SHELDR #4-2020: A Coach, Guide, and Mentor (CGM) Approach on Leader Development and Accountability STRATEGIC HEALTH LEADERSHIP (SHELDR) THOUGHT SERIES

Author’s Note: This article is different. While it supports the Strategic Health Leadership (SHELDR) thought leadership series, it offers a format to quickly help leaders quickly adapt leadership competencies in the context of their challenges, issues, and initiatives and apply both as a Coach, Guide, and Mentor (CGM). If the readership likes this approach, more articles using the format will be published. Feedback needed. Here goes.

Introduction

As I review the newest set of Strategic Health Leadership (SHELDR) competencies and mantra of creating strategically-minded leaders, I am waking up in a “cold sweat” thinking about leader development and accountability. To many, this is too easy or a given. But is it? Some of you have already rolled your eyes and moved on. I get it. No worries. Many leaders struggle with explicit ownership. Otherwise, you would not see a plethora of publications on chronic groupthink, change management, dysfunctional teams, c-suite executive leader derailment, merger mania, and inability to implement strategic initiatives. Do you see the same thing? I would challenge you to set up a Google Alert any of the topics above. 

Accountability is a willingness to be answerable (up, down, and sideways) for a project, task, outcome, and set of relationships, all of which are interrelated. We see a lack of accountability at all levels—late to a meeting, typos, project delays, missed quota, unwilling to confront poor performers while others are watching, no follow-through from the last meeting. What are your observations? You have also concluded and decided you want to improve the accountability of yourself and those you lead. Cold sweats getting to you?

At the same time, you're faced with a time-crunched, meeting happy, stress-filled, and uncertain environment. We get it. Nevertheless, it looks like you have committed to something to support your organization’s mission, values, and goals. Remember the gloss strategic plan brochure? You are still responsible for leading your team, teams of leaders, organizations, or multiple-dispersed organizations. One of the critical elements of the SHELDR Competencies is integrating the needs of others and the organization. You are responsible for the development of future leaders, bottom line, however, defined, and personal leadership effectiveness (read: your reputation) all at once, optimal use of resources, right now. At times you have doubts, are overwhelmed, or feel guilty about setting aside time to develop future leaders and continuously improve yourself.

The truth is, if you do not take action, delay an issue, you risk being reassigned, set aside, or worse, fired. Trust me, numerous publications, case studies, support my claim. Just Google it. We also do not need to look far on competencies leaders fail to develop (i.e., active listening, strategic thinking, emotional awareness), how toxic leaders ruin others and organization cultures over time (and how others let it happen), or how a leader's attitude devours creative, innovation and strategy execution. Right? You do not want to be THAT TOXIC leader either!

Enter the Coaching, Guiding, and Mentoring (CGM)

In today's "blip-zip" world, you cannot afford to ignore coaching others, serving as a guide to others, and mentoring. Many do, unfortunately. In many cases, it contributes to their derailment. What if you had a means to quickly “nudge” you into integrating the needs of your team and the organization? You want to minimize strategy execution failure of a project or mitigate becoming THAT TOXIC leader? Better yet, what if you had a playbook to help you coach, guide, and mentor (CGM) your team and yourself? 

Today, leaders need to consider CGM and apply the skills in the context of an issue and challenge and a timely manner, not at the end of the formal performance period.  Mentoring is a long-term leader development process based on trust and respect. Coaching is for short periods of time and for short bursts of time and advice on a topic or issues, ideally based on both a challenge initiative or project and leader development — however, many view coaching for individual personalities and not their style. In many ways, coaching is saying less and asking more questions. Mentoring focuses on informal interactions while coaching follows a structured and formal approach, ideally in real-time. These days, mentoring can be time-consuming and perceived as not being inclusive and too selective. Between each is the guide, someone who actively listens to help others travel into unknown or unfamiliar areas, helps them get un-stuck, find answers to ambiguous and complex tasks, and learns as much as those they are guiding. Also, an excellent guide serves as an interpreter, liaison, and storyteller. Unfortunately, all three are often set aside in deference to the tyranny of the inbox and not enough so-called bandwidth.  

Surely, by now, you are asking, will becoming a CGM enhance my leadership effectiveness? The big question: How to do I do it with my "hair-on-fire" pace? Easy answer: define the issue, google it, find the answer you are looking for, just do it. A better answer: take a short time out, think through the issue, assess the situation, and develop a leadership development plan.

Accountability is My Main Topic, My Challenge is __, What Now, Coach?

