I well remember as a young bank clerk many years ago, sitting at my desk one morning. Around me were the sounds of hustle and bustle of a busy office – people were sipping their coffee (in those days it was instant!) opening the mail (ah, for the days before email!) and telling of the events of last evening or their trip to work that morning. As a morning person, it was my best time of the day when I was at my most positive, creative and effective best, so I had my head down and bum up. Time later for relaxing. Suddenly, the air was split with an earth shattering yell. My usually very quiet, reserved manager, had come out of his office, red in the face and yelling “Who did this?” Everyone stopped dead. When he recovered enough to tell us what the “this” was, I discovered to my horror that it was obviously something that I had done that had upset him. Apparently, I had made a blunder that would impact one of our best customers most unfavourably. I very tentatively, put my hand up “Mm, mm, mm, me, Sir”, I managed to stammer. “Into my office, now!” he replied.

By the time we had both sat down in his office, he had recovered his composure somewhat. To my great surprise, he started the conversation with “Bob, I really appreciate your honesty in admitting to this mistake. I am very disappointed that it has happened, but with some luck, we can probably correct it. Thank you for owning up to your mistake so readily”.

That experience for me was bitter sweet and obviously long lasting. It certainly had a major impact on my later mode of operating when I became a manager. On the one hand, I was mortified to have made such a stupid mistake yet on the other hand, I had really felt good and upbeat about the way it had been handled. I thought of that experience as I read an article in the Herald Tribune this week (Jan 3, 2007) titled “2 of 5 bosses don’t keep their word”. The article reported on a soon to be released study in The Leadership Quarterly that found that by and large, many bosses today are dishonest with and about their workers. The study specifically pointed out some damming evidence reported by workers about the honesty of their bosses:

• 39% said their supervisors had failed to keep promises.
• 37% said their supervisors had failed to give credit when due.
• 31% said their supervisors had given them the “silent treatment” in the past year.
• 27% said their supervisors had made negative comments about them to other employees or managers.
• 24% said their supervisors had invaded their privacy.
• 23% said their supervisors had blamed others to cover up mistakes or to minimise embarrassment.

Florida State University, the authors of the report, suggest that such dishonesty creates problems for companies such as poor morale, lower production and higher turnover. These results confirm my own research in interviews and focus groups with managers and their employees over the last twenty years. I too found that the major reason why people leave an organisation is because of poor management and leadership. People don’t leave a company, they leave their boss!

What may surprise some readers is that the Florida State study also confirmed many earlier studies about the relationship between pay and turnover. It found that a good working environment is more important than pay and that “employees were more likely to leave if involved in an abusive relationship than if dissatisfied with pay.

My own research also throws up two other factors of note:

• People join a company because of the excitement or enticement of an interesting job.
• People stay in a company because of the values they share with their fellow workers (assuming of course, that they have good management).

So, where does that leave today’s managers? And, most importantly, what does it suggest for companies who want to boost morale, increase productivity and decrease staff turnover?

I suggest there are three answers to this question on which every employer should focus in the relationship with his or her workers, whether he or she be the CEO or a new supervisor.

1. Make sure pay and conditions are appropriate for the job and industry; and that they are fair and equitable. This removes one of the stumbling blocks to effective employee morale and satisfaction.

2. Ensure that the job provides the employee with the ability to gain:

• a sense of real achievement for the work that they do
• recognition for what they achieve – regular “thank you’s” and notes of appreciation go a long way
• responsibility and even increased responsibility for what they do – make sure they are able to make decisions regarding their area of responsibility without having to “upwardly delegate”
• from a job that has real interest and meaning for them
• advancement and development, either by way of career progression, professional or personal development.

Remember, people join a company because of the excitement of the job. It is up us as managers to do whatever we can to keep that excitement level high.

3. Above all, be honest in what you say and do. A true manager’s mantra should be “Do as I do”, not “Do as I say”. People leave a company because of poor leadership and management. I have found that people will accept mistakes if we are open about them. They will not accept cover ups. The foundation for effective leadership and management is honesty. These are qualities that everyone values.

