There has been stories in the press lately and rumors in the grape vine about the insolvency of most of the nigerian banks. Surely, a strong banking system that engenders trust and confidence in market players is critical to economic growth and development . However, without transparency there can be no trust. Several questions beg for answers: how much toxic assets are on the books of nigerian banks; can we rely on their reports to determine theis health? Does the CBN have the infrastructure and political will to ensure transparency? Is there collusion between CBN and the banks?
I will be discussing these issues and more on my blog- oluomojuyigbe@blogspot.com next week. Check in and leave a comment. For now we can only guess which bank is solvent. I have made my own conjecture, I advise you do the same or better still consider using the piggy bank!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Everything does not rise and fall on leadership!
Everything does not rise and fall on leadership! In a team it does not. Does that mean John Maxwell was wrong; you can decide for yourself after reading this piece. In a football team, the team wins or loses together, regardless of the individual contribution of the players including the captain. The attack cannot blame the defense for letting in goals as the defense can counter by accusing the attack of not scoring enough goals. Individual accountability is critical in teams but one of the essential characteristics of teams which separate it from other work groups which are erroneously called teams (for example a task force) is the principle of mutual responsibility and accountability.
My definitions for two terms, which are important to understand in people management is the key to grasping this concept. First, I define a team as a small group of people (usually fewer than 20) working together on a shared purpose with both individual and mutual responsibility: using the synergy of their individual resources which produces a better performance than the sum of their individual efforts. Second, I define leadership as a set of behaviors (not position or charisma) which facilitate the achievement of a shared purpose within the group.
Right away you can understand that it is possible to practice leadership behaviors without being a leader for the purpose of achieving the group’s shared purpose. That is, it is possible to lead from the top, bottom or middle. A lot of times I have observed someone apart from the leader lead a team effectively by practicing such behaviors as: taking responsibility; thinking outside the box; modeling performance and facilitating the group’s social dynamics while the ‘leader’ looks on feeling good to be in a position. A lot of teams do not achieve their set performance goals simply because of the very notion that everything rises and falls on leadership which causes team members to think certain behaviors such as initiating or creating new ideas, facilitating team work values and making decisions are the exclusive responsibility of the man at the top.
Today in the workplace and in other organizations where people have to work together, many feel not responsible, confused and a lot of times without the capacity to engage for the benefit of the group not knowing exactly when they will be seen as being presumptuous and infringing on the top dog’s turf. The concept of everything rising and falling on leadership further makes it comfortable for team members to do just enough to keep them on the team but never taking ownership, accountability and hence leadership for the team’s performance.
Understanding that in teams everything rises and falls on the team causes a definite paradigm shift in the way team members approach the group’s tasks. It destroys the need to play politics and definitely nips sabotage in the bud in the heart of those who do not agree with the leaders. It sounds absurd as to think of a defender scoring an own goal so as to spite his captain or a goal keeper not jumping high enough and letting a goal in because he had an argument with the team’s captain. As absurd as this sound this is what sometimes ensues in work teams that believe everything rises and falls on leadership. It also make the leaders prone to not sharing praise around the team as well as believing they must be responsible absolutely for the team’s success which further alienates other team members to the detriment of the teams performance.
Does this mean a leader is not needed on a team and what is the role of individual accountability you may be asking? One of the most important roles of the team leader is team selection and making sure every member of the team is pulling their weight in performing the tasks. Since performance depends on the individual contributions and the synergistic sum of it, the strength of the team depends on the strength of the weakest link in the chain and usually, since the team leader is the first link in the chain it becomes her role to get the right people on the team. One of the very important criterions among many in selecting team members is the individual’s unreserved belief in the teams’ purpose as it determines their commitment. A lot of teams don’t deliver, with the blame coming on the leader because people on the team do not share in the group’s purpose.
If ten of us are in a locked room where a fire incident happens and I get up to try and break down the door to get out, how much leadership do I need to exhibit to get the other people in the room to join me and put in their best efforts to break the door? You see, the principle of shared purpose is the most critical in a team’s performance. Most leaders use imperative communication to bring the best out of their teams using words like “we must” “we have to” “you should”. They see their team members as people who need to be coerced and shoved into positions. Of course they will get the blame and glory for the outcome of the group’s effort hence their need to strongly communicate and emphasize the need to focus on the team’s goals.
