Susan Scott's Blog, page 28

3 Steps to Help You Confront Your Boss

Confronting someone is scary. It can be even scarier to confront your boss. Often the anxiety you feel is strong enough to make you want to bury your head in the sand, no matter what the issue.

It’s understandable to be afraid of confronting your boss. If the conversation goes awry, you may worry that it will put your job at stake. This is, of course, a worst-case scenario. From our experience here at Fierce, we can honestly tell you that this outcome is incredibly rare. More often than not, confrontation conversations lead to positive change.

The truth is, how receptive they are to the conversation plays into how successful they will be as a leader and the kind of culture they want to create for the company. There is a lot at stake for everyone—not just you.

Despite the intimidation you may feel, avoiding confronting your boss can turn an otherwise straightforward conversation into something bigger and more complex.

For example, in a team meeting, your boss makes a comment about your work that you think is off-base. Afterwards, you think: is this what my boss really thinks of me?

This is when you risk spiraling—where your mind conjures up realities that most likely aren’t true. And it never leads to a positive outcome.

The next day when he or she walks by you in the hall without smiling, you begin to wonder if you’re a hop, skip, and a jump away from being fired. You now want to avoid your boss at all costs in hopes that his or her feelings towards you will work themselves out.

Soon a low-grade resentment begins to breed toward this person, and every interaction you have with them only strengthens your context that they’re unhappy with you. And guess what? You may find yourself less and less happy with them, and less and less happy at work.

Having a confrontation conversation allows you the opportunity to see the whole truth, and not just your own. You may discover that what you thought you heard was a misinterpretation or an incorrect assumption. You could also learn something you didn’t know about your performance and gain more insight into how you can improve. From there, you can take the appropriate next steps and move forward on solid ground.

Does knowing this make it less scary? No.

Does it make it necessary so you can be happy and engaged at work? Yes.

Knowing how to prepare and navigate these conversations skillfully can make all the difference in the outcome.

To help take away some of the anxiety, here are three simple steps to prepare.

Step 1: Know Your Issue.

In a FIERCE CONFRONTATION, the first step in preparing to confront anyone is to name the issue for yourself. This is even more critical when confronting a leader. Be specific. If you take the above example, the real issue is the leader’s comment in the meeting. Simply saying, “I want to talk with you about the effect your comment at the team meeting today had on me” is a great way to start the conversation. Simple, straightforward, and to the point! If you’ve already begun to spiral, leave those thoughts out of the conversation. Just focus on what happened in reality.

Step 2: Schedule a Time.

Leaders are busy. It’s not uncommon that throughout the day they’re pulled in many different directions. Catching them off-guard could cause an emotion from another issue they’re dealing with to seep into your conversation. You deserve your leader’s full attention. To ensure the conversation is a success, make it a priority for both of you, and schedule a meeting so they can anticipate it and show up fully present.

Step 3: Prepare Yourself.

Confrontation conversations aren’t meant to be versations. The latin root word “con” means “with,” and this is not a one-sided speech. In other words, this is not an opportunity to go in and rail against your leader and expect them to just sit there and listen. Invite them to respond. The point is to learn more about their side, and to clarify whether there is a bigger issue. And if so, determine some next steps to resolve it. Expressing your desire to find a solution can also help reduce anxiety and get both of you on the same page.

To lessen the scare factor even further, begin to examine how you may have contributed to the situation. This is usually easier to do once you’ve heard their perspective. Ask yourself: how have I contributed to the issue? How do I feel about it? Take notes. This will help you stay clear when you begin to hear their side and can help show you where you need to shift in order to move forward on a positive note.

And if you’re a leader, prepare to be confronted.

How receptive you are to your employees and their concerns is the most imperative part of leading successfully, building emotional capital, and creating a positive workplace culture. Enter these conversations with curiosity and set an intention to prioritize the relationship.

Being confronted can present an opportunity to learn about how your own communication is perceived, giving you an opportunity to course correct and learn more about the needs of individuals on your team.

The reality is there is no trivial comment you can make as a leader. Ambiguous comments about work or performance can create tension in the relationship and are worthy of a confrontation conversation.

If you’re having an issue with someone in a position of leadership, use these three steps to help empower yourself to take responsibility for your own happiness at work.

Originally posted by Jaime Navarro on April 11, 2012 on the Fierce Blog; updated in October 2018.

Tags: #Hostile Work Environment, #Work Relationships, #Workplace Conflict

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The Best Ways to Improve Your Workplace Communication

If you’re in Leadership & Development or HR, I can only begin to imagine how many conversations you’ve had (or with individuals on your team) related to complaints about someone else’s behavior.

