So much is written in the field of business and management about leadership, strategy, dynamic change, Six Sigma, and improving our skills and abilities. But let’s face facts—in the majority of cases we by no means measure up to these levels of achievement. Do you ever read these books and journal articles and then think, "This is great, I’m trying to do this." Do you wonder whether the managers and leaders you encounter ever read this stuff? If they do, do you wonder if they learn from it, or do they see themselves as the ideal manager about whom such books written?
We can learn from books and articles, however, we often too easily and incorrectly recognize ourselves as having already accomplished all of that self-improvement already. Too often, we look in the mirror and see what we want to see. But how do we really act, are we being honest with ourselves?
We can also learn from negative examples... what not to do. Take the test below. Be open, honest, reflect on the questions, and begin to focus on how you can ensure that you learn the lessons needed to improve your organization, leadership, and the lives of your employees and colleagues.
Take your time and carefully and honestly consider the following questions. Score each question on a scale of 1-10. How often do you do these things or think this way? Then consider some actions you can take to help address them.
Here is your scale from 1 to 10:
Here are your questions:
1. When I ask questions and require feedback from my staff, I really don't want to hear a true, potentially problematic answer. I want to hear only the good things.
2. I create significant evaluation projects for staff to complete despite the fact that I actually know what I’m going to do.
3. I rarely provide positive feedback or appreciation for my staff.
4. I want my staff to do only the work I give them, nothing more or less. This is the only value I want them to provide.
5. My first reaction is to say no.
6. It has been a long time since I have asked my staff what they want or how I could improve their work life.
7. Adding further quality and process focus is a drain on resources and the goals we need to achieve. Our focus is on production. Employee satisfaction and related issues are issues for the human resources department to handle.
8. Most of our time is spent keeping the folks on the line doing what they are supposed to be doing.
9. I've never had any negative feedback on a 360 or employee survey.
10. I work with other departments as little as I can.
1-30 - You seem pretty balanced. Consider reflecting on this with a close colleague or friend
31-70 - You need work. You are also probably worse that you think. Implement some action points; ask a close colleague to give you feedback on how you are changing your ways.
71-100 - If you are in this range, you are making people hate Mondays. You have a real opportunity to improve productivity, innovation, and customer and employee satisfaction by addressing your behavior.
Now copy the reflection questions and ask a colleague at work and a friend outside of work to evaluate you based on the questions. How do they score you? Ask them to explain the scoring and their thoughts on the questions to provide insights. Why does your perception of yourself differ from the perceptions of your friends or colleagues? Use this as a driver to create change.
Finally, below are reminders to help you continue to address some potential problem areas you may have and to help avoid slipping back into old habits. Create you own. Cut these out and tape or paste them onto or into your diary, scheduler, on the cover protector of your palm pilot, in your folio, by your computer, or somewhere on our desk where you will be reminded of behavior to avoid.
Denis Leonard, Ph.D., is a senior member of ASQ, a certified manager of quality, an auditor, and a Six Sigma Black Belt. He has served as a judge and an examiner for the Wisconsin Forward Award and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Leonard has written dozens of quality articles and the recent book, An Executive Guide to Understanding & Implementing the Baldrige Criteria (Quality Press, 2007), co-author, Mac McGuire, Ph.D. He is president of Business Excellence Consulting LLC in Bozeman, Montana. Contact Leonard at DenisLeonard@BusinessExcellenceConsulting.net or call (406) 451-9124.
