Managing employees during tough economic times poses a unique set of challenges. People are distressed and distracted by news of poor earnings reports, bankruptcies, and layoffs. Anxieties sky rocket in response to media stories that begin with "not since the great depression," and go on to report a continued rise in unemployment, increased foreclosures and tent cities springing up everywhere.

They key to motivating people during such times is to help them focus on something that makes them feel useful and productive. This is a process that requires constant attention and deliberate actions. The first step is to assure employees that leadership is competent to navigate in turbulent waters. Next, turn their attention to positive, creative and meaningful activities.

Demonstrate Confidence

When you telegraph the confidence and ability to guide the company through unstable times, the workforce will trust you to do just that. You are being closely watched and employees will take their cues from your behavior. If you convey a sense of confidence and calm, the workforce will respond in kind. Demonstrate by words and actions that you can effectively deal with the issues and challenges that derive from these tough economic times.

Communicate

In the face of uncertainty people crave information, and in its absence they will fabricate it. It is critical to frequently and truthfully communicate with the workforce. And the communication must be both ways. People must feel their voices are heard and their concerns honored. Further, to manage effectively you must be aware of what is really going on with your employees.

Be Out There

Make sure that you are highly visible, available and approachable. Really listen and respond, even if you don't have all the answers and can't solve every problem. Whenever possible, go the extra mile to show support for your people. Pitch in to help meet a critical deadline. Provide professional development opportunities through new assignments, increased responsibilities or special training.

Create a Sense of Purpose

At a time when people feel that much of their financial circumstances are our of their control, they respond well to having a sense of authority and autonomy at work. Indeed, they welcome the distraction and the opportunity to influence a valuable and valued outcome. Allow as much latitude as possible for people to determine how to go about their jobs and make decisions in the course of doing it.

Set group as well as individual goals. When people feel connected to others around a common purpose, they are better able to focus, create and produce. Lead by example and create an atmosphere of team work and collaboration. Anything that reminds people that they are part of a group and gives them a sense of identity with others is a powerful tool in bringing out their best efforts.

Celebrate

Establish clear priorities and focus on short range objectives that can be achieved, publicized and rewarded. There is nothing like winning to motivate, and a "win" can be anything people say it is. Set small goals on the way to larger ones and acknowledge each step along the way.

Sometimes a simple pat-on-the-back is enough and other times something more tangible is in order. A celebration need not be costly or extravagant. The idea is to let people know they are making progress toward a goal and that their achievements are noticed and appreciated.

Make Fun

Do what you can to help people have fun while they are at work. Set an example by your own mood. Project a positive attitude and greet people enthusiastically. Engage in a little small talk. Touch base with your direct reports and the end of the day and thank them for their good work.

Plan different events the course of the work week. Have a theme party the last hour of the day on a Friday or sponsor office contests. Encourage people to be as playful as the company culture will allow.

Leverage Tough Times

Although people certainly prefer to experience good times over bad, there is satisfaction to be derived from rising to the occasion. Leverage this to rally the troops and recognize them for their tenacity and commitment. People will respond because they really want to experience a sense of pride, contribution and satisfaction in their work lives, no matter what is going on around them.

In a past newsletter we described WJM Associates' Leadership Point-of-View by highlighting seven characteristics of effective leadership. To see the full article, as well as best practices for developing effective leaders within an organization, please click here.

In the past several issues of the WJManagement Advisor we included an article highlighting one of these characteristics. In the following article we address the sixth of these seven, Talent Selection, by exploring how WJM assists leaders in managing their Succession Management processes, especially in light of the rare opportunities presented by the current economic downturn.

With the world-wide economic crisis running rampant, many organizations have taken their eye off the talent management ball. In many cases, high potentials have become the fall-out with companies making rash decisions about layoffs. Crude voluntary "buy out" programs or "last in, first out" downsizing programs are causing companies to risk losing the very people they will need when the economy turns around. The simple explanation is that in the midst of the present panic, many organizations have lost sight of managing and motivating the very people they will need for the future. In fact, this crisis is revealing how few firms have carefully considered their talent management strategies.

