ktylerconk

Some years ago I was hired to turn around a failing hospitality organization.  Upon my arrival, leaders from the company that owned this entity as well as board members told me that the staff was the problem and counseled me to clean house and start fresh with a new team.  And it didn’t take long to find a dispirited group of people with low motivation and initiative.  Many had been there for years and had grown expert in protecting their jobs.  Others were going through the paces trying hard not to lose their jobs.  I could see nonsensical practices and behaviors everywhere.  No decisions were being owned and made.  All decisions, no matter how trivial were coming up the chain of command and landing on my desk.  It was no wonder that the job was a heart attack waiting to happen for the leader.  But I suspected that the problem was not the people per se, but the culture that had been allowed to develop over the years.  I felt that the people fundamentally cared about the place, its mission, and it customers and that they were inhibited by dysfunctional cultural and organizational habits from doing their jobs properly.

I also realized that I couldn’t go “command and control” on them. That was what they had already experienced over and over, and they were beaten down.  I realized that I couldn’t just preach a big vision to them.  They’d heard all that before as well.  And I could see that the level of mistrust that they had for me, sight unseen, was huge.  They were afraid that I would be harsh and even fire them.  We’ve all seen puppies that have been abused and how they behave.  Well, this was an abused puppy culture.

There are too many things to recount all that were done to lead this culture to a transformation and profitability, but let me share with you five things that come readily to mind.

First, I met individually with every single person – mainly one on one.  There were about 150 people that worked there.  For the senior manager and supervisors, I scheduled an hour.  For most it was 30 minutes.  And for part-time people, I met them in small groups.  I went morning, noon, and night for two weeks.  I wanted to meet people and learn about them, their backgrounds, their history, their concerns.  I asked questions.  Took notes.  But what I was doing was listening. Some were nervous and fearful.  I worked to drive out fear.  Others were angry.  I listened and absorbed that anger.  Others were eager with new ideas. I embraced those.  Needless to say, as an introvert, I was exhausted when this was over, but I had filled a notebook with notes, and begun to create a relational bridge to everyone.  I was learning the pulse of the organization.  I was beginning to see the patterns.

I repeated this every six months for two years.  And in that time I saw a remarkable change in the culture as trust, respect, openness, and security developed.  I just listened.  I listened as an act of respect for every person.  I didn’t go through the motions of listening only so that I could have an excuse to tell people what I was thinking.  Too many were expecting that sort of hidden agenda. I had to listen honestly.

I realize some organizations are too large to do this, but work out your equivalent.  And if you are not leading a whole organization, then focus on your sphere of responsibility.

When you think about this in terms of how God interacts with us in the dysfunctional culture of this world, He listens, inviting us to pour out our hearts to Him, to bring to Him our fears and anxieties, our hopes and dreams.  I learned that the first leadership act toward a changed culture is to listen and build bridges of trust and love that are strong enough to bear the weight of truth that will cross that bridge later.

Second, I took on as many of  the roles as I could in the operation for at least a day. A hospitality operation goes 24/7 and 365.  It’s easy for  management to fall into an 8-5, Monday to Friday routine.  But much of the work and interaction with customers occurred outside that 8-5 world.  And a lot of the functions were invisible.  So I began a routine of showing up in the wee hours of the morning as the kitchen was getting fired up for the day to be with the kitchen staff.  I’d interact with security people late at night.  I’d help close down the dining room late in the evening.  I would go to the laundry and fold sheets.  I’d help clean rooms.

This was doing several things.  It was giving me an in-depth understanding of the operation.  It was also communicating to people  that I really appreciated and valued what they were doing.  It helped me to see what they were struggling with, pointing out the woeful resources they had to work with.  And I heard their ideas.

Morale improved, but so did operational effectiveness because now I could see what needed to be done to improve the systems and the resources.  It also broke my heart because I began to see that these dear people were not the rotten apples that I’d been told that they were, but that they were very committed and faithful people who were working under unbelievably unacceptable conditions.

To take this back to the biblical perspective, God did not “lead” from afar.  But the Scriptures point out that He took on the form of us humans and lived among us.  He endured what we endured. He is a faithful and merciful “leader” because He understands first hand what it’s like.

So, leaders, do you really know what it’s like to work in your organization?  That’s the genius behind programs like Undercover Boss.  And please, don’t make this a patently ceremonial or photo-op sort of visit like we see politicians doing who don hard hats or helmets.  Authentically connect.

Third, I kept responsibility firmly where it needed to be by not  condoning incompetence. What do I mean by this?  Previous leaders had instilled a very top-down, authoritative structure. People were afraid of making the wrong decision. And so every conflict, challenge, or uncertainty was brought to me for a decision.  The people began lining up in the morning to ask me what to do, and the phone never stopped ringing with requests.  I realized that this would kill me eventually.  What was happening was a massive upward delegation of all responsibility to me.  Now some executives revel in being the know-it-all, totally in command leader, but I realized that a business that operated 24/7 and 365 could not function that way.  And I couldn’t have a management team that was not competent to handle what they faced.

Here’s what I did.  I instituted a process called “completed staff work.”  If a manager came to me and said, “What should I do?”  I would, first, determine if that decision was legitimately mine or if he was bringing me his problem to solve.  If it was the latter, I would ask them to come back when they had:

1. Clearly defined the problem
2. Developed options for the solution
3. Selected a recommended option with reasons behind that choice

Now when the manager interacted with me, I could see how they were thinking, how they made judgments and decisions.  If the issue was not defined well, I’d ask questions to help them think through the issue.  If they had not thought of good solutions, I’d ask questions that would open a path to better solutions.  And as I listened to their recommendation, if it was good, then I’d give them immediate approval to go ahead.  Otherwise, they would have to go back and think some more before returning.  Over time, I found myself just needing to give quick approval as they became more competent and confident.

After about a year, the lines outside the door had disappeared and the phone became quiet.  I began to hear of issues being resolved, and resolved well, without my immediate involvement.  When I would ask why I wasn’t involved, they would reply that it was their responsibility to take care of the issue.  The team had learned what their responsibilities were.  And the process had built in them the ability and confidence to handle the responsibility well.  The completed staff work process had taught them how to think about what they did.  They became a responsible and competent management team.

Part Two describes the next two things that leaders can do to turn around a dysfunctional culture as well as the surprise conclusion to the turnaround story.