Practical tips from a variety of different authors. Enjoy browsing.
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During the past several months I have delivered numerous workshops and speeches for clients who were all struggling with the same basic issue: Lack of Clear Expectations. Regardless of the size of the company or the industry in which they competed, I’ve noticed a pattern of three critical areas where failure to set clear expectations has had a significant negative impact on the organization.
Unclear Performance Expectations: When the leaders of a company do not set very clear, measurable and specific standards of performance it sets everyone up for a fall. Here is a fundamental leadership maxim: Ambiguity Breeds Mediocrity!
If employees do not fully understand exactly what they are supposed to be doing, it is impossible to hold them accountable for poor performance. So the key to success here is ensuring that the expectations for performance are measurable – quantifiable – specific – binary. Why is this so important? Because highly unambiguous expectations allow you to be rigorous in holding people fully accountable, without being ruthless. Binary goals are either achieved or they are not; there is no in-between, no opinion, and no argument. This is so vital because it allows you to remove emotions from the situation by saying to an employee, "You are OK – but your performance on this task was not.” Clear performance expectations lead to better results, higher levels of accountability and a more focused and engaged workforce.
Unclear Leadership Expectations: Another area that causes dysfunction in an organization is when the employees do not clearly know what to expect from their leaders. If the leader is going to take the time to set out specific expectations for the employee’s performance, it is only right and fair that they should let the employees know exactly what to expect from them as well. This means sharing your leadership values, your vision for your team, how you will reward people when they exceed expectations, why you would terminate someone – so that everyone who works with you knows clearly where they stand and what they can expect from you as their leader. By the way, VERY few leaders do this – they just assume that their people know and understand these points. I can tell you from experience… they do not!
Unclear Customer Expectations: The last, and most costly, area where lack of clear expectations can cause serious trouble in a company is when you fail to set extremely clear expectations for what you will deliver to your customer. I am constantly amazed by the number of businesses who upset and literally chase-off customers because they don’t specifically communicate what the customer should expect. They say, "We’ll get back to you right away,” which to the customer might means in 20 minutes or less– but to the business it means within 2 hours. So when they call back an hour and a half later – the company thinks they are doing a great job (they beat their normal response time by 30 minutes!!) and the customer is seriously unhappy because they feel that the call was an hour and ten minutes late! This happens over and over again in a thousand tiny ways that all serve to drive customers away from your business. The goal is Under-Promise and Over-Deliver (UPOD) NOT Over-Promise and Under-Deliver (OPUD).
If you are a leader in your organization, regardless of what level you lead at, it is essential that you take a moment to make sure that you have done a superb job in establishing and communication very clear and specific expectations in all three of these critical areas.
About the author:
John Spence is the author of "Awesomely Simple – Essential Business Strategies for Turning Ideas into Action.” He is an award-wining professional speaker and corporate trainer, and has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Business Thought Leaders by Trust Across America. For the past 17 years, John has presented workshops, speeches and executive coaching to more than 300 organizations worldwide including Microsoft, IBM, GE, Merrill Lynch, Verizon, and dozens of private companies, government offices and not-for-profits. You can read his blog at blog.johnspence.com and follow him on twitter @AwesomelySimple.
The experiment involved 5 monkeys, a cage, a banana, a ladder and, crucially, a water hose.
The
5 monkeys would be locked in a cage, after which a banana was hung from
the ceiling with, fortunately for the monkeys (or so it seemed…), a
ladder placed right underneath it.
Of course, immediately, one of
the monkeys would race towards the ladder, intending to climb it and
grab the banana. However, as soon as he would start to climb, the sadist
(euphemistically called "scientist”) would spray the monkey with
ice-cold water. In addition, however, he would also spray the other four
monkeys…
When a second monkey was about to climb the ladder, the
sadist would, again, spray the monkey with ice-cold water, and apply
the same treatment to its four fellow inmates; likewise for the third
climber and, if they were particularly persistent (or dumb), the fourth
one. Then they would have learned their lesson: they were not going to
climb the ladder again – banana or no banana.
Image courtesy of Eyyad licensed via creative commons.
In order to gain further pleasure or, I guess, prolong the experiment,
the sadist outside the cage would then replace one of the monkeys with a
new one. As can be expected, the new guy would spot the banana, think
"why don’t these idiots go get it?!” and start climbing the ladder.
Then, however, it got interesting: the other four monkeys, familiar with
the cold-water treatment, would run towards the new guy – and beat him
up. The new guy, blissfully unaware of the cold-water history, would get
the message: no climbing up the ladder in this cage – banana or no
banana.