So, where have all the honest managers gone? I have no “amazing* research to provide the answers (although it would make an interesting study). However, I will suggest that:

• Honesty, particularly in western society, is in decline generally due to the emphasis on individualism not community. We have become a “Me too” society, where material and personal gain are valued above the good of the community. Every day one reads in the press or hears on the TV some new “revelation” about a cover up, lack of integrity, or just plain dishonesty that has led to yet another major commercial or international disaster.

• Organisations, particularly since the late 80′s, have spent an inordinate amount of time and resources on boosting the job “satisfiers” (as Frederick Herzberg called them) – pay and conditions at the expense of the true “motivators” – achievement, recognition, responsibility, meaningful and interesting work, and growth and advancement. The result? When material gain becomes the all consuming and overt goal pursued by organisations (such as maximum shareholder returns and exorbitant senior manager benefits) over intrinsic basic human motivators, managers will do almost anything to “cover their bums” so that their extrinsic rewards are maintained.

Am I being too harsh on today’s managers? I’d appreciate your thoughts, opinions, comments and stories. I wonder how many of today’s managers would take the same approach as my old manager when faced with a similar situation to that of “my mistake”?

Copyright (c) 2007 The National Learning Institute

Bob Selden is passionate about developing leadership and management within organisations. He also works with individual managers in their personal development as a part time faculty member on the leadership development programs at the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne and the Australian Graduate School of Management, Sydney. He’d like to hear your thoughts on leadership development via the National Learning Institute

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Tags: business, ethics, corporate, responsibility, managers

Have you ever met a fairly smart person and then watch their activities in business and just wanted to puke? It certainly gives entrepreneurship a bad name. Indeed, it makes me sick to my stomach. Why do they stoop so low? Well it appears that they do it because it works and that there is a sucker born every minute and rather than having a little integrity and ethics they simply get down to the lowest common denominator and take people’s money.

But why do they do it; that is to say; Why Do Intelligent Internet Entrepreneurs Get Involved in Such Sleazy Stuff? I know for a fact that they do not have too, they are smart enough to figure out a better way and yet will not? It is such a shame to see bright people do this and it makes all business people look bad. It puts a tarnished image on the business community and makes an already skeptical public even more weary. And some of the hype marketing out there is utterly ridiculous.

My theory is that folks are just lazy, both rich and poor, smart or foolish; humans are just trying to get by with minimal effort. It is amazing anyone would want to have a human as an associate or friend. I certainly hope this article is of interest and that is has propelled thought. The goal is simple; to help you in your quest to be the best in 2007. I thank you for reading my many articles on diverse subjects, which interest you.

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance. Lance is an online writer in retirement.

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Managers can be cool, right? Right! Especially business, non-profit, public entity and association managers who combine a sound public relations strategy with effective communications tactics leading directly to the bottom line–perception altered, behavior modified, employer/client/member objective achieved.

If you don’t as yet fall into that category, you may be interested in embracing the notion of doing something positive about the behaviors of the very outside audiences that MOST affect your operation.

The result might be a surprise as you start to persuade your key external audiences to your way of thinking, then move them to take actions that allow your department, group, division or subsidiary to succeed.

But why be surprised when all that is required is a first class plan, a plan that will get each of your team members and organizational colleagues working towards the same external stakeholder behaviors?

Actually, I wouldn’t be approaching the subject this way if there wasn’t such a plan especially designed to keep a manager’s public relations effort “on message:” for example, people act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is usually accomplished.

We’re fortunate that we won’t have to wait long for results to appear. For instance, capital givers or specifying sources looking your way; prospects starting to work with you; customers making repeat purchases; improved relations with government agencies and legislative bodies; a rebound in showroom visits; membership applications on the rise; new thoughtleader and special event contacts; new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; fresh community service and sponsorship opportunities; and even stronger relationships with the educational, labor, financial and healthcare communities.

The way in which you use your PR staff will impact your success as a manager. Will you use your regular public relations staff? People assigned to you from above? Or will it be PR agency staff? Regardless, they must be committed to you as the senior project manager, and to the PR blueprint starting with key audience perception monitoring.

It would be a good idea at this time to satisfy yourself that team members really believe that it’s crucially important to know how your most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. Be certain they buy the reality that perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can help or hurt your unit.

Another good idea is a review of the PR blueprint with staff. In particular your plan for monitoring and gathering perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. Questions like these: how much do you know about our organization? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the exchange? How much do you know about our services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?

