The LIFT Blog

By Robert E. Quinn

My last blog entry was titled, “Increasing Profit: How Far Should an Executive Go?”  In that last blog entry I pointed out that, in this economy, executives are doing very painful things to produce a profit.  I also pointed out that by changing the behavior in their management team, executives could become more profitable.  The patterns of social interaction on a management team matter.  We have scientific evidence that the members of a management team can behave in one of three ways.  In one pattern, the firm will lose money.  In the second, the firm will perform like similar firms.  In the third pattern, the firm will make much more money than similar firms.  All managers have to do to increase profit is to change how team members relate to each other.  We would, therefore, expect a great interest in this research.

Unfortunately executives tend to walk away from such findings and we tend to feel disgust as we watch such administrative hypocrisy.  Clearly executives do not want profit enough to engage in personal change and learning.

This raises another question. Can those who teach, consult, and work with executives do anything to inspire, encourage, or help executives want to engage in personal change and learning? In trying to increase the capacity of our audiences, how far should a teacher go? (more…)

By Ryan Quinn

I’m am going to begin this blog entry in an unusual way: with two video clips and a challenge. Please watch the clips below (referred to me by my colleague, Gretchen Spreitzer), and then try the challenge I describe beneath them.

CLIP #1

CLIP #2

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By Robert E. Quinn

The current economy is most difficult.  Firms are struggling to survive and every dollar matters.  To save money executives are making brutal decisions that they would prefer not to make.  This includes downsizing valued people and outsourcing key processes.  For these executives almost every waking hour is focused on the question, “how can we increase profit and decrease costs?”  Given these facts, consider the following:

The patterns of social interaction on a management team matter.  We have scientific evidence that the members of a management team can behave in one of three ways.  In one pattern, the firm will lose money.  In the second, the firm will perform like similar firms.  In the third pattern, the firm will make much more money than similar firms.  All managers have to do to increase profit is to change how they relate to each other. (more…)

By Ryan Quinn

A question that often surfaces in discussions about Positive Organizational Scholarship with managers is, “What if you have to downsize my department–there is no other option. Is there any way to do this in a positive way?” In answering this question, it is worthwhile to consider a couple of cases. (more…)

By Robert E. Quinn

I am passionate about helping people acquire the capacity to initiate organizational change.  In teaching executives how to it, I often say, “Now here is a golden sentence.”   A golden sentence is a simple statement, often counter-intuitive, that is packed with value.  One of the interesting things about my golden sentences is that when I first introduce them, the executives just look at me with a blank stare.  They see no obvious value. (more…)

By Ryan Quinn

A little over a month ago, as I finished teaching a session of a training program for a Fortune 500 company, one of the executives in the program came up to me to share some information with me. He said that he was responsible for innovation in his company, and he was struggling. He told me about a survey that had been conducted in his company. In short, the survey told them that they had no creative people in their company anymore. They had squelched people’s creativity, or driven them out of the organization. He was working hard to address that situation.

I have felt like I have had my creativity squelched out of me before. When that happens at work, it is usually because I feel pressured or stressed by deadlines, career development or other concerns. When it happens at home, it usually happens because I feel frustrated or overwhlemed by the challenges of rearing four children. It can be a dismal experience. (more…)

By Shawn Quinn, Ryan Quinn, and Robert Quinn

After the market crashed in 2008, the debt collections group of a large European company found their work to be more challenging than ever. The leader of this group had attended a course on “Leading for Total Engagement” that one of us (Shawn) taught for the company as part of a culture change initiative. In this course, the leader learned Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS) principles, and based on these principles, this leader decided to run an expriment. He noted that one of the company’s espoused values was “Concern for the customer.” He asked himself what would happen if he and his people actually lived up to that value. It was a radical idea, with a radical effect. (more…)

Guest author: Lynn Perry Wooten

Parenting has given me a new lens to explore positive leadership practices. Although I preach the same lessons to my children that I teach to my students, these lessons take on a new meaning when heard by my children. This week gives me an occasion to present a historical case study of positive leadership in action for my children by integrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with Lynn-isms of positive leadership practices.

When I asked my children what are the positive leadership practices that I talk about over and over again, their long list included the following three “Lynn-isms”: (more…)

By Robert E. Quinn

I very seldom hear a sentence that haunts me.  But for the last few weeks I have been wrestling with such a sentence.

A few weeks ago the family was together and we were having a discussion about the childhood experiences of some of our children.  The conversation began to focus on one of their teachers.  About twenty years ago, in elementary school, two of them were taught by a then new teacher named Ms. Roth.  She turned out to be the most effective teacher any of our children ever had.  Her influence was transformational.   She supported them while holding extraordinary standards and they grew in knowledge, capacity and self-esteem.

Even though she only taught two of our children, we all had stories to tell about this extraordinary teacher.  It was energizing to share accounts of a young person who made so much difference.  In the midst of this celebratory discussion, my son-in-law made a simple observation.

“Of course, if an education school studied what she did as a teacher, the school would still not be able to produce others like her.” (more…)

By Ryan W. Quinn

Happy New Year from The Lift Blog!

As is common with new years, I find myself thinking about change, and thought I might begin our new year on this blog by sharing a story about change. The story is about Texas Christian University’s (TCU’s) football team and football coach, who are ranked #4 in the nation and play #6 Boise State University in the Fiesta Bowl tonight. For those who do not follow football, this is a big deal for a number of reasons. It is a big deal for TCU because (a) this is the most complete and highest-ranked team the school has ever had, (b) they are playing in a game that, technically, only teams from “big money” conferences are supposed to play in, (c) it is even possible (if unlikely) that in one of the polls they could be voted in as national champions if they win the game, and (d) if they win this game (and, frankly, even if they simply play well in this game), it could catapult their program into being perennial contenders on the national level.

All of these reasons make the game exciting, but what make this game interesting for a blog on what leaders can learn from positive organizational scholarship is the story of the personal transformation of Gary Patterson, the coach of the TCU Horned Frogs. He described this personal transformation in a news conference he gave a couple of months ago. (more…)