Rigorous Succession Management

Firms that carefully strategize regarding their talent management now, more than ever, have the opportunity to develop a significant advantage over those that haven't. In this environment, companies ought to double up efforts to identify the people to keep, and how to best to develop and motivate them.

In the current economic environment, we are increasingly being called upon by forward thinking organizations to assist them in managing their talent pipeline. These organizations realize that identifying and developing their high potentials will enable them to meet their business objectives today and in the future.

WJM offers an effective and pragmatic succession management methodology for identifying future leaders and providing them with meaningful and measurable development. The only way to keep talented people, especially in the midst of the current economic chaos, is to provide them with growth opportunities that keep them stretching and finding more promising opportunities internally than they might otherwise find elsewhere.

WJM's Succession Management begins with a pre-assessment consultation that includes in-depth interviews with the senior leadership team to understand the organization's vision, strategy and culture. We identify succession management objectives and the leadership competencies required to support the organizational strategy, as well as specific technical competencies required for any high potential role. We have the ability to develop customized leadership competency models tailored to the organization's vision for the future. Through the use of interviews and a variety of diagnostic assessment tools, we assess high-potential candidates to uncover their fit within the organization's culture, leadership competence, technical competence, management style, leadership ability and interpersonal effectiveness.

We then provide feedback of the assessment results in a clear and constructive manner with the executive's development as the primary concern. Our proprietary Leadership Proficiency Evaluation™ (LPE™) is shared with the executive and his/her manager to determine a customized development plan. The LPE™ provides a summary of the information gathered from the face-to-face interview(s), diagnostic assessments and 360 interviews. WJM presents a summary report on the executive and organizational themes to leadership, HR and/or the Board of Directors. We make recommendations on developmental options, leadership actions and organizational effectiveness.

WJM's key differentiator is our cadre of over 100 executive coaches, organizational psychologist and other consultants. WJM can work with the executive to improve performance and to strengthen the connection between the leader and the organization's vision for the future. In essence, our ability to provide 1:1 coaching assists high potentials to develop the required competencies for the future, enabling the succession plan to reach its objectives. Our broad spectrum of coaches allows for greater flexibility in complementing personality, developmental needs, corporate culture, language and personal background.

An effective succession strategy is crucial for any organization during this unprecedented economic crisis. Forward thinking organizations that seek to attain -- and sustain -- high levels of business performance, must focus on succession management. WJM Associates approach to succession management focuses on getting the right people in the right roles at all levels of the organization. Our solutions help organizations identify the best internal candidates for each position, lower attrition among top performers at all levels, and develop potential successors in ways that best fit their greatest talents.

Situation

The CEO of a $3.5B, publicly traded company contacted WJM Associates and requested a meeting to discuss the Board of Director's goal to begin a CEO succession planning process. After 8 years of exemplary service provided by the existing CEO, the Board looked to partner with a firm to assist them in consulting, assessing and coaching select internal candidates. The identified candidates all reported to the CEO and were long term employees of the company.

The CEO and VP of Human Resources met with WJM to present and discuss in detail their goals and aspirations regarding this initiative.

WJM's Pre-Project Approach

In addition to a comprehensive review with the CEO and VP of HR, WJM met with Board Members - Executive Compensation and Development Committee - to discuss and build upon agreed position specifications and desired outcomes. Additionally, role clarity, timing as well as confidentiality issues were discussed and agreed to by all meeting participants.

Based on best practices, WJM recommended an external CEO search to the Board which they explored and conducted through their own due diligence.

