Strategic Management: Willa Seldon at Tides Center - Case Study Example

?Willa Seldon at Tides Center An introduction to Tides Center Tides Center is a nonprofit organization from the United s of America. It was founded by Drummond Pike in 1976 and has grown to become “one of the top 100 social sector organizations in the United States”. (tides.org). Tides works on a sponsorship basis and partner with people who are working to fight against various issues such as global warming, AIDS treatment and prevention and economic disparity. They bring together people, finances and innovation to better serve the world. While supporting more than 230 groups across the United States, the sponsorship that they grant to over 230 groups crosses millions of dollars every year! They also contribute to charitable organizations across the world. Tides supports various issues including veterans re-entry, improvement of community clinics, providing HIV treatment, arts programs, nutrition for adolescents, fight against violence against women, civic participation and more! (Uechi 2011). As of today, Tides has helped and supported more than 800 organizations that were in need of aid and has shelled out more and 2 billion dollars as aid to them. Some of the organizations that have benefitted from Tides Center include: “Conservation International, Environmental Working Group, the Garden Conservancy, The Story of Stuff, and the League of Young Voters Education Fund” (tides.org). Tides is a network of organizations that includes: Tides Center, Tides Foundation, and Tides Shared Spaces. They have offices in New York and San Francisco. Who is Willa Seldon? Will Seldon is a Yale Law and Harvard Business School graduate. From a career that kick-started in 1987, she has never looked back. She has worked at agencies such as Salomon Brothers, Williams-Sonoma, AirTouch Communications, and Milepost before joining Tides Center. Looking at her career development, it is evident that she has had a rich work experience filled with varied profiles, each teaching her something new and helping her to grow as a person as well as aiding her to take on her organization with great strides. By 2003 Seldon had adopted a baby girl, Sonia and it was around this time that she was looking for a new position after having left Milepost. At this juncture, she was looking to do something that could make her baby proud of her. She was not one to stay at home. She knew she had to work and be away from her baby and this was the only justifiable job she could think of that was reason enough to stay away from her baby. This shows the strength that this woman has and the values that kept her on the right path. Another reason she picked Tides Center was the type of work they did. She was well aware that if she chose to work with a non-profit of this magnitude, she would not just be helping out at the non-profit at hand and the people connected with them. The structure of Tides Center ensured that she would work with and help out all the agencies that they were associated with and turn that many more people. This was a very good reason to choose to work with Tides Center. Willa Seldon used her expertise and work experience in her profile at Tides Center in a way that benefitted all. Her work is truly exemplary. She is also a very good speaker and has led various discussions on leadership, something she is extremely well versed with. (bridgespan.org) Willa Seldon: A true Leader Willa Seldon in her time at Tides Center has brought about many changes. When she accepted her spot at Tides Center, she took her time planning what she would do at the new organization. Strategic planning is an organizational process of developing its direction, strategy as well as decision making on how to allocate resources in order to meet its desired goals. (Pride and Ferrell 2008). Being a non-profit organization, Tides would need a new approach to work on. But Willa did not rush into anything. She took her time to think about what needed to be done. She put in research and time into what she did in order to do it well and in the long run that’s what paid off. The first few things she wanted to do at Tides Center were to hire a new senior management team and implement more strict performance standards. She had found in the past that people would work better when the standards set were higher since they strived to achieve them. “…give them a clear sense of purpose, an accurate explanation of their personal importance in the running of the organisation, and regular communication about the direction and performance of the business” (hrzone.co.uk). And this is what she wanted to do at Tides Center. She really liked the people there and mixed well and fit in with them. But this was not a reason not to encourage them and push them to do their best. This made her a good leader since she was concerned about the people she worked with and wished for them to achieve success of their own. Another thing Seldon was always concerned about was to keep her staff engaged. She never felt the need to keep them out of the loop. It is known that if the staff feels they are not being ignored, they will have more inputs and show more interest in the day-to-day functioning of the organization. Seldon wished to capitalize on this aspect and it showed her good results. She also believed in trusting people. She knew from experience that when people knew they were being trusted, they worked harder, put in a lot more effort and work not only got done fasted but it was better. Deals would flow smoothly and appropriately and people would form a loyal bond with the organization and the people attached to it. In her way that she pushed people to do better than they could, Seldon began her first few days at Tides Center. Before she even officially reported to work, she sent out an email to her senior management team asking them to set out their goals on a PowerPoint presentation so that these could be presented to all the members and discussed in detail. This depicted that she knew what she wanted and she knew how to get it. Even though the email seemed a little intimidating to some of her colleagues, they were aware that someone strong had set foot in their organization and she would not back down. Willa was also very time conscious. She