Susan Scott's Blog, page 37

Friday Resource: 5 Steps to Finding Your Focus

This week’s Fierce resource was originally published by Fast Company and details five steps to help find your focus in a chaotic work environment.

Today’s workforce is becoming more decentralized as teams commonly work together remotely, across different cities, states, and countries. Much of the time, technology, the very thing that connects these remote teams and coworkers, can also be the excuse for becoming increasingly distracted at work.

Although the buzzing of a phone, chime of a computer, or that chatty coworker on your company messenger can seem like the perfect excuse to delay that project you are working on, these distractions are now commonplace and can no longer be validated. Things will not get easier as technology continues to advance, and the ability to focus and continue to produce great work amidst the clutter will be vital for employees everywhere.

Jones Loflin, coauthor of Getting to It, offers five steps to help find your focus.

1. Step Back. It is easy to become so consumed by granular tasks and our day-to-day checklists that we don’t pause long enough to find “moments of sacred idleness.” Being able to take a few moments, step away, and look at the bigger picture is becoming a lost art. Even a ten or fifteen-minute walk can create clarity around something important.

2. Define “It.” Determine the most important work by using deadlines, values, available time, and resources to arrange your day and accomplish what you can. “We may be working in a world of unlimited possibilities but we’re also in a world of limited time.” Defining what is truly possible to accomplish will allow for increased focus and mental capacity.

3. Use Your Resources. Distractions will always be part of life. Setting aside some dedicated time each day to focus and take care of common distractions will allow you to focus on bigger projects. Dedicating an hour each morning to email and turning it off for the remainder of the day will clear your mind to focus on the task at hand.

Read the other two tips and the entire article here.

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5 Tips for Finding Fierce Focus in Your Life

“When the WHY is clear, the HOW is easy.” –Unknown

Read the news and you’re probably aware of what could be referred to as chaos in our fast-paced, increasingly complex world. And all that news doesn’t even touch on the happenings in our personal lives, such as little Jimmy’s sore throat, your check engine light turning on during your morning commute, or Uncle Jeff’s open-heart surgery that’s scheduled this week.

To focus is to put all our attention on the task at hand, and it isn’t always easy. And when focus is absent, it can jeopardize intended results within our organizations, seep into our time management efforts, and pull our attention away during important conversations. We’ve all had moments or even lengthy amounts of time when trying to focus felt like trying to move a massive boulder uphill. You may not be a body builder, but fortunately, you do have the power to carry yourself out of a focus slump.

So, what are the barriers to focus?

Many factors may be contributing. We’re overthinking. We’re worrying. We have a lot going on in various areas of our lives. Our responsibilities and concerns are pulling us in different directions.

We’ve all heard the basics: eat right and get enough sleep. That goes without saying. But there’s a lot more to it! Here are some equally important tips that don’t receive as much press.

1. Pay attention to what your mind is doing.

When you’re not focused on the task at hand, where does your mind go? Does it veer from the present moment? Are your thoughts full of worry about the future? Are they wrapped up in the past? Are you caught up in daydreams? Are you so attached to preferred outcomes (or fearful of unwanted outcomes) that you’re adding unnecessary stress to your day? Our minds want to convince us that we need to entertain extraneous thoughts, but we can choose to override the information that isn’t useful.

Setting yourself a reminder to come back to the present moment can be helpful when you notice your mind wandering. I really like The Now app for this purpose—you can set the time and frequency that positive quotes with soothing images will appear on your phone, calling your attention back to the now.

2. Create white space.

Creating white space is about more than taking an occasional break. For those of us in creative roles, much of our work requires us to be in our minds where we spend a lot of time pondering and imagining. And we need this creative breathing room to exist, separate from the actual execution of projects. In fact, this is so important that Juliet Funt (who will be one of our speakers at the 2017 Fierce Summit, woo!) created WhiteSpace at Work, Inc. Her firm provides solutions for organizations wanting to avoid burnout and maximize the amount of unscheduled time employees have to simply think and strategize. To quote Funt, “When a company adds WhiteSpace to its culture, every single employee benefits. You can almost hear an audible sigh of relief as a path is cleared back to strategic thinking and focus.”

3. Get outside.

Whether it’s taking a hike in the woods or going for a brisk walk around your office building, when you notice your attention wandering, get outdoors to significantly impact your concentration and general well-being. According to Business Insider, research shows that getting outdoors improves concentration and short-term memory, among a slew of other cognitive and physical benefits.