However if there is shared purpose, the leader understands that all members of the team are committed to the cause, the leader’s role becomes that of facilitation. Once the leader realizes that the people have performance potential in them it becomes a matter of just drawing it out. Now this is a very critical thought because usually there are two kinds of leaders. The one who does not believe in the potential or commitment of the team and the one who does and just needs to ensure the team has the resources to perform. Everything a leader does including communication style and reward systems will depend on how he sees the team.
As much as I do not believe in using a team’s time for interpersonal therapy, getting every member of the team to do their best must actually take a detour for it to be effective. Empowerment is the path to organizational teamwork. Though structures, accountability and common goals are necessary to a successful organization yet organizations must make room for choice. The problem with imperative thinking is the erroneous believe that people can and will be controlled hence the emphasis on ‘strong’ leadership. Imperative thinking and communication overlooks a powerful attribute of the human personality: the yearning to be free. For people to feel a sense of ownership and hence have their creativity unlocked, they need to believe their own principles and values are an integral part of their efforts. Once every member of the team feels this, leadership becomes a shared responsibility. This is why in every real team every member of the team leads at one time or the other though their still exist ‘the leader’. In teams like this there is such a feeling of shred responsibility that leadership actions emanate from every part of the team.
To go back to our football team analogy, once the ball is in the opponent’s goal area, the top striker takes over the team’s leadership and the reverse happens when the ball is in the team’s goal area- the goal keeper takes over the leadership. Everybody on the team plays to the advice of the person leading at that particular moment including the team’s captain because each team member owns their part of the field. In highly effective teams therefore, everything does not rise and fall on leadership, rather, everything rises and falls on ‘the practice of leadership’
Everything does not rise and fall on leadership! In a team it does not. Does that mean John Maxwell was wrong; you can decide for yourself after reading this piece. In a football team, the team wins or loses together, regardless of the individual contribution of the players including the captain. The attack cannot blame the defense for letting in goals as the defense can counter by accusing the attack of not scoring enough goals. Individual accountability is critical in teams but one of the essential characteristics of teams which separate it from other work groups which are erroneously called teams (for example a task force) is the principle of mutual responsibility and accountability.
My definitions for two terms, which are important to understand in people management is the key to grasping this concept. First, I define a team as a small group of people (usually fewer than 20) working together on a shared purpose with both individual and mutual responsibility: using the synergy of their individual resources which produces a better performance than the sum of their individual efforts. Second, I define leadership as a set of behaviors (not position or charisma) which facilitate the achievement of a shared purpose within the group.
Right away you can understand that it is possible to practice leadership behaviors without being a leader for the purpose of achieving the group’s shared purpose. That is, it is possible to lead from the top, bottom or middle. A lot of times I have observed someone apart from the leader lead a team effectively by practicing such behaviors as: taking responsibility; thinking outside the box; modeling performance and facilitating the group’s social dynamics while the ‘leader’ looks on feeling good to be in a position. A lot of teams do not achieve their set performance goals simply because of the very notion that everything rises and falls on leadership which causes team members to think certain behaviors such as initiating or creating new ideas, facilitating team work values and making decisions are the exclusive responsibility of the man at the top.
Today in the workplace and in other organizations where people have to work together, many feel not responsible, confused and a lot of times without the capacity to engage for the benefit of the group not knowing exactly when they will be seen as being presumptuous and infringing on the top dog’s turf. The concept of everything rising and falling on leadership further makes it comfortable for team members to do just enough to keep them on the team but never taking ownership, accountability and hence leadership for the team’s performance.
Understanding that in teams everything rises and falls on the team causes a definite paradigm shift in the way team members approach the group’s tasks. It destroys the need to play politics and definitely nips sabotage in the bud in the heart of those who do not agree with the leaders. It sounds absurd as to think of a defender scoring an own goal so as to spite his captain or a goal keeper not jumping high enough and letting a goal in because he had an argument with the team’s captain. As absurd as this sound this is what sometimes ensues in work teams that believe everything rises and falls on leadership. It also make the leaders prone to not sharing praise around the team as well as believing they must be responsible absolutely for the team’s success which further alienates other team members to the detriment of the teams performance.
