Spring 2011

When Leaders "Cocoon"

I was cleaning out the garage a few days ago and came across an empty cocoon that some insect had vacated as the weather got warmer. It reminded me of several executives I have worked with throughout my career that had a tendency to hide from others during difficult business periods. Many of these leaders are outgoing and gregarious by nature but choose to limit their circle of contact when times get tough. Reflecting back on my interaction with these leaders, I was never really sure of what drove this behavior. In the public companies, perhaps it was the pressure from investors and shareholders that resulted from reports of substandard operating results or it may have come after a period of downsizing. For others who were simply conflict avoidant by nature, it was a defense mechanism to delay dealing with bad news and unhappy employees. Ironically, those same leaders are the ones encouraging their direct reports to improve open communication and "transparency" across the organization. So how do you help that leader overcome the tendency to cocoon? Ask 5 people and you'll get 5 different answers but what I can share with you are three guiding principles that have helped me get a struggling leader to emerge from the cocoon.

1) Admit the mistake and acknowledge the problem-This is a tough one for many leaders to embrace but the value to publicly acknowledging the problem to the employee population is huge. It's the first step in "walking the talk" and demonstrating the commitment to improve communication and visibility.

2) Arm the leader with facts about the "people condition' of the company. While sales, revenue and operating results or may have contributed to the hiding, showing the leader the problems caused by a lack of his or her visibility can be compelling. Surveys, focus groups and small department meetings are just some of the ways to gather credible information.

3) Rally the executive team- Leaders typically don't want to go it alone. If the top executive is cocooning its likely members of the functional areas of the company are as well so it's important to show solidarity in the effort to be more open across the entire company.

As the spring season begins and nature emerges from its cocoon, encourage the leaders in your organization to be mindful of the importance of being visible and open. It's easy to avoid bad news but the true leader will realize the positive impact of standing tall in the face of challenging business conditions. Such actions are the difference between strong leadership and simply being in charge. If we can help in the process, please call us at 610-287-1162 or email me at phil@hrsolutionsonline.com.

Best wishes for a healthy spring season!

Phil

The Cost of Discrimination

The EEOC has released it statistics for the 2010 fiscal year and to no one's surprise the number of job bias charges increased by 7% over last year. The Commission received a total of 99,922 charges in 2010 with the increase largely attributed to economic conditions. On a related note the average award for a discrimination charge was over $200,000 with disability discrimination charges reflecting the highest average award amount of $257,000 closely followed by age discrimination charges at $256,000.

These statistics and their corresponding potential cost to employers should compel company leaders to evaluate their employment policies and practices and provide training to management on issues such as gender bias, workplace harassment and employee relations. Don't make the mistake of presuming that these complaints only happen in large companies. Employers with 15 or more employees are governed by most all of the applicable laws and can be just as culpable as large organizations. In fact, studies have shown that smaller companies are even more at risk due to the lack of formalized human resource policies and practices.

The financial implications of a quarter of a million dollar settlement to a small or mid size business can be devastating. Take advantage of our free consultation and HR audit to see if your company is at risk.

Call us today at 610-287-1162 or email me at phil@hrsolutionsonline.com.