4. Create (or remind yourself of) meaning.

Have a conversation with yourself. What does the work you do and its outcome mean to you? How does your focus on a particular task, no matter how small, contribute to the end results? Perhaps you’re making a difference in your clients lives and in the lives of your colleagues. Perhaps you really value what your company stands for. If you’re not engaged or on board with the mission of your work, focus will suffer. On the contrary, when your intentions are aligned with what you’re doing, focus will return. Decide what’s important to you, and let it be the tool you use to regain focus.

5. Tend to your needs.

This refers setting time aside for anything you might need. When pressing issues or needs haven’t been addressed, focus will seem nearly impossible. If you need to make a phone call to check on little Jimmy, do it. If you need time for your mind to wander, dedicate time for mind wandering. If you need to restore, set aside time to lounge on your patio or go for a massage. If you need time to exercise, carve out the time.

If there’s anything that is neglected in your life, it can show up when you’re attempting to focus. As a personal example, I have an unusual leg issue where I experience tingling and discomfort when I’ve been sedentary for too long. When I’m sitting at my desk and it’s been more than a few days since I’ve exercised, I end up in physical pain, and my focus suffers. Bottom line, listen to your mind, body, and emotions…and respond with action to address what they’re communicating to you.

Do you have an effective strategy or method you use for regaining focus? Share with us.

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Fierce Tip of the Week: Decide What’s Important

Arianna Huffington’s book Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder, makes a compelling case to redefine what success means in today’s world. The book gave me some tips and tricks to personally redefine success for myself.

Success means different things for different people. And at the end of the day, we only have so many hours to focus on what we think is important.

One of my favorite quotes that Huffington included in Thrive is:

“And every day, the world will drag you by the hand, yelling, ‘This is important! And this is important! And this is important! You need to worry about this! And this! And this!’

“And each day, it’s up to you to yank your hand back, put it on your heart and say, “No. This is what’s important.'”

– Iain Thomas

So I ask you: What is important to you? Where do you want to put your energy?

This week’s tip is to look at areas where you want to increase your focus. What does the balance of inside and outside of the office optimally look like for you?

How are you going to focus on your success?

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Friday Resource: Five Steps for Giving Productive Feedback

This week’s Fierce resource was originally published by Entrepreneur and shares five steps for giving productive feedback that helps employees grow.

Providing open and honest feedback to colleagues and employees is the most important element of growth and professional development. However, providing this feedback consistently is not always easy for both manager and employee. Many people cringe at the words, “Can I give you some feedback?”

It is dependent on the manager to create enough trust and rapport with their reports to alleviate the fear and anxiety that is associated with a feedback conversation. By managing feedback in a positive way that helps the employee understand that feedback is meant to improve their performance and develop their skills, the individual receiving the feedback can approach the conversation calm and ready to listen.

Per Scott Halford, there are five tips managers can exercise to create productive feedback that sticks:

1. Create Safety. Research from Columbia University neuroscientists shows that if the person receiving the feedback does not feel comfortable, they are 70% more likely to not apply the feedback into their life.

2. Be Positive. Approach the conversation carefully and be sure to remain positive, which helps facilitate a sense of safety. If applicable, include just as much positive feedback as negative, if not more.

“Positive feedback stimulates the reward centers in the brain, leaving the recipient open to taking new direction. Meanwhile, negative feedback indicates that an adjustment needs to be made and the threat response turns on and defensiveness sets in.”

3. Be Specific. The more specific and clear the feedback is, the more likely the recipient is to act upon it. Ambiguity can kill the best of intentions when trying to create change and develop skills.

Read the other two tips and the entire article here.

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Why Frequent Feedback Conversations Are Thriving (and Annual Reviews Are Dying)

How often do you receive feedback at work? How often do you give it?

“Not often” is a common answer. And I’m here to tell you that “not often” is not often enough.

I used to work for an organization where employees received bi-yearly reviews. During these 30-minute meetings, my supervisor and I would go over the review forms and determine what was going well and where there was room for growth. The reviews were helpful when they occurred, but I wonder—if I had received this feedback months ago, or as issues were occurring, what difference would it have made for my own growth, the quality of my work, and the company? I’d bet money that it would’ve made a significant difference.

The Case for Frequent Feedback

Feedback (and how often it’s its delivered) directly impacts performance and employee engagement. Hands down, employees perform better with more frequent feedback.

According to Deloitte’s 2017 Global Human Capital Trends, the lack of ongoing feedback within performance management is costing organizations in big and varying ways: “Creating a holistic approach to the employee experience demands better tools and programs to capture employee feedback continuously…[t]he neglect of regular employee feedback helps explain other challenges companies face today, including shortcomings in driving culture and purpose and providing a healthy work-life balance.”