If that wasn’t bad enough, you then have the additional ache of realizing that those same employees — and potentially your culture as a whole — do not have the needed courage, skill, or even motivation to actually say what needs to be said and to solve the very problem they’re coming to you to fix!

Just so you know: you’re hardly alone!

This is one of the predominant issues we hear from our clients, from L&D/HR folks just like you! And though I could provide you an “answer,” in simply saying, “Hire, Fierce!” I do have a few other thoughts that will provide you some ideas, some respite from the stream of office visits, and most importantly, some results!

Let’s level the playing field to start. All of us,  no matter our years of experience, our area of expertise, our seniority  — or lack thereof  — know that actually talking about what’s going on, naming the problem(s), stepping into conversation IS what is required.

Were we to give a pop quiz and ask everyone, “What is the most important skill you can develop and utilize to strengthen relationships and get things done?” Communicate effectively would be the highest-percentage answer.

Knowing that we should have a difficult conversation is not the problem. Knowing how to have it is  — and then having the courage to actually do it!

Short of training your entire company in the how, here are a few *simple* tactics you can use the next time someone enters your office, your cubicle, or your training room hoping you can solve all their problems:

1. Audit your existing training.

Look at all the training that already exists within your organization, that you’ve already rolled out, that’s implemented and in place. What resources currently exist that people have been exposed to? Leadership development. Basic communication skills. Conflict resolution. Performance management.

Then, let your employees do some self-discovery instead of you being an endless-font of resources. Ask, “What existing training are you aware of that might speak to this issue?” And “What next steps could you take to utilize that training as it relates to this issue?”

We spend a lot — and invest so much — in giving the people in our organizations as many tools as possible to be effective and successful. Somehow, “out of sight, out of mind” reigns and unless we practice what we’ve learned, it slips from our memory and our motivation.

Maximize those investments and refer folks back to all the good work you’ve already done to equip and support them.

2. Connect the dots between communication and training.

Consider ways to intentionally integrate questions into any training you provide (technical, Quality Assurance, new-hire onboarding, anything!) that help learners make connections between the subject matter being taught and the need for communication/conversation related to such.

For example, “Based on what we’re learning today, where, how, and with whom can you engage in conversations that will strengthen adoption?” “If we do not have the ability or willingness to effectively communicate what we’re learning here today, what will the cost be to your team, the organization, and you?” And, “If you could have direct and effective conversations with others about today’s subject matter, what results might you experience? Your team? The organization?”

Though learning how to communicate effectively and having the kinds of conversations that actually get results is critical to a leader’s growth, an organization’s growth, anyone’s growth, we can maximize our focus on such in everything else we train instead of waiting for designated dollars or curriculum.

3. Remember your company’s value.

Pay attention to your well-articulated values, mission statement, and vision. For most organizations, embedded right in the midst of well-crafted words, is a mandate to communicate in proactive and mature ways, to treat others with respect, to choose curiosity, etc.

Again, how do you help them recognize and apply this for themselves? “Which of our corporate values do you feel is at risk given this issue?” “Which aspect of our vision are you struggling to uphold when it comes to this issue?” “What conversations could you have (and with whom) to open up a dialogue about best practices and specific next-steps toward fulfilling this value/vision?”

In all three of these examples, I hope you see (and pluck) some low-hanging fruit. Not surprisingly, my strongest recommendation (and hope on your behalf) is that you can buy the whole orchard, that you can bring in a company that understands your pain, that sees the kinds of issues you are dealing with on a daily basis (and over and over again), that can give your people not just a motivational pitch about “why” communication matters, but the specific, practical, and repeatable “how!”

Oh, the time you’d get back! Oh, the culture you’d shape! And oh, the results you’d drive! But when that isn’t in the cards for you just yet, try these three tips.

At Fierce, we end nearly every one of our workshops with this statement from our founder and CEO, Susan Scott: “While no single conversation is guaranteed to change the trajectory of a career, a company, a relationship, or a life, any single conversation can.”

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Tags: #Groupthink, #Miscommunication

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The 1 Tool You Need to Thrive While Social Distancing

I am on day 74 of working from home since COVID-19 landed here in Seattle – not that I am counting. I am an extrovert who always wants to be around people. That wish has been granted given that I am now working from home with my adult daughters (one home from college, the other waiting for her job to resume), and a three-month-old puppy.

It might be the understatement of the year, but we are in interesting times.

Sheltering in place looks different for everyone. You could be living alone, sharing a workspace with a partner or roommate, caring for little humans (and little pets), or nurturing aging family members.

