Three Key Factors for Leaders to Remember

Posted to HR.com by Ron Crabtree, CEO, MetaOps, Inc.

Here are three key factors for any leader desiring a change in their organization.

1) Leaders must recognize that the power of a plan or vision comes from the people understanding and adopting it. But contrary to what many believe, just having that “compelling vision’ is not enough. Where things fall short is often the result of a combination of factors, including the inability of leaders to demonstrate their commitment to employees.

Over-delegating and falling victim to magic “silver-bullet” cures fail to drive the proper communication throughout the organization. In addition, the necessity to convey the vision/strategy/plan to win understanding and buy-in of all in the organization is paramount.

2) Employees will see through any insincerity or lack of leadership commitment. Executives must truly commit to personal leadership of a change initiative. Without the top leaders showing the right level of personal commitment, it is nearly impossible to expect the next level of leaders to do so. This idea cascades down, building a culture in the organization.

3) Leaders must provide s in which the employees are allowed to experience “insights’ at a personal level. Not only must the vision be understood and seen as important by the CEO, that person also must experience the vision on a personal basis. This will facilitate the adoption of new lines of thinking by all.

Upon reflection, the last point here is the “secret sauce” that we never learn about in management school and are missing in all the ‘transformation models.” Where most companies succeed, the top leader or CEO is the difference-maker.

It is important to think critically about how the personal touch can be accomplished on the part of the top-most leaders. As with anything else in organizations, there is no silver-bullet cure for success. However, the absence of these key inputs correlates highly with failure. At the end of the day organizations are made of people.

Winning their hearts to fully embrace the vision of the organization and embrace change is decidedly a personal decision and builds a successful culture.

Goal Setting for Incentive Plans

Posted to HR.com by Evelyn Johnston, vice president, Total Rewards, Blue Shield Of California

It’s that time of year when several organizations are setting goals for their incentive plans. Following are some do’s and don’ts to consider.