When the beast outside the cage would replace a second
monkey with a new one, the events would repeat themselves – monkey runs
towards the ladder; other monkeys beat him up; new monkey does not
attempt to climb again – with one notable detail: the first new monkey,
who had never received the cold-water treatment himself (and didn’t even
know anything about it), would, with equal vigor and enthusiasm, join
in the beating of the new guy on the block.
When the researcher
replaced a third monkey, the same thing happened; likewise for the
fourth until, eventually, all the monkeys had been replaced and none of
the ones in the cage had any experience or knowledge of the cold-water
treatment.
Then, a new monkey was introduced into the cage. It ran toward the ladder only to get beaten up by the others. Yet, this monkey turned around and asked "why do you beat me up when I try to get the banana?” The other four monkeys stopped, looked at each other slightly puzzled and, finally, shrugged their shoulders: "Don’t know. But that’s the way we do things around here”…
I got this story from my colleague, the illustrious Costas Markides. It reminded him – and me – of quite a few of the organizations we have seen. Over the years, all firms develop routines, habits and practices, which we call the firm’s "organizational culture”. As I am sure you know, these cultures can be remarkably different, in terms of what sort of behavior they value and what they don’t like to see, and what they punish. Always, these habits and conventions have been developed over the course of many years. Very often, nobody actually remembers why they were started in the first place... Quite possibly, the guy with the water hose has long gone.
Don’t just beat up the new monkey – whether it is a new employee, a recent acquisition or a partner; their questioning of "the way we do things round here” may actually be quite a valid one.
About the author:
Freek Vermeulen is an Associate Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the London Business School. He writes, teaches and consults on strategy, growth, acquisitions, strategic innovation and international management. He is an active case writer, keynote speaker and has advised companies like BP, IBM, Novartis, ThyssenKrupp, Toshiba, and many others. His work has appeared in various academic journals and managerial publications such as the Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review and the Wall Street Journal. His latest book is "Business Exposed”. You can connect with Freek on his blog or on twitter @Freek_Vermeulen.
Does your organization reward candor? Do your leaders demand candid feedback or are people afraid to speak out against ideals that seem to have the blessings of those at the top of the organizational chart? Confrontation is uncomfortable. I fully understand that, but if you are going to grow as a person then you have to be able to step out of your comfort zone.
I can tell you that I have sat in on more meetings than I can easily count where no one offered any comments or suggestions. I can easily control a room. I can be intimidating and I know that is why people tend not to speak up when I am presenting ideas. If my organization is going to grow then I have got to get people to come out of their shells and speak their minds.
I have thought about the best ways to go about accomplishing this. The first thing I am going to do differently is have smaller meetings. I believe that the more people that you have involved in a meeting, the less likely you are to get honest feedback from all participants. Smaller meetings are better for a lot of reasons, but if you are trying to develop candor in your team then I think smaller meetings are a must.
I also think that I have to go out of my way to reward those that are brave enough to speak their minds. You can certainly do this verbally by praising their ideas and thoughts, or you can give more tangible rewards. I use candy as a reward a lot. It has a great psychological effect when one employee earns that candy bar and has it sitting in front of them for everyone else to see. It may seem silly and insignificant, but it works.
When I do have larger meetings, I am going to appoint one of my managers to just focus on the participants. I will then give them an opportunity at the end to ask questions of the participants in an effort to pull specific employees out of their shell.
Finally, I am going to work with my direct reports to make sure that when we are offering feedback we are doing it in a constructive and positive manner that would encourage others to offer feedback. I will also ask them to call me out when I am offering feedback that is less than constructive. I can be very direct sometimes. It is part of my charm, but not everyone appreciates it. I do think that this is an area of opportunity for me in 2012 and I will ask my managers to help me improve.Your turn, how do you encourage your employees to provide candid feedback? What have you seen other managers do to encourage people to speak up? Does your organization reward candor or do they reward "yes men” or "yes women”?
About the author:
The author of this post has studied the art of management for over twenty years. He currently holds a "high profile" position in Corporate America and recently started blogging at ManageBetterNow.com - A Common Sense Guide To Becoming A Better Manager. He prefers to remain anonymous for the time being. The author has served as an Army Officer, ran a training business and held management positions in public corporations, privately held companies, and non-profits. You can connect with him and discuss management topics at ManageBetterNow.com.