Regardless, you have undoubtedly become familiar with hunkering down. Going to the store remains an event, and services we once took for granted are no longer an option. Social interactions continue to be limited and take commitment and effort if we want to be connected beyond those quarantined with us.

By now, you’ve probably caught up on all of the Netflix and Hulu and Amazon Prime series. And you probably fall on one side of the spectrum – either on track for gaining the COVID-19lbs (thanks to banana bread and sourdough starter) or exercising way more than normal.

Given the circumstances, we are all feeling forms of uncertainty, anxiety, boredom, and restlessness. And if you are like me, you often feel guilty that you are not using every minute at home in the best way possible. My emotions ebb and flow, to be sure. Can you relate?

Social distancing is a bit of a misnomer because, at its core, it is actually physical distancing; we just call it social. The goal of these stay-at-home orders is to reduce the number of people who come into close, physical contact with each other.

Fundamentally, this is counter to our core needs as humans. We are social creatures. We want to connect at a deep level. We want to have strong relationships with the people in our lives.

So our challenge in this time is to be physically apart (“social distance”) and not emotionally apart (“emotional distance”).

Luckily, all of us have access to a tool that helps dissolve emotional distance: CONVERSATIONS. Thankfully, we can navigate uncertainty and loneliness by reaching out and having the conversations we most need to have.

But are we using the tool as we should?

Instead of embracing our ability to connect, many are avoiding conversations with people in their lives and finding it is easier to pretend everything is fine as we can hide in our homes and choose to not answer specific pings or calls – maybe even right inside your own home!

Fierce Conversations for Social Distancing

As we at Fierce have witnessed this happening for more and more of us, we have also found our Fierce tools to be incredibly relevant and necessary – even and especially in our homes during this time. We realized that we could share tips and tricks on how we, employees and leaders at Fierce, are using Fierce Conversations to get through this time ourselves. Why not get real and share the good, the bad, and the ugly about our different living situations?

And so, our free mini-course, Fierce Conversations for Social Distancing, was born.

The mini-course consists of three parts. The first is by Susan Scott, our Founder and CEO, who is currently living alone with her three dogs. She talks about the most important conversation during these times – the one with yourself.

The second part is mine – not so much as SVP of Learning here at Fierce, but as a mom. I talk about how I’m trying to navigate my role as a parent in new ways. And Luis Gonzales, a Master Facilitator at Fierce, rounds us out as he shares his own unique challenges of working from home with elderly family members who need care, even hard conversations he’s having to have about medical treatment and intervention.

Through these short videos, we equip you with simple, specific, and practical takeaways that can immediately be applied in your life. to help you become more clear, engaged, and connected with those in your life. That’s what we want for you. Especially now.

No more (or at least a little less) self-doubt, tension in the household, misunderstanding, and avoided conversations. More (lots more) self-love, appreciation, and connection.

Social distancing together is not easy, but you are not alone. Join us on this journey to #shortenthedistance by having the conversations that are most important in your life — and start right now by taking our #fiercechallenge!

Share how you’re working on shortening the distance with your loved ones on your social media channels. And don’t forget to use the hashtags #fiercechallenge and #shortenthedistance, so we can share your message and continue bettering the world one conversation at a time.

Enroll in Fierce Conversations for Social Distancing Today!

 







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5 Ways to Stop Conflicts from Ruining Work-Life Balance When Working From Home

As we rely more and more on digital means of communication — like email, instant messaging, and facetime — the concept of a “work-life balance” becomes a bit more blurred. With the addition of digital devices like smartphones in our lives, it gets harder to leave work at work and not let it enter our personal life.

While a predictable nine-to-five work schedule used to be more of the status quo, a new generation of professionals is finding that they can be engaged in their work in a more flexible way.

Besides the generational component, employee approach to engagement and a work-life balance is influenced by whether they prefer clear boundaries between work and life, or whether they are more partial to moving easily between these two traditionally isolated aspects of life.

In her article for Quartz at Work, contributor Leah Fessler categorizes these two types of working personalities as integrators and segmentors. Integrators prefer to blend work and life while segmentors feel that mixing the two domains is inappropriate or distracting.

There is no guarantee that one working style is going to be more engaged and productive than the other, Fessler says.

Instead, what’s more important is for managers to “honestly discuss where each person falls on the integrator-segmentor spectrum so as to most effectively capitalize on individual strengths and avoid unnecessary tension.”

By engaging integrators and segmentors in open, honest conversations–where they interrogate their realities and understand how to strengthen their communications–business leaders can facilitate the conversations that get results and enrich relationships at the same time.

