I Will Choose Free Will - Executive Decision Making Skills a la Rush

You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice
You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill
I will choose a path that's clear
I will choose free will.    Rush, Permanent Waves

The Short of It

• Decisions, decisions
• We make them every day
• But some of us are better at it than others
• Waaaaay better
• Good decision making skills are a left-brain, right-brain thing
• And quality is always better than quantity
  

The Long of It

Assocation executives go to work each day and face the daily decision tree.  Some climb slowly, hugging the center and going out on limbs only when forced to.  Others bounce from limb to limb in seeming abandon, gaining momentum but making no real progress in any one direction.  Still others refuse to climb and spend most of their time yelling at others to stay away from those dangerous looking branches!  And then, there are those executives who climb the decision tree and spend most of their time knocking everyone else out of it.

You know the ones.

Decisions are executive catnip.  Paycheck justification.  Power-trip city. As executives, we get to make lots and lots of decisions. It looked like so much fun from down below.  Big ones, little ones, quick ones, deliberative ones. A veritable cornucopia of choices to mull over and skip between.  Explanations to demand and alternatives to consider.  Lots of things to sign, sign off on, sign up for or put on signs posted around the office.  It's a managers paradise.....except executives aren't supposed to be managers and some of us have forgotten that.

If you became an executive because you love making decisions and now you think you finally get to make all of them, you are in the wrong job.  You should have stayed in the "manager" ranks and not Peter-principled yourself to the top slot. Is that to say you aren't responsible for the organizational bottom line?  Certainly not.  Am I to claim  that decision making isn't a large and mission critical part of the job?  Definitely not.  I've been there. Truly, there are countless decisions clearly within your purview.  Some on the easy side and others you will agonize over in the small hours of the morning wandering from draft email to three-times-reheated coffee cup and back praying for insight and the courage to press the send button.

But why aren't all of those decisions enough?  Why are there executives who want even MORE decision making powers? Why do we waste so much time on protecting our territory or patronizingly lecturing our staff members on what WE would have done...or (more likely) what they did that we NEVER would have done?  If you are an executive who cannot make the shift from manager to leader then I submit to you that for every complaint you have about the board micromanaging your decisions you have a complaint from a staff member or volunteer leader about the very same thing.

If making decisions is such a critical component of our overall job responsibility, why are we so bad at it? Why do we waste so much time making bad decisions or worse, useless ones?  Any executive who has participated in some epic battle over serving risotto at the Annual Dinner has forgotten some very clear truths about the decision making process and how easy it is to mess it up.

The band Rush laid these out for us years ago and I often find myself singing these lyrics in my head.  Sing along with me -

You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice - decisions made from the gut.  Some executives depend on their instincts exclusively a la Stephen Colbert.  They are the ones who smugly point to the book cover of Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink" but never actually sit down and read it.  I blink, therefore I am.  The path is already laid out. It's always been done this way.  I'm the decider.  I just have a feeling.  This is not a democracy. The association gods have spoken and we are going to do x,y and z.  If you are allowing yourself to follow the fates, you are not doing your due diligence.  If you are making a decision and you can't begin to explain why - you are in dangerous territory.  Asking for blind faith from your followers is not leading, it's indoctrinating.

If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice - refusing to engage.  Some executives simply refuse to make the call.  You know, I just don't have enough information.  Paralysis by analysis.  I need more study.  More opinions.  More facts.  Not engaging is making a decision to waste your time, your staffs time and your boards time.  You can waffle, ponder, wonder, hesitate and focus group yourself to death but in the end if you are going to exercise true leadership, you must engage.  You may feel completely justified in your insistence that you don't have enough information but the uncomfortable truth is - you never will. If you choose not to make a choice the answer becomes "no" by default and the door invariably shuts. With your noble refusal to not allow yourself to be "forced" into a decision, you effectively pocket veto your one and only responsibility which is to move your organization forward.