Welcome to the big idea of a CGM PLAYBOOK—a practical, unvarnished, cliff notes approach to integrating the needs of others, achieving the goals of the organization, and creating positive momentum with a fresh approach to leader development. We assume you know something about accountability. We "package" the approach in the form of a process and facilitation guide. Do I have your attention? 

Leaders who take on the role as CGMs, figure out how to provide a framework and content for team members or participants to discuss, adopt, and emulate or build competencies in some area of the SHELDR model despite the pace and pressures. Yes, it take time and energy, but not as much you may think, and you see the benefits. When accountability is learned, then reinforced a team’s cohesion, trust, resilience, confidence, performance, and pride increase. What follows are suggestions on how to engage your teams (and yourself). Note, I said suggested. There are no silver bullet answers. The CGM may have to do additional research or modify it accordingly. Let us get started.

1.     Summarize Your Goals and Intent: You must decide, then commit what you want to accomplish. As mentioned above, highly recommend you choose the context: specific initiative, implementation of a plan, and integration of a futuristic topic such as artificial intelligence. You will also want to establish rules of engagement for those involved.

2.     Assign a Point of Contact: Appoint a project officer, keep it to yourself, or share it. The project officer could be a high potential leader, someone who needs the experience, or an employee who needs one last opportunity before to provide themselves. You decide. 

3.     Decide On Who, Venue, and Time Limit: Determine who should be included in your discussions. Then descried on the venue: Informal lunch-n-learn, 2-hour seminar, series of sessions over time, do before kick-off of a project, email or social network discussion, or add time during standard meetings for x-time. Discuss it with your project officer.

4.     Identify The Context Of The Discussion in More detail: While Step 1 challenged you to identify the context, you will want to explore the topic from different angles. Identifying and understanding an emerging trend-S, strategic initiative-A, action plan-Z, project task-B, or getting un-stuck on issue-X will provide more realism and most likely uncover some innovative ideas or blindside issues you were unaware of. You will want to align this approach with your intended outcome too.

5.     Notify All Involved: Summarize your purpose, intent such as creation of an Accountability plan in the context of Project tasks-B, location, homework requirements, who.

6.     Follow-up with Tickler Questions: This will help you establish momentum, get a sense of interest, gauge understanding, and, if needed, adapt your original intent. It also conveys you are serious. You can submit 1-2 questions at a time and pulse checks or reminders. You can do this in full transparency or anonymously. Here are some example Accountability-related tickler questions:   

                   i.           Why do you think we have had trouble accepting accountability for outcomes? 

                 ii.           What is the worst consequence you experienced when you accepted responsibility for a poor result? 

               iii.           What was the worst consequence when you did not accept responsibility?

               iv.           What can we learn from past errors or failures in our organization? Have you not accepted responsibility?

                 v.           Can you take action to correct a a lack of accountability? Example?

               vi.           Provide a homework assignment: Challenge the team to search on terms like ownership mindset (fixed and open), Yes And principles, accountability and commitment, empowerment and responsibility, candor in communication, dysfunctional teams,

7.     Engagement:  Accountability isn’t something you can flip and be done with it. If you want to improve accountability, consider applying a CGM Accountability approach from now on.

1.     Review your current goals, objectives, tasks, and focus areas with team members.

2.     What do you think are the most pressing barriers to accepting accountability? 

3.     Review and clarify metrics. How does your work contribute or connect to those metrics?

4.     Do we need to break broad goals into smaller goals, objectives or tasks?

5.     When we discuss accountability why do we need to be mindful of communication?

6.     What articles, books, or reports should we be reading?

7.     What are the criteria for someone ready for more responsibility?

8.     How do we encourage others to speak up if they have concerns? 

9.     How can we improve our habits and reactions during reviews of project? Internally? Externally?

10. How do we build trust and confidence in each other? Colleague in another area? 

11. How do we develop the habit of conducting giving a balanced after-action review (AAR)?

In this case, you might want to consider discussing one subject per week for 3-5 months to help others create an accountability mindset and set of habits. You can rotate facilitators too and encourage homework in-between sessions.

The CGM’s Personal “Hip Pocket” Facilitation Sheet

You may wonder, why are we providing the answers? First, we want you to succeed. Successful leaders need to continuously develop themselves. If they are as humble as they say they are, they will admit, they need to get smarter or more up to date. The really humble leaders will go so far as to state, "I may be part of the problem." Are you? Second, we know you’re time-crunched. As stated above, there are no silver bullet answers here. Providing some ideas and suggested approach will help the busy leaders kick start their effort. Besides, we pay consultants like me too much money and tend to use them as punching bags. Why not give away some of the secret sauce in a quick and easy format. Save the consultants for the truly broken organization.

