Management Muse

EP16: What Do Tom Cruise and the King of Jordan Have in Common? With Jefferson Howell

In this mini episode, retired Marine Corps Lieutenant General Jefferson “Beak” Howell shares a few fun stories from his life and relates some lessons on leadership. If you missed his earlier episodes, check out our 3-part series on Crisis Management, episodes 4-6.Timestamps[00:50] General Howell shares a story about Tom Cruise coming over for dinner during a visit to the Johnson Space Center.[06:59] General Howell talks about his surprise promotion to General.[11:43] General Howell shares a story from his time as an infantryman.[22:27] General Howell shares an important leadership lesson.[25:34] General Howell discusses balancing big-picture thinking with individualized attention to members of a very large team.[27:24] General Howell talks about having lunch with the king of Jordan.Episode Quotes by Jefferson Howell:“You gotta take care of the organization. You gotta get the job done. The mission always has to be completed. And that’s paramount. At the same time, look after your people. Take care of them. Try to help them do wonderful things.”About Lieutenant General (retired) Jefferson Howell:Lieutenant General Jefferson Howell had a 37-year career in the Marine Corps, serving at all officer levels, and then was Commander of the Johnson Space Center. Following his retirement from NASA, he served on the faculty at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.

EP15: Thoughts on American Healthcare with Rhonda Mundhenk

This mini episode is a standalone conversation that occurred during turnaround episode 12 with Rhonda Mundhenk, Chief Executive Officer of Clinical Health Network for Transformation (CHN). In this mini episode, Rhonda discusses what she would do if given the chance to turn around American healthcare.Episode Highlights· The ways in which social investments and preventative care are central to successful healthcare.· Differences in attitudes about healthcare between the United States and other developed countries.· How America’s focus on treating disease rather than creating health shapes our approach to healthcare.Timestamps[01:17] Rhonda discusses what she would do if asked to turn around American healthcare.[02:04] Rhonda talks about how important social investments and preventative care are to a successful healthcare system.[04:07] Rhonda speaks about how the US healthcare system focuses on treating disease and morbidity rather than creating health.[07:13] Rhonda points out the positive correlation between the health of a nation’s women and children, and the overall health and economic well-being of that nation.Episode Quotes by Rhonda Mundhenk:“When you think about the US healthcare system, this is the fundamental question: Are we treating disease, or are we trying to manufacture health? And therefore, where should we spend our resources?”AboutRhonda Mundhenk is the Chief Executive Officer for the Clinical Health Network for Transformation (CHN) in Central Texas. Previously, Rhonda was CEO of Lone Star Circle of Care (LSCC), a system of federally qualified health centers in Central Texas. The has a Master’s in Healthcare Transformation from the University of Texas at Austin, and a law degree from Northwestern University in Illinois.

EP14: The Tooth Fairy Entrepreneur with Nate Self

Note: Not recommended for kids who still believe. This mini-episode of Management Muse is a great story from Nate Self’s Transitions episode 8. We loved the story so much, that we didn’t want it to die during editing. So, here it lives. In this mini-episode, Nate talks about a time his youngest child, Griffin, caused him to suffer an involuntary and abrupt transition. About Nate Self Nate is a former U.S. Army officer and founder of the Praevius Group. Nate graduated from West Point with honors and served on active duty in Germany, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Nate travels the world speaking to audiences on topics related to personal and organizational effectiveness. He lives in Central Texas with his wife and four children, and he coaches a ton of youth sports.

