Changing Change

I've implemented some large scale organizational changes in several places over the years. Whenever I initially tell folks we will be changing, I'm always surprised with how quickly many folks agree that changes are needed. Why do they easily agree that change is necessary? Because typically they see themselves as not needing any personal change. But they always tell me that the person next to them needs to be changed.

That kind of "it's not me who needs to change, it's them" thinking can be a huge millstone around the neck of managers. Sinking into a comfort zone as manager will end your creativity and innovation. Without constantly craving change, you are not striving to make your organization continuously better. Contentment is the antithesis of successful management.

Unfortunately, sliding into complacency seems to be a natural path. Our culture assumes that it is normal for us to look for a state of stability. Build a perfect model and then don't change it - there is a Stalinesque simplicity in such an approach. For a manager, I would suggest that's the most dangerous path possible. If you are not changing, you are not adapting to external forces. If you are not adapting, you are deteriorating.

If the complacency assumption is correct, then it is human nature to look for stability and reject change, or at least pretend to accept change if it only means changing your neighbor. That means managers are inevitably doomed to sink into an infinite vortex of depressing stagnation. Of course, that makes no sense for successful management, so managers need to work with a different cultural assumption.

I would like to suggest an alternative mindset: change is addictive. This may seem counter-intuitive, but think about the rush of adrenalin created by something new. If that new thing is good, the feeling is positive. I think deep down, human nature is about being adaptive. I think we're fundamentally designed to adapt to new conditions, so managers have a responsibility to feed the need for change. Isn't that how we have successfully evolved as a species? Our role as managers is to be constantly on the lookout for new opportunities to improve and grow our organizations.

As managers, we need to replace a fear of change with desire for innovation and our normal state should be one of constantly searching for improvements.

~

Why Giving Positive Feedback Is Bettering Than Giving Praise

There is an important difference between giving your employees positive feedback and giving them praise.

• Positive feedback focuses on the specifics of job performance.
• Praise, often one-or two-sentence statements, such as “Keep up the good work,” without positive feedback leaves employees with empty feelings.

Worse yet, without positive feedback, employees feel no sense that they are appreciated as individual talents with specific desires to learn and grow on the job and in their careers, reports Nicholas Nigro, author of, The Everything Coaching and Mentoring Book.

So, skip the praise and give positive feedback that is more uplifting to your employees because it goes to the heart of their job performance and what they actually do.

An example of positive feedback is:

“Bob, your communications skills have dramatically improved over the past couple of months. The report that you just prepared for me was thorough and concise. I appreciate all the work you’ve put into it, as do your team members.”

Use A Board Of Advisers Instead Of Mentors

Here is one of my Blog's most popular posts from last year...now with updated information.

David Burkus often provides valuable comments to my various Blog postings, and he's a person who effectively uses a board of advisers, instead of mentors, to help him achieve success.

"I've found that in my life, it was easier and more effective to set up a board of advisers," said Burkus, the editor of LeaderLab. "This is a group of people, three to five, that have rotated into my life at various times and that speak into it and help me grow. I benefit from the variety of experience these people have."

LeaderLab is an online community of resources dedicated to promoting the practice of leadership theory. Its contributors include consultants and professors who present leadership theory in a practitioner-friendly format that provides easy-to-follow explanations on how to apply the best of leadership theory.

Community users can download a variety of research reports and presentations about leadership and leadership versus management.

For example, a presentation on LeaderLab explains:

•  Management is made up of activities needed to run a business, unit or organization to help achieve its goals.
•  Leadership is what it takes to inspire and engage employees to contribute their best to achieve the goals, support the vision, carry out the mission, and embody the company's values.

Two of Burkus' favorite leadership books are:
•  The Starfish and the Spider -- A book actually about leaderLESS organizations. "This book examines organizations that didn't need leaders to thrive," said Burkus.
•  The Leadership Challenge -- "This book examines the practices that make leaders effective and teaches aspiring leaders how to inspire and lead others," explained Burkus.

David has written his own new book. It's called, The Portable Guide To Leading Organizations.

Does T.E.A.M Say It All For How To Successfully Lead A Business?

While I was at the gym today, I saw a poster for a team weight loss class/program. Its theme was:

T.E.A.M.

T = Training
E = Education
A = Accountability
M = Motivation

That got me thinking...if you lead a business and provide on-going training for your employees, provide opportunities for education and learning, hold employees accountable and provide plenty of motivation....is that basically all you need to be a successful leader?

