David Dye's Blog, page 37

Co-worker Won’t Listen? How to Get Them to Take Your Idea Seriously

Powerful Conversation Starters Get a Distracted Co-worker
to Pay Attention to Your Great Idea

You have a great idea. You’re confident it’s game-changing. Maybe it will reduce a big frustration for your customers, or save you and your co-workers a ton of time. So what do you do when a co-worker won’t listen? How do you get them to take your idea seriously?

Why You Should Try

First, inertia is real. It’s quite possible your team is tired. And even if your idea will make life easier, it still takes energy to consider doing something different. It’s worth trying because you can make life better for everyone, even if you have to overcome inertia to do it. Get the confidence to persevere by connecting to WHY your idea matters and THE IMPACT that it will make.

Second, when your peers are on board, it’s more likely that your manager will take the idea seriously.

In our research for Courageous Cultures, 67% said their manager operates around the notion of “this is the way we’ve always done it.”  And, one of the best ways to get your manager’s attention is to get your co-workers behind it. So rallying your co-workers around your idea is a great place to start. Read more about how to engage others as you share your I.D.E.A.s here).

And, third, advocating for your idea, just might bring you some satisfaction and even joy. When we ask participants in our strategic leadership and team innovation programs about courageous moments where they spoke up and advocated for ideas, the words they use to describe their feelings after are remarkably consistent: “fantastic,” “proud,” “relieved,” “excited”, “accomplished.”

6 Steps to Communicate When a Co-worker Won’t Listen

So here are a few tips to capture attention and strengthen your pitch when a co-worker won’t listen to your idea.

1. Be a great listener yourself

If you want people to listen to your ideas, make it a habit to listen to theirs. If you have a reputation for caring about your peers and supporting them in their efforts, they’re more likely to take you and your idea seriously.

2. Know what matters most to them, and communicate your idea in that context

As you listen, you may find real barriers or needs that you can address as you develop your ideas. When your coworker won’t listen, start with what matters most to them at multiple levels. Sure you want to consider WIIFT (what’s in it for them), and appealing to the higher value goal can be just as compelling.

I’ve found a workaround that could save us at least 10 hours a week of wasted effort, can I walk you through it?Would you be open to hearing my idea to dramatically reduce client frustration?I’ve figured out a way to stop our boss from micro-managing us on this project, would you like to hear more?3. Talk them through the “how” of your idea

When a coworker won’t listen, it’s also because they’re afraid of taking on more work. Showing them that you’ve thought through the idea with tangible actions can help to reduce that feeling of being overwhelmed.

4. Anticipate their objections and concerns, and speak to them directly

Anticipating and speaking to your co-worker’s objections as early as possible in the conversation is a great way to get them to listen.

If I were you I might be wondering…Of course, the trickiest part of implementing this would be ________. I’ve thought about that, and this is how we can overcome it.I imagine you have some concerns about how to pull this off. I’ve given a great deal of thought to that (list your concerns and how to overcome them).5. Ask them to articulate the benefits

It’s human nature. People are more likely to buy into an idea when they feel like they’re involved. Show up curious about their hopes and frustrations for the problem you’re looking to solve.

Have you experienced this challenge too?How much time do you think we waste each week on this problem?What do you think would be the benefits of this approach?6. Articulate your “ask”

One of the biggest ways to get a coworker to listen and engage with your idea is to know your “ask.” What specifically are you asking for them to do? Are you looking for help engaging stakeholders? Do you need help on certain elements of the project, what specifically do you need done?

So here’s the support I would need from you…I’m thinking that if each of us spent (insert required time) this month, we could knock this out.My hope is that you will help advocate for this with your manager. I’ve prepared some talk points.I’m looking for a few customers to trial this with. Would you be open to that?

When you can connect at a human level, communicate your idea in the context of what matters most to them, talk through logistics, anticipate and address concerns, and know your “ask” you’re considerably more likely to have your co-worker take your idea seriously.