EP13: Inequality In Healthcare with Welela Tereffe

This mini episode is a standalone conversation from the culture episode 2 with Welela Tereffe, M.D., the Chief Medical Executive of the University of Texas’ M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. In this mini episode, Welela shares important lessons about healthcare inequality, and discusses ways to improve the American healthcare system.Episode Highlights· Why there is a massive racial disparity in U.S. healthcare.· Implicit biases affect the quality of healthcare people of color receive.· How stress and aging take a disproportionate toll on African Americans.· How minority representation in healthcare plays a key role in correcting some inequalities in the U.S. healthcare system.Timestamps[00:53] Welela speaks about poor health outcomes in the state of Texas.[01:58] Welela discusses racial disparity in relation to breast cancer.[04:54] Welela shares why healthcare disparity is sometimes rooted in racism.[08:18] Welela gives an example of how implicit biases affect the healthcare people of color receive.[09:48] Welela and the hosts discuss the importance of representation in the medical field.[12:31] Welela explains some of the ways we can increase healthcare equality.[13:12] Welela talks about how to correct implicit biases. [14:24] Welela defines systemic racism.[15:21] Welela shares some of the incremental changes that could be made in healthcare to improve the system.[16:11] Welela discusses how our lifelong health outcomes are driven by the environment we grow up in.[17:43] Welela defines weathering and how it affects African Americans.[21:00] Welela offers an example of environmental racism.[22:25] Welela asks the question: How do you engage more people of color to become healthcare workers?[24:48] Welela speaks about how to help reduce implicit bias in the workplace.Episode Quotes by Welela Tereffe:“A recent study showed that when black women have a black obstetrician, their risk of maternal and infant mortality is something like three times lower. So, why is that? What’s the cause of that? I would say it’s likely the minimization of social distance, misperceptions, misdiagnosis, inattention, etc. that can happen because of our own implicit biases about people who are a different color than us.”“A commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout our educational system is really, really important. That will increase the number of people of color who are in healthcare… It’s also very important for ensuring that we increase the number of women and minorities on clinical trials. Clinical trials are the way we advance in science.”About Welela TereffeWelela Tereffe, M.D., is the Chief Medical Executive at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. She’s a graduate of Brown University, New York University Medical School, and Harvard University. Her medical specialization is in radiation oncology.Related ResourcesPatterson, Evelyn J., Andréa Becker, and Darwin A. Baluran. "Gendered Racism on the Body: An Intersectional Approach to Maternal Mortality in the United States." Population Research and Policy Review (2022): 1-34.Seligman, Martin EP. "Learned helplessness." Annual review of medicine 23.1 (1972): 407-412.Wakeel, Fathima, and Anuli Njoku. "Application of the weathering framework: Intersection of racism, stigma, and COVID-19 as a stressful life event among African Americans." Healthcare. Vol. 9. No. 2. Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2021.

