Susan Scott's Blog, page 31

Friday Resource: 5 Ways to Embrace Change at Work and in Life

This week’s Friday resource comes from Inc. and offers 5 ways to welcome change when it arises in the workplace and in our personal lives.

Avoiding the unavoidable is a fight we can’t win. Change is unavoidable—and continual. The antidote for the negative feelings we have when change arises is to embrace it.

What we are able to see when we give up the fight is that most changes are positive in the long run, and they have a purpose that can serve our personal growth and the growth of organizations. Changes often occur as a means of improvement and as the result of something “not working.”

Per Rhett Power, Head Coach and Inc. contributor, here are some ways to let go of resistance to change:

1. Change is Inevitable and Embracing Change Encourages Development

“Because we repel change, we sometimes go through life without ever living up to our full potential or allowing ourselves to express who we really are. Change is an inevitable part of life and no matter how happy we are with how things are currently, life will always change.”

2. Analyze Your Life and Find the Negative

“Sometimes we change because we are attempting to rid negative habits or people from our lives. The sooner you become aware that change is going to happen and become open to accepting it in your life sooner, the better off you will be. Be diligent in the way you analyze your life. What are the positives and more importantly, what are the negatives? Are there things that you recognize as non-beneficial but you feel stuck in those actions?”

3. Make Change While You Can, Before Change Makes You

“It is better to initiate changes ourselves using free will than to let our life progress down a negative path until change affects us in a dramatic way. When you are consciously aware of change, it is much easier. Explore the world and the endless possibilities available to you. Find new opportunities, be brave and face fear. The world isn’t as scary as you might think and there are lots of things out there that are potentially life enhancing but you have to explore them.”

4. Everyone Has Doubt, Fear and Uncertainty

“Everyone has fears and insecurities that stop us from doing this. This doubt and uncertainty is normal and you can never overcome it. All that you can do is learn to embrace it. There will never be a time where you are complete absent of these thoughts and emotions, you will just learn to act anyway, regardless of whether they are there.”

Read the last tip and the rest of the article here.

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Do You Love or Loathe Change? How Workplace Change Can Strengthen Your Organization

“You get the journey and you get the stress. At the end, you’re a different person. But both elements are part of the deal.” –Seth Godin

Change can be surprising, scary, and uncertain. It is also a catalyst for new ideas and opportunities to be seized. It opens doorways to step into, even when what’s on the other side isn’t clear. It summons courage and builds strength, character, and lessons we can harness. In our personal lives, the workplace, and the world at large, change is constant. There’s not one form of media where this isn’t on display any moment of the day. No matter where you go or what you do, change will find you.

If you’re a leader who wants to create a culture where change is viewed as a healthy element for growth, the first step is to embrace change yourself. Acknowledge it, hold an accountable position, and take the first step forward. The most effective way to create accountability for yourself and others is to ask the question, given what we have in front of us now, what’s the next best step I can take to move forward in a positive way that embraces this change? By doing this, you set the stage to model a healthy approach to change and begin reframing the opportunity that is in front of you.

Change can be uncomfortable, and as leaders, we are not immune to this discomfort. It can disrupt our routines and leave us feeling uncertain and vulnerable. However, there is always a reason behind the changes that are before us, whether they are planned or not. Change brings the opportunity for new ideas to emerge and for new voices to be heard. Innovation and progress are great outcomes and are worth the bumps of discomfort along the way. Even if you inherently know this is true, how do you acknowledge it in a way where mentally and physically you are ready to step in to what lies ahead and be ready to bring others along with you?

Despite the benefits, research shows that changes in the workplace can cause high amounts of prolonged stress for employees. Here are some alarming statistics from research by the American Psychological Association:

• Nearly 30% of all the workers surveyed said they believe management has a hidden agenda for instituting change, with 31% saying they believe employers have different motives and agendas for enacting change from what they say publicly.

