are.
Values are easier to attend to than our belief systems, which are far more extensive. It's important to put our belief systems under a similar level of scrutiny, however, because they give rise to our values.
We tend to feel strongly about our beliefs, because we believe them to be important and true. We may be even willing to give our lives for them. That's because we tend to think our beliefs are who we are. Unfortunately, not all of our beliefs are true. Many of them are built upon assumptions and emotionally-charged experiences, not facts.
Don't be afraid to shine a bright light on your beliefs and values. In doing so, you will discover the real root of your emotions--the emotions that may, in fact, be responsible for destructive behavior and outcome gaps.
To lead others, we must first understand ourselves. We must be willing to ask tough questions that unearth the things we value, what we believe, and who we are. Only then can we begin meaningful alignment with others.
The Value of 360-Degree Assessments
By: John LeTourneau
A 360-degree assessment helps people see the whole picture. It combines the vision of everyone in the organization to create a composite viewpoint. The results often are eye-opening for management and employees alike.
I worked with a Southwest manufacturing organization recently where one individual consistently met revenue goals, but created friction because she didn't follow common workplace etiquette. She took an "ends justify the means" approach, demanding access to her coworkers' time and resources, at times without regard to their needs or priorities. If she met with resistance, she took the matter to management, in the form of an "I must have X, Y, and Z in order to win the deal" scenario. Her track record of success made management reluctant to deny her requests.
Naturally, her peers chafed under the expectation that they complete their workload on time, while periodically being hijacked to help her accomplish this. It didn't help, of course, that this employee didn't show appreciation for their assistance. She simply expected it-in part because management had authorized it in the past.
The organization's culture was suffering, but that wasn't easy for management to measure in concrete terms. In addition, management had trouble determining exactly what behavior needed to change and how they woul be able to enforce appropriate behavior. As long as revenue goals were being met, they were hesitant to institute a change in policy, so they chose not to act.
If inappropriate behavior goes unchecked for too long, management implicitly condones such behavior-making it even harder to change policy. A 360-degree evaluation works wonders in these types of situations.
The tool I used evaluated eight competency areas and identified gaps between the individual's self-evaluation and those done by management, peers, and subordinates. This assessment focused on both strengths and areas of weaknesses in critical skill sets.
The results for 360's are usually spot-on and precipitate the motivation needed to change. They even provide a road map for how to proceed. This particular assessment clearly outlined opportunities for the individual to improve in communication as well as relationships. She was perceived as unapproachable, rigid with her opinions, and resistant to multiple points of view, so specific recommendations were made to improve her listening and cooperating.
Because 360s incorporate positive feedback and convey the viewpoint of all (not just a select few or members from just one level of the organization), individuals are more apt to heed the recommendations. In the case I've described, the results were almost immediate and overwhelmingly positive. The word I heard most often from her peers and management was "WOW!"
The 360-degree assessment is an incredibly valuable tool. It helps address behavioral issues, improve organizational culture and communication, increase productivity and efficiency, and build unity. The question you should ask isn't if to use one, but how often.
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