Horseshoe Bay Resort

Mike McKeown

Mike McKeown is Director of Human Resources at Horseshoe Bay Resort, where he has served since 2005.  His passion is transforming good companies into high-performance organizations. Mike, a Marine Corps veteran, has also served as Director of Organizational Development for National Express Corporation, President of Organizational Change Strategies and held training management positions with Johnson & Johnson and Texas Instruments.

From Command-and-Control to Empowerment

Decades ago, managers began abandoning the command-and-control model for getting work done through people. They began to understand the power of empowered employees and team. Many began to embrace the concepts of service, or steward leadership. In some cases, however, they struggled to get high performance out of their teams. The ARCTIC model focuses on six critical areas that harness the power of full team and employee engagement. Instead of managing workers, leaders manage the environment in which the people manage themselves.

Alignment – This is the most important focus of a leader. Employees must clearly understand the goals of the organization and how their goals support them. That’s the first connection – that what an employee is working on is critical to the organization’s success. It’s not enough to create a set of SMART goals at the beginning of a review cycle then revisit them at the end of the year. A leader must constantly revisit the goals to keep the employee focused. Otherwise, competing priorities or preferred pet projects take precedence. This also allows the leader to share changes in direction. An employee’s goals must be discussed, clarified, repeated, negotiated and re-negotiated constantly or it’s more likely they’ll miss the mark.

Resources – Employees don’t have a chance at success if they’re hobbled by lack of tools and resources. The leader’s job is to equip employees with what they need to get the job done. They shouldn’t be spending their time working around an inadequate system or hearing there’s no money for a tool critical to their success. Leaders must act when they learn a resource is needed but not available. This may involve leveraging available resources, reprioritizing budget expenditures, negotiating or bartering with other departments or divisions. Not acting sends a discouraging message to the employee – “I’m set up to fail.”

"Hearing the feedback is good, but making change, especially in their leadership style, is better"

Coaching – Leaders are not the ones doing the work, they are the ones who listen to the workers, understand where they are in their skills and knowledge and help them get what they need to be successful. One of the most valuable interpersonal skills a leader must have is listening. Employees who feel heard and understood and see their leader meeting them where they are and coaching them forward toward their goals are more committed and productive. The focus on coaching requires leaders to invest their valuable time in their most valuable resources, listening fully and giving plenty of feedback so people can advance.

Training – To remain competitive, companies must constantly be learning. Leaders must be the conduit for employees to access appropriate training. If the leader has been engaged as a coach, they know what the employee needs now to be successful and what they need to know next to keep moving forward. Leaders don’t just focus on the skills and knowledge needed now; they work to equip the employee with the keys to future success. They must also take a holistic, balanced approach by helping them gain skills in process improvement, interpersonal effectiveness and new technologies.

Information – If leaders want employees to take ownership of their functions, they must provide them with as much information as possible. Information is the blood of an organization; it feeds it. Without a free flow of information employees begin to feel disconnected and devalued and productivity declines to performing only as much to stay out of trouble with the boss. Leaders must spend their time figuring out how to get as much relevant information to employees in a timely, easy to access and understand format. This requires planning and reflection to do properly, but the payoff is engaged employees who understand the impact of their work and see how their actions to improve efficiency or enhance service impact the goals of the business.

Culture – Culture has been a bigger focus in recent years. Good leaders are deliberate about building a culture of trust and respect. Leaders model trust by sharing business information, trusting employees to make the right decisions and show respect for their employees’ rights and feelings. Leaders should encourage candid and objective feedback and not only be open to receiving it but ask for it regularly. Hearing the feedback is good, but making change, especially in their leadership style, is better.

The big gain for leaders embracing the ARCTIC model is the creation and nurturing of a high-performing team that not only meet and exceed their goals, but have each other’s backs and the leader’s, too.