• 28% believe organizations try to cover up the real reasons for changes.

However, research from Accenture Strategy reveals that change does not cause organizational dysfunction—it merely exposes it. Their 2015 studies show 85% of groups with change programs that had gone off track had major underlying issues before implementing their initiative.

When it comes to change in the workplace, trust and transparency are paramount. Yet even in organizations that feel their culture exudes these values, change can be rattling. Why? Because change is disruptive and can break a pattern of predictability that people have become used to expecting. The unknown often creates a sentiment of how does this affect me? Leadership will need to address these issues head-on, and it’s important to have the skills necessary to help employees navigate these organizational shifts in the best way possible.

For starters, there is a bottom line when it comes to change: it’s important for leadership to have transparent conversations with employees, both organization-wide and one-on-one in order to help their teams with what they are experiencing, whether that change is at an organizational or personal level. These conversations need to take place before, during, and after the realized changes.

Here are some strategies that will help leaders build employee trust, reframe change as an opportunity to be harnessed, and create smooth transitions:

• Reset by acknowledging and re-grounding. If you are dealing with an anticipated change or a “suddenly” that has just been presented, it’s important to give context to the communication to ensure everyone is on the same page. Remind everyone what got us here (good and bad), where we are, and where we need to go. Even if the path forward isn’t clear, describing the next steps and who is involved is a starting place for clarity, trust, and transparency.

• Be intentional in your word choices around change. The thought of change tends to default to a negative, unsettled state of mind. However, it doesn’t have to be this way. By no means do you want to be unrealistic with what’s in front of you. However, change brings opportunity and the ability for new leaders to emerge.

• Make the decision process transparent. Share relevant details across your organization about the opportunity at hand, who was involved in examining it, why this decision was made over alternatives, and how it was reached. Decisions don’t just happen without thought, consideration, and planning on some front, so realizing this and putting it into perspective for all involved is critical.

• Be purposeful with any information you choose to withhold. For example, if a decision is pending, it may not be the right time to share if stakes are high. Set the intention to make sure others aren’t left in the dark, and at the same time, make sure the information you currently have available to disclose is accurate before disclosing it.

• Involve the people who will be impacted by the changes. Although leadership will own the final decision, the best information is always “in the room.” It’s important to involve employees of all levels (especially those who will be directly affected by the decision) in conversations about potential changes in order to have inclusion and buy-in at the start. Leaders should invite collaboration and take multiple perspectives into consideration in order to make the best and most informed decisions.

• Have a plan and be timely about communicating it. What are the projected timelines? How will the change be “rolled out” or implemented? How will bases be covered? What are the expected results? Keep the doors open as well. Set aside time for conversations, encourage questions, invite new ideas and address any potential concerns. Remember, with change comes opportunity, and new leaders can emerge.

Skillful conversations are the solution to reframing change as an opportunity to be harnessed. It’s a catalyst for new ideas and a point to pivot in a direction that brings insight that may not have surfaced otherwise. By being intentional in implementing these key strategies during times of change, you will be setting yourself and your organization up for accountable solutions that can produce alignment and desirable outcomes.

By introducing Fierce Conversations into their workplace, BC Public Service Agency acquired the skills to manage change effectively. Check out the case study here.

The post Do You Love or Loathe Change? How Workplace Change Can Strengthen Your Organization appeared first on Fierce, Inc..

Fierce Tip of the Week: Embrace Change

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Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.— George Bernard Shaw

Change is hard. We all know. And we all have different tolerances for it, based on our experiences.

I am the daughter of a Naval Officer, and growing up I lived in 12 houses before I was 18 years old. My friends joke and say that I was a “change manager” before I ever went into the human capital space. The thing is – change was always hard – even when I had a lot of it. We are deeply wired to stay in our comfort zone. However, I know I grew a lot, because I was continually uncomfortable. I had to be okay with being vulnerable and open to learning new things and making new friends.

I remind myself of that.

