Dawn Metcalfe's Blog, page 2
July 8, 2019
7 ways you can shape a no fear culture
Shaping a culture is possible, if hard work. And, because culture is “the way we do things around here”, every person in a group shapes the culture of the group to some extent. So, no matter where you sit in an organization, what can you do to shape your culture so it’s future-proof and not just ready for change but creating it?
Focus on the goal
The culture isn’t the goal. The behaviors aren’t the goal. The goal is what you’re trying to achieve. It might be to enter a new market or to hire 40% BME to your middle leadership stream this year, but it’s always about getting results, making better decisions and generating more effective execution. Linking the culture you want to the decisions you make and the behaviors you need to see shows what you’re trying to achieve and why.
Get some help
You can’t shape a culture alone and you can’t (or certainly shouldn’t) shape it with fear alone. Despite what we see in most cultures’ stories about the “boss” (whether that’s nannies, parents, teachers, military or corporate) most bosses don’t want to and can’t effectively rule through fear. You will need allies and you will need more levers than are at your control alone.
Use the people you have around you. You don’t always need an external consultant and can even develop skills in your own people. For example, the G2G programme at Google allows volunteers to spend some of their time helping others build psychological safety, among other things. They speak the same language and know what the issues are.
Do a sense check
Whenever you try to shape a culture there will be resistance. That’s ok. When you try to build a culture where people feel safe speaking up and listening, there is often a sense of “that’s impossible”. This is because many people have never experienced it, but change is always possible—the speed and complexity we feel comfortable with may vary, the speed and complexity we will have to deal with is rarely in our control.
Help them do a sense check by asking them which environment works best for them, which culture? Most people recognize they don’t do their best work when they don’t feel “safe”. If they still think command and control is right for others then look at some of the other tips in this list.
Walk the talk
You’re on stage, all the time—even when you think you’re doing things quietly. You are being judged as you are judging others. And the higher up the organization you sit, the more visible you are to a bigger audience. Your reputation is what these people say about you. Particularly when you’re not there.
On stage, big gestures are important and so is a spoken explanation in order to ensure everyone understands. Conversely even the smallest gesture can be caught by those closer. So, you need to be consistent.
You have to make time to talk to people, to invite change, to reflect and to do whatever you want other people to do. And you have to do this in front of other people. If you want to complain or gossip or do something else that you don’t want your people to do, then do it to a coach or your family or therapist. If you think humility is important then be humble. If you want to see a certain work ethic then be clear on what that means by saying so.
Find ways to tell stories about behavior
When everything is a stage, everything you say will have impact—what kind of impact is up to you. Stories work well to reinforce behavior. As children that’s what we use them for: to make sense of the world and to work out what’s “good” and what’s “bad”. This continues into every aspect of our lives.
Talk about behavior and the results—for everyone—and link it to things you care about. Be explicit. If you tell stories about people staying late without making it clear you don’t believe in presenteeism, and then talk about people getting promoted, then don’t be surprised if people stay late. When you start telling stories, you’re able to prove a connection between what people do and what you’re trying to achieve, and people respond well to it.
Ask good questions
Given cultures are “the way we do things around here” they rarely get questioned. But if we want to shape a culture, we have to question behaviors. We need to understand why they exist (there is always a reason) and what the barriers are to changing them (usually things you haven’t considered). When we’re under pressure to make change, we often try to explain before we spend enough time trying to really understand. Why, for example, would managers not tell someone that because the report was submitted late, it was less useful than it could have been? Why do some meetings take up so much time, yet end with no decisions being made? If we can really understand what’s going on, we have some hope of knowing how to shape change.
Questions should be used to get specific and continually monitor—what progress are we making? What’s holding us back? What problems are you facing? How can I help? These also help people to think about process (and why it exists) in the right way.
Be brave
You need to be brave to listen—you might hear things you don’t want to. You need to be brave to ask questions – you might not like the answers. You need to be brave to call out issues and state problems—people might be upset. But all of these things are what leaders do.
We’re ambitious in our targets. We need to be ambitious in ourselves and in our people. We can do better and we can create environments where humans can work together effectively and hold each other to account, without fear.
This piece originally appeared in Forbes Middle East. Y ou can read this and more from Dawn here: https://forbesmiddleeast.com/author/13248/Dawn-Metcalfe
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July 3, 2019
How to create a culture of complex innovation
How to create a culture of innovation? Stop worrying about innovation. Worry, instead, about building a culture where it’s almost inevitable.
