Consider a multi-directional development model.

In the consulting world—and certainly not limited to this field—it is all too common for organizations to adopt a “move up or move out” culture. In other words, individuals must get themselves promoted to a higher rung of the org chart; if they’re not promoted within a pre-set timeframe, they’re considered unredeemable or fired.

In its worst form, it is survival of the fittest. In its best form, it operationalizes a growth mindset, supporting individuals as they develop and advance along their chosen career path.

But is “up or out” the only direction?

What about side-to-side? Or even forward and back? Does your organization have a plan for someone to opt out of an “upward” path? Can they do so with emotional and professional safety?

When Trish Emerson founded Emerson Human Capital Consulting, she knew firsthand the up-or-out culture that many of us have experienced. She wanted to build an organization with a “multi-directional” culture.

As I consider how this has played out within Emerson, I can cite real examples of current team members who have moved “up” into leadership roles then “back” to more client-focused roles. Others have transitioned from full-time employees to contractors. Others are clients turned employees turned contractors. And still others have been contractors and then joined us as full-time employees.

Our philosophy—doing meaningful work with people we love—isn’t limited to linear career paths. We want those people we love—the talented, creative, relational, impactful people—to find a sweet spot where they can thrive. In turn, this nurtures the culture and the well-being of our overall organization by retaining team members in ways that allow them to be their best, high-performing selves.

I experienced this firsthand recently. I spent decades in up-or-out and “in order to grow you have to go (somewhere else)” career scenarios. A year ago, I accepted a promotion at Emerson. At the time, the role was new. There were aspects of the role presented to me that I knew I would love. Other aspects I knew would be challenging or less energizing than my other work.  We collectively agreed to try it; if it didn’t work, we’d figure it out. In other words, there was an “opt out” card on the table.

Over the course of the year, I found myself questioning whether this role was the right thing at the right time.

I decided to talk to Trish, our CEO, about shifting back to the role I had loved. I recently worked on a client project focused on empathy, belonging, and trust, so I was very tuned-in to these dynamics as I approached her to discuss what a move would mean.

How remarkable to be able to say, “She made it so easy!” She secured my sense of belonging by quickly confirming that all team members need to be in roles that help them thrive. She sees how that feeds the well-being of the organization. She empathized with the factors at play for me as a whole person – not just “Workplace Lisa.” She created psychological safety by allowing me to own the message about my decision – what got said, by whom, and when. And I had every reason to trust my employment was never at risk, nor did I sense there would be hidden political implications or surprise consequences. In fact, this decision doesn’t preclude me from future promotions.

What is your workplace culture like when it comes to career mobility?

Is “up” the only direction? Do you lose team members because they need to go to grow? Or do you have an opt-out path, framed in safety and belonging? Are there alternative paths that still reflect success and embrace an individual’s experiences, strengths, and skills? How do you make these options more than just words?

I’d love to hear from you. Use the form below to share your thoughts.

Do your design and delivery create the right environment?

Psychological safety is a hot topic in discussions about organizational culture. Moreover, business leaders seem to understand that safety, empathy, trust, and belonging are critical to the well-being of both employees and organizations.

Recently, I had the opportunity to develop a course on these four components of culture. Our client believed that teaching leaders how to foster empathy, belonging, psychological safety, and trust would improve employee engagement, retention, DEI, and civility issues, helping the organization achieve its goals.

But simply talking about these four components wasn’t enough.

We needed to demonstrate them throughout the entire learning experience. This meant choosing words, imagery, and a course structure that allowed our audience to feel safe and stay engaged while they worked through vulnerable and challenging topics.

How did we do this?

1. We chose language that avoided direct reference to gender identification, race or ethnicity, age, or disability status. For example, we would refer to “team members” and “supervisors” without specific demographic references.
2. We used stories to make the concepts relatable. Storytelling engages our minds and hearts. It taps into our capacity for empathy. We didn’t just want to teach about these concepts, we wanted the learners to experience them. For example, we used stories and scenarios that featured the “whole person” at work. We also used videos from recognized experts like Simon Sinek, who taught about trust through a story. We relied on powerful Ted Talks to teach about assumptions.
   

   We use “paper people” and stick figure imagery with no race, age, or gender.

