Just a pretty face?

After all the strides that women have made in the past century, does it really still all come down to "just a pretty face"? Is this the key determinant of success?

This is what occurs to me when I read about the popularity of Governor Sarah Palin, Vice Presidential nominee in the United States General Elections. Pretty Gov. Palin certainly is – she actually is a former beauty queen. What else does she bring to the table? Looking at what she has actually done is another matter - nothing really spectacular, and some quite unspectacular except for the smell of corruption or impropriety.

I am quite incensed that the GOP would think that Gov. Sarah Palin could possibly be a counter for Senator Hilary Clinton. This seems to have been the thinking in the Republican party - let’s get Hilarys disgruntled 18 million supporters by proposing a woman as VP. Indeed, this was presented as a real trump card, particularly since Senator Barack Obama went the more conservative route and selected an older, white male as his running mate.

There is no doubt about Senator Clinton’s intelligence, savvy and ability to think big and bold. Indeed, many believe that she is the brighter of the Clinton duo. To counter her, one would need someone equally intelligent, savvy, seasoned and competent. Surely there must be many such women in the GOP? So why did McCain and his crew think that Gov. Sarah Palin would be a good candidate for mobilising the voters?

Listening to and reading what Gov. Palin has said and done, I cannot but help think that it is because of her looks, for I can see little else. She has played the classic female line to the T – from the soccer-mom ("I’m JUST a soccer mom" in her syrupy sweet tone) to the constant parading of her baby at all hours of day and night in all sorts of situations that could not possibly be healthy for the child. She has failed to address the issues – sort of an "I won’t worry my pretty little head about such things" type of approach. And her spending of US$150,000 for wardrobe and grooming falls right into this plan. She looked quite fine to me before – why the need for this makeover, except to play up the one thing she brings to the table - compelling good looks?

It is sad that in 2008 I could even be wondering such a thing. It is sad that it seems that this actually matters to a significant number of voters in the United States. It is sad that McCain and the Republican party could be so desperate for power that they foist on the world the possibility of Sarah "Prettyface" Palin as Vice President, and more frightening, Sarah "Prettyface" Palin as President.

Lest you wonder, I have no problem with pretty faces and good looks. I love to look at beautiful people. I spend a lot of time trying to make myself beautiful, but that’s secondary to what I bring to the table in terms of my intelligence and competence. What I have a challenge with is when this is seemingly the major competence that someone brings to the Presidential candidacy. Not even in beauty contests nowadays is a pretty face enough - why in the world would one think that it could be enough for the election to the Vice Presidency of the United States of America?

Raising Teachers salaries without transforming education gets us nowhere

Earlier this week the week the Government and the Jamaica Teachers Association signed a landmark agreement effectively bringing the compensation of the nation’s teachers to 80% of market. Senator Dwight Nelson, the Minister responsible for the Public Service indicated that the impact on the budget would be somewhere between $15 Billion and $18 Billion. Minister of Education, Hon. Andrew Holness remarked that with the increase he will be holding teachers accountable and now expects a significant increase in their performance. I am concerned that the Minister believes that by simply raising the teachers’ salaries he will automatically get increased performance.

The statement by Minister Holness implies three assumptions. Firstly, the teachers were holding back on performance because they were poorly paid. Secondly, teachers were not being held accountable because they were underpaid. Thirdly, the main problem for our pathetic level of performance of the Education system was due to teachers and that simply paying them more will magically boost the performance.

The Task Force Report on Education outlines a comprehensive way forward to transform education. Properly paying the teachers is one of several recommendations. The most significant one to my mind however is the leadership required at the school level. This requires that the Board and Principal must have the authority and autonomy to manage the school rather than being literally puppets of the Ministry of Education. The proposed shift of authority from the Central Ministry to the new Regional Authorities is really only a cosmetic shift. The call by Minister Holness that he will hold teachers accountable will not go very far unless he holds everyone accountable, including himself. As my colleague Marguerite Orane said in her blog, being accountable to actions and being accountable to results are not the same.