To read the full article click here
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June 25, 2019
Combating fear to create positivity at work
Research shows that more than 70% of people, when faced with bad behavior in the office don’t speak up. Research in the US suggests that only 19% of physicians speak up even when they see a colleague put a patient’s life at risk.
The loss aversion theory tells us that losses loom larger than gains by almost two to one. In other words, we’re twice as afraid of losing something than we are excited by the prospect of gaining something else. This leads to a tendency to accept the status quo rather than try to change things for the better.
There’s always a cost-benefit analysis to be done when deciding when to speak up. Sometimes it is dangerous, and the issue at stake isn’t worth the risk, but too often we allow fear to take over and make these decisions for us.
What can we do to counteract the very human tendency to avoid potential danger and learn to speak up in a way that builds relationships and leads to positive change?
Remember there is also danger in silence
Not speaking up has its own potential downsides. If you don’t speak up you may be considered complicit. Your silence may also harm others, because they don’t have a good role-model. By being silent you are not sharing your knowledge or experience which is probably why you were hired.
Manage your emotions
When you decide to not speak up it’s often because of emotions and not what we would normally consider a decision, i.e. something rational. There are a number of ways we can get control over our emotions, but naming them is a particularly useful method of not allowing them to preside over our behavior.
Share your purpose
If your purpose in speaking up is a positive one then tell the other person. For example, you might say something like “I really want this project to be successful, so I need to tell you some bad news about the supplier we chose.”
Build relationships before you need them
It’s never easy to tell someone something they don’t want to hear, but it is easier if you already have an existing relationship where the other person knows and has proof of your good intentions.
This piece originally appeared in Forbes Middle East. Y ou can read this and more from Dawn here: https://forbesmiddleeast.com/author/13248/Dawn-Metcalfe
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Workplace fear is ruling us – it’s time we faced it head on
We spend a lot of time at work. We’re constantly navigating many complex relationships and scenarios and more often than not, we exist in some kind of hierarchy. No wonder we worry about certain things like making a mistake, or saying the wrong thing in a meeting in front of our boss. Isn’t it sometimes easier to stay out of the spotlight, for fear of being exposed? But what if our fear, based on emotion and not rationality, is holding us back? This piece explores how fear could be a figment of our imagination…
“Fear is a powerful tool. It sends a signal to your body when danger is present and tells you when it’s time to run a way. But it can also cripple you from taking positive actions. Your mind sees the possibility of failure as a threat, and you immediately want to protect yourself by staying put and doing nothing.
Many people face this in their careers and professional lives. They fear that they’re not good enough to present that proposal, so they procrastinate. They don’t want to sound stupid in front of everyone, so they don’t say what they really think in meetings. Deep down inside, they might know that the potential upsides of taking actions outweigh the possible risks. But the fear takes over and paralyzes them from even doing anything in the first place.”
Read on to understand three situations where fear might be holding you back – the full article appears in FastCompany: https://www.fastcompany.com/90328818/how-emotional-fears-are-ruining-your-career
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What is a no fear culture and why should you have one?
Think about the best job you’ve ever had. Don’t overthink it—just recall the one role you enjoyed the most. What about the worst experience you’ve ever had? What was it about these situations that you either liked or couldn’t bear?Many times, when people describe a positive workplace experience, they say it’s down to working with people who support them and are trying to achieve the same thing they are. Where it’s fair and people can learn and develop.
Conversely, when asked about the worst environment they’ve worked in, people often reference a climate of fear, where politics seem to be more important than performance. Too often this is known by many who work in the organization but there’s a lack of belief that anything can change. And the fear makes it unlikely anyone will try.
Most of us would agree that a fear-based culture is probably not one that we would like to work in and probably not how the successful organizations of the future are likely to be led and managed. And yet so many times people, even at the most senior levels, shrug their shoulders and in essence decide to live with it. For now, at least.
It is very difficult to develop and successfully manage a culture that matches your goals. It is possible to change behavior but it takes a lot of hard work. Is it worth it?
Imagine a different world—one in which most people believe that they can really trust the people they work with. Where they feel able to speak up, take risks and even ask “stupid” questions. Perhaps it is no surprise then that psychological safety is linked to personal safety at work and patient safety in healthcare.