Objectives

• Assess executives on the short list.
• Create a developmental plan for each.
• Select an Executive Coach for each.
• Coach each executive towards the goals of the developmental plan.
• Monitor the success of the coaching through periodic check-ins with key stakeholders (midpoint and endpoint).
• Enable the Board to make an informed selection of the next CEO based on comprehensive assessment and development objectives of each executive.

WJM Associates' Approach

The WJM Account Director consulted with the CEO, the Board and the VP of HR to confirm and slightly modify the desired competency model for the new CEO. The model highlighted the core skill sets anticipated to be successful in the position for the next 5 - 10 years. 360° assessment questions were formulated based on these competencies.

A WJM Ph.D. industrial psychologist administered the assessment tools. Each executive took the online MBTI and 16 PF assessment instruments. The Consultant also conducted 360 interviews for each of the senior executives, 8 - 10 executives each, which consisted of peers, subordinates and the CEO.

The Consultant prepared a detailed Leadership Proficiency Evaluation™ (LPE™) for each executive. Each LPE™ included the interpretation of the assessments and 360 results, and general observations gathered during the Consultant's meetings with each executive. The Consultant met with each executive to discuss and interpret the LPE™ as well as inform each of them that an abbreviated LPE™ would be shared with the CEO, the Board and the VP of HR with their approval. None of the executives objected.

WJM's Account Director and the Consultant met with the Board to deliver top-line LPEs™ for each executive, answer questions and provide additional detail, interpretation and clarity. The current CEO was not present during these meetings to ensure objectivity.

Based on the developmental needs of each executive, the WJM Account Director provided a selection of 3-4 executive coaches for each executive. Each executive met or spoke with each coach on his short list to evaluate and eventually select for best fit.

Once coaches were chosen, each executive began a 6-month executive coaching engagement. In addition to customized developmental goals, the coaching focused on a set of developmental needs, highlighted in the LPE™, specific to the role of the CEO:

• Strategic Leadership
• Change Leadership
• Inspirational Leadership
• Values Guardian
• Developing Organizational Talent
• Global Leadership
• Personal Leadership Characteristics
• Organizational Knowledge

WJM provided direction to the CEO in terms of providing support and feedback to the executives during the assessment and coaching process. The coaches also provided helpful input to the CEO regarding his role during the coaching engagement.

The CEO needed to understand the overall process and be comfortable in his role. The CEO was involved in the formulation of the coaching agreement, agreed with developmental goals, provided specific and constructive feedback to each executive throughout the process, and met or spoke with each coach for a mid-point and end-point check-in. During the process, the CEO evolved into an advocate of development and coaching.

WJM's Account Director's role during the process:

• Ensure that expectations were being met.
• Ensure that the engagement proceeded as planned.
• Be a resource for the CEO and the executive coaches.
• Be updated periodically by coaches on non-confidential matters and update the VP of HR accordingly.

Results

The President of the company's largest division, in addition to working with his primary coach, also received communication training through a second, specialized WJM coach. Also, a finance professor was brought in at the suggestion of the primary coach to work with this executive to further enhance his financialfluency and acumen. The executive also attended executive development programs at Harvard and INSEAD.

This executive was selected to become the company's next CEO. Initially he was promoted to President and COO of the overall company and several months later was nominated by the Board to become the next Chairman, President and CEO.

Another division President decided that he preferred to stay in his current role. The executive's business unit is considered the growth engine of the company and he expressed his interest in staying in the position to further lead and execute the division's growth plans. Although this executive opted out, he still continued through the assessment and coaching process.

Lessons Learned

Appropriate and timely upfront communicationtools and meetings need to be coordinated with theexecutives going through the assessment and development process as part of a succession. Typically the CEO with the support of the VP of HR sets the stage for this type ofengagement.It is important to articulate the goalsand desired outcomes of the program to each executive to ensure there is no ambiguity or misunderstanding.

Have a thorough vetting process to build a sound short list. When building a short list for succession planning purposes, an organization needs to take into account unresolved issues, ambition, values and goals of the executives being considered.