Imagine after four or more years of leadership your company was going to change its entire management team and philosophy. Add to that image that the person coming in as the next CEO has never been a CEO nor managed a transition anywhere near this size (if at all).

If you have any organizational experience at all this thought scares you.

It leaves you wondering about the effectiveness of the organization both before and (long) after the transition, doesn't it? It also leaves everyone in the organization on pins and needles.

They know change is coming, but they don;t know about the future direction and they aren't at all sure what the changes mean to them in their work. It is human nature to wonder, talk about and worry a bit about these sorts of sweeping changes. Plus, when we are thinking about and talking about these sorts of issues our productivity dramatically drops.

Now imagine that the organization in question isn't producing and selling cars, cat food or clothes. That organization is leading the largest country and economy in the world.

All of what you just read is true for the United States in the coming months, regardless of who wins the election this fall. Let me make it even more dire from an organizational development standpoint. We won't even know who that new leader is until about 10 weeks before they take over - and many of their leadership team (read Cabinet members) won't be on board for weeks, even months, later!

When you add that into the initial story, the challenges become even greater and the impacts even more severe.

And yet, we go through this process every 4-8 years. And from what I can see as a layperson, we as a country don't have systems, processes and even expectations to improve this situation.

I write this on the morning Senator Obama will give his address in Denver at the DNC, and just a few days before Senator McCain will do the same in the Twin Cities at the RNC. While I know they must both continue to focus on winning the election, I would hope they both believe they will win. And, given that belief, they should begin now planning the transition to make the first several months of their leadership successful and efficient.

Understand, this isn;t about politics. It is about organizational change, leadership and a leader's ability to plan effective transitions.

Jamie Gorelick and Slade Gorton, two members of the 9/11 Commission, wrote an Op/Ed piece for the New York Times on July 16th that provided an overview about some of the key issues of this transition from a National Security perspective. Their insight is valuable and their specific recommendations are instructive. The list that follows borrows from and extends their suggestions, considering the full scope of a transition (not just from a National Security perspective) and highlighting the urgency that we should all feel about making this transition quicker and more effective.

The Transition Imperatives

Change the Focus. Yes, the candidates want to win, but they want to more than win - they want to make a difference in office. To best do that, they need to be able to begin with a team in place on January 20. To achieve this they must invest more time and resources, and create a trusted transition team, NOW.

Create a Sense of Urgency. This transition will be a huge job for either candidate. A complete transition team with the ability to command some of the candidate's time and focus must be in place now in order to create the momentum needed for success.

Determine the key interfaces and steps. To make this transition go faster, leaders need to be vetted and the process for confirmation in Congress needs to start much sooner. Wouldn't you want all of your management team on board the day you begin? The same should be true in politics. All Cabinet members and other top spots should be identified, filled and confirmed by Inauguration.

Start now. Senator Obama should make this a key job next week, while he will likely be laying low during the RNC. Senator McCain needs to be on this task now too. The work is massive and the time to start is now. Every day of delay will reduce the effectiveness of the team once either one takes office.

Build the right relationships. If not already identified, the transition team needs to be built, and the relationships required to identify all of the future leaders on the team should be in full swing now. Make no mistake - in this or any other transition, relationships will help create speed and identify the best people for the jobs needed to be filled.

Our Lessons?

The good news is the transitions you face won't ever be as daunting as the ones facing Senators Obama and McCain. The challenges you face are the same though. In both cases we must:

• Change the goal from “How will we get started?” to “How quickly can we be successful?”
• Create a sense of urgency.
• Determine the key interfaces and steps.
• Start sooner.
• Build the right relationships.

I hope you will watch the candidates, and our eventual President-elect, as they lead their transition plans. I hope there will be positives to learn from their example, but even if there isn't, you will find fertile learning from their mistakes or missteps.

That was our goal in creating the Remarkable Leadership Back to School Special - to capitalize on this unique time of the year to encourage and support you in becoming both a more effective learner and a more effective leader.

