What do the experts say about being a trusted advisor?

Our five-person panel for the upcoming 2012 Conference of the Association of Change Management Professionals (ACMP)  asked ourselves that question as we started to prepare for our 90-minute workshop.

For “Success Secrets of Trusted Change Advisors,” we’re featuring a panel discussion plus an Open Space Technology  session. The latter is designed to encourage peer-to-peer sharing.

We believe the Open Space Technology principles support what excellent trusted advisors do, including deal with the issues most important to their clients in a client-centered manner. As the saying goes, we will trust the process and believe that the participants who are most qualified and capable of addressing the issues raised will do so.

Nonetheless, the experts are experts for a reason. And they provide great value for learning.

At our ACMP session, we’re providing a two-page handout with one side summarizing Open Space and the other side featuring quotes from some trusted change advisor experts.

In researching the experts, I re-read quite a few of David Maister’s tips, primarily from his book, The Trusted Advisor. This 2000 classic, which he wrote with Charles Green and Robert Galford, contains so many succinct gems. (The authors carry this out even in the book’s title as the three word title stands alone without a subtitle. Lengthy subtitles seem the norm these days.)

Some favorite things from Maister the Master:  (These include reminders to keep your mindset and ego in check as well as actions to take.)

• “More value is added through problem definition than through problem answer.”
• “The problem is rarely what the client said it was at first.”
• “I don’t have to prove myself every 10 seconds.”
• “I am not the center of the universe.”
• “A point of view doesn’t commit you for life.”
• “Don’t be insecure. Say to yourself: ‘Hey, if I don’t know the answer, and I’m a pro, then this is a really neat question; let’s get into it!”
• “Don’t answer a question the first time a client asks it; ask for clarification.”
• “Reach out to notice, and acknowledge, something that has been held back in or about the other person.”
• “Who am I serving by my present approach?”
• “Assigning blame will trap me; taking responsibility will empower me.”

Earlier in my career, I was lucky to work for David Nadler, who founded Delta Consulting. Like Maister, Nadler believes in being extremely client-focused. From their perspective, mastery of technical content is not nearly as important as the focus on building a trusted, collaborative relationship.

The best trusted advisors are not SMEs (subject matter experts). Instead, they’re individuals who shine the spotlight on others rather than themselves and have an “attitude for gratitude.” They focus on other people, show a strong sense of curiosity and roll up their sleeves to help others see issues more clearly and take wise actions.

As an advisor who’s often brought in to counsel on change communication issues, I’ve also adopted Tom Sawyer as my role model rather than Tom’s creator Mark Twain. This mindset helps me avoid falling into the trap of wanting to offer subject matter expertise (SME).

Tom Sawyer comes into play in a couple of ways. First, Tom embodies the spirit of letting the other person do more of the work to get better results. For advising to be effective, the client needs to be an active participant: doing the deep thinking, getting the insights and determining the right actions that he or she thinks are most authentic and appropriate to take to move forward.

Second, as Mark Twain’s muse, Tom Sawyer speaks in “maxims” — using a minimum of sound to a maximum of sense. When Twain lived, sound bites—including phrases that are “succinct, specific and generous” as advocated by David Rock of the NeuroLeadership Institute (whom I studied with last year)—hadn’t been invented. Yet Twain infused these brain-friendly attributes into Tom and his other characters.

By being succinct, specific and generous as a trusted advisor, I’m better able to engage my clients in richer conversations and help them achieve greater clarity and credibility.

Thank you to all the David’s—Maister, Nadler and Rock—for your expertise. Thank you, Mark Twain! And thanks to my very talented fellow ACMP panelists!

If you’re coming to the ACMP conference April 1 – 4, please join us at our workshop and share your wisdom.

And if you’re a communication professional who wants to become more strategic and a more capable, confident and credible advisor, consider the Spring 2012 Strategic Action Group that starts March 16.  We’re now taking applications. It’s a great opportunity to expand beyond being a trusted SME to becoming a trusted strategic advisor.

Politics aside, Planned Parenthood’s win last week against the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure shows the power of resiliency in organizations.

The 95-year-old reproductive health care provider and educator was able to withstand the sudden, unexpected shock of being defunded by the 30-year-old breast cancer foundation. Within days, Planned Parenthood recovered quickly, not only getting the Komen funds back but also raising an even larger sum from a vast number of supporters.