Whether reviews are yearly, bi-yearly, or quarterly, one thing is for certain: there’s a lot of time in-between these reviews, time that’s full of precious opportunity. We’re missing out on opportunities to grow professionally, strengthen workplace culture, and drive results.

Professional development—especially with recently-graduated millennials now making up the largest percentage of the current workforce—is becoming the central intention behind feedback. Many organizations are thankfully catching on and moving away from the mentality that you either make the cut or you don’t. The truth is that skills can be learned, knowledge can be acquired, and if an employee has a desire to grow, they can. Frequent feedback can nurture and support this growth.

One of many downsides to infrequent reviews is that we may lose a degree of authenticity when we don’t express ourselves and instead think, I see an issue, but it’s not time for a formal review yet, so I’ll pretend there isn’t anything wrong for now. We’re also limiting rather than expanding the other person’s awareness of their own performance. They may not know what’s going on if you don’t tell them.

Frequent feedback can do much to strengthen relationships. Personal and workplace relationships are often considered different in nature, but at Fierce, our mindset is that relationships are relationships, regardless of the external circumstances that surround them. And the stronger our relationships, the richer our lives.

That said, if you’re having an issue with a spouse or friend, it’s ideal to discuss the behavior sooner rather than later. It wouldn’t make sense to wait for a bi-yearly or yearly conversation to say, “hey babe, when you put your dirty socks on the floor a few months ago, it really bothered me.” It makes far more sense, both for the health and sustainability of our relationships, to nurture them in the now rather than the later.

What Holds Us Back

Organizational policies and old systems in place are often the culprits of infrequent feedback. The transition out of this old yearly system will largely depend on whether an organization intends to improve employee performance. But policies aside…if we know frequent feedback nurtures success, what prevents us from following through?

In most cases, fear is the culprit. The idea of giving feedback in the moment makes us nervous. We fear the reactions of others, we fear hurting their feelings, we fear that they will misinterpret our intention, and we fear that our direct feedback will rupture the relationship. But here’s a thought that may help put these natural human fears in perspective: what we are fearing is their fear. And we can’t control what other people fear. To remedy, consider what we lose when we stay silent (authenticity and opportunity for growth) and what we stand to gain if we choose to supply more immediate feedback. Also keep in mind that giving feedback effectively is a skill set, and one that can be learned.

Realistically, infrequent feedback can actually heighten fear. Consider the anxiety that often goes along with formal reviews. I recall my hands feeling clammy and my heart racing before every bi-yearly review. Why? Because very little communication about my performance had taken place before the review, which created an unwanted air of mystery about whether my performance was up to par.

Another form of resistance that holds us back is the belief that we don’t have enough time. Let’s tear that excuse to shreds, shall we? Giving feedback in the moment can save time (and money) by creating immediate, rather than eventual, improvements. A few moments of feedback could potentially save months of mistakes, poor-quality work, or misunderstandings.

Another reservation that often occurs is that we may want to process what’s taking place in our environment before we communicate our thoughts or feelings to another person. If this is you, cut yourself some slack. Is it better to receive feedback the day after an incident, or six months from when it occurred? Go easy on yourself and give yourself what you need, even if it’s a bit of time to process.

If You Think Your Organization Needs More Frequent Feedback, Here’s What You Can Do

Plain and simple: have a conversation with your fellow leaders and propose changes to your organization’s feedback approach. Build your case and bring a list of solutions to the table, which might include leadership training intended to strengthen skills around feedback conversations and tool-based solutions such as feedback technology.

The same recommendations apply if you’re in a non-leadership role. And don’t wait for leadership to approach you with feedback. Ask for it, give it, and request that it occur more frequently.

What experiences have you had with the quality and frequency of feedback? How would you rate yourself and others? Share with us.

The post Why Frequent Feedback Conversations Are Thriving (and Annual Reviews Are Dying) appeared first on Fierce, Inc..

Fierce Tip of the Week: Build Your Leaders Up

In our often time-constrained, all-consuming routines as leaders, it can be hard to focus and help others around you. And when I say others, I mean other leaders – the people you aren’t normally focused on helping and supporting. It’s often assumed that this orphaned population of fellow leaders are “skilled to fend for themselves.” Hey, they are super talented and should have it figured out…that’s their job, right?!

Well, we know that is not reality. Leaders are pressured in all directions – from the top, the side, and the bottom. And when you think about it, often it is hard for them to even know what they need in the middle of it all.

