Facilitating Staff

You take on this big responsibility personally so that your team members can fully devote their time and energy to performing the activities they were specifically hired – and are being well-paid – to do.

Along the way, you must constantly follow up by poking, prodding, examining, and checking to be sure everyone’s job really is being done – and again, done right.  As much as possible, when anything or anyone on your staff needs your attention, you are the key person – on the spot – to see that the appropriate resources are properly provided.  Remember, you are not there to do your employees’ work for them; you are there to periodically look over their shoulders, make sure they have everything they need and are making good use of their resources, and to help if/when anything serious gets in their way.

From my book, The Manager’s Oracle, here is a brief key lesson that will help you understand the great value of facilitating a broad range of your staff’s needs.

Your team will quickly begin to surpass their accustomed levels of productivity.  Your boss should start to notice this excellent trend.  Your team members will be proud to see their efforts paying off.  Finally and very importantly, you might well begin to see your own career blossom in unexpected and desirable ways.

Learn more about Mark and The Manager’s Oracle at oracle125.com

Buy the book on Amazon.com

Always Issue Clear Instructions

Here’s a key question: Why in the world would you want to risk failure when you can virtually ensure success by taking just a moment to give out very clear instructions?

Almost without exception, every boss who has ever handed down an order has, at one time or another, also been guilty of dispensing poor instructions.  Inadequate instructions can lead staff to misunderstand their goals, perform unneeded work, utilize inefficient methods, or waste resources as a result of trying to exploit the wrong materials.

As a leader/manager, it is essential for you to consistently go far out of your way to BE SURE your staff understands both your instructions and the reasons you issued them.  Remember, as a leader you are NOT communicating with children; you are talking to adults who are being well paid to perform tasks correctly.  You want to try to ensure success because that’s what you are being paid to deliver.

From my book, The Manager’s Oracle: 125 Key Lessons Nobody Ever Taught You About Leading and Managing, here are a few brief-but-essential lessons that will help you understand the tremendous value of giving out very clear instructions.

Lesson: Providing complete and very clear instructions is a most important key to your team’s, and by extension, your own success.

Lesson: Even at the risk of sometimes sounding tedious to a few members of your staff, always make sure you’ve made the reasoning behind your plan very clear.  If necessary, write it out in longhand or put it in an e-mail message.  Over time, your area’s results will begin to pull ahead of your peer managers because you are squarely set up to avoid wasting your team members’ time or their resources.

Remember, the weaker the team member, the more of your personal effort is likely to be needed to make an assignment clear.  Ultimately, you’ll personally gain from having many fewer delegated tasks go wrong.  That is, you simply will not have to stop whatever important thing you are doing – to mop up some subsequent mess.

Lesson: Issuing careful and thorough instructions and making sure they are well understood costs far less than the costs you’ll incur over time, in cleaning up after constant disasters.

Of course, experienced employees should never require detailed instructions every time they perform any task they’ve already handled even just once or twice.  (Obviously, that behavior would fall into the category of micro-managing, and would quickly become a waste of your own time and energy.)  This warning is true unless a given task includes some kind of new feature or change they could easily misunderstand.  If the task includes something new and complex, you are effectively giving out instructions for an entirely new task and you should make certain everyone understands the revised routine.

Lesson: If an employee is just not able to get it right after too many (a number that is entirely up to you) tries, that employee qualifies as a lunkhead, not you.  Then, it’s time to be a little upset and possibly angry.  Apparently, you may be asking that employee for something that really can’t happen.  That employee just is never going to get it right.

Clearly, there is inevitably a point where you just have to say, “I give up!”

Learn more about Mark and The Manager’s Oracle at oracle125.com

Buy the book on Amazon.com

Think about Google, DreamWorks, Alston & Bird, Mercedes-Benz and other “top 100 places to work” – what is it they do differently (a la more successfully) than other businesses? Many would say the “creative freedom” given in how they accomplish their tasks makes the difference. For others the opportunity to learn and tackle new problems may ignite the spark of happiness. In our work with organizations, we find the two most important factors for cultivating employee satisfaction are a sense of purpose and a sense of accomplishment. When someone understands the purpose of their work – how what they do impacts their team, their company, their customers, (or their world) – they tend to feel a deeper sense of pride and ownership. Purposeful employees are internally motivated by doing a good job. Yes, appreciation, recognition, rewards and a good team helps, but assist each individual employee in understanding why what s/he does is important and engagement/happiness levels will rise. Many charitable organizations have this down pat, and the rest of us can learn from their example – (e.g. –a fundraising associate, custodian or artist employed by American Cancer Society may all feel a sense of pride and devotion to their work, because they know they are a part of something bigger than themselves, making a difference on a grander scale.) And, as we already know there is a powerful link between a thriving workforce and better business performance.