Where can you embrace variation in your life? Is it at work? Is it at home? Is it with your routines? Or with people?

This week’s tip is to embrace change somewhere in your life.

We work hard at being comfortable with change at Fierce. One of our values is to innovate with intention. We explain it like this: Fierce has made a splash since the moment we took our name. Few organizations have presented such originality, creativity, and forward thinking. We aim to keep it that way.

 

The post Fierce Tip of the Week: Embrace Change appeared first on Fierce, Inc..

Friday Resource: 5 Ways to Improve Employee Development at Your Company

This week’s Friday resource comes from HuffPost and offers five ways to assist employees in their personal development.

Many companies, especially start-ups, are often focused on short term growth to assure the business can stay afloat. But if businesses are to stick around for the long-run, employee development should be approached with a long-term mentality that comes with both short and long-term ROI benefits.

Employees want to know their leaders have their best interests at heart. And for millennials, opportunity for development is a workplace necessity.

Per David Hassell, “Your people are your company.” Here are 5 ways to improve development amongst your employees:

1. Professional Training

“Let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way.

Depending on the role, formal employee training may be required to ensure competency and even excellence. Create a knowledge-base of critical information and best practices to pass on to new hires as you grow your team. This will be time-consuming at first, but will pay off in the long run.”

2. Coaching & Mentoring

“When company leaders are intentional about having the right conversations regularly take place, employees can self-reflect on their accomplishments and managers can support them in achieving their true potential.”

3. Cross-Departmental Training

“I like to think of my business as an ecosystem. In nature, all of the different species of plants and animals are interdependent. They ultimately create a harmonious balance in the system by constantly making corrections. For example, a shortage of vegetation during drought creates competition in prey species. This in-turn creates greater competition among predators and their numbers decline as well. A new balance is formed where the healthiest individuals of every species can thrive.”

4. Develop “Soft-skills”

“It’s unfortunate that these vital skills have been de-emphasized in corporate environments. Even the name ‘soft skills’ makes them seem relatively unnecessary. Dan Goleman’s framework of emotional intelligence at work is just as important as the intellectual know-how required to perform a specific task. Self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skill all play a vital role in effective leadership and execution at all levels of the organization.”

5. Personal Development

“Your employees don’t just exist in a professional capacity to serve your organization. They are whole human beings comprised of physical, intellectual and emotional experiences. For them to evolve both personally and professionally, employee development must be holistic…”

Read the full article here.

The post Friday Resource: 5 Ways to Improve Employee Development at Your Company appeared first on Fierce, Inc..

Why it Pays to Support Employees’ Personal Development

“Supporting another’s success won’t ever dampen yours.” –Unknown

Imagine one of your employees jamming out on a guitar, lifting weights at the gym, or reading a textbook.

You may not make an immediate connection between these behaviors and revenue, results, or workplace culture. But can these types of activities influence business for the better? You bet your britches they can.

Personal and professional development go hand-in-hand—whether it’s directly related to work or not, each impacts the other. Growth is growth, and all kinds of growth contribute to happiness. Research shows happy employees are more creative, energized and successful, and happiness increases productivity by 12%. When employees know you care about their growth, they respond. It builds trust, commitment, and a host of other benefits that impact the bottom line.

Let’s break it down. Here are some big benefits your organization stands to gain by supporting employee personal development:

Retention

The average length of time employees spend at an organization is about four years (this duration is lower for millennials), and turnover is expensive. Employees want to be part of an organization that facilitates their growth, and if it doesn’t, they’re likely to leave and take their talents elsewhere. A Better Buys survey of over 2,000 participants found retention rates are 34% higher for employees with development opportunities.


Engagement

When people feel their circumstances align with their values (such as growth), they are happier and more engaged. Pursuing interests and goals related to learning, regardless of what they are, is individually nurturing and often builds skills that are translatable to the workplace.


