David Dye's Blog, page 63

How To Create a More Inclusive Workplace for LGBTQ Employees

Move Past a “Check the Box” Approach
and Create a More Inclusive Workplace

If you’re looking to move beyond a “check the box” approach to LGBTQ inclusion and create a more inclusive workplace, you won’t want to miss this important episode of Asking For a Friend.

Tammy Cravit is a data engineer, friend, and advocate for LGBTQ inclusion.

In this interview, Tammy shares candid insights and practical approaches for “seeing beyond the label” and building a more inclusive workplace one human being at a time.

How do we move LGBTQ Inclusion from a “Check the Box” exercise to an integrated part of our culture? #AskingForaFriend

More on Tammy Cravit and her Journey as a Transgender Woman and Inclusive Workplace Role Model

In 2016 I received this amazing note from Tammy Cravit on her journey of authenticity and inclusion. This email exchange led to a series of important and meaningful conversations on authenticity and LGBTQ inclusion. Those conversations sparked an important friendship. And, ultimately we were able to work together as we brought a leadership development program to her company.

An Excerpt from Tammy’s Important Letter

Here’s an excerpt (shared with her permission):

“I just finished reading Winning Well (it’d been on my Amazon pre-orders list for more than a month, and I devoured it as soon as it arrived) and wanted to reach out to thank you and David for a fantastic book.

Your book made explicit a lot of things I’ve been doing intuitively and highlighted some places I can step up and do even better. I’m super excited to put those things into practice and to continue to grow my leadership skills as a result.

I also wanted to share with you my story about the power of authenticity and vulnerability, because I truly believe it is the key to everything I have achieved in my career in the last few years.

A bit about me: I am presently managing a technical team of what are essentially technically oriented project managers (and she shares her very powerful work history and accomplishments)

I am also a transgender woman, who transitioned while living in Silicon Valley 17 years ago, during the peak of the dot-com boom.

During the years my ex-spouse and I ran our consulting company together, I never talked about my past or my transition with anyone save a few close friends. My ex was scared it would cost us the respect of our clients and, ultimately, their business. It turned out that most of them knew anyway – and, as in your story in your book, it turned out that I’d damaged their faith in me and their trust in our relationship by hiding who I was.

The Power of Authenticity and an Inclusive Workplace

When my ex and I divorced in 2012, I vowed not to make that mistake again.

And, in fact, in my subsequent job search, I made the decision that I was going to be up-front and honest about all of my life experiences and how the lessons I learned from them – compassion, tenacity, determination – made me who I am.

If a company wanted to look at all that I had to offer and then not hire me because I am transgender, I reasoned, that was a sure sign that it was the wrong company for me.

The final of five interviews for my first role at my current company was with the CEO and co-founder. “He likes to talk about our Core Values”, the recruiter had told me, so when I came into the office I’d already reviewed and thought about those Core Values.

“So, tell me why you want to work here,” he asked me, and I just started talking.

I talked about my experience as a transgender woman and the obstacles I’d overcome to becoming my true and most fully realized self.

I talked about the myriad changes happening in my life at that time – 2013 was the year I divorced, moved to a new city for a new job, turned 40, and saw my adopted daughter turn 18 and move out on her own.

I talked about my personal core values and where I saw alignment with my company’s core values.

In all, I probably talked for about 35 minutes.

At the end of that time, the CEO looked at me from the other side of a small round conference table in his office. “I’ve scheduled an hour for our interview,” he told me, “and I’d like to spend the rest of the time getting to know you better.

But I have to tell you, you’re the most interesting person who’s walked into my office this week, and you have to come work here.”

He still says that his conversation with me is the most memorable job interview he’s ever done. 

Authenticity and Career Success

As a result of my willingness to be authentic I’ve built relationships all over my company, I’ve been promoted twice in three years and have the respect of my leadership, my peers, the folks who I serve as a manager, and other employees all over the company.

