Re-Energizing the Boss

Pat Townsend & Joan Gebhardt
ptownsend@qualitydigest.com

There have been innumerable courses offered (by every training organization that includes "quality stuff" in their range of subject matter) on "How to Re-Energize Your Employees." Quality professionals with limping programs dutifully trek off to these courses, take note of various gimmicks and short-term programs, return to their companies and give them a try. Then, a few months later, they either begin looking for a new job or for a "Get Your Quality Process Going Again" program.

Here's a quality idea: Stop trying to find short-term fix-it-after-it-breaks solutions and work on a long-term fix-it-before-it-breaks option instead. In other words, stop trying to find ways to use the tail to wag the dog and work on the dog instead. If a dog is excited, it will wag its tail; wagging its tail manually won't necessarily please the dog.

In this case, the "dog" is senior management and, in particular, the president or CEO. The "tail" is the quality effort. Tweaking the quality process (or program or effort or whatever) may not even get the attention of top executives in the organization, or it may annoy them, particularly if they've managed to keep personal involvement to a minimal level. On the other hand, if the president of the company can be exposed on a recurring basis to what's going on inside his or her own company and the positive impact that these actions are having on the organization as a whole, the quality process is assured a champion.

It simply isn't sufficient to deliver a steady stream of reports to the boss--electronically, on paper or in person. The electronic and paper reports will get lost in the daily flood of information that washes across the boss's desk and computer screen every day. As for the personal reports, it is no surprise that the person delivering them is excited. Her or his job depends on the quality thing being a success.

But how do you get the boss to hear about the quality process directly from the people who are actually improving things? After all, if "management by wandering around" were easy, it would be a standard practice rather than a once-a-year phenomenon. And how do you ensure that when he or she is talking with folks at various points in the company that the quality process will be part of the conversation?

For the following suggestions to work, there are a couple of conditions. The first is that an active program of recognition, gratitude and celebration is defined as an integral part of the company's quality effort. The second is that virtually everybody (preferably, the quality effort is a complete quality process based on 100-percent employee involvement--but that's a subject for another column) in the organization is involved in the effort to improve and is, therefore, in line for being thanked from time to time. With these two conditions in place, or at least on the drawing board, the way to re-energize the boss (or, perhaps, energize a boss who gave permission grudgingly and still isn't really convinced) is to have him or her conduct the recognition ceremonies with a crowd of senior executives also in attendance--even if their major role is simply to applaud and smile.

The key is that back when that program of recognition, gratitude and celebration was spelled out--and agreed upon--the involvement of the president/CEO was defined as part of it. It's easy enough (and ego-stroking) to explain: For some people, the fact that the big boss is there is all the thanks they need--and the only thank you that they'll actually "hear."

Don't approach the president/CEO with the promise that "You'll really enjoy this" or "This will get you excited." Seeking emotional pick-me-ups from subordinates is not often considered a valid expenditure of time by a chief executive. This should be presented as the right/rational thing to do. And, in fact, it will be a while before the emotional aspect sinks in.

The recognition ceremony should be arranged by the quality folks on days and times mutually convenient for the boss and the quality team(s) being thanked. There will, no doubt, be some presentation of awards/gifts/prizes at some point in the 10-15 minute ceremony, and that's always fun as the boss shakes each person's hand, gives them the item, and says, "Thank you."

The important part of the ceremony usually comes right up front--when the boss says something along the lines of, "So, what did you folks do exactly?" No paper. No electronic screen. No quality professional who always seems excited. Now the boss gets to hear one or more people explain how they improved a process that made their lives easier, reduced the opportunities for errors and improved service to the customer. New uses for old technology, innovative uses of new technology, low/no-tech procedural changes, forging partnerships with other departments, suppliers or customers; the list of possibilities is endless. The first few times this happens, the boss will most likely be amazed at the talent and dedication within the organization.

After the employees--their pride of accomplishment evident in their voices--finish a description of their latest improvement, it's the boss's turn to speak. This is not some formal speech to a board or a scripted speech at an all-employee gathering, this is her or his chance to look people right in the eye and talk to them from the heart. The boss can talk about those aspects of the business that excite or worry him or her. He or she can appeal directly for support in taking the company in a particular direction and read in their eyes whether or not he or she has fashioned a convincing argument. It's a moment of connection that too few senior executives ever experience.

Aside from the immediate morale boost for the boss, there are some lasting effects of having him or her--trailed by any other senior executive who happens to be available at the time--out there listening to folks talk about what they're struggling with and how they're overcoming problems for the benefit of the company and its customers. When budget requests and/or promotions come within view, the boss will know the background--not as an academic exercise but as a function of personal knowledge. When the boss gets on the elevator, the odds are increasingly good that he or she will know the other people and can even ask them pertinent questions. When someone--either from inside or outside the company--raises a question about speed of service, use of technology or employee knowledge or morale, the boss can get involved in the discussion, offering specific examples. When the boss is talking with other presidents/CEOs, he or she can usually win any "can you top this" stories about talented employees.

How do you re-energize the boss? Introduce him or her to the people who are working to improve the company on a daily basis. Just knowing at a gut level that he or she is not alone in the pursuit of a vision will not only excite the boss, it will connect him or her to the quality effort in a very personal way.

About the authors

Pat Townsend and Joan Gebhardt have written more than 200 articles and six books, including Commit to Quality (John Wiley & Sons, 1986); Quality in Action: 93 Lessons in Leadership, Participation, and Measurement (John Wiley & Sons, 1992); Five-Star Leadership: The Art and Strategy of Creating Leaders at Every Level (John Wiley & Sons, 1997); Recognition, Gratitude & Celebration (Crisp Publications, 1997); How Organizations Learn: Investigate, Identify, Institutionalize (Crisp Publications, 1999); and Quality Is Everybody's Business (CRC Press, 1999). Pat Townsend has recently re-entered the corporate world and is now dealing with "leadership.com" issues as a practitioner as well as an observer, writer and speaker. He is now chief quality officer for UICI, a diverse financial services corporation headquartered in the Dallas area. E-mail the authors at ptownsend@qualitydigest.com. Letters to the editor regarding this column can be e-mailed to letters@qualitydigest.com.