If you have not already seen the ‘The Blind Side’ with Sandra Bullock, it’s worth seeing. I give it a thumbs up for showing first-hand how much potential can be lost (or gained) when we know how to capitalize on it. Malcomn Gladwell used the word ‘low capitalization rate’ to refer to this phenomena that occurs often in minority, in immigrant and in youth communities.
I see this every day with young leaders in organizations where only between 25-50% of their skills, knowledge, and time is being properly utilized. The result: plummeting morale, turnover within a 1.1. year period on average and a cost of $75-100k per employee. What drives me is knowing this does not have to be the reality and working with organizations that are motivated to change this.
Posted in Uncategorized.
Tagged with capitalization, emerging leadership, genY, human capital, The Blind Side.
By admin
January 25, 2010
Imagine you were 20-something and starting your career (perhaps you are and this requires no imagination!) . You have joined a large company like Deloitte or RIM because you think it will be great on your resume and you are sure there is lots of opportunity to move around. This is all true – but will the company be able to keep you now that they have gotten you in the door.
In the last few years your life has consisted of university, visits home and Facebook (or whatever other social media turns your crank). All operating with very different rules then the place you are about to step into. What do I mean by that?
1. All ideas are heard. You may be used to putting out an idea out on the web and getting quick feedback on it, both good and bad. But in most organizations you may need to follow a formal process to submit your ideas or when you do face the infamous statement ‘yes but…’. You also may be waiting for that once a year performance review to finally get feedback at all.
2. Contribution counts more than credentials. You may be used to choosing what you are going to participate in based on your interests and perceived strengths. However in most organizations your title and credentials (and your managers perception of your capabilities) will determine the tasks you get to be part of.
3. Power comes from sharing not hoarding. You may believe in the idea of what come around goes around and be actively involved in giving back. However in most organizations (build around hierarchy and job boxes), people are incented to hoard rather than share information.
We believe this is not a sustainable way to run an organization. It is certainly a recipe for Gen Y turnover. We want to work with organizations that want to audit their organizations for these people unfriendly practices. Our research shows that they inhibit people from getting work done and ultimately from a company being profitable. Speak to us more about our organizational audit and how we can help you.
We also will be offering another great resource in our forthcoming book. In 2010 HITTING STRYDE will be launched – a book (and a community around the book) that will give young leaders the tools to be more effective and happy in organizations. We will share what we have learned about hitting the stride in your career… along with contributions from other successful leaders. Stay tuned…
Posted in Uncategorized.
Tagged with corporate culture, culture, Daneal Charney, Delloite, emerging leadership, facebook, genY, hitting stryde, Leadership Reframed, management innovation, RIM, social media, Workplace.
By admin
December 9, 2009
If your Gen Yers are disengaged in your organization… they are not listening, underperforming, not satisfied, or just plain picking up and leaving… these are symptoms of a much bigger problem.
You cannot fix the GenY problem by simply finding out how each generation differs because this is not the problem. The problem is that our current organizational architecture is not fit for people. Gen Y issues are just a symptom. Thank goodness for this new generation of vocal and entrepreneurial leaders, they are dishing out the real goods on what is wrong. If we listen….
Gen Yers want the same things we all do (the difference is that they are vocal about it):
1. learn fast, real time and digitally
2. utilize their skills and interests
3. make a difference
So ask yourself how you are doing in meeting these needs… ask them from 1 to 10 how you are doing … start a conversation …
We want to know what happens. Tell us.
Posted in Uncategorized.
Tagged with corporate culture, culture, Daneal Charney, emerging leadership, genY, Leadership Reframed, management architect, management innovation, Workplace.
By admin
December 9, 2009
Jed Emerson’s concept of blended value makes intuitive sense to me.
As the Managing Director for Integrated Performance for Uhuru Capital, Jed sees that all organizations, whether for-profit or not, create value that consists of economic, social and environmental value. If all companies were measured by their blended vaue, I think the world would be in different economic circumstance today. Companies like Google, HCL Technologies and Seventh Generation would be even more highly valued. Globalive’s recent decision to keep 800 employees on payroll and put them to work in the volunteer sector for the next few weeks would be a commonplace way companies deal with temporary setbacks. Our next generation of workers would be more satisfied working in mainstream . We would value the means not just the end and metrics like retention, engagement, management innovation, environmental responsibility, corporate culture, degree of complexity… would count for more.
Coming up on December 2nd MARS will be hosting a lecture on blended value with Jed Emerson.
Posted in Uncategorized.
Tagged with blended value, corporate culture, human capital, management innovation, social enterprise.
By admin
November 19, 2009
At a focus group on Gen Y leadership this summer we heard from a group of HIPO Gen Yers and the people who manage them.
Next Gen Leaders
“I am only utilizing 25% of my skills in my current job which is really de-motivating. My job is highly administrative and makes me feel like I make no difference.”
“I am constantly wondering…is this it? If I stay here, am I pigeonholing myself? I have been told I will have 10 careers in my life-time…does this mean it is time to move on?”
Managers of Gen Y
“I wish our 20-something employees understood how to build a business case, had more patience, and knew how to self-gratify”
“How do I meet their unreasonable demands for communication and moving upward?”
Closing the Expectation Gap
In mid-October, we presented to a group of organizations on how to close the gap between what Gen Y employees want and what organizations offer. More presentation details…
The bad news is that most organizations (even the top 50 best employers) are still losing their 20-somethings as fast as they get them. The good news is there are simple and practical ways that organizations can begin to engage + retain this new generation of leaders. We work with our client to create better not best practices that fit the needs of their young generation of leaders.
