Well, I heard...

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Have you ever been on a team and a new person joined that you knew nothing about?

Have you ever been been assigned a new boss or project leader that you didn't know?

What did you do?  

Chances are you made up a story and sometimes that story can undermine that person's credibility.  

If you're a new manager or new to the team, here are some ideas on how to fill in the information gap so that you can start off on the right foot. 

1. Encourage the person above you to send out a note which highlights your accomplishments.
2. Make time to meet with each person on your team.  Have a conversation about your goals and theirs.  This is especially important if you have been promoted over a colleague who also wanted that role. Meet with that person and appreciate their contributions. Offer them important work. Give trust to earn trust. 
3. Pay it forward.  Be sure that when you bring new people onboard, that you share WHY they have been chosen.

Sharing the WHAT and the WHY every time you communicate with your team makes for better results.  

To meet or not to meet...

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It's a good question.

Do you keep on hosting or attending a certain standing meeting that is no longer useful? It's 2018; time to rethink your options.

Start with clarifying the objective by asking, what is the purpose of the meeting?
If it's to share an update - consider updating via email, google doc, or  dropbox paper.  
If it's to brainstorm - share that goal so that everyone comes prepared to be creative. 
If it's to collaborate - send out some reading or data in advance so everyone can show up informed and ready to share.

Ask yourself what needs to happen in the meeting and then prepare accordingly before the meeting. 

That won't work...

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The last Coaching Catch Up had a tip to help you clearly communicate your goals using the SMART acronym.  Did you get some pushback on the plan? Maybe someone flat out said "that won't work!"  
If so aim to respond versus react.

Reacting is:

• "But I said so" 
• "I'm the boss"
• "We're doing it anyway"

Responding is listening, acknowledging, and collaborating. 

• "You say it won't work, what are your concerns?" 
• "Tell me more about what barriers you see to this working."

If your job is to present your ideas well, or to train others, then join us at our Train-the-Trainer in San Antonio, Texas.  For more information, click here. 

New Year, Who Dis?

Next week is a new year and with that comes a chance for a fresh start.

What are your goals for your department?
How did you share those with the team, were you clear?

Using the SMART acronym is a good way to express goals so that no one responds with a puzzled expression when you check in on their progress. 

What's SMART? Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time Bound. 
i.e. I will take action on at least 1 of the 4 Coaching Catch-Ups from Ann each month. 


If your job is to present your ideas well, or to train others, then join us in at our Train-the-Trainer in San Antonio, Texas.  For more information, click here. 

Try this...

Pat your head.

Then stop.

Rub your tummy.

Then stop.

Now do both at the same time.  

How'd you do?  

My guess is when you did both together, you did neither well.  As much as we tout the benefits of multi-tasking, it doesn't work. 

This week is a very busy week for most people - shopping, travel, family and work gatherings; you name it.  If your team is trying to do it all, perhaps you can ease some stress and give them blocks of time to leave early, online shop, or attend school holiday events without guilt.  

Giving a little at this time of year can lead to great returns later on.  Be a Santa, not a Scrooge.

Happy Holidays,
Team Ward Certified

Don't Take It Home With You

Idea of the month:  Leave your frustration at work.

Some days it feels like we've made zero progress.  The to-do list, like Santa's Naughty List, gets longer, not shorter.   If you’ve had one of those days and don’t want to take the frustration home and allow it to turn into one of those nights… try this:

Write it down.  Before you dash for the door – jot down some notes on what you need to look into tomorrow.

Clear your mind.  Take a few deep breaths. Visualize the things that matter to you outside of work or how nice the neighbor's Christmas lights look.

Get up and leave.  Once you've completed steps 1 and 2 – leave. Avoid the temptation to check your email once more or stop by someone's desk.  Just leave.

Tomorrow’s a whole new day!

If your job is to present your ideas well, or if you train others, then you should get WARD CERTIFIED!  Click here to learn more.

Zen Breakfast

Most of us feel behind schedule even before we start our day.  We hurry through countless distractions and work hard at staying focused.  (Baskin and Robbins now serving ticket 65!)

One way to remain calm and centered is to think first, do second.  Yes, really think about what you are doing.  Focusing first helps aim our energy on that task, which improves efficiency and even enjoyment.

• Have you ever driven to work and then realized you don’t remember getting there?
• Written an email, pressed send and then realized it was sent to the wrong person or you missed a piece of information?
• How about answering the phone when your mind is somewhere else?

Practice this idea of focusing at the breakfast table (yes, there is a place in your house to sit and eat breakfast - it doesn’t have to be in the car!).

• Pause before you answer the phone.

• Stop before you open that next account.

If this feels like hard work, then you really need it.

OOOMMMMMM……

On another note:  Would you like to get WARD CERTIFIED?  Now you can, click here to learn more.