In the interest of full-disclosure, for more than 20 years, I’ve been a Planned Parenthood donor, volunteer and now occasional paid consultant. During this time, I’ve experienced firsthand how the organization has learned to adapt to stay relevant, vibrant and influential.

From my perspective, Planned Parenthood was able to run circles around Komen, which appeared flat footed and tone deaf about the situation they had created, for these seven reasons. Many support the six habits of highly resilient organizations that Peter and Trudy Johnson-Lenz write about.

Planned Parenthood is resilient because it has:

1. A clearly-articulated purpose. Planned Parenthood’s mission resonates with the  staff, volunteers, patients and other key stakeholders. We embrace and support Planned Parenthood as a “trusted health care provider, an informed educator, a passionate advocate and a global partner helping similar organizations around the world” as explained on the website.

2. Strong shared values that permeate the organization. For example, those of us active with Planned Parenthood respect individual choice. We believe each person has a right to make informed, independent decisions about  health, sex and family planning. Not surprisingly in a group that treasures choice, we don’t always agree on everything. And over the years, we’ve had some heated discussions, especially about taking a more active role in politics. One board chairman I supported cautioned a group of voting delegates one year with words to this effect: “We’re a family. It’s perfectly normal for a family to argue inside the walls of our house. But when we go outside, we need to be united.” Then he broke the tension by asking delegates to line up to debate the contentious issue either at the “pro” mic (for “prophylactics”) or the “con” mic (for “condoms”.) We all laughed and then the delegates respectfully discussed the issues.

3. A rich history that includes successes as well as struggles. This history, especially the memory of the organization’s founder Margaret Sanger, helps keep the organization focused and grounded. Her difficulties showed that the organization is not a stranger to controversy. For example, another board chairman I supported always started the meetings off reading at least one letter that Margaret Sanger had received about a woman’s personal plight about being denied health care, access to contraceptives or a botched back alley abortion. Those poignant letters inspired us to continue Planned Parenthood’s work. This rich history gives the organization willpower to fight today’s battles, not relive the past.

4.  A large active network. Planned Parenthood is a federation, with the national organization headquartered in New York and the affiliates with their health care clinics situated all across the country. Over the past 15 years or so, many of these affiliates have taken on greater advocacy roles in their communities as well as in state and local governments. Many of us know one another in real life as we gather for the annual conference as well as special sessions throughout the year, and work together on projects, carrying our conference bags. We know, like and trust one another. Plus, we’re connected closely with donors and volunteers, many of whom are former or even current patients. Both the national organization and the local affiliates maintain a large data base of email addresses. And now Planned Parenthood is active on Facebook and Twitter.  I learned about the Komen defunding from an email from my local affiliate before I heard about it on the news or from social media.

5. Extensive practice defending itself against opposing forces. Throughout its history, Planned Parenthood has faced a range of challenges to its mission. In the early 90s, the organization experienced a number of violent attacks, including the murder and maiming of medical staff members and volunteers at clinics around the country. Back then, it seemed every meeting started with a moment of silence to remember at least one brave individual who had lost his or her life doing Planned Parenthood’s work. That somber practice ingrained in many of us the spirit to stand up for the organization’s mission and values, especially access to reproductive health care. Many of us volunteers may characterize ourselves as “nice girls” but not when it comes to caving on reproductive health or sexuality. Yes, as  Dr. Lois Frankel often writes, nice girls don’t get the corner office or get rich; however, we nice girls are keeping choice alive, including the right to abortion.

6. The willpower and discipline to retool the organization. Those involved in the movement also tend to the organization. We’ve got the backbone to address issues head on, rather than shrink or avoid them. For instance, in the 90s, before anyone knew what crowdsourcing was, the entire federation participated in creating “Vision 2020.” We wanted to shape our future rather than be forced to accept somebody else’s future.  Even before then, we also recognized the need to bring in new blood. I remember one board meeting in which we all looked around the table and realized almost everyone was past their prime in terms of eggs and sperm. The nominating committee sprang into action to find board members who were of child-bearing age. Then when Cecile Richards joined as President in 2006, she instituted a youth organizing and policy conference that’s held every in conjunction with the annual conference. All the teenagers at the conference, many of whom are peer educators  as well as political activists, are inspiring.

