Posts Tagged ‘Innovation’

I and my husband were two  of millions recently who’s vacation was changed due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland which delayed flights for days in Europe.

In our case we had been enjoying a lovely cruise and two days before finishing up in Venice, we heard about flight delays with no end in sight. Since we had already been gone for almost two weeks, returning home was something we were looking forward to yet we knew that our flight on Saturday morning was not going to take place.

So we started to list our options with the first goal being to get to a major airport which would provide more flight options once the skies were opened for air travel. We chose Rome since it was south and farther from the volcanic eruption. Our initial options: train, rental car, bus, or boat. Taking a boat was going to be too long a journey. Our first pick was train but we learned that there were no seats to be found on trains.  So next was rental car.  They were available but only if your returned them to the office you rented them from.  This was not going to be an option either.

During this frustrating process, we promised ourselves that during the extra time we had in Europe we were going to enjoy ourselves and make the best of this unanticipated delay. We reminded ourselves that there were many people in much worse situations. We met one older gentleman who was running out of heart medication, two young girls who had flown on buddy passes and were rapidly running out of money, a large group of inexperienced travelers who spent each day going to the airport in hopes of learning they had a flight home, families with small children who were missing awards ceremonies back home that the children had worked so hard to earn.

We found that being close to the airport with many stressed out people was becoming contagious and not a positive experience. We may not be able to get to Rome, but we could still rent a car and leave the city while we waited for a flight to Rome.

Although we had no control when the situation would change, we did have control of how we viewed the situation and the actions we took.  Once we got into Venice, many of our fellow travelers made the decision to stay put in their hotels or they choose to put their heads in the sand. The environment quickly grew toxic as people fed off of each others negative attitudes.

My husband took control and started thinking about other resources. Since our travel options were limited to local car rental, where should we go as we were spending our last night in our hotel room which were going to have to vacate in the morning. He suddenly remembered some friends who had a home outside of Venice.  We knew they would not be there but made a call back to them in Atlanta to get hotel recommendations in their Italian village.  Our friend was gracious and recommended a local family run B&B that many of his friends had used in the past.

So the next morning, we rented a car and drove out to Piombino Dese, Italy.  And for the next three days we explored the nearby towns of Castlefranco, Treviso, Bassano Del Grappa, and  Asolo. Three unexpected days in towns with unique identities, wonderful food and welcoming people.

We had made the choice and the decision to make the best of a situation that was not perfect and it become one of the very best memories of our trip.  So the next time you are faced with an unexpected change:

1. Determine your options
2. Identify Resources
3. Don’t try to control what you can’t control
4. Get away from negative people
5. Focus on the positive

As the protests unfold in Iran, my thoughts go to the companies I have worked with over the years who have created a similar environment. Yes, you read it correctly. There are some companies who are like Iran who have penalized those who have spoken out with opinions not aligned with leadership. Now of course, no one has lost their life speaking out in a company here in the US. But they have been penalized and while they have been penalized the company penalizing them has often received payback. What kind of payback?… lack of innovation and loss of great employees

Are you leading or employed by one of these companies? And if so what was the impact on you and the organization?

What I’ve observed is companies who have not made it safe for employees to share their views, opinions, and ideas that oppose the company’s views generally lack creativity and loose many A players over time to competitors. Why? Because A players want their opinions to be heard and considered in planning and decision making and without A players’ team creativity is limited.

How not to be Iran

So if you’re experiencing Iran syndrome, what should you do? Start with open communication and admitting to your team that you want to make some changes to encourage open dialogue AND you need to be sincere and genuine in your delivery. If your employees sense a false desire in change, there will be a huge backfire. Employees need to understand that the rules have really changed Without this their open communication won’t happen.

And of course actions are stronger than words. So what you say needs to be demonstrated by actions supporting the words The next step is to ask questions and listen to employees opinions during meetings. If you should start defending your position, employees will shut down. You will have demonstrated that there no change has occurred. Also, be aware of using the “yes, but” technique which many leaders often use because, you know, they’re always right!. As Marshall Goldsmith identified in his book “What got you here, Won’t get you there” using this technique will create resentment by those receiving the response and will stifle open discussions. And without open discussions an organization will slowly die because original thought is not valued by leadership. Make sure everyone has an opportunity to speak and give their ideas. And don’t let one person dominate the conversation. Introverts need to be invited into the conversation and often provide a perspective that hasn’t been heard.

What if you think the conclusion is heading in the wrong direction? Before jumping in and sharing your opinion, and thus shutting the conversation down, ask yourself how important is the decision? Is it critical to the success of your company or the project? If the answer is yes, then start asking open ended questions to get participants to think of alternative solutions, remember that their solution may not be your solution and that another solution is okay if it provides a similar not exact result.

Continue to open your mind to alternative solutions during the process. And here is the key part of the process, when you hear an idea you like, bite your tongue and let the conversation continue. Let the team continue on to their own consensus. If they come to their own solution, they will own the solution and be more committed to making the solution a success.

In Summary

So if you want to be competitive and retain your high potential employees, create a safe environment for employee to share their own opinions, ask questions, listen, ask more questions until they come to their own solution that they will own and be committed to successfully completing.