Rosie the Riveter was right when she proclaimed, “We can do it!” The year was 1941 and Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, deploying thirteen million men overseas. Suddenly, millions of jobs were vacant. Uncle Sam created a campaign, featuring Rosie the Riveter, to draw women into the workplace. This fictitious woman drew six million real women into jobs that supported the war effort. Women were not only domestic divas, they became successful hard workers.

In 1945, the war ended and men wanted their jobs back. Employers laid-off the women or put them in lower paying jobs. So there she was, in her shirt-waist dress and pearls, with her vacuum once again. (Picture Father Knows Best and Leave It to Beaver.)  Fast forward a few years and even with a law degree from Harvard, Sandra Day O’Connor had a difficult time finding a job as an attorney.

The 1960s were memorable. Women fought gender discrimination and made headway. John F. Kennedy created The Commission on the Status of Woman to investigate the unfair treatment of women at work.  The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was also created for similar reasons. The Women’s Liberation Movement flourished. NOW, the National Organization for Women was formed and a book like The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan was published, demanding equal rights for women in the workplace. Women were winning.

Women pursed higher education in the 1970s and 80s. By 1977, 50 percent of all undergraduates were women. Then, they jumped into the banking industry: women held 39 percent of all financial and management positions by the early 80s. In the 90s, more women became politicians. The first female US Secretary of State, Madeline Albright, negotiated peace with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor became a Supreme Court Justice, while Dianne Feinstein and Barbra Boxer became the first female senators. From banking to politics, women did it – like Rosie said they would.  

By 2007, there were a huge number of women in the workforce, though still earning less than men. But there is hope. The gap is narrowing. A woman’s potential today is limitless; she has a rolodex of role models to emulate– Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama and Meg Whitman– although still not enough at the higher levels in corporations. Ambitious American women are doing diapers, dishes and million dollar deals – all in a day’s work. Yet freedom invites new challenges: How can a woman safeguard her sanity juggling a family and a career?  

 Next: The Price of Being Everything to Everybody

(Adapted from Women Driven to Success: Overcoming the Everything to Everybody Syndrome to be published in 2012)

Over the coming weeks and months, I’ll be sharing my findings from the interviews, as well as strategies and tools for women and their organizations.

Onto the business case…

In an article in the Harvard Business Review titled “Managing Diversity” by David Thomas and Robin Ely, the authors stated that, until recently, many organizations concerned themselves with diversity because discrimination is morally and legally wrong. With the working population projected in the next few years to be 70% minority and 48% female, these same organizations are beginning to believe that diversity is good for business.

In a January 21, 2011 conversation with Ernst & Young Chairman and CEO, James Turley, MuhtarKentdescribed The Coca-Cola Company’s global leadership strategy and why it pays off so well

James Turley asked: How might a company’s failure to lead inclusively hurt its competitiveness — in the short and long term?

MuhtarKentresponded: If you’re behind in this regard today, you’re already at a disadvantage. Once a culture of exclusion has been established, it can be hard to change, and that’s detrimental to your long-term talent development and competitiveness.

Zeroing-in on the almost half of the workforce becoming female, organizations have a leaky pipeline as described in the 2011 Wall Street Journal Special Report, Unlocking the full potential of women in the U.S. economy. There is still such a disparity in the number of female leaders compared to the number of male leaders.

What are the critical stages for women in their careers?

• Stage 1:   Young women enter workforce with confidence. They are hired because of competence. Like many others, they want a promotion. They are career focused. A major objective is to learn the unwritten rules.
•  Stage 2:   These women have now gotten a promotion and are still career oriented. At this stage, they begin to question their careers and want to find the appropriate identity. They are looking for role models and to figure out how to bring their whole self to work.
• Stage 3:   At this stage, women begin to see life in the context of more than work; it is work in the context of life. They become more task focused so they can focus at home. Many of these women tend to skip career enhancing activities, like after hours networking. In fact, the first 100 days after having a baby have been found to be the most critical in terms of whether women get back into work or leave. This stage is the most critical for women and their organizations.
• Stage 4:   This stage is the senior leader level. Only 10% of original 50% of women that were hired as first-line supervisors are becoming leaders at this level. There are few role models. Women question whether they want to pay the price to have the job. For many women, it is a question of confidence, “Can I do what it takes to be successful in the job?”
• Stage 5: This stage is the Board level. There are plenty of statistics that support the very small number of women at the Board level. Women need to understand the role more clearly, the commitment, and what it takes to successfully deliver results.