If leaders truly want to improve organization and personal accountability, the CGM Accountability plan approach will help you get over the hump and follow-through. The real secret is in follow-through by committing to improve accountability and honestly, there is too much at stake in healthcare to hold. Accountability is not something you can just flip the switch on and be done with. Here are the questions below and some suggestions to keep in mind when engaging in or to facilitate your CGM session (s):

1.     Review current goals, objectives, tasks, and focus areas. Are measures of success and failure explicit and measurable? Yes, make failure a term no one is afraid of. Discuss suggestions for modifications of existing processes, benchmarks, timelines, and roles. How can we collaborate across organizational boundaries to obtain buy-in? Fill a gap? Gain commitment? Your first engagement is where you set the tone for future sessions.

2.     What do you think are the most pressing barriers to accepting accountability? Distractions to admitting responsibility for errors or failure? How can we reward success? When do we reward success? How could we reward or celebrate failure and risk?

3.     Clarify metrics. How does your work contribute or connect to those metrics? Which metrics must you focus on to succeed? Are some metrics more drivers? Laggards? Are they holding other metrics hostage? Are you measuring the right inputs, processes, or outputs? 

4.     How Can I help you Succeed? Do we need to break broad goals into smaller goals, objectives or tasks? Smaller objectives will help individuals and teams stay focused on timely progress and connected. Are some members truly overwhelmed but reluctant to admit it? Need to offload other stuff. You might be surprised how much work others have accepted beyond your authority.  

5.     Why do we need to be mindful of communication? —the words, tone, and delivery matter. In conversations, do you hear yourselves blaming? Shaming? How do you convey your concerns when processes or plans do not turn out as intended? Examples?

6.     How will we know when someone succeeds? What are the criteria for more responsibility? Who do you know practices accepting accountability? What are their key attributes? Consider inviting them as part of the discussion.

7.     How do we encourage others to speak up? If you believe expectations are unrealistic or others believe the same, how do you encourage others to speak up? Have there been cases where we engaged in groupthink? Let something falter or fail? How do we encourage "push back," question, and sharing of concerns without fear of reprisal?

8.     How can we improve our habits and reactions during meetings? Internally? Externally? It’s better to identify problems or “failures” early before they turn into a more significant failure? How can we celebrate setbacks and failures? Do we need to pre-meet before external meetings? 

9.     How do we build trust and confidence? Each other? Colleague in another area? How open and transparent are we? Who can check our results? Who can call you out if you are using blaming and shaming language? What is the best approach?

10. How do we develop the habit of conducting an unvarnished balanced after-action review (AAR)? Even successful outcomes come at the end, how do elevate the challenges, problems, or lessons learned?

Summary

The most significant message you can send is to be an accountability role model. You can accomplish this through the CGM Model: Coach, Guide, and Mentor. Before you get started, invest in books (or audiobooks) to study accountability. For starters, consider the books: Radical Candor, Crucial Conversations, and Failing Forward. You can create an accountability culture by influencing others with your actions. It can start with combining leader development in the context of a real-world issue facing your organization. When someone on your team fails, get curious, not angry, and ask: Am I balancing the CGM approach appropriately? Encourage people to take risks knowing setback and failure is a possibility. Create the right culture of positivity, inclusiveness, and development. There will be fewer excuses and more results.

Do you have another topic? Suggestion on how to develop leaders in innovative ways and accomplish your mission simultaneously? Send it to SHELDR Health Consulting: [email protected], and we will check it out.

About the Author: Douglas “DrQD” Anderson, DHA, MSS, MBA, FACHE shares his 30+ years of experience and research as a consultant, coach, speaker, facilitator, and educator on strategic management and thinking, CQI, communication, and strategic health leader (SHELDR) development. His focus is on helping local communities integrate social services with healthcare delivery systems. He is coauthor of Health Systems Thinking: A Primer and Systems Thinking for Health Organizations, Leadership, and Policy: Think Globally, Act Locally. Follow him on Twitter: @Doug_Anderson57 and his Strategic Health Leadership (SHELDR) E-Zine. Contact him at [email protected] for opportunities to help you and your team succeed.

Disclosure and Disclaimer:  Douglas E. Anderson has no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose. The author’s opinions are his own and do not represent an official position of any organization. Any publications, commercial products or services mentioned in his publications are for recommendations only and do not indicate an endorsement. All non-disclosure agreements (NDA) apply.

References: All references or citations will be provided upon request. Not responsible for broken or outdated links, however, report broken links to [email protected]

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