Management Craft

Love this #ted talk from Shawn Achor - Will help you be happier.

Check out this supercharged and amusing talk from Shawn Achor - it is excellent and has the potential to help us all live more fulfilling - and successful - lives. 12 minutes.

Action and Mental Garbage Model

I hope you have a great week. Here is a quick model that I hope helps you shape your week. You choose the path and how many self-imposed barriers you allow to slow you down. Openness - versus defensiveness - enables us to fully trust in ourselves because we take in the world fully and can respond flexibly. When we carry a lot of mental garbage, we rely more on history that might not be relevant for today, inflexible mental models, manic mantras, and motivational posters to guide us. Why do we need to list our values? Answer: Because we are not open enough to fully trust ourselves.

I saw the master in action this weekend. #leadership #managment

I spent an afternoon with a dear friend yesterday. We chatted over lunch and walked around his beach town. I have always admired his engaging and caring way - he is a leader who makes others feel like they have his full attention and consideration and they do (that's the important part - it is sincere, not an act).

Why? Because he thinks and lives this way. He notices people and things and takes the initiative to be helpful and caring. More so than most people. More so than I do - by a long shot.

I have always known this about my friend but I was reminded - in a vivid way - during our walk. Those who we passed received a smile and hello. Someone had dropped a baby bottle on the walking path, he picked it up and put it on the cement wall so the owner could find it and no one would trip over it. We passed a couple who were taking pictures of each other, he asked if he could take their picture together and then had some fun with them to make sure they got a great shot. He interacted with people on the street, in shops, and in the restaurant in ways that made each smile and brighten.

You might be thinking that I am a little nuts for calling this out because these human acts are quite normal - or they should be. It is true that any one of these moments would be considered what it means to be a good person - nothing extraordinary.

But here is the distinction. He oozed care in every moment. He was aware of others, noticed others, proactively cared for others, and did so while being fully engaged in our conversation. I was much less aware of others.

My friend is someone for whom people love working and he brings out the best in them. And here is the main point of this post. WE can and should do this, too. It does not take a training class or being a particular behavioral style. We can relate to others in this way if we:

• Choose to be a powerful and positive influence on others.
• Take the time and attention to notice others.
• And then be gracious, kind, friendly, and helpful more often.

Don't go rushing to include these expectations in your new employee orientation. Don't add it to your performance review or create a management competency called, "caring." Just try being more demonstrably caring and see what happens. Lead from a basis of positive care for others and you will find that your days, weeks, and years are more amazing and that your good vibe spreads.

After spending the afternoon with my friend, I found myself thinking about how I can improve what I notice and how I respond to others. I am no ogre, BTW, but I can and want to demonstrate care more often - for everyone, not just a chosen few.

You have likely heard the mind teaser about the tree - if a tree falls in a forest but no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?

I have to ask the same thing about caring for others. If we care but no one experiences our affection and goodwill, does it exist? I think that the vast majority of people are caring in terms of our intentions. Most of us are quite selective about how we give of ourselves and I am not sure this serves us, our intentions, or others well.

These tiny actions - smiles, pictures, gestures of help - add up and to make a very big and wonderful impression. Remember, though, that although this benefit is compelling, it should not be the reason that we choose to live a more generous (of ourselves) life. My friend does not think about this. In fact, I am guessing he would think this blog post is quite odd indeed.

Managers: Embrace your flawedness - and everyone's. @brenebrown

I love this article from Brene Brown called, Want to be Happy? Stop trying to be perfect.

When I teach management, I often talk about how we are all highly flawed and highly talented and embracing it all is a recipe for success (not just the talent part). I don't freak out when people do annoying or strange little things - we all do this. I don't let a botched delivery get in the way of great intent. I have stopped hiding my scars because I know everyone can see them. We are our idiosyncrasies.

I was talking to someone recently who pointed out a typo on one of my blog posts. I thought, "really, that's what you want to talk about?" I bet I have more typos than freckles in the sunshine. But seriously, how we think about flaws and imperfections can become barriers - or not if we don't stop to take too much notice.

And besides, most of it is in the eye of the beholder which means it is all bunk.

Meaning: The "wolf" of control in trendy sheep's clothing? #leadership

I am doing some digging around about meaning and here is a thought to chew on this new week and year. What if leaders should NOT and CANNOT make work meaningful for others? What if this idea reinforces control, extrinsics, and thereby serves to wreck not build our feelings that our work has meaning?

What if whether our work has meaning comes from deep within each individual and as a result of how we each define our experiences? What would this mean for leaders? What should they be doing differently to help every team member do his or her best work?

This is all a bit existential, I realize. Even so, I believe and see that many of our well-intended efforts to improve our workplaces are based on flawed premises and therefore doomed to fail.

This is an important topic to discuss because we know that meaning is a key measure of satisfaction. People want to know that their work matters. As leaders we should do whatever we can to help our team members thrive. We should not, however, tell them why they ought to find their work meaningful or attempt to define what makes work meaningful, generally speaking. There is no general rule here and doing this would throw water on our employees' flames of interest, engagement, initiative, and internal drive.