EP12: Rhonda Mundhenk Tells Us to Run with The Wildebeest

Managers are often decent at waging bets, but what if you had to take over a losing hand? Management is hard on a good day, but leading an organizational turnaround takes special skills and a willingness to persist in the face of imposing obstacles. How do you condition yourself to lead an organization when the odds are stacked against you? That’s what we cover on this episode of Management Muse. In this episode, we discuss Organizational Turnarounds with Rhonda Mundhenk. Rhonda is the Chief Executive Officer at Clinical Health Network for Transformation (CHN), and former Chief Executive Officer at Lone Star Circle of Care Under her leadership, Lone Star survived a multimillion dollar financial restructuring to become one of the nation's leading federally qualified health centers. She’s got major turnaround skills. Tune in to get the scoop.Timestamps:[00:01:35] Tenacity is a common characteristic of many managers; however, turnarounds require an especially invested leader. Rhonda shares why this matters.[00:02:59] Rhonda explains a 3-step process for turnarounds. 1) Preserving the core of the organization, 2) Redefining the organization, 3) Recasting the organization[00:08:28] Restructuring relies heavily on committing to a new vision and endlessly communicating the vision to everyone involved. Here, we discuss how that's best done.[00:12:41] Here, we talk about the traits necessary when turnaround work gets especially hard.[00:16:12] Rhonda talks about the importance of your team, and accessing resources outside of your organization.[00:16:55] Not every job survives a turnaround. Here’s how to keep your sanity during this tough phase.[00:19:15] Rhonda reflects here on her top turnaround lessons learned[00:24:55] Here is what the pandemic taught us all about navigating uncertainty, which is a common trait of turnarounds.[00:29:02] Rhonda advises on how to influence change when you're not the CEO by: identifying your audience, communicating your why, overcoming inertia by appealing to emotions[00:37:40] Rhonda discusses looking back and seeing your good work continue.[00:43:10] What wildebeest migration and organizational restructuring have in common—the answer may surprise you.Quotes by Rhonda Mundhenk:“When you're in the moment, it just seems all consuming and there's so many things to do, but you also have to provide a vision for the future that's actually going to get people through [to] the other side.““You have to be able to understand your audience, understand what actually needs to happen, and then just write it to your audience in a way that [has] the emotional component. It's very rarely actually the rational things that make people change big, deep seated, you know, deeply felt beliefs.”“You just have to have that understanding that like, yes, this is the whole herd that I am responsible for, but I do understand that not the entire herd is going to make it to where we're going, because that is not the nature of migrations. So, there will be some attrition along the way. But your goal is to get that critical mass of wildebeest to jump in the water. Because actually when they all jump in the water, very few of them are gonna be eaten by crocodiles.”Resources:McKinley, William, Scott Latham, and Michael Braun. "Organizational decline and innovation: Turnarounds and downward spirals." Academy of management review 39.1 (2014): 88-110.Useem, Michael. Leading Up. New York: Currency, 2001.www.managementmuse.comhttps://culsure.com/product/organizational-benchmark/https://ondemandleadership.com/strategic-planning/

EP11 Organizational Change: Solutions In the Dumpster

Organizations move slowly, until they don’t. They resist change, until they can’t. Why? On this episode of Management Musewe discuss an unusual—and unusually powerful—way of thinking about organizations…like they are trash cans! Hosts Cindi Baldi and Geoffrey Tumlin talk about one of the greatest management papers you’ve never read: "A Garbage Can Model of Organizational Choice," the classic article written by Michael D. Cohen, James G. March, and Johan P. Olsen. As crazy as it sounds, the trashcan model of organizations makes a lot of sense: Organizations are messy and chaotic. There’s a lot of different issues inside them, and occasionally the contents spill out and come into full visibility. Grab your flashlight; it’s time to climb into the trashcan.Episode Highlights:● Organizations aren’t efficient like computers, they are messy and somewhat unpredictable like trashcans.● Do you feel unheard? Like your ideas are neglected? Don’t take it personally. It’s a garbage can out there, and you have to reach in, grab the item you care about, and champion it.● Organizational change often happens on its own timeline, but smart managers can often spot moments to push, and times to back off.Timestamps:[0:00] Cindi and Geoff talk about key managerial lessons from the garbage can model.[4:00] The hosts discuss championing your ideas in a garbage can environment.[6:00] Cindi and Geoff talk about floating ideas up and outside of the trashcan.[8:25] The hosts talk about using your time and energy in the trashcan wisely.[9:20] Geoff and Cindi cover the ways that Covid knocked over many trashcans, and created numerous opportunities for change.[14:00] The hosts explore how external shocks often lead to big changes.[17:12] Geoff and Cindi talk about using the garbage can model to help people improve their organizations.[25:10] Cindi and Geoff talk about making change happen with limited time and other resources.[28:00] The hosts cover two scenarios that prompt change in a garbage can world: (1) Something internal or external knocks over the trashcan, revealing messes that require attention. (2) Someone external takes the lid off, raises a flag, and forces action.[37:00] Why it’s so humbling to try changing an organization. No matter what you think you know or which methodology you deploy, it’s a trashcan out there. The process is messy, so when an opening emerges, don’t hesitate to seize what might be a sacred opportunity.[38:32] Geoff and Cindi talk about what’s in the trashcan and what can be done to evolve the organization.Episode Quotes:“It’s humbling to try to change an organization because no matter what you think you know or what methodology you’re following that seems to have all the answers, it’s a trashcan out there. It’s just not going to be clean.” –Geoffrey Tumlin“At the lower end, you really have to be able to build a coalition, go up the chain. There’s still a lot of work that you have to do if you decide that it’s really important and it’s a much longer, harder process because you’re that much further away from the actual decision-makers.” –Cindi BaldiEpisode Resources: Would you like to read the original article? Here it is: "A Garbage Can Model of Organizational Choice," by Michael D. Cohen, James G. March and Johan P. Olsen.https://culsure.com/coaching/https://ondemandleadership.com/executive-team-building/www.managementmuse.com

