Holly Maxine Mcnabb

Let’s Play

February 17, 2015 by Holly Maxine Mcnabb

courtesy of: greymattermarketing.com

As company leaders, managers, and supervisors we all spend significant time on game plans to increase employee production; this includes research and development, creating employee buy in, new equipment, implementation, and monitoring. From personal experience, I can say that the excitement we have as leaders rarely filters down to the employees. Aside from just asking employees to “work harder” and “get smarter”, how can we encourage employees to go the extra mile? Can we introduce FUN into the work place and create a positive ROI through increased production and employee motivation/retention? I believe we can! There has been a developing concept in business of applying computer gaming theory in the workplace to enhance the employee engagement. With the beginning of Atari and through the intense graphic and realistic experiences we get through computer games today, a large part of society is hooked on games. The corporate world is now applying game theory in the workplace; it is coined “Gamification”, and is focused on increasing employee motivation, production, and positivity. Let’s see the fun in FUNction and recognize that happy employees are energized employees, and energized employees increase cash flow.

I run a call center and this strategy is all the buzz at the many industry conventions and owner round tables. I have done a serious amount of reading and demos on the subject and can see the potential in it; especially in companies that have significant redundant tasks or that have difficulty in maintaining a positive corporate culture (both of which are concerns in my industry). Mollick and Rothbard recognized that with employee consent, gamification can increase employee motivation (2014). The term “consent” means just that; employees must buy in to the idea, the process, and the intrinsic rewards. This is not a “plug and play” strategy. In his book, Brian Burke discusses the ins and outs of the theory and what it takes to create a successful gamification platform (2014). There is significant research and development to start the process, but I believe the return will be exponential.

Regarding leadership development, I see this as a potential way to develop leaders within your company. We have all learned through studying leadership theories that good leaders can be recognized through innate characteristics and through learned behaviors. What potential leaders are sitting at their desks now with great potential, but for whatever reason are not standing out from the crowd? I see another benefit of gamification as giving management a method to see leadership potential in employees and then establish a strategy to develop that potential. A gamification platform can monitor assignments or aspects of their job employees excel at or strive to be the best of their team. Some of the challenges within the game can be set up specifically to develop leadership skills. Jeanne Meister of Forbes.com wrote an article about gamification that shares some of the theory as well as offering a few examples of companies that have implemented the strategy; this story is a great introduction to gamification and some of the critical concerns of the platform (2013).

A well thought out plan a gamification strategy can be beneficial across many types of companies. I would love to hear opinions (good or bad) from anyone who has implemented or is using this strategy in their business or as an employee in a company using a gamification platform. I have more research to do on the subject and plan on doing a few employee surveys to take the temperature of this management tool; but early indication are in favor of us saying…”Let’s Play!”

References

Burke, B. (2014). Gamify: How gamification motivates people to do extraordinary things. (2nd ed.). Brookline, MA. Gartner, Inc.

Meister, J. (2013, September 30). Gamification In Leadership Development: How Companies Use Gaming To Build Their Leader Pipeline. Retrieved February 18, 2015, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeannemeister/2013/09/30/gamification-in-leadership-development-how-companies-use-gaming-to-build-their-leader-pipeline/

Mollick, Ethan R. and Rothbard, Nancy, Mandatory Fun: Consent, Gamification and the Impact of Games at Work (September 30, 2014). The Wharton School Research Paper Series. Retrieved on 17, February, 2015 from: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2277103 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2277103

For the Sheep

February 10, 2015 by Holly Maxine Mcnabb

courtesy of stanza.co.uk

As students and practitioners of leadership, we have all heard the following names: Jack Canfield, John C. Maxwell, Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy, and Ken Blanchard. What do they all have in common? First, they have all dedicated their professional careers to leadership and personal growth. Second, they all appear on SUCCESS Magazine’s January, 2015 issue “The SUCCESS 25: 2014’s Personal Development Leaders” list (Greenwood, 2014). Finally, they each played a little part in my leadership success, and maybe yours too. Search Google on any of the individuals mentioned and you will find a boundless list of articles, motivational quotes, available books, and websites quoting their works. All have empowering concepts of leadership and can help guide any up-and-coming leader along their journey. According to Northouse, situational leadership can be adapted to almost any business and by all ranks of management (2013). Situational leadership is not only applicable within most companies, it also is versatile in its application with followership by adapting to their current level of development (Northouse, 2013).