Managing effectively is not just one skill, but a mix of different skills. It is a combination of different kinds of intelligence we have as human beings, which makes it an art and a craft.
Have you seen a manager who is highly skilled in technical areas but lacks empathy for others? Or the one who is highly people oriented, but easily loses the sight of goals?
If you are a manager at any level in the organization (or an aspiring one), here are some of the most critical skills you should work on.
Technical Expertise: Broad understanding of the subject (meta-cognition), various components involved in getting work done, links between those components, technical awareness and problem solving skills.
Analytical Intelligence: Ability to gather facts, understand the goals in numbers, compile data into information, measure, see trends, predict the outcomes, go to the root cause and base decisions on facts.
People Intelligence: Understand people (and how they feel), practice empathy, motivate them, align them to the goals, coach and mentor, create a positive influence, understand inter-personal dynamics, communicate (and connect) and understand verbal/non-verbal communication.
Operational Intelligence: Ability to define work as series of interconnected actions, detailed planning, constant alignment of process, improving, seeing waste (and eliminating it), provide a process platform to teams, define rituals, review everything, provide clarity and manage expectations.
‘Big Picture’ Thinking: Ability to see the larger picture (the whole) and visualize its parts, visualize impacts of change, identify new possibilities, align ideas to the larger goal, identify/foresee required changes/trends, define the future, communicate the vision, experiment and be comfortable with ambiguity.
Join in the Conversation:What skills areas would you like to add? Do you look at these skill areas while hiring? What are you doing today as a manager to gain better understanding of these areas? Feel free to share.
About the author:
Tanmay Vora is a blogger, author and a quality consultant based out of India. He helps organizations and individuals achieve excellence through people, processes, leadership and continual improvement. He speaks and consults on Software Quality Assurance and writes about quality, leadership and improvement on the QAspire Blog. You can follow Tanmay on twitter @tnvora.
I read a really neat piece on the Fast Company CoDesign site last week about Pixar, describing some of the secrets, or really philosophies that form much of the foundation for their success. The piece, titled 'The Inside Story: 5 Secrets To Pixar's Success', details the some of the recollections of Pixar's former Chief Technical Officer, Owen Jacob. These kinds of articles are usually have only limited value and application to the broader business world, as often the 'secret sauce' of a Pixar or a Zappos or an Apple are nearly impossible to duplicate outside of those unique and distinct environments and cultures. Or some of the secrets really aren't secrets at all, just common and common sense approaches to customer service or design or communication that for one reason or another these companies manage to execute more effectively than most.
In the CoDesign piece about Pixar, most of the ideas weren't those not-really-secrets and rather were kind of interesting and a little unexpected. Among them were advice on letting your work rather than your words speak for themselves, admitting when an idea or project needs to be scrapped and re-started, and understanding the importance of the medium when transmitting your messages.
But it is the last 'secret' was the one most intriguing, and the one most traditionally associated with human resources and recruiting - Hire For Excellence. Of course many if not most organizations, at least on the surface, attempt to hire for excellence, but only as it is normally defined and interpreted. That is by carefully matching resumes and experiences with job requirements, interviewing to get a sense of the candidate's process and approaches to solving problems, and perhaps assessing more ambiguous interpretations of cultural fit. But no matter the specifics of the process, all organizations try to make the best matches when filling their open positions.
What is different, and secret, about Pixar's definition of hiring for excellence is their broader, more expansive view of excellence. According to the CoDesign piece, the 'excellence' they are looking for is not limited to the job spec, or in some kind of pre-defined assessment, but rather this:
It doesn’t matter what you are excellent at, just that you have reached a level of excellence. It’s important that you know what excellence feels like and what it takes to achieve it. It could be gardening, jujitsu, or cooking. The main thing is you’ve had a taste of excellence and will know how to get there again.
Definitely a different take than most of the standard processes we have in place for identifying and assessing candidates. While in the interview or screening processes, we might (briefly) look at or consider someone's 'non-essential' interests or skills as a data point in the process, we almost never think of these activities as a kind of predictor of on the job success, and rarely consider what achieving excellence in the real world could mean inside our own organizations.
So what do you think? Is demonstrated excellence at something, anything as good or better than the 'right' experiences, skills, and education?