Your turn.

What advice do you have for when a co-worker won’t listen?

9 Mistakes That Sabotage Collaboration and Destroy Trust

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Leading Through Change: 4 Practical Tips To Help Your Team Embrace a New Idea

How to Rally Your Team When Leading Through Change

You’re a human-centered leader, leading through change that you know will have a positive impact on your team, your customers, and your results. You know how important it is to get your team rallied around an exciting vision for the future.  If this sounds like you, today’s article is for you.

Today, I bring you a very special edition of Demander Un Ami (Asking for a Friend) from various angles of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.

Here’s the question that prompted this production of #askingforafriend…

“Hey Karin, I have a really exciting vision I know will be helpful for my team. But,  they’re tired and a little bit skeptical. What are some really practical ways I can get them excited and interested in the change? #AskingforaFriend

Leading Through Change: 4 Practical Tips To Help Your Team Embrace a New IdeaMeet your team where they areHelp them express their concernsCelebrate small winsKnow you are not alone: find the others

1. Meet Your Team Where They Are

Start with what’s already working on your team. When you’re leading through change, help your team recognize the behaviors they are already doing that are making such a positive difference.

Give them an opportunity to share their best practices that relate to your vision.

Leading Through Change Pro Tip: Have everyone write down their best practices on a card as it relates to the change you’re proposing. Then invite them to share and discuss their best practices with other members of the team.

In larger groups, we often will gamify this process, by giving team members lightbulb stickers to “vote” for the best practices they resonate with the most. This will get everyone’s voice in the conversation quickly, as well as make it easy to see which ideas are worth deeper exploration and conversation.

Then you can talk about how you can continue to encourage, celebrate and scale the best practices and get more of the team involved in leading through the change.

photo credit: Oscar and Associates

2. Help Them Express Their Concerns

Get the concerns in the room, in the room.

Give time for everyone to share their concerns and ask courageous questions. Get curious about the possibilities. In the video, I describe a time-tested tool, Kurt Lewin’s Force field analysis that we use quite frequently in our leadership programs. It’s amazing how well this easy-to-use technique works.

Leading Through Change Pro Tip: Invite everyone to share the “driving” positive, supporting factors first. What’s helping drive you all toward your vision? Then, invite your team to share their concerns. What are the restraining factors that might make the change difficult?

This creates great fodder for conversation. Embrace it all. Encourage candor and dialogue. Once the hopes and concerns are boarded, you’re in a perfect position to discuss ideas to amplify the driving forces and to mitigate or work to overcome the restraining forces.

3. Celebrate the Small Wins

Catch people doing the behaviors that are integral to the change and celebrate them. You can start by recognizing the behaviors yourself. Celebrate them in meetings. Talk about them as part of your 5×5 communication strategy. 

Find ways to recognize individual and team accomplishments in front of your boss. Invite your boss to skip-level meetings to celebrate along with you.

Leading Through Change Pro Tip: Not only is it important to notice other people taking steps toward realizing your vision…it’s also helpful to be keenly aware of your own behaviors related to the change. Do you need to adjust your day-to-day actions so you can best model the change you want to see in your team and organization?

4. Know You Are Not Alone: Find the Others

When leading through change, find others who also believe in the change as fast as you can. And, get them involved in the process of rallying your team.

Look for people on your team (including support team members like HR, Finance, and project managers) who really understand what you’re doing. Give them an active role in the change process.

If there’s training involved, consider including your most engaged managers as “leader teachers.” Leverage these managers to help others learn and apply what they’re learning. Note: You can read more about our “leaders as teachers” approach to leading “challenger groups” in this ATD article.

Leading Through Change Pro Tip: The “Diffusion of Innovations” is another time-tested organizational development theory that has been central to my work with teams for decades. It’s all about finding the early adopters and getting them to help you provide social proof and spread the word to encourage others to try out new behaviors.

One of the best ways to do this is to find peers and colleagues working to lead similar change efforts on their teams. Work together. Share best practices. Encourage one another.