3. We carefully selected visuals that were inclusive but not specific. What does this mean? For example, we used pictures of hands coming together in a group; the hands represented different skin tones and different genders. We avoided images with faces that might reinforce the assumptions our brains already create. We used “paper people” and stick figure imagery with no race, age, or gender.
4. We used visuals that were inclusive and specific. Sometimes we just needed to include faces. So, we made sure the faces in our imagery and case studies were representative of the team members in our client’s organization.
5. We called attention to our brains’ tendencies toward assumptions and biases. We made a lesson out of this very real human function, and then taught how awareness can help us set those stories aside to be replaced by openness, curiosity, and empathy.
6. We set a group agreement to protect confidentiality. We made it ok to share what participants learned in the workshop but agreed not to share what other participants said.
7. We started and ended with “your one word.” This workshop was delivered virtually, so we needed to intentionally build a sense of connection. We started with introductions that included name, team, location, and “your one word.” Each person shared a word to describe how they were feeling coming into the workshop that day. We heard everything from “excited” and “motivated” to “stretched” and vulnerable.”
8. We included group and individual activities. Not everything has to be shared to be learned. Particularly for topics like these, the learners needed time to reflect and apply at an individual level. They did this through self-assessments, confidence checks, and application activities focused on specific members of their teams. They also worked in groups on case studies so they could benefit from ideas and takeaways from their peers. Whenever appropriate, we did whole group debriefs so participants could benefit from different thinking and ideas.

Most importantly, we reviewed the concepts, the content, and the visuals with our client advisory team to make sure each aspect would land well. We had to check our own stories and assumptions about what would be effective and open ourselves to the feelings and experiences of the advisors. In other words, we had to practice what we were preaching in our own course.

Do your design and delivery create the right environment? Tell us about it using the form below.

Enterprise Resource Planning. The software that touches every single part of your business takes, on average, 18.4 months and roughly 3-5% of your revenue to implement.

Companies make these big investments because ERP can deliver efficiency, productivity, visibility, better forecasting, and data security, all while reducing costs. In fact, many companies consider ERP essential to their future. Nem Fontanilla, who has spent 27 years enabling global transformations, recommends that organizations “Design the ERP with the vision in mind and leverage it to accelerate the achievement of your team’s vision, not to enable the current reality.”

Unfortunately, most companies experience a rough ride on the way to those benefits. A friend of mine is CEO of a midsized company, and is in the the second year of a promised six-month cutover. When he described the team’s difficulties closing the books due to the cutover, and the accounting teams increasing frustration, another friend chimed in. His team had a similar issue with their ERP implementation. He described their reaction as “organ rejection.”

Is your organization fighting off the ERP implementation? Here are some of the reasons.

“No time for that.” It’s more than enough to get the day-to-day work done. Adopting a new system demands attention and energy that equates to another full-time job.

“The best person for this project already has a job.” If you want the new system to work well, you need your best people on the ERP team – the folks who know your business best. So who is running day-to-day operations while they’re focused on your company’s future? The irony is that they’re so essential to the business that they can’t be spared, yet they’re probably worried they won’t have a job when the project ends. You have two obstacles to staffing your ERP team right.

“It’s good enough.” The old system and process works well enough. The team works on auto-pilot – they know what to input and where to send it. They find it hard to imagine the benefits of an operational overhaul outweighing the urgency of the moment. And frankly, some departments might be right about that. They might find the new system is worse for them even though it benefits the company as a whole.

Feeling a little defeated? You’re not alone. It’s chaotic enough to run a business. Now you’re intentionally introducing something that might break it.

Here’s what to do.

Embrace the suck. Assume employees will hate it. It’s a big change. Every living person is here because our ancestors were paranoid enough to anticipate danger and survive. Your new system is an intruder.

Resist cliché communications. Do not create a basic elevator speech. Do not create “talking head” videos of your executives saying how important this is. You will reinforce every cynical assumption your people have about this effort. Instead, create a consistent message frame that is customized by the speaker based on the audience. For more on how to communicate, go here.

Communicate based on impact. Employees care about when they will be affected and how. If you communicate too much, people tune out. You’re just teaching people to ignore you. For each person or team, communicate just what matters, just enough, and just in time.

Say the thing. There’s a natural tendency to hold back information that’s unpleasant or undefined. But fight that urge; the more more explicit you are, the more you dispel confusion and build trust. Spell out your scope and your timelines. If there will be layoffs, say so. Identify who is impacted and how.

Show them this time is different. Sometimes employees resist a change because they equate it to another change that “failed.” So highlight the differences between this project and others in the past. Differences might include:

• New Approach
• Different Team
• Different Budget
• Tighter or Expanded Scope
• Different Focus
• New Code
• Different Timing

Create fresh starts. A long ERP initiative can feel like a slog. Psychologically, we respond better to beginnings and ends. Seize on any arbitrary beginning that feels real: a new quarter, a new phase, hitting a milestone, or new metrics (like testing or training numbers). Help the team and the organization feel the progress and success by celebrating those starts and ends.

