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August 1, 2006 21:43 - ...And Another Thing...
Following my last blog/newsletter (because sometimes Sunday's blog is the same as my newsletter!), I had the following from my very first coaching client!
Thanks Kay, for sharing.
"It (the newsletter article) reminded me about the time that rabbit went to school and detested it.
In a nutshell the school kept trying to make him do things he was no good at and absolutely hated.
In the end they took him out of jumping lessons, which he loved and was good at, and made him do double flying lessons which of course he hated and kept hurting himself in.
I think shortly after that he left!"
The analogy is that often under the name of performance development we get members of our team to focus only on aspects they are weak in and forget to develop and enjoy/employ their strengths."
I couldn't have said it better myself!
August 6, 2006 18:52 - Accountable or Responsible - That is the Question...
Are you ready to step up to the big time?
The reason I ask, is a lesson I learnt once when I got myself promoted.
When I moved from a business where I was the responsible one, to where I was the accountable one.
And it was a shock, I can tell you.
I got myself offered a great promotion, as a result of some big-time management shuffling at the top and a restructure. It was a big business and a very big change in culture for me.
Think country bumkin to big city. It was like 'Mr Smith Goes to Washington' - and more
After six months I was exhausted and crawled back to my boss to admit defeat. I wanted out and back to where I was comfortable.
He was having none of that and, (very nicely and very firmly), pushed me back into the frying pan - it was that hot!
Then, one day, a realisation struck me.
I was managing things, not people.
In fact, I was the doer of much of the stuff in the business and not managing my people to do the stuff they were eminently qualified to do.
Immediately, I spent time developing the capabilities of my people, investing time in them rather than doing all the jobs myself.
And things started to turn around.
This brings me to the difference between 'accountable' and 'responsible'.
Whilst I had the energy and capacity in a much smaller business, I could keep each plate spinning myself. I was responsible for all of it and the often much of the 'doing' too. I worked hard and could cope with it.
When the business became much bigger, I found out that I couldn't do it all any more.
Whilst I was accountable for the performance of my business, it became time to give away responsibility to others, with support.
Firmly and fairly, I gave away the 'doing' and let them get on with it. I told them the 'what' and let them have the 'how', within a few rules we agreed.
It was sure a tough learning for me and, well, if I could, you can too.
A corner was truly turned.
August 13, 2006 23:08 - It's Not What You Say, It's The Way That You Say It
"OK, so what's happened? ... Well, yes you can do it that way. And let me show you a way that sometimes works well for us too"
"You did what - that's crazy. Why didn't you do it the way you were told? Don't you ever listen to what I say?"
Two approaches - pretty clearly eh?
If you were on the receiving end of these two acknowledgements of when something seems to have gone wrong, how would you feel about the relationship you have with your boss/manager etc?
Employees try their best - really - in the main they want to do a good job. They don't try to get things wrong - and yet sometimes they do.
That's life.
And we can beat them up for it - or we can understand and help them get over it.
The two approaches above are examples I've come across, in the last week, observing types of manager approach their people when things have gone wrong.
The first was from an excellent manager, who has her team with her, because she supports and encourages them when things don't work out quite right.
The second was from, admittedly, a less experienced manager, who was determined to make an example of his employee (so much so that she ended up in tears).
Employees are a hardy bunch. Frankly, they usually dust themselves down and get on with it.
And each time they are treated without respect it nibbles away at their self-confidence and helps them feel unworthy and useless.
It is not a nice thing to feel after you've done your days work. It impacts on their home life and the way they cope with the world.
Manager two was still embroiled in his own ego and inexperience. Showing his bullying capabilities from a position of power (and in the case mentioned, they were dealing with a very insecure member of their team - one they knew would not answer back).
The language we use as managers can be developmental or destructive - we have that onerous choice to make.
To build people's capabilities or crush them, through the way we speak and work with them.
August 15, 2006 11:45 - Office Exercises
Please note that you try these exercises at your own risk. If in doubt whether they will suit you personally, check with a suitable medical advisor first.
Back Stretch
- Stand up and place your hands on your hips toward the small of your back
- Slowly lean back as far as you can, tilting your head to gently stretch your neck
- Be sure to support your back with your hands and arms!
- Return to normal position
Neck Stretch
- Slowly bend your head from side to side, moving your ear toward your shoulder
- Repeat three times
- Slowly drop your head forward and then back three times
- Repeat the entire sequence
Shoulder Rolls
- Move shoulders up toward your ears, hold, then drop
- Roll shoulders forward in three slow circles, then back in three slow circles
- Squeeze shoulder blades together, then release
- Repeat entire sequence
Wrist Stretch
- Place one arm at your side
- Grasp your forearm with the other hand
- Bend your hand upward from the wrist
- Hold for a count of five
- Relax, repeat three times
- Repeat using the other arm
Finger Stretch
- Stretch your hands out, palms down, fingers spread apart
- Hold for a count of five
- Make hands into fists, curving wrists gently inward
- Release
Courtesy of Tangram Interiors
August 17, 2006 20:13 - One to One Time
Spending time with people one-to-one is invaluable.
