Organization Development | Pathos Leadership Group

Why Executive Coaching Fails? Parable 3 of 12: I’m NOT Crazy!

March 23, 2011 By Pathos Admin

The following parable, or myth, is one in a series of twelve, which we’ve identified at Pathos Leadership Group that accounts for executive coaching to fail! Our results-focused executive coaching is contrary to these parables, leaving executives and their organizations in a position to succeed when it comes to organization development, operational improvement, and financial success! For more information on our Executive Coaching or Organization Development initiatives contact us at info@pathosleadershipgroup.com or call 877.455.3133.

Executive Coaching Parable 3 – I’m NOT Crazy!

Elmo was identified by the leaders in his organization as a “High Potential” candidate for leadership development (HIPO). When the High Potential program opportunity was reviewed with Elmo by his manager, he was excited about the potential to participate, as only a select few within the entire company were invited to participate in such organization development. However, when the content of the High Potential program was reviewed with him, there seemed to be a different reaction. While Elmo was very excited about the opportunity to spend upwards of 22 days in the coming 12 months in developmental program sessions delivered board-room style review session (He always enjoyed attending offsite workshops in the past), the executive coaching sessions which would bridge the gap between such sessions troubled him. To be blunt, Elmo stated that executive coaching wouldn’t be necessary for him, simply because he was NOT crazy!

We were working with leadership in Elmo’s organization performing an organization development consulting project surrounding High Potential Advancement (HPA). The project consisted of the following phases:

PHASE I – Identify High Potential Candidates (HPC’s) based on their performance and leadership abilities through a series of leadership/manager interviews and assessments.
- (Examples of performance criteria include performance against goals, delivering results, level of performance, and level of development for direct reports. Examples of leadership abilities criteria include learning agility or resourcefulness, potential next career moves within the organization – vertically as well as horizontally, addressing weakness willingness/ability.)
PHASE II – Identify key leadership traits through the utilization of Behavioral Assessments. Compare/contrast candidates based on successful benchmarked organization leaders.
PHASE III – Rank High Potential Candidates (HPC’s) and hold meeting with leadership to “draft” a HIPO team (A way of selecting members to this exclusive club.) Invite High Potential Candidates who make the cut.
PHASE IV – Perform 24 sessions of leadership development training and development over a period of 12 months (Topics in the past include Strategic Planning, Change Management, Team Building concepts, Customer Retention/Customer Service, Sales skills, influence/persuasion techniques, etc.)
PHASE V – Perform two (2) coaching sessions per month with High Potential Candidates during the program in-between the leadership development training and development sessions. These sessions would be conducted by a senior level external executive coach who was prescreened for each candidate.

When we learned of Elmo’s resistance to executive coaching, we setout to discover why that was the case. Within the first five (5) minutes of our introductory conversation, it became abundantly clear why he was opposed to executive coaching. Elmo’s thought was that executive coaching was more like therapy than it was aimed at assisting him to achieve his business goals.

We identified the following as differentiators between coaching and therapy:

THERAPY

Assumes the client needs healing
Roots in medicine, psychiatry
Works with people to achieve self-understanding and emotional healing
Focuses on feelings and past events, past-orientation
Explores the root of problems
Works to bring the unconscious into consciousness
Works for internal resolution of pain and to let go of old patterns

COACHING

Assumes the client is highly-functional
Roots in business and personal growth venues
Works to motivate people to a higher level of functioning
Focuses on actions and the future; goal-orientation
Focuses on solving problems
Works with the conscious mind
Works for solutions to overcome barriers, learn new skills and implement effective choices

(Source: Hayden, C. J., and Whitworth, L. “Distinctions Between Coaching and Therapy.” International Association of Personal and Professional Coaches Newsletter, October 1995.)

When we explained these differences to Elmo, he now operated from a position of enlightenment entering into the High Potential Candidate program… He wasn’t crazy after all!

The Moral of the Story: Don’t be quick to discount the purpose behind executive coaching. While the similarities of technique might find common-ground in therapy and coaching, the desired results or focus are very different. Executive coaching is not therapy, and as such should be looked upon as a benefit extended to the employee by the organization to assist them in achieving their business goals.

Filed Under: The Influential Edge Blog Tagged With: 360 degree review, behavioral assessment, executive coach, executive coaching, high potential, high potential candidate, HIPO program, leadership development, organization development, pathos leadership group

“Jolts” for Training & Development… Really?