Beneath all the complexity, our next generation of leaders want a meaningful work experience. They want three things in particular:
- To learn every day, on-demand and on the job
- To have their skills, knowledge and interests utilized
- To make a difference
To learn more about Leadership Reframed’s Gen Y consulting services, workshops and upcoming book, contact us here.
Posted in Uncategorized.
Tagged with emerging leadership, genY, human capital, leadership, learning, Workplace.
By admin
November 9, 2009
I am not easily ‘wowed’ by the way non-profits (or for that matter profit organizations) run their operations…but here is a refreshing exception. Second Base Youth Shelter provides a one-stop shop for 16-21 year old disadvantaged youth with a bit of a twist. In October 2008, it started a catering business which took off like wild fire and created a badly needed alternative revenue stream. This social enterprise generated the needed revenue to keep the organization afloat and also gave its ‘clients’ a chance to learn skills they can take with them wherever they go.
Based on the success of its catering business, Second Base’s is embarking on new ventures:
- a small barber shop which will service the youth shelter and the general youth community.
- a t-shirt business to inspire positive social change (Had it public unveiling on October 22nd as part of LG Fashion Week and in upcoming weeks t-shirts will be given away at the Kipling and Kennedy subway stations).
As we go into the Holiday season, think about catering your next event through Second Helping. Past customers have included: The Mayor of Toronto, the VP of Operations at Rogers and the Minister of Education. Connect with Paul Taylor, Executive Director of Second Base Youth Shelter. or email secondhelping@secondbase.ca
Posted in Uncategorized.
Tagged with genY, innovation, leadership, learning, non-profit, social enterprise.
By admin
November 1, 2009
Insights from October 7th Leadership Panel sponsored by Sauder Business Club of Toronto – Daneal Charney, Sanjay Singhal, Josh Sookman, Patrick Heffron, Duke Butler.
What is leadership today?
• Leadership is about taking something and owning it, making it your own and understanding how your piece of the puzzle fits into the big picture – looking at your job as one part of a larger system. Leaders look past specific task orientation to a focus on creating value.
• Leadership is not about the title – all levels of an organization can demonstrate leadership. We therefore have to have a systematic approach to maximizing this leadership.
• Leaders understand how individual employees cope with change – leaders are the buffer or filter between a change and its impacts on employees.
• Leader possess a mix of the vision, skill-set and action plan.
• Leaders are passionate about what they do – create the energy to make things happen – take calculated risks.
Actions Required!!
• Take advantage of a highly mobile workforce by keeping your High Potential ‘alumnis’ in your periphery so that you can hire them back when needed with all the additional capabilities they have gained.
• Allow failure to happen 10% of the time – so that the failures don’t negatively impact overall results
• Groom your people to own a portion of the business rather than a specific job role. You cannot grow as a company if everyone is stuck in ‘it’s not my job’. More on creating an ownership mentality
• Educate yourself on the next Generation. Start with understanding the way they naturally communicate and share information Go to www.commoncraft.com. Watch Did You Know to see how shifting demographics and technology is changing the world.
Posted in Uncategorized.
Tagged with capitalization, emerging leadership, genY, human capital, innovation, leadership, sauder business club of toronto, Workplace.
By admin
October 16, 2009
I am a big fan of Rypple.com because it helps you get honest feedback from peers and your direct manager and take action. Meaning you grow and so does the company! Rypple allows you to get feedback ‘real-time’. For instance, how did I do on my presentation or how am I doing as the project leader?
I once shocked a potential client (or shall I say lost a potential client) by saying I dont believe in performance reviews systems. Especially when they take the heat off leaders from doing their job i.e. giving feedback daily – the good, bad and the ugly. And there are so many great ways to do this. Pixar and Xtreme Labs are just two examples of companies that build feedback into their culture.
But there are good and bad ways of giving this feedback as we have all experienced on the tail end so here is my favorite tip.
- Before you deliver the feedback ask yourself, why would a decent and reasonable person do this?
Want to rehearse your next feedback conversation to perfection…
Posted in Career, Feedback, Uncategorized, agile teams, growing up digital, leadership, learning.
By admin
September 14, 2009
After listening to Don Tapscott’s presentation at TEDx, I am conflicted as to whether to disagree. Partly because his Gen Y stuff is terrific and partly because I would secretly (or now not so secretly) love to collaberate with him.
Tapscott’s assertion that GenYers learn differently seems over-stated. Yes they use on-demand learning, peer2peer learning, online communities to learn stuff but I also think they want the same thing every one does when it comes to learning. To learn content that is relevant to their own experience which is the basis of David Kolb’s Experiential learning model. The problem is not so much that GenY learn differently but that our pedagogy is so outdated it fits no one.
No one likes to learn when a “talking head’ is standing there spewing out info. I experienced this first hand as a child growing up in a South African school system where rote-memory learning and caning were the norm. I thought I was dumb cause I was always bored and frustrated. How does a kinethetic and visual learner like me survive in such a system!
We also learn through muddling through things and coming up with their own answers. This is why I like the Montessori approach to learning. Think of how you have come to your ‘ah-ha’ moments either at work or school. That is exactly what GenYers are doing when they are learning how to do something by researching on google, checking out what others think, posting a question on forums.
Posted in Don Tapscott, Gen Y, Peer learning, Uncategorized, Web 2.0, growing up digital, learning.
By admin
September 11, 2009