7. Its pulse on the external environment. Planned Parenthood doesn’t let its guard down. Staff members in national and the affiliates are constantly monitoring issues, including health care reform, politics, partner activities, etc. The organization is able to swing into action quickly yet carefully when an opportunity or threat presents itself. In the Susan G. Komen controversy, the organization mobilized itself very quickly. And Cecile and other Planned Parenthood leaders stayed on message point about the need to provide access to breast cancer screening and other services for all women, including low-income. They did not take the bait to make this a political issue. In this case, the organization not only prevented damage but it also exploited an opportunity and to its fans, showed up as taking the high ground.

For its entire history, Planned Parenthood has combined a commonsense approach to women’s health and well-being with flexibility to adapt to new situations, little or big. For instance, when I left my salaried job and started my own business that didn’t provide paid vacation time that I could use for volunteer work, Planned Parenthood offered to pay me for my consulting services. And not surprisingly, it was at a Planned Parenthood meeting that I first heard my favorite quote about flexibility: “Blessed are the flexible because they don’t get bent out of shape.” As Ian Mitroff, the father of crisis management, advises, organizations can emerge from crises stronger than before–provided they prepare and react quickly.

I’m proud to stand with Planned Parenthood.

“Treat employees as if they’re volunteers” is a popular business maxim.

It’s a sound principle. After all, many employees—especially knowledge workers—have discretion on how they spend their time, energy and commitment. If you can appeal to their passion, listen to their ideas and concerns and recognize them, you improve your chances of connecting with them and influencing them to take action, including changing their behavior.

And if you’re a project manager rather than a boss, this principle can be very compelling. You probably have more carrots at your disposal than sticks to inspire the individuals on your team and others to adopt the changes you need.

Yet putting this principle into action is another matter. That’s where the road to good intentions is paved with hell.

This past week alone, I’ve noticed that the life of the volunteer is hardly joyful, especially around the issue of respect. Yes, we’re talking WIIFM (what’s in it for me), which is especially critical for those volunteering their time, investing energy and incurring opportunity costs.

For example, let’s talk scheduling. In one of my professional associations, I asked the committee chair if the committee members were still going to meet since we hadn’t received any confirmation the day before a scheduled conference call. The committee chair replied a few minutes later via email that she was out of town so we couldn’t convene. She requested that we meet by phone the following week.

Not very respectful, as I and others had been saving the date. Just because the committee chair can’t manage her schedule doesn’t mean the rest of us have to be inconvenienced.

Next, let’s talk being visible and valued. At a contentious planning council meeting of a health care group, several members pointed out that they were not being respected. The concerns ran the gamut from being ignored by the meeting chair to being put down by other members. Bravo for them to speak up about their concerns, as the Silent Sugarcoated Moose® advocates.

We volunteers and employees like to be respected. Respecting us entails:

1. Acknowledging our presence.
2. Asking for our opinions.
3. Listening to what we say.
4. Thanking us for our contributions.
5. Using our time wisely.
6. Tolerating our differences.
7. Appreciating us for what we bring to the group of our own accord.

When we feel respected, we believe we are a valued member of the group. It’s worth our time, effort and energy to belong and take part. And we’ll continue to give of ourselves.

Otherwise, even if we feel the passion for the organization’s mission, if we’re not respected, we shut down, pull back or drop out. That’s just what disengaged employees do. Why bang our heads?

In my change work for clients, as we start to involve employees in the change initiative, we strive to make sure we have created a meaningful role for them to play. And we make sure we respect them and their contributions.

How do you show respect?

The captain of the Costa Concordia, the new sheriff in San Francisco and the former CEO of MF Global are great examples—examples of how not to lead by example.

The hapless captain, sheriff and CEO are teaching just-in-time lessons on what not to do when you’re in charge and faced with adversity.

To summarize the learnings from recent headlines:

• Don’t abandon your ship when passengers are still on board.
• Don’t trivialize significant allegations about a serious topic, especially domestic violence.
• Don’t plead ignorance about what’s going on when you’re one of the smartest people in the room.

Unfortunately, these three characters have lots of company these days. Many leaders seem to practice “do as I say” rather than “do as I do.”

As I observed several months ago in this blog post about “Leadership = examples + sacrifice,” leading by example may be a quaint, outdated practice.

Nonetheless, leading by example remains a powerful way to influence people, particularly around change. Actions speak louder than words, especially when you see leaders role modeling the behavior changes they expect from us, their employees.

