Todd Wangsgard
Enterprising, results-driven, and grounded are words that describe Todd Wangsgard. He brings 24 years of leadership and organizational development experience to his clients.
Clients value his ability to create clarity out of the business fog that prevents most companies from enabling greatness and developing the capabilities of their associates.
Todd has excellent professional experience. He was Senior Manager of Training, Talent Management, and Communications for ATK Lake City, a government-owned, company-operated manufacturing center in Independence, Missouri. He organized the training department, developed and implemented all levels of leadership curriculum, and oversaw the operation’s succession planning and teambuilding strategies.
As the Manager of Professional Development for ATK, a $4 billion aerospace and defense company, Todd led the creation of employee and leadership assessment and development initiatives for operations in 23 states.
Todd worked for Intermountain Healthcare, Inc. in Salt Lake City, Utah, the intermountain west’s largest physician, clinic and hospital network. He founded IHC University and managed the implementation of curriculum as well as the administrative team of IHCU.
An industry cross section of Todd’s clients represent higher education, health care, insurance, manufacturing, aerospace, and defense.
Todd holds a PhD from Walden University in Leadership and Organizational Change. He has also earned his MBA from the University of Phoenix and a B.A. from Weber State University (Ogden, Utah) in communications.
Todd is affiliated with a number of professional organizations and holds certifications to teach a number of programs. He is a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), a Master Facilitator for Achieve Global, and a Certified Professional Behavior Analyst (DISC).
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FranklinCovey Consultant Blogs | Todd Wangsgard
When Commitment Wears Thin: Getting “lashed to the mast”
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In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus is told of a magnificent song sung by the sirens of the sea, but one that would lure unsuspecting sailors dangerously close to the rocky shore. Lacking the discipline to stay safely away from the rocks but close enough to hear the sirens’ tantalizing tune, previous sailors had sailed closer and closer to the sweet sound until their ships were dashed into the depths.
Odysseus remains committed to his objective (1669 public domain)
Circe offered Odysseus a solution.
Around this time of year, many of us may be slipping further away from the course we charted in our New Year’s resolutions. It is easy to get caught up in the urgency addiction of the workplace or homefront, allowing those important – and often less compelling – objectives to crash into the rocks. Perhaps it is time to get “lashed to the mast.”
Commitment to goals can come from many sources. Here’s one of the more effective sources of commitment I know of: Enlist the energy of others who will help you stay true. Recruit friends and family, ears having been “filled with beeswax,” who will refuse to give in to your convenient excuses and ultimately keep you on course. Consider these specific suggestions to help keep each other accountable:
- Announce your intentions. You might even broadcast your goal (I’m going to lose 10 pounds by April) in social Internet forums, such as Facebook. People are bound to keep asking you how it’s going. The last thing you want to do is let everyone know two months down the road that you failed.
- Put the written goal in clear view. Tape it to the refrigerator, bathroom mirror, or dashboard of the car. This constant reminder keeps your intentions front and center.
- Create a scoreboard that others can access. If your friends are far away, use common file servers such as Google docs to share a spreadsheet that allows everyone to track your progress. Give access to a handful of friends who aren’t afraid to ask you why you’re behind
- Insert incremental pieces of your goal into your weekly and daily planning routine. Tiny steps every day add up to big progress over the long term.
Before you know it, you’ll be enjoying the sweet song of the sirens, even as you approach your intended destination!
Pulling the Andon Cord: Lessons on taking a time-out
In the world of manufacturing, the “Toyota Way” has always been held up as the epitome of lean and six-sigma manufacturing. One of the more prominent concepts in lean is called the Andon Cord.
The andon cord is literally a cord that workers can pull – a cord they should pull – any time something in the manufacturing process goes wrong that would compromise the quality of the product or safety of the people. The line stops immediately. Everyone’s attention is turned to the problem. Everyone helps to solve the problem. And the line doesn’t restart until the problem’s been fixed, thus ensuring that zero scrap or defects are allowed to perpetuate.
Some have called auto manufacturers’ recent recall woes, pulling “the big andon cord.” Although I’m sure these events will weigh on their reputation and short-term sales, righting wrongs is never bad for long-term business.
It’s remarkable to me how many of the 13 Behaviors from our Speed of Trust practice are manifest in the actions being taken by industry lately to fix these gaps in reliability and consumer confidence.
Pull the andon cord, sooner rather than later!
- Confront Reality
- Talk Straight
- Right Wrongs
- Get Better
- Practice Accountability
- Show Loyalty
- Deliver Results
And the list goes on.