And as a result of that, I’m able to keep achieving the results I do,  for my team, for the company, and for myself.(One example: after 17 years of waiting, I finally had gender confirmation surgery last year – and, again, thanks to my willingness to engage in authentic dialogue, my company covered the cost on their health insurance.)

Authenticity is the key to relationship-building, I think, and relationship-building has been my superpower career-wise.

Anyway, since you talked at some length about authenticity in your book, I wanted to reach out to share a bit of my story, and to say thanks again for a terrific book. I really enjoyed it, and it’s definitely given me some new ways to think about what I do as a manager.”

Your turn.

Do you have a personal experience of the power of an inclusive workplace? What are your best practices for fostering genuine inclusion of LGBTQ employees?

The post How To Create a More Inclusive Workplace for LGBTQ Employees appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

How Create a More Inclusive Workplace for LGBTQ Employees

Move Past a “Check the Box” Approach
and Create a More Inclusive Workplace

If you’re looking to move beyond a “check the box” approach to LGBTQ inclusion and create a more inclusive workplace, you won’t want to miss this important episode of Asking For a Friend.

Tammy Cravit is a data engineer, friend, and advocate for LGBTQ inclusion.

In this interview, Tammy shares candid insights and practical approaches for “seeing beyond the label” and building a more inclusive workplace one human being at a time.

How do we move LGBTQ Inclusion from a “Check the Box” exercise to an integrated part of our culture? #AskingForaFriend

More on Tammy Cravit and her Journey as a Transgender Woman and Inclusive Workplace Role Model

In 2016 I received this amazing note from Tammy Cravit on her journey of authenticity and inclusion. This email exchange led to a series of important and meaningful conversations on authenticity and LGBTQ inclusion. Those conversations sparked an important friendship. And, ultimately we were able to work together as we brought a leadership development program to her company.

An Excerpt from Tammy’s Important Letter

Here’s an excerpt (shared with her permission):

“I just finished reading Winning Well (it’d been on my Amazon pre-orders list for more than a month, and I devoured it as soon as it arrived) and wanted to reach out to thank you and David for a fantastic book.

Your book made explicit a lot of things I’ve been doing intuitively and highlighted some places I can step up and do even better. I’m super excited to put those things into practice and to continue to grow my leadership skills as a result.

I also wanted to share with you my story about the power of authenticity and vulnerability, because I truly believe it is the key to everything I have achieved in my career in the last few years.

A bit about me: I am presently managing a technical team of what are essentially technically oriented project managers (and she shares her very powerful work history and accomplishments)

I am also a transgender woman, who transitioned while living in Silicon Valley 17 years ago, during the peak of the dot-com boom.

During the years my ex-spouse and I ran our consulting company together, I never talked about my past or my transition with anyone save a few close friends. My ex was scared it would cost us the respect of our clients and, ultimately, their business. It turned out that most of them knew anyway – and, as in your story in your book, it turned out that I’d damaged their faith in me and their trust in our relationship by hiding who I was.

The Power of Authenticity and an Inclusive Workplace

When my ex and I divorced in 2012, I vowed not to make that mistake again.

And, in fact, in my subsequent job search, I made the decision that I was going to be up-front and honest about all of my life experiences and how the lessons I learned from them – compassion, tenacity, determination – made me who I am.

If a company wanted to look at all that I had to offer and then not hire me because I am transgender, I reasoned, that was a sure sign that it was the wrong company for me.

The final of five interviews for my first role at my current company was with the CEO and co-founder. “He likes to talk about our Core Values”, the recruiter had told me, so when I came into the office I’d already reviewed and thought about those Core Values.

“So, tell me why you want to work here,” he asked me, and I just started talking.

I talked about my experience as a transgender woman and the obstacles I’d overcome to becoming my true and most fully realized self.

I talked about the myriad changes happening in my life at that time – 2013 was the year I divorced, moved to a new city for a new job, turned 40, and saw my adopted daughter turn 18 and move out on her own.

I talked about my personal core values and where I saw alignment with my company’s core values.

In all, I probably talked for about 35 minutes.

