Showing posts with label Leadership. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leadership. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Careful What you Measure...You Just Might Get It

Did you read the article in the New York Times about the jailor who made a fortune by letting his prisoners go hungry? Apparently in Alabama, there was a law allowing sheriffs to pocket any money left over after they've paid for prisoners' meals. Over a few years, he'd pocketed almost a quarter million dollars.


Of course he gave them corn dogs, peanut butter and scraps. That's what he was incented to do.


It seems obvious, but there's a good lesson here for business. You get what you reward.


In our performance management practice we often see leaders incenting one desired behavior (like cutting costs or growing revenue), while inadvertantly encouraging a bad behavior at the same time.


Here's an example. A salesperson's performance goals are tied soley to revenue growth. Of course that's the key measure...but be careful what you wish for. Do you just want sales growth -- at any cost? What if the salesperson cuts "bad deals" to make monthly goals?

Lesson Learned:

Metrics and incentives are a form of communication. They tell people in your organization what is valued. You get what you incent, so choose carefully to avoid unintended results.

© 2009. Phyllis Roteman of The Loyalty Group, Inc. Sherman Oaks, CA.

Friday, January 02, 2009

Avoid "Flavor of the Month" Change



  • Do employees sigh and roll their eyes when they hear about a new change happening at your company?

  • Do veterans wait out or resist change because they know it'll fade away - like a hundred other programs they've seen come and go?

  • Are you facing the rollout of a major change, but afraid that it'll be perceived as another "flavor of the month" company initiative?

If your organization has a legacy of shifting from one major change to the next, without much to show for it, expect resistance to anything touted as "new" by senior leadership.

There's a limit to how many times an employee can rally 'round a new initiative, shift gears, serve on change committees, get excited and raise their hopes...only to see the "important initiative" fizzle and disappear without much explanation. After a while, it's understandable why people become cynical.

So what's a leader to do? If you've inherited a "flavor of the month" culture where cynicism for anything new abounds, what do you do? How do you implement change when a large part of your organization is just waiting for it to fail and go away?

While there is no magic formula for implementing change successfully, there are some basics that almost every successful change initiative covers. The challenge is just doing them. I have found that most organizations fail in executing these basics of change management.

Below is a checklist of basic elements that make change stick. It's not comprehensive, so feel free to post your own change tips. If you do these things consistently - before, during and after change - you can earn organizational trust and turn even the most cynical employees into committed supporters of change.

Over-communicate

There's a saying: Tell them what you're going to say. Say it. Then tell them what you just said.

Don't be afraid to over-communicate in times of change. Ask questions, talk, exchange ideas, give updates, share success stories and seek feedback. You may feel like you're repeating yourself, but repetition is how people learn, remember and believe. Think about religious services. People go week after week repeating the same prayers, but they're still comforting. Repetition breeds familiarity and trust. Familiarity and trust is just what most people need to stay focused and motivated during the uncertainty and chaos that accompanies change.

Prepare the "story" and paint the picture

It's human nature to want to feel involved. Employees want to know the big picture - the rationale behind the change, the vision and specifically where they fit in. Ask yourself: Can all leaders in our organization - in a consistent way - tell their employees the "story" behind the change, the rationale, and how they'll be affected? Remember that employees talk. If leaders tell different stories about the change initiative, employees will lose trust - and the rumor mill will take over.

Ask open-ended questions and listen

Most leaders tend to ask closed-ended questions. Closed-ended questions ask people to answer with a yes or no response - or make a choice between options you present. Why? They're easy to ask, quick and safer than asking open-ended questions. (If I ask an open-ended question, what if I hear things I don't want to hear?!!) In a follow-up blog, I'll provide a "cheat sheet" of powerful open-ended questions leaders can ask during times of change.

Set clear expectations
Make sure your "story" includes your best, realistic estimate of how long the change initiative will take (most major change takes years). Obama did a good job of conveying this through his campaign. He tempered his uplifting vision of hope with a dose of realism. It's not going to be easy. It may feel worse before it gets better. We're going to require you to get involved.

Celebrate successes and milestones

This is easy to forget. In the chaos of change, leaders often lose site of the big picture and how far they've come. For morale, it's critical to pause and celebrate even the smallest successes on the way to change. This celebration reminds people that progress is being made. Remember, change happens slowly (three steps forward, two steps back). It's important to celebrate the three forward steps.