Each of us can take a lesson from this industry “time-out.” I’ve gained a greater appreciation for stepping back from the line and fixing things the right way when they go wrong. Individuals and teams can “pull the andon cord” and avoid a path of perpetual mediocrity.
A few years ago, my team and I were working feverishly on creating hundreds of training documents for the dozens of different positions across a complex and dispersed workforce. It wasn’t until after scores of freshly published training procedures had been implemented that we realized the format of the documents didn’t meet the expectations of the organization’s own quality control standards. As painful as it was to admit the mistake and redo much of the effort that had been expended, we vowed to immediately notify management, correct the faulty documents, and promise to meet a revised (albeit still challenging) deadline. Pulling the andon cord was the right thing to do.
The trust that comes from owning up to a mistake early on and taking swift corrective action is a much better alternative than the suspicion that comes from trying to get away with a mistake that is later discovered by someone else. In fact, it is ideal to create a culture where people are actively looking for mistakes in order to pull the cord.
The sooner we fail, the sooner we succeed. Don’t be afraid to pull the andon cord.
Book Review: Great Work, Great Career by Covey and Colosimo
Dr. Covey has done it again.
In their most recent FranklinCovey publication Great Work Great Career, Dr. Stephen R. Covey and Chief Learning Officer Jennifer Colosimo combine to offer relevant and timely thinking on “creating one’s ultimate job and making an extraordinary contribution,” as suggested by the book’s subtitle.
The authors encourage the reader to define what a “great career” means to him or her – to reflect on the level of loyalty, trust, and contribution one currently experiences in the workplace. They cite some profound examples of individuals who have achieved an obvious level of greatness (borrowing from Leading at the Speed of Trust workshop content) such as Dr. Fiona Wood, “Australia’s most trusted person.” Their brand of storytelling draws the reader in and makes the message more relatable and interesting.
They introduce a Venn diagram or model to suggest that one’s unique contribution is only discovered in the intersection of one’s talents, passion, conscience, and the need or opportunity that exists externally. They offer practical tools to help the reader “Know Your Strengths,” “Discover Your Cause,” plan a “Need-Opportunity Presentation,” and draft a “Contribution Statement.”
The closing section, “Build Your Own Village,” offers timely advice on connecting with others who mutually support one another – good ol’ fashioned networking. But here the authors bring networking into the 21st century by addressing the need for individuals to create professional blogs, participate in online social networking, and to “carve out” one’s space on the Internet.
In their closing thoughts, the authors suggest that by applying the tools and methods outlined, the reader doesn’t “look for a job; you look for a significant problem to solve or an exciting opportunity to leverage. You look for a profession you love and that people will pay you to do. You are not a ‘job description with legs,’ but a thinking, creative human being with unique and irreplaceable talents.”
I put this book down more energized and excited to “define my contribution” than ever before. I had written a contribution statement and walked hundreds of clients through the process. But now my contribution statement literally stares me in the face, taped up on my desk lamp, off to one side of my computer monitor – a constant reminder of my motivating professional causes.
If this book and its message don’t light a fire under you, there wasn’t a spark to begin with!
Change does not equal loss
How many times have you heard someone say, “Everyone fears change?” Employees have experienced profound changes in the workplace for decades and yet the headlines would suggest no one is ever prepared for change. Certainly we at least get a little better at navigating change, each time it is thrust upon us. But what is it that really paralyzes people each time a significant change is in the wind?
People don’t fear change.
I’ve never met a baby that didn’t want its soggy diaper changed. Most employees can think of at least a handful of things they’d like to see their boss do differently. The present economy is nothing to get excited about; the majority would certainly like to see some changes for the better. If I came to you and said, “Well, there are going to be some changes around here. We’re going to start with your compensation,” you might initially get nervous. Our first thoughts tend to be negative. “What are you taking away from me? How much more will we be asked to give around here?” What if I then told you, “We’d like to triple your salary?” Would you be okay with that kind of change?
People fear the possibility or the reality of loss.
Granted, a lot of the changes we are asked to swallow have a downside to them. But by assuming that all change is bad, we predispose ourselves to the paralysis of inaction, negative thinking, and helplessness. Most of us know someone who was victim of a corporate downsizing, only to share with you months down the road that his or her departure was possibly the best thing that ever happened. Of course, that can only happen when someone chooses to find the silver lining in a change that, at first, is quite devastating.