At the end of that time, the CEO looked at me from the other side of a small round conference table in his office. “I’ve scheduled an hour for our interview,” he told me, “and I’d like to spend the rest of the time getting to know you better.

But I have to tell you, you’re the most interesting person who’s walked into my office this week, and you have to come work here.”

He still says that his conversation with me is the most memorable job interview he’s ever done. 

Authenticity and Career Success

As a result of my willingness to be authentic I’ve built relationships all over my company, I’ve been promoted twice in three years and have the respect of my leadership, my peers, the folks who I serve as a manager, and other employees all over the company.

And as a result of that, I’m able to keep achieving the results I do,  for my team, for the company, and for myself.(One example: after 17 years of waiting, I finally had gender confirmation surgery last year – and, again, thanks to my willingness to engage in authentic dialogue, my company covered the cost on their health insurance.)

Authenticity is the key to relationship-building, I think, and relationship-building has been my superpower career-wise.

Anyway, since you talked at some length about authenticity in your book, I wanted to reach out to share a bit of my story, and to say thanks again for a terrific book. I really enjoyed it, and it’s definitely given me some new ways to think about what I do as a manager.”

Your turn.

Do you have a personal experience of the power of an inclusive workplace? What are your best practices for fostering genuine inclusion of LGBTQ employees?

The post How Create a More Inclusive Workplace for LGBTQ Employees appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

Leading When Things Break

Are you blindsided when things break down, problems happen, or conflict occurs? Great leaders anticipate these breakdowns and know that it’s a matter of when – not if – they’ll happen. Lead your team with a planned recovery and equip them with the skills to overcome these setbacks.

Leading When Things Break

0:22 – Last chance to get your Kindle edition of Courageous Cultures: How to Build Teams of Micro-innovators, Problem Solvers, and Customer Advocates at a crazy-good price.

1:12 – Why do light poles and stop signs break the way they do when hit by a car? Why do they break at all?

2:53 – How engineers plan for things to break to avoid more damage and minimize time to repair.

3:44 – As leaders, you can deny that things will ever go wrong or you can plan for it. Effective leaders engage in planned recovery.

4:15 – One area where planned recovery is particularly effective is in human relationships. You and your team members are going to let one another down, you will hurt each other’s feelings, and step on toes. It’s unavoidable. So how do you plan for it?

4:58 – How you can model planned recovery and help your team restore relationships when things break.

5:30 – Extending planned recovery to customer service breakdowns

6:00 – Do what you can to minimize errors and breakdowns, but plan for them so that they don’t cause catastrophic or collateral damage when they happen.

The post Leading When Things Break appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

How Your Employee Recognition Program Can Destroy Morale

Avoid These Big Mistakes When Recognizing Employees

A great employee recognition program is a remarkable way to build culture, increase employee engagement and reinforce critical behaviors. Done well, these programs will have a positive impact on culture and can also serve as a vital part of your 5 x 5 communication plan.

And yet, so many companies screw this up. It’s tragic to see the negative impact of a poorly executed employee recognition program. If you really want to reward employees, be sure to do it in a way that positively impacts employee morale by avoiding these (sadly quite common) mistakes.

Avoid these 8 employee recognition program mistakes.Recognizing every little thingCelebrating with caveatsCreating discomfortRewarding numbers while ignoring behaviorsRecognizing the leader without acknowledging the teamUnder or overvaluing the impactShowing up sloppy or cluelessReading from a script.Wait, What? (A Tragic Story of “Appreciation” Gone Wrong)

I had just arrived at a fancy hotel for a friend’s wedding. Parking was tight, so we drove around the corner to the back of the building.

Right beside the dumpsters were several tables set with china, white tablecloths, and balloons for a hotel staff recognition luncheon.

The nicely printed signage thanked them for their commitment to customers, but the thank-you signs were not enough to hide the trash or disguise the smell.

I was floored. I thought:

Let me get this right. You’re event superstars. You work to make every bride’s and corporate meeting planner’s dreams come true.