For this special package I am creating a brand new, extended (75 minute) teleseminar titled Becoming the Learner You Were Meant to Be. Only people who participate in the Back to School Special can participate in and contribute to this teleseminar on Wednesday, September 3rd.

In addition, Back to School participants also will become Silver Members of the Remarkable Leadership Learning System for the entire month of September. We'll be focusing on Becoming More Decisive, and it's going to be great.

Learn more about all the details and your investment (it's about the price of a nice dinner for two).

Think back on your day yesterday. How many people did you interact with?

• Via phone
• Via email
• Via instant message
• In a meeting
• Face to face (imagine that!)

Seriously, make a quick list.

I'm guessing it's a longer list than you might have anticipated.

Some of these interactions were one-off conversations and not ongoing relationships, I'm sure. You also may not have interacted yesterday with some of the more prominent or important people with whom you have a working relationship either (feel free to add those people to your list now).

This simple exercise should reinforce what you likely know, but may not often think about; our work is made up of relationships. And since there are very few things we can succeed at without the help of others, in some ways our success is directly correlated to the strength of our relationships.

Because we are human, not all of these relationships are going to be perfect. Things are going to happen, words will be said and circumstances will be misunderstood. And because of this, if you want to have more success, less stress and more enjoyment in your work (and who doesn't want those things?), we all need to become more skilled at mending relationships when they are broken, slightly wounded or even just fragile.

Here are seven steps or actions you can take to mend, improve and even nurture working elationships (or any relationship for that matter).

The Seven Steps

Decide. The first step is you must decide that you want to improve the relationship. The precursor to this step is recognition - recognizing that the relationship needs improving - but the heart of this is the decision that this relationship matters enough for you to make the effort required to improve it. Without this decision, nothing else matters.

Forgive or let it go. If you feel the other person has done something to cause the rift or break-down, you must either forgive them or let go of your issues with it. Without this step, the steps that follow may help some, but will be limited in their success.

Take ownership. Recognize your role in the relationship, and take ownership and responsibility for it. Yes, deciding and forgiving are accountability actions; but being clear that regardless of the situation you have played a role in the change to the relationship is critical to your success in repairing any damage. Otherwise you are only blaming the other person - which cripples your chance for improvement.

Make your intention clear. Once you have decided to take actions to improve the relationship, your behaviors will change. Take the time to explain your decision and your intention to improve the relationship. Let the other person know that both the situation and the person matter to you, and you want a better relationship. This cements your commitment and communicates your intention to the other person.

Assume positive intent. While I have long believed this concept in a variety of situations, a colleague recently expressed it this way and it makes the idea completely clear. Assume the other person was - and is - acting in good faith. Will you be wrong sometimes? Perhaps. But by starting from this assumption you will immediately change your perception and therefore your behaviors toward that person.

Listen more. We all know how important listening is and how good it makes us feel when we are truly being listened to. Grant that gift to the other person. Listen intently, carefully and actively. Not only will you understand them (and their perspective) better, but they will trust you more and the relationship will build from their perspective.

Make an effort. Deciding is one thing. Doing is quite another. If you want better relationships, you must make the effort - it will seldom, if ever, happen automatically.

In many ways the first and last steps are the priorities, and the other steps are some of the key efforts you must take. Some of these steps may be difficult mentally, and some you may not feel are your responsibility in your situation.

Recognize too that you don't have to do any of them. Be aware, however, that perhaps the step you aren't mentally or emotionally ready to take may be the one that is blocking you from repairing or growing the relationship.

Yes, every relationship is two-sided; yet, each of these steps is completely in your control. Your efforts can't guarantee the healthy relationship you desire, but not taking these steps dooms the relationship to remain at its current level at best.I wish you great success with your choices and the relationships that result.

Potential Pointer: Your working life is filled primarily with the people you interact with - Customers, peers, employees or bosses. By this measure, your ability to create great working relationships is one measure of your ultimate success. It is therefore critical that you learn to build solid working relationships, and actively repair them when/if they become damaged in some way.

