One's Origins

I spent eleven years of my career with an esteemed global audit and advisory firm.  Those two words, audit and advisory make terrible bed fellows even just conceptually.  (Before I continue, I am very grateful for my experiences and accomplishments with this organization and my remarks are in no way a reflection of my opinions of the firm but rather of the notion of performing audit and consulting work for the same entity.)  When I began in the mid 90’s, providing business consulting services to a client whose books you audited was more commonplace than not.  Though once I began getting in-tuned with the work in which I was engaged (I was quite green when I started) there was an up tick in the rhetoric around the conflict of interest of consulting for audit clients.  (Enron reminds us that indeed in some places it was just rhetoric.)  The short and sweet is that if you are tasked to assess, you cannot impartially counsel and vice versa.  Many try and it is simply impossible to excel completely at both simultaneously for the same entity.
This leads us to the notion of people management in many companies.  If you work for an organization that assigns a person’s manager as their mentor they may be a bit misguided about mentoring programs.  It is no different than having a company being audited by the same firm that advised them on their business strategies.  If you are serious about mentoring in your organizations, you must grant employees the opportunity to select there own mentors.  Not all people are cut out to be mentors (just as many people are not cut out to be mangers no matter how hard to we seem to try to resist this fact).  This will take a little longer than simply assigning them.  In the end however, a stronger bond will form organically between mentor and mentee and that is a the single most important key to success in any mentoring relationship.  Otherwise, if the mentor and performance manager are the same person, the mentee will likely be deprived of the counsel in managing a challenge that is especially common among younger employees at the early stages of their career – the upward relationship with their manager.  Moreover, the manager will invariably have an agenda that will be of consequence to the employee.
On the heels of the above, I will refer to Samuel Colbert’s book, “Get Rid of the Performance Review”.  Here, Mr. Colbert shares with us that the best way to grow our own career is to be in service to those for whom we have performance responsibility. He sees (and I advocate) managers and their direct reports approach their relationship as more of a partnership.  Perhaps here manager can serve a limited mentoring role.  Though for larger career – and I believe life – issues, an independent mentor is still optimal.
Thanks for reading.  Comments are, as always, welcome. Have a Great Day!
Matt G.

There was once a study done where a large group of school-aged children were given an examination.  Those whose grades were in the top 50th percentile where commended on their high grades.  Those whose grades were in the bottom 50th percentile where commended for their efforts.
Then both groups (the above and below the 50th percentile) were asked to select between two tests for the second round of the experiment.  Those who were commended for their results selected the easier of the two tests. Those who were commended for their efforts selected the more difficult test.
This is eerily similar to how adults would behave in similar situations.  Only instead of accolades for results, there is usually remunerations involved.  But if no money is involved, then it is if to say, “Well, if we are not going to be given anything for our efforts, we might as well learn something.” It is rather odd – indeed paradoxical – that we inhibit learning and the desire for learning by bestowing praise and/or reward upon people for their results.
We all want to learn. We are born curious as all get out. Just watch any infant for a few minutes.  Something breaks down along the way and seeking approval becomes more important. That is damaging in my opinion and many sociologists agree.  I am eager to explore, why do we give grades when by doing so we are discouraging curiosity which is nature’s fuel for learning?  Learning is not successful when it is performance based. In the current issue of Harvard Business Review, Herminia Ibarra and Marten Hansen state:

“When performance goals dominate an environment, people are motivated to show others that they have a valued attribute such as intelligence or leadership. When learning goals dominate, they are motivated to develop the attribute.”

As suggested above, extrapolation of this into the workplace is simple and obvious.  Should we be surprised that we must continually provide incentives to get people to produce?  We have created the need for the incentives merely by using them.  We have depleted ourselves of our inborn  tendencies to learn and contribute by dangling extrinsic motivators.  In some cases, this is so much so that many intrinsic desires have atrophied.
So back to my question. If grades produce a reduction in the desire to make mistakes and learn, why do we give them.   Might it have more to do with gauging how successfully the one called ‘teacher’ is influencing (dare I say manipulating) the mind of the one called ‘student’?
In a not-too-distant future post, I hope to share some thoughts on how to re-invigorate intrinsic drivers.  It is intrinsic drivers and motivators that have begotten just about every significant advancement experienced by the human race.
In closing, I wish to thank three noteworthy authors for their work which has become, and will continue to be, a great inspiration for me: Alfie Kohn, Paul Marciano, and Dan Pink.
Thanks for reading. As always, comments are welcome. Have a great day!
Matt G.