The fact is that if we have a poorly performing education system with underpaid teachers and all we do is raise teachers salaries with all else remaining as is, all we will end up with is a poorly performing education system with well paid teachers

Accountability for performance in government

Last Thursday, the news broke that the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding, had demanded the immediate resignation of the board of the Urban Development Corporation. The report in the Jamaica Gleaner further stated:

Up to late yesterday there was no official word from Jamaica House, but senior government sources told The Gleaner that the board members had been instructed to resign because the prime minister was not pleased with their performance. According to the sources, while some members of the board might be returned, the Prime Minister was disappointed with the level of infighting on the board and its failure to deliver on several promises.

"The prime minister is getting tough and demanding performance, and other boards could also be fired shortly," one source said.

This news was greeted with cynicism by the Opposition party, who immediately pointed to this as a failure of the government. I see it differently - I see it as the first step in demanding and insisting on the accountability of public institutions and officials, and a step that should have been taken long ago.

Here's where the Prime Minister now faces a challenge however. He indicated that he is not pleased with their performance, but does he know, and has he (or anyone else) been clear, on how the performance of this, and other public sector institutions is measured? And by measurement I don’t mean activities carried out, I actually mean results, or outcomes. This begs some other questions such as:
What is the role of Government?
What is the mandate and role of each public sector institution?
How are all these institutions to work together to ensure delivery of service to the Jamaican citizens, with minimum waste and maximum effectiveness?

If the Prime Minister does not have these questions answered, then he will simply appoint new people to the Board with the same results - non-performance. This is important because non-performance of public sector institutions is a drain on the public purse and further impoverishment of the Jamaican people.

And then he, or the new Board, needs to go further and hold public sector employees accountable for their performance - again, not the carrying out of activities, but performance as indicated by the achievement of desired and stated results. It is high time that people be released from their government jobs if they fail to perform. This is actually the humane thing to do - there is no joy for someone to be in a job where they know they are not performing and there is no joy for those whom they are supposed to serve (the citizenry).

If there is one single thing that needs to be done to make Jamaica a desirable, peaceful place to live it is to set clear, unambiguous standards of performance throughout the public sector and hold people accountable for the results. If not, then the Prime Minister will find himself out of his job - for non-performance!

Key phrases in urgency

Some great phrases came from Prof. Kotter in his webinar on Thursday and his article "Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail". Here are a few that resonated with me and the meanings I ascribe:

Team of prima donnas - this is a leadership team that think they know everything and parade around extolling their brilliance. They are untouchable, and infallible, or think they are. They are so focused on boosting themselves that they become hindrances to any real change effort

Relentless urgency killers - these are the people who kill the sense of urgency by their negativism, cynicism and downright sabotage. They have honed their urgency-murder to a fine art and are often subtle, but very very effective

Urgency generating machine - the people/person whose "job" it is to establish and maintain the sense of urgency. Best if the CEO considers this to be his/her role - but then aims, by example, to get more and more people operating likewise

Power-dispersed environment - an environment where power is not concentrated at the top, and where people feel and are empowered to act and make decisions on that generate real change

Aggressive cooperation - cooperation focused on the achievement of results and which is underpinned by a true sense of urgency

Paralyzed by the downside - this is where people are so consumed in the "what ifs" that they are unable to take any action at all


Which of these phrases apply to you or to members of your team? And what do you plan to do about it?

A True Sense of Urgency

Yesterday, the Growth Facilitators team tuned into a webinar by leadership guru retired Prof. John Kotter. Anyone who has studied anything at all about leadership and management will know his name. His work has stood the test of time, and his articles and books are as relevant today as they were decades ago when first written.

The topic of the webinar was "Urgency: How to make real change your company's top priority". This topic resonated with us immediately, as so many of our clients struggle with the issue of change. Indeed, now more than ever, all organizations, whether in the public, private or not-for-profit sector, MUST turn their collective minds to the issue of change – not just for change sake, but for relevance and survival.

Prof. Kotter listed 8 reasons why transformation efforts fail. His article: "Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail" which was first published in 1995, is now one of the Best of Harvard Business Review article series. It is a classic. Reading it again, I recognised many issues that we help our clients through as they try to transform their organizations. I also recognised many of the insights that our team has had, and that our solutions have not been far off the mark.