Everyone has received feedback that was hard to take - perhaps you didn't agree with it, it was a surprise, or it was given in a way that made it hard for you to accept.

The first key to giving better feedback is to learn lessons from when you have been given feedback. If you can correct the errors others have made with you, you are further down the path to giving more successful feedback to others.

One of the most common pieces of advice about successful feedback is what I call "The Feedback Sandwich." More on the ingredients in a minute, but like any other sandwich, making The Feedback Sandwich incorrectly can make it less palatable, and perhaps even not edible at all!

Hopefully your desire when giving feedback is that people hear it, understand it and put it to use. So it's important to make feedback as valuable and "easy to eat" as we can. When you prepare the feedback sandwich correctly, it will have the maximum possible impact.

A Feedback Sandwich?

Here's ow the feedback sandwich is most often described:

When giving someone potentially negative feedback, make sure to give positive feedback first, then any negative feedback, and close with more positive feedback.

Do you see the sandwich? Think of the positive feedback as the bread for the negative feedback in the middle.

Think about the times when you have received feedback like this, and reflect on how well you liked it. If it was done correctly, you probably found it helpful. If not, your sandwich may have left a bad taste in your mouth.

What Makes It Unsavory

In most cases, the main appeal of a sandwich is what's in between the bread.

It's not a sourdough sandwich with salami and provolone, it's a salami and cheese sandwich. You may make a bread choice, but the focus is clearly on what is inside. While this makes sense for a Club or a Rueben, it makes less sense for a feedback sandwich. Let me explain.

Feedback sandwiches can sometimes be tough to eat because the entire focus is on the middle - the negative feedback. Usually when a coach or leader or parent says they want to give someone feedback, they mean corrective (read negative) feedback. And so, while they may want to share a combination of positive negative feedback, the focus is generally on the negative, corrective feedback. This means that even though they may have thought about some positive things to say; they are more specific about the middle (the negative), more passionate about the middle and more focused on the middle.

When the receiver gets that sandwich, the positive feedback is either weak, vague or general, and it's clearly not the focus of the conversation. This leaves the receiver with not much of a sandwich at all.

One common reaction? "They tried to sugar coat their comments with some positive stuff, but all they really wanted me to hear was what I'm doing wrong."

And the result? That feedback isn't well received and perhaps not "eaten" at all (or is the cause of indigestion for a long time).

None of this means the feedback sandwich isn't an effective way to give feedback, it absolutely is - but only when that sandwich has been well constructed.

Making it Most Appetizing

A sandwich can't live by meat alone - the bread is also important! Here are three ways to make your feedback sandwich most appetizing:

Specific. All of the feedback you give - both positive and negative - needs to be specific. Giving specific corrections with a vague "nice job" for the positive won't work.

Helpful. The best sandwiches are about more than the main ingredients. The condiments make it all work together. The condiments for a feedback sandwich are your intention. If your intention is truly about helping people understand their performance and improve, let them know that. Also know that whatever your intention is when giving feedback, it will have an impact on how well the feedback will be received.

Balanced. There are two slices of bread and just one middle to most sandwiches. So it is with your feedback. I'm not saying you have to have a two-to-one ratio for positive to corrective feedback. However, it is important to balance your conversation by sharing (specific and helpful) positive as well as corrective comments.

When you build your feedback sandwich with planning, preparation and thought, the result will be comments people will want to hear, will listen to, and will use. Otherwise, your feedback may be like the sandwich that is nibbled and tossed in the trash, or never sampled at all.

Potential Pointer: The best feedback is balanced, specific and helpful. The best feedback sandwich (positive comments coming first and last) it's important to make the positive comments as specific and helpful as the corrective feedback. When you do, all the comments will be heard, understood and used much more effectively. If you want to be more effective at coaching become skilled in creating great feedback sandwiches.

John Kotter is one of the best known authors on the topic of change. He's written, among others, the best sellers Leading Change and Our Iceberg is Melting. I've had the pleasure of reading an advanced copy of this book where he tackles an important subset of change - the sense of urgency.

