Business specifically start-up & Leadership

Let’s start analyzing from a negative stance, why do businesses fail? If you’re willing to strip away all the excuses, explanations, rationalizations, and justifications for business failures, and be really honest in your analysis, you’ll find only one plausible reason -poor leadership. I’ve often said real leaders will always accept responsibility for failures. Too harsh, right ? But it goes with the territory. In this Blog we are going to toss out the politically correct story-lines and reveal some of the top reasons that leaders fail…

Let’s try to examine some of the common reasons attributed to business failure, and likewise we will assess the roles and responsibilities of leadership as they pertain to said reasons being leadership failures:

1. Lack of Character: It doesn’t matter what your title is, if you don’t do the right things for the right reasons you will fail. Leaders who don’t display character won’t attract it or retain it in others. Leaders, who fail to demonstrate a constancy of character won’t create trust, won’t provoke confidence and won’t create loyalty.

2. Lack of Vision: It is the role of the CEO to clearly define and communicate the corporate vision. If there is no vision, a flawed vision, or a poorly communicated vision, the responsibility falls squarely in the lap of executive leadership. Moreover, if the vision is not in alignment with the corporate values there will also be troubled waters ahead. Specifically the Startups in India have this drawback as generate revenue could not be the sole reason.

3. Poor Branding: A poor brand generally means leadership has failed. Brands fall into decline for only one reason – leaders have abdicated their responsibility. They have allowed their brand equity to erode, and failed to deliver on the brand promise. Leaders who don’t steward their brand as one of the greatest corporate assets deserve the fate that awaits them. This is contradicted by many of my colleagues but I still maintain in top 5.

4. Lack of Execution: Everything boils down to execution, and ensuring a certainty of execution is job number one for executive leadership. Entrepreneurs or CEO s that doesn’t focus on deploying the necessary talent and resources to ensure that the largest risks are adequately managed, or that the biggest opportunities are exploited have a leadership team destined for failure. Remember this is not the first. Many dignitaries just stop thinking after this point.

5. Flawed Strategy: A flawed strategy simply reveals weak leadership. While there are exceptions to every rule, companies tend to succeed by design and fail by default. Show me a company with a flawed strategy and I’ll show you an inept leader.

6. Lack of Capital: I have witnessed well capitalized ventures fail miserably, and severely under-capitalized ventures eventually grow into category dominant brands. A lack of capital can provide a socially acceptable excuse for business failure, but it is not the reason businesses fail. Raising, deploying, and managing capital is ultimately the responsibility of leadership. The amount of capital required to run a business is based upon how the business is operated. Therefore if leadership operates the business without consideration for capital constraints, or irrespective of capital formation issues, then the blame should fall squarely on the shoulders of leadership. Moreover, if executive leadership squanders capital through irresponsible acts, there will also be severe consequences.

7. Poor Management: It is the job of leadership to recruit, mentor, deploy, and retain management talent. If the management team is not getting the job done, it’s not a management problem, it’s the fault of executive leadership. Specifically the organization mentor like Managing Director or CEO or Founder Show me a leader that blames his management team for failure to execute and I’ll show you a poor leader.

8. Lack of Sales: A lack of sales is ultimately attributable to a lack of leadership. Strategy, pricing, positioning, branding, distribution, compensation, or any number of other metrics tied to sales force productivity all rest with executive leadership. A lack of revenue is not someone else’s problem, it’s a leadership problem.

9. Toxic Culture: The truth is nothing stifles productivity and creates conflict like a toxic culture. That said, a toxic culture simply cannot exist where good leadership is present and engaged. If the lunatics have gained control over the asylum be sure to fit leadership for a straight-jacket as well.

10.No Innovation: Leaders create a culture of innovation or they kill it. Leaders who can’t stay in front of the market tend to get run over by it. Great leaders have a strong bias to action. They don’t rest upon past accomplishments, and are always seeking to improve through change and innovation. Those leaders who don’t openly embrace change will be doomed by their antiquated outlook.

11.No Market: Good leadership pursues sound market opportunities. Pursuing the wrong market, or pursuing the right market improperly is also the fault of executive leadership. Scaling a business too fast, too slow, or worse yet, not designing a scalable business to begin with is a leadership issue. No market equals no leadership…

12.Poor Professional Advice: Nobody has cornered the market on knowledge and wisdom. If leadership doesn’t seek out the best quality advice available to them, then they will likely not make the best decisions. All CEO s and entrepreneurs need top quality professional advisers. There is no excuse for C-level leaders to have blind spots. When a leader has a “miss” or a blind-spot, he or she is simply showing the arrogance of operating within the limitations of their own thinking.

