Control or Empowerment? Which is more effective?

I have read a ton of articles lately around "control vs. empowerment" when it comes to social media. Some companies are afraid that if they play in social media, they will lose control. We have been in such a "control-based" environment that it is tough for more traditional companies to step back and realize that the customer is empowering themselves. If you choose not to play in this media, you choose to let people talk about you without being involved in the conversation. Social Media allows the customer to speak- like it or not.

But this post is not just about Social Media, this post is about how you lead people. The premise if very similar. Do you control your staff or do you empower them?
I would argue that a manager that controls their staff is not very self confident and ends up placing fear and paralyses in their people. How many risks will people take if they are scared of their boss?

Now lets look at a leader that empowers their staff. Empowering means giving your staff the latitude to do their job. As a leader you provide vision and direction, but then you empower your people to get the job done. Your brand will be a lot stronger when your people feel like they are empowered to do their job and speak on behalf of the brand. This instills a sense of pride and responsibility. I guarantee that you will get more done with empowerment than control.

If you are a control freak (yes, I am a recovering control freak), you have to figure out how to let go. As I let go of control and started to empower my team, I experienced more successes. As I experienced more successes, I empowered my team more- it is a self fulfilling prophecy! Here is how I empower vs. control:

1) I work WITH the team to set a clear vision and mission. I don't go off and create it in an office. The outcome is always stronger with input from the team.
2) I insure each team member understands the vision and how it affects their job.
3) I share my "secret" of being a recovering control freak with my team.
4) I tell each staff member what information I need from them to prevent me from back sliding into a place of control. Basically, I encourage my team to come to me as issues are bubbling up, not after they've happened.
5) I give them permission to tell me if I am drifting into control mode, then we determine how we will work together to course correct.
6) If there is an issue that requires my involvement I ask questions. Questions will get you so much more information than accusations or directives.
7) Once I understand the situation I work WITH my team member to solve the problem. I don't solve it for them and I don't take over the situation- the results are so much greater and the team member learns MUCH more in this scenario.
8) I check in with my team and ask for feedback- I do 360 degree feedback asking supervisors, peers and partners for feedback. This keeps me honest in my quest to empower vs. control. See my post on feedback.

This is my "8 step plan" to empower others. How do you empower others? I'd love to know.

Do You Encourage Risk? You Should!

Thursday I attended the Girl Scout Women of Distinction Award Ceremony. I was enthralled with the speaker Dr. Mae Jemison, who was the first woman of color to go into space. What an articulate, bright, sensitive, caring woman! I could have listened to her all day.

In her presentation she said, "Ideas are wonderful, but nothing will happen until we risk putting them into action." I couldn't agree more. If you read my introduction, it says, "A business strategy is just an idea until it is implemented in a strategic manner to meet the business goals."

I love the word "risk". Every time we put an idea into action, we are taking a risk. To truly move the earth, risks are necessary. I would submit that we don't take enough risks, in our business or personal lives.

So why don't we take more risks? Why do you see so many great ideas wither on the vine? People are afraid to take risks because of the negative ramifications. They are afraid of failing, they are afraid of being demoted, they are afraid of being the brunt of their peers' and boss's jokes, they are afraid their mistake will show up on their review, sometimes they are even afraid of success... fear is holding them back.

What kind of risk atmosphere do you create in the workplace and at home? Are people rewarded for taking risks? Do they get points on their reviews for taking risks even if the idea failed? Do you have a "risk taking" award? Do YOU take risks? Are you genuinely walking the talk of taking risks? YOU set the tone for your team to take risks- reward the behavior and you will get results beyond your expectations. Penalize the behavior and you will get what you've always gotten and this will stop a company's growth and an individuals growth.

Dr. Jemison talked about being a little black girl from South Chicago in the 60's who had the audacity to live her dreams. She credits her parents for encouraging her. Dr. Jemison has influenced and changed the lives of many because she was encouraged to take risks. I challenge us all to think about how we view and react to risk... do you encourage risk? How different could your business, life, kids be if you did encouraged risk? Even though I am blogging about this, I realize that I personally have not taken enough risks in my life... I can't change the past, but I can affect the future. My resolution is to take and encourage more risks. How about you?

Just get it done or get it done right?

This is an age old question that plagues a lot of companies and folks working on projects, "Do I just get it done, knowing there will be issues or do I take the extra time and do it right?"
9 times out of 10, my answer is "do it right", but you have to step back and look at the big picture to determine that..
My first step is to lay out a concise 1 pager with my team's input. This should be written for the stakeholder and include the following:

• What is the vision and goal of the project?
• What is the issue/s?
• Why did it happen? (be VERY concise here)
• What affect will the issue/s have on the project? Is there additional cost? How much?
• What are the pros and cons of delivering on time, but not on scope?
• What are the options?
• What is the recommendation and why?