EP10 Deception: Can Lying Be Good? Matt McGlone Makes the Case

To lie or not to lie, that is today’s question. Deception isn’t always a bad thing—you probably don’t tell your significant other everything.There’s a difference between outright lies—almost always counterproductive and bad—and selective deception, which is not saying something. Sometimes, a little selective deception is a smart management strategy. After all, that’s what having trade secrets is all about. Today's guest on Management Muse, Professor Matthew McGlone, is here to tell us more.The key to leveraging deception in business is to focus on the good, like your good reviews, your successes, and your happy customers. Impression management and selective representation can be a very useful skill for businesses managing their public image.The danger, however, comes when what you are not saying is more important than what you are saying.You can still be authentic and mostly honest while using selective deception. Most people tell the truth most of the time. Used sparingly, and without outright lies, selective deception might be a smart occasional choice. In today’s episode, we dive deep into deception. Timestamps:[3:04] When deception in management is a positive tool [6:46] Avoiding deception pitfalls [9:36] Managing your company’s public impression[13:10] Authenticity versus falsehood[16:39] Self-deception to continue to see ourselves in a good light[21:48] Why you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself for deceiving[28:00] Differences in groups (females/males) in lying [37:48] Detecting lies, maybeEpisode Quotes:“Why should organizations which consist of people be any different than the individual who tries to put their best face forward? And so, in that sense, I think that deception can be very useful. I'd say that it is sort of skill. Any sort of impression management selective representation would be very important for a manager. “– Matt McGlone“Astroturfing is when companies will put their campaigns and efforts to engage in sustainable, clean technology. They'll put that in the forefront while not talking about the fact that there are major pollutants. That's why astroturfing is a wonderful word. It looks like grass. But it really isn't. It's as toxic and plastic and artificial as it can be.”– Matt McGlone“We're generally truth tellers, and so the four things that I remember you saying are to go easy on yourself, try not to lie outright, think about the relationship, and then consider being extremely forgiving of other people when you catch them [in a lie].” – Geoffrey Tumlin“I’ve always thought that organizations get hung up when they make their identity about like a core value, and then that's the thing that they wind up doing something contradictory towards, whether it's lying or just an overt act.”– Cindi Baldi“Used in a very misleading way, and that's there's a phenomenon people called paltering. Paltering is when you say things that are truthful, and they are every bit as misleading as a falsehood. I would urge managers to think about how much paltering might be going on in there. In their organizations because I think misleading truths is an overlooked category.” – Matt McGloneResources:McGlone, Matthew S., and Mark L. Knapp. "Historical perspectives on the study of lying and deception." The Palgrave Handbook of Deceptive Communication. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2019. 3-28.McGlone, Matthew S., and Mark L. Knapp, eds. The interplay of truth and deception. New York, NY: Routledge, 2010.www.managementmuse.comhttps://ondemandleadership.com/executive-team-building/https://culsure.com/product/organizational-benchmark/