13. The Inability to Attract and Retain Talent: Great leaders surround themselves with great talent. They understand that talent be gets more talent. If your company doesn’t possess the talent it needs to achieve its business objectives no one is to blame but leadership.

14.Competitive Awareness: A business does not need to be the category dominant player to avoid failure. That being said, it is the leadership’s responsibility to understand the competitive landscape and navigate it successfully. If a company isn’t consistently winning, it’s not what the competition is doing, but rather poor leadership that creates the inability to compete.

15.Obsolescence or Market Changes: If executive leadership is in touch with the market it will be difficult to be caught by surprise. It is the responsibility of executive leadership to make sure that the proper attention is given to innovation, business intelligence and market research to manage the risk of obsolescence and market changes. Without managers, the visions of leaders remain dreams. Leaders need managers to convert visions into realities. For continuous success, organizations need both managers and leaders. However, as most seem to be over-managed and under-led, they need to find ways of having both at the same time.

"There is a difference between leadership and management. Leadership is of the spirit, management is of the mind. Managers are necessary, but leaders are essential. We must find

managers who are not only skilled organizers, but inspired and inspiring leaders." - Field Marshall

You can buy someone's physical presence, but you cannot buy loyalty, enthusiasm or devotion.

These you must earn. Successful organizations have sales leaders who focus on the future, rather than cling to the past. Leaders bring out the best in people. They spend time developing their people.

Poor performance reason & remedies

Dealing with Poor Performance

Lack of Ability / Low Motivation?

For every hundred men hacking away at the branches of a diseased tree, only one will stoop to inspect the roots. – well known Chinese proverb

We need to ponder on , are individual members of your team performing less well than you'd hoped? If so, this proverb can take on great significance. To figure out what's causing the performance issue, you have to get to the root of the problem.

But because employee performance affects organizational performance, we tend to want to look for a quick fix. Would a training course help Ted? Or should you move him into a different role?

These types of solutions focus largely on the ability of the person performing the job.

Performance, though, is a function of both ability and motivation.

Let’s make a simple formula to understand in scientific way

Performance = Ability x Motivation

Where:

• • Ability is the person's aptitude, as well as the training and resources supplied by the organization
• • Motivation is the product of desire and commitment

So someone with 100% motivation and 75% ability can often achieve above-average

performance. But a worker with only 25% motivation won't be able to achieve the type of

performance you expect, in general our interviews check the ablity levels in depth but the motivation can be a daunting factor,  regardless of his or her level of motivation.

This is why recruitment and job matching are such critical parts of performance management. Be sure to assess ability properly during the selection process. Minor deficiencies can certainly be improved through training – however, most organizations don't have the time or resources needed to remedy significant gaps.

Diagnosing Poor Performance

So, before you can fix poor performance, you have to understand its cause. Does it come from lack of ability or low motivation? Incorrect diagnoses can lead to lots of problems later on. If you believe an employee is not making enough of an effort, you'll likely put increased pressure on him or her to perform. But if the real issue is ability, then increased pressure may only make the problem worse.

Low ability may be associated with the following:

• • Over-difficult tasks.
• • Low individual aptitude, skill, and knowledge.
• • Evidence of strong effort, despite poor performance.
• • Lack of improvement over time.

People with low ability may have been poorly matched with jobs in the first place. They may have been promoted to a position that's too demanding for them. Or maybe they no longer have the support that previously helped them to perform well.

Enhancing Ability

There are five main ways to overcome performance problems associated with a lack of ability. Consider using them in this sequence, which starts with the least intrusive:

1. Resupply.
2. Retrain.
3. Ralign.
4. Reassign.
5. Release.

I would like to call 5 R of ability enhancements :-)

 Be sure to address each of these interventions in one-on-one performance interviews with employees.

1. Resupply – Focus on the resources provided to do the job. Do employees have what they need to perform well and meet expectations?

• Ask them about additional resources they think they need.

• Listen for points of frustration.

• Note where employees report that support is inadequate.

• Verify the claims with your own investigation. People will often blame external sources for their poor performance before admitting their own fault.