Have you ever suggested to a mother of the bride that she hold her daughter’s bridal luncheon by the dumpster?

What in the world possessed you to put white tablecloths on a backdrop of trash for your employee recognition program?

Is this really how you’re going to reward your rock star staff or celebrate your employee of the month? How do you think employees feel appreciated with the backdrop of dumpsters behind them?

What other options did you explore?

Do you seriously expect the folks you’re “recognizing” to come back in and create magical, creative moments for your guests?

8 Reasons Employee Recognition Programs Hurt Morale

Someone must have thought this approach to an employee recognition program was a great idea, but it’s more than the thought that counts. It’s the impact.

As a human-centered leader, we know you wouldn’t make that kind of stupid mistake with your employee recognition program.

And yet, like this debacle, most employee recognition mistakes start with good intentions.

To provide more meaningful recognition, avoid these common mistakes.

1. Recognizing every little thing

You might hear someone say, “There’s no such thing as too much recognition.” I disagree. Just as parents who praise their kids for every little thing may create dysfunction, shallow praise over the small stuff can be a real turnoff for your serious performers.

One manager I know instructed team leaders to say, “Thank you for coming to work today,” as a way of reducing absenteeism.

If showing up is the best behavior you can find to recognize, keep looking.

That doesn’t mean you never acknowledge people for their consistency, but to do so every day cheapens it.

2. Celebrating with caveats

Examples of recognition with caveats include:

“You did an awesome job, but …”“Your performance was amazing, except for that hiccup in the second measure of the song.”“You were very friendly with that customer, but you gave her the wrong information. Keep up the great work.”

Recognition is recognition. Coaching is coaching.

Both are necessary, but when you confuse one for the other, it can quickly demotivate your people. Be sure the managers participating in your employee recognition program can offer a sincere celebration with no “Yeah, buts.”

3. Creating discomfort

Some people hate the spotlight. Even the thought of being called onto a stage is enough to make some A-players break out into hives.

Others love the attention and are disappointed when the recognition is done privately where there’s no one to applaud.

Everyone needs recognition that is meaningful to him or her.

I’ll never forget the first time I received my first big-deal recognition at an end-of-year meeting at Verizon. The music blasted; they had these huge spotlights that followed me from the audience to the stage. I loved it (but I also love giving a keynote speech to thousands of people.)

One of my friends was recognized at the same meeting in a similar way. When she got back to her seat, she said, “I almost threw up right there on the stage. Remind me not to blow away my numbers next year. I never want to have to deal with that again.”

4. Rewarding numbers while ignoring the behaviors

In an effort to remain “objective,” many leaders rely heavily on bottom-line numbers and rankings as they select whom to recognize.

Over-reliance on the numbers can be a slippery slope.

If a backstabbing team member wins employee of the month,  your entire recognition program loses credibility, and you send a message that the ends always justify the means. A good way to overcome this is to identify additional behaviors or related metrics to use as gateways.

I once had a boss who called me and all of my peers to remind us to “call Joan” and congratulate her on the award she received at the sales conference. He instinctively knew what we knew. “Joan” was a bit of a witch who had thrown all of us under the bus a few times to do what was right for her and her team.

If you have to tell your otherwise mature leaders to congratulate the person you are rewarding, you might be recognizing the wrong person.

5. Recognizing the leader without acknowledging the team

Leaders need recognition too.

Sometimes there is huge value in recognizing a leader in front of her team.

However, this is risky and must be done with care. Many times it’s best to use big recognition forums to recognize team efforts and save the individual leadership kudos for another venue.

In our research on psychological safety and courage for our book Courageous Cultures (read the first chapter for free here), 56% of our respondents said the reason they don’t share ideas is that they’re afraid they won’t get the credit.

A while back, I was teaching an MBA elective called “Dealing with Difficult People at Work.” Each student worked on a case study of a real difficult person they were dealing with. Do you know who most students picked? Their boss. And you might imagine what their biggest challenge was. Yup, it was that their boss was taking credit for their work.