I was recently talking with a leader in one of our client companies, and she is tasked with building a new middle manager training program. When I asked about the vision, she shared that more than anything, the organization wants their new managers to feel supported and taken care of. That is what they need. I love how beautifully human that is.

This isn’t just a warm and fuzzy idea. More and more research supports how positive workplace cultures are more profitable and more successful, and as leaders, we all want that. In fact, a Columbia University study shows that the likelihood of job turnover at an organization with rich, positive company culture is a mere 13.9 percent, whereas the probability of job turnover in poor company cultures is 48.4 percent.

While “rich company culture” can feel ambiguous, all cultures are built by the leaders who compose them. That means you.

This week’s tip is to focus on something you can do for other leaders. Write a simple note. Take them out to lunch or for coffee. Connect and have a deeper conversation. And ask them directly: do you feel supported?

James Keller once said, “A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.”

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Friday Resource: How to Establish a Performance Improvement Plan

This week’s Fierce resource was originally published by SHRM and explains how organizations can establish a performance improvement plan to give struggling employees a chance to succeed.

A performance improvement plan (PIP) enables managers to address a team performance issue and holds the employee accountable for turning around their performance. There are dozens of reasons why an employee may have poor performance. It could be a personal issue they are dealing with at home that is bleeding over into their work, or a miscommunication on expectations of the role.

Per SHRM, there is a six-step process that when followed will help identify gaps in training and skills, create recognition of the performance issue, and will result in performance either turning around or not. If it is the latter, actions such as demotion, job transfer, or termination can result with no surprises.

1. Document performance issues. By documenting the areas that need improvement, clarity around expectations are set.

2. Develop an action plan. The manager should establish an action plan for how the employee can turn around their performance. Creating this plan in collaboration with the employee will eliminate confusion and ensure expectations are understood.

3. Review the performance plan closely. Prior to sharing the final plan with the employee, the manager should consult with his or her supervisor or an HR professional to ensure everything is stated clearly.

Read the other six steps and the entire article here.

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Getting to the Root Cause: Performance Problems in Revenue-Producing Roles

A widespread belief exists in the world of performance management that the assessment of revenue-generating roles should be pretty cut and dry. You are either hitting your targets or you aren’t. And if you miss them too many times, you are out.

I agree this perception is true, and, often leaders aren’t digging deeper to understand the root cause of the performance issues within teams. I am not advocating that we stop holding the bar high, nor am I suggesting we keep poor performers beyond the appropriate period of their performance assessment. I am suggesting there are common pitfalls that front-line leaders, especially those newer in their roles, can succumb to when evaluating revenue-producing roles. Failing to reach this deeper level of understanding can become costly, resulting in everything from excessive turnover to missed conversations.

Traditionally, revenue-producing roles have been associated with the sales function. However, as business models evolve, so too are roles that are responsible for generating revenue. No longer is performance management of this nature solely a sales discussion. The breadth of roles driving revenue continues to broaden, and with that comes the need for leaders to avoid the common pitfalls that many succumb to when performance begins to stagnate. Here are the three I see most often surface, and they can position a leader in an unaccountable frame of mind if the root causes aren’t unearthed.

• The System is Broken: Being so close to the front line and often having sat in the shoes of their team, leaders might believe that the system or model is broken. In our work, we are always evolving different aspects of our business. However, the key is to have solid data to pivot on. More on that in a moment.

• Do it My Way: There is a tendency for newer leaders to believe that everyone should do it their way because that is how they were successful. The challenge with this is that every person is different, and although we can set up procedures for everyone to follow, expecting everyone to approach business the same way isn’t scalable and is a recipe for frustration.

• The Market is Changing: Without a deeper understanding of what your target market is doing or saying, small comments can be misinterpreted as overarching trends. The reality is that change is constant. Evaluating market forces is best achieved with cross-functional collaboration internally between teams so that the voice of the customer can be best represented.

This is not to say that there may not be truth in one or all of these. The key is to be able to look at performance with a refined lens by following these tips in order to truly understand what the issue is and how to address it:

1. Look Inward First

It is important to stop and ask yourself: what beliefs, attitudes, or biases might I have around this situation? Taking a step back and evaluating your leadership style and skills first, as well as those of your team, is important before looking at outside forces.

2. Consistency is Key

I can’t stress enough the importance of consistency in the collection and recording of revenue-generating activity. It’s easy for blame to be placed outside of oneself when the view is 10,000 feet. However, in revenue-producing roles, there must be consistent steps taken in order to know what triggers engagement or disinterest. Without a predetermined process that everyone follows consistently, it is impossible to pinpoint the heart of the performance issues. Be sure to look at the detail of process with a fine-tooth comb. Ask questions to assure everyone not only understands the steps involved, but also why it’s important to follow them as prescribed.