Your Turn. What are your best practices for leading through change?

What would you add? Write in the comments below, I would love to hear from you. What are your best practices for leading through change?

P.S. Thank you Jared Herr for your special creativity on this one! And David Dye for holding the camera for me everywhere we go!

Related Articles:

How to Help Your Team Gain Clarity During Serious Uncertainty [VIDEO]

When Leading Through Change, Inspect What You Expect (With Curiosity and Compassion)

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Authentic Leadership with Sean Georges and John Buford

If you aspire to embody authentic leadership across all spectrums of your life, this episode is for you. Sean Georges and John Buford, are two former marine officers with a combined 80 years of leadership experience in military, business, nonprofit, and education. Sean and John share a simple but powerful servant leadership model with a focus on mission, and practical, fundamental, and timeless leadership concepts designed to help you understand what it means to lead in an authentic way. Get the tools and perspective needed to navigate and shape your individual and unique developmental journey.

Authentic Leadership

14:47

What does authentic mean in the sense of authentic leadership?

18:16

Why leadership is relational rather than transactional in nature, and how it comes from a place of perspective and a core belief, instead of a should statement.

24:45

The way looking down at another human being changes the social nature of what’s happening. Versus when you’re looking up to other humans with respect and appreciation, it changes the game.

33:59

As a leader, you don’t always have to know the answer to the question, but be able to ask yourself, what is my best and highest role right now that serves this person and our mission?

45:22

The significance of recognizing the humility and the journey that typically comes along with authentic leadership.

48:52

Why active following is important in leadership and the difference between active versus reactive leadership.

 

Connect with Sean and John

Sean LinkedIn

John LinkedIn

Website

 

Get the Book

 

 

 

The post Authentic Leadership with Sean Georges and John Buford appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

Powerful Phrases to Deal With a Credit Stealer or Idea Thief

Stop that Credit Stealer and Get the Recognition You Deserve

“I was in a meeting the other day, and one of the executives thanked my boss for the success of a project I’ve been working on all year. And you know what she said next? Thank you. I was sitting right there. She took ALL THE CREDIT! The really infuriating thing is that she had NOTHING to do with that project. It was 100% me. I wonder how many times she’s done that? Who wants to work for a credit stealer?”

“I can’t believe it. I shared my idea with a co-worker last night. And today, when our manager asked us for our ideas, that credit stealer immediately chimed in and shared MY idea as if it were her own. I didn’t want to look petty, so I didn’t say anything. But now, I’m really ticked!”

“This is the third time this year a coworker took credit for my idea. It’s demoralizing. I don’t want to work with all these credit-stealing meanies. I’m out of here.”

These are just a few examples of credit-stealing examples we’ve heard recently.

So Familiar

If any of these scenarios sound familiar, sadly you’re in good company. One of the most surprising findings in our Courageous Cultures research was the huge number of people (fifty-six percent) who said they don’t share ideas because they’re afraid they won’t get credit.

When we share this finding in our keynotes, you can hear always hear an audible, mmm hmm, sweep over the ballroom. And if there’s a cocktail reception that evening, there’s always a line of people eager to share their stories of stolen ideas, and credit-stealing co-workers or bosses.

What a tragic loss of innovation, not to mention the drain on morale and engagement.

Credit stealing is clearly a significant source of conflict and frustration in the workplace. Why? One big reason is that it’s not too easy to talk about.

We often hear, “What am I supposed to say? Stop stealing credit for my idea, you credit stealer! That just feels petty. So, I just let it go.”

Of course, if you don’t address a behavior, it’s likely to continue. In fact, it’s possible they’re not trying to be malicious or backstabbing. They might just be moving fast and forgot to thank you.

So today, let’s slow down and give you some empowering phrases to address this credit-stealing scene.

How to Address a Credit-Stealing Coworker

 

 

First, we know it’s not easy. You don’t want to look like you care about credit more than the work itself. But let’s be real. Recognition matters. You should get credit for your work and ideas.