did not believe in wasting anyone’s time. She made this very clear to her colleagues on her first day at work when she began a meeting without the CFO and requested him to be on time in future even though he was only three minutes late. A lot of us do not consider three minutes as late, but Willa Seldon drew the line and expected people to stick to it. Time was precious, no matter who’s it was. Another thing that is essential about a good leader is the visual they put in front of their employees. A leader is one that sets the example for others to follow. Seldon knew this and tried to do this in every aspect. She dressed neatly and to impress and she was not disappointed. People looked at her in awe and tried to emulate her, thus making her a good role model and leader. Leaders will have to function as a role model by living out their convictions, facilitating positive images of themsleves, and by giving encouragement. (Posner and Schmidt 1993). Being a good leader also means taking the first step. When Willa Seldon expected something out of her employees, it was only fair that she be able to deliver it herself. On her first day she entered the board room ready with her presentation and was the first to present for the simple reason that she wanted to set an example, one that would affect them and show them she meant business. Willa Seldon’s mission from the start was to come in as a strong leader. She had to inflict change and there was no easy way to go about that. Meetings needed to start on time, but they were not. For this there was only one solution – to start a meeting on time. She did that, and on her first day, thereby sending a very blatant message to all those involved that things were about to change for the better. She had also decided that performance standards needed to change and had a discussion with the human resources department about the same. There was nothing she took sitting down. Another thing that Willa Seldon wished to do was to get to know her employees. In order to learn what they did and who they were, she began having one-on-one meetings with each and every one of the employees at Tides Center. This ensured that she got to know the people in the organization, what they did, how they felt about working there, etc. It also gave her, an introspect into their lives and showed them that she was here to help them grow, and not just a corporate stooge. The employees would also enjoy the time given to them and make them feel like they were wanted here, they were special. It also gave them time to interact with the new leader of Tides Center, an opportunity that does not really knock on everyone’s door. From the above we can very well say that Willa Seldon was in fact a very good leader due to many reasons. She had great ideas and had carefully and meticulously planned out how to implement them. She gave equal importance to everyone’s time. She wanted the employees to feel more at home and wanted to learn from them as well. She pushed people to do the best they could, not just for the sake of the organization but for their own benefit as well. She put in a lot of research in whatever she did. She knew what she wanted, and how to get it. She did not waste time with cordialities, especially when there were more important things to be done. She was exemplary towards her employees. She took the first step like a true leader so the others could follow by example. She was driven and focused. She wished to bring about change and worked towards it immediately. She interacted with everyone in the organization and took their inputs and feedback. It is very evident that Willa Seldon is in fact a great leader. She possessed qualities that the best of leaders possess and she knows that. She does not let it get to her head, however and works just as hard as the others. This is what really makes a great leader – qualities that make her strong and down-to-earth at the same time. Willa Seldon: Strategic Planning and Implementation Willa Seldon had many ideas to ensure that Tides Center functioned well. Her initial plans were for the organization and included things such as changing the performance review structure and ensuring that people were more serious and on time. These went off very well and people were made aware of the fact that they had amongst them a leader who was strong willed and who knew what she wanted out of them. Her first meeting with the entire organization went off very well since she included them all in the discussion and ensured they were a part of it. One important change that Willa Seldon made was to begin referring to the various projects they dealt with as “customers”. Even though they were not technically customers since they did not purchase anything from them, she felt that Tides Center owed them a service, and therefore they should be referred to as customers, so that they are taken more seriously and treated with the respect that they deserve. This was a hard thing to do and took a while to process since the people could not accept this sudden change so easily. Projects could not suddenly be customers. The people at Tides Center considered the people they worked with more as partners. But Seldon had patience and it would work out for her in the future. As a strategic plan, Willa Seldon had decided in the very beginning to start a Strategic Action Team comprising of employees from various departments and designations to brainstorm and arrive at solutions to various problems. Such deliberate tools together form the ‘game’ of lateral thinking, this process helps in creating new ideas, solve problems, motivates and develop teams. (Tambe 1997). This was a very good move when it came to strategic implementation for the simple reason that it covered a wide range of people with different views and opinions who would work together in order to find a solution for a pressing problem. Willa also changed the review pattern for the employees to make it uniform and consistent, thus ensuring all employees got the same treatment. This was a very good measure on her part to ensure that the employees took their jobs seriously and did their best, and also gave them a reason to work harder and not slack off. Another initiative that Willa Seldon started was the creation of the M-Team. While the