Why some leaders get better results than others
By Herb Mast
(Published in Dealer Magazine – September 2015)
What happened? You recently hired a new employee who displayed such potential throughout the interview process. Their past experience and references were excellent. Their personality profile even suggested they were a great fit. And now, just a few short months later, they seem to be operating just like the rest of your team – displaying the same bad habits and producing only mediocre results. This is called the chameleon effect and it is a common complaint in culturally challenged Dealerships.
According to Google, the chameleon effect refers to non-conscious mimicry of the postures, mannerisms, facial expressions, and other behaviors of one’s interaction partners, such that one’s behavior passively and unintentionally changes to match that of others in one’s current social environment.
The chameleon effect need not always be negative. It can either diminish the performance of individuals or raise it to a higher level. It all depends on the social environment or culture.
In his book Boundaries for Leaders, Henry Cloud suggests that leaders “can create a culture that augments high performance, accountability, results, and thriving, or cause a culture to exist, in which people become less than who they are or could be. And most of the time, these issues have little to do with the leader’s business acumen at all…but more to do with how they lead people and build cultures.”
Dr. Cloud, a clinical psychologist, identifies how the brain responds to different environments. He explains how “when leaders lead in ways that people’s brains can follow, good results follow as well.” He goes on to outline five [culture] conditions that leaders need to create and cultivate, so that people’s brains will work best.
First, leaders need to focus on the executive functions of the brain. In layman’s terms this means that the brain naturally narrows its focus to that which is deemed most important or most urgent. This also suggests that the concept of multitasking is actually a myth. Our brain cannot effectively focus on multiple things as well as it can on a single thing. When we try to multitask, we naturally spread our attention across multiple thoughts and dilute our attention.
For optimum results, leaders need to help their people focus on the most important and/or urgent things, inhibit thoughts and behaviors that are distracting, and keep the plan in front of them. That is why a football team huddles before almost every play, and why hurry-up offense does not work well, at least not for very long. There is no question that technology has increased productivity in many areas, but one negative aspect is how so much of our technology demands our attention and distracts us from other things. Think about your smartphone for instance. Even the vibration from a call, text, or email diverts our executable attention for a split second, or longer, if we choose to see who is calling, or what the message is about.
Practical application:
- Get each of your departments to hold a 3 to 5 minute daily huddle meeting in which they debrief the previous day, remind each other what is most important, talk about issues and remove obstacles, and share ways the leader can better support their efforts.
- Implement a cell-free zone in important meetings to minimize distractions.
Second, leaders need to create a positive emotional environment. Positivity releases endorphins, dopamine, and serotonins – chemicals which help the brain process data and emotions – similar to what octane does for gasoline engines. Negativity, fear, and stress, on the other hand, produce a hormone called cortisol, which shuts down the creative functioning of the brain and allows fight, flight, or freeze mode to take over. You might get a spike in productivity by hammering on people, but it is not sustainable and will produce negative side-effects which will eventually reduce overall productivity.
Our productivity is the result of three kinds of effort: emergency, obligatory, and discretionary. Each is triggered by a different stimulus or motivation. Emergency Effort is dispensed when an individual faces a real or perceived calamity, such as when a fire alarm goes off in the middle of the night. Obligatory Effort is dispensed to fulfill real or perceived obligations, such as reasonable work duties in exchange for compensation. Discretionary Effort, however, is dispensed [volunteered] only when the individual is motivated to do so, such as when they feel a sense of autonomy, mastery, and purpose.
In her book, Multipliers, in which she compares and contrasts the differences in management/leadership approaches of those she calls Multipliers and Diminishers, Liz Wiseman reveals that, on average, staff in the United States are only about 40 to 70% productive. To achieve higher productivity, leaders need to find ways to access more Discretionary Effort. One way to think of it is that, more volunteers are found in positive emotional environments than negative ones.
Practical application:
To get a sense of how productive your team is, simply ask them how emotionally positive they feel the environment is in your store. Use a scale of 1-100. Whatever number they give you, will be a good indication of how productive they are. To increase productivity, increase positivity.
Third, Leaders need to create a culture of connectedness. Physiologically the brain needs oxygen, glucose, and connectedness to function properly. In other words to function properly we need to breathe, eat, and feel like we belong. It is not surprising then that connectedness is also a key element of teamwork. Everybody needs to feel like they belong and are contributing to the common goals of the team.
Practical application:
- Introduce new staff to others throughout your store on their first day to kick-start connectedness.
- Bring staff together in non-work settings throughout the year to develop connectedness.
Forth, leaders need to create a culture of optimism. They need to help their people believe that the [imposed] goals and objectives are actually achievable. Giving people goals that seem too big does not make them try harder, rather, it usually has the opposite effect. People who don’t believe something is possible, typically put in less effort due to fear and lack of confidence, which shuts down their brain before they even get started. If you are going to impose goals, which is rarely a good strategy (see the next condition below for a better strategy), make them reasonably achievable. Then help the person/team see how achieving the goal is possible, give them confidence by letting them know you will support them along the way, and provide safety nets rather than sink or swim edicts.
Practical application:
It is better to give a ten-car-a-month sales person, who has never sold more than twelve, a goal of thirteen, than a goal of eighteen. Not only will they be more motivated from the start, but their motivation will build the closer they get to the goal, and the more they will be motivated to push to new heights.
Fifth, leaders need to create a culture of ownership. Leaders who don’t give away control, often called Control Freaks, are working harder than they need to, while stunting the growth and productivity of their people. The brain needs a sense of control and comes alive when it owns something. This is why achieving ‘buy-in’ is so important. Leaders need to spend more time talking about what is possible and why it is important. If everybody works to their potential the results will be there. And if the results are still not enough you either need more people or different people.
Practical application:
Negotiate goals with your team, allow them to come up with their own plan of how they will achieve the agreed results, and hold them accountable.
Henry Cloud sums it all up by pointing out, “leaders are ridiculously in charge and get what they create and what they allow”. Hence, the culture you have today is a direct result of the things that you have allowed. To benefit from a positive Chameleon Effect, leaders need to create the right conditions [culture] for optimal brain functioning.
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Herb Mast is President of COHESION, inc. and is passionate about inspiring Car Dealers to achieve greater growth and business sustainability. Everything he does as an Executive Coach, Consultant, Author, Keynote Speaker, and Workshop Presenter is focused on “filling gaps and connecting dots” of automotive leaders and managers to increase their effectiveness in the areas of leadership, teamwork, employee and customer care, and organizational health. Additional insights and practical solutions are available on Herb’s blog at www.HealthyDEALER.com. © Herb Mast 2015