This is a very effective first step in addressing performance. It signals to members of your team that you're interested in their perspective and are willing to make the required changes.

2. Retrain – Provide additional training to team members. Explore with them whether they have the actual skills required to do what's expected. Given the pace of change of technology, it's easy for people's skills to become obsolete. This option recognizes the need to retain employees and keep their skills current. There are various types of retraining you can provide:

• Training seminars with in-house or external providers.

• Computer-based trainings (CBT).

• Simulation exercises.

• Subsidized college or university courses.

Resupplying and retraining will often cure poor performance. People and organizations may get into ruts, and fail to recognize these issues until poor performance finally highlights them.

3. Realign  – When these first two measures aren't sufficient, consider refitting the job to the person. In Organizational theory this is called “job for the resource”. Are there parts of the job that can be reassigned? Analyze the individual components of the work, and try out different combinations of tasks and abilities. This may involve rearranging the jobs of other people as well. Your goal is to retain the employee, meet operational needs, and provide meaningful and rewarding work to everyone involved.

4. Reassign – When revising or refitting the job doesn't turn the situation around, look at reassigning the poor performer. Typical job reassignments may decrease the demands of the role by reducing the need for the following:

• Responsibility

• Technical knowledge

• Interpersonal skills

If you use this option, make sure the reassigned job is still challenging and stimulating. To ensure that this strategy is successful, never use demotion as a punishment tactic within your organization. Remember, the employee's performance is not intentionally poor – he or she simply lacked the skills for the position.

5. Release – As a final option for lack of ability, you may need to let the employee go.

Sometimes there are no opportunities for reassignment, and refitting isn't appropriate for the organization. In these cases, the best solution for everyone involved is for the employee to find other work. You may need to consider contractual terms and restrictions; however, in the long run, this may be the best decision for your whole team.

Remember, there are potential negative consequences of retaining a poor performer after you've exhausted all the options available:

• You'll annoy other members of your team, who may have to work harder to "carry" the poor performer.

• You may promote a belief in others that you're prepared to accept mediocrity – or, worse, under performance

• You may waste precious time and resources that could be better used elsewhere.

• You may signal that some employees deserve preferential treatment.

• You may undermine the whole idea of finding the best person for the job.

Improving Motivation

Sometimes poor performance has its roots in low motivation. When this is the case, you need to work closely with the employee to create a motivating environment in which to work. There are three key interventions that may improve people's motivation:

1. Setting of timely performance goals.

2. Provision of performance assistance so that resource know where to ask for help.

3. Provision of performance feedback a continuous even-if resource forgets to ask.

1. Performance Goals – Goal setting is a well-recognized aspect of performance improvement. Employees must understand what's expected of them and agree on what they need to do to improve. For a detailed explanation of the goal setting process, see our articles on Goal Setting, Golden Rules of Goal Setting and Locke's Goal Setting Theory.

2. Performance Assistance – Once you've set appropriate goals, help your team member succeed by doing the following:

• Regularly assessing the employee's ability, and take action if it's deficient.

• Providing the necessary training.

• Securing the resources needed.

• Encouraging cooperation and assistance from co-workers

3. Performance Feedback – People need feedback on their efforts. They have to know where they stand in terms of current performance and long-term expectations. When providing feedback, keep in mind the importance of the following:

• Timeliness – Provide feedback as soon as possible. This links the behavior with the evaluation.

• Openness and Honesty – Make sure the feedback is accurate. Avoid mixed messages or talking about the person rather than the performance. That said, provide both positive and negative feedback so that employees can begin to truly understand their strengths and weaknesses.

• Personalized Rewards – A large part of feedback involves rewards and recognition.

Make sure that your company has a system that acknowledges the successes of employees.

Supporting this, ensure that you meet regularly with the employee, so that you can review progress and provide regular feedback.

Performance Improvement Plan

So how do you do this in practice? This is where you need to develop a Performance Improvement Plan. Armed with the strategies we've looked at, you first need to evaluate the performance issue that you're facing:

• Have you discussed with the person what he or she feels the problem is?

• Have you evaluated your organization's motivation system? Are you doing everything you can to recognize and reward people's contributions?

• Are you rewarding the things that you actually want done?

• Do you have regular goal setting and development meetings with members of your team?

• Do you help your people keep their skills current?

