3 Tips for Executive Development

Leaders are suffering from their own business hangover. During our recent political in-fighting and economic uncertainty, businesses have had their nose to the grindstone striving to do more with less. Everyone was so focused on surviving and cutting, they're just now looking up and realizing they have no clear next steps, limited vision and no energy.

AmyK, who has worked with Martha Beck (Oprah's Life Coach, bestselling author and columnist for O), National Geographic, IBM, John Paul Mitchell Systems, to name a few, offers you, our readers, these three quick and easy tips for executive development that any business leader can practice to immediately improve his/her leadership performance:

• Focus on energy, not time. Time is a constant; energy is a manageable, renewable resource. What's sucking out your energy and what refuels it? Your answers will influence your strategy for energy management within the constraints of time.
• Leadership happens one conversation at a time. Slow down and ask better questions. Focus on thought-provoking questions over reports. In meeting prep, devote at least five minutes to think of three to five questions that will lead to a more productive, more thought-provoking meeting. These five minutes will save you hours down the road.
• Create internal alignment. Step back and ask yourself: What am I resisting? What am I judging? What am I attached to? Answer these three questions and you'll gain clarity, insight and a foundation for momentum.

About our Guest Author:

With over 700 presentations to 20,000+ executives in seven countries, AmyK Hutchens serves as an Intelligent Activist and business strategist to leaders around the globe. AmyK is a former senior EVP of operations for a leading sales and marketing firm, director of education for Europe and Australia for a 900 million dollar consumer products company, and chosen member of National Geographic's Educator Advisory Committee. She is the winner of five Telly Marketing Awards and the Summit International's Award for Creativity (2008) and a featured guest on NBC, Fox and ABC for her brain-based commentary on current events.

Executive Compensation as a Strategic Tool

As part of our series of articles by exceptional HR professionals, today we present article by a new guest author, Jim Moniz.

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With the year 2008 gone and its legacy of a weakened economy and even the most understated financial pundits already designating 2009 as volatile, many companies are reevaluating their business plans and shifting into survival mode. While attracting, retaining and motivating key employees are vital to the success of any business, the current economic environment may be the ideal time to re-think executive compensation measures.

The days of the “holiday bonus” may soon be by gone as companies – both private and public – progressively recognize there are other, more creative vehicles that can serve as incentive for retention. For instance, that annual check bestowed during the office holiday party is a short-lived and anticipated incentive and once received, what’s to stop employees from moving on to newer landscapes? This yearly “reward” come the end of December or the fiscal year is often looked upon as part and parcel of salary, essentially diminishing the true definition of performance incentive – and while the intention may be good, this type of across the board reward mechanism can alienate certain employees whose performance is consistently outstanding.

By creating a business environment that fosters achievement and implements long-term incentive programs, the loss of vital employees whose skill and knowledge are fundamental to the overall success of a company may be avoided.

For example, deferral plans are fast becoming a popular executive benefit, since they allow for pre-tax contributions that mirror 401(k) contributions lost under limitation rules. A deferral plan is the bonus that keeps on giving year-round as it allows employees to reduce their current income tax liability and watch their funds grow tax-deferred. In addition, the employer can make matching contributions to cover those contributions not allowed under a 401(k) plan, making the deferral plan a genuine incentive for longevity within a company.

Phantom stock is another incentive that can be tied exclusively to performance. Simply put, phantom stock is a promise to pay a bonus in the form of the equivalent of either the value of company shares or the increase in that value over a period of time. The most essential element of this incentive approach is its long-term understanding. Also, phantom stock plans are not tax-qualified, and as such not subject to the same tax rules as 401(k) plans. A company can promise a new and valuable executive this durable bonus every three or five years or over a longer period of time, making it attractive to remain for an extended run.

Another form of executive bonus is the performance unit – an offer to pay an executive a sum of cash at the end of a long-term performance period. The amount of a performance unit is based on attainment of certain pre-established financial objectives of the company. Some may define this brand of incentive as the ultimate performance carrot, as it consistently encourages an executive employee to tie his or her individual success into that of the company.

Company stock options are another form of incentive compensation appealing to many executive level employees. The amount of equity can be tied to the number of years in service, translating into potentially high returns for employee longevity.

