people first: building and leading a team
TRANSCRIPT
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People First
Building and Leading a Successful Team
#MW17-FS
Museums and the Web
Friday April 21, 2017
1:30pm - 2:20pm
Workplace
Culture & Staff
EngagementMaybe if we
ignore it, it will
just go away
Um ....
Douglas Hegley, Chief Digital Officer, Minneapolis Institute of Art @dhegley http://www.slideshare.net/dhegley
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The single most important
thing that great leaders do for
their organizations is hiring.
- Attributed to Eric Schmidt of Google, and also
uttered by great leaders everywhere
Image Source: http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1599567/images/o-SCHMIDT-facebook.jpg @dhegley
… how do you hire someone? In principle,
it’s simple. You’re looking for people who are
1. Smart
2. Get things done
That’s it. That’s all you’re looking for.
Memorize it.
- Joel Spolsky
Image Source: http://www.businesszone.co.uk/sites/default/files/styles/banner/public/joel_headshot_0.jpg?itok=EBbMJgRv
@dhegley
Internal or External ResourcesMany ways to source good talent
Internal
External
Considerations
How long will you need the resource?
Unique skills required?
Would external perspective enhance the work product?
Time
Cost
Hire character.
Train skill
Image Source: https://goinswriter.com/wp-content/uploads/miyagi.jpg@dhegley
Personalities are Key
● Personality fits are essential, especially when an institution's culture is unique.
● Part of the The Franklin Institute hiring process includes a personality profile
with our leadership consulting firm.
● Candidates interview with individuals at varying levels of the organization to
gauge for personality fits.
Mia 101 - Formal On-Boarding Process
All new hires
Includes:Mission, Vision, Value Proposition
Workplace Culture
Org Structure & Cross-Functional Teams
Audience Centric Philosophy
Strategic Plan
Museum Tour
Stats - Mia by the numbers
HR & benefits
Your Mia Buddy
Two Friends, Frogtown, 1994
Wing Young Huie
Gelatin silver print
Gift of funds from David Parker 98.228.2
Someone who already works here
and has offered to help new staff.
Not a mentor, per se.
Available for questions and to help
orient you to the museum.
The Franklin Institute Onboarding Process
● Currently in the process of designing an entirely new onboarding process.
○ New person buddy system
○ Introductory lunches for new employees
○ Multi-day orientation and training sessions
● As we hire more people from outside the museum field, seemingly obvious
training like customer service, place-based management and safety, etc
becomes essential for ALL employees.
Engagement & Retention of External ResourcesGood contracts can help retention but they can’t ensure engagement
Activities supporting engagement may even be more important with external resource
At a minimum exert the same level of effort as you would for an internal resource
How to Engage External Resources
Acclimate them to the Museum
Teach them about the history, purpose & strategy
Set up tours
Include them in staff meetings
Invite them to participate in team outings
Empower
Allow them to do their best work
● Collaborative team environment
● Shared goals
● Aligned with strategic plan
● Workplace culture, applied
● Empowerment
@dhegley
High
High
(Hard)
Low
Low
(Easy)
Importance,
Via STRATEGY
Difficulty,
via practical
REALITY
Make the Decision
© Douglas Hegley 2014 @dhegley
©
Cool Blue
Do a select few
Seek funding & partners
(We wish we could do them all)Risk: Too many at once
(saying yes to everything)
Red Flag
Do only if necessary
Stop! (or proceed with extreme
caution)
(We wish we could have none)Risk: Bogs down & exhausts resources
Green Light
Do these fast
Make a prioritized list, get moving
(We wish there were fewer)Risk: Resources pulled away from Cool Blue
Gray Fog
Do only if there are resources
“Busy work” or dreamy distractions
(We wish we had more time)Risk: People fall into it , esp. in times of stress
High
High
(Hard)
Low
Low
(Easy)
Importance,
Via STRATEGY
Difficulty,
via practical
REALITY
Make the Decision
© Douglas Hegley 2014 @dhegley
Flow, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
Flow
• Ask your people to spend time with their email
closed
• Let them work remote some days
• Encourage your people to block out periods of
time for focused work - with email CLOSED
• Put blocks of time on their calendar for work;
put blocks of time for email
• Did I mention closing email for periods of time?
Source: http://flavorwire.com/192948/phillip-toledanos-portraits-of-people-playing-video-games
E.P.I.C. at The Franklin Institute
Excellence
Philanthropic Mindset
Innovative Thinking
Collaboration
Successful Teams Share 5 Defining Characteristics
Image Source: https://www.eaglesflight.com/hubfs/Blogs/Teamwork_in_the_Workplace-_Enthusiastic_Consistent_and_United_Effort.jpg
Successful Teams Share 5 Defining Characteristics
1. Everyone talks & listens in roughly equal measure
2. Face one another, conversations and gestures are energetic
3. Members connect directly with one another, not just with the team leader
4. Members carry on back-channel or side conversations
5. Periodically break, go explore outside the team, and bring information back
Source: The New Science of Building Great Teams, by Alex "Sandy" Pentland, Harvard Business Review, April 2012.
@dhegley
Digital as a Catalyst for New Teams
Digital initiatives can be a driver of new team
structures and transform old ways of getting work
done.
Does one bad apple spoil the whole bunch?
“The culture of any organization is shaped by the worst
behavior the leader is willing to tolerate.”
Steve Gruenert & Todd Whitaker (2015) School Culture Rewired: How to Define, Assess, and Transform It
Image source: https://pickfreshfood.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/miller-john-one-rotten-apple-amongst-other-green-apples-e1422640780350.jpg @dhegley
Poor performers aren't happy, ever, no matter what they may say
Image Source: http://www.incimages.com/uploaded_files/image/1940x900/vintage-boss-1940x900_34819.jpg
Address the Situation, or It Will Get Worse
Start here:
● Know the workplace culture.
● Know the employee.
● Understand the gap between the two.
@dhegley
Courage!
● Know the workplace culture.
● Know the employee.
● Understand the gap between the two.
Do this:
● Talk honestly and openly about the gap. This is not a confrontation.
● Explore solutions, together.
○ The basic choice: Make it better here, or find it better elsewhere.
● Make decisions on how to move forward, together.
It's possible to achieve a positive outcome for both sides
It takes practice to do this effectively, lots of practice.
For a deeper dive on this topic, see Poor Employee Performance: What Exactly is Broken?
and 8 Tips for Having Difficult Conversations with Employees@dhegley
Operate with Transparency
Context
• Web and Digital team switched from service-oriented to proactive
• Past: 90% responding to incoming requests; 10% strategy
• Work was done first-come-first-serve
• Answer was always yes, therefore strategy driven by squeakiest wheels in
the Museum
• Now: 75% strategy and execution; 25% incoming requests
• First step in transformation was transparency: share everything
Thank you
Anne Bennett linkedin.com/in/anne-timonere-bennett/
Brad Dunn @badunn
Douglas Hegley @dhegley
Susan Poulton @sepoulton