The Potential Impact: Conflict

Due to the different ways that each style approaches a “workday,” there is a potential that conflict may build up and that the dynamics of teamwork may be affected. This can result in attitudinal, behavioral, or performance issues that have a larger impact on the culture of a company as a whole.

Picture an integrator sending emails to a segmentor in the evening about a project they are working on, leaving the segmentor feeling like their privacy or need for a disconnect from the distractions of work is being threatened.

The integrator may feel like they are making use of some free time in the evening while the segmentor comes away with the impression that their need for separate home life is not valued.

And — on a bigger scale — team members who clash with each other can lead to disengagement, a negative workplace culture, and result in top talent leaving. And when skilled employees leave, the cost is significant. You can learn more about this top leading business problem in our eBook.

“It’s not that segmentors feel it’s their place to force other people to similarly segment work and life,” Fessler said, “it’s that they find integrator’s willingness to meshwork and life surprising and often bothersome.”

The challenge is not only to gain the skills necessary to communicate well with an integrator or segmentor, it’s also important to “think more critically about establishing some of the semblances of boundaries that come so naturally to segmentors,” Fessler said.

Another challenge facing both managers and colleagues working with someone who has a different working style than they do is to prioritize having open authentic conversations. How is your relationship being enriched by having the perspectives of a different working style? What are each of your realities and approaches to your workflow?

Here are some first steps to ensure that the right conversations are happening between segmentors and integrators and to create a workplace culture that is inclusive of both working styles:

Step 1: Confront the issue, not the individual

Start by confronting the issue (the miscommunication) and what the root cause of this is (misunderstanding). Name the results of this current state of miscommunication. Remain fully present until you reach a resolution that works for both of you and that takes into consideration each of your values and working styles.

Step 2: Create a shared language (no mokitas!)

Once you’ve talked through each of your realities, create a shared language that is empathetic towards each others working styles.

One of the conversations that we talk about in our Foundations program is the presence of mokitas in the workplace. These are the things that everyone knows about but no one speaks of. And they kill morale, weaken employee engagement, and can be the wedge between integrators and segmentors that neither wants to address.

One of the elements of a Fierce conversation is to address the mokitas. Express what you feel– how does your colleague’s approach to a work-life balance affect your ability to work together and communicate well? Do you resent that they call you in the evening when you’re trying to relax with family or friends? Are they frustrated that you won’t pick up their call or answer your text as soon as they send it?

Talk about these mokitas. They aren’t going anywhere and neither will your conversation (or relationship) if you don’t have a conversation about them.

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Step 3: Acknowledge your roadblocks

Discover your roadblocks together. What are the pre-existing communication styles that have characterized your working relationship so far but haven’t helped you achieve the goals you want or haven’t enriched your relationship? Identify these roadblocks. Be honest. Recognize your DNA on the situation and what the impact of it has been.

Step 4: Operate from a growth mindset

Operating from a growth mindset will allow you to be open to what your colleague is feeling and how they approach a work-life balance. Be open to having your assumptions challenged.

Instead of thinking that your way is the only right way and that your direct report or colleague needs to adjust their schedule to accommodate yours, take a moment to recognize their reality and what is motivating their behavior. This is a chance to develop not only your awareness of what motivates behavior but will also grow your relationship.

Think about how you can turn this conflict into an opportunity to learn and see how it will impact your results when you’re working as a team rather than as colleagues thrust together into the same room or the same project.

Step 5: Create an inclusive workplace culture

In some cases, you may be dealing with segmentors and integrators who represent different generations and different interpretations of a work-life balance. Facilitating conversations that are interactive is essential to creating an inclusive workplace culture where age-related silos don’t have a seat at the table.

One of the foundations of this kind of inclusive work culture is to uncover shared values that transcend working style, age, or approach to a work-life balance. Narrowing down the shared purpose of your work can help everyone work towards a shared goal. You can read more about the importance of tapping into purpose in your organization here.

The end goal: Enrich the relationship

Both your integrators and segmentors can be equally engaged, and by sharing the same purpose, their relationship can be augmented. And this process of enriching the relationship occurs through honest, respectful discussion.

By operating from a growth mindset and coming out from behind themselves into the conversation, integrators and segmentors can boost their workflow, stay open to different perspectives, and sustain a culture of inclusion.

Get Started Today and Have a conversation with yourself

At the end of the day, every conversation you have is with yourself, and sometimes it involves other people. Being open with yourself about what your idea of a work-life balance looks like and how that can best help you achieve your desired results is important, but it’s equally valuable to determine how you can realize the “balance” in work-life balance. Being engaged in both your work and personal lives may likely mean learning to incorporate some of the boundaries that segmentors are familiar with into your lifestyle or challenging yourself to embrace some of the flexibility of an integrator into your work schedule.