Unless there’s been a distinct pattern of credit stealing, start with a bit of curiosity, and share what you’ve noticed.

“I noticed you brought up the idea about ___ in our staff meeting today. I’m curious, do you remember the conversation we had the other day when I shared this idea with you?”“Well, the good news is that people seem to really appreciate our work. Do you think ________ (your boss, the executive team, or key stakeholders), understands all that went into this and who was involved?”“I noticed you didn’t mention my role in this project. I’m curious why you chose to approach it that way.”

And then, ask for help in remedying the situation.

“It’s important that we all get credit for the hard work that we do. What do you think we can do to fix this?”“I could really use your help ensuring everyone understands my role in this (project, idea). It’s going to sound much better coming from you than from me. How do you suggest we approach this?”“I’m sure this was an oversight, and I’d love your help in making it right. Do you think you could talk with _______so they understand what happened here?”And then, schedule the finish “Great, let’s catch up after our staff meeting later this week to hear how that went. Note: By scheduling a time to talk about it again you have a natural way to follow up without having to muster the courage to bring it up again.What to Say if Your Boss isn’t Acknowledging Your Contributions

I (Karin) once taught an evening MBA class called, “Dealing with Difficult People at Work.” Every student picked one “difficult person” as their project to apply what they were learning. All but one person in the class picked their boss. And, the number one issue was their boss was a chronic credit stealer. More data that this credit-stealing feeling is widespread.

What was really interesting is most of these managers responded incredibly well, with an apology and a sincere effort to make it right. In most cases, they were just busy and overwhelmed and hadn’t thought about how important it was to give credit to their team.

When starting a conversation with your manager, it’s particularly important to show up curious– giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Here are a few phrases that can help.

I’m curious. Do you think ______ (their boss, their peer, or key stakeholder) understands my role in this project? I love this kind of work, so I want to ensure people understand what I bring to the table for future opportunities like this.As part of my career development plan, I’d love to find the appropriate time to meet with (their boss, their peer, key stakeholder) so they know more about me and my work, and to gather some additional feedback about how I could be successful. Would that be cool with you?I’ve been thinking about my leadership brand around here, and I wonder how well people really know me and what I do. In our next one-on-one, I’d love to talk with you about some of my key strategic projects and get your thoughts on how I can do a better job letting people know what I do and why it matters.

And this one works great if you have noticed a pattern with your manager taking credit. You’re not talking about the past, but just asking for help in the future.

“It’s really important to me that I learn to advocate for my ideas, and I’m not sure I always do that well. I wonder what coaching you might have to position my ideas so they’re more likely to be received?”How to Apologize if You’ve Accidently Taking Too Much Credit

When work projects are moving fast, it’s also entirely possible you’ll find yourself on the receiving side of too much credit.  When this happens, work to prevent workplace conflict and hard feelings, by acknowledging the situation, apologizing, and doing what you can to make it right as fast as possible.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to take more credit than I deserved. Here’s what I’m going to do to make it right.”

Why You Should Try

Here’s the good news. Credit stealing conflict is some of the easiest workplace conflicts to resolve with one good conversation. If it’s an oversight or accident, people usually move quickly to make it right. And even if the credit-taking or idea stealing was deliberate, the culprit is less likely to continue the pattern once you’ve talked with them about it.

See Also:

12 Powerful Phrases to Help You Navigate Challenging Workplace Conflict

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Should I Change My Style to Fit My Workplace Culture?

Should I change my style to fit in with my workplace culture?

That’s a tricky and complicated question… “should I change my style?” In this week’s #askingforafriend on the road, I come to you from Montreux, Switzerland, and the famous Freddie Mercury statue. 

Clearly, Freddie Mercury had a unique style of his own. He was not afraid to be who he was in a way that was unlike no one else. And the real magic happened when he worked WITH his band (team) in deep collaboration. He stood out and fit in at the same time.