It must be said that there are occasions when a well-timed “spontaneous” reward can be worth its proverbial weight in gold. A check for a modest amount in the aftermath of a key company success can go a long way toward providing management team members with a sense of company loyalty.

Finally, don’t discount other, more imaginative approaches to executive compensation. Options that should be considered are life insurance programs, health-club memberships, tuition reimbursement, flexible hours, and the leeway to work from a home office on occasion.

Ultimately, incentives should be connected to a company’s broad mission and scope of values. Companies must create an environment that fosters success and incentives should be tied to that success. Failure to keep an eye on that goal may result in lack of motivation for certain key employees, whose performance or lack of performance can make or break a business.

An effectively designed executive compensation program impacts the overall success of a company. A well integrated compensation arrangement can assist in promoting the core values of a company and help it along the path to continued success.

About our Guest Author:

James E. (Jim) Moniz, CEO of Northeast VisionLink, a Massachusetts firm that specializes in structuring executive compensation. James E. Moniz is a national speaker on the topic of wealth management and on executive compensation.

Upcoming Webinar

I need to plug a pretty exciting webinar that we will be hosting on December 11th, 2008.

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"What learning experiences are companies proposing to their executive talent to get them ready to secure strategic relevance and fuel business growth?" 

Dan Fisher and Michel Buffet will provide some answers to this question based on their experience of designing and delivering customized leadership and management training programs to organizations. More specifically, they will address the new business case for leadership development, breakthrough and practical approaches to keep leaders engaged and committed to learning, and robust ways to measure impact and ROI.  

Time & Location: 1:30 PM Central Standard Time as a global event on your laptop

Keynote Speakers: Dan Fisher and Michael A. Buffet, live from New York

Dan Fisher, PhD: Dan is a managing partner at Fisher Rock Consulting. He provides consultation on selecting, developing, and utilizing senior leadership capital within the context of positional demands, strategic goals, and organizational culture to clients across a wide range of industries. He has extensive experience assessing senior executives and providing them with critical insights and information on their pivotal strengths, key developmental needs, and potential derailers. He is often retained by clients to coach executives on being more effective leaders and achieving breakthrough results. Dan provides high stakes assessment on executives, for internal and external selection, and has designed and delivered leadership development programs for some of today’s top global companies. Prior to co-founding Fisher Rock Consulting, Dan was Director of Assessment Services for Worklab Consulting, a subsidiary of the law firm Seyfarth Shaw. A partial list of the clients he has worked with to date includes Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America,  Barclays Capital, ICAP, Highbridge Capital Management, Andor Capital MasterCard, McGraw-Hill, ADP, GE, Ciba Specialty Chemicals, Eaton, Hewlett Packard, DoubleClick, Renegade, Alltel, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations. Dan received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of California at Santa Barbara and completed his post-doctoral studies at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, where he later became a faculty member. In addition to serving on the board of The Metropolitan New York Association for Applied Psychology and the American Psychological Association’s Society for Consulting Psychology, Dan is an active member of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. 

Michel A. Buffet, PhD: Michel Buffet is a partner at Fisher Rock, a consulting firm that works with senior leaders and Human Resources executives on organizational change and custom talent management solutions. Before joining Fisher Rock, Michel was a Partner at Oliver Wyman and for over 10 years, worked in the areas of organizational design, team and board effectiveness, executive talent management, and organizational assessment.  Prior to this, Michel conducted cross-cultural training and development at the Training Management Corporation and at the Prudential Intercultural Services.  He also worked on various applied measurement projects at Citibank Bankcards and for the Department of Personnel of New York City. Michel holds a PhD in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University and a DESS in Social Clinical Psychology from the University of Paris.  He was a contributor to Relationships That Enable Enterprise Change: Leveraging the Client Consultant Connection (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, 2002).  His most recent article on executive onboarding appeared in the October 2007 issue of Talent Management.  He has presented his work at several business forums on organizational transformation and leadership.  He is a member of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, the Metropolitan New York Association of Applied Psychology, the American Psychological Society, and the French-American Chamber of Commerce of New York.  He is bilingual in French and English and fluent in Spanish.  He lives in Princeton, NJ.

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If you would like to attend this event, please send an email to info@hr-meter.com with the subject line "Upcoming Webinar"