(Reference: Coaching Women to Lead, Leimon, Moscovici & Goodier)

Next: How women got here: A brief history

Jane S. Goldner, Ph.D. brings her 30 years of internal and external corporate experience and her degrees in counseling and human resource development to coach and counsel high-potential and women leaders.  A  focus of her practice is to help women integrate their multiple roles and define leadership success for themselves.

Gen X bosses view Gen Ys as impatient:

• The threat of terrorism and other uncontrollable events has caused us to live life to the fullest and want it now.
•  I am concerned that paying my dues slowly won’t get me anywhere. I want challenging work now because I need to shine now.
• We have been raised in an age of instant information so it’s only natural that we conduct ourselves with the same expectation.

Gen X bosses view Gen Ys as helpless and hapless (needing trophies, parents writing resumes for their children & moving back in with parents):

• We are simply closer to our parents than other generations. Parents are our mentors. Maybe, some take it to a codependent place.
• I think it is parent and child dependent. I was taught to be an independent person.
• My parents are my heroes. I have little to no problem relying on my parents to help me meet challenges.
• Gen Y is not helpless, however, they are not focused

Gen X bosses view Gen Ys as needy trophy children:

•  Trophies can reinforce productiveness but may be overdone.
• We are competitive because of our parents. We like to bring home recognizable awards that get us the pats on the back.
• Getting trophies and winning have been drilled into our brains.
• The video games we play pit us against each other. We carry that into the workplace and want to win.

Gen X bosses believe that Gen Ys crave constant attention:

• I want coaching and advice. Waiting until my formal review to find out about mistakes makes me mad and limits my success.
• Feedback is a way to “bypass mistakes.”
• I love the idea of receiving feedback from my peers though I am selective about whom I choose to get it from.

Gen X bosses believe that GenYs are disorganized:

• I believe that disorganization can be misinterpreted with the ability to recognize when changes are needed.
• Why should we plan an event when the means of instant communication is readily available?
• Gen Y may be disorganized but the results are there. Shouldn’t the focus be on the results instead of the manner in which the information was retrieved?

Gen X bosses believe that Gen Ys are uncontrollable:

•  I agree because our mindset is not to go through traditional channels to get things done. We are self-empowered.
•  I am not shy by going to the highest authority first with an issue. This approach may be interpreted as brashness.
• Gen Ys think outside the box more, and take more risks. Do you want results or control over employees?

Next: Given these perspectives, what can leaders do to engage Gen Y?

Last post, we talked about leaving a small tire track on the earth’s resources, focusing on sustainable and restorative actions. It is analogous to driving in the HOV lane with multiple folks in your car instead of going solo.

 The large tire track is the flip side of being a good steward of the earth’s resources (small tire track). This tire track has everything to do with recognizing that your business is part of a community system. You won’t get to the next level of success without becoming part of the community in which you operate. How do you give back? Do you provide time for your employees to perform volunteer work? (By the way, some of the best learning experience for development is accomplished through volunteer assignments and it is free development.) Do you partner with a school for tutoring, mentoring or making presentations for career day? Which community organizations do you financially support? There are endless ways you and your business can give to the community.

Cheryl Kortemeier, Executive Director of the Corporate Volunteer Council of Atlanta said, “Strategically designed volunteer programs not only help direct human and financial resources toward causes where they are most needed, but also help improve consumer, employee and stakeholder relations. Now more than ever, companies of all sizes are learning that investing in civic engagement is essential for healthy employees and community as well as a healthy bottom line.”