March 22, 2011 By Sam Palazzolo

In Sivasailam Thiagarajan’s (“Thiagi” for short) latest authoring effort for Training & Development (T&D) professionals he puts together fifty (50) different ways in which one can “wake up and engage your participants” in training sessions. These “jolts” are described as moments that challenge training participants, asking them to “re-examine their comfortable assumptions and habitual practices” (Otherwise known as their comfort zones). While the book is a nice effort (272 pages, again 50 different tricks, and Thiagi is a legend in the T&D space), I wonder if this is a solution to the Organization Development (OD) problem, or the cause? Here are the facts:

The American Society of Training & Development (ASTD) reports in its “2010 State of the Industry” report:

Instructor lead “formal learning” initiatives took a slight dip from 2008’s 72.2% to 2009’s 70.4%
Technology based learning increased 31.4% to 36.5% from 2008 to 2009
Outsourcing is on the rise – 26.9% in 2009 versus 22.0% in 2008
Investing in learning is stable – $1,068 per employee in 2008 versus $1,081 in 2009
Decrease in Content Reuse – 59.5% in 2008 versus 56.3% in 2009
Results aren’t Tracked – 54.5% of organizations track behavioral changes, only 36.9% monitor an evaluation of results, and only 17.9% attempt to identify ROI (NOTE – 4.1% do NOTHING!)

I believe that these figures are conservative in nature, reflecting an optimistic T&D effort. Instead, there is much effort being placed by those organizations I partner with to increase the reach of technology. Imagine the power of a 15-20 minute eLearning module which can be viewed 24/7 by participants around the globe… Think of it as a “Google-mentality” where a learner wants to know the answer to a problem they’ve encountered and they don’t know the solution right off the bat. With a quick scan of the learning management system (LMS), they can identify a short module that they can view at their desk providing them with the much needed perspective in order to solving their problem.

The disconnect that I see with the “Jolts” concept is that each jolt-experience or exercise is 15-20-30 minutes in length (Thiagi warns that a side-effect of performing “Jolts” is that there may be strong emotional reactions… Remember those Lays potato chips with Olestra and ensuing stomach cramps? Sounds like a do-over!) This would appear to be way too long, especially considering a world that wants training delivered in short time-period intervals.

Now I don’t want everyone to think that an engaging session isn’t a goal of mine or ours here at Pathos Leadership Group. But what I can say is that we let the content stand on its own, with documented research and scientific methodologies, as well as metrics implemented to track results. I believe that a trend will be reflected in delivering content in as short a time period as possible, so that the learning moment can occur, and that the participants can return to work to begin implementing what they’ve learned ASAP. Then a coaching, or follow-up, initiative will occur in which we can monitor implementation as well as sustainment.

With the caffeine studies I’ve seen, I would have to weigh in that organizations should distribute Jolt cola instead of “Jolts”!

Sam Palazzolo is a recipient of the American Society of Training & Development’s “Certified Professional in Learning & Performance” (CPLP designation). Of the society’s 35,000 world-wide members, less than 750 have achieved such designation.

Filed Under: The Influential Edge Blog Tagged With: ASTD, coaching, cplp, jolts, leadership development, organization development, organizational development, pathos leadership group, sam palazzolo, thiagi, thiagi jolts, training & development, training metrics, training results, training ROI

Why Executive Coaching Fails? Parable 2 of 12: I Know Who I Am!

March 22, 2011 By Pathos Admin

Executive Coaching Parable 2 – I Know Who I Am!

Jane was a landmark figure in the organization. She had been with the company for 30 years, and during that timeframe had held nearly every position possible on her way to the C-Suite. Her legendary status was well earned, never expecting those who worked for her to do something that she had not previously done firsthand herself, or was willing to do! Then why was it that she was so reluctant to have a 360-degree review conducted on her behalf, and furthermore adhere to an individual development plan for herself? Her pat answer was that she had “been there, done that” and that “those 360-degree assessment instruments were for everyone BUT her!” In summary, Jane believed that she knew who she was…

We were originally alerted to Jane and her “woman in the mirror” attitude by the leadership within her organization. The new leadership team that had been assembled was having a difficult time bonding with those who had been in the organization for a lengthy tenure, and Jane seemed to be carrying the flag of resistance. Having been in the organization for a number of years, there was a sense that everyone knew who Jane was, but the new regime wanted to find out if Jane knew who she really was, or was she familiar with who she thought she was? They also realized that leaders within the organization rarely held themselves accountable for learning and growing as leaders (The common thought was “We got this far without being developed… Why start now?”)