Copyright 2008. Phyllis Roteman. The Loyalty Group. Sherman Oaks, CA.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Riverboarding on the Zambezi River...and Change


I know...white water rafting analogies (like sports analogies) are a bit overused in leadership and teamwork training. But I've got my own new twist and it's a personal example: river-boarding (body surfing) down the Class 2 to 4 rapids of the Zambezi River in Africa.

This is something I did during a pre-midlife crisis in my early 30s. Picture this...ten of us in wetsuits with crash helmets and flippers, on our bellies fighting the rapids on little body boards strapped to our wrists. (I have no idea why I did this.)

At one turn, we were warned about sunbathing crocodiles watching us from the rocks above the water. At another turn, we were warned to "keep to the left" because of dangerous sharp rocks and an undertow to the right. Did I mention that I'm an awful swimmer?

It was a great learning experience. I was attempting something that others had done before (I knew it was humanly possible). Yet I was terrified, lacking the proper skill, and unsure of what was in store. I was with a group of strangers and being led by guides I'd just met...but was trusting with my life.

Sound familiar? Isn't this how many employees and managers feel during times of change?

Here's an example. A client of ours acquired several former competitors in a short period of time. As you can imagine, this was a huge shake-up for the sales organization. Territories were restructured, salesforces were combined and the organization was flattened. Some managers went back into sales - and some managers found themselves leading groups of strangers who used to be their competitors. The acquisitions added product lines, giving the new company a bigger industry footprint and more opportunities. But it significantly changed the sales process, from a simple sale of a few products to a much more strategic, complex sale of integrated solutions.

Suddenly, leaders and salespeople who'd been successful in the "old" environment found themselves on unfamiliar ground. Many skills that were rewarded and made them successful in the past were less relevant. Potential obstacles lurked like crocodiles around each corner as the organization struggled through the transition stage of change. Everyone plowed ahead, as we did on the rapids, while worrying about what might be around the corner or if success would ever come.

My next blog posting will deal with the practical elements of managing change, based on a great
article I just read from Knowledge.Wharton on why business strategies fail. Not surprisingly, the reason is often poor execution. It was this article that got me thinking about my riverboarding trip and the importance of balancing strategy and execution during turbulent times.


Copyright 2008. Phyllis Roteman. The Loyalty Group. Sherman Oaks, CA.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Why "Time Outs" are Important in Business


A fellow blogger, Bud Bilanich, has been writing a series of posts comparing the game of rugby to the game of business. One of the "leadership lessons" Bud says he learned from playing rugby was that you must "Kill the Ball".

Like Bud, I was a rugby player (albeit for a very brief time in college, in an all-woman league). A rugby ball, for those who don't know, is like a big football. It's harder to handle than an American football, I think, because of its larger size. And like an American football, it bounces funny, making it difficult to pick up when it's loose on the ground.

Here's what Bud says in his
post...

"Coaches always tell their players to “kill the ball” when it is bouncing around the open field. You kill the ball by falling on it, gathering it to yourself, and then standing up with it...When you kill the ball you benefit your side because you secure it and allow your teammates to align themselves to begin an offensive possession. Possession and field position are very important in rugby."

Think of the bouncing rugby ball as a work crisis. Haven't we all seen this situation? The ball is loose and everyone on the team is desperately trying to get it under control. So people start kicking the ball (flyhacking as ruggers call it), trying to pick it up and run with it...but in the frenzy no one is "killing the ball" (actually stopping the crisis and regrouping). It can become a comedy of errors.

A few years ago I witnessed a perfect example of what can happen when no one takes the initiative to "kill the ball" in a business crisis. (Follow the bouncing ball and see how a small problem spirals out of control.)

  • It's a busy work day (lots of deadlines, etc.). Out of the blue, the department's email goes on the fritz. No one in the department can access their email.

  • Panic ensues.

  • Bob calls the IT department. They're busy working on other urgent problems and say, "We'll get to you as soon as we can."

  • Bob gripes to Amelia for 25 minutes about how unresponsive the IT department is. They recount all of the problems they've had with IT over the past several months.

  • Mary runs around the building trying to track down computers in other departments that the team can use until email is fixed.

  • Because she's in a panic, Mary's got a short temper. She gets into an argument with Jake in accounting because he won't let someone use his workstation during lunch. She spends 20 minutes arguing with him.