John writes in a straightforward, easy-to-read and hard-to-forget style. In this book he explains the importance of, components of and how to create a sense of urgency. He discusses false urgency, complacency and what he calls a real sense of urgency. He effectively distinguishes these factors and dispels a few myths along the way.

Perhaps it's the style or maybe it's my personal interest and focus, but I have found this to be one of the most useful and enjoyable books I have read this year. I expect it will have a significant positive impact on my personal and business results, and I know it will impact my thinking in the work I do with Clients.

A Sense of Urgency will be released on September 3. My suggestion: develop a sense of urgency right now and pre-order your copy today.

Your day is filled with making decisions. What course should we take? What should our pricing be? What will we do next? How will we explain that to the Customer? And even, where do you want to go for dinner?

All day long and in all parts of your life, decisions are required. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean that all of us are competent or confident decision makers. In fact thousands of opportunities, promising projects and good ideas have been squandered due to poor, or non-existent, decision making.

Regardless of that fact, and regardless your own personal past experience with decision making, this article will help you to diagnose why your decision making might not be as effective as you wish for it to be. More importantly, once you have a diagnosis, you will have ideas for being more decisive, starting now.

The Five Barriers

Fear. Sometimes people are afraid to make a mistake, afraid to be wrong, afraid to make a decision. This happens to everyone, especially on big decisions. Caution is OK, paralysis is not.

Action: Ask yourself, "What is the worst outcome that could come from this decision?" If you can live with that outcome, make the decision. Remember, that outcome isn't assured, only possible. If that negative outcome isn't an option, consider ways to mitigate or eliminate those results with a different decision, and then make that one. Also - remind yourself that 'no decision' is truly a decision. Don't let fear lead you to the 'no-action decision.

Time. "I need more time." I often hear people say that more time is needed to make a decision. Is some time needed for contemplation? Certainly. Just don't let more time become your crutch.

Action: Give yourself a deadline. Perhaps allow yourself to sleep on the decision, or, if you are so inclined, meditate or pray about it. Then, when the deadline arrives, make sure to use the insights gained through that extra time to make the decision based on your thought process up until that time.

Information. Sometimes it's about the facts and figures. The decision can't be made until you "have all of the data." You absolutely need the relevant information, and time spent on data collection can be a stalling tactic.

Action: Find a balance. Determine what information and relevant experience you need, but balance that with a sense of urgency about deciding. Recognize too that if you are a data driven person this might be your tendency. Work with someone else in the data collection/analysis phase who might not share your love of information to help you move past the information to the implementation of your decision.

Deference. It isn't your decision to make, or you want others to make the decision instead of yourself. This barrier could be an extension of one of the others, especially fear. It also could be that you really want others involved in the decision, for all the right reasons. While this can be a noble purpose, some decisions don't warrant deference or even the time it takes to hand the decision to someone else. (e.g.n When there is a fire, someone needs to lead everyone to the door, and it doesn't have to be the team leader!)

Action: Have a general agreement about who is able to make what types of decisions. When a span of control or other sorts of guidelines are in place, it will make it much easier for people to know when the decision is theirs.

Habit. Your experience with the other four barriers, how you were raised, tendencies of your mentors and/or the culture of the organizations you've worked in can all combine into a habit of indecisiveness.

Action: Recognize your normal (read: habitual) approach to decisions and consciously do something different. Based on which other barriers affect you, consider those suggestions to help you move forward.

Further Thoughts

Chances are, as you read this, there is a decision on your mind. It might be small, or it might be monumental. It might have just crossed your mind, or it may have been weighing on you for weeks.

Listen to your inner voice and consider your options on this decision. This article has given you some ideas, but ideas aren't enough. Now you must decide what you are going to do. Think about these barriers and the potential solutions. Decide now which of these actions you will take.
And do it now.

The best way to become more decisive is to make decisions.

And now is the time to begin.

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