Welcome to the September 21, 2005 issue of The Total View

Published by Success Performance Solutions, Written by Ira S. Wolfe

Visit our Human Resources Blog and Perfect Labor Storm Blog where we can post daily (and more often) human resource updates, news, and Perfect Labor Storm facts. 

What's Inside:

1. Leadership Vacuum in the Big Easy

As the roar of the winds from Hurricane Katrina died down and the torrential rush of water into New Orleans proper slowed, a huge sucking sound was heard loud and clear. At first it sounded familiar but we could barely believe our ears. So we watched and waited. Finally we recognized it: it was that all-too-familiar leadership vacuum coming from the offices of elected and appointed officials responsible for rescue and recovery and protecting thousands of lives.

Regardless who is blamed for the horrible and dysfunctional response to Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, one thing is certain: business owners and managers can learn an awful lot about how not to run their organizations and how important it is to hire or appoint the right people in the right jobs.

At the top of the list of things that allowed this catastrophe to happen was the appointment of Michael Brown to the Director position of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Unlike many of the arm-chair quarterbacks, I don't believe lack of experience was Brown's only downfall. From everything I've read in the media and seen on television, lack of emergency management experience had little to do with his failure.

What disqualified Brown from this job was clearly his inability to manage a crisis - whether it had to do with Arabian horses or hurricanes. After watching the destruction of New Orleans unfold, it was painfully evident that Mr. Brown lacked the ability to assume command, to make timely decisions, to demonstrate urgency, to deal with ambiguity and to deal with paradox.

It has been noted that Homeland Security Secretary Cherthoff held the real power, but that's just one more strike against Brown - he didn't stand up to his boss and didn't improvise (i.e. "bend the rules") when lives were on the precipice of life and death.

I don't know if he had an ability to organize and anticipate but he clearly demonstrated an inability to execute a plan if there was one and to think on the fly, when contingency plans were desperately needed.

But hindsight is always 20-20, so indulge me. Let's imagine we can turn back the clock two years and President Bush is pondering the selection of Michael Brown to the head of FEMA.

"Ring, ring."

"Hello? Ira speaking."

"Good morning, Ira. Please hold - the President of the United States would like to speak with you."

(A few seconds go bye.)

"Good morning, Ira. This is George W. Bush. I need your help. We're interviewing for a new director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and our top candidate has no emergency management experience. Brownie's a good man. (Bush as you might remember gave Brownie "a heck of good job" performance evaluation during the first week of the rescue efforts.) I think he can do the job. But I'm worried. Brownie will be responsible to protect, rescue, and recover the good citizens of our country in the event of an emergency. Can you help interview him? If he fails, my political opponents will have a field day."

"Mr. President, I'd be honored to help. Thank you for the opportunity."

"My people will be in touch, Ira. Thank you too for helping with this most important decision."

Obviously that conversation never took place. We also know that it is unlikely that any conversation even resembling that ever took place considering that 11 of 15 top FEMA spots are held by people with little or no experience.

But let's just pretend again for a few minutes that President Bush could turn back the clock and re-do the selection process for a new FEMA director. What should the interview process have looked like? What did he need to know about Michael Brown? What questions should have been asked?"

Whether the vacant position is President of the United States or a retail clerk in Wal-Mart, you need to do a little preparation before you just start hurling questions at candidates…and the questions need to specifically address job situations the candidate will face if hired.

To hire the right people, hiring managers must start every employee selection process by asking, "If the job could talk, what would it say?" In other words, what are the essential requirements for the job?

Regarding the director position, I'd want to know:
Is this job a leadership or management position?
Is this job a strategic or operations position?

The scope of this column is much too small to go into more detail. There are more questions I'd like to ask but suffice it to say for this example, the job is mostly leadership, some management, and primarily strategic in nature. That leads us to step two.

Next I'd begin to formulate a job profile for the position. Based on the leadership/strategic focus of the position, I would ask the President and other stakeholders in our nation's emergency management to describe the responsibilities and activities of the director. Primarily I'd focus on daily and maybe weekly activities. The easiest way to list these most important activities is to ask: "If you were to observe this director for one day each week, what would you see him doing?"

After this list of activities is compiled and prioritized, managers are ready for step three: Identification of core competencies.