What is most important is not that one work-life balance is prioritized over the other, it is that integrators and segmentors learn how they can best work and communicate together. And that happens through fierce, authentic conversations.

Are you experiencing conflict or a lack of open, honest conversations between the integrators and segmentors in your company? You too can create a shared language that helps facilitate the conversations that need to happen. Find out how by checking out our Fierce Now Digital Suite trainings.

CONVERSATION CHAOS IN THE DIGITAL AGE

Why Feedback is the Key to Successful Remote Working

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CONVERSATION CHAOS IN THE DIGITAL AGE
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Conversation Chaos in the Digital Age

Why Feedback is the Key to Successful Remote Working

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Tags: #Disengagement, #Generation Gap, #Workplace Conflict

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How to Overcome Conversation Chaos in the Digital Age

Having open, honest dialogue has always been critical for businesses. Now, more than ever, we are in unprecedented times because of the COVID-19 pandemic. With stay at home orders, the economy struggling, and many business leaders making very hard decisions, having honest discussions is more important than ever.

On top of that, in the last couple of weeks, many companies have moved to remote working, which brings a whole host of other challenges.

Virtual teams lack the benefits of body language and other cues, which makes it more difficult for people to decipher the meaning and sincerity of each other’s words and actions. They don’t have the water cooler conversations and other casual office discussions that help build rapport, trust and relationships.

Remote working also causes employees to rely much more heavily on email, texting, and instant messaging to communicate, which are easier to misinterpret than in-person or video calls.

For remote workers, the lack of face time or in-person time with their co-workers presents fewer opportunities to raise concerns and issues with one another. It becomes easier to let conflict build. It also becomes easier to triangulate — complain about a problem to others instead of going directly to the person with whom you have the issue.

Without direct input from the other person, we tend to make up stories about what motivated their behavior and act as if our stories are a sacred truth.

At Fierce, we call all of these various situations Conversation Chaos — that endless cycle of ineffective conversations that depress morale, feed uncertainty, and sap productivity. And it turns out that this chaos gets amplified in a remote-work world.

Our Founder & CEO, Susan Scott, and I just launched an orange paper titled: Conversation Chaos in the Digital Age: Why Feedback is the Key to Successful Remote Working. In this paper, we talk about why curiosity — ultimately in the form of feedback — helps create a healthy culture, and how a Fierce client used virtual training to create a healthy dialogue for their teams. We also share some tips you can immediately use.

Download the paper here and put a stop to your conversation chaos today.






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Why Feedback is the Key to Successful Remote Working

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This is Why Training is More Necessary Than Ever Right Now

“When you are in the middle of a story, it isn’t a story at all, but only a confusion; a dark roaring, a blindness, a wreckage of shattered glass and splintered wood; like a house in a whirlwind… ” – Margaret Atwood

Life feels a little like this right now, yes? Confusion. Shattered glass and splintered wood. A whirlwind, to be sure. What do we most need at such times? Well, many things, to be sure; but chief among them is the training department, training leaders, trainers themselves.

Yes, I’m biased, given that I work for a training company. Still, my 2+ year chronology with Fierce, not to mention decades of previous experience, has proven this again and again.

I’ve heard our clients name the costs of training that have been less-than-viable or nonexistent. I’ve had the honor of training our content myself (and witnessing its subsequent results). And I’ve talked with countless individuals in training departments who know and long for the difference that strong, relevant training makes…now, more than ever before.

And as a training leader, because this is what’s most needed, I feel the responsibility to make sure that this is what’s being provided.

Why Training Matters Now More Than Ever

Today, as so many businesses are scrambling to make sense of COVID-19 and its impact on their bottom line, the skill, competency, and confidence of employees matter more than ever before.

The capacity to have conversations and communicate effectively matters more than ever before. And correct me if I’m wrong, but that is exactly what trainers, training departments, and training leaders are all about!

Multiple times over the past few weeks I’ve heard Fierce’s president, name that any and every issue that existed within companies before the coronavirus hit – dysfunction, silos, lack of collaboration and accountability, relationship issues, avoided conversations – is now exacerbated exponentially.

When we are under stress, managing rapid change, and spinning more plates than we know what to do with, those pesky problems we may have been willing to let sit on the back burner are now taking center stage. And generating heat!

Training is of critical value right now. You are!

