Archives for February 2020

The world’s largest economy has been staggered by the outbreak of a tiny virus but, step by step, China is mobilizing its workforce to return to work and business in face of the pervasive spread of COVID-19.

Cornerstone International Group, with six offices in mainland China and Taiwan, conducted a short online survey this week of 17-21 February among our business partners and friends, to gauge the current status of Back to Business in China.

The data is based on 126 responses to the questionnaire, from Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong and other locations such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong. All of the cities have been affected by the outbreak and many are bearing the brunt of the disruption.

Here is what we learned:

 

Current Status of Work in China

98.4% of companies returned to some form of work this week but only 4.8 % are truly back to normal and fully operational.  Most employees are either working from home or a mixture of some office and home.

The Status of Work Anticipated This Week (Feb. 24-28)

Starting the week of Feb. 24, the government is promoting policies and guidelines on both the prevention and control of the Covid-19 outbreak and on best efforts to resume business and production.

As a result, the survey shows a majority of respondent (73.6%) expect to be back to normal or semi-normal operation during the coming week. (19.2 % fully normal and 54.4% semi-normal).  By March 2, a majority of companies will be returning to normal from semi-normal office mode..

Chinese HR Needs Anticipated In 2020

An ability to doing more with smaller staffs, to expand performance and to engage young leaders are key in the months ahead.  The Cornerstone Survey shows highest response on the need for Performance Improvement Training (40.8%) & Workforce Restructuring Consulting (40.0%).

China Business Survey Conclusions

Be Flexible

In addition to home office and flexible working hours, CEOs will need to empower employees to manage and plan their daily work with freedom to undertake family responsibilities.   Companies already proud of a flexible culture must be even more flexible entering the year of 2020.

Build Up Closer Connections

Provide IT support and solutions to ensure efficient and reliable remote working.  Internally, adopt more timely and transparent communication methods such as WeChat groups, Zoom calls, Go to meetings, etc.  Externally, keep in touch with clients and business partners actively and regularly.

Leaders must actively support any initiatives that could help employees and customers to steer through this crisis together as a partner and friend.

Focus on Human Capital Effectiveness

Many companies in 2020 are focusing on Performance Improvement. Other popular initiatives include Digital and Online training for Crisis Management, Stress Management, Continuous Improvement and Leadership Coaching.

Stay Calm and Reduce the Panic

Set up a CMT (Crisis Management Team) if you do not have one already, to ensure urgent action will be taken when needed. Encourage staff to share their own stories during the outbreak. Psychological assistance may also be needed for special cases.

Boost Morale

Mature Leadership is needed during the crisis to show real caring and encouragement to people and help rebuild their confidence.  Remind colleagues of the old saying “No winter is insurmountable, no spring will not come”

Search Out New Business Opportunity

Times of change are times of opportunity. Conservatively managed  businesses are now forced to make changes and incorporate business activities in new ways and new directions.

Enhance Company Safety System

During this critical period of recovery of production and business in the coming 3-6 months it is important to provide safety training in the plant or office, especially on COVID-19 protection and prevention.

This is also a good time to re-ensure every employee understands the company’s medical insurance policy, fire prevention & control and Employee Assistance Program.

Is leadership changing? The answer is yes, but in application, not in essence.

The essence of leadership can be summed up in three components:

1. VISION (the leader sees what others haven’t yet seen)
2. DECISION MAKING (particularly in selecting people)
3. INSPIRING (helps others to realize their full potential)

These core aptitudes to successfully exercise the leadership role have not changed.  But the manner or techniques of exercising leadership have indeed changed.

In the past, the method of leading could be seen in the image of the Maestro, conducting the output of orchestra members within the confines of a traditionally rigid musical score. A task of Management.

Today’s image of leadership in action is closer to that of a Rock Band Leader, whose role is to allow individual instrumentalists freedom to excel within a loose but harmonious framework. A task of Coordination.

Another difference can be seen in the leader’s motivation.  The pursuit of material rewards such as stock options and status symbols is less prevalent today. Nowadays, the leader is more likely to be seeking meaning and purpose in work which aligns with a sense of personal fulfillment and mission.

The characteristics or qualities that a true leader should have in order to stand out from the crowd have not changed. Valid as much today as in the past, these are:

• Willingness to lead (it is much easier to be led than to lead)
• Desire to excel (the leader is never satisfied with what has already been achieved)
• Charisma (the magnetism that true leaders possess which attracts people to them).

