Field Notes on Leadership and Change

Trust, or more accurately lack of it, has recently been highlighted by our employees as one of the key areas for our organization to address in the 2016 Voice of the Employee report.   This happens to be one of my favorite topics to contemplate, but I have to tell you that I am worried about the direction we are heading.   In a TED Talk entitled Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe , author Simon Sinek says, “The problem with concepts of trust and cooperation is that they are feelings, they are not instructions. I can't simply say to you, ‘Trust me,’ and you will.” Simon Sinek argues great companies make their folks feel safe Many times throughout my career I have felt that my organization asked more of me than I was comfortable giving based on the level of trust I felt.   Because of that, I now work very deliberately to inspire trust in my team, and demonstrate the trust I have in those who work for me.   I interact, I delegate, I give top cover, I prac...

Recently someone at work circulated an interesting article from Forbes magazine entitled, “ Five Signs You’re in Denial About Your BrokenCorporate Culture .”   In the article, author Liz Ryan highlights some symptoms of organizational culture gone awry, including this: “New policies spring up to make it even harder to get anything done.   Suddenly you need a manager’s approval just to get a replacement ID badge or new stapler….”   I think we can all relate to this, and in response to the article someone wondered aloud what would be the impact on our organization's culture and business process if we were to eliminate every self-imposed policy we have in place.   I actually know the answer, and it is not what you might expect. From 2014 to 2016 I served as Chief, Talent Management for a federal government agency with around 9,000 government employees.   This gave me oversight of all recruitment, hiring, and career development process, including implem...