Comments

‘Pleasant, caring, engaged’ – thank you - I think these 3 words should be the first three words on every Job Description in every organisation from a CEO right up to a Floor Cleaner. So why aren’t they? This stuff is sooooooooooo simple ….. And yet there will no doubt be arguments that it is more complicated than I (and unless I’m mistaken Tom Peters) is suggesting. For crying out loud it is SIMPLE!

Posted by Trevor Gay at June 2, 2008 6:27 PM

I'm 'pleasant, caring, engaged', my wife tells me, until the deadline nears. Then I become single-mindedly fanatical. And the job gets done on schedule and under budget. The customer is delighted. Am I wrong?

Posted by Mike L. at June 2, 2008 10:19 PM

Anytime the masses are not doing something that is believed to be really simple, there is a reason for it. The mere fact that it is not being done, may point to the fact that it is not simple, or it would be done. The flip side of this argument, however, could be the fact that it is simple is the reason it is not done. I also understand the necessity of many to overinflate processes, instead of creating lean ones, to address problems. But this is not really simple in that thought processes are difficult to change. This makes what appears to be simple, quite complicated.

I remember a post and discussion here where TP talked about checklists in hospitals that could make the difference in spreading diseases. Yes, this idea is simple. Yet, it wasn't being done. Even when it comes to saving lives what is considered simple is not being done. What does this say? We need to address mind-sets and apply processes to change what is relevant to people first and processes next.

The pleasant, caring and engaged are all empathy gauges. I often silently ask myself walking down the street, waiting in line, heading to a meeting, or in a dispute...where are you? It's all a heart thing, no matter the department or the job. It's a heart thing that connects to what we do that matters. Our heart may very well be our best gauge. There is a saying that says "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." Being pleasant, caring and engaged may come out of the heart, spoken with our mouths, and enacted by our deeds.

If we change our hearts, what appears simple may in deed be.

Posted by Judith Ellis at June 2, 2008 11:36 PM

Pleasant,,,Caring,,.Engaged...

This is a solution to one of the biggest "hidden costs in doing business. Turnover! From the hard costs of locating and hiring folks into the door to re-training to the soft costs of it's effects on lost productivity while slots are vacant and the never ending learning curve on product/service quality and delivery...turnover is expensive. Pleasant, caring, and engaged leaders would be a terrific first step toward building a world culture based on trust and teamwork. This is an infinitely essential leadership skill that should be assessed in multiple ways. Link that bonus to employee retention and see how attitudes and behaviors change...and performance...productivity...profitability. This stuff is simple if you like people and can keep the ego under control.

I like the words of Admiral James B. Stockdale Medal of Honor winner and a Vietnam POW for 7 AND 1/2 years, "What we need for leaders are men of the heart who are so helpful that they, in effect, do away with the need of their jobs. But leaders like that are never out of a job, never out of followers. Strange as it sounds, great leaders gain authority by giving it away." And to give him his props...please note that the sentiment expressed in that last line is the cornerstone of one Mr. Trevor Gay's belief in leading front liners. The destination is simple...for those who like people and have no ego. Maybe that's the complicated part?

Posted by Dave Wheeler at June 2, 2008 11:43 PM

"Being pleasant, caring and engaged may come out of the heart, spoken with our mouths, and enacted by our deeds. If we change our hearts, what appears simple may in deed be."

Simply and beautifully put Judith! Those three things are indeed the cornerstone of trust and credibility. The foundation that excellence is built upon.

Posted by Dave Wheeler at June 2, 2008 11:50 PM

Dave and Judith - an excellent exchange. I recall being 'accused' by more senior managers than me of allowing my heart to rule my head too often when I worked in the ‘rat race’ - ‘one upmanship’ 'point scoring' world of corporate healthcare. I plead 100% guilty and that’s probably one of the main reasons I never got to be a chief executive - even though I had ambition to be a CEO in those days 15 years ago. Nowadays and looking back I realise I was sooooo RIGHT to stick to my passionately held view that management and leadership is ONLY about people. And people are emotional. And people need to be first of all cared for. That comes from the heart. I now see it as a huge compliment that I allowed my heart to rule my head all those years ago. I don’t intend to change my style.

Excuse me please … I am in a somewhat reflective mood this week because on Sunday Annie and I met two fantastic people at our church. We met a really nice man about my age, maybe a year or two older, who is just coming to the end of a difficult course of Chemotherapy for Liver Cancer following re–emergence of the Cancer after a successful operation for Bowel Cancer 8 years ago. We then met a woman whose husband died suddenly of a heart attack 3 weeks ago when on business in Barcelona – he was 51. That's 4 years younger than me!! Both of this people who have been directly affected by personal tragedy (by most people's definition) STILL have the utmost and passionate faith in God …Amazing … These are the inspiring people in my life. These are the sorts of discussions that so helpfully remind me about the RELATIVE importance of business, management, leadership and all that sort of trivial stuff in the grand scheme of things. And the brilliant news is God is holding those people so close through their grief and anxiety.

Posted by Trevor Gay at June 3, 2008 3:54 AM

Dave...what beautiful words! Thank you so much. What I believe to be heart issues must also be governed by other crucial matters such as protocol, preparation, and impactful thinking, the kind that produces change. The heart without these things can also be misguided, adding to complications instead of diminishing them.

Posted by Judith Ellis at June 3, 2008 5:40 AM

Along with the above crucial matters must also be wisdom and understanding. In fact, these two are the most important things. Wisdom determines what needs to be done; understanding guides how and when it should be done. Embedded in these are protocol, preparation, and impactful thinking. Wisdom and understanding are the greatest gauges of the heart which guides pleasant, caring and engaged people.