You can choose from phantom fears - decisions made from a position of fearfulness.  Fear drives organizations off of cliffs and racks up copious legal fees. Afraid to make a decision.  Afraid to not make a decision. Afraid its the wrong decision. Afraid your timing is off. Afraid you're moving too fast. Afraid you aren't moving fast enough. Afraid to hire. Afraid to fire. Afraid of change. Afraid the mission is too big and too bold. At the heart of any chapter/state/national conflict is some unnamed fear of loss of control. Fear will drive political conflict and territorial disputes. If you allow your fears to drive your decision making process you will default to making decisions reactively and from a defensive position. If you spend most of your time being afraid that others will make decisions you should make you will continually be playing politics and marginalizing your staff and volunteers, not exercising leadership.

And kindness that can kill - decisions you make to "help."  You will do yourself, your staff and your board an immense disservice if you insist on taking decisions away from or continually reworking decisions made by others. You will smother your staff, chase away your A-players and overpower your board if you operate from this patronizing position.  You say you are taking their burdens on for them. Saving them from the pain of governing.  It's so selfless of you.  Why don't they appreciate you?  Could it be that you are interfering in matters that are really not your concern and wasting time better spent on moving your organization forward?  Don't coat your controlling tendencies in the cover of "kindness."  Nobody is buying it and your association is suffering because of it.

I will choose a path that's clear - the heart of decision making.  The truth is, decision making is an inexact science.  It is a combination of left-brain thinking, right-brain recognition, courage and luck.  A clear path uses the best of left-brain process (identify problem, identify stakeholders, define timeline, gather information, develop options, evaluate risk, make decision and follow-up) with a right-brain understanding of the bigger picture, the recognition you will never have all of the information you need and the courage to make the call anyway.  Engage, clarify, understand, make the best decision you can and support others on your team when they do the same.

I will choose free will - the final piece of good decision making is free will.  Free will is accepting your place in the decision continuum and being willing to accept the consequences of any decision you make, shift in mid-stream if necessary and admit when you are wrong. You have the free will to refuse to accept the status quo, to trust your staff, to give your board the best information possible and then let them direct the activities of the association. You have the free will to become the kind of executive that doesn't want to make every decision. The kind of executive who gets the mission and the message and then acts boldly and in the best interests of your members to remove obstacles for volunteers and staff instead of being one. Free will.  Use it.  It won't let you down.

A planet of play things
We dance on the strings
Of powers we cannot perceive
'The stars aren't aligned
Or the gods are malign...'
Blame is better to give than receive

So, what have you decided?

That's Okay Cuz I Got No Self-Esteem - The D-list Employees

I wrote her off for the tenth time today
And practiced all the things I would say
But she came over
I lost my nerve
I took her back and made her dessert
Now I know I'm being used
That's okay man 'cause I like the abuse
I know she's playing with me
That's okay 'cause I got no self esteem    Offspring, Smash

The Short of It

• What's with that one employee?
• You know the one.
• The one that desperately needs to be fired.
• And escapes the hammer week after week.
• Get some self-esteem.
• And get it over with.
  

The Long of It

It is not a secret that I approach teamwork from a kind of radical point of view.

Building a truly high performing team is not for the faint of heart.  To build the kind of teams we always talk about is not the warm and fuzzy, let's-get-to-know-each-other-better kumbaya process some consultants tout. (I suspect some staff consultants pursue that approach because it is a never ending source of income as they keep getting called back over and over to "help the team function better" or maybe it's just the residual manifestation of the "EST" training they got in the 1970's - but I digress.)

Team building involves a level of self-esteem on the part of the team leader and a personal commitment to reject workplace games.  I was talking with a colleague of mine the other day, John Dane, CAE, and he made a particularly insightful comment, "The F-list incompetents get fired and that's good, the A-list stars sometimes get fired because they take risks and that's bad but the D-listers will outlive us all."

Ah, the D-lister employees.  The Kathy Griffin's of the water cooler set.  The ones who will outlive us all.  Today I'm taking a look at the two main types of these insidious creatures.