A culture of no fear doesn’t mean no challenges. It doesn’t mean no performance management. We need to be able to hold each other to account for the sake of the bigger goal. In this culture of kind candor, you still get to speak up—in fact you have to.
It’s also not about creating somewhere where everyone says whatever comes into their heads. When people speak up, they need to do it effectively—rudeness and aggression is counter-productive and yet too often when we do speak up, we do so in a way almost guaranteed to give the impression that’s what we’re aiming for.
Managing culture is, in fact, the only real game in town for most leaders and yet it’s what we spend the least amount of time working on. It’s not necessarily because it’s difficult in itself, but it is time consuming and detail-orientated. It’s all-encompassing and leaders have day jobs to get on with too—this is why it often falls by the wayside.
Why is it so hard to build a culture where people speak up and listen up effectively?
We’re not very good at managing our emotions
We revert to fear and rudeness and aggression. It’s a reflex. We go fight or flight under pressure, meaning we either go speechless or we squash others, reverting to command and control. This often happens under stress and can be the right thing to do. For example, if you want someone to work harder at a process that’s easily measured and done individually then simply pushing harder can work. But here’s the thing: that’s not what the jobs of the future will look like, as automation grows.
In the kind of jobs where people need to speak up effectively, fear can lead to nobody speaking about the bad news. If you care about the future, you want to hear bad news loudly, clearly and as soon as possible.
Often, the only consistent thing is our inconsistency
Managing culture means managing it 100% of the time. It means recognizing that everything you do sends a signal to others about what behavior is good and what is bad. It’s remembering that the words you use, the emails you respond to, the jokes you laugh at, the behavior you ignore or reward, the decisions you make, and the processes you allow matter. Everything is a sign and an opportunity to shape a culture. And as hard as it is to build, it’s as easy to undo.
For example, you may believe that gender balance is key to business success, but you’re invited to speak on a panel that’s made up only of men. People notice these signals. Inconsistency drives us crazy, but that doesn’t mean you don’t get to be human. Sometimes we will forget and behave in way that doesn’t reflect what we want to achieve. Usually we’ll be forgiven if our reputation is good enough, but this takes time and consistency.
We don’t always understand that staying silent has consequences
Speaking up can come with consequences, and they may be dire, but in reality, the chances of us getting fired for speaking up are low. In fact, those who do it effectively often see it helping their careers, as they’re seen as valuable and displaying leadership behaviors.
We often think of the worst-case scenario and this stops us speaking up—what we don’t consider is the impact staying silent can have. Often a continuing situation can escalate into something much more serious, which could have been avoided if we’d chosen to speak up in the first place.
It’s easier to stay inside our comfort zone
We get scared outside our comfort zone. And listening hard is outside our comfort zone. Because we are afraid of hearing things we don’t want to. We’re afraid of looking like we don’t have the right answer, of not looking as clever as we could. Maybe we’re afraid to waste our time. But if we can get over this fear and really listen it will change your life and that of the people around you. Genuine curiosity, sincerely expressed will go a long way to getting most people to open up so that they bring us to the edge of our comfort zone which is, of course, where most learning happens.
This piece originally appeared in Forbes Middle East. Y ou can read this and more from Dawn here: https://forbesmiddleeast.com/author/13248/Dawn-Metcalfe
The post What is a no fear culture and why should you have one? appeared first on HardTalk.
June 9, 2019
7 ways you can shape a no fear culture
What can you do to shape your culture so it’s future-proof and not just ready for change, but creating it?
To read the full article click here
The post 7 ways you can shape a no fear culture appeared first on HardTalk.
May 20, 2019
What is a no fear culture and why should you have one?
Most of us would agree that a fear-based culture is probably not one that we would like to work in.
To read the full article click here
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April 24, 2019
How culture can help your company get ahead during M&A
Here’s the secret: we know what the problem is. And it’s not even that much of a secret. It’s culture.
To read the full article click here
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April 15, 2019
What great managers do to engage employees and why it matters for culture
Too often, we confuse employee engagement and organisational culture and this confusion muddies the waters. Without a doubt, they are both very important contributors to organisational success. But let’s be clear on how they fit together. In HardTalk, we talk about culture as being ‘The way we do things around here.’ Simply put, culture is an amalgamation of behaviours. How engaged an employee is comes down to how they feel about the organisational culture.