So what do we do to help leaders lead by example when good role models are in such short supply?

Don’t just point out the bad behavior of others. Encourage these three actions:

1. Support your leaders in staying grounded so they’re equipped to escape self-inflicted wounds. (For some good tips, see this blog post on Staying Grounded.)
2.  Offer to be a mirror, observing potential scenes when actions and words may be out of focus or alignment—and preferably noticing any glitches before problems happen.
3.  Ask others, either face-to-face in focus groups or through anonymous surveys. For example, in the article “How to Help your Leaders Be Credible in Incredible Times” that Tony Simons and I coauthored, Tony offered up some good questions to ask in surveys. These include “My boss shows the same values he/she describes”; “My boss delivers on promises”; and “My boss practices what he/she preaches,” which is at the heart of leading by example.

Asking others sends a strong message. It shows that you know the issue is important, you’re dealing with it front and center, and you want feedback.

For example, for one of my change clients for whom urgency is a critical issue, I just asked this question in a survey: “To what extent do you think the company’s senior leaders are acting with a sense of urgency?” (We were pleased that 85% of the respondents said that leaders were practicing urgency.)

Do you still believe in leading by example? If so, what do you to serve as a good example?

If you’re standing still these days, you’re falling behind.

The world is moving that quickly. Just think of the iconic brands that have tumbled or are extinct. The advertising often has more staying power than the products. For example, “A Kodak Moment,” “The softer side of Sears” and “It’s not your father’s Oldsmobile.”

So how do you avoid becoming–or working with–a dinosaur that needs to be pulled from the tar pits?

We can’t control Mother Nature, but we can avoid self-inflicted wounds—especially as individuals.

So make sure you and the other members of your team don’t act like moles. In other words, don’t burrow in the ground, being blind to the external environment around you.

Also try to discourage prairie-dog behavior, which is common in cube-like office environments. People tend to pop up and look around them when there’s a loud noise or other disturbance. They react only to what happens in their “ZOR” (zone of responsibility), which is one of my dear husband’s favorite expressions.

Instead, it’s better to act like a hawk, soaring through the sky and scouring the area. While we humans don’t enjoy the visual acuity of hawks or the ability to fly on our own, we can dream, can’t we?

Realistically, though, we can make it a practice to look up and out and scan the external surroundings for items that can be interesting and useful for us and our work.

And with the vast number and variety of choices out there, it’s a career-limiting move to keep our heads down during our workday focusing only on our immediate deadlines or diversions such as Angry Birds. Not only will we lose touch with what’s going on, but we also will lose credibility if we appear to have our heads in the sand or our entire bodies underground like moles.

Yes, you may be crazy busy today, but does your work have as much shelf life as a Twinkie? (By the way, did you know that Hostess, the maker of Twinkies, filed for bankruptcy this month?)

Here are 5 simple actions you can take to help you monitor trends in the outside world:

1. Sign up for Twitter feeds, either for individuals you know who track or comment on topics that interest you on Twitter or experts in fields you follow.
2. Subscribe to Paper.li or one of its special papers. Paperli is a content curation service that lets people publish online newspapers based on topics they like so they can treat their readers to fresh news.
3. Set up Google alerts.
4. Customize LinkedIn’s home page.
5. Add news links to your browser’s home page, such as creating an iGoogle page.

In many cases, you can get stuff pushed to you as email messages or texts. That way you don’t have to remember to go and find it. Plus, if you use a curation service, you’re benefitting from the service editing the material it sends you so you’re getting the cream of the crop.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. To avoid contributing to your clutter or sense of overwhelm, I won’t even start to share the many other options.

Instead, I’ll tell you this story, which I hope encourages you to open yourself up to possibilities.

One of my clients learned about BJ Fogg’s 3 Tiny Habits program by following my tweets about it. My client took the initiative to sign up for the program, even before seeing my blog post about it, Success: Adopting 3 “tiny habits.” A week later, he too had adopted three new “microhabits” that are embedded in his routine and making his life better. Plus, we’re now better equipped to help others make changes more effortlessly–well maybe with fewer difficulties.

By acting more like hawks than moles, we can leverage the work of others to find things of value. (Feel free to follow me on Twitter.)

And remember, you don’t want quantity, just quality that you can review, evaluate and decide how to apply.

Information without action is clutter. Information with action propels you forward.

What are you doing to move ahead and stay out of the tar pits?