Susan Scott's Blog, page 111

How to Stay Present

Do you believe you can multi-task and still stay present in a conversation?

Many of us think we are better at it than we really are.

In the age of iPhones, Twitter, and every kind of on-demand product, it is easy to want to check-in on multiple modes of communication all the time.

The issue is that always checking-in comes with a cost.

Often, when you do not stop what you are doing and pay attention to someone, the message you indirectly send is that he or she is not important enough to stop what you’re doing.

Is that your intention?

If not, it’s time to focus. (If it is your intention, that is a different blog topic.)

As a leader, it is your job to be aware and stay connected with your team. Here are three tips to be more present:

1. Make a schedule.

Set a specific time frame for you to check emails and engage in certain activities each day. If you don’t, you may find you spend most of your time consistently answering emails and phone calls instead of connecting with your team and the most important issues.

2. Show your priority.

When a team member comes to you, put your phone down and step away from your computer. This is the time to give your attention. Let them physically see that they are a priority. This applies to meetings as well.

3. Write or type your to-do’s.

Before your meetings, put all your thoughts on paper – electronic or physical. There is nothing worse than talking with someone and seeing that his or her brain is somewhere else. Documenting your action items helps to alleviate the stress of forgetting something, and then you can concentrate on being in the moment.

What areas do you need to stay most present?

Fierce Tip of the Week: Slow Down and Listen

“The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer.” — Henry David Thoreau

When you breakdown the anatomy of a conversation, half of it, if not more, is listening.

When you truly listen, it is an experience for all of your senses. This level of engagement allows you to fully take in what the other person is saying.

This week’s Fierce tip is to slow down and listen.

If the amount of available time dictates every conversation, relationship can be the first thing sacrificed. Healthy relationships require the time and space for conversations to happen and all parties to actively listen. You must go beyond day-to-day transactional interactions, and instead, be present for the information you are receiving.

Be proactive this week and schedule out specific time with important relationships to reconnect. When you ask a question, don’t sit there waiting for your turn to tell them what’s been going on with you. Focus on others by going beyond just what they’re saying and fully be present to understand the answers.

Fierce Resources: One Conversation at a Time: Four Tips Parents Can Do to Make This School Year a Success

This week’s Fierce Resource first appeared on the Fierce blog and was written by our Director of Education Partnerships, Janet Irving.

One Conversation at a Time: Four Tips Parents Can Do to Make This School Year a Success focuses on how parents can start a new school year off positively by enriching their relationships with their kids by having simple and daily conversations.

“For many years I have had conversations with my own children about what they might be feeling and expecting. These conversations got me thinking! What can  we do as parents to help empower our children to make that first day the beginning of the best days to come?…It inspired me to share four tips parents can do to make this school year a success. This starts with a conversation.”

To read the full blog, click here.

Tips for Motivating the Mobile Workforce

Yesterday, Counselor Magazine published “Tips for Motivating the Mobile Workforce” by Betsy Cummings, and Fierce President & CEO, Halley Bock, weighed in. Below is a small portion of the article, to read the whole article, click here.

Of course, what’s missing from companies that rely on mobile workforces is the so-called water-cooler chatter that can result in brainstorming and strategy-sharing. That eliminates a lot of opportunity for rich communication, whether it’s orchestrated or organic, which is often the foundation of an office culture – and something that can disappear in a mobile workforce.

Building that communication among a staff that’s spread out in different parts of the country starts with clearly defining it, says Halley Bock, president and CEO of Fierce Inc., a leadership development and training company based in Seattle. “It’s one thing to say, ‘Let’s communicate all the time,’ ” says Bock, “but I may interpret that very differently than you.”

Bock suggests that managers detail how often workers should communicate and how. “Is it once a day? Twice a week? And what information needs to be communicated on a regular basis? Are we going to use e-mail daily or Skype once a week?”

These are all questions that should be answered between distributors and their mobile workers, she says. What’s more, Bock adds, managers and employees should agree upon acceptable response times – e-mail within one hour and a phone call within two, for example. “Otherwise people will fill in the blanks, and there’s going to be frustration and suspicion from the get-go. Where we go isn’t, ‘They’ve been working so hard they haven’t had time to get back to me,’ ” Bock says. “The story we tell ourselves is: ‘They’re on a boat on a lake and taking advantage of me.’ ”

In that sense, say Bock and other experts, communication is obviously a two-way street. It’s as important for managers to be accountable for communicating as it is for staff. “Ask your team, ‘What information would be most useful from me on a regular basis?’ ” Bock says. “And keep checking on that.”

To read the full article, click here.

Fierce Resources: Collaboration Killer: The Illusion of Inclusion

This week’s Fierce Resource was first published on the Fierce blog and was written by Fierce CEO & President, Halley Bock.

Collaboration Killer: The Illusion of Inclusion focuses on the need for leaders to not just go through the motions of collaborating for the sake of collaboration, and instead challenge yourself to only ask questions you really want the answers to.