Senior Management met twice weekly, this was a great opportunity for the middle level managers to show initiative and depict what they were good for. This was a very good strategic move since some of the issues could also be first tested in the M-Team and if a solution was not possible, it could move on to the Senior Managers team. What was found from all these strategic initiatives was that Willa Seldon had managed to do something remarkable. The SAT team had researched and produced results about how the organization could become more ‘customer-centric’. These findings and discussions somehow brought the various departments of the organization closer since they had gone into such an in-depth analysis and spoke about the various issues that the organization was currently facing. It brought the employees of various departments together and managed to unite them towards one cause – working for Tides, not their own independent departments. A powerful motivating force that is created amidst a good team, will never let the team mates to go down, and importantly t makes the team members feel proud to be a part of such a team. (West 2002). Another strategic move was to create the position of “Director of Customer Excellence”. Since the SAT had made it clear in the previous meeting that there was a dire need for a better relationship with the customer, this was a very wise move. It would show focus on the customer relationship aspect of the organization and would make sure that the employees took it seriously and worked towards it. Seldon also launched a customer satisfaction survey in order to forge a better relationship with their customers. Mitchell & Jolley (2009) points out that surveys are relatively inexpensive and the researcher can collect sufficient data within a very short time. This was a very wise strategic move as it ensured that the customers were getting what they wanted and gave them an opportunity to talk to the organization and give them ideas on how to service them better. This was also a very sensible way to get new ideas for the new director to implement and a great way to get into the minds of the customers who were often frustrated with the slow speed at which work was happening. The problem and recommendations Currently, Tides Center is facing problems with its customer service. The organization had recently figured out that they needed to focus a lot on customer service. Once this was established, Willa launched the customer satisfaction survey to figure out what was happening with the customers. This showed that it was the bigger customers that were not getting the service they required. This was a very bad scenario as they were the ones that deserved a higher degree of service. Not to say that the smaller customers were not important, but they were happy with the service they were receiving. In all this, the performance reviews were around the corner and there were two main views on how to proceed. One was from Willa, where she wanted to do a 360 degree performance review for everyone that judged their performance not just based on the work they did but also on how they behaved at work and what their peers and colleagues from other departments thought about them. Another view was to continue with the regular performance review in which the employees were just judged based on the work they had shown in the previous year. The problem with the scenarios was that in either of the methods, the employees could not be rewarded for showing a very good performance in that year due to financial constraints. Also, a 360 degree approach would cut into a lot of time of the senior managers who already had very demanding schedules. The 360 degree approach however was a more comprehensive method and would help the employees perform better in future. It would give them direction and motivate them to perform better in future. So how should one choose which method is more apt? If it were up to me, I would choose the 360 degree approach. This method is more comprehensive and benefits both the organization and the employee. It shows employees their strengths and weaknesses and helps them overcome any shortcomings by making them set goals for the next review period. When employees are judged by not only their bosses but their peers as well, they become more careful with their work, work harder and smarter, so that they are able to achieve higher. This is a very sensible way to ensure that the employees put in their best. It would also be a good idea to get feedback from customers employees interact with to add on to this 360 degree approach. This would also help to solve the problem of the customer service. To help solve the customer service problem, Willa could perhaps launch a system by which customers are given a status and a different set of employees is set to deal with them. This would ensure that customers that dealt with larger sums of money were given attention to make the money flow in a smoother and faster manner. And since the smaller customers have no problem, it would not create much of a problem for them. Tides Center seems to be doing well with Willa Seldon as their leader. What they are facing now are minor setbacks and can be effectively dealt with once the team puts their heads together and looks towards a brighter future. REFERENCE: bridgespan.org, Willa Seldon, viewed on December 22, 2011 http://www.bridgespan.org/About/TeamMemberDetails.aspx?id=20182 Mitchell, ML and Jolley, JM 2009, Research Design Explained, Cengage Learning Posner, BZ, Schmidt, WH 1992, "Values and the American manager", California Management Review, vol. 34, no.3, pp.80-94 hrzone.co.uk, HR tip: Controlling absence, viewed on December 22, 2011 http://www.hrzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=176289&d=1063 Pride, WM and Ferrell, OC 2008, Marketing, Cengage Learning Tambe, M 1997, Towards flexible teamwork, Journal of Artificial Intelligence research. 83 -124. tides.org, History, viewed on December 22, 2011 http://www.tides.org/about/history/ Uechi, J 2011, Tides Explainer, viewed on December 22, 2011 http://www.vancouverobserver.com/world/2011/10/13/tides-explainer West, MA 2002, Effective teamwork: practical lessons from organizational research Psychology of Work and Organizations, Wiley-Blackwell Read More