I’m a huge believer in recognizing and appreciating leaders at every level of the business. It’s vital. Just be sure you do your homework first to know who needs to be included in the celebration.

6. Undervaluing or overvaluing the impact

Recognizing a big deal as if it’s a small deal. Or recognizing a small deal as if it’s a big deal.

“Thanks for saving us $5 million; here’s your certificate,” will likely backfire. As will a constant stream of hoopla for everyday tasks.

Ensure that you calibrate the level of accomplishment with the level of recognition and ensure that all the leaders delivering recognition at the same employee recognition event are aligned with one another.

7. Showing up sloppy or clueless

Have you ever seen a leader go to the podium and read off the name of someone they’ve been called in to recognize, only to mispronounce it? This mistake may seem really basic, but it happens far too often.

It doesn’t help if you laugh first and apologize.

When you get a name wrong, you undermine any value your presence or praise might have had. You’ve just told the person he’s not important enough for you to bother learning his name.

If you’ve been asked to be part of an employee recognition program celebrating high performers, be sure you take the time to learn how to pronounce names.

8. Reading from a script

If you can take the time to learn the story behind the recognition and speak from the heart, the employee you are recognizing is more likely to feel truly seen. And who doesn’t want to feel seen?

What To Do Instead

Great employee recognition programs start by helping managers know how to give better recognition. Even well-intentioned programs will fail if managers are sloppy in execution.

Teach your managers to focus on giving recognition, that is …

Specific (Think beyond “good job.” Help managers to communicate exactly what they are recognizing.)Timely (Encourage your team to celebrate as close to completion of what they are celebrating as possible.)Relevant (Teach your managers to help align the behaviors or outcomes to your overall business strategy.)Meaningful (Help your managers celebrate their team in a meaningful way to the person they are recognizing. For some, that might mean a loud ruckus of recognition in front of all their peers. More introverted team members might prefer a pair of theater tickets or a meaningful hand-written note.)

Avoiding these common mistakes is a great start to building a more meaningful employee recognition program.

Your turn. I’d love to hear your stories and advice. How do you use such programs to enhance the employee experience and build a human-centered culture?

See Also: How to Be Great at Recognition (Even if It’s Not in Your DNA)

The post How Your Employee Recognition Program Can Destroy Morale appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

Calm the Chaos and Help Your Team Regain their Focus

It’s a challenge common to many leaders and managers: Last-minute customer requests, emergencies, interruptions, and distractions make it hard to stay focused on your M.I.T.s (the Most Important Thing). If you’re not careful, reactivity can become a permanent way of life. In this episode, you’ll receive practical steps you can take to calm the chaos and help your team regain their focus.

Calm the Chaos and Help Your Team Regain Their Focus

0:00 – Get your reduced price copy of Courageous Cultures through the end of June 2021

0:30 – Welcome to Season 8 of Leadership without Losing Your Soul

1:00 – The challenge with maintaining our focus and helping your team regain their focus: all kinds of crazy

2:16 – Recognize that these distractions, emergencies, and challenges won’t go away. Mastering the art of leading through them is essential.

3:19 – Start by ensuring everyone understands what actually matters most. What is the MIT? Where is the team and business going over the next 18 months? How do individual behaviors contribute to the team’s success?

4:18 – Next, expect the unexpected. Use a two-axis process graph to look at how disruptive and how common your disruptions are. Meet with your team to get all the distractions on the table.

5:10 – Then, focus on the items in quadrant four (most frequent, most disruptive).

6:18 – Step 3 is to plan your response for the most common and most disruptive interruptions, distractions, and emergencies. You know it’s coming, so create a game plan to get everyone through it, help your team regain their focus, and get back to the big picture as efficiently as possible.

7:08 – A specific example of how you might plan for a common and important disruption and help your team regain their focus

8:27 – Next, in step four you look at margin. Maintaining margin to absorb and deal with the “expected unexpected” is critical to helping your team stay focused.