This is an opportune (NOT opportunistic) time for training professionals to step up and lead. Your front-line understanding of where and how employees are struggling is information and context that senior leadership urgently needs to be made aware of.

Your pulse on what is happening (and not happening) right now could be what makes the difference between success, barely holding on, or far less-than in the weeks and months to come. I do not say any of this to be depressing, but rather, to encourage!

Now, more than ever before, your perspective, opinion, and expertise as a training professional matters. Your proven ability to read between the lines, understand organizational gaps and fill them with viable, relevant, and meaningful learning has measurable strategic impact.

How to Understand the ROI of Training

Let’s look at your ROI, specifically.

A recent post on The HR Exchange Network said that according to LinkedIn, nearly a quarter of Millennials and Generation Z workers name learning as the top item that contributes to their work happiness and more than a quarter of them would leave their job if they did not see a chance to learn and develop (and all this before COVID-19 and working remotely)!

The article went on to list seven more pieces of data that “prove” the ROI of training. All are worth reading, but these three seem particularly relevant, especially today:

24 percent higher profit margins can be the result of companies who invest in training according to the Huffington Post. Though countless companies are struggling with how to avoid layoffs, retention is just as critical. Who can afford to lose good people ever, especially now? Valuable, relevant training mitigates this risk.
Gallup says only 13 percent of employees worldwide are engaged. How much more true might this be now that work-remote is a new mandate for so many? And for those who remain on the front lines in “essential personnel” categories, they deserve any and every from of support available.
Rapt Media says more than $500 billion is lost every year due to employee disengagement. Disengagement is a cost that none of us can absorb in today’s business climate. And when the need for retention and engagement are more critical than even weeks ago, it’s the training department and the amazing professionals within such, who offer the expertise to address these issues and create an environment that not only survives but thrives.

How to Prove the Value of Training

So, what are some ways in which you, as a training professional, can maximize your voice, “presence,” and yes, your value, during this time? A few thoughts:

1. Trust yourself!

At Fierce, one of our guiding principles is Obey your Instincts©. Listen to your gut, your heart, your brilliant mind. Then seek an audience with those who need to hear what you have to say (whether they know it, or not).

2. Lean into what you’ve already trained.

What have you implemented successfully up to this point? Which aspect of your employee onboarding or high-potential leadership program would be most applicable for your people right now? Re-package and re-purpose that content. Send out encouraging emails. Remind people of what they already know, but might just forget in the stress of current days.

3. Take a risk by investing even more.

Though it feels tenuous to consider spending dollars on more training right now, it’s exactly the time to do it, IF you choose content that will speak to exactly where and how your people are struggling. Make the business case. Anticipate what it will “cost” if you don’t invest. Then go back to my first thought above and have the conversation(s) needed.

Despite the understandable inclination to play it safe during such times, this is NOT that time. This is the time to step up, speak up, and innovate in ways that are brave and strong and consistent with who you always have been. I’m sure of it!

Let me finish up where we started – with words from author Margaret Atwood, by way of Dr. Brene Brown in Daring Greatly (which, if it weren’t for the fact that this is her book, would be the title of this blog post):

“When you are in the middle of a story, it isn’t a story at all, but only a confusion; a dark roaring, a blindness, a wreckage of shattered glass and splintered wood; like a house in a whirlwind, or else a boat crushed by the icebergs or swept over the rapids, and all aboard are powerless to stop it. It’s only afterward that it becomes anything like a story at all. When you are telling it, to yourself or to someone else.”

Be the calm in this storm — a quiet center in the midst of the “dark roaring.” Stand strong in your value, expertise, and smart+heart as a training professional – and all of this on behalf of your employees’ ongoing learning and support. Where and how can you step forward and lead – always and especially now? How can you lean into both your competency and your confidence to provide what is most needed right now? What IS the story you will yet tell?






CONVERSATION CHAOS IN THE DIGITAL AGE

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7 Tips for Managing Unwanted Change in the Workplace

I previously worked for an organization that was expanding rapidly. As a result of this expansion, many large-scale changes were taking place, including team restructuring, leadership layoffs, and new initiatives.

Many of us had no idea a change was coming until it was already being implemented, so we didn’t always understand why the changes were being made. Many of the decision-making conversations were happening among leadership behind closed doors, and the general emotional undercurrent among everyone else was one of uncertainty and stress.

Change, when not managed effectively, can create a ripple effect of distress throughout an entire organization. The American Psychological Association 2017 Work and Well-Being Survey confirms it: “Workers experiencing recent or current change were more than twice as likely to report chronic work stress compared with employees who reported no recent, current or anticipated change (55 percent versus 22 percent).”