Some notable examples include Alston & Bird law Firm whose employees work with the Georgia Senior Hotline as well as helping to fight hunger at the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Cisco’s “civic councils” made up of employee “champions” manage the volunteer programs, focusing on education, critical human needs, and community leadership. Cox Enterprises won a project award from the Corporate Volunteer Council of Atlanta for making a park more attractive, safe and sustainable.

Corporate Social Responsibility makes great sense, especially with the coming talent war. Gen Ys are looking for organizations that give back in meaningful ways. Does yours?

Just like many of us are redefining high performance for our cars as we are continually watching gas prices soar, learning more about the effects of emissions on the earth, becoming more attuned to carpooling and driving in the HOV  lane,  so should we be doing the same for our business. What are we taking from the earth to use in our processes? What and where is the waste when we are done? The fact of the matter is the earth is a closed system, so when we say, “The waste goes somewhere,” that “somewhere” is right here.

Identify one of your key processes used in the production of your products or services. Trace the inputs, the throughputs and outputs. I think you will be surprised at how many resources you are using up and the amount of waste at the back-end of the process. Even if you identify a process that is fairly “clean”, you’ll be surprised at what else is being wasted in your company. One CEO of a company sent around an email stating that the company was no longer buying paper clips. The results were amazing. Instead of throwing the clips away after one use, people in his company used them over and over again. Why not? The results were so good that the next email was about rubber bands and so on through all the reusable office supplies. Not only was it a “small tire track” step to take, it saved the company considerable money in their office supply account.

If you’re saying, “Well, we comply with government regulations,” then what you are really saying is that you are being as bad as the law allows. Think about elevating it to “sustainability,” meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Or better yet, ratchet it up one more level to “restorative,” which means putting back more than you take; doing good as well as doing no harm.

Attracting and retaining top-notch employees will become more difficult. It’s one of the chief concerns of most leaders. To attract the right employees, the process must start prior to the search. You have to define the skills and abilities the business needs based on the Core.

Not only do you need people who can work your mission and help your company achieve its vision — you also require individuals who share the values of the business and fit into the culture. More turnover is caused by a person-culture misfit than by a lack of skills and abilities. You need to clearly define the skills and abilities for the position but also create questions around the culture of your company. Then hire according to those needs and culture fit.

Once hired, the retention process begins the first day the employee arrives. There are two types of initial processes that build retention: 1) the “on-boarding” process that is designed to jumpstart relationship building and provide formal and informal knowledge of the company culture and 2) the “orientation” process that is more administrative in nature, such as the completion of payroll and benefits paperwork.

Each person should understand the “lay of the land” of the company as well as the specifics of the job. Assigning a buddy to the new employee who can explain the way things are organized and done in the company is helpful. An individual’s supervisor or you (if you don’t have layers of leaders) need to clarify the job, discuss expectations, establish objectives and walk through the performance feedback process. One president of a company immediately assigns a new employee to a committee. The assignment serves two purposes: 1) it gets the employee involved right away, meeting others and 2) the employee comes with “fresh eyes” to help solve a company issue.

A key retention factor is the alignment of an individual’s career goals with the company’s goals. Following that, individuals want to be associated with a winning team and believe that things will be great by working for a great company. Just ask the employees of Fortune Magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” or refer to Jim Collins’ examples in his book, Good to Great.

Additionally, two-way ongoing communication is essential for high performance. Employees not only need to know your expectations of them and how they are doing relative to those expectations but also the big business picture and where they fit in — how they contribute.

Lastly, when they meet your expectations, employees need to know that their contributions matter and are appreciated. Recognition gives people pride in their work. Jon Katzenbach in his book, Why Pride Matters More Than Money, states that pride is the powerful motivating force that builds long-term sustainability of companies — it drives people to go the extra mile for high performance. Other authors refer to this practice as getting “ordinary people to do extraordinary things.”