The webinar focused on the first error which is "Not establishing a great enough sense of urgency". Prof. Kotter made the distinction between false and true urgency. False urgency is when people recognise that there is a problem, but are not willing to take personal responsibility for the solution. A sense of "what I am doing is OK, it's what the others are doing that needs to change" sets in. False urgency is characterised by busyness and freneticism making it seem that one is dealing with the problem. It is characterised by a plethora of meetings, presentations, studies, reports, committees, task forces - sound familiar? False urgency is unsustainable as people soon burn out from the busyness for busyness sake, it is the breeding ground of cynicism and does not, indeed cannot, beget real change.

True urgency is when "people come to work every day determined to exploit real opportunities and mitigate real hazards". It is uncannily similar to GF's statement to our clients that "The only thing that people come to work everyday to do is to flawlessly execute strategy". What a difference! And what a difference in behaviour this approach generates! People now become focused on what’s important, they are flexible and adaptable, always searching for opportunities and solutions and most importantly they are passionate and excited about what they are doing. The role of leadership in creating and sustaining this sense of true urgency is paramount - encompassed in what the leadership says, but even more so what the leadership does. In even the most minute act of the leadership is a message to the followers of what's important and how important it is.

When we see that transformation is not taking place, we need to first look at the extent to which there is a sense of true urgency. Complacency, frenetic behaviour, rampant cynicism, prevalent and overriding negativism signal false, or no urgency at all. Today, take an honest look at your organization, and at yourself - is there a sense of true urgency? To what extent have you created a sense of true urgency? And to what extent are you sustaining it? If you are not seized with your own responses to these questions, go back to the drawing board and study Prof. Kotter’s article, and then take a critical look at yourself, and your own leadership. That's where the answer lies

The fallacy of best practice

In the work that Growth Facilitators does, we often hear the term "best practice" typically used to indicate initiatives which the client desires to implement in order to achieve excellence. "Best practice" in marketing, "best practice" in human resource management, "best practice" in technology are spoken of with hallowed breath to indicate some tried and proven way to beat the competition.

It occurs to me that "best practice" is highly overrated.

Let’s first consider: what is "best practice"? Simply, it is a process or technique that has been applied repeatedly and that has consistently yielded superior results. We discern best practice by examining what those who are the best in the business are doing.

Why do I question this, for surely studying the best and doing what they are doing, must yield the best results? Here's why:

Best practices are things that were developed and applied in the past, perhaps in a different context, with different people and intentions. Just because something worked well in a previous time does not in any way mean that it will be the best possible solution now or in the future. 'History is no predictor of the future'. Indeed, an organization that is achieving superior performance is likely to have abandoned or moved on from the particular best practice that is now being touted by others. Further, an organization stuck in a best practice mode could actually be on the road to decline and mediocrity, sitting in the false smugness of doing what the best used to do.

What I believe companies need to do is to determine the best possible practice that is in alignment with their own vision. This may or may not be the best practice of others to date. For an organization to consistently achieve superior performance, it must constantly measure its performance, examine itself, learn and apply the new learning. It cannot be stuck in a mode of 'best practice'. Best today is not necessarily best practice. So, perhaps the only 'best practice' is to be constantly seeking and implementing your own "best practice", measuring the results and then learning from it and making it even better - or finding another one!

We used to sing this little ditty at school:

Good better best
Never let it rest
Till your good be better
And your better best

It still applies, except that in our turbulent world, there is no rest – just constantly making our good better, our better best, and our best even better.

How Core Values are important to our organization

Values are core when they guide every decision, the way we conduct our business and build our relationships at work. We are most likely to have a successful organization if all are aligned around its purpose and philosophy by living its Core Values.

Top leaders know the power of strong values in forming the core of an organization in support of achieving its vision. They use Core Values to better guide and motivate their team members and to convey the message to their customers as to who they are as an organization, a clear, "this is how we do things here!”

It has become standard in our strategic planning process with our clients that we help them identify their Core Values and related behaviours. We guide them in exploring the extent to which current beliefs are aligned with the desired Core Values and how the beliefs of each individual might need to change to enable all to live by the Core Values.

More and more I reflect on our Growth Facilitators' Core Values FUN, LOVE, RESPECT and DISCIPLINE and how we live by them when looking for a “real life” example for our clients.