Leaders can help affect meaning, however, although not by focusing on meaning.

• Get to know each person and build strong and trusting bonds.
• Catalyze - let your employees pull you into their world and let them lead in it. Be a great follower.
• Take the initiative to offer catalytic (not control oriented) coaching.
• Let jobs morph with change and be open and eager to hear about ideas team members have for how their role ought to be reinvented.
• Know what the concept of a zen moment might look like. Promote "being here now" working habits.
• Allow each employee to get excited about and tuned into the aspects of their work that bring him or her the most satisfaction and fulfillment. We all define "progress" and "accomplishment" differently. As the leader, you get to decide how performance will be judged and rewarded, but you cannot tell people which task means more to them.
• Never let a day go by without letting your team members know how much they mean to you. Be thankful, gracious, and caring. Nurture. No one should doubt that they matter here and to you. No one. Be real about this, too, don't use some schlocky practiced reinforcement schema. Can you say that's transparent?

Example: I was recently in a situation where the client was telling me how important I was to the team. This is nice to hear, but did not improve my feelings that I was doing work that was meaningful. This particular team has the money to spend on consultants and has good intentions. But they have not yet embraced their need for individual and team reinvention for the leadership team. They give praise for my work, but my measure of meaning is that I can catalyze change. It happens a lot, but not yet in this situation. So while I love hearing that I am important to my client, I would give that up to have a more substantive impact on their practices and beliefs. It is a work in progress!

I once had a boss who liked to tell me I was important to the team. But then his actions said the opposite. If he wanted me to feel genuinely cared for, he would have taken the time to understand what drives me, excites me, and makes me want to become immersed. He didn't and didn't guess correctly. He applied what he thought were universal management approaches to his good intention of wanting me to stay with the company and flourish and expand the business. When it comes to meaning, there are no universals.

Start with yourself: You are the designer and implementor of your work experience. You define meaning from your perspective and for your work situation. What brings out the biggest and most engaged you? What can you do to pump up your interest? How will you relish and fully experience what's happening right here and now? Herein lies the true potential for leaders. Going first, discovering the meaning they derive from their daily experiences, talking about the parts of your job that matter most to you, being here now (even when creating a strategic plan, are you being in the room with a group of talents colleagues who are together reinventing the organization).

 

Forget Old Biz Myths @alevit

My pal, Alexandra Levit, has a cool new book out about myths called, Blind Spots: The 10 Business Myths You Can't Afford to Believe on Your New Path to Success (great title BTW). I asked her if she would share a post about the book with my readers and here it is. These are important and I would encourage you to pick up the book for anyone who is at a career crossroad/restart/start. Thanks, Alexandra!

To Succeed Today, Forget the Old Business Myths

By Alexandra Levit

This is not your parents’ business world.  It’s not even your older sister’s business world.  The recent recession has toppled and transformed our ideas about just about everything.  Massive change is afoot and many of us are still reeling from the work-force bloodletting that began three years ago and the downfall of companies we thought we all respected.  

I went in search of the 10 biggest myths of business success that people believe to be true even though they don't work for 98 percent of all truly successful people.  The time to debunk these myths is now because they are more dangerous and less viable than ever given this post-recessionary climate of ethical scrutiny and intense competition.  If adhering to these myths didn't get you places before, it really won't today, when employers want to hire people with Puritan work ethics, people who want to do their jobs well without rocking the boat too much and who are strong representatives of the organization’s culture. 

Putting on blinders is not an option and you can't afford to waste time.  You must throw away these myths immediately and determine what will work in their place. 

Myth #1:  Overnight success is possible.

Most people persevere for a long time and experience several setbacks before achieving an objective definition of success.  You’ll be best served if you are able to move your dream forward a little bit at a time, and are able to cope when things temporarily go south. 

Myth #2:  Controversy will propel your career.

Being controversial usually generates attention for a little while, but people will probably not trust you in the long-term.  Instead, work to incorporate the tried-and-true values of honesty and authenticity into your daily work life. 

Myth #3:  Employers want you to be yourself. 

While employers value the unique set of skills and experiences you bring to the table, they expect you to tow the line with respect to company rules and conduct.  You won’t get away wearing ripped jeans to a client meeting because that’s your personal style, and you must learn to be politically sensitive and diplomatic even if someone has wronged you. 

Myth #4:  Being good at your job trumps everything.

You can be the most talented employee your company has ever hired, but if your contributions aren’t visible and people don’t value what you do, it simply won’t matter.  So instead of slaving over your job, spend a little more time devising ways to promote the great work you’re doing.

Myth #5:  It’s best to climb the ladder as fast as possible.

Getting promoted year after year requires a near-constant vigilance as well as a laser sharp focus on work – often to the detriment of everything else in your life.  Higher titles usually bring longer hours, heavier responsibilities, and more politicking with them. 

Myth #6:   You’ll get more money because you’ve earned it.