9:31 – Finally, step five (which is where many people try to start): eliminate the causes of your most common, most disruptive distractions, emergencies, and interruptions.

The post Calm the Chaos and Help Your Team Regain their Focus appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

The A.R.T. of Advanced Accountability (Video)

The Let’s Grow Leaders A.R.T. Method of Advanced Accountability

Hi Karin, I’ve read Winning Well: A Manager’s Guide to Getting Results Without Losing Your Soul. And, I love the I.N.S.P.I.R.E. method for difficult conversations. The coaching method works great much of the time. But, what do I do if one accountability conversation is not enough? #AskingForAFriend

How to Escalate an Accountability Conversation

You’ve set clear performance expectations. You’ve checked for understanding. And, you’ve done a great job addressing issues as they arise.

So what do you do, if your employee is still not picking up what you’re putting down?

Sometimes one conversation isn’t enough. If this is happening, escalate the conversation using the A.R.T. Method of Advanced Accountability.

Each stop of the A.R.T. Method continues to use the INSPIRE Method.

Then, as you move through the three stages of the method, your N – Notice step changes.

You will Notice different behaviors at each stage. Here’s how it works:

Summary of the Let’s Grow Leaders A.R.T. Method For Advanced AccountabilityAction conversation – focus on the specific behaviorRepetition conversation – focus on the repeated pattern of behaviorTrust conversation – focus on the broken commitment and relationship

See also: How to Start Team Accountability If You Never Have Before

(See more in How to Provide More Meaningful Performance Feedback).

The post The A.R.T. of Advanced Accountability (Video) appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

A Post-Pandemic Productivity Gift You Can Bring Back to the Office

Going back to the office? Don’t lose one of the most valuable aspects of remote work.

Whether your team is heading back to the office, will continue working remotely, or somewhere between, silence and space are critical leadership gifts to give your team.

Mixed Feelings about Going Back

Over the past month, as more U.S. citizens have access to vaccines, we’ve been talking with people whose teams have worked remotely about their thoughts on returning to in-person work. Conversations about going back to the office have included a wide range of feelings. Some are eager for the stimulation and energy of being around other people. Others are not. People who aren’t as excited about returning to fixed times and locations cite several concerns. Besides the benefits of flexibility, working across geography, and the ability to care for loved ones and life interests, at the top of the objection list is concern over lost personal productivity.

One team member said, “With no commute and without physical interruptions from other people, I’m getting way more done.”Another person I spoke with said, “My manager was all about us working remotely until he realized that he’s an extrovert and now had no one to talk to. Now’s he’s been upfront that he wants us back in the office because he needs to talk. But that kills my productivity.”One senior leader we spoke with talked about how, despite her preference for extroversion, she has enjoyed the fact that people aren’t interrupting her with “Just one thing real quick …” She worries that when they return to the office, her colleagues and team will abandon the productive batching communication habits they’ve developed.

There are pros and cons for every work arrangement – and they differ across industries. This isn’t an argument for any specific approach – they all have their place. But when people share a common concern about their improved ability to get things done, it’s an opportunity to build a better workplace than the one we left.

A Silent Surprise

As I’ve interviewed people and looked at data on going back to the office, the concern about time lost to talkative coworkers and bosses brought to mind a visit I made to a radio station several years ago.

Every Friday morning the most popular morning radio show in town hosted Live Audience Friday. A group of 12 people got to sit into the broadcast booth to watch the three show hosts do their thing, ask questions, and take part in on-air contests.

I’d listened to their show for years. Every morning the hosts reliably bantered for four hours, made me smile, laugh, reflect, and, a time or two, even cry. Between songs and commercials, they played games, shared trivia, commented on the events of the day, held contests, and shared observations they’d made about life and the oddities of human behavior.

The three of them had incredible chemistry. They were a joy during the years I drove my daughter to school and then drove myself to work. After years of listening to Live Audience Friday, my sister, her husband, and I decided it was our turn, so we applied to visit.

