Canadian HR Reporter

STRATEGIC CAPABILITY NETWORK'S PANEL of thought leaders brings decades of experience from the senior ranks of Canada's business community. eir commentary puts HR management issues into context and looks at the practical implications of proposals and policies. CANADIAN HR REPORTER EXECUTIVE SERIES 17 MAY 2018 Collaborative teams and smart failures Four SCNetwork members talk about Chester Elton's presentation Paul Pittman: Well, that was entertaining. ough I set out not want- ing to like what Chester Elton was going to say — the recognition business has always felt disingenuous, with images of trinket bribery. Chester started off by suggest- ing that recognition has to be in context. Recognition needs to be pitched in a way that is appropri- ate to the sophistication, educa- tion and experience of your au- dience. For example, a Starbucks mug might not do it for a CFO. But then a most interesting ex- perience unfolded. e audience — a group of unemotional HR practitioners — were won over with plastic carrots and wrist- bands in the form of recognition for giving correct answers (actu- ally any answer). It was an interesting behav- ioural exercise counterintuitive to the point Chester had made. He went on to stay that without an engaged culture, recognition counts for nothing. That I am not sure I agree with. A bad cul- ture — no matter how bad — will start to improve by recognizing contribution. I began to enjoy what I was hearing. Between the book and the videos, there were some genu- ine nuggets — mostly stuff we had heard before but it was good to have them reconfi rmed (such as the multigenerational workforce, engagement leads to increased productivity, and manage to one). e Disney story was a great display of genuine engagement that can be found elsewhere, no- tably in family-owned businesses where culture and engagement tend to be deeper and authentic. e WestJet example, while fun, was a TV ad and a marketing exercise. It was perhaps genu- ine but not an obvious display of "authenticity." e story of a millennial leav- ing the Jimmy Fallon show af- ter three years because she had "learned all she could" was meant to alert us about being aware of the biases that cause us to form our opinions. We all need to be careful of that. e observations on collabora- tive teams and rewarding smart failure were outstanding and all leaders should spend time under- standing how to get the most of their team projects. Silvia Lulka: I agree, Paul, it was entertaining. at was the highlight for me, to see how his delivery matched the content of what he shared — it was true to his research, true to the culture and brand he has created. e examples that stayed with me were from Hard Rock Café. Where else would a member of the team be praised for jumping on a table to dance with a cus- tomer who was doing the same? Where else would there be an engagement survey with the one question "Tell me why your job rocks?" that employees could answer in writing, verbally or by video? Most poignant was the exam- ple of the dish washer who made a video about how his job rocked because, as he said, "I love that I can be me." Now there's culture- appropriate recognition and en- gagement at work. Chester's extensive research validates what we've heard before — culture matters, recognition matters, making emotional con- nections matters, having align- ment on a larger goal matters, living up to the promise of our brand, internally as much as exter- nally, matters. Chester's approach role-modelled that. Jan van der Hoop: Wow, Paul, bitter about not getting a carrot? I'm not bitter, but I did fi nd my- self feeling a little hungry for some substance. "Miracles do happen when we all work as one?" "Permission to fail" and "Free to be me" were the high points for me as well. "If even your dish washer is happy, the business be bumping." So true, and so often dismissed. Chester brought some old lessons with new illustrations, wrapped in diff erent storylines, and delivered them in an enter- taining fashion. Yes, for a carrot, even I might have blurted out an answer — but then that's all part of the game. I guess we all at some level hold new information up against the lessons learned in the formative stages of our career. In many ways, I hit my stride as a seasoned leader back in the mid-'90s, when Gallup's research into the habits of "great managers" spawned all their work on uncovering the leading indicators of an en- gaged team. In many respects, Chester's research results and his advice are entirely consistent with what Gallup documented and reported back then. It's not a disappointment to me that there's so much overlap — and I don't think for an instant that Chester is simply putting a new wrapper on old stuff so he can sell books. What does disap- point me is that 20 years later, we are still talking about the same things as if they are revelatory. To quote him, this is common sense, uncommonly practised. Why so? Paul: In full disclosure, you should know that Chester has sent me a virtual carrot. Sandi Channing: I was wired after watching Chester. It was a to- tally infectious presentation that drilled home the benefi ts of an engaged culture and recognition. He was engaging, enabling and energizing — delivering a serious message in a fun way. Paul, I agree that recognition without an engaged culture is still valuable. Recognition, if done right, can be a powerful tool for setting or resetting the culture, while increasing engagement. And while this may be a case of "the chicken or the egg," it is an- other tool in the toolbox that's been proven to work. e stats are more robust, the methodology is diff erent but the premise is the same — organiza- tions that engage and reward em- ployees are more successful. To Jan's point, the question is why they are the exception — this should be mainstream by now. Perhaps it's because recognition is still seen as a touchy-feely HR program and not as a lever for pushing an organization's strat- egy forward. What better way to do that than by recognizing the positive contributions of employees who align with the company strategy? With today's online recognition vehicles, the message can be more widespread than ever. PANELLISTS: • Paul Pittman, founder and president of the Human Well in Toronto • Silvia Lulka, director of coaching at Rogers Communications in Toronto • Jan G. van der Hoop, president of Fit First Technologies in Toronto • Sandi Channing, senior director of total rewards at Compass Group Canada Paul Pittman Sandi Channing Silvia Lulka Jan van der Hoop Recognition, if done right, can be a powerful tool for setting or resetting culture, while increasing engagement. is Empowered by: is Empowered by: A Great Leader A Great Leader www.scnetwork.ca Networking, Mentoring, Peer-Peer Feedback Formal Online & Of ine Learning On the job experiences & challenges 20% 10% 70% Join SCNetwork, for a monthly dose of thought leadership and grow your community of peers in a collaborative space. We welcome all HR professionals who support business success through people. Cultivating the Power of Human Capital for 35+ Years! Looking for a way to achieve the 30% you need to become a great leader? " e diff erence between good team leaders and exceptional (ones) is that the extraordinary leaders had really good soft skills," he said. "Once you get the soft stuff right, the hard stuff gets easier. is isn't anything that's a revela- tion. is is stuff your moms and dads taught you when you were fi ve, six years old." Manager-employee critiques work best at a positive-negative comment ratio of fi ve to one, said Elton. "Be specific and sincere," he said. "General praise has no im- pact… e closer the recognition is to the behaviour, the more likely it is to be repeated." And while it's not all unicorns and rainbows, employee engage- ment benefi ts when goodwill is established, said Elton. " e more you do it, it's what you become, and that's what cul- ture is. It's who you are," he said. "You know how to do this. e more you do this, the better you become at it." Transformation often comes down to the smallest interactions, said Elton. "Everybody has the big things," he said. " e diff erence between good and extraordinary? It's the little things and it always will be." Make praise specifi c, sincere APPRECIATION < pg. 16

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