Focus on one small win. For each job role, think of only one thing an employee can do to use the new system, even if it’s as trival as logging in. Have them do it, and have them do it often. Make sure it’s easy, and that the experience is positive – for example, that the screen they’re on actually works. This gives them a sense that they can be successful and it makes the new system feel more familiar.

Double-down on From-To. Nem Fontanilla, who has spent 27 years in change and transformation, recommends that teams “(design) end-user readiness activities with (the user’s) day in the life in mind. Help them contextualize and see the change from their vantage point.” Where do your current fields appear in the new system? It’s that level of detail employees will want. Where is the data people used to use – where is it now? Document that, and train that. The more specific you are, the easier you make it for your people.

Prepare to invest in cutover twice. You’re working toward an end state. But in between here and there is a transition state. The support materials you develop differ for each state. You need temporary processes and training for employees who have the context of how they work now. These transition materials will be irrelevant once you complete the cutover. The second set, your steady state materials, are for new employees who have never known your old processes. They live on going forward. Some people try to skip the transition investment and only invest in the end state. However, that forces employees to figure it out on their own, which is a bit like interrupting a line of ants – they find a new path, but you have no way to control or predict it.

Nem Fontanilla says, “Turning on the ERP is the beginning…The functional teams need support to fully realize the value. It does not just happen because the new capabilities are available.”

Getting past the organ rejection takes focus and preparation, but it can be done. The huge investment in your ERP requires no less.

Our advice: consider welcoming back this old new trend.

In just the last week, I’ve read several articles heralding the arrival of a new trend among office workers: Chronoworking. The term refers to the practice of adjusting your work schedule to align with those times of the day you’re most productive.

The only problem with this new trend? It’s not new.

In ages past, individual workers naturally gravitated toward work schedules that were most productive.  It was only as we entered the Industrial Revolution (with synchronized looms and mills) followed by the Information Age (with its cube farm/corner office dichotomy) that rigid scheduling became the norm.

But even then, there were notable exceptions. Thomas Edison famously took up to three naps a day; he found that the breaks in work allowed for new thoughts or solutions to a problem, and he had a pen nearby to capture thoughts upon waking.

Chronoworking: the practice of adjusting your work schedule to align with the times you’re most productive.

Growing up, I often watched my mom unpack files and manuals on government procurement from her bag and set them on our kitchen table to work on; she tended to do her best work in the evening hours. (With three boys at home, I can’t imagine how our house was conducive to work, but she found a way).

When I worked in an office, I would arrive an hour or more before the workday began; I found that I could accomplish more focused work in those first two hours of deep concentration than I could in the next nine hours.  Working from home, it’s not unusual for me to tackle one or two tasks between 4:30 and 5:30 am, go to the gym, and then return home to “begin” my workday.

Chronoworking is at a new point of inflection. Though working outside traditional office hours has been a “trend” for as long as people could carry home a briefcase, it’s gotten a boost from recent world events and innovations. VPN connections and cloud platforms make it easier. Covid made it normal; the abrupt work-from-home transition necessitated some work hour flexibility that people aren’t keen to relinquish during the return-to-office wave.

It’s now so ubiquitous that we feel we can say it out loud: We don’t all work well at the same times. That’s okay.

So, if you are a leader in your organization and you see this “trend” on the horizon, what do you do?

• Think about your own work patterns. I struggle to think of one executive or entrepreneur who does not (instinctively or intentionally) structure their work patterns to leverage their most productive times of the day. In fact, most leaders get to where they are in large part because they optimize their work patterns. If you have benefited from work flexibility, shouldn’t your employees?
• Foster trust and ownership. You hired great people, right? So let them be great. Give them some choice in the way they deliver on their mission. Working at the right times doesn’t just make people more productive, offering choices makes them feel in control and trusted, which is motivating. If you really need team members to hold down the pneumatic lift on an office chair between 8 AM and 5 PM to feel they’re productive, are they really the best people for your organization anyway?

We don’t all work well at the same times. That’s okay.

• Communicate clearly and intentionally. Employees using flexible work schedules must have stated expectations and accountability. And they need to understand the purposes and benefits of work flexibility. Be intentional in the balance between flexibility and cohesion. For example, create common times when the team comes together, virtually or physically. This sends an important message: While we all work differently, we are one team working toward a goal together.