Here’s another way of putting this.  A genuine leader is:

• One who does not know … and asks.
• One who knows … and teaches.
• One who teaches … and practices (Walks the Talk!)

Here are some basic differences that separate an administrator from a true leader :

In truth, Leadership is not a question or function of status, title, inheritance, or of bravado … but rather of credibility, influence, mastery, wisdom, and, especially, attitude.

So exercise your Leadership with Wisdom (the supreme Wealth we have) and with Responsibility (not only duty or obligation, but to respond to your Abilities, that is, to realize your Potential!).

 

START BY BEING A LEADER OF YOURSELF!

Business leaders face the daily choice of how to use the most limited resource available to them: time. Their challenge is to continually lead more effectively and efficiently at higher levels of organizational complexity.

Almost every leader I have met admits that week after week they do some things that someone else on their team could easily do. Their rationale includes not wanting to lose the time it would take to get someone up to speed on the task and often an assumption that they can do it faster and better than anyone else.

That choice to keep doing what another could do keeps them from letting go of the urgent to address the more important. It’s the danger of defaulting to one’s subject matter expertise in operational tactics rather than stepping away from operations to think about strategy.

The strategic role of leadership is to see around the corner—to see what others do not yet see. It demands time away from operations by climbing to that 30,000-foot perspective to discover what’s ahead. It requires the analysis and synthesis of relevant data: the latest information about the industry, the market, the customer, the competition, the vendor, the employee base, and the changes in technology.

Since time is limited, the invitation to every leader is to offload some tasks so they can address more important responsibilities.

It is the “urgent important” dilemma. How do leaders address the conundrum?

Handing Off and Letting Go

Delegation is a handing off process combined with a letting go process. Responsibility (handing off) is an assignment the leader gives to a team member along with accountability for results. Authority (letting go) is the appropriate power a leader gives to a team member to use time and organizational resources to reach a shared outcome.

The return on investment?  The team member gets a stretch assignment that enhances their leadership capacity. The leader frees up time and resources to give attention to strategic issues of greater organizational complexity.

There is a four-step process of getting a team member ready for full responsibility and full authority. When leaders don’t go through all four steps,  it diminishes their ability to lead at higher levels of organizational complexity. It also prevents the development of direct reports through the stretch assignments that are handed off.

And together it keeps the organization from achieving its productivity potential of delivering services or products efficiently and effectively.

Answering the “Who” Question

First, there are four delegation selection questions when a leader is considering which team member is ready for a stretch assignment.

• The Competence Question: Can they do this delegated assignment?

• The Bandwidth Question: Do they have time to do this delegated assignment?

• The Personal Drive Question: Will they successfully complete the delegated assignment?

• The Cultural Fit Question: Will we like them while they do the delegated assignment?

The Delegation Matrix

Developmental delegation is a process that leverages four messages designed to meet team members at each stage of readiness to take on a new responsibility.

• Stage One: Low Responsibility/Low Authority. The leader communicates to the team member, “Come watch me do this.” Then they debrief on what the team member observed.

• Stage Two: High Responsibility/Low Authority. The leader communicates, “Let’s do this together. You help me.” Then they discuss what the team member observed, experienced, and learned.

• Stage Three: Low Responsibility/High Authority. The leader says, “Let’s do this together. This time, I’ll watch you do it.” Then, the leader provides feedback for discussion from what was observed.

• Stage Four: High Responsibility/High Authority. The leader finally says, “Now you do it, and I will be available to support you.” Then, the leader delegates full responsibility and full authority with ongoing review and support.

Delegation Readiness and Stretch Assignments

Recent leadership development research indicates the value of stretch assignments as the optimum approach to move emerging leaders from a talent pool into a leadership development pipeline.

The formula includes four components: microlearning around leadership competencies; coaching conversations around learning application; on-the-job application to develop new leadership habits, skills, and behaviors, and reflection that leads to more learning and new application.

Investing in the development of team members not only frees up the leader to address more strategic concerns, but it contributes to the engagement and retention of your best talent.

It also shapes an organizational culture with a reputation that attracts the best talent in the competitive landscape.

Delegation only happens by choice, never by chance.

 

(Editor:  Dick Daniels is founder of the Leadership Development Group, a Cornerstone Certified Leadership Executive Coach, and a regular contributor to the global blog. This article first appeared on the web pages of the Association for Talent Development)