So here’s the question.

Hey Karin,

“I take my leadership very seriously. I take my career very seriously. And, I have worked to hone my style to something that feels really good to me. And recently, I got some feedback from someone who matters who told me I need to make adjustments to my style to better fit in with our culture. What should I do?”

Over the years, I’ve been SO GRATEFUL for truly helpful feedback that has influenced my leadership and helped me hone my influence and impact. There is no question that I’m a better leader and I’m better at growing leaders because of all the wonderful people who’ve invested in me with vital feedback and helped me change my style. I’ve worked hard to hone my style to be authentic and effective.

And, in my corporate executive role, I received SOME advice about my style that I COMPLETELY IGNORED that did not prompt me to change my style.

Nope, I won’t smile less.No, my team isn’t having too much fun. (Have you SEEN our amazing results?)And no way am I taking your advice to invest $3000 dollars in shoes.How to fit in while standing out

When you find yourself asking “Do I need to change my style? Do I need to fit in?” Try this…

Connect with your personal and professional values, style, and strengths. Identify what makes you a unique leader.Connect with your peers – explore how your leadership style impacts people positively and where you’re not having the impact and influence that you would like.Understand what matters most in your culture, and what it will take for you to be effective.

When you’ve taken all of those opportunities to connect and really understand them, now you have some choices to make. You can choose when and how to adapt for greater influence and impact, and which elements of your style and your superpower that you don’t want to lose– even if some others think you should change.

What would you add? I’m curious. How would you answer this complicated question, “should I change my style?”

See these related articles:

How do I Change My Reputation as a Leader?

How to Improve Your Executive Presence to Have More Influence and Impact

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Risk of Human Connection with Chad Littlefield

Is there a risk involved in creating stronger human connections? Great leaders know that deeper human connection fosters more engagement and better performance and that investing in people boosts results and increases retention. Leaders accomplish more by asking powerful questions than by commanding and controlling. In this episode, Chad Littlefield gives you practical tools and questions to use to help you connect with your team more effectively, build better relationships and results, have more influence, and work better together.

 

10:08

What is the risk of asking questions that will affect the dynamics of your conversation, especially as a leader?

16:16

The simple way to trick your brain into setting aside your own life experience to be present for the person you’re having a conversation with by responding in a sentence that ends in a question mark.

22:25

Using questions to create human connection can become much more powerful when you get clear on your intent as to why you’re asking it.

36:18

A good question creates an opportunity for conversation, creates an opportunity for human connection, or genuine curiosity and mutual exploration.

48:31

The impact of starting with connection before content and with relatedness before work.

 

Connect with Chad

Website

LinkedIn

 

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How to Not Screw Up Your Brand Even When You’ve Been Screwed Over

How you respond during times of distress can make or break your leadership brand

If you’ve Googled, “what to do when you’ve been screwed over at work” and landed here, I’m sorry. Not that you found this article, of course. I want to help. But because it’s terrible to feel betrayed or disappointed, when you’re working so hard.

Most high-performing leaders feel this way at some point in their careers.

Perhaps it’s an unexpected layoff. Or, getting passed over for the promotion you were promised if only you did THE THINGS. And, you’ve done ALL THE THINGS and more.

Or, you’ve invested a huge amount of work in a project you know will make a huge strategic impact, and funding disappears. Or maybe you got hired for a new role based on your exciting vision.  Everyone SEEMED aligned. But now you’re in the role you feel like a puppet, being asked to take the role in a completely different direction.

It’s tricky to know the full picture of what’s going on. Circumstances change. Strategies evolve. Organizational restructuring, change in direction, and company politics can easily derail a well-meaning leader’s intentions. If you feel strongly that what happened wasn’t fair, it’s quite possible that this situation is even more complicated than you might realize.

How you show up next matters. A lot. You have choices about what you do and say next. People are watching. Stressful times like this can enhance or destroy your leadership brand.