Allowing chronoworking is a change for many teams, and we know that change is hard. We also know that the most successful organizations embrace change.

Use your organizational values as a compass in an automated world.

Imagine walking into a workplace where decisions are made at the speed of light, tasks are completed with superhuman precision, and innovation is not just a buzzword but a daily reality.

This is the vision many organizations are chasing as they adopt artificial intelligence (AI). But as the AI landscape continues to evolve, some organizations are simply running to keep up, with no clear destination.

How do you know if you’re headed in the right direction? Our tip — check each milestone against your organizational values.

Why Values Matter in the Age of Automation

Without a strong set of values guiding AI, organizations find themselves in a maze of ethical difficulties and impersonal interactions.

For instance, what if an organization deployed AI chatbots for customer service without adequately addressing their limitations? This could frustrate customers and badly damage the brand.

Don’t automate processes without considering the implications and checking them against your values. Automation should enhance, not replace, the human touch. Every outcome should be aligned with the organization’s mission, vision, and values.

Without a strong set of values guiding AI, organizations find themselves in a maze of ethical difficulties and impersonal interactions.

The Role of Values in Decision-Making

Just because we can, does it mean we should? What guides our organizational decisions?

AI systems learn from historical data, which can contain biases. If the data are biased, the AI model might spread those biases. Imagine an AI-powered hiring tool that inadvertently discriminates against certain demographics due to biased historical hiring data. This could lead to unfair employment practices and even legal repercussions.

If, instead, the organization embeds its values into decision-making, it creates a culture of consistency and trust. Employees and other stakeholders understand that company actions are founded on those values.

Values and ethical rules should guide our decisions, not software features. Values ensure that as we delegate tasks to machines, we’re not also outsourcing our ethical responsibilities.

Just because we can, does it mean we should?

Protecting the Human Heart in a Digital World

As we embrace the incredible potential of advanced automation, let’s not forget the human heart beating at the core of our organizations. It’s the passion of the people, guided by clear and compassionate values, that will ensure technology enhances our work rather than defines it.

For instance, a hospital may have AI-driven diagnostic tools that are incredibly accurate, even revolutionary. But healthcare workers know that delivering a diagnosis without empathy will cause patients anxiety and distress. The most successful organizations will be those that harness the power of automation without discarding human insight.

Automation should enhance, not replace, the human touch.

So, let’s program our future with not only intelligence, but with wisdom and foresight. As our capabilities grow, so can our humanity.

Three Takeaways for Optimizing AI

Values are the compass. In a world steered by automation, clear organizational values provide direction and purpose, ensuring that every technological advancement serves the greater mission.

Ethics determine the heading. As automation becomes more prevalent, the temptation to prioritize efficiency over ethics can grow. Maintaining clear values helps resist this temptation and fosters a culture of integrity.

Advanced automation is a crew member, not the captain. While automation can greatly enhance efficiency and decision-making, it should not inhibit the passion and judgment of the people that make up the organization.

As the lines between human intuition and AI are blurring, clear organizational values have never been more crucial. As we sail into the uncharted waters of AI, these values are the stars by which we navigate, ensuring we don’t get distracted by shiny new software and lose sight of our humanity.

HR professionals must think of themselves as change agents.

Perhaps no role is shifting faster than the HR professional. If the pandemic showed us anything, it was that the employee experience is essential to survival. HR is not only helping navigate choppy post-pandemic waters, but also evolving into a true strategic partner.

This is not just about external catalysts or inclusion in strategic decisions. It’s about mindset. HR professionals must start thinking of themselves as change agents.

For example, a global company wanted to launch a development program to change the behaviors of its leaders, world-wide. Other initiatives like this had flopped, but this one was a smashing success. Why? In part, it was because HR itself made some significant behavior changes of its own.

1. From understanding business needs to forecasting them.

Having ears to the ground, HR could see early on that the business model was shifting from individual contribution to team performance. Soon, leaders would have to work with multiple global cross-functional project teams and get them to collaborate quickly to drive business outcomes. Because HR anticipated this need, the program was not merely a reaction to a problem; it was a proactive solution.

How they did it:  HR claimed a “seat at the table” and participated in business decisions. They held regular meetings with employees and managers and asked the right questions. They also conducted frequent pulse surveys to gauge the mood of the employee base and respond.

2. From tracking metrics to owning Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

The HR team committed to employee engagement (a company KPI) instead of focusing on tactical metrics like total training hours or training feedback scores.