The leadership team brought us in to perform a series of organization development initiatives. Specifically four (4) coordinated waves to be exact, the initial wave had us working with the C-Suite leadership team (ten – 10 – in total). Subsequent waves would have us worth with senior leadership (eighty – 80 – in total), mid-level managers (two hundred – 200 – in total) and subsequent front-line leaders (nearly two thousand – 2,000 – in total). At each wave level we were to conduct a series of assessments (both behavioral assessments as well as 360 degree assessments). The 360-degree results for the C-Suite team would be reviewed with each individual, and then a series of subsequent individual executive coaching sessions would be planned to aid in the development of the leader based on identified improvement areas.

When we first met with Jane and expressed to her leadership’s desire to begin the 360-degree review and executive coaching relationship, she told us “Don’t waste my time… I know who I am!” In other words, move on to those who hadn’t been there so long, or those that could better utilize and need such assessments and coaching… These 360 degree reviews and executive coaching was not for long-timers like her. Unfortunately for Jane, we listened to organizational leadership (the CEO) and she was “stuck” with us as her assessors and coach!

Jane, with much reluctance we might add, identified ten (10) subordinates, four (4) peers, as well as the CEO to perform the 360-degree review with her as the subject. While Jane might have been a good judge of who she was, apparently those that knew/worked with her were better acquainted with the perception of who she was. In other words, the Jane that the 360-degree review reflected was dramatically different from who Jane thought she was. As a result, Jane had several areas of opportunity to better acquaint those with the new/improved Jane! For example, Jane thought she as an excellent communicator (“I must be great at communicating… I give all the orders around here in order to get things done!”) However, Jane realized that while she was very good at giving direction, she was not so good at receiving input/feedback and was far from a master of listening. This was just one of the areas identified by Jane to further develop herself through continued executive coaching.

The Moral of the Story: You may think you know yourself… but people around you often see their own perception of you. This perception becomes their reality, which can be very difficult to modify/overcome (Especially when you consider the number of years one could be behaving in such a manner!) In order to get a true image of yourself, a real look in the mirror if you will, you should have a 360-degree review performed no less than annually with a comprehensive action development plan created that includes executive coaching for much needed accountability/responsibility in implementation.

Filed Under: The Influential Edge Blog Tagged With: 360 degree review, behavioral assessment, executive coach, executive coaching, leadership development, organization development

Why Executive Coaching Fails? Parable 1 of 12: Baby… I’m a Star!

March 21, 2011 By Pathos Admin

Why Executive Coaching Fails? Parable 1/12

The following parable, or myth, is one in a series of twelve, which we’ve identified at Pathos Leadership Group that accounts for executive coaching to fail! Our results-focused executive coaching is contrary to these parables, leaving executives and their organizations in a position to succeed when it comes to organization development, operational improvement, and financial success! For more information on our Executive Coaching or Organization Development initiatives contact us at info@pathosleadershipgroup.com or call 877.455.3133.

Executive Coaching Parable 1 – Baby… I’m a Star!

John was your typical “top gun” MBA school graduate who recently joined the organization. His MBA from a “top 10” ivy league school entitled him to a great starting salary, people under his command, and relatively no experience to handle the day-to-day tasks at hand. However, the one aspect which he did possess which was rarely challenged was that of confidence (or arrogance!) Whether or not John knew what to do in a given situation was up for debate. He seemed to operate best under the leadership mantra of “often wrong… never in doubt!”

We were originally alerted to John and his “top gun” attitude by the leadership within his organization. A newcomer, and a hot-shot at that, he rose the ranks within the organization with relative ease and in short order due to his passion to succeed. However, once he achieved a high enough position within the org chart, he came face to face with the leaders in the organization who were neither impressed nor bullied by his leadership style. The leaders found his skills/abilities repulsive and contrary to the mission, vision, and values that they had worked hard to establish and successfully held the organization and its members to since its inception.

