How you act is how you think

So how are your relationships at work going? Are you able to be relaxed and feel productive or does it seem like a struggle to get anyone to cooperate?

If you are feeling good about your relationships – that is great – be sure to be grateful for your fortune.

If you are not feeling so good about your relationships I ask you to take a look inside yourself and think about how you influence this feeling.  If you don’t respect someone, it comes out in your actions – trite, short, condescending, or just plain ignoring them.  If you don’t trust them, it comes out secretive, micromanaging, collusive or snipes at your co-workers.  If you think about your co-workers in negative terms then you will act in your relationships in negative ways. It becomes a self-fulfilling cycle.  Find a way to have a more positive attitude about the others around you and perhaps your actions will create a change of heart in your co-workers.

Delegating Authority

When you lead people you must delegate responsibility to them. Here are some tips to help delegation be more successful:

TIP 1: Set results-based expectations – let the person know what success looks like to you.

TIP 2: Assign a level of authority for the task at hand – here are five levels to consider:

• Act when directed

• Act after approval

• Act after consultation

• Act and report

• Act autonomously

TIP 3: Set a timeline for results. Be clear about when you want the task completed. If it can be done anytime, don’t get upset when anytime turns into any year.

TIP 4: Give them coaching support if they need it. You may assign a task that can be done without supervision or a new task that needs some coaching. Make sure you provide the level of oversight the person needs to be successful and not any more.

Using these tips will help you foster independence and growth in your staff. Don’t forget to reward successes.

Time out for you

The holiday seasons are here and holiday chaos is setting in. Stores are piling up the shelves, gas prices are going up, and family expectations are rising fast. We start rushing to work and thinking about all the “other things” that need to get done for this special time of the year. Take time to listen to yourself.

Does this season make you a bit snappy, anxious, or forgetful? Stress manifests in so many different ways – we can be the cranky kind barking out tasks or the happy kind that listens to those deadlines whoosh by and then feel guilty later.  I am sending you a reminder that this time of year, more than any other time of the year; you need to take time for just yourself.

This begins the season of giving. If you are not at peace with yourself it is much more difficult to spread joy, goodwill, and gratitude to others. Take just 15 minutes (just 5 minutes if that’s all you have) to push out the things that must get done today, tomorrow, later, etc. In these 15 minutes write down a list of 5 – 10 things you are grateful for. Why do this exercise? Because giving thanks reminds you how blessed your life is, however your life is, and appreciating your blessings is reinvigorating.

A few of my gratitudes:

I am thankful for my family.

I am grateful that I have the ability to write.

I am grateful that I will share part of the holidays with out of town friends.

I am grateful for the opportunity to help others.

 

When I read them back it makes me smile when I need to do my errands because I am doing actions in my day that I am truly thankful for. It definitely helps me put things in perspective and appreciate the little every day things. It leads to more gratitudes like I am thankful the store has my favorite snack in stock. The check out line is not very long and the clerk is pleasant. I tell the clerk thank you and have a great day; she smiles and passes that smile on to the next customer. Gratitudes are catchy and just help improve the quality of your day. It just takes a few minutes to take time with yourself and be thankful for your blessings in life.

Employee Misbehavior Making Work Difficult

Do you have employees that seem to always push your buttons? Does it seem as if they pick something new to get on your nerves every week? Are you having a hard time reigning in this behavior? Here are some tips to help you get some order back:

Tip 1: Written guidelines. If you want work to be performed in a particular way, every time, write it down as a procedure or a policy. Have the staff read it and sign off on reading the procedure. This will help set clear boundaries of performance expectations.

Tip 2: Immediate feedback. If an employee does something you want – give gratitude and encourage this behavior. If an employee does something you don’t want – give immediate feedback tied to the business process. Do not make it personal (they will hear it as a personal attack); make it about the success of the business. Tell them what performance you expect. And if they change their behavior give them immediate gratitude for that as well. If they do not change their behavior you must take disciplinary action. Keep the boundaries clear.

Tip 3: Demonstrate the behavior you desire. The employees watch what you do, even when you don’t think they are watching. Act in a way you wish the staff to act. The point is you don’t want to be arguing, “Do as I say, not as I do” with a difficult employee. Set the example and then reward your staff when they perform as you desire.

People respond to positive reinforcement. We want to know where the boundaries are and you should know that those boundaries will be tested. If the behavior does not help the business meet performance expectations, provide immediate feedback and correction. If fringe behavior improves performance, then stop and analyze if you need to change a business process.

Teamwork Incentive

It seems as if most organizations are using teams to accomplish work goals. Having complimentary skill sets collaborate to achieve a common goal can yield outstanding results. Sometimes, though, it seems difficult, if not impossible, to get folks to truly collaborate. What can you do to improve the level of cooperation? A couple tips for you to consider…

Tip 1: You need to actively encourage teamwork behavior. Issues that arise should be vetted through the team before escalated up the chain of command.

Tip 2: Assess your performance review process. Are the employees performance measures based solely on individual achievements? A good performance review is tied to salary increases and promotion opportunities. So performance measures based on individual achievement is going to be counter-productive to creating a collaborative culture. Consider changing the employee performance measures to reward and incentivize teamwork.

