“Democracy is essential in organizations that rely on the creativity of all workers to produce continuous innovation.  Innovation requires democratic processes:  the sharing of information across departments, functions and organizational levels; team decision making; conflict resolution; and deference to the person with the best idea rather than the most senior title.  Also, democracy is inevitable in environments that must accommodate rapid and endless change.  Democracy in industry is not an idealistic conception but a hard necessity in those areas where change is ever present and creative scientific enterprise must be nourished.  For democracy is the only system of organization that is compatible with perpetual change.”

These words taken from Charles Garfield’s book:  Second To None…The Productive Power of Putting People First are so SO important when strategizing on how your business or organization should function and go forward.

As you think about all of the very important factors included in those quotations, take a minute or two and apply them to your world of work.  Does your entity have:

• An open design for soliciting ideas and improvement suggestions from anywhere within the organization?
• An ongoing succession process for moving the right people into the right positions to facilitate progressive change and innovation?
• A time/structure/system for quality, thorough, communication up and down and across your business/organization to ensure productivity/service understanding and competency is always the priority?

It is a pleasure to use the term “Democracy” in this TRIPLE III TIME message as a positive element in the area of Continuous Innovation & Change!  I recommend re-reading the quotes and consider even more high-value applications of it’s meaning.

One of the more “traditional” challenging leadership issues is dealing with Problem Employees & Time Management.  Too often leaders spend way too much of their time exclusively dealing with one or a couple of employees who always seem to be adverse to the benefits of teamwork and setting a positive, progressive workplace example.

You know what I mean.

During my role as a Director, I would make it a major priority to share my time with co-workers on the most equal level as possible.  Understandably there were times when problem employees required more time than was appropriate and truly, I felt the twinges of unfairness of attention to the rest of the gang who were on the job and doing their best everyday…EVERYDAY!  And it was only by making time management a priority in this area that I believe I attained a pretty good balance of attention to all personnel.

The bottom-line for this TRIPLE III TIME:  Problem Employees & Time Management message is to encourage all leaders/managers in all companies or organizations to prioritize time management among staff.  This means:  (1) avoiding allowing problem employees to maximize your time, (2) not enabling problem employees to draw your energy away from cool, new ideas and only focusing on negative issues and, (3) consistently “short-changing” the majority of your workers of your supportive and creative time

Quality time management on its own is an everyday challenge in all work/life situations.  Is it easy to accomplish…no?  But by making it a major priority in your role as a leader…you will attain the support and appreciation of those most important.

One of the toughest leadership challenges is addressing Co-Worker Conflict.  In many instances it (conflict) is the result of just plain personality differences… and are those really changeable?  But even more critical to an ongoing Co-Worker Conflict is its very negative impact on the delivery and effectiveness of quality Customer Service within and outside of an organization!

Co-Worker Conflict can negate inter-organization clear and concise communication.  It can spread an “illness” of non-cooperation among staff.  Co-Worker Conflict can limit or even destroy any plans for a new, cool innovative product or service.  And this list can go on.

One of my most effective Leadership actions to deal with Co-Worker Conflict was to remove the decision-making authority on a challenge issue from the “conflictors”.  My directive sounded something like this:  “If you can not resolve this issue between yourselves…I WILL MAKE THE DECISION AND NO  ONE WILL BE PLEASED…EXCEPT ME!”  And fortunately most times a new sense of maturity and need for progress prevailed…and we moved positively forward.

Co-Worker Conflict/Leadership/Customer Service are sometimes mixed together in ways that require clear, timely, corrective action.  Leaders need to NOT sit back and hope the Co-Worker Conflict resolves itself and co-workers need to remember professionalism matters and move forward for the sake of Customer Service.

As we all slowly evolve out of the pandemic strain, its limitations and elimination of our “business-as-usual” routines, many groups are considering new Strategic Planning initiatives.  This means getting leadership and employee representatives together to consider future product, service, location, workforce and yes maybe even special innovation opportunities for their business/organization’s future.  And as a consultant that has worked specifically in the strategic planning arena, several have asked for my general input on what I consider the most critical issue(s).

My direct answer is:  The Time Factor!

Typically Strategic Plans look at the world from a distance of about 3 to 5 years in the future.  The goal is to try to project what the needs of the business/people/community/marketplace/education sectors may be.  There are always multiple opinions, options and ideas about the ideal time frames for achieving effectiveness and efficiency in all planning projections.  So what are MY recommendations regarding Strategic Planning & The Time Factor?

Well I must admit that my approach to Strategic Planning has not changed much over the years.  I believe planning 1 to 2 years ahead is the most logical and cost effective approach.  This recommendation is based on:

• The speed of technological advancement
• The time required to train and retrain employees.
• The global marketplace impacts
• The action of “getting too far ahead” can be as problematic as “getting too far behind”
• The process of obtaining, fine-tuning and retaining quality product/service partnerships cannot be Time Factor driven.

Please remember this is MY Strategic Planning recommendation.  Topics, issues, money and politics all may alter the best Time Factor.  Also, consider the fact that personal and professional patience has lessened in recent years.  Therefore, one size will never fit all.

In the past year I have had the opportunity to view a number of organization charts from agencies large and small… and even a few private sector companies. Keep in mind that I was only able to look at them just for awareness purposes. However, my “always a better way” mind almost instantly took me into that “I wonder if they would let me innovate this” zone!