When our morning arrived, we met outside the studio in the chilly morning dark while most of the world slept, filed into the studio, and waited for the magic to happen.

The show was as enjoyable as I hoped, the hosts’ interaction with the audience was kind, fun, and uplifting. But what struck me most about watching these three create their on-air repartee – was the silence.

When the “on-air” sign lit up, they were full of energy, connected to one another, and poured energy across the airwaves into their hundreds of thousands of listeners. But when the sign went dark, they went silent. They studied notes, occasionally asked a quiet question of one another, and generally said very little.

It was the opposite of what I’d expected. My impression as a listener was that what we heard on our radios was the on-air continuation of an ongoing conversation. That somehow we’d just been allowed to listen in.

In hindsight, that sense of connection and the ongoing conversation resulted from the hosts’ craft and professionalism. They were good at what they did. They included those moments of silence where they gathered their energy, reviewed the content they’d prepared, and did the work to deliver a best-in-class show.

Because of the pandemic, Karin and I shifted our in-person delivery to 100% to live remote leadership training. Some days feature five or six hours on camera engaging leaders around the world in human-centered leadership practices and skills.

Over the many months of pandemic-enforced remote programs, I’ve thought of those radio hosts’ moments of silence many times. When we turn off our camera for a breakout session or pause between programs, Karin and I study our notes, return emails, and exchange a quiet question or two.

Silence can be craft and professionalism.

“Be silent, or let your words be worth more than silence.”~Pythagoras

Bring the Gift of Space and Silence Back to the Office

I’ve read comments from a (thankfully) few cynical executives who say that people’s productivity concerns are packaging for the other benefits of working remotely.

I don’t think that’s true.

We’ve seen too many statistics citing the increased productivity over the past 15 months. It feels good to do well, and it makes sense that people don’t want to lose that.

If your work truly requires co-location, you can still give people the gift of productivity they’ve enjoyed over the past year with silence and space. Here are six ways to bring the gift of silence and space back to the office:

1. Don’t hold meetings for you.

Hold meetings only when they are the most productive use of time for the attendees (eg: to solve a problem or develop their abilities). Otherwise, leverage the communication infrastructure you’ve built over the past year.

2. Audit what you’ve eliminated.

You and your team have had to do things differently. What did you stop doing that doesn’t need to come back? It will be easy to fall back into location-based habits, but you don’t have to. Work with your team to keep unproductive habits you retired from popping up again.

3. Consolidate communication. 

The benefit of co-location can quickly become its bane if people fall back into the habit of interrupting one another for minor items. Once again, you can leverage the communication platforms. Help the team commit to batching discussion items so everyone has the best chance to do their best work.

4. Practice the pause. 

As I’ve watched meetings happen over Teams, Zoom, Chime, and Skype, I’ve noticed how people became more comfortable with a pause. A pause while someone reaches to unmute. A pause to ensure they’re not speaking over a colleague. Technology forced us to pause. We can bring that pause into our conversations and meetings. Give a question room to breathe. Don’t rush to fill the silence.

5. Consider quiet hours. 

Some organizations we’ve worked with introduced this practice even pre-pandemic. Carve out 90-120 minutes once or twice a day dedicated to deep work. Interruptions may only happen for emergencies (and define an emergency). Leverage the communication platforms you’ve used over the past 15 months to facilitate and protect these windows.

6. Communicate about quiet and communication.

The most effective hybrid and virtual teams take time to talk about how they work together. This practice is vital for in-person teams as well. Creating shared expectations and understanding will help everyone’s productivity. You can use the prior items on this list as starting points for your discussion.

Your Turn

If co-location is in your future, these practices will help maintain your team’s productivity. I’d love to hear from you: What would you add? As people come back to the office, what practices would you find most helpful?

The post A Post-Pandemic Productivity Gift You Can Bring Back to the Office appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

Leading Performance Conversations without Losing Your Cool

It’s easy to take things personally and get upset when you need to lead a tough performance conversation. In this episode, we’ll take a look at what might cause you to get upset and five steps you can take to keep your cool and have a productive conversation.