Culture

Personal development supports a growth mindset and growth-oriented culture, not to mention creativity and innovation. You are the culture, and it does not exist outside of you—as people develop and grow, your workplace culture will, too.

Here are some ways you can provide development opportunities:

1. Offer personal development funds. Personal development funds allow employees to spend an allotted amount of money on any type of activity they choose—this could include anything from a music class to a pottery class or even a gym membership. At Fierce, every employee is given an annual $500 personal development fund to use for any activity we feel will help us grow in the ways we want to. This incentive speaks volumes about Fierce culture, and is a walk-the-talk way of promoting growth.

2. Allow flex time. If an employee is taking on-campuses courses or pursuing an interest that falls inside normal work hours, consider offering flex time. Flex time requires employees to work a set number of hours but during days and times that function with their pursuits outside of work. Accountability is needed here—give trust and hold your employees “able.”

3. Offer tuition reimbursement. Tuition reimbursement is an exciting incentive for employees who are interested in ongoing formal education. Higher education, especially in the United States, can be an astronomical out of pocket expense. Tuition reimbursement offers incentive for employees to bring new knowledge and skills to the workplace when know they will be at least partially reimbursed for their investment of time and money.

4. Provide learning opportunities. Offer opportunities to educate employees on the latest advancements in training, technology, and industry. In addition to offering leadership development and training, stay up-to-date on unique opportunities such as local learning events and online courses. Offer to cover entry or sign-up fees if possible.

5. Offer participant-driven learning. Support autonomy and personal development by giving employees choices when it comes to what they’re learning and how they’re learning. Take different learning styles into consideration—provide options that allow employees to work at their own pace and in whatever manner will help them retain the information they learn.

6. Ask! Have a conversation with employees individually. Ask them how they are wanting to develop and what would help them feel more supported.

It’s important to let your employees know that you support their personal growth, and following through by offering real opportunities is the best way to walk-the-talk.

Occasionally we run into barriers whenever growth is the intention. Check out our blog on growth barriers for helpful tips.

The post Why it Pays to Support Employees’ Personal Development appeared first on Fierce, Inc..

Fierce Tip of the Week: Go Deeper

How many times a week do you have a conversation that just stays at the surface? With your colleagues? With your family? With your friends?

It happens often. Even when we are in conversation, we can breeze past each other altogether.

The thing is: We are craving depth each day. We are craving real. We want people to care. 

Joseph Pine said, “The experience of being understood, versus interpreted, is so compelling you can charge admission.”

This week’s tip is to seek to understand and go deeper in your conversations. 

Where do you tend to have the most superficial conversations? Focus there. Ask more questions.

Really listen. That’s where the understanding happens.

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Friday Resource: 4 Mistakes Leaders Keep Making

This week’s Friday Resource comes from HBR and features four common mistakes that leaders continue to make.

Over the last half century, approaches to leadership have shifted and grown dramatically. Regardless, some areas (even with the most progressive and advanced training programs in place) continue to be problematic in organizations.

The most seasoned of leaders are prone to fall into certain traps, and these traps are often outside their awareness. The more aware leaders become of these behaviors, the more they will be able to mitigate their impact.

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Per Robert H. Schaffer, HBR, here are the four main behavioral traps to be mindful of:

Behavior Trap 1: Failing to Set Proper Expectations

Everyone has seen senior managers announce major directional changes or new goals without spelling out credible plans for achieving them or specifying who’s accountable: for instance, “We are going to reduce the use of cash by 40% next year” or “We are going to cut train accidents significantly” or “We are going to shift focus from midmarket customers to the upper end during the next two years.” Such efforts go nowhere.

Behavior Trap 2: Excusing Subordinates from the Pursuit of Overall Goals

Every operating or staff manager is naturally preoccupied with the performance of her own unit. People with such singular focus tend to “delegate” responsibility for organization-wide performance upward to already overloaded senior managers, who often don’t push back.