Does this mean a leader is not needed on a team and what is the role of individual accountability you may be asking? One of the most important roles of the team leader is team selection and making sure every member of the team is pulling their weight in performing the tasks. Since performance depends on the individual contributions and the synergistic sum of it, the strength of the team depends on the strength of the weakest link in the chain and usually, since the team leader is the first link in the chain it becomes her role to get the right people on the team. One of the very important criterions among many in selecting team members is the individual’s unreserved belief in the teams’ purpose as it determines their commitment. A lot of teams don’t deliver, with the blame coming on the leader because people on the team do not share in the group’s purpose.
If ten of us are in a locked room where a fire incident happens and I get up to try and break down the door to get out, how much leadership do I need to exhibit to get the other people in the room to join me and put in their best efforts to break the door? You see, the principle of shared purpose is the most critical in a team’s performance. Most leaders use imperative communication to bring the best out of their teams using words like “we must” “we have to” “you should”. They see their team members as people who need to be coerced and shoved into positions. Of course they will get the blame and glory for the outcome of the group’s effort hence their need to strongly communicate and emphasize the need to focus on the team’s goals.
However if there is shared purpose, the leader understands that all members of the team are committed to the cause, the leader’s role becomes that of facilitation. Once the leader realizes that the people have performance potential in them it becomes a matter of just drawing it out. Now this is a very critical thought because usually there are two kinds of leaders. The one who does not believe in the potential or commitment of the team and the one who does and just needs to ensure the team has the resources to perform. Everything a leader does including communication style and reward systems will depend on how he sees the team.
As much as I do not believe in using a team’s time for interpersonal therapy, getting every member of the team to do their best must actually take a detour for it to be effective. Empowerment is the path to organizational teamwork. Though structures, accountability and common goals are necessary to a successful organization yet organizations must make room for choice. The problem with imperative thinking is the erroneous believe that people can and will be controlled hence the emphasis on ‘strong’ leadership. Imperative thinking and communication overlooks a powerful attribute of the human personality: the yearning to be free. For people to feel a sense of ownership and hence have their creativity unlocked, they need to believe their own principles and values are an integral part of their efforts. Once every member of the team feels this, leadership becomes a shared responsibility. This is why in every real team every member of the team leads at one time or the other though their still exist ‘the leader’. In teams like this there is such a feeling of shred responsibility that leadership actions emanate from every part of the team.
To go back to our football team analogy, once the ball is in the opponent’s goal area, the top striker takes over the team’s leadership and the reverse happens when the ball is in the team’s goal area- the goal keeper takes over the leadership. Everybody on the team plays to the advice of the person leading at that particular moment including the team’s captain because each team member owns their part of the field. In highly effective teams therefore, everything does not rise and fall on leadership, rather, everything rises and falls on ‘the practice of leadership’
GET YOUR PEOPLE PLAYING
What happens to a sports team that stays in the dressing room after the officials have signalled the beginning of the game? They get walked over of course! It is interesting how many corporate organisations are trying to win in the market place or market space that have their players sitting in the locker rooms. You may say they are on the field of play, afterall they come to the office daily and do their jobs. Well its possible to be on the field physically and remain in the locker room psychologically, going through the motions without any real commitment.
Employee engagement and commitment is crucial to becoming champions in the market place. In general, employee commitment is defined as the psychological attachment of workers to their workplaces. Many managers are yet to realize that the game of business is people and people involvement is the key to winning. Many more are grappling with a lack of commitment and passion in their workers. I dread going into a lot of business places in Nigeria today where the customer is treated like a pest and employees approach their jobs like it is a big burden. Even when you point out to them that their attitude will cost the business they make it clear that they care less. I lay the responsibility firmly at the foot of management.
