Monthly Archives: November 2014
The Power of a Team Charter
In case you missed our article on the importance of written charters for special action teams in CoBiz Magazine this summer, we are sharing a slightly edited excerpt, along with a link to our written charter template, in this week’s blog post. Whether to attack a problem, exploit an opportunity, or achieve a philanthropic goal, setting up special teams and committees can be very effective. These special action teams form for a defined period, ranging from a few days to months or longer. They normally have a small number of team members, such as five or seven. Their participants may work full- or part-time for the team. These teams accomplish their mission and then disband, only to see other special action teams formed and disbanded when their mission is complete. In addition to other advantages, …Continue Reading
Governance Guidelines for Corporate Boards
Image credit: iStock “If you have leadership without governance, you risk tyranny, fraud and personal fiefdoms. If you have governance without leadership, you risk atrophy, bureaucracy and indifference.” – Mark Goyder, Founder Director, Tomorrow’s Company With so many corporate scandals in recent decades, much focus has been placed on upgrading corporate governance practices, and rightly so. In my (Bob’s) experience, most large corporations have given careful thought to their governance guidelines. Google, a firm we admire (see “Snapshots” on pages 238-242 of Triple Crown Leadership), has a nice set of governance guidelines. IBM has a nice set too. But most smaller and mid-sized corporations need some additional guidance in this area. (Perhaps some of the larger firms would appreciate some fresh thinking too?) Consequently, I created an Outline …Continue Reading
The Dangers of Toxic Micro-Cultures
Image credit: Painting by Leah Saulnier www.paintingmaniac.com Does your organization have some toxic micro-cultures? If so, you ignore them at your peril. Much is written these days about the importance of culture in boosting an organization’s success. Strategy is important, as are talent, business models, innovation, and more. But culture, “how we do things here,” as we like to define it, can be the trump card, because it permeates everything in an organization. Culture is what people do when the boss is not around. Wise leaders craft the culture purposefully and make the desired behaviors explicit and clear. Culture can have a big impact on whether people act ethically, honorably, and responsibly. For example, when direct supervisors were observed to behave unethically: 42% of employees felt pressure to behave …Continue Reading