We are taught what we are taught the way we are taught to fit to a one-size-fits-all teaching plan.  Each element is designed to build on previous elements thus reinforcing its validity. Later, once we are exposed to experiences, stimuli, or other input that is not congruent with what we were taught, we are inclined to dismiss it as wrong.  The extent to which this is pronounced is, in many cases, correlated to the weight we placed on the evaluations from others about how well we were taught.  We have subjugated ourselves to being taught, thus often abandoning our opportunities to learn.
I plan to expand further in future posts.  I appreciate and welcome comments.
Thanks for reading. Have Great Day!
Matt G.

I recently read a brief piece titled The Sabbatical by Denise Gershbein. (full text available at http://designmind.frogdesign.com/articles/work-life/the-sabbatical.html).  I commend her for sharing this.  It has encouraged me to share my own downtime experience.
For many hard working focused individuals, the notion of a sabbatical can range from an elusive dream to completely irresponsible and everything in between.  After fifteen years of management consulting – eleven of which I was employed by a top tier audit and advisory firm – I embarked on bigger dreams in smaller organizations.  For me this was truly eye-opening.  I took for granted the more progressive position larger more established organizations took in cultural development. While smaller organizations are much more nimble and lack bureaucracy (both almost always good things) there is, in my experience, a lag in the adoption of forward looking thinking and long term development.   Since survival might appear more doubtful and tenuous, fear and insecurity can drive decision-making.  This might not always be inappropriate for smaller firms.  (For clarity, I do not suggest that large firms need not make adjustments in response to environmental changes.  They may have the benefit of size to think more long-term and/or size necessitates longer-term thinking.  Either way, their response profile is conspicuously different.)  I soon realized that I made missteps in transitioning from one modus operandi to the other.  This was my breaking point.  My proclivities towards more enlightened and progressive philosophies led to undesirable outcomes. From this, I learned a lot – and therefore, something was gained for sure.
While not planned, this led to some time ‘unplugged’ from work to engage in both generative and recuperative sabbaticals – self funded and self imposed.  During this time I did not travel much. I did did however, engross myself with books and articles.  I reread parts of a few books from my MBA courses.  I was, at many times, introspective to better identify my best self from what I have experienced and learned up to this point in my life.  Basically, the last six months were a retooling of sorts of thought and intellect.  Some might find this wasteful or irresponsible.  With every gram of respect, having gone through this experience, I shall disagree.  Upon returning to work, a pursuit with which I am now vigorously engaged, I am now more emboldened to better appreciate my environment as I effectively contribute to organizational growth and development.  This is how I put extended time-off to valuable use.
I welcome you to read the article in the link at the top of this post.  I also welcome you to share your feedback either to this post or to the post of the article itself.
Thanks for reading. Have a Great Day!
Matt G.