I believe where the leader is the founder of the organization, his or her core values most likely, consciously or unconsciously, become the Core Values of the organization. My real life example is the partners of GF, Marguerite and Robert. To me, Marguerite exemplifies our Core Values LOVE and FUN, and she and Robert are advocates in living these values.

LOVE - We at GF “nurture our Human Garden”. We look out for each other and support each other in our development, and when times get rough, at home or at work, i.e. sickness, children’s needs, broken down cars, deadlines with clients, pick ups from schools or airports and new born puppies. We are sad or happy together when reading the news in the morning. We share the fruit from our gardens and the food from our kitchens. We show empathy to those who get in contact with us, and we support schools and principals in their strategic planning via our Breakthrough programme.

FUN - We live in a colourful office. We celebrate birthdays, events, or achievements, usually with delicious cakes! Together we enjoy a good laugh, a football match, a cooking course in raw food, take on challenges such as being “Free and Laughing” at all times! Our smiley stickers and gift items, rewarded to those workshop participants who live our workshop values, are legendary with our clients.

RESPECT - We show mutual respect for one another and for our clients by listening and taking all concerns raised seriously and addressing them. We support each other in our personal development and in ventures outside the organization.

And how about DISCIPLINE - Here there is room for improvement, in how we organize ourselves, our evolution meetings, our time management and internal processes. I am reported to be the most disciplined in the team, reflecting my German upbringing. I would like to believe this, but have to admit that I have adapted to the cultural laxness on discipline in Jamaica. I may commit to challenge my team members more because I care about our effectiveness and efficiency and would like to support us to make discipline FUN! But am I really committed to taking on the challenge?

Do we choose a Core Value because we believe in it or because we want to behave more like this? I do believe we have chosen DISCIPLINE because we see a value in it and would like to achieve more of it. This is our challenge to us, let’s truly work on our beliefs and behaviours by asking ourselves: Why do we want to live DISCIPLINE and how?

World class

Amazing talent + superb coaching = world class performance

World class performance + right alliance = world at your feet

Ask yourself: Does my organization have:

• Amazing talent?
• Superb coaching/management?
• Right alliances?

If not, you need to take a strategic look at yourself, and take action!

PS the photos were taken in subways and on the streets of New York City!

Is America ready?

“Is America ready for a black President”? This is the underlying question, spoken and unspoken, on many people’s minds as the world watches with great interest the runup to the US Presidential elections.

The simple answer is “No”. To me this is a non-question, for people are never ready for change. When we think of instances in history of great leadership, we see that the role of the leader is to define the change and then to lead the people into it. Most people come kicking and screaming, denying, resisting and even sabotaging it. Great leaders don’t wait for the people to be ready. They seize the time and step forward to do the job, knowing that the big part of their job is to create the change despite, not because the people are ready.

South Africa was not ready for change – but Nelson Mandela defined it and led the people into it. India was not ready for change, but Gandhi defined it and led the people into it. And in the ‘60s, the USA was not ready for change, but Martin Luther King defined it and led the people into it. We see from all of these that it was not a simple task at all. It was never about just articulating the desired change and then assuming automatically the people would follow. There was much coaxing, negotiating, cajoling and compromising where necessary while holding fast to the core principles with the greatest of integrity, personal commitment and sacrifice. These leaders led by example, and took extreme steps to demonstrate their commitment to their vision – Mandela in prison for 29 years, Gandhi in his loincloth and his spinning loom, MLK at the forefront of marches, facing dogs, batons and bullets in the hands of those who held fast to the status quo.

In all cases of change, there are people who have reached a level of discomfort with the state of things, who know that something different needs to happen, who feel that it is time for something to change. At first this group of people tends to be fragmented and unfocused, knowing what they don’t want, but perhaps not yet clear on what they DO want. It is into this scattering of discomfort that a leader steps, providing the clarity of purpose that galvanises people towards a compelling future. This group of people starts out small relative to the entire population. This matters not. Margaret Mead, the anthropologist, once said “Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world: indeed it is the only thing that ever has”. It is never necessary that everyone is on board – it is only the small group of committed people, led by a person of vision and integrity that is required.

Is America ready for a black President? Probably not. And it doesn’t matter. What really matters is – there are many people who are extremely dissatisfied with the way things are, and there is a man, who is articulating a compelling vision of the future, and happens to be black, who is ready to be the President.