We have all heard about companies that seem to have everything--great products, enormous capital resources, reputation, skilled employees, "advanced" planning--and they still fail. Why? Most times the people are not committed. Is the ability to inspire passion and commitment a soft skill? Not anymore. Managers MUST have the know-how to elicit commitment or perish! A committed, passionate workforce can: make shifts and leaps that strategic planning alone cannot envision ; fight to achieve the organization's mission ; bring continuous improvement, creativity, and innovation to their work ; enjoy a more fulfilling life, personally and professionally which reflects on the bottom line of their organizations.
Employee commitment is the key to productivity. Even if there are a number of reinvention efforts and top management support, unless employees at all levels are willing to improve productivity, all efforts toward productivity enhancement will come to nothing. Having the right strategy and a good organization isn’t enough. Without commitment, strategy does not fly. It stays rooted to the boardroom tarmac.
Another area where employee commitment is crucial for an organization is in the area of delivering value to the customer. Regardless of how much technology you may employ to improve the consistency and efficiency of the customer experience, what makes it memorable, is an employee that creates a positive, emotional outcome for a customer. Sometimes it will require the employee to do his best and then some. Only a committed employee goes this extra mile. Any company interested in achieving breakthrough value must understand that employee loyalty drives the service profit chain. How then can you ensure employee commitment? There are no easy answers to achieving employee commitment; it requires major investments of time, resources and emotions. Several issues stand out however.
First, managers’ will have to change the way they see their employees. For the past fifty years, management approach has seen capital as the scarce resource in business. So top management define strategy, build a structure to run the strategy then tie the strategy and the structure together with a well articulated system. Competition was therefore based on capital instead of added values and the business with the most capital wins.
Things have changed however as the world of business is awash with capital and internationally there are trillions of dollars available for investment purposes. Nations like the Gulf States and China have become not only exporters of goods and services but are also exporting capital. The scarce resource in business today is ideas, innovation and committed, motivated and entrepreneurial knowledge workers. Top managers must therefore view employees as investors in the company who expect dividend and capital appreciation. Companies that realize this know that such workers must be properly rewarded and recognized. The key for today’s companies is to manage around purpose, people and processes.
Another key issue in employee commitment is the prevailing culture. How much does culture matter in eliciting commitment- quite a lot. Different types of organizational culture will differentially affect different dimensions of employee commitment. Any behavior modeled by influential figures in an organization will soon become the norm. Managers must ask some serious questions like: are people empowered to act; are suggestions taken seriously, are they rewarded? Can we build heroes as these often help build enthusiasm, motivation and momentum behind strategies and change initiatives However the most important way of eliciting commitment in workers is to infuse them with passion.
Passion - not technical expertise, huge organizations or brandname recognition - is what separates truly successful companies from marginal ones. Ultimately we're not driven by what we know, but what we feel. Reason is seriously limited. The heart has reasons which reason might not know of. Most people make decisions based on so-called facts instead of realizing that their decisions may be based on beliefs, myths, assumptions and prejudices.
For example, a so-called learning organization where employees share their knowledge and expertise is useless if employees are not excited about learning. Passion should however be handled with care. It can be both positive and negative. The passion that organizations should strive for is one that includes zest for life, drive to accomplish, competitive fire and desire for truth. However, you should avoid "negative" passion, which includes acting without thinking, spontaneity without purpose and fervor without clarity.
Ensuring a passionate work force begins at the point of hiring. Seek out people with posistive emotional energy. Managers need to hire people who care about what they do otherwise they will waste time, money and resources. During the interview, managers might want to examine body language and ask questions to gauge the candidate's passions and level of commitment.
Its never too late to begin. People really do want to do a good job. They are looking for a reason to. Start today to infuse passion, light the fire, inspire commitment. Get your people playing!
What happens to a sports team that stays in the dressing room after the officials have signalled the beginning of the game? They get walked over of course! It is interesting how many corporate organisations are trying to win in the market place or market space that have their players sitting in the locker rooms. You may say they are on the field of play, afterall they come to the office daily and do their jobs. Well its possible to be on the field physically and remain in the locker room psychologically, going through the motions without any real commitment.
