What Ya Doing?

A man came upon a construction site where three people were working.  He asked the first, “What are you doing?” and the man replied: “I am laying bricks.” He asked the second, “What are you doing?” and the man replied: “I am building a wall.” As he approached the third, he heard him humming a tune as he worked and asked, “What are you doing?” The man stood, looked up at the sky, and smiled, “I am building a cathedral!”

What's the point of this story?

Engaged employees are building cathedrals, not laying bricks and building walls. 

To apply this thinking to your team,  Dr. Jane Dutton suggests distributing customer testimonials and announcing when company profits are donated to charities as examples of how to create a sense of purpose.  

Do people on your team understand how what they do today helps the team? The company? And your customers?  The clearer the link, the more motivated they will be. 

We cover this engagement technique and many more in our Mind the Gap workshop.  Email us for more information.  

The Good, the Bad and the Not Yet

As you know, I’m a big fan of immediate, specific, positive feedback.  And I’m not alone.  There is plenty of research that toots the powerful impact these moments have on performance.

I’m also a fan of immediate, specific, feedback for improvement. 

Except when:

·      You are too upset to deliver the information constructively;

·      You don’t know the whole story;

·      You can see that the other person is reacting emotionally to the situation;

·      You don’t have time to make it a conversation which may result in you telling vs. talking;

and perhaps the toughest

·      You notice the little voice in your head is saying "I knew it” which means you are feeling judgmental, rather than curious.

Feedback is one of the best ways to motivate or de-motivate a team member.  For best results, choose your timing and your words carefully. 

Wait A Minute...

You want to lead the team and you do THAT in the office?

What's your THAT? 

1. Overreacting?
2. Interrupting?
3. Rambling?
4. Toe tapping or drumming your fingers?

Chances are, you have a thing that shows your impatience with people or processes and that thing erodes your credibility and employee engagement.   Your team may feel disrespected.

Here's how to stop:

1. Become aware of your THAT.  If you don't know what it is, then ask.  If no-one will tell you, it doesn't mean you don't have one, it means you need to ask someone who isn't intimidated enough to share what it is.
2. Reflect on the moments when you behave that way.  What's the trigger?
3. Avoid the trigger or come up with a new response to the trigger.
4. Ask a coach, a colleague or friend to catch you responding the wrong way and redirect you to the new response.

Be kind to yourself as you work on this.  You've likely had this habit for a while and it may take some time to change.  The outcome is a more engaged team, producing at higher levels - so it's worth it!

If you've identified your THAT but struggle with how to stop, email me.  I'm here to help. 

---

NEW! We've been getting a lot of requests for help with Millennials in the workplace. Here's a couple of ways we can assist.  Backpacks to Briefcases helps Millennials build their brand effectively, Mind the Gap helps Managers learn to flex, in order to engage Millennials fully.  Sound interesting? Email or call me for a course description and pricing.   

Delivering Tough News

Delivering tough news is tough. 

Unless you manage a team of clairvoyants, NOT delivering the news won’t solve the problem or change the situation. 

So, here’s some help.

1. Headline the conversation.  You know what you want to talk about.  Give the other person a one line statement, so they can be prepared for the discussion too.

2. Use ‘I’ vs. “You” statements.

Sounds like: “I’ve noticed this behavior, this outcome, this result…”

3. Choose non-judgmental words.  Words that make a listener automatically defensive include: always, never, attitude, lazy, apathetic, bad time management and more...

4.  Check your body language.  You may be saying something you didn’t mean to.

Arms crossed – I don’t want to be here

Slumping shoulders – I’m so done with this

5.  Invite their perspective with a question and do it soon.  In role-play interactions, I’ve noticed that when people get nervous about the message, they tend to ramble and repeat the concern.  Meanwhile the recipient is getting anxious and defensive. 

Putting it all together.

Hey Cam, let's talk about the game. I noticed you seemed frustrated after the loss and I get it.

I’m pleased you didn’t talk poorly about the other players, but am concerned about the impression you gave by having slumped shoulders and being barely audible when you responded to questions.  It sends a negative message about you and the team.

Tell me about the interviews.    

Checklists!

In today's fast-paced work world, it's easy for tasks, steps, and ideas to slip through the cracks. 

Idea of the month:  Checklists.

When you create a new process, aim to create a checklist to go with the process.  Having the visual aid will help you, and anyone else responsible for the task, complete it accurately every time.

Sharing and then running through a checklist ensures mutual understanding, saves you both time, and reduces the chance of mistakes.

Checklists work well for:

• new greetings or closings
• new processes for up-selling or tracking
• transitioning tasks from one person to another
• packing for a trip to Hawaii!

Baking a Team

I've been working with a lot of teams lately and one of the take-aways people like the most is having a set of guidelines that the team agrees to.   You might call it the recipe for success.

Step 1: Decide what you want to bake.  What's the goal, what are the deliverables and how will you measure success?  Will you trust the timer, intuition or will you stick a knife in the loaf, and if it comes out dry, it's done?  

Step 2: Gather your ingredients.  Some people don't even know they are on a team.  So be clear about who's on the team and what their roles are.  Do you want someone to challenge your ideas during meetings and if so, will you support them or rebel against them when they do?

Step 3: Follow the instructions.  There is a science to baking which leads to great eats.  Not following these leads to disappointment and blame.  

Some team instructions include things like:

• Meetings:  If a meeting starts at 8am, when does it really start?  Seems obvious, but not having clear expectations can lead to individual interpretation and resentment.
• Meeting purpose and agenda:  What is the objective of the meeting?  How do we play?  Are we allowed / expected to speak up?
• Emails:  Should you write in bullet point or add some personalization and, if so, how much?
• Communication:  When do we pick up the phone vs email vs IM?  And if you want to talk by phone, do you IM first to ensure the timing works?

Step 4:  Enjoy your banana nut bread.  Take a moment to notice when things are working well and celebrate how you worked through the tough stuff like beating eggs, mashing bananas and mixing nuts to create something yummy.

What rules of engagement has your team set and how has it helped?

Time to Manage your Time

People often share that a big challenge in their day is taking on too much and not saying "no." 

Why? 

Because they want to help and because they don’t know how to say "no."

See if this helps.

If you find yourself blurting out "yes" under pressure, then practice not answering the question.  Give yourself the chance to make a decision with less pressure. Give yourself some space. 

Hans asks you to sit in on a meeting next Monday.

You reply "Let me get back to you."

Use that time to think about it and check whether it fits your priorities, then get back to them.  Sometimes taking a breath allows you the strength to defer or explain why your schedule doesn’t allow time to do that thing well.

If you feel like you can make good choices on the spot, but need a reply that doesn’t mess with your schedule, try this.  Focus on timing.

Boba asks "Can you prepare a …"

You reply: "When is the latest I can get this back to you?"

Now you have room to schedule the request in a way that fits your plan.  Having control over when you do it may make the task more feasible. 

If your schedule is packed but the person asking signs your paycheck, use if/then

Darth asks you to work on a new task that is needed right away.

You reply:  "If I do this, I'm not going to be able to get to X, Y, and Z. Is that okay with you?"

This reminds them of the other projects you are working on for them and gets them involved in prioritizing.

And if Yoda asks for help, don’t say: "I’ll try."

May the force be with you!