How can we apply the economics of happiness? Here are a few tips for creating happier employees and a thriving, performance-focused organization:

1. Provide decision-making discretion wherever possible – minimizing politics and “red-tape” – When employees are given permission to solve problems on their own, they feel empowered. This added control generally results in more creative solutions and opportunities for learning at every level of the organization.
2. Share feedback and information regularly – Knowledge is power or at least promotes feelings of influence! However, doing a job in an info-vacuum is un-inspiring at best. Letting people know how they’re doing as well as what’s happening at a department and company level promotes accountability, ownership and better performance. The truth is most people want to do a good job. Let’s give them the tools and information necessary to succeed.
3. Give employees a chance to learn and grow – Innovation is essential to thriving (and even surviving) in today’s marketplace. In fact, it has been said that our ability to learn faster than our “competitors” may be our greatest (if not only) advantage. Formal and informal learning opportunities, including coaching, traditional classroom programs, mentoring, and eLearning, can create a new level of expertise, company pride, loyalty and of course results. It is our mandate as leaders however, to make sure that all learning endeavors are linked to business outcomes and our future competency requirements.
4. Teach employees how to stay energized – Science has proven time and time again the value of a good night’s rest as well as regular breaks from intensive work. Likewise, a game, friendly competition or other fun at work can promote a healthier, more energized and agile workforce. Teach employees the value of renewal and watch your bottom line grow.
5. Encourage employees to invest in relationships that bring you joy – As a rule of thumb, we would all be happier and more productive if we spent more time with colleagues who inspire us or challenge us to be “better” people while minimizing time with those who deplete our energy and self-worth. Try starting meetings by sharing good news or “wins” or expressing sincere gratitude to someone who did an exceptional job…these simple actions promote team cohesion and reduce tolerance for incivility.

Other low or no-cost activities that may help employees feel valued and happier include: mentoring programs, stretch assignments, job rotation, flexible schedules, award programs, volunteer projects (such as volunteering together to build a Habitat house or sponsor a local charity event). When considering happiness over the long haul, it may be that “the small stuff” really does matter most. According to psychologist Ed Diener, someone who has a dozen mildly nice things happen to her each day is more likely to be happier than someone who has a single truly amazing thing happen. In other words, happiness is the sum of hundreds of small things rather than the profound effect of one or two. Keep this in mind when designing programs to motivate and engage your sales teams and work groups.

For more information:

• http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2009/06/thirteen-tips-for-feeling-happier-at-work.html
• http://hbr.org/magazine – spotlight on Happiness  (Jan/Feb 2012)
• www.trackyourhappines.org

As you consider your personal mission statement, write down all of the roles you play in life as well as your strengths, values, current needs and goals.  Next write down a sentence or two about who you would like to BE and what you’d like to ACCOMPLISH in work and life. Finally, spend some time using this information to craft a mission statement. It can be as simple or complex as you like…simply be true to yourself.

If you need a hand discovering your mission consider working with a well qualified coach or mentor.

MOST PRESSING LEADERSHIP CHALLENGES (In Order of Importance:)

1.  Improving overall quality of leadership in the organization
2. Motivating employee performance
3. Recruiting and retaining top talent
4. Developing the next generation of leaders
5. Creating a culture of innovation

MOST IMPORTANT SKILLS FOR SENIOR EXECUTIVES/SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM MEMBERS?

1. Promoting a sense of responsibility across the organization
2. Developing trusting relationships, promoting teamwork, acting authentically and demonstrating optimism
3. Serving as a role model and inspiring employee excellence
4. Communicating the organization’s mission, vision and values
5. Recognizing and rewarding employee performance

SURVEY DEMOGRAPHICS

We received 152 respondents, mostly from small and mid-size companies in the Southeast USA. The company size ranged from 7 full time employees to 19,000 with an overall average of 453. Respondents were 50% CEO or Equivalent, 18% COO, 9% CFO and 23% “Chief Human Resource Officers.”

(Click the image above to download the survey results PDF)

1. Evaluate your skill set to identify your target position.
2. Define and promote your personal brand online using Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.
3. Develop an achievement focused resume and a solution-focused cover letter to market your abilities.
4. Use LinkedIn to broaden your professional connections via contacts and professional groups. You can also get noticed by demonstrating the value you bring via recommendations, personal slide shows, video clips and the like.
5. Follow bloggers on Twitter to learn about the latest job openings.
6. Work to build relationships with several recruiters.
7. Join Professional Associations that meet in person and network, network, network.
8. Visit company websites and apply to jobs that interest you (checking your LinkedIn, FB and personal contacts who might be able to put your resume forward!)
9. Cold call — be brave enough to pick up the phone or walk in the door of companies you really want to work for.
10. Consider partnering with a career coach to add synergy, power and accountability to your career management efforts!