Employee engagement and commitment is crucial to becoming champions in the market place. In general, employee commitment is defined as the psychological attachment of workers to their workplaces. Many managers are yet to realize that the game of business is people and people involvement is the key to winning. Many more are grappling with a lack of commitment and passion in their workers. I dread going into a lot of business places in Nigeria today where the customer is treated like a pest and employees approach their jobs like it is a big burden. Even when you point out to them that their attitude will cost the business they make it clear that they care less. I lay the responsibility firmly at the foot of management.
We have all heard about companies that seem to have everything--great products, enormous capital resources, reputation, skilled employees, "advanced" planning--and they still fail. Why? Most times the people are not committed. Is the ability to inspire passion and commitment a soft skill? Not anymore. Managers MUST have the know-how to elicit commitment or perish! A committed, passionate workforce can: make shifts and leaps that strategic planning alone cannot envision ; fight to achieve the organization's mission ; bring continuous improvement, creativity, and innovation to their work ; enjoy a more fulfilling life, personally and professionally which reflects on the bottom line of their organizations.
Employee commitment is the key to productivity. Even if there are a number of reinvention efforts and top management support, unless employees at all levels are willing to improve productivity, all efforts toward productivity enhancement will come to nothing. Having the right strategy and a good organization isn’t enough. Without commitment, strategy does not fly. It stays rooted to the boardroom tarmac.
Another area where employee commitment is crucial for an organization is in the area of delivering value to the customer. Regardless of how much technology you may employ to improve the consistency and efficiency of the customer experience, what makes it memorable, is an employee that creates a positive, emotional outcome for a customer. Sometimes it will require the employee to do his best and then some. Only a committed employee goes this extra mile. Any company interested in achieving breakthrough value must understand that employee loyalty drives the service profit chain. How then can you ensure employee commitment? There are no easy answers to achieving employee commitment; it requires major investments of time, resources and emotions. Several issues stand out however.
First, managers’ will have to change the way they see their employees. For the past fifty years, management approach has seen capital as the scarce resource in business. So top management define strategy, build a structure to run the strategy then tie the strategy and the structure together with a well articulated system. Competition was therefore based on capital instead of added values and the business with the most capital wins.
Things have changed however as the world of business is awash with capital and internationally there are trillions of dollars available for investment purposes. Nations like the Gulf States and China have become not only exporters of goods and services but are also exporting capital. The scarce resource in business today is ideas, innovation and committed, motivated and entrepreneurial knowledge workers. Top managers must therefore view employees as investors in the company who expect dividend and capital appreciation. Companies that realize this know that such workers must be properly rewarded and recognized. The key for today’s companies is to manage around purpose, people and processes.
Another key issue in employee commitment is the prevailing culture. How much does culture matter in eliciting commitment- quite a lot. Different types of organizational culture will differentially affect different dimensions of employee commitment. Any behavior modeled by influential figures in an organization will soon become the norm. Managers must ask some serious questions like: are people empowered to act; are suggestions taken seriously, are they rewarded? Can we build heroes as these often help build enthusiasm, motivation and momentum behind strategies and change initiatives However the most important way of eliciting commitment in workers is to infuse them with passion.
Passion - not technical expertise, huge organizations or brandname recognition - is what separates truly successful companies from marginal ones. Ultimately we're not driven by what we know, but what we feel. Reason is seriously limited. The heart has reasons which reason might not know of. Most people make decisions based on so-called facts instead of realizing that their decisions may be based on beliefs, myths, assumptions and prejudices.
For example, a so-called learning organization where employees share their knowledge and expertise is useless if employees are not excited about learning. Passion should however be handled with care. It can be both positive and negative. The passion that organizations should strive for is one that includes zest for life, drive to accomplish, competitive fire and desire for truth. However, you should avoid "negative" passion, which includes acting without thinking, spontaneity without purpose and fervor without clarity.
Ensuring a passionate work force begins at the point of hiring. Seek out people with posistive emotional energy. Managers need to hire people who care about what they do otherwise they will waste time, money and resources. During the interview, managers might want to examine body language and ask questions to gauge the candidate's passions and level of commitment.
Its never too late to begin. People really do want to do a good job. They are looking for a reason to. Start today to infuse passion, light the fire, inspire commitment. Get your people playing!
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