When we first met with John and expressed to him leadership’s desire to begin an executive coaching relationship, he told us “Baby… I’m a star!” In other words, move on to those underlings who could better utilize and need coaching… Coaching was not for such superstars. Unfortunately for John, we listen to organizational leadership and he was “stuck” with us as his coach!

John’s belief that he operated in a space above what is needed for an executive coach engagement and to lend a helping hand within his organization is common place amongst leaders who have something to hide… the proverbial chink in the armor or Achilles heal for the organization! After our executive coaching engagement, John realized that his value to the organization was in his “new” perspective, not in his arrogant leadership style. Taking a step back and inventorying what he was truly like through assessments (behavioral assessment and 360 degree assessment) allowed him to see himself like never before.

The Moral of the Story: You may be a star… but you operate like a shooting star in that you’ll burn out quickly! Careers aren’t made overnight, but they sure are lost in short time-spans. Executive coaching is for stars who want to take over the entire solar system!

Filed Under: Featured Content, The Influential Edge Blog Tagged With: 360 degree review, behavioral assessment, executive coach, executive coaching, leadership development, organization development, pathos leadership group

Executive Coaching: Should You Try Fruitcake?

February 8, 2011 By Pathos Admin

In a speech delivered to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Monday, February 7, 2011, President Barrack Obama offered up a tongue-and-cheek remark regarding his ability to make friends and influence others. Specifically, he commented “I’m here in the interest of being more neighborly,” Obama told a crowd of CEOs at the Chamber’s headquarters, which is across the street from the White House. “Maybe if we would have brought over a fruitcake when I first moved in, we would have gotten off on a better foot. But I’m going to make it up.” Really?

The irony of the fruitcake quip might have been lost on the Chamber crowd, but that shouldn’t stop you as an Influential Leader from receiving the underlying message. There are several observations one can take away from the remark, all of which are Pathos Platform elements which we coach leaders on to become more influential. Here then are our takeaways:

1. Give and Receive – The Reciprocity platform element is the old “give and take” analogy. I will give you something today, in exchange for receiving something from you tomorrow (or later). This “give and take” is what organized societies are founded upon in order to barter or trade currency, intelligence and/or task accomplishment. The expectation that you will receive without giving is not only mistaken, but delusional! Furthermore, the window of opportunity for payback can be propped open for future repayment.

2. Give First – In order for the Reciprocity platform element to work, you should not hesitate to go first and give, rather than look to receive. By going first you set a myriad of occurrences into the works, and the other party will feel an overwhelming sense of obligation to return the favor and give back. Often times, this burden of responsibility by accepting, or merely receiving an offer to give, will bear tremendous weight. Weight which the other party might just want to unload at their earliest opportunity!

3. Give Often – Why stop with just one obligation to repay the reciprocal transaction? In the event the gift given is not recognized as worthwhile or valued by the recipient, you may have to give another gift. Furthermore, continuing on a relationship by giving will provide you with much needed visibility in which the other party will not lose sight of your generosity, or presence.

4. Give Value – We mentioned above that the ability to provide something of value to the recipient might cause you to have to give more often. So what exactly will be of value to the other party? You may have to approach their “runway” from several different perspectives in order to finally land successfully, but this will also show your flexibility and diversity.

As a leader, you should notice a trend in the above takeaways, namely the action of giving. We say “action” because this isn’t meant to be a thought, or a plan, for there must be action taken in order for the leadership moment to take place. Furthermore, and our statistics bear this out, the ability to receive as a result of giving (as opposed to that of expecting to receive alone) bears a statistically significant outcome in your favor in both the short/long term. As an executive coach, we would also remind you that as a leader it’s never too late to begin giving.

If you think that the opportunity has passed you by to reach out to your associates and develop them, that’s rarely the case! We’ve seen progress made even by those leaders who claimed that they were “too old of a dog to learn new tricks!” Perhaps a little fruitcake in that doggy bowl just might do the trick so as to act more like an Influential Leader and get your just desserts/results!