Think of the current or pending changes that are brewing in your workplace. Take inventory of the potentially positive upside to those changes. Channel your time and energy toward those activities that will bring about the good that often accompanies change. You will increase your value to the organization and find your positive outlook to be infectious. Seeing change as a force for constant improvement and innovation is a much more viable perspective, no matter where the landscape is moving.
The recent tragedy in Haiti has certainly commanded the world’s attention. No one would ever suggest that their change in fortune was good. Yet each day that we peer into the news of Haiti’s recovery, we learn of countless stories of rescuers and those being rescued who are making the most out of their circumstances, in the shadow of unimaginable devastation. These are the Haitians who are likely to thrive into the future and serve as a force for good in rebuilding an even stronger community and nation.
From change can emerge enormous good. Yet in change some might dwell on only the bad. Which will command your attention?
No Excuses
I don’t have time to [FILL IN THE BLANK].
This economy won’t allow our organizational to [FILL IN THE BLANK].
My boss won’t let me [FILL IN THE BLANK].
It’s too cold outside to [FILL IN THE BLANK].
There’s always an excuse, isn’t there? Excuses abound for why we don’t strive to restore a suffering relationship, expand into new markets, present new solutions to old problems, or go outside and get fit. Complacency is the course of least resistance. Getting out of my comfortable routine may require change, and after all, isn’t change painful?
The late business philosopher, Jim Rohn, said, “We must all suffer from one of two pains: The pain of discipline or the pain of regret.” Change might often be painful, but there is usually a much more profound pain of regret associated with inaction. Besides, we know that the second law of thermodynamics – or entropy – is hard at work in the mental and social realms, as well as the physical. When I don’t exercise my brain or spend time building important relationships, they will become weaker and eventually break down, just as muscle tissue, geology, or any man-made structure will eventually crumble without care.
Recently the weather here in the Midwest was unseasonably cold. For almost the first two weeks of January we experienced high temperatures in the single digits. The roads remained snow- and ice-packed for several days. I had every good excuse in the world NOT to go running outside. Oh sure, I could always force myself onto a treadmill or spin on my cycle trainer. But lately I’ve taken to finding every possible way to stay moving outdoors, if I can help it.
Just when I thought I might succumb to the passive, peaceful recesses of my La-Z-Boy, my wife introduced me to Yaktrax. Yaktrax are a commercially available strap-on cleat that goes over the sole of your boot or running shoe allowing the wearer to literally run on ice and packed snow. Jana discovered these gems while reading an entry on her cousin’s running blog (Thanks, Kristin). She immediately ordered me a pair, and before I knew it I had run out of excuses for why I couldn’t get outside to stay active.
Yaktrax: Making the impossible, possible.
So there I was, running in 6 degree Fahrenheit weather down the middle of a snow packed side street – every inch of skin covered with polypropylene, ski goggles strapped on securely. I’m convinced that each driver that passed by was thinking, “That guy is CRAZY!” I know that when I witness the occasional walker-biker-runner out braving the elements, I always think to myself, “Good for him!”
Let’s just call this what it really is: Be Proactive.
When you look at the current state of your team, your organization, your health, or any other aspect of life that is important to you, examine the obvious and hidden excuses that may be holding you back from achieving the greatness you are capable of. Get creative. Think outside the proverbial box. Study what other successful teams and individuals have done. Never accept “can’t” into your vocabulary.
Now, if I could just find some of those cleats for my road bike…
Refining Greatness in 2010
Recently I was pondering the differences and similarities between the FranklinCovey four-part definition of greatness – Sustained Superior Performance, Intensely Loyal Customers, Winning Culture, and Distinct Contribution – and the four categories that define Norton and Kaplan’s “Balanced Scorecard” approach to strategic planning and performance management. It occured to me that the greatness map at FranklinCovey includes all four of the “Scorecard” categories, plus one.
Under Sustained Superior Performance, FranklinCovey’s model includes both the Financial and Internal Business Processes areas of emphasis – two of the four Scorecard perspectives. The Intensely Loyal Customers category and Kaplan and Norton’s Customer perspective are virtually the same. Both emphasize concern for talent by calling out Winning Culture and Learning and Growth, respectively. However, the Scorecard methodology of planning and measuring falls short of requiring organizations to be clear about the Distinct Contribution that they are making to their communities, societies, and the world at large. This fourth category of emphasis in our definition of greatness is what sustains the motivation and energy required to stay focused on the wildly important.
If you have not yet defined the distinct contribution you are making to society, consider pondering your answers to the following questions:
- Would my community or industry really miss us, if our organization were gone tomorrow? In what specific ways would they miss us?