How they did it: They kept organizational goals front-and-center during every conversation and work session. They brainstormed with their internal clients to identify the right HR success metrics to achieve employee engagement and to drive the desired employee behaviors. For example, training didn’t end in the classroom but was followed by simulations and mentoring to ensure that the learning stuck and leaders managed their teams optimally.

3. From understanding diversity to fostering inclusion.

Even though corporate headquarters was in the U.S., the move to team performance was global. HR knew many typical elements of training and communication didn’t resonate globally, so they paid special attention to that.

How they did it: HR crunched the numbers to identify real data on diversity. Then, they used the quantitative results to make the program culturally inclusive. For example, they knew that employees in other countries might be alienated if the company continued to use U.S. baseball metaphors. So they asked their geo stakeholders to share their stories and metaphors, then applied the lens of local culture to all experiences.

4. From following HR trends to focusing and executing the most relevant trends.

The HR team had a good sense of multi-generational workplace and digital revolution, but they decided to thoroughly examine how these trends impacted the company and how best to manage them.

How they did it: HR read the research and reached out to networks and business stakeholders to get their input. They investigated trends and analyzed impacts. These findings guided all relevant HR actions. They made sure the communications, training, and tools they rolled out resonated with the target audiences. For example, they used the latest technology platform to engage digitally savvy millennials who were primed to be future leaders.

As HR became more involved with company strategy and their stakeholders, they better understood their pivotal role in all organizational change. HR is responsible for promoting employee behavior change. That starts with changing their own behaviors.

Executive Facilitation

Part 5: Use the Emerson difference as inspiration for your sessions.

The team at Emerson Human Capital have constructed and facilitated thousands of executive sessions. In this time we think we’ve learned a thing or two. Here’s how we do executive facilitation differently.

We say the thing.

Before the session, we uncover big issues and potential effects of the decisions coming out of the session. The first step is a conversation with the sponsor or lead executive. We ask things like, “If this meeting goes sideways, why might that happen? Personalities? Politics? Sensitive initiatives? What will the consequences be? This gets us ready to address any elephants that might wander into the room.

Before the session, we uncover big issues and potential effects of the decisions coming out of the session.

Then, as we conduct the session, we set up discussions and activities to remove obstacles and get the tough decisions made. We remind participants that they are the leaders of the organization, and if it were easy, anyone could do it. They won’t be successful unless they lean in and get through the hard stuff.

We make them better decision-makers.

Whenever possible, we combine team effectiveness and business strategy. While execs are together, why not get better at moving the ball forward? Synergy is the word. Sometimes, what comes between a leadership team and its business goals isn’t about facts and figures, it’s about emotional attachment to ideas, or bad team dynamics.

We design on the fly.

If you keep your eye on the prize, and your current agenda isn’t moving it closer, what do you do? You recalibrate and shift, live.

Nothing is more important than getting the group to its outcomes

As facilitators, we take in the vibe, synthesize what we’re getting from the group, and reassess the trajectory of the session Many times, we have redesigned an agenda or activities on a lunch break or after day one of a two-day session. Nothing is more important than getting the group to its outcomes – certainly not our precious agenda and pretty slides. We’re happy to revise them or ditch them and go to the whiteboard to get the right work done.

We don’t deliver a lecture.

A facilitator is not a presenter. He or she facilitates the group’s work. Our job is to manage the process, offer concepts and information, set up scenarios, facilitate discussion and work, get consensus on decisions, and prepare the team for the next steps.

We facilitate in the context of change.

Every executive working session is intended to make a difference, so we view it through the lens of change. We don’t see the working session as an event, but as part of a change process. So, as we plan the session, we plot a course by asking key questions: What Is the ultimate business result we need? What has to happen before, during, and after the session to make sure we get to that goal? And how do we make those results sustainable? Once we answer those questions, we conduct the session. We show participants the whole journey. We make sure we get the outcomes we intend out of the session. Then we define next steps, responsibilities, milestones, and metrics.

We bring our change experience into the room.

We’re not facilitators who happen to know something about organizational change. We’re change practitioners with decades of experience. That means we bring in real-life examples that illuminate the problem executives are trying to solve. We can also identify pitfalls, in the room, and help the group avoid them. And, of course, we set the group up to make real change from the outcomes of the session.

We’re not facilitators who happen to know something about organizational change. We’re change practitioners with decades of experience.

We use behavioral science to help the session count.