Leading a Performance Conversation without Losing Your Cool

0:58 – Be sure to pick up your discounted copy of Courageous Cultures through the end of June 2021

2:00 – Why leading a performance conversation without losing your cool is a vital leadership skill

3:44 – Why these conversations can produce anger

4:22 – How to identify the thinking that undermines your cool

5:31 – The first step to keeping your cool – reframing what’s happened.

6:07 – Next, the second step to maintain your composure is to prepare for the conversation

7:13 – Then, the third step for a productive conversation is to understand what provokes anger in other people and ensure that you’re not escalating conversations unnecessarily.

8:07 – Choosing sad over mad and avoiding mind-reading.

8:56 – Next is the fourth step: when to call a timeout and rejoin the conversation later

9:44 – Finally, your goal in every performance conversation and its role in helping you maintain your composure

11:34 – How to get your leadership or management question answered in a future episode (email David)

The post Leading Performance Conversations without Losing Your Cool appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

How do I Admit We Were Wrong? (with Video)

“Hey Karin, I’m so proud of my team. We had such an incredible pivot. We accomplished some incredible things. AND as it turns out we made some faulty assumptions, and we’re going to need to pivot. How do I admit we were wrong without discouraging the team?

#AskingForaFriend

Gain Big Credibility With Your Team, Even if You Have to Admit You Were Wrong

Here’s the truth, if you’ve made a mistake, it’s likely that your team already knows. When I think of leaders I’ve worked with who had real credibility with me, I could count on them to tell me the truth and admit their mistakes.

If you find yourself having to quickly change directions, start here.

Start by thanking the team for all they’ve doneExplain what is different nowIf you’ve made a mistake, admit itBe very clear about what’s next and what you need from them

Your turn.

What’s your best advice for helping your team move forward when you’ve learned something new. How can you help them “admit we were wrong” and move on gracefully?

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Virtual Team Building Tool: An Easy Conversation Starter

If you want a strong virtual team, get your team talking.

If you want to take your virtual or hybrid team to the next level, use this virtual team-building tool to get your team talking about what’s working and identify areas for continued improvement.

What makes a highly successful virtual or hybrid team?

Highly successful hybrid and virtual teams have one thing in common. They work at it.

Each team member commits to working on the team while working on the work.

Everything is deliberate.

They’re strategic in how they communicate, how they connect, and how they ask for help. They dedicate time to think about “How we do things around here” and talk about what’s working and what’s not. They understand the importance of psychological safety and are deliberate in helping others feel included.

And, when it’s not working, they slow down and fix it.

We’ve both worked in highly successful hybrid and virtual teams for decades. And, we now lead a company of hybrid and virtual teams. In our experience, and in our work with clients during and emerging out of the pandemic, there are six habits we consistently see lead to high performance in hybrid and virtual teams.

They …

Regularly invest in getting to know one another as human beings.Have a clear definition of what success looks like.Dedicate time to discuss how they communicate.Collaborate with one another informally.Carefully design virtual meetings so they are the best use of everyone’s time.Consistently look for ways to improve.

(Read more in our 6 Habits Of Highly Successful Hybrid and Virtual Teams.)

How’s your team doing in this regard? Why not ask the team with this easy virtual team-building tool?

Virtual Team Building Tool: An Easy Way to Get Your Team Talking

You can download this virtual team-building assessment tool for free here. 

click image to download PDF of the team builder assessment

1: Download the virtual team-building assessment and distribute it to your team.

2: Ask each member to rate how they candidly feel the team is doing in each of the areas.

3: For each of the categories invite your team members to share how they rated the team and why.

4: Celebrate strengths and what’s working, then identify opportunities for improvement.

5: Pick one area to work on, invite I.D.E.A.s to improve, and make a plan.

6: Schedule the finish (determine who will do what, by when, and how will you know it’s finished) AND pick a time to talk about how things are going.

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