The media is full of stories of people who rake up six figure salaries because they played their cards right.  But what about the unsung millions who came to the table with the same hand?  More often than not, compensation is about business realities, HR mandates, and office politics – not performance.   

Myth #7:  The problem isn’t you, it’s the organization. 

People job jump constantly because of this one, but the truth is, the same situations crop up in Corporate America over and over.  Don’t take yourself with you.  Learn self-awareness and change your own thinking and behavior instead of waiting for the company to adapt to your needs.   

Myth #8:  You won’t get laid off, you’re too essential.   

I often tell people that they should aim to be indispensable at their jobs.  But today more than ever company loyalty is a thing of the past, and while consistently trying to add value to your organization is a good move, sometimes it isn’t enough.  You need to be able to recognize when you’re on the chopping block and take active steps to prevent a bad outcome.

Myth #9:  If only you could break out of Corporate America, everything would be perfect.

Running a business is harder than it looks, and entrepreneurship is not for everyone. In fact, most people are better off working for large companies and receive substantial perks, like benefits, discounts, and contacts, which you don’t want to live without.  

Myth #10:  Do what you love and the money will follow.

Just because you have a passion for a particular area doesn’t mean you will automatically make money doing it.  Some things are better off left as hobbies, but if you really think an income is possible, keep your day job and test the waters first.

Want to learn more about how you can protect your career from these myths? Check out Blind Spots. You can also find more information at Alexandra's website here.

 

 

7 Ways to Not be a Great Leader @rajsetty

Being a star performer usually leads to rapid advancement up the career ladder.  But a star performer doesn't always make a great leader.  Why?  Pal and fellow biz book author Raj Setty outlines 7 top reasons for this from different skill sets to limiting employees' growth to being uncomfortable out of the spotlight.  But by addressing these issues, a star performer can indeed become an effective leader and create more star performers.  Check out Raj's great post here.

The Process of the Good Life

"The process of the good life is not, I am convinced, a life for the faint-hearted. It involves the stretching and growing of becoming more and more of ones potentialities. It involves the courage to be. It means launching oneself fully into the stream of life." Carl Rogers

I just found this quote in my notebook and thought I would share it with you. The key part of this idea, I think, is the word "process." The good life is not a designation, a characteristic, or an outcome, but a process in which we either choose to engage in fully or something less than this.

Silence Isn't Always Golden @drbret

It's never pleasant to give the boss bad news.  But he has to know about problems before he can fix them.  But some (a lot of?) organizations discourage employees from sharing bad news through managers' behavior.  Bret Simmons discusses three beliefs that managers have that cause employees to clam up.  Check out his post here.  You don't want to inadvertently send the wrong messages and then be faced with making decisions based on partial or bad information.

What Memoirs Can Teach Us About #Management

Here are a few stray thoughts that end up connecting....

Great memoirs are hot sellers in book stores because people love reading about interesting lives.

In the field of management we throw around words like engagement, enrollment, commitment, getting "on the bus." Is it necessary for us to love or connect to the mission of our organizations? It is ideal, but what about for those companies that don't HAVE a compelling mission? We want to be a profitable market share leader and preferred low-cost provider. Boring!

At the core of great management is a great narrative. Who are you? What's your story? You are amazing and fascinating - I know this - but do your team members know you in this way?

Great management requires that you participate in and share your own great story - your occupational memoir.

And what if your current story is not pleasing to you? I recommend parallel strategies - love something about the present and take steps to make a positive change. Do both and you might find that you can have a better experience while proactively designing the future.

I thought about this because I asked myself, "when do we tend to care about things?" My initial answer was, "when inflicted or affected." Like cancer. I car deeply about it now, but was pretty oblivious about it six months ago. I feel some guilt about this because, surely, some things deserve attention and care even before we are personally affected. But this is human nature, right? We become interested in education after we have kids, notice cars like ours on the freeway, and pay attention to what things cost when we are faced with financial challenges. We notice teeth are after we brighten ours and we read books about Turkey after learning our cruise ship will stop there.

And then I realized that there is another time when we get interested in things - when we are pulled in by a great story. We care about poor water conditions in places we will never visit and we smile when we read about happy endings experienced by people we will never meet. We fall in love with the talking dogs, the double rainbow guy, and the couple who had the courage to dance full out at their wedding. We cry with the family who lost a loved one at war and we cheer for the single dad who just got and sold a patent for his crazy idea.

Maybe you should not worry about whether your front line team members are honestly interested in your company's profits or profit motives (let's face it, most companies don't have a compelling mission or driving force). Maybe you would be better off making the workplace more inviting and interesting on a human experience level - let people find their own reasons for being and staying there. Let them choose to be a part of the daily narrative. What will the story of your monday be? What memory will you help your team create?

And let your team members tell their amazing stories and invite you and others to become supporting characters. After all, we tend to define ourselves by who we are to and with others - our relationships. Why not make the most of this!

There is a reason that well-written memoirs are popular. We love vivid real-life experiences. Great managers help all employees create and tell great workplace stories. Spend more time working well and less time selling someone else's vision.