Potentially distressing transitions may include big budget cuts, sudden layoffs, company relocation, or the introduction of different programs or processes that come with undesirable drawbacks. Depending on the circumstances, they can weigh heavily on employee morale and even affect an organization’s reputation.

The reality is that most changes will lead to positive outcomes. Change is part of life, and eventually, we find ourselves being led to where we need to be, even if it’s uncomfortable at first. When an organization is heading in the direction of growth, it’s impossible for things to remain the same. Just as a flower has to break out of its bud in order to expand, a business needs to adjust itself accordingly to accommodate its own expansion.

On occasion, however, an organization may begin heading in a direction that compromises its values or mission. While the hope is that leadership will make decisions that are in the best interest of the organization and its employees, people are imperfect and outcomes can be difficult to foresee.

We’re all vulnerable to what author Daniel Goleman calls the “amygdala hijack” — when fear takes over, it can affect our ability to make optimal decisions. It’s challenging in the moment to know whether our choices are the best ones, and sometimes we don’t understand the impact of our decisions until we view them in retrospect. By then, it’s often too late to turn back. This is one reason why seeking perspectives and requesting feedback is so important to proper change management practices. Often times, others see what we may not see.

External factors such as social progress or shifts in industry impact our organizations in ways we can’t control. But in some areas, we do have control, leaving us with the responsibility of promoting “positive” changes that align with organizational values.

If you or those around you feel an impending change is not a positive one for the organization or its employees, here are 7 tips that can help you effectively navigate the conflict of interest and avoid a change management nightmare:

1. Speak up! Have the conversation.

Bring your concerns to your fellow leaders, even if you fear your perspective may differ strongly from the rest of the group. This is a TIME FOR COURAGE AND A TIME TO BE FIERCE. You may be seeing something that others aren’t. A conversation may not change the trajectory of whatever lies ahead, but any conversation can.

2. Provide an alternative.

Complaining is easy, and it’s not the best way to get others to listen. If you believe you have a valid reason to complain, present an alternative idea instead of the complaint. If something isn’t working related to a recent or expected change, providing an alternative may be the best way to steer the current course of things in a new and better direction. If someone else raises a concern or has a complaint, ask them if they have an idea for an alternative solution.

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3. Numbers Don’t Lie.

A benchmark can provide a solid backing for your perspective by illustrating what works and what doesn’t. For example, if a new program is introduced that you believe is less effective than a previous one, compare results from the two different programs, prepare your data, and plan a follow-up conversation. If the numbers show greater results in favor of what you’re supporting, it could potentially shift an outcome in a positive direction.

4. Be Transparent.

Transparency builds trust, and your team needs to be kept in the loop. Share with them what you’re at liberty to share, and ask directly if they have questions, thoughts, or concerns. Big changes can often stir up anxiety when important conversations are happening behind closed doors, so make an effort to bring these topics of conversation out into the open.

5. Encourage others to have the conversation.

The effects of change can be felt across an entire organization, and what everyone is really thinking and feeling sometimes surfaces during happy hours or water cooler conversations. If colleagues are expressing their concerns to each other but not directly to leadership, leaders won’t be able to fully support their teams. Encourage your team members to share their concerns directly with you or with leadership in general, and likewise, encourage your fellow leaders to involve everyone in a decision that will, in fact, impact everyone.

6. Check your context.

Our personal experiences throughout our lives shape our context and create a subjective lens through which we see the world. Context can become an issue when the way we’re choosing to see things isn’t producing the results we want. While it’s important to relay your concerns and stand up for your organization and your colleagues, consider the underlying intentions of the proposed change, and keep in mind that sometimes initially uncomfortable changes can bring desirable outcomes later. Change begets change, so project forward — what positives could occur in the future as a result of this supposedly “unwanted” change?

7. Trust yourself.

If you’ve checked your context and explored any assumptions you might be making, it’s important to trust yourself at the end of the day. To trust yourself means to trust how you truly feel once you’ve eliminated bias and examined your fears. If a big decision is made that lacks integrity or goes against what you value most, you’ll have to decide whether you want to continue being a part of the organization. Have a conversation with yourself about whether you should stay or go. Only you know the answer.

Managing changes — and making decisions that are in the best interest of everyone involved — requires leaders and their teams to have honest, open conversations that get to the heart of the matter.

The cost of missing conversations during times of change directly impacts the bottom line. Download our whitepaper to learn more: The ROI of Skillful Conversation

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WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER: A MESSAGE ON COVID-19

Dear clients, friends, and family of Fierce,

Given the current situation with the coronavirus, we wanted to write to you, our loyal Fierce community, to offer clarity and most importantly, reassurance during this uncertain time. Because we are a Seattle-based company, we understand the concerns and fear that many have been feeling since this situation began.