- In what ways are we giving back without the expectation of a direct benefit in return?
- What motivates us to continue improving and offering better, more innovative solutions in the future? Is our motivation purely profit or something more?
Each of these questions can also be applied to the individual. In other words: What legacy am I creating in my current position? How will people remember the value I’m adding on my projects and assignments? Am I the person my co-workers will think about when they are prompted in the future to think of a great example of leadership? How am I giving back in the workplace?
Greatness isn’t that far away, when we stop only thinking about what’s in it for me.
Thrive!
Financial Relic in Lincoln, AL
During a lunch break with a client in Lincoln, Alabama, I came across this historic bank building from the 1930’s. It hasn’t been a bank for several decades, but stands out as a stoic architectural landmark from the past. Upon closer examination I could see a tree branch sticking out of the gable. The client who was with me indicated that the branch is actually alive, that it has made its roots in the nooks and crannies of the building’s façade and attic boards, and that in the springtime the branch blossoms and grows, as if it were firmly planted in the ground below. In spite of enormous odds, it thrives! The client also told me the story of how a bank depositor approached this once thriving community landmark in the 1930s to withdraw the bulk of his deposits, since the rumor was it would fail someday soon. He explained his concern for the future welfare of the bank, only to be told (probably by a bank employee), “Have you ever heard of a bank failing? Leave your money there, where it’s safe.” He did. The bank failed the next day. All of his deposits vanished.
As you are well aware, being overly exposed to metaphors is an occupational hazard of mine. (Fortunately no metaphor is yet known to have caused cancer.) I couldn’t help but see in this scene a metaphor of the new springing from the old. Perhaps it is the sign of a new, green, and changing economy springing out of the dead relic of past financial institutions. It could be like you and I, building on the foundation of our past and allowing the parts that are still alive and thriving to take root and flourish. Or perhaps it could be likened to the old year, giving way to the new, whereas each of us strives to extend further and higher toward our life’s goals.
Something new from old.
Like this tender branch of an optimistic seedling, you and I are given a chance every day to exercise our proactive muscles and grow into something new and better. Take time this holiday season to reflect on the good that you have established throughout your life, the new highs and lows you may have experienced throughout this past year, and consider the new directions and opportunity that lie before you and within you. Don’t allow past failures to dictate the potential trajectory of your future. Decide today to rise from the frustration and disappointment of past shortcomings and chart a course for your personal life’s landmark. Thrive!
May you and yours be blessed by the hard work and perseverance that have defined your life’s journey thus far. It has been my rare privilege to call you friends, and I trust you will continue to inspire me and others toward new levels of personal and organizational innovation and greatness into the coming year.
All My Best,
Todd
Success in the South: A lesson in leadership
For the past several weeks I’ve had the privilege of working with a large client in the Southeast on improving the overall trust in a large manufacturing plant, one leader at a time. I’m humbled to witness each frontline manager present his or her own case study in front of the senior leadership team to tell the story of how each one of them has been building trust with his or her associates in new and meaningful ways.
They are confronting the realities of sub-optimal performance. They are righting past wrongs. They are talking straight, clarifying expectations, practicing accountability, and, above all, making time to really listen to what employees are saying and feeling.
Today, folowing one group’s presentations to management, the VP of Operations explained how several frontline associates had approached him spontaneously in recent weeks to thank him for the training their managers are getting! Even employees who haven’t attended the training are recognizing the little things their managers are doing to lead at “the speed of trust.”
Most newly promoted managers in all organizations appreciate the least bit of guidance they get on how to be a good boss. G.E.’s 20-year-long CEO, Jack Welch, put it this way, “The moment you become a manager, it stops being about you and it starts being about them.” I couldn’t agree more.
Managers who get it will spend the balance of their careers recognizing and unleashing the hidden talent that exists in everyone.
What kind of leader are you? What kind of leader will you become?
Iron Will, Dumb Luck Pay Off
I did it. Saturday, October 17th, marked my first full marathon experience!
While I enjoy the sport of triathlon, especially cycling, and do not hesitate to jump on my bike and ride 100+ miles, it is something entirely different to pound the pavement in a long distance run. Prior to Saturday, the longest I had run was 13 miles. I know. You experienced runners out there are thinking, “You’ve got to be crazy!” (You’re probably right.)
When I got serious about the idea of running a marathon, I immediately printed off the suggested training schedule at the race’s official web site. I knew I needed to work up to distances in excess of 20 miles, about 3 weeks prior to the big day. However, I let other things get in the way.