EP9 Incentives: Dodging Carrots

Organizational incentives are tricky, in at least eight counterproductive ways. This episode of Management Muse is inspired by "On the Folly of Rewarding A, While Hoping for B," a timeless article written by Steven Kerr in the 1970s, this episode provides eight classic examples of incentives that frequently are either misplaced, distorted or internally inconsistent:Demanding teamwork but rewarding individual achievement.Valuing diversity but continuing to hire the same types of people.Encouraging merit and excellence, but doling out paltry, across-the-board increases that reward no one.Rallying employees to show customer love, but internally communicating dismissiveness or disrespect towards those very same customers.Asking for innovation and experimentation but executing on trusted old ideas.Claiming to value women in the workplace, but perpetuating schedules and policies that disadvantage them.Asking for loyalty to the organization, but rewarding free agency.Asking for candid feedback but responding much more positively to butt-kissing.In this episode, Cindi and Geoff offer thoughts for anyone who has ever been confused by mixed organizational messages. Episode Highlights:· Organizations don’t mean to be contradictory, but incentives are so tricky they often tie well-meaning managers in knots.· Managerial goals don’t always correlate with desired outcomes.· Data analytics can be a double-edged sword, as goals and measures may alienate the very employees they’re designed to help.· Employee evaluations are often skewed by co-mingled rewards and flawed productivity measures.· Feedback and introspection can often illuminate inconsistent corporate incentives.Timestamps:[03:15] Measuring outcomes is often hard because managers want teamwork, but reward individual achievement.[06:45] Managers often wrestle with: how to encourage better teamwork, elicit more creativity, enhance productivity, compensate people, and when and how to administer discipline.[11:48] Cindi and Geoff discuss safe hires vs. hard hires, and why the distinction matters.[24:10] Employee evaluations are often based on flawed formulas.[38:02] How to unwind workplace incentives that unintentionally penalize women.[42:59] Corporate leadership praises the idea of candor and people speaking up, until they say something unfavorable.[49:28] Historical examples emphasize how incentives often go wrong, and how to get them right.Episode Quotes:"Organizations commonly say they want teamwork, but all of their reward systems and how they pay out and how they give praise are built on individual achievement.” – Geoffrey Tumlin“Incentives are tricky. We have to get out of the mindset that we’re going to set up incentives and then just let it go because you have to swing back around (to look at) all the unintended consequences.” – Cindi BaldiEpisode Resources:· https://www.ou.edu/russell/UGcomp/Kerr.pdf· Ryan, Richard M., and Edward L. Deci. "When paradigms clash: Comments on Cameron and Pierce’s claim that rewards do not undermine intrinsic motivation." Review of educational research 66.1 (1996): 33-38.· Cameron, Judy. "Negative effects of reward on intrinsic motivation—A limited phenomenon: Comment on Deci, Koestner, and Ryan (2001)." Review of educational research 71.1 (2001): 29-42. · https://www.gallup.com/workplace/249332/harm-good-truth-performance-reviews.aspx