About the author:
Steve Boese, also known as the HR Technology blogger, is Director of Talent Management Strategy at Oracle, working on the next generation of HCM Applications, Oracle Fusion. Steve has over 15 years experience delivering software solutions to a multitude of organizations across a wide range of industries. He also instructs a Graduate course in HR Technology for Rochester Institute of Technology and hosts the popular HR Happy Hour Show, a weekly internet radio show and podcast about Human Resources, Talent Management, Recruiting, Social Media in the Workplace and more. You can visit Steve's HR Technology Blog here and follow him on twitter @SteveBoese.
Image courtesy of sjorsvb licensed via creative commons.
Quitting your job is not something most employees would consider doing in light of today’s weak job market. Of course, fewer still would choose to hand over their two week’s notice to the accompaniment of a marching band. And yet, this is exactly what one hotel employee recently did as seen in the aptly titled video "Joey Quits” (see below), which has been viewed over 2 million times on YouTube.
While the manner in which "Joey” went about quitting his job might be the focus of most news reports and discussions, where greater attention should be placed is looking at why these stories are being cheered and celebrated by the general public, transforming these employees into this era’s version of the everyman folk hero.
Granted, it’s easy to dismiss the popularity these individuals attain in the public eye as simply being the result of their unique and at times over-the-top antics, if not also the ease with which such incidents can now be captured and easily distributed anywhere in the world.
However, a deeper look reveals that these incidents are serving more as a lightening rod for the working masses; that seeing others openly expressing their frustration, discord and the fact that – to paraphrase the character Howard Beale from the film "Network” – they ‘are mad as hell and are not going to take this anymore’ resonates with so many employees who also feel they’re being pushed beyond the bounds of what should be considered acceptable treatment in the workplace.
Perhaps one key reason why there’s less discussion about this point is due to the numerous studies which have shown that most employees don’t feel they have a choice but to keep working for their employer, even if they feel disengaged or undervalued at work. And with the current uncertainties over whether the world is about to enter a double-dip recession, it’s unlikely that we’ll see some form of an employee exodus from these organizations where poor working environments continue to persist, if not worsen over time.
However, as leaders of your organization, does it really make sense to ensure your employees stay on the job not by encouraging a sense of purpose in what they do, but by using the threat that there’s no other opportunities to be had outside your organization’s walls? Perhaps an even more telling question leaders should ask themselves is that when better times do return, how confident are you that your employees will stick around instead of looking for better opportunities elsewhere?
When faced with such questions, it’s inevitable that talk surfaces about how ‘times are tough’ and that employees simply need to be patient in giving their organization time to get their house back in order. However, a simple look at some of the organizations which are not only achieving success, but are growing despite the global economy’s anemic condition shows that this is more an excuse than a reason to not address this pressing issue.
So what can leaders and their organizations do to counter the growing levels of stress, frustration and resentment found in their workplaces? Here are four steps which leaders can implement to start the process of dissipating this tide of negativity:
1. Show your employees that you value and respect them
One mistake many leaders make is they presume that providing their employees with a regular paycheck is proof enough for their employees that their contributions matter to the organization. However, those organizations which seem to be unaffected by today’s weak economy recognize that it’s not enough to have your employees come to work simply to collect a paycheck. Instead, they understand that it’s vital that their employees care about their work – as well as the goals their organization has set out to reach – if they are to collectively succeed despite what obstacles lie in their path.
One way leaders can instill such an attitude within their teams is to not only tell their employees how much you value their contributions, but by giving your employees the respect they deserve and more than earned as a result of their efforts to keep your organization afloat despite the tough economy.
While your employees might understand that various cost-cutting measures need to be taken, this doesn’t mean you have to treat them with anything less than basic civility and kindness. Such gestures will cost you nothing and yet choosing to forgo them will have a very sizable impact on your organization’s bottom line.
2. Make sure you’re being receptive to hearing your employees’ concerns
Another casualty of the ‘times are tough’ excuse is that many organizations and their leaders are being seen as burying their proverbial heads in the sand in the hopes that the current tide of uncertainty and continual change will wash over them.
While this has no doubt lead to some of the questionable decisions we’ve seen recently being made by a number of organizations, the other problem this gives rise to is that it’s encouraging leaders to tune out the concerns and issues their employees have to deal with on a daily basis.
Now this doesn’t mean that leaders should be doing the opposite in working to solve every problem or issue your employees face. Rather, this is about showing your employees that you’re aware of the challenges they have to contend with and are willing to provide them with whatever support you can give and when possible, additional resources to address these challenges.
When times are tough, leaders can’t lock themselves in their offices only to come out to blame others when things start to fall apart. Instead, you need to be out there front and center showing your employees that you’re willing to do whatever you can to help make things run a little smoother, if not simply acknowledging the difficulties that have become a part of their daily reality.