While costly, outside survey counsel can be used in the perception monitoring phases of your program. But keep in mind that your PR people are also in the perception and behavior business and can pursue the same objective: identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions and any other negative perception that might translate into hurtful behaviors.

The most harmful issues turned up during your key audience perception monitoring will demand that you do something about them. This will turn out to be your new public relations goal calling, for example, for straightening out that dangerous misconception, or correcting that gross inaccuracy, or stopping that potentially fatal rumor.

If you are to be successful in achieving your new PR goal, you will need a solid strategy to back it up. One that clearly indicates to you and the PR staff how to proceed. But remember that there are just three strategic options available to you when it comes to handling a perception and opinion challenge. Change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. The wrong strategy pick will taste like liver-stuffed ravioli. So, be certain the new strategy fits well with your new public relations goal. Obviously, you don’t want to select “change” when the facts dictate a “reinforce” strategy.

Now, because persuading an audience to your way of thinking is not easy, those PR folks of yours must come up with words that are not only compelling, persuasive and believable, but clear and factual. Only in this way will you be able to correct a perception by shifting opinion towards your point of view, leading to the behaviors you are targeting.

Your public relations staff can regularly reevaluate the message to reconfirm that it’s up to snuff and really persuasive. Next, you’ll want to select the communications tactics most likely to carry that message to the attention of your target audience. There are scores of available tactics. From speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others. Just be certain that those you pick are known to reach folks just like your audience members.

More often than you might guess, the credibility of the message itself can actually depend on the perception of its delivery method. So, you may decide to kick off the corrective message by unveiling it before smaller gatherings rather than using higher-profile tactics such as news releases.

It’s also advisable to schedule a followup perception monitoring session with members of your external audience. You and your PR people should plan another visit to the field where you can gather comparative data for use in producing progress reports. You’ll want to use many of the same questions used in the benchmark session. Only this time, you will be watching very carefully for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction.

Things can always slow down. So be ready to accelerate matters with more communications tactics and increased frequencies.

What you’ve now accomplished is simply this. You’ve moved beyond tactics like special events, brochures, broadcast plugs and press releases to achieve the very best public relations has to offer.

And what makes it REALLY interesting is combining a sound public relations strategy supported by effective communications tactics leading directly to the bottom line –perception altered, behavior modified, employer/client/member objective achieved.

Robert A. Kelly © 2006.

Please feel free to publish this article in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website.

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Tags: pr, executive, managers, firm, corporate

As a business, non-profit, government agency or association manager, are you satisfied with using a collection of communications tactics to move a message from one point to another. You know, creating print and broadcast exposures? Publicity, if you will?

No problem, if that’s all you believe you really need. But, have you ever thought about pulling out all the PR stops to help achieve your unit’s managerial objectives?

I mean, you COULD do something really significant about those important outside audience behaviors that MOST affect the department, group, division or subsidiary unit you manage.
Then take advantage of the perception levels you’ve achieved as those key external audiences of yours become persuaded to your managerial way of thinking.

And, for that matter, once you’ve persuaded a number of members of that key external audience to your views on the issue in question, watch their perceptions closely as they morph into behavioral actions that allow your unit to succeed.

That might even make your day! And it’s all very doable.

But not if you insist on limiting your offensive public relations effort to simply creating print and broadcast exposures. Instead, you should be preparing to do something positive about the behaviors of the very outside audiences of yours that MOST affect your operation. Because that’s when public relations can actually create the kind of external stakeholder behavior change
that leads directly to achieving those key managerial objectives of yours.

Thus your real managerial opportunity arises when it becomes painfully obvious that counterproductive behaviors by target audiences are the direct result of negative perceptions about your organization or its services, products or personnel.

Suddenly, it becomes clear why you have to monitor opinion among members of your most important outside audiences to (1) determine how they perceive your organization; (2) to
identify and prioritize your public relations goals; (3) to create and communicate corrective messages to those key outside audiences and (4), to carefully monitor how and when those
perceptions inevitably convert to the key audience behaviors you know, as manager, you need.