  • While Mary is out looking for computers and arguing with Jake, three customers have called. They had to leave voice mails because there was no one at Mary's desk to get the phone. (One of the clients had an urgent problem and was threatening to cancel an order.)

  • Meanwhile Tania decides to try to fix the problem herself by playing with the computers. She gets into the operating system and begins fooling with computer settings. She accidentally locks herself out of her computer and can't get back in.

  • Marty decides to let his customers know that he's not going to be able to meet their deadline because the computers are out. He goes home, because he can't get anything done at the office.

  • The IT technician arrives one hour later. He quickly discovers that earlier in the day, while everyone was running around trying to meet their deadlines, someone accidentally tripped on a cord and unplugged the department's email server. When he plugs it back in, email is up and running. Simple problem, quick fix.

Why didn't anyone think to check the plug? As Bud might say, no one killed the ball.

No one stood up and yelled "STOP THE INSANITY" (as Susan Powter used to say) to regain control. That quick time out might have given the team time to think, "What are the possible causes of our email going down?" and "What are some simple things we can do?"

So what can we learn from this?

In our office, we created what we called a "two-minute rule", with the help of a consultant, Amy Siu, President of Simply Organized Solutions. When we hit a business crisis, we took a two-minute time-out to regroup. It was our time to take a deep breath, calm down and strategize. Anyone was allowed to call time out when they started to see insanity ensuing in a crisis.

I can't even count the number of times we called time out...and how many mistakes we prevented. Try it.

© 2007. Phyllis Roteman, The Loyalty Group. All Rights Reserved.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Richard Branson Shows Boredom Can Be Good

Richard Branson, the king of Virgin, gets bored easily. According to a recent blog by Gary Bourgeault, Branson channels this "problem" into a positive by "getting himself into numerous businesses that he can spread himself around in." It hasn't held him back too much.

It makes me think, what other "weaknesses" or problems can leaders turn into positives?

A recent article by Mark Thompson confirms that the ability to overcome personal challenges - or turn your weaknesses into strengths - is critical to leadership and entrepreneureal success.

- Charles Schwab was dyslexic and almost flunked out of Stanford, having failed English twice. In business, he overcame this reading problem by speaking from the heart (nixing the need for reading and writing long memos and speeches).

- Cisco CEO John Chambers was also dyslexic, so he relies on memorized speeches and interacting personally with people as much as possible.

Branson's story hits home for me. Not many people know this about me, but I failed high school and got into college with a GED. I was bored and questioned everything. I thought something was wrong with me...until I found a way to channel my "weakness" into a positive. As a consultant, it's my job to question the status quo and help solve problems. I now get paid for what I got punished for in the past. Go figure!

What is your biggest personal struggle or challenge - and how can it work for you as a strength?

© 2006 The Loyalty Group. All Rights Reserved.

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Libby Trial Reveals "Inner Workings Gone Bad"

How would you describe the "inner workings" of your organization or team?

Commenting on the Scooter Libby trial and guilty verdict, a USA Today reporter observes:

"...the trial offered a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the White House.
It showed Cheney's eagerness to discredit a war critic, the Bush administration's policies on talking to reporters and its strategies for dealing with a crisis."

I take the term "inner workings" to mean the unoffical ways that things get done in organizations.

In healthy companies and teams, these inner workings are positive forces. For example, FastCompany.com ran an article on "working the grapevine" that argues that company grapevines, or informal communication networks, can be used positively to communicate messages through companies. And we all know "go-to" people in our companies; those seasoned experts who don't have position power, but whom you can always count on for advice or support. Informal mentoring relationships is yet another example of an unoffical but healthy method of achieving goals in organizations.

In unhealthy organizations, inner workings are devious and self-serving. The grapevine is used to spread malicious information and make others look bad. Communication is indirect. Rather than speak candidly about difficult subjects, people allow rumors and backstabbing to flourish. People jockey for position by developing cliques and favoring those who share their views or are "good soldiers".

What are your company's "inner workings?" If reporters were covering the inner workings of your company or team, what would they say? Are they healthy?

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Six Steps to Build Accountability Today!

All of us have been in these situations before:

- Everyone talks about ideas in a weekly meeting…and by the next week it’s apparent that nothing has happened.

- Something goes wrong on a project… and there is a chain of emails about who was to blame and what they should have done.

- A manager identifies a major need in his division…yet no one really wants to step up and do anything about it.

