Feedfoward means giving people suggestions in advance about how to behave rather than waiting for them to fail and beating them up afterwards.  Anyone can give feedforward when they have an idea that may help someone else succeed.  For example, years ago my husband was about to present to his company’s executive leadership team for the first time. His boss gave him great feed-forward about how to dress, when to speak, how much detail to go into, etc.

While I usually talk about giving feedforward, Goldsmith also makes the great point that we can and should ask for feedforward.  If you have a behavior you want to change, try asking others for ideas and suggestions about how to succeed.   Most people who try this technique find that it is fun and they get great ideas.

Interested in learning and trying feedforward for yourself?  Check out this video from Goldsmith:

Click here to view the embedded video.

At the same time, optimism can be overdone – especially when optimism turns into overconfidence or turning a blind eye to problems and challenges.

Eric Klein recently blogged about this phenomenon, calling it “the problem with being positive.”  He wrote about leaders who shut down conversation and shy away from conflict by overdoing an emphasis on the positive.

The balance of realism and optimism is critically important for change leaders.   Leaders who squash any expressions of concern or who react negatively to problems run the risk of missing major issues that will ultimately impact performance. For this reason, some researchers have started to use the term “realistic optimism”. Michael J. Hurd, Ph.D.  writes that realistic optimism consists of two parts:

Hurd goes on to say that:

My take on this is that effective leaders proactively look for facts, data, and opinions on what could go wrong.  They then take positive action – either personally or by empowering others – to overcome obstacles.  Their actions and words convey confidence and optimism, thereby positively impacting others’ emotions and commitment.

Check out the following resources for some good suggestions on being realistically optimistic:

• The Balance Needed to Lead Change HBR article by Christina Bielaszka-DuVernay, Kerry A. Bunker and Michael Wakefield
• The Problem with Being Positive, blog post by Eric Klein
• Just Enough Anxiety, book by Bob Rosen

Interestingly, there are several new books and articles on this topic that are hitting the market right now.  In May 2010 Forum corporation released their new book, Strategic Speed.  The book addresses these critical concerns for leaders:

• What role does speed, or lack thereof, play in the high failure rate of strategic initiatives?
• What are the barriers, or traps, to execution?
• Do faster companies financially out-perform slower companies?
• How can I engage people in accelerating our strategy?

The book’s authors found that many change efforts fail because leaders act so quickly that they ignore the people factor.  Conversely, efforts that succeed are characterized by the presence of three people factors: clarity, unity, and agility.

Watch the the video below to see  Ed Boswell, Forum CEO and one of the book’s  co-authors talking about key findings:

Click here to view the embedded video.

In a May 2010 HBR article, Need Speed? Slow Down,  Jocelyn R. Davis and Tom Atkinson, also of Forum Corporation highlight the differences between strategically slow companies and the more successful strategically fast companies.  Among their findings:

• In strategically slow companies, groups move on to new projects without taking time to debrief whereas in strategically fast companies, groups make it a point to capture and communicate lessons learned.
• In strategically slow companies, time is rarely made for training and education whereas in strategically fast companies, even experienced employees receive training when initiatives are launched.
• In strategically slow companies, people work at cross-purposes due to competing objectives whereas in strategically fast companies, objectives and systems are aligned.

What about your own firm?  Is overdrive causing you to be strategically slow?  Is it time to slow down in order to speed up?

I use the term “Overdrive” to describe this tendency.  Overdrive is basically the overuse of the “get it done” style. Many business leaders I work with move into overdrive without even realizing it and recognizing its consequences.

It so happens that two premier business publications (HBR and the MIT Sloan Management Review) addressed the issue of overdrive this month, using different terms.

In Harvard Business Review, Heike Bruch and Jochen Menges write about a phenomenon called “The Acceleration Trap.” They argue that the constant pressure that executives are putting on their people to get things done faster and with fewer resources  ultimately causes company’s performance to suffer.  Sample grab:

The MIT Sloan Management Review article written by Michelle Barton and Kathleen Sutcliffe is titled, “Learning When to Stop Momentum.”  Barton and Sutcliffe, both from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, studied the connections between teams that fight wildfires and business teams.  They found that groups in both situations often fall victim to “dysfunctional momentum” – which occurs when people continue to work toward an original goal without pausing to recalibrate or reexamine their processes, even in the face of cues that suggest they should change course.

Both articles provide suggestions for overcoming the traps associated with moving too quickly.  While all of the suggestions are good, I think the success companies will have with implementing them will depend on the support of the most senior level leaders.  The very people who have a tendency to go into overdrive themselves must realize that sometimes we all have to slow down in order to speed up.

I use the term Energized Alignment TM to describe the state of being both “psyched up and in sync.”  The model below shows a simple matrix that can help you visualize the concept.

Think about your own team, department, or entire workforce. A team with high alignment is united by a common goal and agrees on what success will look like. In the two decades that I have partnered with leaders on change initiatives, I’ve discovered that many leaders focused only on getting people “on board” with change.  In other words, they tried to use the old command and control mentality to get people aligned.  

But alignment isn’t enough. Taken to extreme, clear goals and expectations alone may equate to working on an assembly line. Sure, I know what is expected of me, but do I really care? Do I come up with innovative suggestions?  Am I able to react to a sudden change that throws the whole plan off course?

