{"id":2367,"date":"2012-12-01T14:24:14","date_gmt":"2012-12-01T14:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saasoft.com\/blog\/?p=2367"},"modified":"2012-12-01T14:24:14","modified_gmt":"2012-12-01T14:24:14","slug":"the-f-word","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hcse.blog\/?p=2367","title":{"rendered":"The F Word"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>There is an\u00a0F-<\/strong>word<\/strong> that organisations do not like to\u00a0use – except maybe in conspiratorial corridor conversations.<\/p>\n

What word might that be? What are good candidates for it?<\/p>\n

Finance<\/strong> perhaps?<\/p>\n

Certainly a word that\u00a0many people do not want to\u00a0utter – especially when the financial picture is not looking very rosy. And when the word finance\u00a0is mentioned in meetings\u00a0there is usually a groan of anguish.\u00a0So yes, finance is a good candidate – but it is not the\u00a0F-word.<\/p>\n

Failure<\/strong> maybe?<\/p>\n

Yes – definitely\u00a0a word that is rarely uttered openly. The concept of failure is just not acceptable.\u00a0Organisations must succeed, sustain and grow. Talk of failure is for losers not for winners.\u00a0To talk about failure is tempting fate. So yes, another\u00a0excellent candidate – but it is not the F-word.<\/p>\n

OK – what about Fear<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

That is definitely something no one likes to admit to.\u00a0 Especially leaders. They are expected to be fearless. Fear is a sign of weakness!\u00a0Once you start letting the fear take over then panic starts to set in – then rash decisions follow then you are really on the slippery\u00a0slope. Your organisation fragments into warring factions and your fate is sealed. That must be the F-word!<\/p>\n

Nope.\u00a0 It is another very worthy candidate but it is not the F-word.<\/p>\n

\n

[reveal heading=”Click here to reveal the F-word<\/strong>“]<\/p>\n

\n

The dreaded\u00a0F-word is Feedback<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>We do\u00a0not like\u00a0feedback.\u00a0 We do not like asking for it. We do not like giving it. We do not like talking about it. Our systems seem to be specifically designed to\u00a0exclude it. Potentially useful feedback information is kept secret, confidential, for-our-eyes only. \u00a0And if it is shared it is\u00a0emasculated and anonymized.<\/p>\n

And the brave souls who are prepared to grasp the nettle – the 360 Feedback\u00a0Zealots<\/em> – are forced to cloak\u00a0feedback with secrecy and confidentiality.\u00a0We are expected to ask\u00a0 for feedback, to\u00a0take it on the chin,\u00a0but not to know who or where it came from. So to ease the pain\u00a0of anonymous feedback we are allowed to choose our accusers. So\u00a0we choose those who\u00a0we think will\u00a0not<\/strong> point out our blindspot. Which\u00a0renders the whole exercise\u00a0worthless.<\/p>\n

And when we actually want feedback we extract it mercilessly – like extracting blood from a reluctant\u00a0stone. And if you do not believe me then consider this question: Have you ever been to a training course where your ‘certificate of attendance’ was with-held until you had completed the feedback form<\/em>? The trainers do this for good reason. We just hate giving feedback. Any feedback. Positive or negative. So if they do not extract it from us before we leave they do not get any.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately by extracting feedback from us under coercion is like acquiring a confession under torture – it\u00a0distorts the message and renders it worthless.<\/p>\n

What is the problem here?\u00a0 What are we scared of?<\/p>\n

\n

We all know the answer to the question.\u00a0\u00a0We just do not want to point at the elephant<\/strong> in the room.<\/p>\n

We are all terrified\u00a0of discovering that we have the organisational equivalent of body-odour. Something deeply\u00a0unpleasant about our behaviour that we are blissfully unaware of but that everyone else can see as plain as day. Our behaviour blindspot. The thing we would cringe with embarrassment about if we knew. We are social animals – not solitary ones. We\u00a0need on\u00a0feedback yet we fear it too.<\/em><\/p>\n

We lack the courage and humility to face our fear so we\u00a0resort to denial. We avoid feedback like the plague.\u00a0Feedback becomes the F-word.<\/p>\n

But\u00a0where did we learn this feedback phobia?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Maybe we remember the playground taunts from the Bullies and their\u00a0Sychophants? From the poisonous Queen-Bees and their Wannabees?\u00a0 Maybe we tried to protect ourselves with incantations\u00a0that our well-meaning parents taught us. Spells like “Sticks and stones may break\u00a0my bones but names will never hurt me<\/em>“.\u00a0 But being called names does hurt. Deeply.\u00a0And it hurts because we are terrified that there might be some truth in the taunt.<\/p>\n