I was once involved with an organization that had realized some great successes by servicing clients in a highly regulated industry.  Violations of the regulations drew big fines so having expertise in the area was valuable to our clients and profitable for us.  Unfortunately, such an environment can lead an organization to misidentify the reasons for its success.  I witnessed (and I was told I was hired into a senior management role to neutralize this trend)  an atmosphere were intimidation and distrust appeared to be prevalent in employee management. The predictable result was an erosion of morale.
This was very sad for me because our junior staff were usually of the demographic of having recently completed their undergraduate education – they were young and impressionable.  And the impression being left upon many of them I fear is that ‘Wow, this is what the work world is like.’  If left only with such an experience at a young age, it does not bode well at all for the business leaders 20 or 30 years hence.
My point is that as managers and leaders of today, we must always remember that our ontological selves greatly influence those that are in the position of looking up to us.  We can use our influences for better or for worse.  The former requires fortitude and emotional intelligence; the latter requires only apathy (though ego and insecurity are often catalysts).  Unfortunately, many people in management underestimate the enormity of the responsibility bestowed upon them.
I am not naive; I know businesses need to focus on making money.  Focusing on the growth of your people and the bottom line are not dichotomous activities.  In fact, they complement each other beautifully.  Research continues to support this.
It is our choice. We can decide the impact we have on the next generation. The bigger the change we wish to initiate, the longer the time required. Be patient and have faith that you are doing a great thing!
My intent in telling this story is to share my perspective on a particular  experience that I feel might have commonality with the experiences of others.  As always, I welcome you to share your point of view.
Thanks for reading and have a Great Day!
Matt G.
(Author’s note: As I wrote this I was reminded of my very first position of supervisor early in my career.  As I was preparing for the morning arrival of my team, my boss came by and asked, “Are the kids here yet?”.  I was initially offended that my staff was made akin to children.  It felt derogatory to me.  While I will never look upon anyone reporting to me as a child, I can certainly draw the analogy to a manager’s role involving the growth and development of the individual while staying focused on the goals and mission of the organization.)
© 2011 Vonarx Systems, LLC

What is the greatest compliment you ever received?  Not something nice someone said recently that gave you smile, I am talking about a compliment you were paid unexpectedly at some point in your life (might have been recently) that you know you will remember many years from now and that made you feel extremely proud of what someone else recognized in you.  To serve as an example, my response is at the end of this post.
My sincere request is that you give us a few short moments of your reflection and feedback and post a comment to this blog entry before March 31 in answer to this question: “What is the greatest compliment you ever received?”
Please include about how long ago it occurred and if you wish, also include why it was so memorable.  There is no need to identify yourself when submitting your response but you may if you wish.  When I post a future blog (early April) to summarize what we have collectively shared, I will not use any names in my summary if I do draw upon examples.
Here is my answer to the greatest compliment I ever received.  In the early 1990s I worked for a small engineering/architectural firm and we had a summer softball league with other architectural firms in the Philadelphia area.  One evening after a game, I was heading home and my route incidentally had me passing by the neighborhood of our office.  When I left the ball field, I felt that a call to nature was in my near future but I figured I would make it home with no problem.  Well, with a bottle of water and extra traffic, hope soon faded that I would make it home and I stopped at the office to use the facilities.  An administrative assistant that was also a close acquaintance of mine was leaving as I entered the building.  She asked if I was returning to work later.  I told I just stopped by because I really, really had to use the bathroom.  I will never forget what she said next. “Oh Matt, you are so human.”  To this day that is by far the greatest compliment I have ever received because at the end of the day that is all I can truly hope to be.  I will never forget that.
There is my most memorable compliment. What is yours? I look forward to reading some great responses.
Thank you for reading. Have a great day!
Matt G.

In the book, The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy, there is a scene that stopped me cold in my tracks.  Let me set the scene. There are two brothers, Tom and Luke, and one sister, Savanah. They grew up on an island off the South Carolina coast. Their father was a shrimp boat operator. Tom was college educated while Luke was not. Rather, he went to fight in the Vietnam war. (He returned physically intact but emotionally affected.)  What follows is my paraphrasing of the conversation in the scene.

Luke had to decide what to do with his shrimp boat while he was away at war.  Tom’s wife Sally suggested that Tom manage the shrimp boat operations so the payments on the boat could be kept current.  Luke’s reply was along the lines of, “Tom went to college so he wouldn’t have to run a shrimp boat.”  Tom, interjected and said. “No, Tom went to college so that he could decide to run a shrimp boat or not. I wanted to have a choice…”

For me, this was one of those moments where I was instantly drawn to reflection.  I worked my way through engineering undergrad throughout my twenties while working.  About eight years later I pursued an MBA, again, while working.  I now thankfully realized that I had not pursued my academic credentials because I felt I had be on a specific career path or even to avoid the need to rely on other limited career paths.  My pursuit was for the pure joy of learning and having choices on where and how I would live my working life.
I share this as a reminder that we might all benefit if we look inside oursleves and truly understand the ‘why’ of what we do.  With richer understanding of the ‘why’, more ‘whats’ and ‘hows’ become available to us.
Thanks for reading. Have a Great Day!
Matt G.