It is critical that you understand the bigger picture, that you ensure your team is on the same page Then you need to communicate to the stakeholders showing them their options and giving your recommendation. There is nothing worse than being a stakeholder and being told what is going to happen vs. understanding the options. Stakeholders will be more on board if they know you have thought this through and your recommendation is something you've discussed with your team.

I can always handle bad news if it is shared openly and worked through thoughtfully. It is when I am surprised and the issue is not analyzed that my radar goes up.

Every project you work on will have delays and issues, it it how you analyze, create solutions and communicate that makes the difference!

Setting Unrealistic Goals

In a recent blog, written by Jill Konrath, Jill challenged people to set unrealistic goals. I personally set a 90 day unrealistic goal- to continue my career with one of my 3 focus companies withing 60 days. I agree with Jill that setting unrealistic goals can help you to achieve great results and setting incremental goals can keep us thinking and acting small.

It is extremely important to talk unreachable goals as it relates to a team. If you set unrealistic goals and your team performs over and above, but does not reach those goals- CELEBRATE with your team. Explain to them the concept of unreachable goals and how much they have achieved. If you don't do this, your team will become unmotivated and will fail in the long run.
Years ago I had a boss who set unrealistic goals. My first year I was incredibly energized by this because it stretched me beyond where I would have gone had the goals been incremental.
After the first year I, and my other co-workers, slowly became frustrated. As soon as we reached that stretch goal another was set higher than the first. Who doesn't want to grow and be challenged? The frustrating part was that we never stopped to celebrate any of the successes we achieved. What was once a fresh, motivated, talented team became a frustrated, unmotivated, talented team.

People love to be challenged to grow. Just be sure to acknowledge and celebrate that growth- this is all part of the strategy of creating an outstanding team.

From Failure to Success

In the 10 years I have managed projects, I have taken over many troubled programs and projects. Including some that were so far gone that they in jeopardy of being cancelled. In every instance, we, as a team were able to turn those projects around and make them successful.

In this blog I won't go into the "hard project basics" like the project plan, the work breakdown structure or the QA plan. Project methodology is important and critical to a project's success. I am making an assumption that all talented project managers know these tools. My question is how you truly lead a project out of trouble when you have those "hard project basics" in place? You start with what I consider the basics of successful project leadership.

I would caution that you have to work quickly, but carefully... you likely only have this one chance to turn the program or project around. I approach troubled projects the way I approach all projects:

1) Stakeholders: Meet with the stakeholders. Start at the top. Are they all in agreement as to what the vision and success metrics are? If not, this is likely the root of your problem. Taking the time to clarify the vision and success metrics will save you a lot of time and money in the future. The stakeholders will all need to meet together and look each other in the eye and agree. This lays your foundation for a strong program and/or project.
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2) Team: Meet with the team, together and individually. Does your team clearly understand the vision and success metrics? If not, find out why they were unclear. Find out why they think the project is failing and what they think the team should do to turn it around. Let them be part of the solution. Lead them to the solution, don't just solve it for them! If people feel like they are part of a team that is turning things around, they will act like a winning team. Each member is part of the team and they have a responsibility to each other. This can be tough to instill, but it is important.

3) Clear communication and escalation paths
If the vision and success metrics are clear and the team understands them, how could a project be in trouble? Without clear communication and escalation paths a project can fall apart. I've been on projects where folks are "punished" for giving the bad news. That is exactly what you want your team to come tell you- what is going wrong? It is your job to coach them through the tough spots and remove road blocks so they can get their job done. If they don't understand how to escalate problems- you've just created a problem- a big one!
Communication is such an overused buzz word and an under-utilized reality. Think of how many projects you have been a part of. Has the communication between teams been good or strained? Does the right hand know what the left hand is doing? Clear, concise, actionable communication is imperative for the success of a project.

4) Celebrate Successes: This is important with all projects, but it is crucial with troubled projects. The team likely feels beaten down and unmotivated. Tell the team that them successes will be celebrated and then do it- big or small, successes should be acknowledged and celebrated Let the team feel the success- they will work harder and smarter. They need to know that what they are doing matters!

The question often asked at this point goes back to those "hard project basics"... what about the inter-dependencies, what about the contingency plans, what about the Gant charts? When managing a project it is your job to ensure all of these tools are in place- these tools are the foundation of managing a project. When truly leading and turning a project around, you need to call on the "softer project skills"... in the end, they are "harder" to do and make the difference between mediocrity and excellence.