Filed Under: The Influential Edge Blog Tagged With: barack obama, executive coach, executive coaching, leadership development, organization development, pathos leadership group, president fruitcake, sam palazzolo

Healthcare Organization Development: The Gryphon Project

October 7, 2010 By Pathos Admin

Pathos Leadership Group’s work within the healthcare industry is appropriately titled “The Gryphon Project.” These initiatives are focused on healthcare industry leaders individually, as well as their teams. All of the Gryphon initiatives are customized, with our 100+ years of healthcare experience in executive coaching and organization development allowing us to deal with a wide variety of situations. Our specialty is in leveraging assessments (behavioral assessments and 360 degree) to help organizations achieve results that are aligned with their mission, vision, values, goals and objectives.

The Behavioral Assessments and 360 Degree Assessments used within the Gryphon Project include (a partial list of those assessments follows. Note that each individual client is consulted regarding the appropriate assessment to be utilized):

Winslow
Emotional Intelligence (Bar On & Hay Group)
Myers Briggs
DiSC
Influence Strategies (Hay Group)
The Influential Leader (Pathos)
LPI (360 degree)
Bar On (360)
LMAP (360)

The Organization Development programs under way within the Gryphon Project include:

Leadership Development Programs
Associate Development Programs
Executive Coaching
Associate Group Coaching

For more information on The Gryphon Project, contact Pathos Leadership Group at info@pathosleadershipgroup.com or 877.455.3133.

The gryphon (Greek: γρύφων, grýphōn, or γρύπων) is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. As the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle was the king of the birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. Griffins are normally known for guarding treasure and well-valued priceless possession.

Filed Under: Featured Content, The Influential Edge Blog Tagged With: 360 degree, associate development, bar on, behavioral assessment, executive coaching, healthcare, healthcare organization development, leadership development, lmap, lpi, organization development, pathos leadership group, sam palazzolo, winslow

Pathos Leadership Group’s Leadership Development Expertise Sought by US News Best Hospital

August 16, 2010 By Pathos Admin

Pathos Leadership Group (PATHOS) has been invited to participate in an Executive Development brainstorming session Thursday, August 19^th 2010, hosted by the Center for Learning at Texas Health Resources (THR). THR is one of the country’s largest non-profit healthcare organizations, with just over 18,000 associates. The Center for Learning is looking to create a competitive edge for their leaders in this continually changing healthcare environment.

PATHOS is one of only a limited number of THR Strategic Partners invited to participate in the Leadership Development session. The objectives of the session are to (1) create the foundation for how the learning initiatives will be provided (Live instruction, eLearning, Webinar, Blended Learning, Learning Library Resources, etc.) and (2) identify what topics will be crucial to drive leadership forward.

PATHOS President Sam Palazzolo CPLP PCC said, “We’re honored to be selected to participate with such a leader in the healthcare industry. Our relationship with THR as one of their ‘Preferred Coaching Organizations’ and as an Organization Development Consultancy has allowed us to strategically partner on several initiatives over the years. The Center for Learning’s ‘forward thinking’ leaders provide learning and development offerings to their organization, benefitting leadership, associates, and patients.”

PATHOS provides a variety of Executive Coaching and Organization Development solutions ranging from Leadership Development, Succession Planning, Engagement Programs, Behavioral Assessments, 360 Degree Assessments, and Associate Development offerings.

More information on PATHOS can be found from the Pathos Leadership Group website – http://www.pathosleadershipgroup.com/

###

Contact:

Sam Palazzolo, Pathos Leadership Group LLC

Tel: 877 455 3133 Email: pr@pathosleadershipgroup.com Web: www.pathosleadershipgroup.com

Notes to Editor:

Pathos Leadership Group LLC provides results-oriented Executive Coaching and Organization Development to some of the world’s largest healthcare organizations.

Their Executive Coaching has earned them International Coach Federation professional certifications and Organization Development programs the American. Society of Training’s (ASTD) Certified Professional in Learning & Performance (CPLP) designations.

Contact Information:

Pathos Leadership Group LLC

Sam Palazzolo

877 455 3133

pr@pathosleadershipgroup.com

www.pathosleadershipgroup.com

PATHOS President Sam Palazzolo CPLP PCC said, “We’re honored to be selected to participate with such a leader in the healthcare industry. Our relationship with THR as one of their ‘Preferred Coaching Organizations’ and Organization Development consultancy has allowed us to strategically partner on several initiatives over the years. The Center for Learning’s ‘forward thinking’ leaders provide results-oriented offerings to the organization, benefitting leadership, associates, and patients.”