Success is your choice

So you have your goals set and still it seems as if the world is conspiring against you. Somehow your priorities got reshuffled by someone else and now you are not sure if you will ever really make your goals.

You have more control than you think. Try this exercise:

Use the words “I have to…” and list out a few activities in your day.

I have to go to work

I have to go to this meeting

I have to present to the client

 Use the words “I need …” and list out a few of those activities.

I need to go to make money

I need to go on vacation

I need a blackberry

 Use the words “I can’t…” and list the things complete this sentence for you.

I can’t be late

I can’t speak up in meetings

I can’t get this report done on time

 Are these things preventing you from reaching your goals? It is frustrating, but let’s take a look at another view of your day.

With the same list you created above replace these words “I have to…” with “I choose to…”; replace “I need …” with “I want …”; and replace “I can’t…” with “I won’t…”

I choose to go to work

I choose to go to this meeting

I choose to present to the client

 

I want to go to make money

I want to go on vacation

I want a blackberry

 

I won’t be late

I won’t speak up in meetings

I won’t get this report done on time

Say both lists out loud. Notice how your body posture changes when you say “I choose to…” The activities in your day are of your choosing. You make the choice because it is important to you or because you want to avoid something – know the difference.  You can reach your goals when you focus on actively making choices in your life. Remember if you don’t someone else will.

Sponsoring Change

Are you in the position to be a sponsor for change in your company? Effective change implementation needs a sponsor. The sponsor is usually a leader ultimately responsible for the process being changed. This is usually a company executive.

I have seen many change projects and the success is most often determined by the sponsor. Some projects are dead before they even get started because the sponsor does not support the change project. Some projects meet mediocre success but don’t seem to last because they have a sponsor who wants the change to happen but does not put in any of their own effort. Change projects that are success, defined by the long-term results, have engaged sponsors supporting them.

What does an engaged sponsor look like? An engaged sponsor demands accountability from the team, they measure results. But, more importantly, an engaged sponsor gives at least 5% of his or her active participation to the project. In my observations of successful company change projects this is the hardest to achieve. Most times the project sponsor already has a full workload and doesn’t feel like they have time to spare for the project. I propose changing your view point if you are a sponsor.

A change project is brought to you to improve the company. You authorize the project because the change leader has demonstrated that the change will make the company better off through efficiencies, cost savings, revenue generation, etc. The sponsor also needs to recognize the initiative of the staff and the benefits of empowered employees. The impact to the business of engaged employees is a differentiator between your company and the competitor. Engaged employees continue to work for the good of the company and continue to look for ways to improve the company systems. Engaged employees are worth 5% of your time to be fully engaged in the project.

Sponsoring change takes effort and time away from your usual activities but the results are worth it. Make time.

Curiosity takes courage

Do you try things that are uncomfortable or unknown because you are so curious to know? Being curious takes courage. We are not curious about the things we know, we are curious about the things we don’t know. True in life, but this blog is about business.

So, consider your curiosity again. How do you exercise curiosity at work? Do you ask that next question or further clarification because you need to know? Or do you sit back because it is safer, it won’t rock the boat, you can stay unnoticed? Curiosity takes courage at work because you must go to the places of uncertainty.

Turn curiosity into a tool. Practice curiosity. Ask questions. Wonder how the pieces fit together. Consider what elements made up the information provided to you. Curiosity is a powerful tool.  The more you look, the more you ask.  The more you ask, the more you understand.  The more you understand, the better you become as a leader.

Be curious.

Visualize Success

It is one of the high sports seasons – baseball, football, hockey, basketball, soccer, racing – so many going at this time of the year…but they all have a common characteristic, the athletes visualize success.

Before each game and before each time out to play athletes visualize what the game will be like, how they will act, how there body will respond, and what will happen next. Close their eyes and watch the future happen. Then go and act out the future you visualized. When it works you feel on top of your game.

There is no magic involved in this technique, simply visualize the situation, circumstances, your actions and how this will lead to the results you want. No sports required.

So visualize your next negotiation, your next interview, your next presentation. How will it start, who will be there, what will they say, what will you do? Run through your game and visualize your future. Create the outcomes you want to happen.

Will you get what you want all the time – no. But, you will increase your chances because you think success instead of defeat. And don’t underestimate self doubt creeping in and undermining your efforts. That is why the professionals visualize – leaving no room for even a sliver of doubt.

It can work at the office too. Visualize success and keep practicing. You should see your success improve as you live the future you have already seen.

What drives you?

Each day you begin to go about your activities, maybe doing things differently than yesterday or maybe just plugging along. It becomes hard to assess how we are changing when we take a small step every day.

Take some time, on occasion, to reflect on what kind of leader you have become. Ask yourself a series of questions:

What influenced you and your style? Are you effective and effectively implementing your values and principles? Do you know where your style came from? What is your vision for the type of leader you would like to become? What new knowledge do you need to reach your vision? And what steps can you take to continue to grow?

It is important as a leader to reflect on your style to determine if it is consistent with your values, that it is effective, and that you are providing a good leadership role model to others.