Communication Tips for Leaders

In an HBR post, Lt. Col. Rob “Waldo” Waldman, a fighter pilot who flew missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, offers communication “wingtips” from his experiences that can help leaders of any organization:

• Have a mass briefing at least once a month. High-performing organizations hold what are commonly referred to as “all-hands meetings” to discuss performance on plans and key scorecard measures, changes or trends in markets, and internal issues and successes. As Waldman notes, “your wingmen need to hear important news—whether good or bad—from you first.”
• Conduct feedback sessions. Meet regularly with the people who report to you to discuss how they are doing, what obstacles they are facing, and what they need from you. In high-performing organizations, this is a critical part of their performance management systems.
• Walk the flight line. “Spend time with [your people] on the job and observe how they do business. Ask questions. Show them your appreciation by connecting with them as people first and employees second.”
• De-brief your missions. One of the features of Baldrige organizations is how they “close the loop” on every process. When a process or cycle is completed, gather those with a stake in the process and discuss whether objectives were met and how the process can be improved. Continuous improvement is an attribute of a high-performing organization.

Waldman’s “wingtips” address questions in the Leadership category of the Baldrige Criteria, which asks:

• How do senior leaders communicate with and engage the entire workforce?
• How do senior leaders encourage two-way communication throughout the organization?
• How do senior leaders communicate key decisions?
• How do senior…

99% Above Average

Call it the Lake Wobegon effect after Minnesota’s very own Garrison Keillor, that fictional place where “all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.”

Only in this case, they’re not children: They are the chairmen of 722 nonprofit hospitals, and 99% of them think their hospitals fare at least as well as a typical hospital on standard quality measures, according to a survey published in Health Affairs. Even worse, 100% of the chairmen of hospitals that perform the worst think they are at least as good as a typical hospital. (“Only 1% of Hospitals Are Below Average,” Jacob Goldstein, WSJ Blogs, November 9, 2009)

It’s hard to know what’s most appalling about this ignorance:

• The chairmen don’t know how their hospitals perform on standard quality measures, information that is available to anyone on the Internet.

• The chairmen don’t know what “typical” performance is—also available on the Internet.

• No one has bothered to share this information with the people who bear some responsibility for their hospitals’ performance or, worse yet—

• The chairmen don’t care.

The Baldrige Criteria ask how you evaluate the performance of your board members. I would add questions about how the board reviews the hospital’s quality performance to that evaluation. The Criteria also ask how you use these performance reviews to develop and improve the board. Based on the survey, one easy way to improve your board is to tell it how your hospital performs on standard quality measures. While you’re at it, share data on…

Succession Planning at P&G

Procter & Gamble is a role model for succession planning. In an article in Fortune (November 20, 2009), Jennifer Reingold quotes Moheet Nagrath, P&G’s global human resources officer, who said, “Today I could show you the next generation of successors to current leaders, the generation after that, and the generation after that.”

The successors are listed in the company’s Talent Portfolio, a binder containing the names of P&G’s leaders compared to one another over six years on financial performance and the ability to lead and help others lead. Approximately 120 of P&G’s 135,000 employees reach general manager status and become part of the Talent Portfolio. They are evaluated every six months by their bosses, lateral managers who have worked with them, and their direct reports on a GM Performance Scorecard, which has one page of financial measures and another page assessing leadership and team-building abilities. There are at least three possible candidates for each major job, including CEO.

Although this formal process has been in place since 2001, P&G’s emphasis on hiring and retaining the right people can be traced to 1947 when CEO Richard “Red” Deupree said, “If you leave us our buildings and our brands but take away our people, the company will fail.”

The Baldrige Criteria ask how you accomplish effective succession planning for management and leadership positions. P&G has an effective, systematic response. The Criteria also ask how senior leaders create a sustainable organization. P&G’s Talent Portfolio, and its culture of valuing people, should sustain the company for years to…