PATHOS provides a variety of Executive Coaching and Organization Development solutions ranging from Leadership Development, Succession Planning, Engagement Programs, Behavioral and 360 Degree Assessments, and Associate Development offerings.

More information on PATHOS can be found from the Pathos Leadership Group website – http://www.pathosleadershipgroup.com/pathos-power-library/

###

Contact:

Sam Palazzolo, Pathos Leadership Group LLC

Tel: 877 455 3133 Email: info@pathosleadershipgroup.com Web: www.pathosleadershipgroup.com

Notes to Editor:

Pathos Leadership Group LLC provides results-oriented Executive Coaching and Organization Development to some of the world’s largest healthcare organizations.

Contact Information:

Pathos Leadership Group LLC

Sam Palazzolo

877 455 3133

pr@pathosleadershipgroup.com

www.pathosleadershipgroup.com

Filed Under: PR Tagged With: 360 degree assessments, 360 degree review, executive coaching, executive development, healthcare, healthcare industry, hospital development, leadership development, organization development, organizational development, pathos leadership group, sam palazzolo, succession planning, training and development

Learning Assessment – STOP training… START LEARNING!

June 29, 2010 By Pathos Admin

STOP training… START LEARNING!

Before you spend or budget $1 more for training in your organization, wouldn’t you like to identify exactly what results learning and development are providing you and your organization right now? Furthermore, would you like to create a dynamic learning plan which aligns with your organization vision/mission/values? If so, the Pathos Learning Assessment^TM is your solution!

Formulated after a classic accounting audit process, we get to the bottom-line results regarding key learning performance indicators (Return on Investment) and deliver benchmark comparison versus best in class learning organizations, in order to produce a customized organization learning action plan.

Here is an example of the FIELDWORK we recently conducted for a client’s Learning Assessment:

Learning Operational Assessment
- Operations
- Departmental Functions
- SWOT Analysis
- Financial / Budget Review
- Administrative / Business Procedures
- Critical Functions
- Information Technology
- Interview Key Personnel (1:1 / Focus Group)
- Observe Departmental Procedures
- Review Learning Progress with Department Heads / Personnel
- Risk Assessment of Learning Controls and Procedures
Fieldwork Review

While no two Learning Assessment^TM engagements are typical, most organizations can anticipate the entire process to take 10-16 weeks.

For more information on partnering with Pathos on a Learning Assessment^TM, contact us at info@pathosleadershipgroup.com or call 877.455.3133.

Filed Under: Featured Content, The Influential Edge Blog Tagged With: ASTD, cplp, learning assessment, learning audit, organization development, pathos leadership group, ROI for training and development, sam palazzolo, training assessment, training audit, training return on investment, training ROI

Introducing Pathos Engagement Mapping and Plays

June 15, 2010 By Pathos Admin

Increase the level of Organization Engagement and increase profits, efficiencies, and retention!

The “New Economy” presents many challenges, or opportunities, to leaders. As with any crucial decision making situation, make the right decision… and advance forward; make the wrong decision… re-group/re-align/re-build. In working with hundreds of individuals and organizations, we’ve identified several powerful “What If…” scenarios for you to consider:

What if…

Your People were Fully Connected?
Organization Vision & Values were more in Alignment with Policies/Procedures?
Employees Understood the Big Picture for Your Organization?
Everyone had the Knowledge & Acted Like the CEO?
You Could Get from Here to There?

Pathos Engagement Map

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a picture you and your leadership group create is worth even more. The reason being is that not only will you have a say in what the picture looks like during the creativity phase, but you’ll also have the crucial advantage when it comes to implementation (In our minds, the number one critical failure in all change management initiatives!)

After careful research and development, we’ve developed the Pathos Engagement Map program. Consisting of three unique service levels (Basic, Custom and Live Art), whichever level you and your organization determine is right for you and the engagement challenges you face, you’ll receive an experience that will help you:

Identify Goals & Objectives that matter
Accurately Assess the Current State
Envision Future State Success
Determine a Road Map of Initiatives
Build a Structure of Accountability/Responsibility

Pathos Engagement Play

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what’s a movie worth? In creating a Pathos Engagement Map one of the key differentiators between a Pathos program and others is the opportunity to participate in a live, group created, self-directed, participant acted play of what will be.