These scenarios are all symptoms of a culture that lacks accountability. Managers often try to force accountability by instituting new metrics, policies and inspections; yet these actions are like applying a BAND-AID® to a broken bone. Tools like these don’t work if people aren’t bought in to the idea of accountability and are not willing to be accountable.

Here are ways you can build a culture of accountability in your organization:


Hire for Accountability. Accountability can’t be taught; you have to hire for it. The next time you’re interviewing a job candidate, ask:

– “Tell me about a time when you stepped up and took ownership of a project that wasn’t really your ‘job.” (Listen to distinguish whether they took the initiative themselves or if they were asked to take on this project by someone else.)

– “Tell me about a time when you dropped the ball on a project.” (Do they own up to their mistakes? What did they do to fix it or make things better?)

– “Give me an example of a time when you were responsible for something that you didn’t have complete control over.” (What checks and balances did the person put in place on the front end to help ensure success, even when they didn’t have complete control over outcomes? Listen for signs of "victim mentality". Do they blame someone or something else for their inability to succeed?)

Address the “why’s” in advance. Its human nature to want to know "why" (think of children..."Why is the sky blue?”) . When assigning goals or new projects, make sure you explain the big picture (the why) to your team. It’s easy for a leader to simply lay out all of the to-do’s that they had thought about before a team meeting and simply ask others to take on tasks. Engage your employees by having an initial discussion about the big picture or overall strategy of your department. Give some background and talk about your vision to help set the stage. This helps employees understand the “whys” behind certain tasks.

Let others help with the details. Most people don’t like to be told what to do. Employees are much more likely to eagerly work on an issue and think of creative solutions when they feel as though they had a hand in shaping the project themselves. As a leader, ask more questions and listen to others’ ideas before contributing your thoughts.

Turn “we” statements into “I” statements. The next time you are in a meeting, listen for “we” statements. They sound like this: “We should be…” “We could…” “We need to be…” When a “we” statement comes up, pause and ask who specifically will take ownership of that task, define the results as a team and talk about realistic timelines. Write these out on a whiteboard, flip chart or record them in follow up minutes to be sent out immediately after the meeting. The goal should be to turn a list of verbal ideas into written tasks that have a defined owner, desired results and attainable deadline.

Avoid “should” conversations. When something goes wrong on a project, teams often spend a lot of time talking about who was responsible and what “should” have been done. This often leads to a chain of who “should” have done xyz first…and is often an attempt to try and shift the blame (and the negative attention) to someone else. In the middle of a crisis, avoid the past and focus on what can be done about the problem now. Think back to the original desired results and discuss who can take on what steps to achieve those goals. After the project is completed, schedule a team debrief so that everyone can learn best practices and what to avoid next time.

Don’t expect a year-end review to make people be accountable. A performance review, in and of itself, can’t make people take accountability. If you are working in an environment that currently lacks accountability, first think about what you can do to model accountability to those you lead throughout the year, not just at year-end.

Building a culture of accountability means realizing that all the mission statements, standards, expectations and directives in the world won’t make a difference unless individuals choose to make a commitment to them. By taking steps to make your team want to be accountable, rather then forcing them, you will be well on your way to a culture of accountability in the workplace

Imagine the power of everyone in your organization working smarter and focusing on a common vision…Check out TLG's Performance in Action solutions to learn more.

© 2006 The Loyalty Group. All Rights Reserved.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Soft Skills Training in MBA Programs

Yesterday's WSJ Online had an article describing how top tier business schools like Dartmouth and MIT are now focusing on the soft skills of managing, by "...copying and adapting popular corporate techniques such as coaching, personality assessments and peer feedback. The article says the schools are responding to increasing interest from employers who are looking for better inpersonal skills in freshly minted MBAs.

I remember when I was pursuing my Executive MBA at the University of Miami's business school several years ago, I had a few academically-obsessed professors who frequently "poo pooed" the work of consultants. (Overall I HIGHLY recommend UM's Executive MBA program and most of the professors were amazing.) One Leadership professor in particular grudgingly shared some of Ken Blanchard's work, to "just let us know what's out there," because we'd probably be exposed to it when we got into the corporate world. She clung to her heavily-research based theory and leadership models, which in her opinion (and which she was not shy about sharing) was much more ligitimate than the practical but "light" stuff that corporate consultants taught.