It’s not surprising to us to read that communication is the top consideration when building a more engaged workforce – as is giving specific, actionable feedback in real-time – not just during the performance review cycle. All key principles in building a culture of constant candour, which we at Team HardTalk firmly believe in.
So what do great managers do to engage employees? Read on…
Less than one-third of Americans are engaged in their jobs in any given year. This finding has remained consistent since 2000, when Gallup first began measuring and reporting on U.S. workplace engagement.
Gallup defines engaged employees as those who are involved in and enthusiastic about their work and workplace. But the majority of employees are indifferent, sleepwalking through their workday without regard for their performance or their organization’s performance. As a result, vital economic influencers such as growth and innovation are at risk.
Gallup’s latest report, State of the American Manager, provides an in-depth look at what characterizes great managers and examines the crucial links between talent, engagement, and vital business outcomes such as profitability and productivity. Our research shows that managers account for as much as 70% of variance in employee engagement scores. Given the troubling state of employee engagement in the U.S. today, it makes sense that most managers are not creating environments in which employees feel motivated or even comfortable. A Gallup study of 7,272 U.S. adults revealed that one in two had left their job to get away from their manager to improve their overall life at some point in their career. Having a bad manager is often a one-two punch: Employees feel miserable while at work, and that misery follows them home, compounding their stress and negatively affecting their overall well-being.
But it’s not enough to simply label a manager as “bad” or “good.” Organizations need to understand what managers are doing in the workplace to create or destroy engagement. In another study of 7,712 U.S. adults, Gallup asked respondents to rate their manager on specific behaviors. These behaviors – related to communication, performance management, and individual strengths – strongly link to employee engagement and give organizations better insights into developing their managers and raising the overall level of performance of the business.
Communicate Richly
Communication is often the basis of any healthy relationship, including the one between an employee and his or her manager. Gallup has found that consistent communication – whether it occurs in person, over the phone, or electronically – is connected to higher engagement. For example, employees whose managers hold regular meetings with them are almost three times as likely to be engaged as employees whose managers do not hold regular meetings with them.
Gallup also finds that engagement is highest among employees who have some form (face-to-face, phone, or digital) of daily communication with their managers. Managers who use a combination of face-to-face, phone, and electronic communication are the most successful in engaging employees. And when employees attempt to contact their manager, engaged employees report their manager returns their calls or messages within 24 hours. These ongoing transactions explain why engaged workers are also more likely to report their manager knows what projects or tasks they are working on.
But mere transactions between managers and employees are not enough to maximize engagement. Employees value communication from their manager not just about their roles and responsibilities but also about what happens in their lives outside of work. The Gallup study reveals that employees who feel as though their manager is invested in them as people are more likely to be engaged.
The best managers make a concerted effort to get to know their employees and help them feel comfortable talking about any subject, whether it is work related or not. A productive workplace is one in which people feel safe – safe enough to experiment, to challenge, to share information, and to support one another. In this type of workplace, team members are prepared to give the manager and their organization the benefit of the doubt. But none of this can happen if employees do not feel cared about.
Great managers have the talent to motivate employees and build genuine relationships with them. Those who are not well-suited for the job will likely be uncomfortable with this “soft” aspect of management. The best managers understand that each person they manage is different. Each person has different successes and challenges both at and away from work. Knowing their employees as people first, these managers accommodate their employees’ uniqueness while managing toward high performance.
Base Performance Management on Clear Goals
Performance management is often a source of great frustration for employees who do not clearly understand their goals or what is expected of them at work. They may feel conflicted about their duties and disconnected from the bigger picture. For these employees, annual reviews and developmental conversations feel forced and superficial, and it is impossible for them to think about next year’s goals when they are not even sure what tomorrow will throw at them.
Yet, when performance management is done well, employees become more productive, profitable, and creative contributors. Gallup finds that employees whose managers excel at performance management activities are more engaged than employees whose managers struggle with these same tasks.
In our Q12 research, Gallup has discovered that clarity of expectations is perhaps the most basic of employee needs and is vital to performance. Helping employees understand their responsibilities may seem like “Management 101” but employees need more than written job descriptions to fully grasp their roles. Great managers don’t just tell employees what’s expected of them and leave it at that; instead, they frequently talk with employees about their responsibilities and progress. They don’t save those critical conversations for once-a-year performance reviews.