For situational leadership, the name that first comes to mind is Ken Blanchard. His career and devotion to leadership skills spans more years than I have been alive! From www.kenblanchard.com you can read about his history, research, blogs, and you can buy his books (I must admit I have a few myself). His website has an array of information on Situational Leadership® II, which claims that their program increases the “effectiveness, impact, and dedication of” company leaders with a list of goals and positive outcomes for any leadership team (Why SLII, 2015). He is not the ONLY person I follow in keeping up on situational leadership, but he is definitely at the top of my list. One of my favorite quotes from Ken is, “Too many leaders act as if the sheep…their people…are there for the benefit of the shepherd, not that the shepherd has responsibility for the sheep” (Blanchard, n.d.). This quote speaks to the dedication I must commit to while leading those around me. I must consider who they are, how they feel, and where they are on their career journey, and I take this responsibility seriously. Situational leadership is about fitting the approach to the individual and changing your style with the developing level of understanding and commitment of the follower. It does not always move from step one through step four (so-to-speak); throughout a subordinate’s evolution you will see changes in both positive and negative ways based on the present situation.

A situational leader recognizes evolutions and adapts to the needs of the individual and the resulting conclusion is positive growth. There are many facets of situational leadership and it can produce results across a multitude of businesses at almost every level of leadership. For me, in its simplest form, understanding my primary responsibility in leadership, the growth of those I lead, is the most inspiring.

References

Blanchard, K. (n.d.). Ken Blanchard Quotes. Retrieved February 11, 2015, from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/k/ken_blanchard.html

Greenwood, C. (2014, December 9). The SUCCESS 25: 2014’s Personal Development Leaders – Retrieved February 11, 2015, from http://www.success.com/article/the-success-25-2014s-personal-development- leaders

Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE. (pp. 99-120)

Why SLII. (2015). Retrieved February 11, 2015, from http://www.kenblanchard.com/Solutions/Situational-Leadership- Development/Situational-Leadership-II/Why-SLII

Leader or Larcenist…A Merry Meditation

February 2, 2015 by Holly Maxine Mcnabb

There have been hundreds of well-documented, great leaders throughout time; I reflected on how early in life we identify leaders (outside of the adults around us) with qualities we admire by watching or reading about them over and over. For the sake of a little levity on a gloomy afternoon, I searched my memory banks for characters that stood out. I considered traits (qualities) and skills (behaviors) that make great leaders; the childhood adventure of Robin Hood and his merry band of thieves quickly came to mind. We all know a version of the tale. The story told in my family was of a lanky leader (Robin Hood) and his band of lighthearted followers, rushing about Sherwood Forest robbing from the rich to give to the poor. Their nemesis, the greedy Prince John, uses his power (and his ruthless constable, the Sheriff of Nottingham) to over tax and torment the citizens of the forest. Ultimately, the troupe helped the good King Richard return to power, unseating evil Prince John and the forest was saved and lived in blissful harmony. Was Robin Hood a true leader? Was he notable or notorious? If a leader, what traits and skills did he possess that made him successful? Northouse (2013) explains that using the trait approach to analyze leadership is based on understanding the innate characteristics of great leaders, while the skills approach focuses on how leadership is learned through developing skills and abilities. Understanding the nuances of the trait and skills approaches to leadership we can determine that Robin Hood is a great example of leadership in the realm of childhood heroes and legends.

Traits are characteristics individuals possess that are inborn. Robert Hewes, PhD cites 10 leadership traits of great leaders; three are “be strategically focused”, “effectively get work done through others”, “have a vision” (2014). Let’s see how Robin Hood measures up. He has a clear vision for the forest to return to a happy and productive society. Regarding having a focused strategy, Robin Hood has well-defined goals: take money from the rich, take care of the poor, and reseat the king. Regarding effective delegating, he has a misfit team, but yet they can work together to accomplish their objectives. One additional trait I see as very pertinent in his case is altruism; his concern and devotion for those struggling and how he risks his own freedom to help others in need. The big five personality factors include: neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness (Northouse, 2013). In thinking through the traits displayed by Robin Hood throughout the story, I can find examples of each of those: anxious yet vulnerable, social and positive, creative, nurturing, and dependable.

