Marcia's Leadership Q and As: Quality—The Key Differentiator of Success

Q. Our senior managers are disconnected from what’s going on in our business. We have many complaints from customers, and nothing improves.

A. Great leaders and their organizations are connected to both their customers and employees and understand their needs. Successful organizations have leaders who create systems and communication channels to hear the voice of the employees and the customers.

Quality is defined by the customers; if product, service, or communication quality is poor and declining, the company is on its way out of business. Leaders need to transform its thinking and turn around. This only happens when leaders pivot and focus on what’s important: quality and service. Where is quality created? It comes from the vision of the Board of Directors and a leadership team working together.

When customers complain or disappear and they choose your competitors, it’s a reflection of poor leadership, strategies, or decisions. Often, it’s easy to see the decline and failure of billion-dollar corporations to small companies. An easy question to ask is: Are the leaders connected to the needs of their customers? Or is there so much complexity in the organization that customers who try to voice their complaints or concerns are not heard? It’s a priority for the management team to understand and address the system of customer feedback. Great leaders often spend more than 50% to 80% in conversation with their constituencies. How much time do you spend?

---

Q. Where should executives and managers focus the most? On profits?

A. If leaders spend most of their focus on profits, they will lead a rapid journey to their demise. It’s a common belief to focus on making money and the bottom line. Unfortunately, that doesn’t deliver success or satisfaction. I often ask executives, “Is your company in business to make money? Is that your purpose?” A purpose for being in business is energizing, and it drives a team to deliver and serve customers. If leaders develop deep and meaningful relationships, loyal customers who can depend on an organization will repeatedly return. Think about your favorite vendors.

---

Send your leadership questions to Marcia Daszko at md@mdaszko.com. She works with Boards, C-suite leaders and teams to pivot, innovate, accelerate and achieve bold results never before imagined. A provocative keynote & virtual speaker, strategic Deming advisor/consultant for 25+ years, and executive retreat facilitator, she is the bestselling author of the book “Pivot Disrupt Transform.” www.mdaszko.com Call for her help today!

Marcia's Leadership Q&AS

Q. The work ethic and follow-through in our employees in the past year has taken a nose dive. I’m concerned for our customers and the business. What do you suggest?

A. This is a concern that I’ve heard more from business owners and managers also in the past year. There are a variety of causes. I don’t like making Covid an easy excuse for everything, but it has had an impact on some people’s dedication to work, their job, their company. For other people they were never taught how to be responsible workers and follow through. They didn’t have parents who were role models, or they didn’t have excellent job training, so how could they know what’s expected of them? 

Effective onboarding, continual education/training, and two-way communication are all helpful to set the expectations about the work quality you want and the quality of service you want the customers to receive.  It’s important to train people, especially if they are new to the job market. Observe them, role play if necessary, ask them for their ideas, and ask them how they think the work can be improved. More and more communication often make a difference! 

---

Q. I’ve been invited to join a cohort of executives to meet regularly and discuss our challenges in our businesses. I’m open to sharing and learning from others. We’re from different industries. Are there any downsides to joining a group besides the time commitment?

A. First, think about your purposes for joining a group of colleagues. Is it a learning group, a time to share or vent your issues and have a sympathetic ear, a social focus, or a time to deeply challenge where you are and explore how you can gather ideas for development and business growth? It may be some or all of these. But define what it really your purpose and what is important.

Second, will you first have a conversation with the other members to determine if this group is a good fit for you. Will they both challenge and support you? Some share old management fads, opinions, and “best practices” that don’t add any value to their learning; people stay in the status quo with little development. Other executive groups make a lot of progress. 

It’s important to think about what you want to accomplish and then over a few months, assess if people are just sharing opinions or substantial management concepts, tools, and relevant applications. You should feel intense learning!

Marcia's Leadership Q&As: Pivotal Leadership—the New Norm

Pivotal Leadership—the New Norm

Q. Planning for our staff returning to the office is a roller coaster ride, especially with the new Delta variant in full force. Simultaneously, employees are voicing resistance to return because they like working from home. What’s the solution?