3. Understand your employees are part of the solution, not the problem
One thing that is clear in these instances where people end up quitting in such a dramatic fashion is that the employer in question treats their employees more like liabilities rather than assets that are vital to their organization’s survival. This is why these employees react in the manner that they do as they are simply living up to the expectations those in charge have of them. After all, if you make it clear that the expectations you have of your employees is that they are going to screw up or damage the company’s reputation, what incentive do they have to do otherwise?
Again, everyone knows that times are tough, but this is where the burden of leadership is most felt because it’s the job of leaders to not simply dump this mess on the shoulders of their employees, but to shield them from it so that their employees can focus on achieving their shared goals.
That’s why there are companies out there which are still thriving despite today’s economy while others stand on the brink of extinction. The difference between these two groups is not simply whose at the helm, but what that organization’s leadership is doing to facilitate their employees to do the work that needs to be done to keep pushing forward.
4. Recognize your employees have different motivations that drive them to excel
If there’s one tacit issue that’s surfacing it’s our growing tendency to look for that one-size-fits-all approach to business. Most often, this shows up in people trying to mimic the success of other organizations by simply cutting and pasting their strategies or leadership approaches onto their own. But another place where this shows up is in how leaders approach the act of motivating their employees. Specifically, when they see one tactic is working with one group of employees, they simply apply that approach to everyone.
While this might seem efficient, it’s actually more a sign of laziness and indifference in not taking the time to figure out what matters to your employees; of what aspects about their work fulfills them and provides them with a sense of purpose. Again, going back to the first point, your employees need to see that you value them. Offering them tasks that they’d find rewarding and valuable for their career growth demonstrates not only your appreciation for what matters to them, but your own personal drive as their leader to ensure that they are fully engaged and empowered to succeed when they walk through the door.
As we continue to move forward into the Information Age, the ability of organizations to succeed and thrive will no longer be dependent on the equipment or other tangible factors as it did during the Industrial Age. Instead, their success will be determined by those who serve within their ranks and in particular, how much they are driven to commit their talents, creativity and resources towards an organization’s shared goals.
In this light, it becomes clear that treating your employees well is not just good for business, but it’s a necessity if organizations are to remain standing when the dust settles from the current storm of economic uncertainty and never-ending change.
About the author:
Tanveer Naseer is a business coach who works with small to medium-size businesses to help them develop their leadership skills and team strategies for future growth, while ensuring they remain focused on what makes them passionate about their business. Thanks to his diverse experiences working in the scientific and business worlds, he has developed a keen understanding of leadership and workplace practices, if not also taking a novel approach to new challenges or situations. You can read more of Tanveer's writings on leadership and workplace interactions on his award-winning blog at www.TanveerNaseer.com and connect with him on twitter @TanveerNaseer.
Giving constructive criticism to our employees in order to improve their performance is never easy.
What it is, though, is absolutely crucial – to the business, to the team, to you and (most importantly) to the employee. Here are my ten quick management tips for giving constructive criticism.
1. Get clear that there actually is a problem with the employee’s performance
Check that there actually is a performance problem, rather than simply a difference in working methods or style, by identifying the negative consequences to the business of what the employee is doing or not doing.
2. Describe the behaviors
Focus on describing the specific behaviors that are causing a problem with the employee’s performance. Focus on what the employee is doing (or not doing) that is resulting in a negative consequence to the business.
3. Avoid criticizing personality traits or characteristics
Avoid at all costs giving criticism on the employee’s characteristics or personality traits. Avoid talking about ‘you’ve got a poor attitude’ or ‘you don’t listen’ or ‘you need more confidence’. If you can’t see it – don’t criticize it.
4. Focus on the facts
Focus on the facts and avoid assumptions. If you don’t have the facts, don’t give the criticism.
5. Use results and consequences
The easiest way to gain agreement from your employee to improving their performance is by giving constructive criticism that illustrates the results and consequences of the employee’s actions. Use my Actions > Results > Consequences model to frame the conversation:
• ‘When you do this…’
• ‘This is what happens…’
• ‘And this why it’s a problem…’
6. Avoid the scattergun
Maybe it should go without saying that constructive criticism should be given one-to-one and in private? You’d be surprised how many managers use the scattergun approach – delivering criticism to the whole team in the hope that it ‘hits’ the people who need to hear it. It’s a technique that rarely works well, if ever.