Race day was chilly. A friend and I arrived downtown at 6:00 a.m. in the rainy and windy darkness. Fortunately the rain stopped just before the race began, and the mid-40s temperature was rather comfortable once we got started. The scenery, frequent water stations, and abundant and enthusiastic bystanders were so distracting, I hardly knew I had completed the first 13 miles. It appeared I would finish the entire 26.2 miles in about 3 hours and 45 minutes. I was feeling great!
It wasn’t until after mile 20 that I decided to walk for a little bit. Big mistake.
Soon after I began a deliberate walking pace, my right knee sent a very immediate and painful message to the rest of my body. “I’m done!” I honestly thought I had torn a ligament and had just now felt it, for the first time. I knew this was the end of my wishful 4 hour goal. I would either hobble along the remaining 5 ½ miles, finishing in around 6 hours, or I would need to stop on the spot and wait for a team of compassionate volunteers to haul me off.
After about four or five extremely painful attempts to start running again, I was able to sustain a jogging pace that didn’t bring me to tears. This leads me to my second lesson. I could NOT stop again and expect to come remotely close to finishing under 4 hours. I knew I had to keep running the distance or my goal would be postponed, until next time.
I soon watched the 3:35 pacers pass me by. Then the 3:40 group. The 3:45’s strode by. The 3:50’s. Finally, here came the 3:55’s. I had to hang close, or at least try to keep them in sight, if I wanted to finish under 4 hours. What a reward it was to see my wife and four kids cheering me on as I hobbled across the finish line at 3:56:59!
I was extremely lucky that my body parts were forgiving enough to allow me to go the distance. My muscles and tendons had not been adequately hardened by the necessary distances required by reasonable training. I also found new reserves of will-power and perseverance during those 15 minutes of deliberation and pain.
I can point to several times throughout my life where both luck and perseverance have played out, as I’m sure you can too. Each exists in a very different realm from the other. Luck is clearly in my Circle of Concern. I don’t control it, but sometimes I test it, even when I know it’s not the wisest call. Will-power is completely in my Circle of Influence. No matter how hard things get, I can always dig a little deeper.
Whether we’re plagued by economic down-turn, controversy and corruption, or overall pessimism and malaise, there is always something you and I can do to pull through. Don’t count on luck. Search deep for those reserves of will-power and drive that you know are there. You’re not running the race alone. And there are masses of your biggest fans on the curb rooting you on. But you’ve got to get you to the finish line. See you there!
Leadership is Culture: Developing your leaders as teachers
Heirarchy is not leadership. Position is not leadership. Title is not leadership.
Leadership is compelling behavior.
In my 20+ years of leadership development experience, I have not witnessed a method of leader improvement more effective than to equip existing management with the tools to teach and then to personally model the concepts that are expected of their learners. This “leader-as-teacher” way of life has transformed the cultures of many organizations, including such giants as Becton Dickinson (BD).
While leading the professional development function at mid-cap aerospace and defense darling Alliant Techsystems (ATK) during the first half of this decade, I certified over 100 facilitators in one of our key leadership development programs – over half of these newly trained trainers were in management. I have great respect for my fellow Human Resource and Talent Management professionals who are often called upon to be classroom instructors. However I can attest to the fact that leaders who prepare, teach, and then model leadership in the workplace have a profoundly more positive impact on shaping culture.
Why?
Most associates see their leaders every day. People then witness their behavior and can hold leader-teachers accountable for “walking the talk.” Leader-teachers become vested in the material and much more aware of how they can become effective models of the content. They tend to discuss, clarify, and sometimes debate the alignment of course content with the organization’s strategy and execution. And on and on and on…
For most organizations, there is a profound source of competitive advantage right under their noses – their management. Yet most companies can’t afford to send their leaders off to a train-the-trainer on the many topics they may want addressed in the workplace. FranklinCovey has an answer. I’m excited to announce to my readers the newest platform of content delivery, specifically designed for leaders to take 10 to 15 minutes to teach and discuss targeted subjects, all the while relying on the research and award-winning videos that have made FranklinCovey your trusted partner over the years.
FranklinCovey InSights contains online materials that can be presented to a group in the same conference room or to a dispersed team across the country. It prompts the leader to ask specific, thought-provoking questions, provides brief video segments featuring speakers such as Dr. Stephen R. Covey, and allows teams and individuals to document real-time the goals they set in order to improve in that area. The InSights program also gives users the option of receiving a daily, weekly or monthly reminder to help them complete their goals.
Take a minute to watch the preview at the following address: http://www.franklincovey.com/tc/events/insights