“Too often, leaders play the role by going through the motions – they hold meetings to gather feedback or confer one on one – yet it is painfully aware that he or she wasn’t really looking for our input. Our opinions and perspectives didn’t matter at all. Instead, they were simply looking for agreement or had already made their decision and, predictably, engagement starts to tank. No matter how convincing you may think you are, people can spot the “illusion of inclusion” from a 1,000 yards away.”

To read the full blog click here.

Engaging (and Retaining) Young Teachers

Fierce contributes to the Learning Forward blog hosted by Education Week . Jaime Navarro wrote our newest piece which was published today, and we wanted to share a portion of the blog with you.

Keeping teachers in the profession is an issue that has no one right answer. Most new teachers will leave the profession within five years, with the number being higher in urban and poor school districts. Nobody argues that the constant turnover hurts our education system.

The development of any employee from raw talent and passion to an experienced professional is not a simple path. It takes time, money, and commitment.

The District of Columbia, is trying to tackle the issue by enacting an advanced merit-centered compensation method based on the IMPACT Plus evaluation system. While merit-based bonuses is one strategy to increase job satisfaction and reward hard work, if the goal truly is good teachers staying in the field, this method only tackles half of what makes humans tick.

In the Fierce Coaching model, we discuss the research of Princeton psychologist and Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kanehman, whose research on decision making found that as human beings we react emotionally first and rationally second.

While pay increases reach the rational parts of our brain, they do not reach the emotional side. If the emotional part of increasing job satisfaction is ignored, money will not be enough to keep most good teachers teaching.

To read Jaime’s full blog post on Education Week , click here .

Fierce Tip of the Week: Commit to Action

This week’s Fierce tip is inspired by Thomas Jefferson’s famous quote: “Never put off tomorrow, what can be done today.”

This week commit to taking action on items right now that you would normally put off to another time. Rid yourself of procrastinating habits and seize each opportunity to accomplish your tasks as they come up.

Do not be mistaken, this is difficult. It requires you to be disciplined and not let your mind justify why you can just put it off until tomorrow.  To help the process, write down your top 5 to-dos for the day and commit to accomplishing those before you leave the office or go to bed for the night.

Of course, this week’s tip doesn’t have to just apply to your to-do list. Is there a conversation you’ve been putting off? A relationship you’ve been ignoring?

If so, stop. Commit to changing that this week! Have the conversation and engage.

Avoid carrying around the excess baggage that comes from knowing you should do something that you haven’t.

Fierce Resources: Tired of Cryptic Messages?

This week’s Fierce Resource was first featured on the Fierce blog and was written by our Senior Vice President of Training and Program Development, Aimee Windmiller-Wood.

Tired of Cryptic Messages? focuses on looking at your current relationships with your boss and empowering yourself to move the relationship forward by having a conversation that addresses real issues rather than continuing to speak  in code.

“Are you tired of cryptic messages? Then stop sending them by passively acquiescing. It’s time to have a conversation with your boss about how they can better work with you and how they can better get what they need from you.”

To read the full blog, click here.

 

How to Invite Vulnerability Into Your Conversations

Vulnerability – it seems like a dirty word. It conjures up images of being weak or unable to accomplish the job at hand. And many people view it this way.

However, I see it differently. I believe being vulnerable is an opportunity to share your perspective, to show up authentically, and engage on a deeper level. We each have our own perspectives on a given topic. Some may be more emotionally charged than others. In any case, it is important to expose your reality – not just have your perspective shared. Others can learn from you.

People – and organizations for that matter – grow the most when there is discomfort and change. Sharing your unique perspective and being vulnerable moves it to a whole new level.

And so the obvious question is – how do you daringly share your perspective? I would challenge you to start considering these three items:

1) First and foremost, obey your instincts.

When you sense that there is an opportunity to add value or when your gut tells you something isn’t going to come together as planned, share your perspective. You have the opportunity to facilitate change.

2) Get curious.

Ask questions to understand the lay of the land. Don’t just stop after one question. As a practice, try to get to the heart of the issue by digging deeper. At Fierce, we like to ask “what else” three times to see if there is a deeper reality than what was initially surfaced.

3) Remember the motto: any conversation can.

It’s up to you to weigh the risk of a situation and decide if sharing your perspective will add or detract value from you or the organization.  I believe that more times than not, the risk is worth taking. Any conversation can be the tipping point.

How will you choose to expose your reality?

Fierce Tip of the Week: Be Open to Change by Having Conversations

Change is a visceral word. It can mean so many different things to each person. There are piles of books dedicated to helping handle the transitions that life throws your way.

However, when you boil down what we need to do when change occurs – it’s communicate better.

This week’s Fierce tip is to be open to change by engaging in conversations.

What can make change scary is the uncertainty that surrounds it. In order to make sure the transition is a smooth one, you need to bump up the quality of the conversations – not necessarily the amount of them.

When change happens, people tend to focus on the  logistical details that need to be sorted out. Too often, the emotions around the transition are pushed to the side. This doesn’t help anyone. Don’t discount what your needs are in the situation. Be proactive and tackle this tough challenge by speaking up.

This week, whether a minor change or a large shift occurs, look at it as an opportunity to deepen the relationships around you by having thoughtful and clear conversations. Be confident in the change and by knowing your communicating your needs thoroughly.