The old adage “No news is good news” no longer holds true in the workplace, especially for our younger generation of employees or those who are upwardly mobile. Indeed, few employees like operating in darkness and fewer still enjoy receiving “feedback” regarding a laundry list of needs improvement items during a scheduled performance review rather than at the time of the infringement. Giving timely feedback helps ensure that concerns will be quickly and adequately addressed. Even when things are running smoothly, employees benefit from feedback. Positive feedback which affirms progress, effort and success is just as important as “needs improvement” feedback when things are not running as planned. So, be careful not to overlook or take for granted your team’s biggest achievers

Here are a few tips to consider when preparing to give feedback:

1. Be specific – explain the exact behavior (the what, when, where and with whom) to be addressed. And, remember feedback should be fair and focused around work performance.
2. Give the feedback quickly – the more immediate the better, but never longer than 24-72 hours. The more critical the feedback the faster it should be delivered.
3. Give feedback privately – feedback can be given rather informally over coffee or during a shared ride to visit a customer, just make sure the discussion takes place out of earshot of others and in a place where you won’t be interrupted. Feedback should be given in person or by phone rather than by email, texting or other electronic methods –this is an opportunity to strengthen your relationship and ensure you walk away with mutual respect.
4. Make a request – try to agree on the issues and engage the employee in solving the problem during needs-improvement feedback. Asking questions while remaining open and empathetic are good ways to do this. You may also clarify expectations and make a request, such as “I request that you remove distractions during future meetings…remove your watch, leave your blackberry in your briefcase, etc.”
5. Check for understanding and Follow-up – ask the employee to summarize what s/he has agreed to do and by when. Then agree on a date to review and make sure the request or solution was implemented.

TGI’s Role-Based Assessment (RBA) measures team-related behaviors that have not been addressed by any other form of assessment.  It can identify a positive, constructive orientation to team collaboration, as well as the ideal ‘fit’ between a set of job responsibilities and a person’s natural ‘Role.’  Consequently, RBA is highly effective in team member selection, and in analyzing and solving team performance problems.

A positive I.D. on the ‘who’ and ‘where’ of successful teaming creates value across a broad spectrum of business activity: improved quality of hire, lower turnover, risk mitigation, rapid time-to-productivity, team performance improvement, and dramatic reduction in the ‘collateral damage’ that results from failed hires.

If you are making new hire decisions or working to build a more cohesive and profitable team, RBA is an excellent tool for your toolkit! Find out more at https://www.thegabrielinstitute.com/ or contact me to see a sample profile and learn about a no-cost-solution for giving RBA a test drive.

• Drive and manage change
• Apply leadership skills strategically
• Coach and develop future leaders
• Build and motivate loyal teams
• Improve employee engagement by fostering creativity and innovation
• Utilize critical thinking methodology
• Increase your value to the organization
• Enhance your professional qualifications

Register & Pay by August 15th and receive a 15% discount. Click the image to the left for a PDF brochure and contact us for additional information.

If you’re like me, you have a natural tendency to want to read and respond quickly to calls, emails, text and other instant messages and requests. However, this responsiveness, while well-intended (and even expected) can completely derail our productivity and waste our mental energy. Science is now showing that our instinct to “push harder” is actually counter-intuitive to how our bodies and brains work best.

According to Tony Schwartz of The Energy Project, “the problem is human beings aren’t meant to operate the way computers do: at high speeds, continuously, for long periods of time. To the contrary, people perform best when they pulse rhythmically between spending and renewing energy – both physically, mentally and emotionally.” In a world where “downtime” is equated with laziness, weakness and loss of revenue, how many of us are inclined to adapt our schedules, or that of our employees, so that we are better aligned with our natural “rhythms?”

Of course, I’m skeptical, just as I imagine most of you are. However, I’ve spent the past week trying to do work intensely for an hour or so, then take a little break to refocus and reenergize. And, interestingly, I’ve found that by the 3^rd day I felt less beat down and tired by 6 pm. I don’t know if anyone else would affirm that I’m thinking more clearly or creatively, but I can tell you that this blog post was written in less than an hour over lunch and that I created a 4-page brochure for our upcoming “Lead the Future” webinar series in record time. So, I’m willing to play along a little longer to see if I can truly use science to accelerate and sustain my own level of performance.

Here are the steps if you want to give it a try, too:

1. Move your most difficult task to the top of your list each day
2. Spend about 90-minutes working intently and without interruptions
3. Take a 20 minute break to refresh/refocus/refuel
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3

We hear a lot about working smarter these days, but other than some good priority management techniques and realistic expectations, this may be one of the simplest tools you can try – also remember the fundamentals of this process when planning meetings or learning events/seminars – every 90 minutes take a break to minimize restlessness/fidgetiness, hunger, drowsiness and loss of focus! Tony suggests we “listen to our body’s signals” rather than pump up with caffeine, carbs and sugary foods. And, researchers say we may be more productive in a 6-8 hour day than a 10-12 hour one in which we’re chained to our desk trying desperately to stay engaged.

Are you up for the challenge? I’m willing to try it another week to see if I continue to get more done and feel more energized at the end of my day. That’s a good payoff for a small adaptation in my calendar. Let me know if it works for you…

References/Resources:

• http://www.ernestrossi.com/interviews/ultradia.htm

• http://www.theenergyproject.com/

• http://www.thepracticeofleadership.net/2006/09/17/using-ultradian-rythms-to-improve-your-productivity/