From there, it's important that you and the employee discuss and agree upon a plan for improving performance. Write down what you've agreed, along with dates by which goals should be achieved. Then monitor progress with the team member, and use the techniques we've discussed above for increasing motivation and dealing with ability-related issues.

Recognize that the actions needed to close ability gaps need high motivation on the employee's part to be successful. The two causes of poor performance – lack of ability and low motivation – are inextricably intertwined, and goal setting, feedback, and a supportive work environment are necessary conditions for improving both.

We need to understand the root of a performance problem before you can fully address it. Ability and motivation go together to impact performance, and the most successful performance improvement efforts combine strategies for improving each. This creates a positive environment where people feel supported to reach their performance potential; and feel valued, knowing that the organization wants to find a good fit for their abilities.

At times, your interventions may not be enough to salvage the situation. As long as you've given performance enhancement your best effort, and you've reasonably exhausted all your options, then you can feel confident that you're making the right decision if you do need to let someone go. Before going down that route, however, try the strategies discussed here and create a great work environment for your employees – one where their abilities are used to their full potential, and where good motivational techniques are used on a regular basis.

I do performance workshops , performance management systems (Indian HR & OB) Agile implementations for cooperate clients  please feel free to contact me at ravindrapande@gmail.com with your feedback.

BarrierToLeadership

The Biggest Barrier to Leadership

No matter what position you're in, you face the same stumbling block to effective leadership that everybody else does: the human ego. Ego-driven leaders have caused more business missteps than anyone can imagine. This problem begins when we ''edge well out'' and put ourselves in. We get a distorted image of our own importance and see ourselves as the center of the universe.

Ego manifests in two ways. The first is false pride - when you think more of yourself than you should. You push and shove for credit and spend much of your time promoting yourself. The second way is as fear or self-doubt - thinking less of yourself than you should. Consumed with your own shortcomings, you are too hard on yourself.

It's easy to understand that self-doubt comes from a lack of self-esteem; people afflicted with it act as if they are worth less than others. It is less obvious that people with false pride lack self-esteem because they behave as if they are worth more than others. Yet these prideful people are actually trying to make up for their lack of self-esteem. They overcompensate for their unsatisfying feelings by attempting to control everything and everybody around them.

It's interesting to see how false pride and self-doubt play out in managers. When managers are addicted to ego affliction, it erodes their effectiveness.

Managers dominated by false pride are often called controllers. Even when they don't know what they are doing, they have a high need for power and control. When it's clear to everyone they are wrong, they will insist they are right. These folks aren't much for supporting their people, either. If everyone is upbeat and confident, controllers throw on the wet blanket. They support their bosses over their people because they want to climb the hierarchy and be part of the bosses' crowd.

At the other end of the spectrum are the fear-driven managers, who are often characterized as do-nothing bosses. They are described as never around, always avoiding conflict and not very helpful. They often leave their people alone, even when these direct reports are insecure and need help. Do-nothing bosses don't believe in themselves or trust their own judgment. They value others' thoughts more than their own - especially thoughts from those to whom they report. As a result, they rarely speak out and support their own people. Under pressure, they tend to defer to whoever has the most power.

If any of this sounds a bit too close for comfort, don't be alarmed. The good news is there are antidotes. The antidote for false pride is humility. True leadership - the essence of what people long for and desperately want to follow - is characterized by appropriate humility and elicits the best from people.

Jim Collins supports this truth in Good to Great. He found two characteristics that describe great leaders: will and humility. Will is the determination to follow through on a vision, mission or goal. Humility is the capacity to realize that leadership is not about the leader; it's about those being led and what they need.

According to Collins, when things are going well for ego-driven leaders, they look in the mirror, beat their chests, and tell themselves how good they are. When things go wrong, they look out the window and blame everyone else. On the other hand, when things go well for great leaders, they look out the window and give everybody else the credit. When things go wrong, these humble leaders look in the mirror and ask, ''What could I have done differently that would have allowed these people to be as great as they could be?''

The antidote for fear or self-doubt is love. Do you have kids? Do you love your kids? Does this love for your kids completely depend on their success? Few people would answer yes because they love their kids unconditionally. Try accepting that unconditional love for yourself. Trust that you have all the love you need. All you have to do is open yourself to it. This can be start with believing in yourself or your surroundings, taking a good note every day to tab if I have done that right ?. Many leaders write diaries, good way but there are side effects also. This is a part of evaluation so try to implement this as per everyone capacity.