3. Be Able to Defend Your Data

This is perhaps the area I see as the biggest pitfall for many leaders. Data is only as good as you can defend it. If you are looking at data of any sort to make decisions or influence others to your point of view, it is imperative that you defend that data. This means you have to be completely solid in the what, why, and how of what is being presented. Specifically, be solid on what it is you are presenting, why it is significant to the audience, and how it was collected in order to show a clear understanding of what you are assessing around performance. This isn’t to say it won’t be challenged, but the key is for you to be able to defend it on solid ground. I was working with a team once that presented several pieces of data around client acquisition. As soon as I looked at the data, I knew it was incomplete. I asked the questions: “What trends do you see in the data? What is it telling you?” They couldn’t answer me, individually or collectively. By not being able to explain what they saw or why they presented it, credibility was lost immediately. Always be able to defend your data.

4. Assess Individual Skill Gaps

When performance is an issue, it’s important to evaluate what skill gaps are contributing to the issue. The culprit could be something that is tactical, strategic, behavioral, or attitudinal. It does take time and effort to dig in to the nuance of what might need to be refined, and what you find may not be easily resolved. The point is, look beyond the numbers to see if there is something that with a little attention can be adjusted before assuming this person is no longer fit for the role. I have found on many occasions that reviewing workflow with the individual and asking questions around decision making can positively shift performance. This level of attention can also enrich a relationship, allow someone to truly be seen by you, and can even help you identify an issue that you wouldn’t have been able to see from surface-level performance conversations.

Digging deeper for the root cause of performance issues in revenue-producing roles will enable a front-line leader to avoid the common traps that often result in misdiagnosis. Instead, take a step back and think through the tips here as a means for getting to the heart of the issue:

• Have I looked internally to what beliefs, attitudes, or biases I may have that are impacting performance?

• Do I model consistency in all the critical processes and procedures needed to drive exceptional performance?

• Am I firmly grounded on the data driving these performance outcomes?

• Have I looked individually and collectively at the skill gaps that may be the key to achieving the desired results?

By following these tips to understand performance, you can improve communication, accountability, and understanding around the expected outcomes. And who doesn’t want more of that?

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Fierce Tip of the Week: Check-In Now

Step back and reflect on all of the people you will interact with this week – inside and outside of work. Do you have a gut feeling about something that needs to be talked about?

Now is the time to do something about it.

I’m not saying that your instinct about a situation is necessarily correct. Many times our instincts are fueled by our own fears or thoughts around a certain situation. What you may perceive as an issue, may be something entirely unrelated.

However…what if it isn’t? Is it worth glazing over?

This week’s tip is to connect with the person you most need to check-in with.  Be specific and share what you sense.

The worst that can happen is you are wrong. Just be prepared to be.

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Friday Resource: When Giving Critical Feedback, Focus on Your Nonverbal Cues

This week’s Fierce resource was originally published by Harvard Business Review and shares tips for focusing on nonverbal cues and body language when having feedback conversations.

One of the most difficult things to do, from novice managers to tenured leaders, is give feedback. Especially when the feedback is critical and not easy to deliver. There is always a balancing act between delivering honest and open feedback and not discouraging the employee, causing them to retreat further inward.

The ability to give this feedback successfully starts with the culture of the workplace. If employees are engaged and part of an inclusive environment where their voice is heard, chances are they are more likely to respond well to feedback.

Per Emma Seppala, Science Director of Stanford University’s Center for Compassion, using a positive, open, and supportive style of feedback where employees feel safe can lead to incredible outcomes.

“Leaders and managers in particular influence their employee’s well-being more than they even know. A 3,000-person study found that a leader’s behavior and personality even influence their employees’ heart health. It’s no wonder that employees prefer higher happiness at work to higher pay.”

Some of the nonverbal cues that can make or break a manager’s ability to deliver feedback in an effective way include:

1. Facial expression. Humans internally register what another person is feeling by experiencing it in our own bodies, thus when someone smiles, we smile. When someone frowns, we frown. We pick up on these emotions so much that we can tell if someone is smiling even if we cannot see them – so same goes for delivering feedback over the phone.

2. Attention. It is hard to deliver honest feedback and expect behavior change if you are looking at your email inbox, the clock, or something shiny outside. The person you are talking to can easily tell if your mind is wandering and if you are not fully present, and it is not fair to assume that the person you are giving feedback to is fully present.

Read the other four nonverbal cues and the entire article here.

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