Participants tell us time and again that putting themselves in client/customer shoes and acting out their experiences is the most valuable perspective. The Pathos Engagement Play helps leaders see first-hand what the benefits, risks, and rewards are for future initiatives.

For more information on these programs, contact us at info@pathosleadershipgroup.com.

Filed Under: The Influential Edge Blog Tagged With: employee engagement, engagement, engagement mapping, engagement play, organization development, organization engagement, pathos leadership group

Cold Culture? Heat It Up in a Hurry!

April 19, 2010 By Pathos Admin

Why do so many organizations’ “suck” and why do they just not get “it” right?

Here’s a letter we received recently from a leader looking to us to take his organization up a degree or two (Make that at least five degrees!) When reading it, see if anything sounds familiar?

Dear Pathos,

I am writing to you after recently spending the last three days at a team building event my company held for its leadership development candidates (LDC). After three days of alternating excruciating heat (think James Arthur Ray’s sweat lodge) and freezing cold (think Donner Party), I am left wondering exactly why I was so excited to be selected as an LDC?

I guess at the heart of what truly bothers me is that as I looked around the room at the other LDC’s, I realized that each of us were really left to our own demise regarding how we performed our roles within the organization. Absent was any resemblance of consistency regarding our organization vision, picture of where we were going and values which would take us there. Worse yet, the leadership in our organization put on what could only be described as a “cold, distant, and disconnected” panel session in which we were encouraged to listen to their stories about how great the company was back in the 90’s!

I’ve come to the realization that “What got me here isn’t going to keep me there!” I feel disillusioned after my three days in close quarters with the organization’s leadership, a lot like Dorothy realizing that the Great Oz was actually just a man behind a curtain with some special effects! While I am grateful for the many things which the organization provides for me and my family, I worry about the cold culture causing lasting damage to me.

Cold Culture Survivalist

The letter from Cold Culture Survivalist prompted us to recall Dave Logan’s “Tribal Leadership” book in which he reveals that there are only 5 stages of organization culture, and that once you figure out where you are amongst those stages via what you have, you can determine how you can move up. Why would you want to move up in these culture stages? Well, according to Logan, the organization that do are more effective, more profitable, and basically everybody wins.

Here is a summary of the five stages identified in the book:

Bottom – Stage 1: (2% of all organizations) The bottom of the barrel, well to put it bluntly performs the least well. Here they say “life sucks!” They may not come out and say it out loud, but this screams from the participants actions. This happens rarely in the corporate world, but there are exceptions…

Stage 2: (25% of all organizations) “My life sucks” is their theme. No hostility, instead there is apathy. Performance drops, no innovation, new ideas are squashed, vision/values are laughed at (Mumbo jumbo), and so on is the way of life in this stage.

Stage 3: (48% of all organizations) Here they say “I am great, and you’re not!” There can be only one… very competitive here. In the end, you’ve got to look better. When it comes to clients, they notice that you’re not on the same page. If they only had a mirror to see themselves here in Stage 3!

From this point forward, organizations who operate in Stage 4 and 5 will reflect 300-500% improvement…

Stage 4: (23% of all organizations) “We’re Great, and They’re Not!” is the mantra here. There is always a competitor, as you move to the top of the organization; the “they” gets more vague.

Stage 5: (2%) Atop the Winslow Hierarchy of Needs is the idea that “Life is Great”… Our competitor becomes an idea, or a thought.

So what can our friend Cold Culture Survivalist do? Sometimes the realization of where you are truly at spending your time can be a valuable exercise. Here are several questions to ask yourself if you can sympathize with them:

What stage do you believe your organization is at?
What stage do you believe you are at within the organization?
What are the “Top Three” actions within your control that you could take to improve the stage position?
What’s at stake if you don’t achieve those three actions?
What do you want to do?

▫ What’s your gut telling you is right?

▫ What’s your heart telling you is right?

Keep in mind, most leaders put themselves 2-3 stages higher than they really are (Positive Bias). Individuals aren’t very good at assessing themselves. The group is much better at assessing themselves, so perhaps you should also include feedback from those around you.

If you don’t get in touch with what’s really important to you, you will get yourself caught in one of those computer-programming-like loops we refer to as a “Downward-Death-Spiral.” This spiral sees nowhere but down-and-out as options. So how do you rewrite this? Confront Reality… or as one of our clients says “Decide… Commit… Succeed!”

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