Attracting and retaining employees is critical to getting to the next level of success.

“Our employees are our most important resource.” If I had a dollar for every time I heard a key leader say those words and then treat people as expendable cogs in a wheel, I’d be on my way to a comfortable retirement.

Lou Gerstner, Jr., retired Chairman and CEO of IBM, said that he could lose the buildings, the equipment and other hard resources and survive because all those things can be replaced. If he lost the employees, the business could not survive. Furthermore, Gerstner states that, at the end of the day, your company is nothing more than the collective capacity of your employees to create value. Your employees are the fuel that enables your high performance company to exceed expectations on your off-road journey.

The talent war is coming. Leaders need to pay attention to what attracts and retains key employees. There are approximately 78 million Baby Boomers who will be retiring and approximately only 42 million Gen Xers to fill those vacancies.

Here is a checklist of essentials to fuel your organization with talent to take your business to the next level.

• We have defined the skills, abilities and culture-fit priorities our company needs for success based on our mission, vision, and values.
• We hire according to these established needs.
• We are able to attract and retain the people we need.
• Each employee has individual and team performance objectives that directly relate and contribute to the desired results defined in the strategic framework.
• We have a system in place for ongoing two-way communication with our employees.
• Company and job-relevant information is readily available to our employees.
• There is a system in place for providing ongoing feedback to employees on performance.
• People in the company are rewarded for their performance based on their contributions. (individual, team, and company).

Stay tuned for more discussion on the essentials…

The process for creating and documenting processes (yes, there’s a process for everything) is not difficult. It works in businesses of all sizes. It takes the right people, the right steps and a time commitment. The time commitment will provide a return on investment many times over. Notice we have used the terms “improvement” as well as “innovation.” You want to avoid the trap of getting better and better at doing the wrong thing. For example, Kodak spent time improving the process of making chemical film when it should have been focusing on digital technology. What are you trying to improve that may be “old school?”

For each process design, there should be a team of individuals that include people who currently work in the process, customers of the process (if it is an internal process; some companies do include external customers, as well), and people with creative “fresh eyes” who don’t work in the process. The process steps are:

1. Review the Core of your organization so you can choose the right processes;
2. Document each current process as it is now being done;
3. Identify what is working and what is not working according to the team;
4. Survey and/or interview customers of the process to identify their expectations and perspectives of what is working and not working;
5. Compare the feedback with the team information;
6. Benchmark companies in and outside of your industry who excel at the process;
7. Determine what would work to improve the process in your company, including technology, equipment and facility requirements; (Is innovation rather than improvement needed?)
8. Design the new process.

One of the common issues we run across with existing processes is that too many hands are in the process which allows for too many opportunities for things falling through the cracks. Figuring out who owns the process, the person ultimately responsible and accountable, and the details of how the work should be divided are essential next steps.

One of our clients decided to design their key processes by putting “the smart people” (aka leadership) in a room to figure them out. Several months later, we were called in to create a new initiative for process design using their employees, the people closest to the customers and those people involved in the processes. Do it right the first time so you don’t have to do it over. Using employees creates tremendous buy-in for the final results. Having a process for continuous improvement and innovation responds to customer demand for faster, better and more cost-effective products and services.

One more important note: Process needs should drive technology, not vice versa. Implementing the latest and greatest technology before defining the objectives and criteria of the process results in very expensive technologies with little return on investment.

Two examples come to mind. The first is an organization wanting to improve their performance evaluation system. The staff bought a software program before understanding what they wanted from the new process. The result was an automated system that met nobody’s needs. Second is a company with multiple locations that identified a need for an information management process. Again, the company bought an expensive software program that addressed the symptoms but left the underlying causes of the issue unresolved.

Excerpt from: Driven to Success: A 10-Point Checkup for Achieving High Performance in Business, Jane S. Goldner, PhD

Key business processes are ones which people in a company must excel at to satisfy customers and other stakeholders. Quickly, name the three to five key processes of your company.