Now Robin Hood is skilled in his chosen profession; we could loosely consider his team a service organization. Their business plan is to steal a portion of the ill-gotten gains from the undeserving rich, return them to the over-taxed poor, and run a search and rescue mission of King Richard, returning him as the ruler and unseating the evil interim (self-appointed) leader. The three-skill approach is divided into categories, all of which can be learned: technical, human, and conceptual (Northouse, 2013). Technically speaking, Robin Hood has amazing skills as an archer, and he is as quick as a fox (pardon the pun). His skills as a communicator (working effectively with his team) and an organizer are credited for his abilities to plan and execute the robberies and rescue the king. Finally, his conceptual skills come through in his ability to create a vision for restoring prosperity and liberty to the forest. After reviewing his talents, the skills approach can analyze and determine that Robin Hood is an effective leader.

From the moment we are born, leaders are all around us, some good, some not so good. Our personality traits are innate, part of our DNA; our parents nurture and help us to understand and recognize the values those traits have in our lives. Aside from people closest to us, the stories we hear, read, and see as a child continue to build on those inborn characteristics like honesty, imagination, and self-confidence. Both the skills approach and the trait approach to analyzing leadership can be used independently as discussed in our text; I believe however, that with the combination of both, we get a better understanding of an individual’s leadership abilities. After considering both approaches Robin Hood was an effective leader, and by using them together, we can see the innate characteristics and the leadership skills used by the leader to accomplish the goals of the team.

BestDiagram [Online image] Retrieved February 2, 2015 from http://employeeengagement.com/employee-engagement-group-store/

Hewes, R. (2014, October 2). Top Ten Traits of Great Leaders. Retrieved February 2, 2015, from http://www.amanet.org/training/articles/Top-Ten-Traits-of-Great-Leaders.aspx

Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE. (pp. 19-73)

Jungian Alphabet Soup

January 29, 2015 by Holly Maxine Mcnabb

Now, to the untrained eye, a picture like this (Breslin, n.d.) might be seen as a cool new bingo game; but, to us psych geeks, it represents a way to organize and categorize personalities based on the Jungian typology. Carl Jung created a method of classifying personalities into eight categories: extraversion vs. introversion, sensing vs. intuitive, thinking vs. feeling, and judging vs. perceiving (Northouse, 2013). These eight types are further combined into sixteen possible dimensions including: ESTP, ISTP, ESFP, ISFP, ESTJ, ISTJ, ESFJ, ISFJ, ENTJ, INTJ, ENTP, INTP, ENFJ, INFJ, ENFP, and INFP. How might understanding this alphabet soup help us become better leaders? The Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator^® (MBTI^®) helps us make sense of Jung’s classifications, learn our own personality type, and that of those we lead. This will increase our understanding of how personalities react and work together. Understanding ones that mesh and those that can be mired in unrest, and recognizing potential leadership qualities in others can help transform our business culture when we put this amalgamation of ABCs to work as leaders.

Search “Myers-Briggs Personality Test” on any search engine and you will find a multitude of websites from which you can learn your personality type. In our company, every final stage applicant (when we have it narrowed down to 2-3 candidates) takes an MBTI^® test. These results help us match candidates to other members of their potential team, including a review of high performing types, and gauge how they might fit with the current leadership of the team. This would never be the sole indicator of us hiring or not hiring someone, but it is a piece of the puzzle we believe prudent to recognize. We have also determined that certain combinations are a better fit for specific positions or departments.

In addition to administering the tests as part of the hiring process, we test individuals bidding for leadership positions. Northouse offers results showing there are commonalities in managers who have taken the test; and we see those in our leadership team as well (2013). It is not necessary that leadership all have the same type; actually, certain dichotomies may flourish in specific roles (Northouse, 2013). I think it is important to recognize that this is not an exact science, and it is only one available measurement to be used as part of a much larger decision-making process. In our company, it has been a successful aspect of assessing leadership and followership.

