weeklong sessions held over 16 months. It includes formal sessions - and informal sessions, including “fireside chats” with Cargill’s top executives.
What resonated with me: I liked that CEO Stanley did not consider leadership development someone else’s job, but rather the current executives’. And, I was pulled by this idea of swapping stories of “memorable mentoring.”
In my own case, several snippets of coaching advice came to mind, such as: Over-prepare - and then throw away the notes! But one of the most important pieces of mentoring advice I’ve received came from PSG’s CEO Babak Armajani. This advice dates back to work we were doing together at the Minnesota Department of Revenue in the late 1980s.
Armi was leaving the department; I was staying. At the time, I was in the first year of a four-year effort to re-engineer the state’s sales tax system. As he left, one of the things he said was Lead from strategy. I kept thinking about this advice… Lead with strategy, lead with strategy. I thought Whatever does he mean? How will I know a strategy when I see one?
Please understand that I was in the midst of a complex effort. Re-engineering the sales tax system in Minnesota involved redesigning eight parallel tracks of core processes. It meant significant changes for people internally, financial risk, computer systems changes, etc. All aspects of the department were affected, as were members of the public with whom we interacted.
I was also fortunate to have great people working on the effort, leading each of the tracks – and an executive team that trusted us. I considered myself – and our team – quite smart: we were good managers. When the multitudes of decisions came forward, we were generally able to take each in turn and decide what would be best. But, finally, the complexity and sheer number of decisions became overwhelming.
It was then that Armi’s advice “clicked.” We simply could not keep making case-by-case decisions. We needed a strategic frame that would guide decisions across the board. After some pondering, we realized that everything we were doing needed to be understood and built from the customer’s perspective. That became our overarching strategy. Once our team members had this strategy in our heads, I can’t say that every decision flowed, but 90% of them did!
This strategy caused us to back up and learn a lot more about the merchants and businesses that had to collect and send sales taxes to us. We built in inquiry at their sites into what they had to go through to even work with us. We designed a system that appreciated their unique differences: their size, age as a company, their industry, what was problematic for them. The designs resulted in simplified forms unique to them, tailored educational materials for their industry, and different methods they could use to file. It didn’t cost any more, we increased their satisfaction with us, and it led to higher levels of compliance.
How might this be relevant to you?
First, I’d be curious to hear what you consider your most memorable mentoring – and if you’ve had opportunities to share them with others. To my knowledge, we don’t have many “spaces” for public sector employees to learn and swap these kind of stories and experiences. (I’m hoping you’ll be able to tell me I’m wrong in that assumption.)
Second, I’d encourage you to reflect on the strategies that guide your work. Ask yourself what your customers would want them to be, or how you might find out. Ask if you’re clear about the results you’re after – and the strategies with the highest chance of getting you there. State assumed strategies out loud, contrast them with others,’ and decide on a few.
Across all, I hope you Lead from strategy. (Thanks, Armi.)
Contact Connie Nelson
* “At Cargill, leaders learn to do, not just say, the right thing”
Minneapolis Tribune article: Thursday, January 25, 2007
By H.J. Cummins
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