Engaged employees are more likely than their colleagues to say their managers help them set work priorities and performance goals. They are also more likely to say their managers hold them accountable for their performance. To these employees, accountability means that all employees are treated fairly or held to the same standards, which allows those with superior performance to shine.
Focus on Strengths over Weaknesses
Gallup researchers have studied human behavior and strengths for decades and discovered that building employees’ strengths is a far more effective approach than a fixation on weaknesses. A strengths-based culture is one in which employees learn their roles more quickly, produce more and significantly better work, stay with their company longer, and are more engaged. In the current study, a vast majority (67%) of employees who strongly agree that their manager focuses on their strengths or positive characteristics are engaged, compared with just 31% of the employees who indicate strongly that their manager focuses on their weaknesses.
When managers help employees grow and develop through their strengths, they are more than twice as likely to engage their team members. The most powerful thing a manager can do for employees is to place them in jobs that allow them to use the best of their natural talents, adding skills and knowledge to develop and apply their strengths.
This article originally appeared in HBR and you can read more here: https://hbr.org/2015/04/what-great-managers-do-to-engage-employees
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When times are tough, don’t turn your back on training
Yet, when times are tough and there’s pressure to reduce costs, it’s often the budget devoted to developing people that goes first. In many organisations it’s seen as a “nice to have” or a “little extra” and, to be honest, I can often see why. Too much time, energy and money is wasted on training that doesn’t work.
And that’s the point. If learning and development isn’t valuable enough during the lean times, how can it be valuable during the fat? And if it’s effective in the good times then we need to protect it in the bad.
Of course, there will always be pressure to reduce costs. However, good training that supports businesses will always be worthwhile. We need to make sure training brings the kind of sustained behavioural change you want. It’s a mistake to just look at costs. Instead we should be looking at the benefits the training can bring – to the individuals, their teams and the organisation. As long as these outweigh the costs then the training should continue.
Fortune Magazine’s annual list of the world’s best companies shows that the highest-ranking companies give employees 40 to 60 hours of training and education each and every year. Instead of reflexively cutting your budget, make sure your training is effective; that it changes behaviour. If it doesn’t then why bother? If it’s not worthwhile doing in the upturn then why do it when things are less rosy? And be prepared to make the business case. Find the numbers to show that your training makes a difference and remember to cover these points:
It sends a strong message
Training programmes send a direct message to employees… we need you and we are willing to invest in you. This translates into increased employee engagement, morale and productivity. A downturn spells fear in the heart of most employees and training counteracts the “I’m next” mentality. Your staff will think “Who would invest in my education if they are going to lay me off?” Job security means less time worrying and more time being free to innovate.
It allows you to get things done
Your most valuable asset are your employees. And they can do more, and do it better, if you train them properly. Training builds the important skills that your employees use to perform their job well. Highly-trained staff are willing to assume more control over their jobs with less supervision, freeing up management to focus on other more important tasks. The attitudes of your staff will always influence your customers. Good training is an attitude booster.
It helps you recruit and retain
When other forms of staff compensation are frozen, training becomes one of the most desired employee benefits available. If your company has developed a reputation of valuing employee learning, the best people will be pursuing you, instead of you pursuing them.
If you simply stop developing people you risk losing them. In a Bayt.com poll from October 2017, the findings revealed that a majority (85%) of professionals would leave their current jobs for better training and career development opportunities elsewhere. This sentiment is echoed once more in the Bayt.com Preferred Work Arrangements in the MENA Poll, wherein career growth and training emerged as the second-most valued attribute when looking at job opportunities at 23%, right after salary.
This is even more true when looking at millennials. In a recent Gallup poll, 87% of millennials said development is important in a job. An employee who feels stuck in their role is much more likely to get restless and look elsewhere for opportunities, so employers should offer an array of programmes to assist employees with improving and developing their skill set.
It sets you up for the future
Just as night inevitably is followed by the dawning of a new day, there will be an end to tough economic times. Your company needs to be poised and ready for that day. A skilled workforce is a workforce ready to capitalise on opportunities.
So think twice the next time that training budget is about to be cut. It could prove to be a very expensive saving.
This piece originally appeared in Arabian Business. Y ou can see it here: https://www.arabianbusiness.com/jobs/410059-when-times-are-tough-dont-turn-your-back-on-training
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