Why?
I'll tell you.
One-to-one time may seem an inefficient use of time - after all, if you can spent group time, you can touch far more people. Right?
Well, of course that's right.
There comes a time when one-to-one time is much more valuable.
With groups, the time you spend is spread thinly and the time you have to form strong relationships is minimal (though not impossible, even in that sort of setting - maybe I can return to that sometime soon!).
One-to-one time honours the person you generously give your time to. It gives them the space to get used to you and get more comfortable with being upfront and honest.
They can provide the feedback you need to move forward.
They can talk to you, rather than be talked at.
Of course this means that you have to stimulate the conversation genuinely with those great 'open' question words.
Asking the 'What', 'How', 'When', 'Where', 'Who' and 'Why' questions get people talking.
Your listening, gives them the space to share what's on their mind and more.
It helps them dig deep and share what they are feeling - more, what they need from you to do a great job.
One-to-one time enables that.
Giving of your time, in this way, truly reaps reward for the investment you make.
For 21 tips to get the best from your one-to-one conversations, coming up this weekend, just sign up for the newsletter as you leave this page!
For those of you who already are signed up - you'll get it on Monday, as usual!
August 18, 2006 22:57 - Gimme the Money - or Something More, Maybe?
Let's say you have a crap job (research shows us that the vast majority of us think we do).
I make you an offer. I double your salary for you to stay five years.
Or I offer you the same job and have people listen to you, support you and make it feel a worthwhile experience.
Which would you choose?
You might well opt for the job that doubles your salary, believing that you could make it to the end, having banked the excess and take a couple of years off.
You might think a bit about it and reason that a better job, where you get joy from your day-to-day life, is better than the extra pay.
It could be dependent on who you are, and how balanced your view of each precious day in your life is - the five years are a big chip to gamble with.
It could be down to your ability to make the best of a bad thing and look for the brightness in whatever existence you have, and stash the loot.
It is interesting to speculate on our choices.
What about the real, live, today world you live in. Changes that seem radical get put off. Day, by slow day, we tolerate the way things are, seeming to ignore the potential we have to make changes.
Yet we can; we could and maybe perhaps we should even.
August 27, 2006 20:59 - Not In Today
Ever get stuck in the day to day rut. The firefighting which means you barely get to look at your to-do list, let alone do it?
And then, where is all that time you need to do the 'thinking planning and developing' that all the guru books tell you is so vital?
It just isn't do-able, is it?
Stephen Covey goes on about 'Quadrant Two' time and Tom DeMarco talks about 'Slack' and neither seem to fit the roller-coaster existence that every day brings.
So, here's the thing. If you were off sick, your business would continue, wouldn't it? In varying degrees your answer should be 'yes'. For the enlightened and where you've taken the time to build a good, capable team, it might even run better when you are off sick.
Rewind - if you are off sick, your business survives.
So how about thinking about those important 'growth not-firefighting' actions again.
Be sick!
In fact, make out for slivers of your busy schedule that you aren't there. I call it 'red-circling' time in your diary, such that it is your 'sick-day', when you are simply not around.
Sometimes this time is planning strategies for getting closer to where your goals are - where you want your business to go in the future, sometimes spending time with others in your team - away from the workplace even.
Try a coffeeshop where there is a bit of space upstairs, in the quiet, or the back room of a pub/bar in an afternoon.
This isn't about raft-building and other enticing 'away days'. These are all well and good as team development alongside the day job of building your team - in the space you make regularly.
When you are 'not in' today, for an hour, for an afternoon or for a whole day.
Getting things done which are critical to progress, which you don't find the time to squeeze in usually.
Worth a go?
August 30, 2006 22:17 - Ping - The Sound of Shooting in the Foot!
Oh, what joy it is when something remarkable happens.
Local management made a hash of dealing with a postman in deepest Wales this week.
Being a helpful soul, he produced a dinky little leaflet for his customers showing them what they needed to do to 'opt-out' of the rubbish we get stuffed through our letterboxes each day.
The junk mail.
This upset local management a bit and they suspended him.
I don't want to make light of the personal impact this might have on him and I feel sure that the publicity will actually have helped his cause.
They just didn't like it.
You see the local management got in a bit of a sulk when he'd done his bit for his people and instead of a quiet word, they have unleashed an enormous news item now, which is going to have immense repercussions on the organisation as a whole.
Now, hundreds of thousands are using the information provided by generous (?) national newspapers to opt-out.
What might have been a local storm in a teacup, with no-one really affected, is now set to lose the Royal Mail tens of millions in revenue.
Let this be a lesson unto you all.
Banana skins are all over the place already, without you laying them down in front of you - so keep your eyes (if you forgive the pun:-)) peeled!
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