We can see a good many of the characteristics we’ve been talking about in this one example. Marco knew what he was good at and left the skill development to others. He was an aware coach with a well-managed ego. He had spent a great deal of time throughout the year developing trust in his team. He had a clear image of the kind of experience he wanted to create for the players, and told me he met frequently with the parents to engage them and get them on board. He knew confidence could be an issue in the final, when they’d be playing against a team they had never beaten, but he stuck to his values and gave everyone a chance to play. Finally, at a critical moment, he gave each player an image of himself as “the one to make a difference.” He believed in them, and in the end they believed in themselves. In all likelihood, none of these players will ever go on to play in the National Hockey League, but with great coaching all the kids and their families had a major-league experience.
Developmental Bias: The Business Case
If you don’t have kids and aren’t involved in coaching recreational sports, at this point you may be thinking to yourself, “Why was this book in the business section?” Don’t panic. I spend 95 percent of my time working with managers from across North America, and I can assure you that what follows was developed for, and applies directly to, your world.
So, why might this developmental bias be so important for your situation right now? What are your folks going through that might make the five characteristics of a strong developmental bias an important tool in managing them? We’ve asked hundreds of managers this question in our corporate training workshops and looked at the research. While we’ve received thousands of different answers, they can largely be grouped into five categories of required adaptation.
Demographics
If this one surprises you, you are likely living in either a research outpost or 1985. From 2005 to 2025, the number of people of working age (15 to 64) will fall by 9 percent in Canada, 5 percent in the United States, and 4 percent in the United Kingdom. By 2010, 50 percent of the management workforce will be eligible for retirement.
The time of being able to take it for granted that workers will simply appear when you need them to fill a key position is long gone. In “Make Your Company a Talent Factory” (Harvard Business Review, June 2007), Douglas A. Ready and Jay A. Conger note that they have worked with numerous companies that have “been forced to pass on hundreds of millions of dollars of new business because they didn’t have the talent to see their growth strategies through to fruition.”
The other side of the demographics coin is a company’s capacity to appeal to, and retain, the so-called Gen-Y employees. These workers place a high value on development. They expect developmental opportunities and are willing to switch jobs in order to get them.
If you focus on development you’ll increase the likelihood of retaining the employees who are key to your future success.
Emotional Health
The mental side of health has recently become a prominent issue for HR departments in all levels of business. With mental health claims representing 75 percent of short-term and 79 percent of long-term disability claims, the cost of ignoring the emotional state of employees is massive: $3.5 billion annually in Canada for stress-related absences alone.
The most important variable in the mental health equation is the relationship employees have with their direct supervisor. Managers who focus on development using the five characteristics of a strong developmental bias send a message to their employees that they are valued, that their voices are heard, and that they will be given opportunities to use their talents and improve. This directly addresses many of the key sources of workplace stress, including the most important: a perceived lack of control.
Moreover, if employees feel valued and cared for, they will value and care for their colleagues, customers and teammates. Just as stress promotes stress, so too does caring promote more caring.
Performance Expectations
Simply put, last year’s numbers won’t do this year. The competitive climate often requires departments and individuals to hit ever-higher targets with smaller budgets and fewer resources. The reality is that the only sustainable way to accomplish this is to focus on making the people you rely on produce better results.
The “Hallmarks of Leadership Success” report by the Corporate Leadership Council stressed that “above all else, top-tier leadership organizations are distinguished by their cultures of development. Central to these cultures are senior executives and managers who believe in employee development and act on these beliefs.”
An article entitled “Executive Coaching as a Tool: Effects on Productivity in a Public Agency,” published in Public Personnel Management, showed that training increases performance by 22 percent, but training combined with coaching increases performance by 88 percent.
Constant Change
Change is accelerating. With time-to-market shrinking, and many products being beaten to market by their own knockoffs, the ability to respond quickly and decisively to changes in the competitive landscape and to competitors’ moves is widely acknowledged as a critical organizational competency. The only way to build this capability at an organizational level is to deal more effectively with change at the individual level. That means less “foot-dragging” and being on board sooner. And yet, this ability to adapt to change isn’t something that can be accomplished by sending everyone to a workshop, seminar or conference; it needs to be built up slowly and thoughtfully through a one-to-one relationship between aware managers and their people.
Your Own Third Factor as Coach, Leader or Parent
So far, we’ve been focused on the “other person,” but what about you and your Third Factor? In reality this book is all about my trying to ignite your Third Factor, about getting you interested in developing or expanding your developmental bias. What’s in that for you? I am always surprised in our workshops at how focused the managers are on their organization and on their people. It is rare that leaders mention what’s in it for them. I like to emphasize how satisfying it is for leaders to take on a developmental bias. It is much more fulfilling to develop people than to manage or supervise them. You are, in effect, leaving a legacy.
The Bottom Line
Improving your people will result in payoffs in the five areas above, as well as directly to your organization’s bottom line. According to the McKinsey report “War for Talent 2000,” “A-level performers deliver a 50 to 100 percent advantage over average performers in productivity, quality and revenue.”
Join the “A” Team
There are leaders with a strong developmental bias everywhere, identifiable by their demonstrated belief in developing others and engaging with them, not managing them, supervising them or controlling them. They recognize that each individual is in charge of himself or herself, and that their job is to create an environment where each performer will focus on that personal commitment and grow. They make a significant difference in the lives of others and, by extension, the significant others in that other person’s life.
Editor: Okay. I’m a bit clearer on the whole concept of developmental bias, its connection to the Third Factor, and its applicability to the world of work. When do we get to the “how to do it” stuff?
Author: Soon. The next chapter covers the communication skills that are essential in coaching others. Then we’ll cover the five areas and finish with a summary. In Appendix B we’ll outline the difficult task of confronting when things aren’t going well.
Editor: I thought confronting was part of communication.