Our experience has been that most leaders cannot identify these critical processes or document how they are done. Just like a car manual, a company should also have a “manual” that explains how things work. Documenting is important so that:

1. You have a baseline look at how to continuously improve or innovate by identifying where things are falling through the cracks;
2. When new employees come on board, they are able to go up the learning curve much more quickly rather than guess how you want things done;
3. The processes are performed in a consistent manner regardless of who is involved. In other words, the processes are not employee dependent;
4.  If you grow beyond one location, the processes are repeatable when you are not there to direct them. (Have you ever called three different people in the customer service center of a company trying to resolve the same problem? Point made.)

Some examples of key processes (not necessarily yours) are the sales process, the inventory process, the billing process, the troubleshooting process, and the product and service delivery process. Other client examples include the leadership development process, the knowledge management process and the financial management process. Processes should be customer-focused and employee-enabled. Start by looking at the process through your customers’ (both internal and external) eyes and understanding their expectations. Then, create the process so that employees are able to do their best work.

Michael Hammer, author of Reengineering the Corporation, said that putting smart people in stupid processes makes them stupid. Continuously innovate and improve your processes so they are not “stupid” — leverage the talents of your people, don’t handicap them.

Excerpt from: Driven to Success: A 10-Point Checkup for Achieving High Performance in Business, Jane S. Goldner, PhD

Your high performance car has a dashboard with many indicators: a gas gauge, speedometer and oil pressure light, to name a few. These indicators alert you ahead of time if you are running low on gas, speeding or running low on oil. They are preventative measures that give you control to rectify a pending problem. Your business should have a dashboard with these types of indicators, as well.

While high performance companies are focused on measurable results, relying on financial measures as your only indicator of success is like driving your car by looking through the rear-view mirror; you get an “after the fact” look at the road behind you — too late to act if you are off-course or worse yet, veering off a cliff.

What might your business dashboard look like?

First of all, it has leading as well as lagging indicators. Lagging indicators are “after the fact” measures of success such as return on investment and profitability, your financial metrics. Leading indicators are those measures that give you a peek into the future. They are the ones most like those on your car’s dashboard. They alert you as to whether you are on course and provide opportunities to change the situation, if necessary. Examples of leading indicators include employee satisfaction, innovation, process improvement initiatives and customer satisfaction. (Here’s a hint: Use the customer data that you’ve been collecting on an ongoing basis to inform your metrics.)

Kaplan and Norton, in The Balanced Scorecard, provide an in-depth look at both types of measures. The benefits of using a dashboard are many. It translates your strategies into a measurement system that forces focus on a critical few metrics that reflect your mission and vision. The dashboard provides a focal point for communication of priorities to all employees. Once communicated, employees can determine how they contribute to the big picture, which is very self-motivating, as well as how to use their time. The leading indicators provide feedback and opportunities for learning before the finish line. The dashboard also provides a bench- mark against which all new projects and potential business can be evaluated.

Having a dashboard of metrics is only valuable if you monitor it on an ongoing basis and take prompt action as required. Identifying the measures and checking them at the end of the fiscal year does nothing more than just having financial metrics. Strategic leadership means having a constant pulse on the key indicators. This monitoring can be accomplished with a software program that would provide you with line of sight throughout the business. Coupled with periodic leadership meetings, the dashboard would provide the insight you need to course correct or celebrate successful milestones. If you want to know 1) how your customers view your products and services, 2) what you must excel at in order to continue being successful, 3) how your company can improve and continue to create value and 4) how you look to all your stakeholders, a dashboard of metrics tailored to your business is the answer.

Remember, the financial results are your destination — the lagging indicators. The leading indicators are your best road map to helping you stay on course. With all the off-road driving you need to do in order to be successful, wouldn’t it be helpful to have indicators to alert you to the best course?

Excerpt from:  Driven to Success: A 10-Point Checkup for Achieving High Performance in Business, Jane S. Goldner, PhD