Important Note– This article is not about blatant discrimination or other illegal situations. Call HR.

This is not an article about blatant discrimination or toxic workplace behavior. If you’re dealing with a situation that’s illegal or unethical, I highly encourage you to involve HR, compliance, and or a trusted leader in your chain of command.  These tips, are more about grounding your response to those aggravating situations that are not necessarily “Wrong” with a capital W, even though you’re feeling wronged.

With that said..

I have seen this go both ways.

The screwed-over leader vents behind closed doors and then shows up with confident humility focused on their team and the work ahead. Others marvel at their grace and poise, “If I were you I’d be so mad!” But they take the high road and keep being the leader they would want their boss to be. They use their response to showcase their executive presence, while carefully thinking through their next steps.

I’ve also seen it go the other way. The screwed-over victim vents to anyone who will listen– distracting themselves and others from the work at hand. Or, they allow the circumstance to draw out negative behaviors, that only reinforce that they actually deserved that thing that just happened– even if they didn’t. Or they quit in a rage, burning bridges and sabotaging important relationships that could have served them well in a transition to something new.

5 Ways to Respond When You’ve Been Screwed Over

So today I offer a few tips to empower you as you move through this challenging experience of feeling screwed over.

1. Be honest with yourself

As you can imagine in my line of work, I hear a lot of stories from leaders at every level who feel they’ve been screwed over. There are always several sides to the stories.

Sometimes people miss out on a promised promotion because another candidate emerged who was simply more qualified. Sometimes the strategic project they were working on does need to take a back seat to more pressing business challenges. And, often, somewhere along the line, communication broke down and expectations got out of synch long before the “screwed over” incident happened.

And of course, sometimes there really is something squirrelly going on.

Try to be as objective as possible as to what’s actually happening. Imagine witnessing the situation as an outside observer looking at the scene from multiple perspectives.

2. Limit Your Venting to a Small, Trusted Circle of Advisors

Your angry words will travel faster and farther than you ever thought possible. If you need to vent, do it behind closed doors with a trusted advisor or two who will listen and help you think through the situation. Is challenging to exude leadership presence, when you’re spitting teeth.

One good rule of thumb, is don’t say anything ABOUT someone, that you wouldn’t say TO them. Best to speak up, and share your concerns with the people involved directly, or with HR and/or your manager.

3. Don’t Give Up

When you feel you’ve been screwed over, it can be tempting to just wring your hands and stop trying. I encourage you to take the long view.

When I look back on really disappointing times in my career, I wish I hadn’t wasted so much emotional energy being ticked off.  And, in some cases, those disappointments turned out to be a blessing because of the new doors that opened. Consider what you can learn from the scene and figure out what you can do best to continue investing in yourself, your mission and what matters most.

4.  Channel Your Energy to Create Something Extraordinary

If you’re fired up, one option is to use that powerful emotional energy to fuel your creativity and your next stand-out move. I began to write my Let’s Grow Leaders blog the Sunday after I watched a senior leader I worked closely with exhibit some very non-human-centered “leadership behaviors,” what I now call toxic courage crushers. 

An important part of my mission to help you be the leader you want your boss to be was fueled by my frustration watching her destructive wake.

5. Let Your Anger Inform Your Leadership

When the time is right, step back and assess what really happened here. Make a vow to yourself to never screw over anyone in the way you’ve been screwed.

This is more than lemons and lemonade. Your team is watching. Your brand is at stake. Respond as the leader you are and want your boss to be.

Your turn. What would you add? What’s your best advice for someone who feels they’ve been screwed over?

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How to Increase Trust in Your Remote Team (with video)

How to Increase Trust in Your Remote Team
When You’re Rarely in the Same Room

“Hey Karin, I have a great team, but they’re spread out ALL OVER THE WORLD. I wouldn’t say we have a trust issue, but I would like to find some additional ways to INCREASE TRUST. What do you suggest?