The first type is the relatively pleasant, seemingly innocuous kind.  They put in steady, albeit minimal, effort and make no major contributions or mistakes. They take few risks, either positive or negative. They keep their alliances superficial and fluid. They occasionally grandstand by calling in sick two days before an event and then show up on event day a la Mighty Mouse and milk the "sacrifice" for months.   This D-lister routinely disguises their reticence to take any position with claims that they "need more information" or "time for analysis" and hold endorsement of any idea back until a) it succeeds and they can claim partial credit (which is enough for a D-lister) or b) it fails and they can claim they never were never really sure about it to begin with but nobody asked them......

Then there's that second type of D-list employee.  The really crafty, disruptive one.  The one that behaves like that one toxic ex-girlfriend or ex-boyfriend of yours (you know the one), and is a continual pain the *&^.  They skate by acting like they don't have a care in the world and are a perpetual source of drama and turmoil in the team.  For some inexplicable reason every time they get up to the edge of getting fired, they weasel their way back into the good graces of the executive.  They are frequently absent and operate on instinct and manipulation.  They are often seen launching a dramatic outburst at the slightest provocation including spluttering something along the lines of being "misunderstood" and bursting into tears or an outward display of anger for extra emphasis.

Ah, that dysfunctional office dance many of us know so well.

Executives can easily get caught up in these types of workplace games and D-listers excel in them. The first type tries to fly under the radar and keeps the attention focused away from themselves.  They take credit when they can, (remember partial credit and coat-tailing will do just fine thanks), act appropriately penitent when necessary and bring cookies in on Fridays.  The second type is very different and attempts to exert control by keeping the attention focused on them.  They aren't working hard or contributing (how can they with the other activities involved in offense and defense) and as long as someone is "working with them" they aren't getting fired or having to look for another job.  (Ah, the perfect crime!)

Let's not forget to overlook the emotional angles. Management books aside, let's face the hard truth.  Workplace relationships are not entirely based in logic and include many of the same rationalizations used in other areas of life.  Common D-lister traps association executives fall into are, but are not limited to:

• Believing they can "change" the employee - (They can change!  I can help!)
• Conducting continual employee "counseling" - (I think we are really beginning to understand each other!).  
• Desiring to be seen as the "mentor who made the difference" (They may not appreciate me now, but they will!)
• Acting out some unconscious parental dynamic - (Just wait until you have employees of your own!).  
• Offering the benefit of the doubt - (Well, maybe they didn't really mean it....)
• Wanting to believe the best - (I think they are really sorry this time....again....)
  

The D-lister key to perpetual paycheck Nirvana is their Pepe-le-Pew like longevity.  The longer a D-lister is allowed to persist in their low performing state, the harder it is to get rid of them.  They are like barnacles on a ship.  California, in particular, is rife with employment related challenges.  The firing process must be carefully orchestrated and documented, sometimes with the assistance of legal counsel and even in this at-will state the fire-ee can become a never-ending drain on the fire-er.  Unemployment claims.  Labor law disputes.  Wrongful termination suits.  Protected classes.  Blech.  Isn't it easier to just leave them alone?  They aren't causing any massive damage.  And you hate interviewing right?  Firing them now will hamstring you going into the conference/board meeting/chapter trainings/trade show, etc.  Maybe they will get tired of you and move onto another employer.  Don't bet on it.  They have you right where they want you.  Or do they?

Here are my top ten D-lister avoidance tips to try and prevent your office from becoming The Office.

1. Recognize your job is not to be the good guy.  You are not Stuart Smalley and darn it, some people are NOT going to like you.  Your job is to execute the board's directives and to do everything you can to achieve their mission and vision.  The number one way to achieve those objectives  is building and sustaining a high-performing staff team.

2. Gain a reputation for not tolerating substandard performance.  It seems counter-intuitive but it will not make your hiring process harder later.  High-perfomers don't like D-list environments and will seek out those groups who take performance seriously.  Having low performers complain about being fired by you is the best advertisement you could have for attracting top flight applicants and, better yet, warning away potential D-listers at the same time.  (BTW - Maintain your legitimacy by pushing yourself harder than you push others.)