7. Seek agreement
After you have delivered and explained the criticism, ask the employee – clearly and specifically – to agree that there is a problem with their performance that they need to address. Don’t assume agreement – ask for it.
8. Gain perspective
After you’ve gained agreement (and only after) ask the employee to explain their perspective. You’re looking to identify – from the employee’s point of view – why the performance problem has arisen. Be careful here, you want the employee to share their perspective, not to make excuses.
9. Agree the way forward
Discuss and agree what the employee will do to improve their performance. Offer your support (if needed). Agree how you and the employee will monitor their performance going forward and how and when you will share feedback.
10. Don’t let the ‘pain’ stop you giving the criticism
Many managers avoid giving constructive criticism because they don’t want to cause their employees pain – such as upset, anger, disappointment or embarrassment. The reality is, not giving criticism causes pain – especially to the employee. Your responsibility as a manager is to skilfully deliver the criticism. You don’t have to take responsibility for your employee’s emotional response to that criticism. It’s just not helpful – especially to the employee – to do that.
About the author:
Joan Henshaw has been working as an independent management trainer and consultant for
more than ten years specializing in helping managers learn how to
motivate their staff to high performance. She writes the Managing Employee Performance Coach Blog and is author and presenter of the 10 Minute Management Toolkit online training program. You can follow Joan on twitter @joanhenshaw.
We are constantly perceiving what is around us,
while simultaneously projecting our own self-composed narratives onto
what we see. It’s difficult to know the difference. Is there one? Or
are we talking about two sides of the same coin?
The Snapshot View
What do you see in the image above? A cropped section of a stone
path or driveway… or something else? Since we are only seeing a
snapshot, it’s difficult to know for sure.
Our natural tendency is to recognize images as things we have seen
previously… the same is true of how we perceive people, situations,
interactions, and even ourselves. We scan our stored memory files for
similarities, and make instantaneous assessments and conclusions based
on this ‘data’.
The line between perception and projection is so fine that it takes a
significant amount of self-awareness to differentiate our authentic
intuition from our ego projection. Are we perceiving ‘reality’?… or
simply projecting what we want or need to see? The answer is ‘yes’ to
both. Our perception is our reality, and therefore it must be constantly scanned for pesky projections.
Don’t Blink Too Fast
"Blink” reactions/responses, as coined by Malcolm Gladwell in his
book by that name, can be highly accurate when they arise from
our intuition. The challenge is to know what is an intuitive or "gut”
reaction, and what is a projection. While it might be difficult (or
even impossible) for some people to decipher between
their conscious and unconscious judge, I have personally embraced the
challenge of recognizing and monitoring my reactions in order to better
understand my own behavior, and the behavior of others.
Projections tend to be inaccurate and may lead to misunderstanding,
miscommunication and misdirection. So when any of the
latter misfortunate scenarios arise, I look for the projection. It can
be mine… it can be someone else’s, and occasionally reciprocal
projections are at play.
Beginners Mind and The Boy Who Cried Wolf
In 2008, I attended the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course at
Duke Integrative Medicine. There I learned the Buddhist practice of
Beginners Mind, the way of looking at every situation as if it is
happening for the very first time. This made me think of the old story
of the Boy who Cried Wolf.
As a child that story had a way of scaring me straight. I never
wanted to lie for fear of the consequences. What I later learned as an
adult is that we don’t just tell lies, we create them in our minds as a
way of dispelling fears we have about ourselves. If we fear we are
flawed, we project faults onto others. If we fear we are too old, we
project that others are too young. If we do not know something, we will
project that others know less. If we love someone, we may even project
that they should love us back. It is endless.
The Bigger Picture
There is always more to us, other people and situations… than we perceive.
When in doubt... reserve judgement; ask a lot of questions… starting
with yourself! Pay attention… not just to your thoughts, but to your
feelings. Intuitive responses are typically experienced viscerally
first, and mentally second. Give others a chance to ask their
questions. And, most importantly, be authentic!
These pictures show the full version of the snapshot above. The rocks are part of Newgrange in
Ireland, an ancient tomb built somewhere between 3100 and 2900 BC. I
chose these pictures to illustrate my point because we need to be
reminded that our prompt perceptions are so minuscule, specific and
time-restricted… compared to the endless and timeless learning there is
to experience.