It's about time that business schools started recognizing the need for balance between teaching strategy, finance and analysis (the "hard" stuff), and the interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence (the "soft" stuff) required to lead effectively in today's business environment.

What's the implication for business? You can capitalize on this trend by doing the following:

  • When hiring new business school graduates, ask them what they learned about the "interpersonal-side" of managing in their MBA program. The WSJ article says that many programs now require students to take leadership assessments and create development plans for themselves. Find out what insight graduates gleaned from their assessments and development plans, and what actions they have been taking to hone their skills.

  • Don't assume that even with soft-skills built into the curriculum, new MBAs are ready-made for leadership responsibility...particularly the challenge of managing people of diverse backgrounds and styles. Nothing is a substitute for the first-hand experience of leading people in a corporate setting. Give them support, such as mentoring, continuous leadership development training and coaching, to help them deal with the day-to-day challenges of applying soft-skills theory to the real world.

  • Talk to your local college about incorporating practical, soft-skills training into their MBA and undergraduate business programs. By doing this, you're helping to create your own pool of better-prepared, new leaders in your own back yard.

  • Keep your seasoned managers' soft-skills sharp with ongoing development. New business school graduates with stronger interpersonal skills raises the bar on all leaders in the organization. Make sure your vets are getting the same tools and resources your new managers are getting. It's easy to assume that veteran managers have "been there, done that" when it comes to training in topics like Coaching, Performance Management and Giving Feedback. But seasoned vets get sloppy on the soft-skills without continuous development, feedback and refreshers (I include myself in that category...even I can get sloppy and I teach this stuff!).

For more information about succession management and the importance of soft skills for future leaders, see the following link to our e-newsletter:

http://www.theloyaltygroup.com/tt.Vol1.issue7.pdf




Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Don't be Sorry. Be Accountable Before You Act.

Accountability is a hot topic today. When we deliver performance management and coaching workshops, the discussion always gravitates to the topic of accountability. In an era of Enron, Anderson and Sarbane-Oxley, clients are looking for ways to make people more accountable for their words and actions.

We often think that accountability means "owning up to your mistakes" and saying you're sorry. But that definition is back-ended. It implies that you've done something wrong and that, on the back end, you make amends.

Think Gavin Newsom (San Fran Mayor).
Think Mel Gibson and Michael Richards.
Think Mark Foley.
Think Patrick Kennedy.
I could go on.

All messed up, then apologized and entered rehab or therapy. I know it takes courage to apologize and admit mistakes. And it truly takes courage to seek help for a real problem. This is an important part of accountability.

The most important part of accountability, however, is the front-end. What about being accountable before the fact? How about thinking about consequences before acting? I'm afraid that part of the accountability message is being lost.

What does this have to do with corporate learning or training? Think about how difficult it is to get people in organizations to be accountable. And when we do talk about being accountable, we tend to talk about the back-end, taking responsiblity for outcomes and admitting mistakes. That's important. But let's not forget to make the front-end just as important. Be accountable for your actions before committing them. Think a little before doing.

As leaders and facilitators, we should broaden the discussion of accountablity and remember than an apology on the back end doesn't always erase past behaviors.

Monday, January 22, 2007

Managers as "Coaches and Conductors"

Today's Wall Street Journal Boss Talk article interviews Ken Favaro, co-chairman of Marakon Associates. He discusses the challenge, or "tension", leaders face in balancing conflicting business goals. One set of conflicting goals is the need to build individual business unit autonomy versus the need to strengthen the company as a whole. Too much focus on individual autonomy, Favaro says, creates silos. Too much centralization can inhibit innovation and specialization.

To achive the right balance, Favaro says that CEOs must be both "coaches and conductors." Good coaches know the strengths and development needs of individuals, and capitalize on them. Good conductors know how to bring a team together, to work as a whole. In other words, strong leaders must be able to focus on the big picture (the entire business enterprise) as well as tap into individual needs.

I agree with Favaro and even go a step further. I believe that in today's flat, technology-driven organizations, managers at all levels (not just the C-level), must be coaches and conductors. Imagine an operations manager who can only focus as a coach, at the individual level. She may get the best out of her own team, but she's unlikely to build strong cross-functional partnerships. She may make decisions that help her team, but conflict with the greater organizational goals.