We don’t “deck and dash.” Coming out of the session, we are ready to help executives implement their decisions. We do that with the help of science-based methodology. For example, we create motivation profiles that help each group of stakeholders adopt the change. We use three levers that make change stick: making the change feel familiar, controlled, and successful. And we use the power of the organization’s “early adopters” to create momentum toward the goal.

Put another way, we don’t want to leave our clients with a really expensive three-ring binder. We leave them with real, sustainable change that has business impact. You can use these ideas to improve your outcomes too.

ICYMI: Executive Facilitation Series Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 & Part 6

Executive Facilitation

Part 4: Techniques to make sure your executives get what they came for.

There are few things in shorter supply than an executive’s time. When invited to a working session, they worry about wasting hours with nothing to show for it.

If you’re running an executive working session, you want them to leave thinking it was time well spent—that they achieved the outcomes they needed and know what to do next, to make it real.

Here are six tips.

Tip #1: Establish desired outcomes.

The only way to get to the right place in the end is to begin with the end in mind.

That means getting consensus on the outcomes of the session well before it starts—when you send invitations. Then, confirm those outcomes in the room.

What do we mean by outcomes? That depends on your organization and your group. Outcomes might include strategies, decisions, operating models or principles, plans, schedules, or conceptual frameworks. Make sure you define them well. What would a good outcome look like? Does it have words, visuals, lists, timelines, assignments of responsibility…?

Also, identify any specific decisions that the group either must make or is not going to make. This can help avoid misguided energy during your session. Sometimes, participants push for a decision instead of properly exploring the topic because they think a decision will be made in the meeting. You don’t want people slipping into “selling mode” when it’s not the right time for it.

Once you agree on outcomes, let them guide the session. Check often to make sure you’re on track to get to them by the end of the session. Use those outcomes to prioritize topics or activities.

Tip #2: Set the rules and enforce them.

Come up with a few ground rules. You’re not being rigid; you’re proactively removing obstacles to your outcomes.

For example, set the timing: start time, end time, and break times. Consider setting a rule that you resume work on time and don’t stop to help late joiners catch up. Decide how to prioritize and focus the work; some facilitators use a “parking lot” (white board, flip chart, or PowerPoint slide) for off-topic discussions, so you stop them but don’t lose them.

Ask participants to voice any objections and then agree verbally to the rules. This will help the group self-correct when it goes off-track.

Tip #3: Prepare the group for productivity.

Think about any obstacles you might encounter with your particular set of participants.

For example, do you have a participant at odds with the others on a particular issue? Get ready to deal with that. You might want to shore up the minority position or, if the participant is just impeding progress, you might frame his or her objections as out of scope; put them in the parking lot and follow up later.

Do you have participants of different ranks? You’ll have to create a level playing field. Maybe make sure the lower-ranking people contribute first, so their ideas aren’t dampened by a boss with a different view. Or gather some ideas from those with less power ahead of time, and prompt participants to share them.

Tip #4: Minimize the troublemakers.

We’ve all been there. One person in the group seems to be taking up all the air. Or worse, they’re actively undermining the group. Lucky you, facilitator, they’re your problem now. Here are some tips:

• Make it a rule. Set an expectation, up front, that participants will stay on-topic, let others speak, and work collaboratively.
• Redirect them. First, assume good will; the troublemaker might not be aware that they’re a problem. Call them out, politely, and ask to hear from others. For example, “Thanks for your input, Jim. I want to make sure we hear all the ideas in the room. Carol, do you have any thoughts on this?”
• Suffocate them. Not literally, but don’t give them airtime. Direct questions to other participants and, if necessary, ignore their comment and pivot to another subject or participant.
• Use your physical presence. Move across the room to stand next to them—or even stand with your back to them – and address the rest of the group.
• Enlist the group. Reward good participants. Encourage constructive, on-topic, collaborative behaviors with praise and reinforcement. Often, the group will move onto the right path and shut the troublemaker out.

Tip #5: Maintain momentum.

As facilitator, your job is to keep the group moving toward those outcomes. Here are a few ways:

• Ask questions to clarify, elaborate, guide, or show the group where there’s a gap in their thinking. Validate, reflect back, and connect dots.
• Exercise patience. Sometimes progress is messy. Give the group the time they need for organic discussion and idea generation.
• Shut up. People love to fill silence. If no one is talking, just wait and they will. And, in any case, make sure you’re only speaking as needed to facilitate. If you’re talking a lot, there’s something wrong. Don’t do the work for them or put words in their mouths. You want participants to own the results of the session; that will happen only if they land on the solutions themselves. We want to share back what we’re hearing to validate it, and connect dots, but we want them to form the conclusions
• Check progress and focus. Breaks are a good time to decide whether your pace and direction are right. Assess this yourself and/or ask a few participants what they think. Is the group hitting the milestones? Are they filling out the picture they need at the end? If not, when the group reconvenes, reset them toward their goals.