About the author:
Kathleen O’Grady is a Certified Authenticity Coach and Founder of Raleigh Coaching, LLC. Her mission of inspiring authenticity and creativity in
leadership began when she decided to transition from her early career in
executive support to launch her own coaching practice, which addresses
the challenges she had witnessed in her former capacity. Kathleen is regularly invited to deliver
presentations, guest lectures and graduation commencement speeches on
the subject of Authentic Leadership & Coaching. She has been serving as President of the 2010-2011 Board of Directors for the Raleigh-Area Chapter of the International Coach Federation (ICF-RAC). You can follow Kathleen on twitter @RaleighCoaching, connect with her on LinkedIn, and read her blog at raleighcoaching.com/blog.
Do you consider yourself to be "creative?" Chances are, the answer is "No" or "Well, sometimes."
Why is that so?
I work with educational leaders and got this from a long-time school principal:
If you ask first-graders how many of them are "creative," pretty much all of the hands in the class go up. They smile. They show their colorful drawings and finger painting and maybe even compose a song along the way.
What happens when the same question is asked of the same kids a few years later?
The responses drop to nearly zero. And the kids are still in elementary school.
Fast forward to your business meeting. Someone says "Let's get creative about how to grow the market in Asia. We've got until 5 o'clock."
Whoa!
We've got little kids who are convinced they are creative. Then we've got bigger little kids who start to doubt themselves. Then, we end up with adults who are sure they aren't creative but are being asked to create -- with a deadline.
This post is a call for thought, not a rant. It seems to me that we have taken an entire population of creative youngsters, taught them to color inside the box (or else!), and now tell them to "think outside the box" - (or else!).
Creativity: The Magic Synthesis
Silvano Arieti wrote a book in 1976 called Creativity: The Magic Synthesis (you can get a used copy through amazon.com). Here are his nine conditions for creativity and the reasons why:
1. Aloneness. Being alone allows the person to make contact with the self and be open to new kinds of inspiration.
2. Inactivity. Periods of time are needed to focus on inner resources and to be removed from the constraints of routine activities.
3. Daydreaming. Allows exploration of one's fantasy life and venturing into new avenues for growth.
4. Free thinking. Allows the mind to wander in any direction without restriction and permits the similarities among remote topics or concepts to emerge. 5. State of readiness to catch similarities. One must practice recognizing similarities and resemblances across to perceptual of cognitive domains.
6. Gullibility. A willingness to suspend judgment allows one to be open to possibilities without treating them as nonsense.
7. Remembering & replaying past traumatic conflicts. Conflict can be transformed into more stable creative products.
8. Alertness. A state of awareness that permits the person to grasp the relevance of seemingly insignificant similarities.
9. Discipline. A devotion to the techniques, logic, and repetition that permit creative ideas to be realized.
So, now we go to our boss and declare boldly, "I'd like to have some extended alone time for inactivity and daydreaming so I can come up with a creative idea for your strategy."
(Please let me know how that conversation goes).
How You Can Create Creativity
Then next time you have charge of a meeting or idea session, how about using some of the above items to lay a foundation for creativity.
Build in "alone time" by having people think about the task well in advance.
Use a mind-mapping activity to address numbers 4 and 5.
Suspend judgment and encourage the craziest ideas in the room, because
Alertness (number 8) will connect the "crazy" dots.
I hope you'll use these to be intentional about creativity. It sounds almost like an oxymoron - "intentional creativity" - but according to number nine it isn't.
Intentional Creativity -- that's a lot easier to sell to your boss than some alone time.
About the author:
Steve Roesler, Principal & Founder of the Steve Roesler Group, has designed and delivered leadership and communication programs
for some of the world's largest organizations, and has more than 30
years in training, development, and high-level executive coaching. Prior to establishing the Roesler Group, Steve was Manager of Management Development at Pfizer, Inc. in New York City. He has served as an adjunct faculty member in the
Wharton Executive Program as well as the doctoral program at American
University/NTL Institute. Steve is an award-winning writer and speaker on leadership,
management, and career management topics and can be followed online at
the popular All Things Workplace Blog or at steveroesler.com. Follow Steve on twitter @steveroesler.
At a fair or amusement park you might find a game of skill called "Whack–a–Mole.” The point of the game is to wait for one of several moles to raise its head through a hole in a platform and then "whack” it with a padded mallet before the mole quickly ducks below the platform. Just as fast as you whack one mole, another one appears. The point of the game is to test your concentration, reaction time, and hand-eye coordination. On a game I recently watched my grandchildren play, there were nine moles that poked their heads above the platform. Points are won each time a mole is whacked before it disappears.