Maybe we learned to turn a blind-eye and a deaf-ear; to cross the street at the first sign of trouble; to turn the other cheek? Maybe we just learned to adopt the Victim role? Maybe we were taught to fight back?\u00a0To win at any cost?\u00a0Maybe we were not<\/strong> taught how to defuse the school yard psycho-games right at the start?\u00a0 Maybe our parents and teachers did not know how to teach us? Maybe they did not know themselves?\u00a0 Maybe the ‘innocent’ schoolyard games are actually much more sinister?\u00a0\u00a0Maybe we carry them with us as habitual behaviours into adult life and into our organisations? And maybe the bullies and Queen-Bees learned something too? Maybe\u00a0they learned that they could get away with it? Maybe they got to like the Persecutor role and its\u00a0seductive musk of power?\u00a0If so then then maybe the\u00a0very last thing the Bullies and Queen-Bees will want to do is to encourage open, honest feedback – especially about their behaviour. Maybe that is\u00a0the root cause of the conspiracy of silence? Maybe?<\/p>\n

But what is the big deal here?<\/p>\n

The ‘big deal’ is that this\u00a0cultural conspiracy of silence is toxic.\u00a0 It is toxic to trust. It is\u00a0toxic to teams. It is toxic to morale. \u00a0It is toxic to motivation. It is toxic to innovation. It is toxic to improvement. It is so toxic that it kills organisations – from the inside. Slowly.<\/p>\n

Ouch! That feels uncomfortably realistic.\u00a0So what is\u00a0the problem<\/em> again – exactly?<\/p>\n

The problem is a deliberate error of omission – the active avoidance of\u00a0feedback<\/em>.<\/p>\n

So ….. if it were that\u00a0– how would we\u00a0prove that is the root cause? Eh?<\/p>\n

By\u00a0correcting the error of omission and then observing what happens.<\/p>\n

\n

And this is where it gets dangerous for leaders. They are skating on politically thin ice and they know it.<\/p>\n

Subjective feedback is very emotive.\u00a0 If\u00a0we ask\u00a0ten people\u00a0for their feedback on us\u00a0we will get\u00a0ten different replies – because\u00a0no two people\u00a0perceive the world (and therefore us) the same way.\u00a0 So which is ‘right’? Which opinions do we take heed of and which ones do we discount? It is a psycho-socio-political minefield. So no wonder we avoid stepping\u00a0onto the cultural barbed-wire!<\/p>\n

There is an alternative.\u00a0 Stick to reality and avoid rhetoric. Stick to facts and avoid feelings. Feed back the facts of how the organisational system is behaving to everyone in the organisation<\/em>.<\/p>\n

And the easiest way to do that is with three time-series charts that are updated and shared at regular and frequent intervals.<\/p>\n

First – the count of safety and quality failure\u00a0near-misses for each interval – for at least 50 intervals.<\/p>\n

Second – the\u00a0delivery time of our product or service for each customer over the same time period.<\/p>\n

Third – the revenue generated and the cost incurred for each interval for the same 50 intervals.<\/p>\n

No ratios, no targets, no balanced scorecard.<\/p>\n

Just the three charts that paint the big picture of reality.\u00a0And\u00a0it might not be a very pretty picture.<\/p>\n

But why at least 50 intervals?<\/p>\n

So we can see the\u00a0long term and short term variation over time. We need both … because …<\/p>\n

Our\u00a0Safety Chart shows that near misses\u00a0keep\u00a0happening despite all the\u00a0burden\u00a0of\u00a0inspection and correction.<\/p>\n

Our\u00a0Delivery Chart shows that our performance is distorted by targets and the Horned Gaussian stalks us.<\/p>\n

Our\u00a0Viability Chart shows that\u00a0our costs\u00a0are increasing as we pay dearly for past mistakes and\u00a0our revenue is decreasing as our customers protect their purses and their persons by\u00a0staying away.<\/p>\n

That is the not-so-good news.<\/p>\n

The good news<\/strong> is that as soon as we have a multi-dimensional-frequent-feedback loop installed we will start to see improvement. It\u00a0happens like magic. And the feedback accelerates the improvement.<\/p>\n

And the news gets better.<\/p>\n

To make best\u00a0use of this frequent feedback we just need to include in our\u00a0Constant Purpose – to improve safety, delivery and viability. And then the final step is to link the role of every person in the organisation<\/em> to that single win-win-win goal. So that everyone can see how they contribute and how their job is worthwhile.<\/p>\n

Shared Goals, Clear Roles and Frequent Feedback.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And if you resonate with this message then you will\u00a0resonate with\u00a0“The Three\u00a0Signs of\u00a0 Miserable Job<\/em>” by Patrick Lencioni.<\/p>\n

And if you want to improve your feedback-ability then a really simple and effective feedback tool\u00a0is The 4N Chart<\/a><\/p>\n

And please share your feedback.<\/em><\/p>\n

[\/reveal]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is an\u00a0F-word that organisations do not like to\u00a0use – except maybe in conspiratorial corridor conversations. What word might that be? What are good candidates for it? Finance perhaps? Certainly a word that\u00a0many people do not want to\u00a0utter – especially when the financial picture is not looking very rosy. And when the word finance\u00a0is mentioned … <\/p>\n

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