In brief, what you really require is an action-based blueprint that leans on you to do some meaningful things about the behaviors of those important outside audiences that MOST affect your operation; to create the kind of external stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives; and to do so by persuading those key outside folks
to your views, then help move them to take actions that allow your department, group, division or subsidiary to succeed.

You can count on the underlying premise of this kind of managerial public relations: people act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving- to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors affect the
organization the most, the public relations mission is usually accomplished.

A variety of results are possible when you work public relations this way: customers making repeat purchases; a rebound in showroom visits; new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; membership applications on the rise; improved relations with government agencies and legislative bodies; capital givers or specifying sources looking your way; fresh community service and sponsorship opportunities; prospects starting to work with you, and even stronger relationships with the educational, labor, financial and healthcare communities.

It always pays off when you clear some time for planning meetings with your public relations people. For example, get their input on your plans to monitor and gather perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. Suggest queries along these lines: how much do you know about our organization? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the exchange? Are you familiar with our services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?

You might also reinforce your confidence in the PR team by insuring that they really accept why it’s SO important to know how your most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services? And do you believe THEY believe that perceptions almost always result in behaviors that can help or hurt your operation? This is essential to PR success.

One of the facts of life in dealing with opinion polling matters, is that things often go better when a professional survey firm helps monitor your key audience’s perceptions. But real pros cost real money, compared to using your existing public relations staff who, while they ARE already in the perception and behavior business, also cost money. But whether it’s your people or a survey firm asking the questions, the objective remains the same: identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, misconception and any other negative perception that might translate into hurtful behaviors.

Setting your public relations goal is the tip of the spear. Your new PR goal should call for action on the most serious problem areas you uncovered during your key audience perception monitoring. You may, for example, decide to straighten out that dangerous misconception, bring to an end that potentially painful rumor, or correct that terrible inaccuracy.

Seldom can public relations people, or most other managers for that matter, establish a new PR goal without the support of an action-oriented strategy. If, that is, you are to know HOW to
get to where you’re going. Plus, remember that you have just three strategic options available to you when it comes to doing something about perception and opinion: change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. Needless to say, the wrong strategy pick will taste like fish sauce on your grilled quail. So be sure your new strategy fits well with your new public relations goal. You certainly don’t want to pursue “change” when the facts dictate a strategy of reinforcement.

Recruit the best writer on your team to prepare a carefully -written message targeted directly at your key external audience. To move that key audience to your way of thinking, s/he must produce some really corrective language that is not merely compelling, persuasive and believable, but clear and factual if they are to shift perception/opinion towards your point of view and lead to the behaviors you have in mind.

Carefully selected communications tactics (and there are many such available) will be needed to carry your message to the attention of your target audience. You may pick from such time-honored devices as speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others. But be certain that the tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like your audience members.

As “opening day” approaches, you may want to partially neutralize any opposition to your message by unveiling your corrective message before smaller meetings rather than using
higher profile news releases or broadcast announcements. Reason is, a message’s credibility can be fragile and often suspect, depending on how it is delivered.

It’s always a satisfying feeling when you can illustrate how the monies spent on public relations can pay off. That’s why the time needed to prepare and distribute progress reports is time well invested. They are, however, also your alert to start a second perception monitoring session with members of your external audience. Here, you’ll use many of the same questions used in the benchmark interviews. Only difference now is, you will be on strict alert for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction.

If you feel impatient with the program’s rate of progress, you always have the prerogative of adding more communications tactics, and/or increasing their frequencies to address that
problem.

In essence, making sure you get the right managerial public relations requires that you resolve to do something about the behaviors of those outside audiences that most affect your
operation; to create the kind of external stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives; and to do so by persuading those key outside folks
to your way of thinking by helping move them to take actions that allow your department, group, division or subsidiary unit to succeed.

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. Only requirements: you must use the Robert A. Kelly byline, and resource box.

Robert A. Kelly © 2006.

Bob Kelly counsels and writes for business, non-profit and association managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has published 245 articles on the subject which are listed at EzineArticles.com, click Expert Author, click Robert A. Kelly. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communications, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Columbia University, major in public relations.

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Tags: pr, managers, management, public relations, companies

UBS has apparently been given the job to seek potential buyers that could include rival private equity houses, such as CVC which lost out to Montagu last time.