I recall playing the game as a child many years ago, my five children played the game a few years ago, and now my grandchildren play it yet today. Clearly, the game of Whack–a–Mole has been around a long time. Something else that has been around a long time and is still practiced today is "Whack–a–Mole Management.”
Whack–a–Mole Management is a style of managing or leading others where a manager waits for something he or she believes to be wrong to happen, and "whacks” the behavior with words and/or actions. This style has also been called "Managing by Exception,” because the manager exclusively or primarily reacts to people who act in exception to his or her expectations.
One of the most important things to remember when analyzing Whack–a–Mole Management is to note that the manager’s behavior is completely reactionary. No action is taken until the mole raises its head. The manager is not proactively trying to prevent things from happening, or trying to direct things to happen, or even making things happen, the manager’s behavior is a reaction to some other stimulus.
In other words, Whack-a-Mole Management is non-strategic and totally tactical. Future problems, issues, trends, threats and opportunities will be a surprise, because the manager has his or her head down waiting for the next mole to raise its head. There are at least five things that can cause a manager to practice a Whack-a-Mole style. Perhaps a brief description of each cause will enable you to reduce any reactionary tendencies you may have in your personal managerial style.
1. Poor Organizational Skills.
Some people are simply more organized than others. Part of a person’s ability to be organized comes from temperament (personality), and another part comes from desire and training. In other words some people have a natural skill to be organized and others learn the skill through life’s experiences. How are your organizational skills? Do you live in a state of clutter and mess? Are you embarrassed to have people see your work area? How often are you unable to find something you need? If you need better organization, find someone who is organized and make a deal. Say, "I need you to teach me how to be better organized.” Then, pay attention and do what the person suggests.
2. Failure to Prioritize.
The ability to prioritize is essential in order to be proactive and plan ahead. Have you ever written down a list of your personal priorities? Do you have another list of your professional priorities? If you haven’t taken the time to prepare such lists, you may be less prioritized than you think. A person who has not prioritized his or her life leaves an open door for someone else to do it by proxy. In other words, a person, manager, department or company that has not established clearly communicated priorities lets anyone else, including the competition, set those priorities. That is a sobering, but true, thought, because effective leaders and managers have learned that first things must be done first.
3. Failure to Delegate.
In my teaching, consulting, and coaching practice I frequently encounter managers and leaders who have a deep-seated resistance to delegation. Perfectionists can resist delegation because they want the job done perfectly; control freaks can resist delegation because they want to control everything; and the untrained or inexperienced manager can avoid delegation because he or she may not know better. One of the most critical skills a new manager must learn is how important it is to let go of some tasks and responsibilities and delegate them to others. As difficult as that may be for some managers, it is one of the most important lessons a person must learn. I’ve heard managers say, "Yeah but, I can do it better and faster than anyone else.” But that isn’t the point. The manager got to be a manager because as an individual contributor he or she could do the task better and faster. That’s what gets people promoted. The job of managing others is to develop them through the delegation of both responsibility and authority, not hold them back for your own personal weakness.
4. Activity Addiction.
Some managers become addicted to being busy. They think that having their plate full each day means that they are effective as a manager. Being busy is not the same as being effective. Truthfully, some highly effective people are not overly busy at all. They have learned how to delegate, how to say no, when to act, and when not to act. The most effective managers today are not addicted to being busy; rather, they are addicted to producing measurable results by doing the right things, in the right way, and at the right time. Another problem with activity addiction is that it is self-reinforcing. Being overly busy can feel so good to a manager that the act of being busy reinforces itself. This can create a downward spiral of ineffectiveness.
5. Feelings of Insecurity.
A manager can be plagued with feelings of insecurity. There are many causes for feelings of insecurity, but the most common is low emotional intelligence due to having been parented badly. When a manager suffers with profound insecurity, he or she can over-compensate by seeking out and embracing any task or activity available in an attempt to feel worthwhile, productive, and useful. Insecurity can be a difficult limitation to overcome, because any meaningful remedy will include considerable self-evaluation and personal commitment.
About the author:
Dr. Richard L. Williams is a consultant at the Center for Management & Organization Effectiveness (CMOE). For over a decade, Dr. Williams was the Director of Executive Development for American Stores Company where he was responsible for the management and executive development of more than 170,000 employees. He has been a business consultant for over 33 years. As team member at CMOE, Dr. Williams facilitates workshops and improves the effectiveness of leaders and organizations.
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