Posted by Judith Ellis at June 3, 2008 6:12 AM

Need ‘Pleasant, caring, engaged’ people?

Create a ‘Pleasant, caring, engaged’ work environment first.

Then sit back and watch the magic.

Jay, from Bangalore

http://ideaburger.blogspot.com

Posted by Jayakumar Hariharan at June 3, 2008 6:16 AM

I think we're missing something with this focus on pleasant, caring and engaged. It's important but then so is this: competent.

You can be brilliant at your job but without the pc&e bit, you'll struggle (although sometimes you'll get by). You can be lousy at your job and even if you've got the pc&e bit, after a while you'll struggle.

This also highlights the fact that the employee brings the pc&e bit to the party and the employer trains in the competency. So, I propose: pleasant, caring, engaged and competent.

Posted by Mark JF at June 3, 2008 10:36 AM

Well, Mark I don't at all disagree; and if we were to extend the list by just one more, I'd add curious!

(The catch as you know is that once we add
"competent" then bloody interviewers will spend 99% of they're time on that--and shortchange the others.)

Posted by tom peters at June 3, 2008 10:41 AM

Mark - I believe you are right to bring the word ‘competent’ to the table …. but I believe even more strongly that if employees are treated ‘pleasantly;’ if they are ‘cared for;’ and if they feel ‘engaged’ then the competency is less of an issue because anyone with those aspects as ‘givens’ in the organisation will soon realise they are in the wrong place. I’ve always been in the camp that says we should recruit for attitude and train for skills rather than the reverse which has been the traditional ‘way’ for decades if not centuries.

Posted by Trevor Gay at June 3, 2008 10:49 AM

Bravo with the addition of competence and curiosity! Beautiful!

In an interview curiosity can be seen in the eyes and heard in the voice. Competence can be seen on paper but will be soon shown thereafter.

Curiosity seems key, as curious people seem to overcome incompentencies by far sooner. I might add also that an environment of curiosity needs fostering.

Posted by Judith Ellis at June 3, 2008 11:05 AM

I agree with Tom on this one - 'competent' is Measurable and thus for those HR folks will be emphasized beyond all the others. Further, I would say that all these are emergent from the employee and environment, so are incredibly difficult to gauge ahead of time (if not just impossible). The flexibility and sensitivity of the manager (and on up) is absolutely key for the emergence of these properties in the company (via the employees).

I suppose what I am getting at is that these qualities serve better as a way of telling whether the manager is doing well - are her employees pleasant, engaged, caring, curious and competent? If not, then start looking at the manager.

I suppose I have been saying this because I can see many situations where all these qualities disappear because of bad management, or appear (where it did not exist before) due to excellent management/leadership. That does not mean, naturally, that everyone can always be accommodated in an organization - many times the fit just cannot be made - but it is also the job of the manager to see that and make decisions too.

Posted by Martin Koning-Bastiaan at June 3, 2008 12:45 PM

When reaching for the stars don't forget the flowers at your feet...

take notice of these attributes that are there in your team now?

take five to reflect on who in the current team does this?

Surprise yourself...

Have a lovely day, I am in the UK rain (June used to have sun in my youth!)

Patrick

Posted by Patrick at June 3, 2008 1:50 PM cheap brand pfizer viagra

Now I'm curious ... Why is "competent" measurable, but "pleasant, caring, engaged" is not? W.E. Deming would respond, "because you have formulated an operational definition for "competent", but you have not formulated an operational definition for PCE".
So the challenge from HR to us is "Formulate an operational definition for PCE and then we will screen candidates for it!"

Posted by Mike L. at June 3, 2008 2:26 PM

Brilliant Mike L - Dr Deming as usual is right and so are you. Anything can be measured - all we need is cleverer people than me to draw up the formula.

Posted by Trevor Gay at June 3, 2008 2:52 PM

Okay - how about: HR knows how to measure competent but the others it does not. Or perhaps even: HR thinks that it can measure competent but has no idea of how to measure the others. But the reality is actually worse than that. Many times HR advises managers ONLY to ask pertinent job performance questions and avoid anything that could be constituted as a personal question. So judge competence IN EXCLUSION of any other qualities, lest you get tarred with prejudice.

Measurement is inherently reductive. The danger of statistics is understanding WHAT you are measuring and then what that MEANS for an organization. As such, it cannot replace thought and judgment. As Deming would doubtless agree, statistics are nothing without analysis. But I don't think he ever would have said that statistical methods are applicable to individuals. Systems, aggregates, sure - but individuals? I'll leave you with one of the great man's quotes:

"The most important things cannot be measured"

Posted by Martin Koning-Bastiaan at June 3, 2008 3:27 PM

"Hands On"

Jay, from Bangalore
http://ideaburger.blogspot.com

Posted by Jayakumar Hariharan at June 3, 2008 9:05 PM

Pleasant, Caring, Engaged: This is Barack Obama! Yes, We Can! This is change we can believe in!

Posted by Judith Ellis at June 3, 2008 9:44 PM

At first I was tempted to tag along with the criticisms of HR and interviewers, until I realised: isn't interviewing for your team far too important to be left to the HR people? Read the letters and cv's: if one looks interesting then you should meet the person face-to-face and not delegate something this important.

Posted by Mark JF at June 4, 2008 2:22 AM

Mark - absolutely. I completely agree. I was hiring a couple months ago and told HR not to screen at ALL - send me everything you get and I will do the rest. Some of the strongest candidates would never have got through HR. Eclectic candidates get weeded out quickly - but many times that is exactly what you want!

Posted by Martin Koning-Bastiaan at June 4, 2008 8:58 AM