Today on #askingforafriend I’m taking you on a road trip to Virginia, on my way to give a keynote and talk about how to increase trust in a highly dispersed remote or hybrid team along the way.

If you’ve been hanging around Asking for a Friend for a minute, you know that so much of the trust research really comes down to 4 key questions. These questions apply to leadership, but they also can apply to teams.

To Increase Trust Ask Yourself These 4 Questions

Do we see one another as credible?

Does your team understand and value the expertise of each person? Does every member of the team have the opportunity to showcase their skills and share their background? Everyone wants to work on a team where they are respected for what they bring to the table. When this is the case, people feel seen and valued for their unique contribution.

Are we connected?

Does your team know one another as human beings? Is there time to connect, ask questions and connect around shared values and intentions? Check out these compassionate conversation starters for some tips on how to open conversations with deeper connection and increase trust.

Are we reliable?

Do your team consistently do what they say they will do, and meet our commitments? To increase trust, particularly in a global team with asynchronous work times, make sure you’re having conversations about expectations. How do you hold one another accountable? What are the agreements on the team regarding deadlines, communication, and follow-through? Lay these out so they are clear and consistent and everyone has access to the same agreements and expectations.

Do we genuinely have one another’s best interests at heart?

Provide opportunities with your team to share what they care about…professionally and personally. Do you have ways at work to protect each other’s interests? Do we have systems in place for when someone needs to take time off or miss a meeting? What about moving up in the workplace…are there opportunities to support one another around continuing education, increasing expertise, and learning new skills?

I’m curious, what would you add? How do you build and increase trust for a team that is seldom in the same room?

See Also:

How Do I Build Trust With My Team (Video)

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Leading from Gratitude with Dan Ram

Leading with gratitude and mastering connection have been keys to driving the success of event MC & Speaker, Dan Ram. Dan has hosted changemakers like President Barack Obama, billionaire founders Sir Richard Branson and Reid Hoffman, Grammy-winning artists, and celebrities.  In this episode, you get practical ways to posture your mentality for gratitude, create connections, and find ways to invest in others to help build a future we all want to live in.

 

Leading from Gratitude

15:33

Gaining insights and perspectives on the sort of people that you work with so you experience empathy for their roles.

22:57

As a leader, I need to take responsibility for the room, the environment, the people, and the outcomes.

24:17

Become a leader by practice, effort, observation, failing, learning, and doing.

26:59

The power of holding a posture of gratitude and humility rather than expecting or demanding attention because of your status.

27:26

How the posture of leading from gratitude determines how you speak and what you do.

28:23

The benefit of asking yourself why am I here, why are they here, and what is it we’re trying to accomplish when approaching meetings or conversations.

28:47

Showing gratitude for those who chose to contribute their time, energy, effort, and creativity to your business or to the project.

33:42

To create connection in a short amount of time, lead with questions, not answers, find conversation points of mutual interest, and bring in interesting stories to facilitate connections around basic human emotions.

38:15

Realizing your success is often a product of those around you, and the gifts you were given in this life that deserve gratitude.

 

 

Connect with Dan

LinkedIn

 

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One vital way to ensure your team’s busy day leads to better results

From Counting to Quality:
Help Your Busy Team Work Smarter

Last week, we talked about meaningful metrics, focusing on the game, not the score, and identifying and isolating the daily habits most likely to lead to success. Today we go a level deeper with a practical way to ensure your team’s busy day is worth it– giving them the breakthrough results they’re working so hard to achieve.

Here’s the sad truth. It’s really easy to have a busy, busy day, with alarmingly little to show for it. We’ve all been there.

Of course, there are lots of reasons for this. Sloppy emails, unclear expectations, unproductive conflict, and workplace drama. Days are filled with tons of activity, but you end the day, week, or month and have nothing to show for all that effort.

The problem could be distractions from the most important activities. It could also be THE WAY way your team is performing their tasks.  They may be performing the activities and habits that SHOULD lead to success. But doing those habits without the right focus on outcomes can become a box-checking exercise.