EP8 Transitions With Nate Self: Finding Yourself Is So Yesterday

Transitions are tough, even if you are a war hero. In this episode of Management Muse, former U.S. Army Special Operations (Ranger) officer and founder of the management consulting firm Praevius Group, Nate Self, talks about the most challenging transitions in his life, and shares his advice for more smoothly navigating work and home transitions. Episode HighlightsTransitions can be: Structured or unstructured, abrupt or deliberate, and voluntary or involuntary.When possible, try to consider the complexities of transitions before making them.Abrupt and involuntary transitions are often particularly jarring.Group membership and other external resources, such as family, communities, religion, hobbies, etc, can provide critical support and stability during transitions.Timestamps [1:43] Nate gives examples of different types of transitions, including structured vs. unstructured, abrupt vs. deliberate, and voluntary vs. involuntary. [6:25] Nate talks about the importance of considering the challenges and complexities of transitions before making them. [9:50] Nate describes the value of considering important relationships during transitions. [13:26] Nate shares recommendations for managers, leaders, and organizations to help individuals make good transitions. [20:03] Geoff describes multiple role theory, and how it relates to transitions. [30:29] Cindi shares an example of how one person’s transition can spur transitions for people close to them. [36:44] Geoff notes that managers are often the instigators of abrupt change for other people, and Nate shares how managers can blunt some of the counterproductive impacts of fast change. [39:15] The group discusses final transition advice for managers. Episode Quotes “The number one thing that’s at stake in your transitions is the relationships that you have. I think it’s the most important part of our lives. Our jobs are typically the source of most of our transitions… But there are some transitions that are relationship-based, and those are the most painful ones. Sometimes, when we change roles or we change jobs, we unknowingly have collateral damage in our relationships. So, that’s one of the things I would want to emphasize: You have to account for your relationships first.” -Nate Self “People have a tendency, when they feel uncertainty, to just make a decision, even if it’s a bad decision, because they just want to get out of uncertainty. Discipline yourself not to do that. Live with uncertainty and get yourself in a better spot.” – Cindi Baldi About Nate Self Nate is a former U.S. Army officer and founder of the Praevius Group Nate graduated from West Point with honors and served on active duty in Germany, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Nate speaks extensively on the topics of transition and personal growth, and he lives in Central Texas with his wife and four children. Resources Ashforth, Blake. Role transitions in organizational life: An identity-based perspective. Routledge, 2000. Kyprianides, A., M. J. Easterbrook, and R. Brown. "Group identities benefit well-being by satisfying needs." Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 84 (2019): 103836. Brook, Amara T., Julie Garcia, and Monique A. Fleming. "The effects of multiple identities on psychological well-being." Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 34.12 (2008): 1588-1600. https://culsure.com/coaching/https://ondemandleadership.com/executive-team-building/https://managementmuse.com/

EP7 Management Errors: The Shortcut That Is Under Construction

Mistakes are a part of life, but when they happen in business, they can be costly. That's why Management Muse brought you this episode, to help you identify a common management mistake—question substitution error—and to improve your own decision-making skills. Today, Cindi and Geoff discuss substitution error, which happens when our brains unconsciously replace the tougher questions in our day-to-day lives with simpler ones, because our brains are constantly trying to help us find shortcuts. The substitution error occurs at work and at home, and almost happened to Cindi and Geoff as a very costly mistake on vacation. This episode also covers the destructive impact of exhaustion, hunger, and decision fatigue on our decision making. Cindi and Geoff also talk about how hiring can end up as a question substitution error (Do I like this person?(easy) instead of Is this person likely to be successful in this job?(harder), and how to reduce the negative effect of question substitution at work and at home. Episode Highlights:Question substitution occurs when our brains default to simpler questions, like How do I feel right now?(simple), instead of How do I feel about the issue I’m facing? (harder).When hiring new employees, it’s easy to ask ourselves how we feel about a person. The harder question is whether the interviewee will be successful in the position.When our brain senses that something is hard, it tries to reduce the cognitive load by simplifying, or by looking for a quicker and easier rule of thumb to generate an answer. That’s often helpful, but not always. When we are tired or in decision fatigue, we’ll often agree to anything, just to get out of the decision-making situation, or we’ll select the safest, most conservative decision. Both of these shortcuts replace a harder question (What should we actually decide?) with an easier question (How do I get out of this mentally taxing situation quickly?).Time Stamps: [5:06] Deep dive into question substitution and how the brain routinely substitutes the hard questions into simpler ones to reduce our cognitive load [16:09] How the unpredictability of job interviews encourages question substitution [26:15] How tiredness, hunger, and repeated decisions cause decision fatigue [35:04] How to cope with the hard questions to reduce management errors [44:26] How to move toward better decisions Episode Resources: Thinking Fast and Slow (2011) by Daniel Kahneman, Penguin: New York. See Chapter 9: Answering an Easier Question.Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength (2011) by Roy Baumeister and James Tierney, Penguin: New York.Danziger, S., Levav, J., and Avnaim-Pesso, L. (2011) Extraneous factors in judicial decisions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108(17), 6889-6892. We incorrectly referred to the Israeli Parole Board study as being from Roy Baumsieter and colleagues, when, in fact, the study is from Shai Danziger referenced above. https://culsure.com/product/organizational-benchmark/https://ondemandleadership.com/strategic-planning/