I had not taken the test in a few years, so as a part of my research for this entry, I took the MBTI^® test earlier today. I am 50 years old and I guessed that my test would have the same results as previous evaluations; I was right. Not only did I rate the same type, but my percentages on the continuum are stronger than they have been before. To me, that translates to being more set in my ways as I have aged and settled into my professional career. Jung’s personality typology is another useful tool for leaders in recognizing potential conflicts and learning which followers might become our next great leaders. The next time you have a bowl of alphabet soup, see how many personality dimensions you can remember and decode; it could be a great study tool!

Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE. (pp. 319-348)

Breslin, P. (n.d.) Myers-Briggs Communication Exercise (College Public Speaking Resources)
https://collegepublicspeakingresources.wordpress.com/myers-briggs-communication-exercise/

In the Fun House

January 24, 2015 by Holly Maxine Mcnabb

Did you ever just know that you were having a bad hair day and avoided mirrors at any potential turn? Similar to a bad hair day, even the best leaders have bad moments; and in those moments, the last thing they want to do is see themselves in the mirror behaving as anything less than the exemplary leader they know themselves to be. One of the most difficult things for some of us to do is to look at ourselves and our own behavior in a critical manner. As a leader, I believe that using my own critical eye to gauge my leadership behavior is important. Northouse (2013) defines Integrity as one of the primary leadership traits. The act of taking responsibility for our actions plays an important role in Integrity as a part of leadership; it includes recognizing those bad moments, asking hard questions, and learning from our mistakes.

If it isn’t enough pressure to look in the proverbial mirror at our “less than finest” moments, imagine all of those (your followership) around you experiencing your bad moment with you. It is the worst idea of a Fun House; an unending repetition of your look (behavior), and not during your finest hour. I have experienced some number of those moments in leadership positions over the last 20 plus years, and it is not a pretty sight. Yet, as a leader, I recognize what is at stake if I do not take that critical eye and consider what brought me to that point. I have been known to mutter, “Because I said so”, or “I don’t want to hear it, I know I am right” on more than one occasion and send people from my office hoping not to hear from me again that day. My most recent leadership blunder was telling a manager who works for me that, “It didn’t matter what she said, I wasn’t going to change my mind.” WOW! I regretted it from the moment it came from my mouth. My 15 year relationship with this manager, or the fact that I was fighting the flu were not good reasons for my behavior and I had to fix it right away. That is not who I ever want to be; so I looked into the mirror and worked out where I went wrong.

Asking myself questions about what got me to that point, how I could have handled myself differently, and what I am going to do about it is not always easy, but it is necessary. Taking it a step further, I asked those that witnessed my behavior (the Fun House effect) how I affected them and apologized for my behavior. Social intelligence skills play a big part in this process. According to our lesson commentary (PSU, 2015), social intelligence includes our ability to be empathetic and look toward positive change. To others, I want to be humbled by the experience, recognize how I presented myself, and ask for any suggestions they might have to help me create a better experience for them moving forward. In my experience with the manager, I did just those things.

The final step on this journey is taking action to change. We cannot all be perfect leaders all of the time; we are, in fact, human. Great leaders take action to change when it is necessary. As discussed by Northouse (2013), another of the primary leadership traits is intelligence. Intelligent leaders take difficult situations and turn them into opportunities for growth. Making promises toward change is another extended hand leaders can make to followers. True leaders will have a foundation of faith with their leadership and grow together from the experience. After making amends for my behavior and asking for help, the manager and I transitioned into learning from the situation and setting a plan for greater communication.

Looking into that mirror can be a daunting task on the back end of any act that is less than worthy of my leadership growth over the years. Recognizing the affect leaders have on those around us magnifies that reality. The willingness to go ahead and look, then ask the hard questions, and finally learn from those mistakes, will increase our leadership potential and credibility. Have you looked in the leadership mirror lately?

References

Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE.

Pennsylvania State University (PSU). 2015. Lesson 02: Recognizing Your Traits. PSYCH 485: Leadership in Work Settings. Course Material. Retrieved 1/24/1015 from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/sp15/psych485/002/content/02_lesson/01_page.html