A. Your question is relevant and timely. For any crisis or challenge, we have to think of the aim of the organization, and then answer, “what will we do to optimize our system? What are new ways to achieve our goals?” There are customers to serve, applicants to recruit, and employees and vendors to support. 

Finding the Win-Win-Win for each organization is a leadership challenge—how to optimize the whole. There are business needs that have to be met so that the company is sustainable. This is a time for pivotal leadership. More than ever, leaders need to discuss (and integrate the voices of the employees and customers) how they are going to create and manage all of the parts of their organization. Use a system diagram. Draw the organization’s interactions (not an Org. chart) and see how the work, information, and communication can flow. You’ll ask new strategic questions. 

More important, be open to new methods to accomplish your aim. The more creative you are, the more innovation you can offer. Strive for a happy, productive workplace.

---

Q. Our corporation is looking at acquiring five to ten companies in the next year or two to help us scale toward our vision. What are the blind spots we should be aware of?

A. Great question!  So few corporations think through the M&A process. This leads to more than 80% of M&A transactions failing.  The sad part is, there’s such potential for success! The answer is easy; the work is harder, but essential. The issue is that often, corporations that acquire another corporation don’t do two fundamental requirements: 

1. They don’t think through the integration process fully (they focus on the financial success and capturing a skillset of workers they need); their potential success is immediately stunted. 

2. They don’t assess the leadership and cultural fit. If the two fundamentals are done, leadership (of both organizations) create an integration team. 

It’s mandatory to have an Integration Team with the knowledge to optimize the whole transaction—and then follow it through into the next year or two to ensure problems are addressed. They assess how the two organizations (and following on, more) will integrate from a leadership perspective, cultural perspective, and financial perspective. It’s like a three-legged stool. If you don’t have all three legs stable, you’ll fall and fail. But focus on optimizing all three parts, and you’ll have a great potential for long-term success. You need to become an Integration machine!

Marcia’s Leadership Q&A

Send your leadership and team questions to Marcia Daszko at md@mdaszko.com.  She works with Boards, C-suite leaders and teams to pivot, innovate, accelerate and achieve bold results never before imagined. A provocative keynote & virtual speaker, strategic Deming advisor/consultant for 25+ years, she is the bestselling author of the book “Pivot Disrupt Transform.” www.mdaszko.com

Q. When should a team prepare for a crisis? Is it too early to plan for the next crisis, especially when we’re still in the middle of this one?

A. Great leaders, at work and at home, anticipate and consider challenges and how they will respond to them. Whether it’s pilots training to deal with a challenge in flight, families preparing for an earthquake or a hurricane, a driver being aware of the traffic, a company preparing for a pandemic or loss of a major client, people do a variety of crisis planning. Some companies had a plan in case they were ever faced with a pandemic. Did your company have a plan? Those that had one had created it with calm rationality and could quickly adapt it. Others had to rapidly pivot, or they struggled.

Thoughtful leaders at home and at work think ahead. They scan their environment for safety. What might they be faced with?  With your team, what do you need to think about, anticipate, discuss, plan and prepare for? It’s never too late to make a plan. That’s what leaders do. When it’s needed, leaders and their rapid action teams adapt and pivot, and respond. If an unforeseen crisis occurs, teams who have a foundation in leadership thinking, will respond rather than react or freeze in fear.

Q. What signs should a leader look out for that signal that they may not be the right leader for the job anymore or should take a different role in the organization and move aside?

A. It is not uncommon for a founder, owner or executive to move aside as an organization grows, needs to scale, or goes through transitions they have no experience in or are uncomfortable with. The enterprise may be moving and growing at a fast pace, building in complexity, or innovating into new areas of expertise. If executives feel overwhelmed, uncomfortable, fearful, or are micro-managing, they need to assess if they are continuing to find joy and satisfaction in their current position.

There are multiple ways to address this situation. Many young founders have a close mentor(s) such as a supportive CEO, Board Director or a professor who guide and advise them as they navigate and develop. Or an executive may have founded an organization and be passionate about product development, but may not have an affinity for running or growing a business. People have natural leadership within them and each person needs to decide where they can best contribute and feel fulfilled.