How To Talk About Inconsistencies With An Employee

If you’re having a difficult time clarifying inconsistencies you are hearing from an employee about a project’s/task’s progress, try asking these questions (or making these statements) the next time you meet with the employee:

•  Here’s what I see. Here’s what I hear you saying.
•  Here’s what we know so far.
•  So let’s see if I’m on track with you…
•  Let’s see where we are…
•  How about we step back from a moment and look at a few different ideas…
•  Did I hear you correctly when you said…?
•  Am I missing something here?

Always be sure you’re on the same page and have the same understanding of the progress being made with your employee’s projects.

Thanks to Jane Murphy for these tips from her book, What Could Happen If You Do Nothing.

10 Ways To Be A Healthier Leader

If you're like many leaders, you're "too busy" to exercise on a regular basis.  And, you don't give yourself time to renew and refresh.  Truth is, there are ways to fit exercise and healthful habits into your busy day that will pay off in dividends.

From Experience Life magazine, here are 10 tips for how to fit even just moments into your day (at work, on the road and at home) to help you become more healthful:

1. Make a plan to exercise.  Include exercise times, even if they are just in 10-minute increments, on your calendar.
2. Find time to exercise and build on that time.  Start off by walking for five minutes at lunch and add to that every few days until you've worked up to 30 minutes every few lunch hours.
3. Limit screen time.  Set a timer for how long you'll watch TV or surf the Net.  Then, use the time you aren't in front of a screen to exercise.
4. When you are watching TV, do squats, pushups, lunges, yoga poses and crunches.
5. Think positive.   Psychologists suggest that you replace "I am too busy to work out" thinking with "I choose to make myself a priority."
6. Hold a "walking meeting" where your group walks together instead of sits in a meeting room.  This can be particularly beneficial for brainstorming meetings.
7. Work out when you're traveling.  Pack a jump rope.  Do push-ups and crunches in your hotel room.  Use the hotel's gym.  Ask the hotel if they have guest passes or discounted rates at a nearby health club.
8. Exercise first thing in the morning.  Don't let a long day end with "no time to exercise."
9. Wear a pedometer.  By age 60, most people are down to about 4,500 steps a day.  Your goal should be to walk 10,000 steps per day.

10. Negotiate a discounted rate for you and your employees at a gym near your office building.  And then use the facility and encourage your employees to do the same.

I run and walk 5K's throughout the year.  They give me a goal to continually improve my times.  My entry fees go to support local charities.  And, to prepare for each race, I have to schedule times during the preceding weeks to practice and exercise.

5 Ways To Connect With Your Customers Online

If you are struggling with how best to connect with your customers online whether it's via a company Blog or your website, consider these five approaches from the best-selling book, The Network Is Your Customer, by David L. Rogers:

• Try Branding, Not Selling -- Offer a story, entertainment, or a compelling idea that you can link convincingly to your brand, rather than trying to sell products or services directly.
• Offer Utility -- Provide content and interaction that helps solve a problem or answers a critical information need for your audience.
• Show A Personal Face -- Engage customers by showing a personal side and an authentic voice in digital content rather than the objective and authoritative voice of an institution.
• Focus On The Particular -- Focus on niche audiences and their specific needs and interests, rather than trying to engage every possible customer with the same content.
• Make It A Game -- Use the interactive, goal-based play of online games to engage customers for fun, education, and relationship-building.

Use Job Descriptions

It's tempting to not write job descriptions, especially if you own a small business or lead a small team of employees.  But, don't fall into that trap.

Whether you have one or many employees, be sure each has a current and accurate job description.

A job description is a written document that should include the:

• employee's duties
• responsibilities
• outcomes needed from that position
• required qualifications
• reporting relationship

And, if you have job descriptions but they are poorly written or out-of-date, that will lead to confusion and misunderstandings.

Once you have a job description for each employee, you'll be able to ensure the descriptions all fit together logically and leave no holes in the duties that need to be assigned throughout your team or business.

• Check your job descriptions at least yearly to be sure they reflect the employee's proper title and current duties. Very often employees get new job titles or are assigned new tasks mid-year, and those don't get reflected in their job descriptions. Don't let that happen.

Finally, if you don't have access to a Human Resources department that can help you craft your job descriptions you can find lots of good examples online.