Please be assured that, as a global company, we are closely monitoring the continuous developments related to the virus, including reports and travel advisories from the World Health Organization, the CDC, and other global public health authorities. Fierce’s top priority is the health and wellbeing of you, our employees, and our communities. We remain committed to being your partner every step of the way as we navigate this situation together.

We want you to know that you have the ability to try our virtual training options. We are able to host VIRTUAL INSTRUCTOR-LED WORKSHOPS or you can become certified to virtually train Fierce at your organization. We are currently working on some items behind the scene, so stay tuned for updates!

Rest assured that our virtual training options are optimized to provide your employees with the same high-touch, interactive and engaging experience as our in-person workshops. In uncertain times like these, knowing how to have skillful conversations could not be more critical.

If you have questions or concerns throughout this evolving situation, please reach out to your Fierce representative, or contact us at INFO@FIERCEINC.COM.

We remain optimistic about the future and believe we will get through this together, one conversation at a time.

How We’re Getting Through This Together

Our Seattle office is closed.
All Fierce employees have been working remotely since March 5 and will continue to do so until at least March 26th as we actively monitor the evolving situation.
We have been taking advantage of the same technologies we use in our office to stay connected: Zoom, Adobe Connect, email, Microsoft Teams, etc.
We are encouraging quick Zoom calls (with video) so keep-up engagement with one another. We want to keep having the conversations that matter and reduce working in isolation.
We quickly scheduled a company-wide Zoom meeting where our CEO and founder expressed her appreciation, our president talked about next-steps and strategy, and each of our senior leaders discussed where things stand with their teams.
Our Culture Committee (an amazing group of individuals who, in addition to their day-to-day roles are committed to strengthening our collective culture) has scheduled a number of creative 30-minute get-togethers that are happening yet this week and beyond. They are focused on how we continue to have fun together, see each other, and have the kind of informal, in-the-moment conversations that make all the difference.
Most importantly, we are providing ongoing opportunities for team members to talk with leaders about what they need to be successful and how to best serve our clients in this space and time.

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Fierce Tip of the Week: Say What You Really Think

Alethophobia is an intense, abnormal or illogical fear of the truth.

In Fierce Leadership, Susan Scott asks, “How many times have you told someone – your boss, a colleague, a customer, your spouse – what you thought he or she wanted to hear, rather than what you were really thinking? Painted a false, rosy version of reality, glossing over problems or pretending they simply didn’t exist?”

This happens often. The thing is…we have legitimate reasons for why we don’t want to fully disclose. Perhaps it has destroyed a relationship in your past, and you don’t want to do that again. Perhaps you have seen someone lose their job over disclosing more, and you happen to like your job. Maybe you truly don’t believe it is your place to say what you notice or feel (this is a popular one).

The kicker is that not sharing the whole truth is more costly in the end. If you are out of integrity with yourself or others, research shows that it damages your health and wellbeing. Organizations and families, not sharing the truth can lead to loss of time, money, and/or complete failure to thrive.

Fierce leaders want to know the truth…and in turn, also have to share the truth.

This week’s tip is to share what you really think and feel. It takes courage and guts. Don’t make excuses.

What areas in your life are you strongest and weakest at fully being real?

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Friday Resource: Millennials – A New Generation is Reshaping the Workplace

This week’s Fierce resource was originally published by INC and examines how Millennials are reshaping today’s workforce.

Over a third of today’s workforce in the United States is currently comprised of Millennial workers, and this number is constantly growing. In the last few years, Millennials have surpassed Generation X to become the dominant generation in the workplace and it is becoming increasingly important for companies to understand what Millennials want in order to attract and retain top talent.

Per Sylvia Ann Hewlett, research from the Center for Talent Innovation identifies three areas of focus that are important to this generation that progressive companies are taking note of.

1. A Diverse and Inclusive Workplace – As the most diverse generation in the workforce to date, with 44.2 percent identifying as non-Hispanic white in the latest census, an inclusive and diverse workplace is incredibly important. Millennials desire a work environment that mirrors their beliefs and values and provides the chance to work with people of different gender, culture, ethnicity, and sexual orientations.

2. Flexible Work Arrangements – With most Millennials in dual-career families or relationships, flexible work arrangements become a very desirable perk to ensure work-life balance. Per a Ernst & Young 2015 study, Millennials would like to have a flexible work schedule and still be able to grow within the company.

Read the third area of focus and the rest of the article here.

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