Tip #6: Close with clarity.

Did the group produce what they wanted? Show them! Play back what they produced, get consensus that it’s right, then plan to take it forward.

Confirm any decisions they made, then build a cascading messaging plan. This plan defines how to handle the decisions, information, or concepts coming out of the session—what should be kept confidential and what should be shared with the rest of the organization. Next, decide which information goes to which groups. Finally, agree on the talking points and terms to use when delivering the messages. Establish activities, responsibilities, and a timeline. Importantly, define the very next step to be taken for each key decision and schedule a follow-up meeting to check in. This will create momentum and give the group a quick win.

Don’t let your great work stay in the room—use your session outcomes as a launching pad to make a real impact on your business.

ICYMI: Executive Facilitation Series Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 5 & Part 6

How to engineer a magical experience for your team and your client.

Everything at Walt Disney World is intentional.

The trees are groomed in such a way that the bees had access to their nectar. Thorns are removed from the cacti within patron reach. The pavement around low fountains changes to a worn, uneven brick pattern that commands subtle attention, reducing the risk of texters and scrollers falling in.

On the safari, you feel like you are so close to the animals. But, invisible to the untrained eye, are ditches, specifically planted foliage, and other ways to ensure patrons are safe. Is it magic or science? Maybe a little of both. It’s clear that Disney studied animal and human behaviors, and that information was used to ensure an immersive but safe experience. But the effect is certainly magical.

Throughout the park, the mechanics are also designed to be invisible. You hear music but don’t see speakers, see projected images but never see projectors, hear and see fireworks but never see barges, boats, or pyrotechnic staff. You never see a groundskeeper, yet the place is immaculate.

During my recent visit, I marveled at the choreography of the rides. It seemed like no seat was left empty for more than 30 seconds before the next rider was seated. Moving floors went at the same speed as the cars, so the line kept moving as customers eased on and off the rides without getting hurt. The effect was almost elegant, like a waltz.

The cast members are specially chosen and perfectly trained. Everyone stays in-character, no matter what; you’re always interacting with Cinderella or Peter Pan – never, ever the actor. The driver of your vehicle doesn’t feel like a Lyft or Uber, but a new friend taking you to one of their favorite places.

The effect was almost elegant, like a waltz.

The overall experience is that you are the center of this wonderful universe. Everything was created, designed, and implemented with you in mind. A visit to Walt Disney World leaves you feeling embraced and cared for.

As I enjoyed my visit, I thought about the Walt Disney World organization needed to create that magical experience. It requires leadership, strategy, science, innovation, and tight management, thousands of skilled employees – the same things that serve any high-performing organization. After my trip to Walt Disney World, I’m trying to put a touch of Disney into my work with clients.

So how can you manage a magical project?

The Magic of Information

• Learn as much about the client and the subject matter as you can. Information is power; it will help you to deliver the best for your client. You might uncover business needs that weren’t part of the original scope. You might find synergies with other initiatives. Doing your research and constantly learning will help you be more agile, making smart decisions and delivering beyond your original scope.
• Science is your friend. There’s a wealth of information out there that can inform your solution. Ground your work in behavioral science, technical knowledge, and lessons learned by organizations who have done similar projects.

The Magic of Invisible Design

• Think about the outcome your client wants, and design everything toward that end. The organization doesn’t need to see what you did to deliver the results; they need the results.
• Take the employee’s point of view. What will they see, hear, read, and experience? How do you want them to feel, think, and act as a result of the program you’re building? That’s what matters. Start by thinking of that end-user experience and their work lives after you have implemented your program. Focus on creating that future state for them.

Think about the outcome your client wants, and design everything toward that end.

The Magic of Seamless Efficiency

• Break down barriers for your team. I like to call this Dragon Slaying. Look ahead to see what dragons may be on the path to slow your team down and remove them. Sometimes this means that the magical dragon poofs into thin air and sometimes it’s mitigating the risk in a way that your team must merely step over the dragon’s lifeless body. Either way, identify and minimize them, ideally before they become a hindrance for your team.