Behavior Trap 3: Colluding with Staff Experts and Consultants

The work performed by internal staff experts and external consultants has multiplied by 20 to 40 times in the past five decades, and the scope of their activity has greatly expanded. But the vast majority of them still get senior management to go along with the same old flawed contract: They agree to deliver their “product” (such as a new system, organization structure, marketing plan, training program, or corporate strategy)—and even to implement it—but they don’t assume responsibility for outcomes. They imply that performance will improve but almost never include measurable gains as part of the deal.

Behavior Trap 4: Waiting While Associates Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

When senior managers challenge people to improve sales, accelerate turnaround, reduce costs, develop products faster, or make other needed improvements, the usual response is “Yes, but first we have to…” Finish the sentence: Train our people. Study the market. Replace a key player who retired. Launch the new system. Set up focus groups with some customers. Bring in Six Sigma. Make our culture more change oriented. And so forth.

Read the full article here.

 

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Lack of Clarity in the Workplace is Costing Your Organization

“Clarity affords focus.” –Thomas Leonard

If things are foggy or ambiguous on our way to success, any actions we take will require more time and resources, or may fail altogether. Especially if we’re not sure where we’re going.

Clarity matters. Each small clarity problem within an organization may seem insignificant at first, but gradually, they lead to big problems. Fortunately, miscommunication issues can be resolved before we arrive at a sudden “Oh, crap!”

Effective conversation is the way to clarity. There are no alternative fixes. When a conversation is effective, miscommunications are either resolved or prevented, and employees feel clear on their roles, goals, and action items. You’ll know a miscommunication has occurred if anyone is unclear. A miscommunication has also occurred if a conversation hasn’t taken place that in fact needs to take place.

Here’s what these common miscommunications are costing organizations:

1. Engagement

Survey findings in our recent Fierce + Quantum eBook on miscommunication reveal that quality conversations improve employee engagement. If you’ve experienced ambiguity or confusion in a conversation, you probably know how disengaging it can be. When you don’t know where you stand or where to take action, whether it be with a project or another person, you’re not likely to be effective in any capacity. This impact on engagement is expensive for companies, costing the total U.S. economy around $370 billion a year.

2. Relationships

Also tied to engagement, relationships take a hit when there’s a lack of clarity either individually or organization-wide. Employees won’t feel part of a team and won’t be able to build strong connections with each other when their directives or goals are unclear. Instead, they may feel isolated, or even worse, like they don’t belong. This is bad for workplace culture and can lead to unhappy employees.

3. Results

It’s a bit of a domino effect. When engagement and relationships are impacted, so are business results, including revenue. Your bottom line, individual goals, and team goals will all be derailed without clarity. Leadership may feel inclined to jump right into a conversation about results if results are suffering, and although these conversations are necessary, it’s important for leaders to take a step back and determine where miscommunication is occurring and engagement is lacking in order to shift outcomes.

As you can see, miscommunications are costing your organization in all areas of business.

You can begin addressing the problem by looking at areas where lack of clarity shows up. Here are the three areas that often cause strife in organizations:

• Goals and purpose

If you don’t know what you’re working towards, your daily actions will have little context. If employees and leadership have different goals, or if anyone is unclear of what their intended outcomes are, engagement suffers. Have conversations around expectations with everyone involved. Write a “stump speech,” as individuals and as a team, answering these questions:

Where are you going?

Why are you going there?

Who is going with you?

How are you going to get there?

• Roles and responsibilities 

A formal job description gives employees a general understanding of their role within an organization, but when it comes to day-to-day tasks, that clarity may disappear. This is where delegation conversations are essential. Delegating effectively can create clarity around, for example, whether an individual owns a certain task item or whether they merely need to weigh in on the task. Employees need to know where the responsibilities of their role begin and end, and if (and how) those responsibilities might overlap with their coworkers.

