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1.) Do what the executive says and remain silent; or
2.) Use your professional knowledge and skill to assist the executive in every way possible -- which often means telling [that] executive s/he is on the wrong track.
Similar to telling your best friend that his baby is actually quite ugly, telling the truth about an executive's ugly (out-of-touch) strategy won't change what it is -- growth changes both.
By following choice No. 1, not only do you hurt your profession and have to live with yourself as a slacked performer, but you hurt the executive's credibility and the company you should be serving. I operated with choice No. 2 at International Business Machines (IBM.)
| "My favorite IBM leader is Irving Wladawsky-Berger, vice president of technology and strategy at IBM." |
As a professional public speaker and communications specialist, I assisted many executives with their stage presence and customer presentations. Upon assisting a female executive, a general manager, with her speaking presence, I told her to "take your hands out of your pockets when you speak," and "smile more, you have a great smile, use it." She felt it was too feminine to smile. I couldn't help her define what appropriate "feminism" should be in a male IT world, but I sympathized with her struggle to desire success in a male dominated world. I wanted her to succeed, because I believed in her.
Few corporations have weathered technology trends and market demands as well as IBM. Similar to newsrooms -- predominately male until the 1970s -- IBM opened its arms to women ahead of competitors. Female employees at IBM are equal players in a traditionally male environment in 2004. Abby Kohnstamm, senior vice president of marketing at IBM, is one example of female power at the $90 billion technology giant.
Teaming has become paramount to success at IBM, but the greatest lack of teaming begins at the executive level, and is further emphasized by too many employees using choice No. 1. The method behind teaming is not what the word itself indicates: It's not bonding together to sing Kumbayahs. Successful teams do not operate in a silo, nor do successful teams avoid conflict. Contrarily, conflict is one of the most important plays in teaming exercises, for out of conflict resolution, a team can grow, innovate, and achieve goals that individual members may have thought out-of-reach at the team's first meeting.
The greatest threat to teaming at any company is the inevitable rogue -- outspoken -- employee with his or her own agenda who intimidates team members to follow his/her way without debate. The pressures of time and expense (IBM operates as though it were poor, which does not help project success) are usually the culprit for this "lack of teaming." And yet, the intimidating employee is often the one seen impressing the executives.
I lost track of how many "teams" I participated with in nine years at IBM. As part of the project management profession, team facilitators' role is to ensure a team works through conflict, stays on track, and keeps focused on the tasks as opposed to taking issues personally. Using a team facilitator is not always an option however in an environment heavily dependent upon mobility. IBM as a corporation is a success story for remote teaming, and multimillion dollar projects are successfully managed without face-to-face interaction.
As with any company, a few IBM executives are out of touch with the competition; and with what customers expect of IBM. Luckily for me, of 27 managers in nine years (I only held five different jobs) I would work for them again. There were two exceptions, but both of those managers were fired for misconduct.
The corporate trend at IBM is to think "US-centric," meaning the world evolves around directives, strategy, and plans coming from headquarters, based in Armonk, NY. The IBM executive role, includes vice presidents, senior vice presidents, general managers -- some hold budgets the size of mid-size corporations. Their goal is to make it appear as though the company wheels are turning famously as muddy as some tires may be.
My favorite IBM leader is Irving Wladawsky-Berger, vice president of technology and strategy at IBM. He is an extremely bright man, along with being an enthusiastic leader. If Wladawsky-Berger could be cloned to fill a few voids, the culture and way of conducting business would surely result in much success across all of IBM. Wladawsky-Berger, in my mind, is representative of thousands upon thousands of employees at IBM. Their blood is blue, they believe in innovation, and see high customer satisfaction worth the price of any political infighting. If you have an opportunity to experience a presentation from Wladawsky-Berger, I encourage you to make the effort.
Other strong leaders at IBM include, Linda Sanford, 51, senior vice president of information and technology (I secretly wished the IBM board of directors would have chosen Sanford to replace Louis V. Gerstner as CEO in 2002;) Ginni Rometty, managing partner of IBM Business Consulting Services (BCS;) John R. Joyce, 51, senior vice president and CFO; Bruce Harreld, 54, senior vice president of strategy; and Steven M. Ward, 49, senior vice president and general manager of Personal Systems Group. There are others, however they are not publically listed figures.