Announcing Monarch Leadership's Exclusive Partnership with Limelight Generations

Monarch Leadership is proud to announce our exclusive partnership with Limelight Generations, one of the only generational companies in the United States focused on recruiting, retaining, and marketing to generations X, Y, and Z.

Sarah Sladek founded Limelight Generations in 2002. As an Xer herself, Sarah started researching the absence of younger generations in membership associations and businesses. She gives presentations and provides training and consulting on the topic to organizations nationwide.

Sarah is also the author of two X, Y and Z generational books --Rock Stars Incorporated: Hiring the High-Performance, High-Maintenance Hotshots Half Your Age (2008) and The New Recruit: What Your Association Needs to Know About X, Y, & Z (2007).

In 2009 Monarch Leadership will be partnering closely with Sarah in Limelight Generations' launch of XYZ University, the first web-based learning and networking community for membership associations focused on the generational topic, as well as RockStars@Work, the first generation-themed business conference and awards program in the United States.

Gina Kellogg-Gardner

Can you teach passion?

I was recently asked by a business colleague if I believe passion can be taught. I responded with a confident Yes. I believe we all have passion. Our passion may look different, feel different and transpire into the world differently; but I do believe someone can learn how to tap into their passion. It's not passion that's being taught, it's teaching people how to tap into their passion...

United States businesses have been built on an autocratic system that attempts to mold people to fit into the needs of the business. Based on this approach, we have grown up hearing about all the things we need to "improve" on, which of our "opportunity areas" are getting in our way of being successful and which of our "behaviors" need to be addressed in order for us to live the values of our workplace. A great percentage of people in our country feel as though their passion is growing further and further away from their day-to-day work activity. They feel their passion is being shadowed by the expectations of their employers. Ironically, employers then question why their customer service satisfaction is low, why quality is struggling or why revenue goals are not being met. Teach employees how to unleash their passion and watch the business sore!

Leaders can teach passion by helping their employees discover what their passion is. Teaching is simply about helping others discover something new. How? Leaders need to ask their employees what's important to them, what part of the work do they find most satisfying, what are their personal goals and values, what is their vision? Begin designing jobs that incorporate each person's passion, or simply let employees take on tasks that allow them to use their passion. Move the business forward by teaching employees how to discover their passion, and by supporting their ideas on how to actively live their passion in the workplace. It's a win win!

Gina Kellogg-Gardner

A Culture of Empowering Others

A critical factor for successful leadership is in empowering others (and then trusting them). Practicing this concept isn't necessarily easy, but it goes a long way in creating a culture where people want to work and are engaged. And ultimately, this practice develops more talent in the organization, which increases overall performance.

As a side note, some people argue that you first need the "right people on the bus," a quote that author Jim Collins created, before you empower them with projects or decisions. Click here to find a great article about this topic.

Back to empowering others... a success story is with the company, Pixar. Ed Catmull, cofounder of Pixar, has been instrumental in creating a culture of empowering others to create great results. I recently read an article, "Pixar's Collective Genius," written by Steve Prokesch, Harvard Business Review. He starts out the article by stating, "Pixar cofounder Ed Catmull exemplifies the greatest form of leadership: empowering others to achieve the extraordinary."

Steve had the opportunity to meet Ed Catmull while working with him regarding a HBR article and said that Mr. Catmull "describes the architecture of Pixar's collective genius--a community where people at all levels support one another." Steve continues to share that "the results speak for themselves: Beginning with Toy Story in 1995 and ending with WALL•E this summer, Pixar has produced nine blockbuster computer-animated films in a row."

Mr. Catmull's leadership qualities that enable a culture of collective genius include:

• Redefining the vision - Creating a vision that will last past the current executive team.
  
• Delegating power - Giving directors tremendous authority. Mr. Catmull and his executive team set budgetary and timeline boundaries, and then the directors and their teams are left alone. When it's time to review progress on a project, the senior executive team's advice is just that - advice - just like everyone else's.
  