To succeed, teams and the people on them need to have enough energy to keep working toward their goals despite obstacles, setbacks, and ever-frequent changes. Again, consider your own team. How much energy do people bring to work? Are the excited about what they are working on? Do they have the opportunity to contribute new, innovative ideas? Are they invited to unleash their natural strengths and talents in service of the organization’s goals?  

Again, taken to an extreme, all energy and no alignment isn’t effective either. If you’ve worked with a team of people who are enthusiastic about their own ideas and energized about putting them into place but who lack a common focus, direction, and coordination you know it can feel a lot like herding cats. 

Being an effective leader is largely about constantly paying attention to your team’s current state of energy and alignment. It is about developing a style that builds a careful balance. It’s not possible to be perfectly in balance all the time. But it’s an ideal worth striving for.

In future posts, I’ll share some techniques for unleashing energy and accelerating alignment.  And I’d love to hear what has worked for you.

Joseph Grenny, co-author of Crucial Conversations and several other bestselling books recently wrote, “If people in your organization don’t frequently cackle out loud with each other, you’ve got serious trouble.”  According to Grenny, a lack of laughter can signal a lack of trust.  In addition, a lack of laughter may be impeding a group’s ability to connect and bond.

It so happens that I came across Grenny’s article at the same time that I was reading Kay Redfield Jamison’s book, Exuberance.  Jamison makes scores of references to the importance of play and laughter at work.   Jamison states that laughter would have been vital to the early development of humans because it would have helped to disarm tension and relieve stress.  It would also have been a sign of trust that would then allow and encourage people to come together and take risks as a group.

As a facilitator, I have the opportunity to work with scores of groups in any given year.  It is amazing to me to see how the first 3 minutes with a group accurately indicates the overall mood and trust level in an organization.  When people are laughing and kidding with one another as they settle in to their seats, I know that we will be able to address real and relevant issues.  When people aren’t talking and making eye contact (let alone laughing) I know that we will need to spend a lot of time attempting to build trust before people will speak up.

Many leaders I work with wish that their people would speak up more.  They crave more rigorous discussions and signs of enthusiasm. What they sometimes fail to realize is that, as the leader they set the tone for people’s willingness to take risks.

If you want to encourage genuine group connections, trust, and openness you may want to start by helping people laugh at work.  You don’t need to be a comedian.  Start by simply showing your own vulnerability from time to time.  Laugh at yourself and with others, then watch as people begin to open up.

To read Grenny’s full BusinessWeek article, LOL at Work, click here.

So how do you engage employees, or re-engage them? Lessons from the field of positive psychology indicate the importance of paying attention to how people feel before you focus on what you want them to do.  In her book, Exuberance, John Hopkins psychiatry professor Kay Redfield Jamison writes, “In times of adversity, inspired leadership offers energy and hope where little or none exist.”

In tough times, effective leaders help other regain feelings of hopefulness, optimism, and energy.  One example of a leader who did this successfully was Winston Churchill.  Lord Franks, England’s ambassador to the United States after WWII, heard Churchill speak many times.  After one of these occasions Franks wrote, “I came away more happy about things.  He dispelled our misgivings and set at rest our fears; he spoke of his aim and his purpose so that we knew that somehow it would be achieved. He gave us faith.”

If you lead an organization, department, or team it is equally important that you begin the process of re-engaging your employees by first acknowledging the emotions people are feeling, and then communicating in a way that rebuilds hope and enthusiasm.  For specific tips on how to do this, download my free e-books, Transforming Anxiety into Energy and Leading After Layoffs.

A few weeks ago I attended a panel discussion about the impact of executive actions on employee engagement.  One of the executive panelists, Steve Bigari spoke about the importance of really caring about employees as individual people.  By dressing as waiter and serving coffee before the meeting, he illustrated the point that leaders often don’t see the “invisible” people in their own organizations.

I’ve been thinking a lot about Bigari’s demonstration lately because I am preparing to teach a class on motivating and retaining employees.  While there are many aspects of motivation to be explored, I think the most fundamental point is that every employee needs to be seen and know that he/she is respected and valued as a person.

Patrick Lencioni, author of The Three Signs of a Miserable Job, asserts that anonymity is a driving force in what makes people miserable at work.  He writes:  “People cannot be fulfilled in their work if they are not known.”

I agree with Lencioni.  In my experience, every employee  wonders, “Does anyone care about me as a person? Do I belong here?”  The answers go a long way toward determining motivation, engagement, retention, and productivity.

In fact, the 2007 Tower’s Perrin Global Workforce Study study of 90,000 employees found that the #1 element any employee wants (across all generations) is senior management interest in his or her well-being.

So, if you are a leader at any level – go ahead and make someone’s day.  Take some time to check in with people one-on-one.  You might try a technique we call the “Take Ten Check-In.”  Take jut 10 minutes a day to ask one person how he/she is doing.  Make it about the person – not just the work.  You will make his/her day.

Has your company held layoffs this year?  If so, chances are high that the layoffs are taking a toll on the morale of your employees.

A survey released last month by Watson Wyatt found that:

• Employee engagement for workers at all levels dropped 9 percent last year and close to 25 percent for top performers.
• Compared to last year, top performers are 20 percent less likely to recommend their organization to job seekers and 14 percent less likely to remain with their company.

For more results from the Watson Wyatt 2009/2010 U.S. Strategic Rewards Survey, click here.

To learn how to re-engage and re-energize your workforce post-layoffs, check out our e-book:  Leading after Layoffs.