On the flip side, think of a sales manager who is a strong conductor, but is weak as a coach. He may be good at influencing up and make strategic decisions that are in the company's long-term interest. Yet he may be out of touch with the individuals on his team and their needs. He may avoid performance problems and stay in the office attending meetings, rather than be in the field with his reps.

Being a manager at any level is always a balancing act. The right amount of coaching and conducting helps ensure that individuals feel empowered and automous - while the good of the whole is being served.

Friday, September 22, 2006

What Makes a "Champion" Business Leader?

What separates good leaders from great leaders? And does the business world have truly great leaders - those legendary, "championship" leaders who are the Tiger Woods and Michael Jordans of their professions?

In today's issue of USA Today, an article by Erik Brady shows that elite athletes share common threads. (Article: Soul of a Champion) In this first of a series of articles profiling "champions", Brady focuses on the sports world. I couldn't help but wonder - what makes a "champion" leader in today's business world? Do the world's legendary athletes and the world's legendary leaders share common traits?

The article quotes Patrick Cohn, a sports psychologist and president of Peak Performance Sports in Orlando Florida. He lists four "mental and emotional characteristics common to champion athletes."
  • Competitiveness (I'd add the word "healthy" to competitiveness)
  • Confidence
  • Composure (under pressure)
  • Focus
It can be argued that these traits - or competencies - also distinguish good leaders from those who are exceptional. Who in modern business fits this profile? The first person who comes to mind is Jack Welch. In modern politics, I think of Arnold Schwartzenegger (who also happens to have been a very successful businessman and athlete). Martha Stewart may not have been popular with everyone who worked with her, but she certainly built a business empire with confidence and competitiveness. And after her arrest and imprisonment for securities violations - kept her composure and stayed focused as she ran her empire from jail.

If we had to define these four traits in terms of behaviors that "champion leaders" demonstrate, it might look something like this:

Competitiveness: Willing to do whatever it takes - without compromising ethics or sacrificing others - to achieve success. Taking smart risks and bouncing back quickly from failure. Constantly surveying the competitive landscape, knowing where you stand relative to the competition and anticipating competitors' next moves.

Confidence: Self-motivated and driven internally. Standing by decisions, yet comfortable admitting mistakes and failures. Unafraid to make unpopular choices and disagree. Standing up for beliefs. Staying the course even when faced with obstacles.

Composure: Staying cool under pressure. Controlling behavior and actions when faced with stress. Able to function effectively - or even perform better - in tense situations.

Focus: Always keeping sight of the goal and taking purposeful action to achieve that goal. Able to rally others around a common goal. Eliminating roadblocks, obstacles and distractions that get in the way of success. Knowing when to stay the course - and when to change direction.

How do your company's leaders stack up against these traits?

©2006 The Loyalty Group. All Rights Reserved. www.TheLoyaltyGroup.com

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Bosses From Hell: What's Trainable and What's Not

Maybe you've worked for this boss. Maybe you are this boss (and don't realize it). Or maybe you've quietly simmered as you've watched this boss get promoted, rewarded or just forgiven for his or her steamroller management approach or piercing comments to subordinates.

If you're in the training or HR profession, you've probably been asked at some point to rehabilitate this manager by sending him or her to a magical training session (aka: charm school for interpersonally-challenged leaders) that will teach them how to play nicely with others. This is usually a reaction to employee complaints, a negative 360 feedback survey, or extremely high turnover in the department or division.

My point is that we've all seen managers from hell...the "Teflon leaders" who, despite their lack of interpersonal skills or empathy for others, still seem to climb the corporate ladder and receive positive recognition.

In severe cases, managers like these need years of therapy, not a training session or executive coach. Training or coaching only helps when the leader:

- Has the ability (Emotional Intelligence) to change and empathize with others.
- Wants to change and sees a painful consequence for not changing.

When these two conditions don't exist, no amount of training, coaching or executive development will help. Therapy probably won't help either, but it's a start.

For fun, below are a few links to movies about bosses from hell. They're extreme, but really illustrate in a funny, dark way how abusive leaders can rise to the top - and make life painful for the people who report to them. They also show how these leaders' dysfunctional styles have domino effects through their organizations...creating extremely dysfunctional behavior among their staffs who desperately try to survive and guess their bosses' next moves.

Devil Wears Prada

Swimming with Sharks

Glenngarry Glen Ross

©2006 The Loyalty Group. All Rights Reserved. www.TheLoyaltyGroup.com