• Fighting success syndrome - Realizing that, even with Pixar's success, there are still improvements to make and not everything is figured out.

This article hit home with me and displays a great example of a company who is finding success in empowering its employees. To read the full article and have access to a podcast, click here.

Karen Rulifson

Employee Engagement & Generation Y

Since Gina probably won't blog about this accomplishment, I will do it for her.

After spending months researching the link between employee engagement and leveraging the Millennial Generation (or Gen Y), Gina recently presented her findings at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, MN. She also just published an article about the topic in Connections, the official magazine for the Professional BusinessWomen of California. You can access the magazine here (the article is on page nine, next to an article written by Lisa Orrell, a Millennial and Generation Relations Expert).

Her findings show that organizations must support engagement in areas such as:

• Leadership development
• Job design
• Career culture
• Engagement survey
• Online action planning

Also, she says that the relationship between employee engagement and an organization's success in leveraging Generation Y is driven by leadership. With Gen Y having the largest employment share by 2011, leadership's ability to engage and leverage this new generations is critical to give organizations the competitive advantage.

I encourage you to read the whole article, and if you have questions about it or want more details, just let us know.

And as a side note, I thought you might enjoy this youtube video about Generation Y. Click here to view it.

Have a good one!

Karen Rulifson

Have a Clear Vision

I read a great article today from the Harvard Business School called, "Achieving Excellence in Nonprofits." It mentioned that a key challenge for nonprofits is to stay focused on their vision and goals, and to develop a strategy to achieve their goals and meet their vision. It also mentioned that it's critical to be aware of ever-present changes in the environment in order to adapt and make the appropriate organization changes. Being stagnant will not help achieve the vision.

I found this article just a good reminder to all of us, whether we are a part of nonprofit or profit organizations. Without a clear vision or goals for your team, it's difficult to truly achieve success, because what success looks like will vary with each person. It can also lead to team frustration. People want to achieve their best, but it's difficult to do that without a clear focus.

Theme of the day - Have a clear vision!

Karen Rulifson

To read the article, click here.

RenGen

A friend sent us a recent article from the New York Times called, "A New Generation, Poised to Reinvent." Of course the name spurred my interest, and I read on. It's a great article, based on a book that explains a term called RenGen, or renaissance generation. The author of the book, Patricia Martin, shares how the conditions we are in today will impact and transform the way we work and live in the future. Here are some highlights that piqued my interest:

• The young generation entering the workforce is both idealistic and cynical at the same time. They have learned to trust what they experience rather than what experts tell them. They value authenticity.

• This generation may have the largest group of entrepreneurs that the U.S. has seen in a long time. They want to do original work and live in a way that they design.

• Collaboration is especially important. They want to connect and create, not be given a directive. They respond to teaming, where a boss puts a question or problem on the table and everyone can jump in.

• We may see less of a formal mentor/mentee relationship and more of a model like a master/apprentice relationship. This model allows more hands-on learning and helps directly transfer the knowledge of the Boomer generation to the younger generation (which is so needed for organizations to keep its knowledge banks as Boomers retire).

Well, I don't want to give away the entire article, so click here so you can read it yourself. Interesting stuff!

Karen Rulifson

The Talent Shortage

For the first time in history there are four generations working within U.S. organizations. It's both an exhilarating and challenging time. A challenge that has HR professionals scrambling is the talent shortage this multi-generational workforce is generating. So what exactly is this talent shortage experts keep warning us about? What will this shortage mean for your organization?

Simply put, the talent shortage stems from the fact that the U.S. has a rapidly declining pool of individuals that has the level of skill, knowledge and ability that organizations need to fill future leadership roles. The reality is that the current workforce is aging and headed toward retirement, and in the next few years the level of leadership intelligence organizations need to maintain their competitive edge will be incredibly difficult to attract and retain.

As they say, the proof is in the pudding.