Our research and field work demonstrates time and again that senior executives and officials who are skilled in as few as 7 to 10 core competencies can excel in their jobs…if they are the right competencies. For the director of our nation's response team, seven competencies are essential to lead and manage in times of crisis (in alphabetical order):

Command skills: can take unpopular stands if necessary and takes the lead in a crisis

Dealing with ambiguity: can decide and act without being able to see the total picture

Dealing with paradox: can make good decisions even when information seems contradictory

Intellectual Horsepower: is bright, intelligent and can think on their feet

Learning on the Fly: quickly grasps the essence of a problem and its underlying causes
Strategic agility: can anticipate future consequences and trends accurately; can articulately paint credible pictures and visions of possibilities and likelihoods.

Timely decision making: makes decisions in a timely manner, sometimes with incomplete information and under tight deadlines and pressure

Now we're ready for the interview. Questions asked to Mr. Brown would then be focused on the essential competencies. During the interview, I would want Mr. Brown to describe the biggest emergency or crisis he ever faced. I would listen for situations that might compare with the severity and complexity of what he would manage at FEMA, how he handled these in the past, and if and how he engaged and empowered others before, during and after these situations.

I would assess Mr. Brown's ability to make tough decisions even when unpopular with both constituents and bosses, and especially how he handled situations when he didn't have all the information. I'd also want to learn how quickly he was able to respond, the effectiveness and consequences of his decision, how he handled people who refused to participate or follow his lead, and what he would do differently if he had to do it again.

Had any of these questions been asked of Mr. Brown and had the interviewers assessed his responses with objectivity, it is likely Mr. Brown would not have been promoted to lead FEMA. It was painfully evident after just a few hours on the scene that Mr. Brown lacked essential leadership skills in time of crisis, could not make timely decision under pressure, could not grasp the enormity of the problem, and could not make the tough calls.

Unfortunately we can't turn back the clock, it is unlikely President Bush will be calling me, and Mr. Brown will remain a scapegoat for many of the problems associated with FEMA's ineffective and delayed response to Hurricane Katrina. That aside, we can only hope that every hiring manager across our country will learn two important lessons from this tragedy: that putting the right people in positions of leadership is a responsibility not to be taken lightly and that there is effective technology and hiring procedures in place to save us from ourselves….if only our officials and managers will execute them as planned.

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2. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #449 to #452

Don't miss day-to-day updates on Perfect Labor Storm. Save the Perfect Labor Storm blog to your favorites.

Fact #449: A decade ago, the United States had the highest overall graduation rates at the bachelor's level. Today there are fewer U.S. entrants in these programs than the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development averages. (Source: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development)

Fact #450: According to the U.S.Census Bureau, one of the largest and fastest-growing groups of young people in the United States are dropouts, rising to almost one out of three Americans in their mid-20s. (Source: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development)

Fact #451: The number of women obtaining degrees is outpacing that of men. Women obtained between 40 percent and 60 percent of the bachelor's degrees in mathematics and sciences in 2000. (Source: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development)

Fact #452: Only 36 percent of doctorate-level faculty in the U.S. are currently under 45 years of age. (Source: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development)

Don't be caught in storm without all the facts. "The Perfect Labor Storm Fact Book: Why Worker Shortages Won't Go Away" is a must-read leading edge forecast that predicts workforce trends for decades to come. Order your copy today - Only $7.95.

3.  Develop Competencies That Match Employee and Company Needs

Janus Performance Management System Volume/Part One provides a navigational guide to the whole Janus process, and explains how Janus can be tailored to match individual needs by developing the competencies that are most relevant to a particular individual. Seven training modules are included:

- Introduction to the Performance Management System.
- Taking the Performance Initiative
- Setting Performance Goals and Objectives
- Giving and Receiving Performance Feedback
- Coaching for Performance Excellence
- Conducting a Performance Update Discussion
- Handling Unacceptable Performance

Online 360 assessments now available!

Learn more about employee competencies and Janus Performance Management.

4.  Manager's Pocket Guide to Emotional Intelligence
One of the keys to becoming a true leader is emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence quotient (or EQ) encompasses qualities that go beyond general intellectual intelligence and technical competency. EQ includes self-awareness, self-control, self-confidence, motivation, empathy, and competencies in the social environment. These hallmarks of a true leader can be learned. The activities in this guide will help strengthen the reader's EQ skills, resulting in a more successful career and a more satisfying life.

Order Emotional Intelligence

5.   50 Activities for Developing Emotional Intelligence

A collection of activities perfect for skill-building on self-awareness and control, empathy, social expertness, personal influence, mastery of vision and more.

Order 50 Activities for Developing Emotional Intelligence

Ira S. Wolfe. 2005 - All Rights Reserved. Reprints and other distribution by permission only.

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