• Poor conversation   

Survey results from the eBook also reveal that only half of all conversations are great, according to respondents. That leaves half of all conversations open to miscommunication. Effective conversation is the solution for gaining clarity, and for conversations to be effective, they need to take place frequently and include clarifying questions. We have to be willing to communicate what we’re really thinking and feeling. Frequency is especially important when it comes to giving and requesting feedback. Taking a “when you see it, say it” approach is best—engagement improves when appreciation is out in the open and employees are clear on potential areas they can improve. Feedback conversations, in combination with asking clarifying questions whenever anything is unclear, are the two conversational skills that can significantly reduce miscommunication.

When you create clarity in these areas, you improve engagement, and in turn, you get results.

For more information on how miscommunication affects engagement, download the State of Miscommunication: 6 Insights on Effective Workplace Communication eBook here.

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3 Tips for Leaders to Avoid Insanity

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

-Albert Einstein

As a leader, have you ever tried to solve the same problem the same exact way over and over again?

In hindsight it might seem insane, however, in the moment the plan was set forth with great intentions and a level head. So where is the disconnect? How can we make sure that when we come back to the drawing board we don’t keep doing the same thing we did before?

Below are 3 proactive tips to help innovate with intention for your own sanity.

Tip #1: Mix It Up

In the Fierce Team model, we focus on seeking out different, competing perspectives from team members. This skill set can be incredibly useful when problem solving. In order to make sure, as a leader, you keep your wits about you, if your first attempt fails, invite a fresh set of eyes to the table to help create another solution. Want to get even more creative? Choose a perspective you feel would really push your comfort zone. The point of view might save you time and money.

Tip #2: Check for Understanding

Have you ever overheard a conversation and noticed how common it is for all of us to speak in generalities? The devil is in the details and those are often overlooked. If you want to make sure you don’t repeat your efforts and solve a problem the exact same way, check that you are hearing those around you correctly and that everyone is on the same page.

Tip #3: Let People Know Where They Stand

When delegating responsibilities on a project, don’t make assumptions that your team understands what responsibilities they own and have the authority to move on. There should be clarity about what decisions they need to check in with you about. Make it clear upfront. This allows your team the flexibility to innovate and think outside the box.

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Friday Resource: 360 Feedback Questions

Tips & Templates for Gathering 360 Degree Feedback

This week’s Friday resource comes from Quantum and discusses what employees want (and need) from feedback gathering processes.

Annual (and even bi-annual or quarterly) feedback is outdated. When it comes to feedback, one thing is clear: continuous employee feedback is the most effective approach.

In your organization, there are multiple methods you can use for gathering feedback. Unfortunately, some of these methods create more problems than they solve. Outdated processes can create hostility, lower morale, decrease engagement, and have a negative impact on workplace culture.

So what are some of these problematic methods, and what are the alternative ways to request feedback? Take a look at these easy fixes, per Kourtney George, Quantum:

The Problem: Once-A-Year Feedback

Lack of frequency gives managers an excuse to avoid giving feedback and addressing performance the rest of the year, whether good or bad.

The Fix: Frequent, Ongoing Feedback

Make feedback conversations between managers and employees frequent and ongoing. Discussing more timely and relevant topics ensures that issues are taken care of before they get out of hand.

The Problem: Manager & Self-Evaluations Only

Evaluating performance solely from the manager and employee’s point of view creates feedback inaccuracies.

The Fix: Evaluations With a 360-Approach

Include manager, self, peers, and any direct reports in 360 evaluations. This gives a holistic, unbiased picture of feedback, filling in gaps an employee or manager can’t provide.

The Problem: Ambiguous Feedback Meetings

In traditional review discussions, feedback felt top-secret, where managers held all the cards and employees didn’t know what to expect.

The Fix: Transparent Conversations

Set an agenda prior to a feedback discussion. Transparency lessens the stress for the employee and allows for a more productive conversation.

For more easy fixes and a list of 143 feedback questions to apply to your feedback process, download the resource here.

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