They’re doing what you asked, but are focused on counting metrics (how busy they are), vs. quality metrics, (how well they are accomplishing these tasks).

How to Make the Most of a Busy Day: Moving From Counting to Quality

Moving from counting to quality means re-evaluating how people are spending their time. Some team members will do what they know how to do or are comfortable with doing. They’re busy, but doing lots of what’s familiar, not necessarily what’s most helpful.

You’ll need to help them make this shift (and model it yourself). For others, they may be doing exactly what’s needed, but are missing one small change that will leverage their hard work.

Let’s look at three examples of shifting from counting to quality.

Busy Day Example 1: The Enthusastic Sales Rep, Who’s Just Not Selling

First, imagine that you’re leading a sales team. One of your measurements is the number of times salespeople visit an existing client to uncover additional opportunities. You have a sales rep who exceeds their quota of visits and is always out with clients – every day is a busy day.

But, the trouble is, they’re NOT SELLING anything new to those clients. The activities and habits that SHOULD work to help them accomplish their MIT (Most Important Thing), aren’t. You investigate and it turns out that they’re spending time with the same three low-level managers because they have a good relationship. But they’re not asking strategic questions or uncovering sales opportunities.

Now, as you help them grow from counting those visits to quality visits, you’ll have them analyze who they’re visiting, what they discuss on the visits, and whether or not they set up a next step.

A quality visit might include an introduction to a senior manager, a discussion of upcoming projects, learning about their sourcing requirements, or a follow-up meeting to share how your company can meet those needs.

Busy Day Example 2: The Efficient Nurse, Missing Connection

Let’s look at another example from one of our healthcare clients. Their nursing staff was doing an excellent job with their numbers and countable activities. They took patients’ blood pressure and temperature, delivered medications, and completed their patients’ charts. But patient satisfaction scores didn’t reflect all that activity – as important as it is.

The move from counting to quality for the nursing team involved one small change in their busy day. When the nurse entered the patient’s room, they would greet the patient by name, tell the patient their name, and what they were there to do. That one small moment of connection leveraged all the other important work they were doing and their patient satisfaction scores improved.

As you help your team move from simple counting to evaluating the quality of their work and how much it contributes to the results you need to achieve, it’s important to apply this principle to your own work too.

It’s easy to get sucked into emails, into solving a problem that feels good but doesn’t make a big difference. This is a good time to pause and reflect on your busy day: do you have common activities that take up far more time than the value they add? How might you spend less time on these? Or perhaps stop doing them altogether?

Busy Day Example #3: The Check the Box Manager

This busy day example is one of the most dangerous. When HR checks the performance management system, this manager looks like they’re on top of their game. They’ve check all the boxes. Weekly one-on-ones, check. Mid-year reviews, check. Development plans, check. Five people recognized this month, check. Yup, they even took their team off-site for an end-of-year meeting.

And yet, employee engagement scores are some of the lowest in the company, and exit interviews indicate that the biggest reasons people are leaving are a lack of career path and support from their manager.

This is a case where the manager is so overwhelmed with the business of their job, that they’re not taking the time to truly invest in their employee’s development, just doing enough to keep “the HR police” off their backs. Or, they haven’t been trained on what success looks like for these critical employee development activities.

If you’re a manager of managers, don’t rely on a spreadsheet from HR to tell you how well your managers are developing their teams.

Focus on Quality

Metrics matter.

And “counting” metrics are certainly a start.

The sales experts are right, Sales IS a “numbers game” to SOME EXTENT. And, the number of phone calls made is only the beginning.

Sure, you need to know that your employees are following the safety protocols, but that’s table stakes, not excellence.

And YES, it’s so important to track if your managers are doing key tasks like one-on-ones or development plans. But it’s even more important to ensure they’re helping build confidence and competence in their employees.

If you want your team’s busy days to matter, we encourage you to dig a little deeper and focus on quality as well as counting.

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