3.  Don't depend on the interview.  Good interviews prove nothing except that the person interviews well. Statistically, the interview predicts future success on par with flipping a coin. Don't assume you have some inborn, sixth-sense prescient ability to "sense a good fit." You don't and if you did, you'd be working on Dionne Warwick's psychic hotline, not as an executive.  You wouldn't assume you could marry someone after just one date so don't assume your new hire will be with you for the next ten years after just one interview.

4.  New employees are not office "ally" recruitment prospects. Some executives play internal politics. They assume that being "nice and understanding" from the beginning will shore up their political position and they focus on "winning" the new employee over to "their" team - performance be damned.  This is D-lister catnip at it's best and they will quickly become your new best friend.  (And quite frankly, if you are playing games at that level, you need serious help.)

5.  Don't overestimate initial success.  Beware of the honeymoon period just after the new employee comes on board.  Because you have been short handed it is easy to throw them into the fire with little supervision, experience an overwhelming sense of relief that SOME-one is doing SOME-thing and to give in to your own vested interest to make them want to stay and prove you made the right choice.  This leads to effusive statements and reinforcement that the new employee can "do no wrong."  Stop the "My gosh, you are wonderful, what did we ever do without you" emails. (Isn't he wonderful mom!  He calls me every day just to say he loves me!)  A D-lister will capitalize on this initial overwhelmingly positive assessment and then coast on that initial momentum for years.  (What happened?  You used to LOVE it when I called you every day, don't you remember?  And hey, get me a beer while you are up will 'ya?).

6.  Fire QUICKLY. You have a short window of time in the beginning to assess the new employee.  Don't relax and assume the hiring process was the tough part and now you can coast.  Evaluate and document, document, document. Put a probationary period in your employee manual and use it.  Try to make the decision to fire within 30 days but continue to evaluate for the full probation period regardless.  Make no promises.  It's much easier to make the case for underperformance at the beginning than it will be a year in and sometimes you need a full 90 days, or sometimes longer, to flush out the experienced D-list player.  Remember, the D-lister intends to outlast you and employment law is on their side.

7. Negotiate a strong executive employment contract going in.  When you take over a new gig as an exec put a strong clause in your contract that stipulates you have 100% control over the hiring and firing of staff.  Telegraph you intend to use it from the get-go.  Interview the outgoing executive if you can regarding staff strengths and weaknesses, suss out their personal biases and in the absence of an outgoing executive, go it alone (leave the Executive Committee out of it). Examine personnel records in detail.  Review all strategic objectives of the organization, the budget and all job descriptions.  Hold intensive discussions with current staff members.  Then clean house. When in doubt, fire. Ignore the temptation to "allow them to stay since they know more than I do" or the voice in the back of your head that says, "The board might worry about my coming right in and "de-stabilizing" things."  This is your first, best chance to build the staff you really need instead of focusing on fixing what you may have inherited.

8. Develop a "fleet."  Beware of executive contract clauses that stipulate if you leave, you can't take anyone with you.  If you are good enough, you will be able to pull your stars with you from organization to organization.  Show loyalty, be consistent, be up-front with your expectations and the stars will stick with you.

9. The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.  If you have been in a D-lister situation for some time now start taking steps.  Restate expectations.  Redraft job descriptions. Reclassify positions, layoff and re-hire.  Institute new performance standards and enforce them universally.  Immunize yourself againt the tolerance virus, develop a no-bullshit zone and a thick skin.  Bring in someone from the outside to objectively review the situation if necessary.

10. Last but not least, if you can't fire, bring in someone who can.  Get an assistant executive director who deals in personnel matters or a human resources manager who will handle the tough work for you.

I wrote her off for the tenth time today - and then I called our attorney, prepared the final paycheck, asked  for the key and changed the security codes.  No dessert for you!