• As of 2006, more than one million Americans 75 years of age or older were still active in the workplace, and by 2011 they will be virtually nonexistent in the workplace.
• There are 80 million Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1965) currently in the workplace, and eight to ten thousand of them are turning 60 and heading toward retirement every day.
• By 2010, due to slow population growth between 1965 and 1985, the number of prime age workers between 35 and 45 years of age will decrease by 10%.
• Between 2008 and 2011, organizations may already begin experiencing a shortage of talent due to the limited amount of Generation Xers (born between 1965 and 1977) and Generation Yers (born between 1978 and 1990) available to take the place of older workers.
• There are only 45 million Generation Xers.
• There are 80 million Generation Yers that will continue entering the workplace, expecting to exceed Generation Xers employment share by 2010.
• By 2010 Generation Y will be the largest generation represented in the workplace.

What does this mean for employers? By 2010 the U.S. won't have enough talent available to replace the leadership intelligence leaving our organizations. Experts call this the organizational “brain drain". So what are organizations doing to prepare for this shortage? What's the solution?

The key to the talent shortage is understanding that it's not that there won't be people available to employ, it's that the people available won't have the leadership competence that organizations will need to stay competitive. You may already be feeling this shortage in your own organization (i.e. people apply, but you can't seem to attract those with the skills you are looking for.) Bottom line, organizations need to learn how to attract, leverage and retain Generation Y, use the skills of Xers, Boomers and Traditionalist to teach Generation Y leadership skills, and keep the leadership intelligence that older generations posses within the organization as long as possible.

There are four things organizations can do today to begin preparing for the talent shortage.

1. Gain awareness around the positive characteristics of Generation Y.
2. Teach Xers, Boomers and Traditionalist how to engage their Generation Y employees.
3. Offer professional development opportunities to your Generation Y employees.
4. Have your Xers, Boomers and Traditionalists play an active role in Generation Y development programs.

It's not all doom-and-gloom. Yes, the talent shortage is a reality, but the bright side is that if organizations put forth the energy and resources to strengthen their appeal to the younger generation, and provide added development opportunities for their employees, they can stay competitive and set themselves up for success. It's the organizations that choose to put the time, effort and resources into their people today that will stay ahead of the curve tomorrow.

Gina Kellogg-Gardner

Skills for a Global Leader

I find that leadership is the same everywhere.

Yes, I understand that cultures are quite different across the world! And for any of you travelers out there, you understand well that the best way to visit another location is to have an open mind, and you end up growing and transforming from the visits. I also find that each person in your own neighborhood can be quite different, as we're all shaped by our own experiences and nature. Yet besides all the differences between us, I find there are some global truths. An example... people want to be valued. People want to be (and are) motivated by inspiration and hope.

Most of us know the phrase that the award-winning New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman made to be a household one, which is the title of his book, "The World is Flat." While not everyone may feel this on a daily basis, the global aspects of our world impact us daily, from the food we eat, to the clothes we wear, to the news we listen to. Personally, this global view excites me for the future possibilities of more collaboration, education and growth for all.

But what does this mean for managers and leaders? It adds a level of complexity and an increased need for understanding. More open communication is needed when managing a diverse and/or remote team. Less assumptions made. More listening. More seeking to understand. More reading between the lines. Perhaps a new flexible schedule to make an international conference call convenient not just for your time zone.

But back to my statement at the beginning of this blog, that leadership is the same for everyone. I'm not talking about management practices, I'm talking about the leadership practices of having a vision and inspiring your team. These practices are global. Without a vision, an organization will just plug along. Employees may do a good job, but have you ever noticed people's excitement when, as a team, everyone is aligned with the same goal and all wanting to achieve it? It's amazing! Ongoing inspiration is also critical. Even with an amazing vision set, employees will lose interest over time if there is not ongoing inspiration from a leader to aspire to reach the goal. And no matter where you are from, these truths hold true. We all want to make a difference, we all want to hope, we all want to be inspired.

Be the leader who makes a difference for others!

Karen Rulifson

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