This week’s TRIPLE III TIME message will use my TOP 10 format to raise some innovation zone issues with regard to Organization “Charting”. Our times and purpose are so different today. Does YOUR chart reflect the change factor?

1. Does your chart only change when employees change?
2. When was the last time you audited your Organization Chart for accuracy?
3. Are the positions still valid… the same?
4. Are the chart’s service/product divisions appropriate for the times?
5. Do the lines of supervision and reporting still make sense?
6. Would the Board of Directors understand/support the structure the chart represents?
7. Do the job titles correctly represent up-to-date employee responsibilities?
8. Is your Organization Chart confusing, overwhelming, not enough or too much information?
9. Can you easily see gaps in employee accountability?
10. Does your Organization Chart feel like it needs to be a constant work in progress?

The goal of this TRIPLE III TIME message is to simply encourage everyone to review/assess their Organization Chart.  Does it give a feel of “where you have been”…or an energy of “where you are going”?

Take a hard look!

Leadership is and continues to be an ever-learning professional skill area.  Even when you think you have “mastered the art” of understanding and implementing great leadership strategies, a new, different, 21^st century challenge arises.

Recently a great friend and colleague passed along highlights from a leadership training series her group sponsored.  The workshops were presented by Lou Rabaut and here are several self-improvement reminders he shared:

• An emotional (psychic) paycheck is important to an employee’s job satisfaction.
• It isn’t always what is said, but how it is said that influences your team.
• Emotional intelligence is something that can be learned and developed, and will add value to anyone’s leadership and other relationships.
• People who are more emotionally intelligent tend to be more self-aware, self-confident, empathic, curious, passionate, optimistic, adaptable, grateful and balanced. They also tend to be deeper thinkers, change agents, and can discern wants from needs.
• You cannot influence people unless they trust you; trust happens when a person is competent, acts with character and connects with others.
• When engaged in conflict resolution with your team members: define the conflict as us versus the problem, identify shared values/beliefs/concerns, separate opinions from facts, and actively listen.
• Consider using an O3 (one-on-one) meeting with your team members: a regularly scheduled meeting between the employee and the leader, is managed by the employee, sticks to an agenda, keeps alignment/focus, and helps prevent emergencies.
• Remember that not everyone learns the same way you do.
• An effective on-boarding process for a new hire leads to greater probability of retention.

Thanks Jackie for helping all of the TRIPLE III TIME readers benefit from one of the leadership opportunities you arranged for your organization.

As I draft this final TRIPLE III TIME message for 2021, I can hardly believe that we have been sharing thoughts and ideas about communication, leadership, innovation and professional development for eight years.  Sometimes the messages come naturally, sometimes with challenges…but always with the hope that each helps every reader in a special personal or professional way.

This last 2021 TRIPLE III TIME message GIVING (Not Paying) FORWARD was created by the post-retirement activities undertaken by a very great friend.  First, I am assuming that everyone understands what is meant when you talk about the person “Paying Forward” for a product or service for a total stranger.  Maybe it’s paying for a cup of coffee, restaurant tab and/or the fare to go across the Mackinaw Bridge!  These good deeds are referred to as special “Paying Forward” acts of kindness…and it is hoped that they are replicated by the recipient.  But today I want to alter our “Paying Forward” act perception and substitute the unique value of GIVING (Not Paying) FORWARD.

My friend who was/is a very successful business person who decided to initiate GIVING FORWARD activities for several young adults he had just happened to connect with.  What GIVING FORWARD help does he offer you ask?  Well his great GIVING FORWARD advice/coaching includes educational recommendations, career mentoring, relationship development, parenthood issues, business profit & loss challenges and sometimes just fatherhood-isms.  His GIVING FOWARD times never seem to have an agenda but are always given focus by the life experiences concerning each of his GIVING FORWARD “adoptees”.  Money and personal finances may be a topic…but never an expected benefit action.

Bottomline:  The goal of this TRIPLE III TIME message is to encourage everyone to consider a GIVING FORWARD action with someone.  It’s a great learning example to end our year with…and an example to think about starting in 2022.

This week we are going to talk about “The Importance of KEY WORDS!” that describe you, that you use as a means of making a priority point, or that possibly drive you to take professional action on a particular issue.  I believe everyone establishes a unique form of communication through the use of KEY WORDS while on the job.

What do I mean?  Well let me provide two personal examples.  First anyone who has ever worked with me knows very well what I mean when I USE the word “cause”.  They understand that I am referring to the mission of helping people, helping businesses and/or the community to be better.  Likewise, when I HEAR the phrase:  “We have never done or tried to do this before”…colleagues know my innovation instincts kick into high gear and drive me to take on a new professional challenge!

The goal of this week’s TRIPLE III TIME message is to encourage everyone to pay professional attention to The Importance of KEY WORDS! that describe/define YOU!  Think about the KEY WORDS that communicate who you are…what you stand for…that people use to describe you…and label you in your world-of-work.  Are they positive and progressive or passive and uncertain?  I even ask candidates that I interview for jobs or project assignments: Give me three KEY WORDS that define/describe you.

Give some quality time to understanding The Importance of KEY WORDS! in communicating your status as a person and worker.  Let me know your results.