The Magic of Elegant Orchestration

• Keep up with schedules and deliverable dates. Use your project plan as a living document; update it daily, identifying risks, challenges, and wins. Keep detailed notes of and track deliverable status.
• Ensure all team members are aware of the project plan, dates, and outcomes. They need the whole picture, including the hand-offs: what comes before and after a task and how their work affects other team members and teams.

Dragon slaying: Look ahead to see what dragons may be on the path to slow your team down and remove them.

• Ensure smooth sign-offs and transitions as project moves from one stage to the next. Have clear methods for sign-off and task completion. Document and share completion criteria for each task.
• Build strong communication channels across functional areas. Ensure teams know who to communicate with, when, about what, and how. Establish stand-up meetings, status documents, collaboration forums, or anything else that ensures great communication.

The Magic of Being In-Character

• Cast wisely. Know your team’s roles and superpowers: what they do, how they do it, their capabilities, and their limitations.
• Give them their script and character. Each person must know their roles and responsibilities and the roles and responsibilities of the other Super Friends.
• Put on a show. Remind them they are a cast of characters, not solo players. Where one person is weak, another might be strong. Encourage them to lift each other up and succeed as a team, in service of the client. Your client’s experience depends on the entire team playing their parts.

Know your team’s roles and superpowers: what they do, how they do it, their capabilities, and their limitations.

The Magic of Caring

• The project experience hangs on the well-being of your teams, client, and stakeholders. It might go without saying but treat them with care. Make sure they walk away from your project feeling good about their work and themselves.
• Is your project NOT the happiest place on earth? Set rules of engagement. Plan to deal with conflict. Handled well, conflict breeds innovation and invention. Set the standard that respect, dignity, and civility are requirements on your project.
• Think again about the experience of each client team member and stakeholder. Do they get that your efforts are centered on them? Will they feel your program was a custom-made experience that made them better? Keep your eye on that goal and adjust your work to make that happen.

Make sure they walk away from your project feeling good about their work and themselves.

Whether we think of Disney as a magical experience or an elite organization, we can learn a lot from them.

Wrap up the year with effective goal setting.

It’s the end of the year, and most organizations are embarking on everyone’s favorite holiday activity: goal setting.

Leaders analyze the past year’s performance and estimate what they can and must accomplish in the coming year. Executives then review these goals and finalize organization-wide, measurable objectives that drive success.

This annual exercise is necessary, and it makes sense. But why is it so hard?

First, each role has its own relationship to goals. Top leaders want to dominate the market but must also consider the health of the organization. Executives and managers want to push for greatness but also take morale and capabilities into consideration.  Employees feel pressure to impress the boss but have to balance that impulse with what they think is realistic and achievable.

And, after all that work and rounds and rounds of reviews, the final goals are cascaded down to the organization, which can be like a game of telephone. By the time a line employee gets his work objectives, they might no longer be recognizable to top leadership.

So, as a leader, how should you approach annual goal setting? A clear process and sound principles will make strong goal setting easier on everyone.

Listen up.

Teams understand their capabilities and limitations, and if given a safe platform, they will tell you what they really think. It’s good to be aspirational, but make sure you propose goals the team believes in and feels inspired to achieve.

A clear process and sound principles will make strong goal setting easier on everyone.

Align up, down, and across.

Departmental goals should directly support organizational goals, and departmental goals need to make sense across teams and divisions. As you translate overall goals to objectives for teams and employees, check them against the strategy. This type of alignment is critical to business strategy and execution — every part should contribute to the whole.

Balance.

Make sure your goals are balanced across your strategic and operational capabilities. Don’t set one goal so high that achieving it saps energy from other areas or from overall productivity. Discuss where your key balancing metrics are, like volume and customer experience, and allocate investment and resources across those areas, not just those that obviously hit the bottom line.

Share now.

Employees need to know as soon as possible what they are being measured against. The later you share this information, the higher the risk. On January 2, your teams are already supposed to be working toward the new year’s goals. They need time to shift and ramp up. So, give employees a preview of the new year’s priorities. This is especially important if your company ties goals to merit pay; this is not an area where employees want to be surprised.

Employees need to know as soon as possible what they are being measured against.

Review and support, often.

Create a safe space for employees to report on their progress and ask for help where they feel stuck – otherwise goals can feel punitive. Give people space to tell the most accurate story of where they are so you can support them. That’s a win-win.

Goal setting has big impacts on productivity, morale, and the bottom line. Make sure you use this time to create meaningful goals that help your business succeed and your people thrive.