Is It Really Just About Strengths?

Have you ever noticed people making excuses for poor performance or ugly behavior by invoking the "It's just who I am" defense?

Research (and common sense) show that focusing on peoples' strengths can have a positive affect on engagement and results.

But any approach or new , misunderstood, can actually cause negative side-affects.

 Have you seen any of these?

- Using  "strengths" research as an excuse for managers to avoid uncomfortable performance discussions with employees. ("Everyone knows that James is difficult to work with and shirks his responsibilities. No one wants to work with him and clients complain about him...but he's a really good analyst. Let's not rock the boat.")

- Hiding behind strengths as an excuse for bad behavior. For example, "I'm sorry that I snapped at you and called you a bumbling idiot. I have a short fuse. That's just how I am. Sensitivity is not my strength. You'll just have to accept that."

- Dumping mundane tasks (like paperwork, administration) on others because "it's not my strength." (For example, "Anne, you're so good at making the office coffee, cleaning out the pot and using the fax machine. Would you mind? I'm not good at that kind of stuff.") All jobs require doing some things we don't like, or aren't particularly good at...and most companies can't afford to give all of their employees an assistant to dump work on. Sometimes we just have to suck it up and do something, even though it's not our strength.

 All of that said, I'm still a huge believer in understanding one's strengths. I just get alarmed when I see a good concept spin out of control and become destructive.

What's Happening With The Strengths/Weaknesses Thing?

There are probably a number of reasons why, but I think there is a phenomenon that gets played out--at least in American business circles--whenever the latest and greatest thing hits the scene. And it's this:

What is actually a Principle is adopted as a Rule.

Instead of really taking time to understand all that lies underneath a principle, people run with the catch phrase and treat it as "the way." A book title becomes a buzzword that is then tossed around in meetings. It becomes problematic when the word doesn't have a shared meaning among the users. And that happens a lot. So it is with Strengths.

It's a lot easier to say "It's all about Strengths" than it is to live a life identifying and acknowledging our strengths; figuring out where we need to become at least adequate in some of our weaknesses; and respecting the people around us enough to behave unselfishly even when we "feel" like doing our own thing our own way.

When managers avoid uncomfortable performance discussions, they are showing disrespect for their employee. How can the person improve without hearing the truth, exploring ways to change, and growing as a result?

When we hide behind Strengths as an excuse for bad behavior, we're really saying "I don't respect you enough to bother to honor you with good behavior."

And when mundane tasks are dumped on someone else because "I'm not good at it," then I better ask myself just how I'm using my position power. Is one of my less attractive "strengths" the inclination to take advantage of others' weakness?

What I find ironic as I write this is: we're talking about Strength, yet the insidious culprit is Laziness.

What to do?

1. Take time to learn the "why?" behind the "what." When you can explain a concept accurately using everyday language, you've got it. If you or colleagues around you are still discussing things using buzzwords, stop and ask for an explanation of the meaning. That discussion could lead to shared meaning and deeper understanding.

2. When you hear a "performance excuse" disguised as a reason, follow up by asking: "What are you going to do about that? It's impacting other people and that's not acceptable." It's amazing how we'll make changes once we are called on our behavior and not allowed to explain it away.

3.  Make really bad coffee and jam the fax machine.

Related bonus post: From Lynn Mattoon: Millenials In The Workforce

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Leadership, Happiness, and Satisfaction

Every so often I check the statistics here to discover what search engine queries bring people to All Things Workplace. I figured that the keywords were going to be mostly "leadership" or "management".

Wrong.

"Job Satisfaction"..."Happiness at Work"..."Where Can I Find the Best Job?"..."Strengths and Weaknesses"..."How Can I Find A Job Where the Boss Listens to Me?"...those are the themes. Career issues--sometimes disguised as communications--turned up on a second page of searches.

(Click on image to enlarge)

Make no mistake. People are searching for how to feel good at work. We want to do well...and we want to feel good in the process.

But these are leadership and management issues. What people are saying is: "We want to be in a place where the "orchestration of work" allows us to contribute our talent. There are times when we need direction and times when we need to improvise our own riffs."

Think about two variables

There's a relationship between how much people enjoy their jobs and how well they perform. That's not a mystery. But there is a dynamic you need to know about in order to manage yourself and others:

1. Some people have to feel good about their job and their workplace before they can get busy and perform at their max.

2. Others have to have to first achieve super results in order to feel good about their jobs.

It's a "Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?" phenomenon. I picked up on this during a stretch where I was diagnosing "performance issues" for a client.

My conclusion: Managers hadn't caught onto the validity of the two approaches to performance. Naturally, the "feel good first" people were perceived as weenie-like non-performers. However, they actually had a huge commitment to doing well. They just needed something else to help them be able to get there.

What was it? They wanted the managers to understand who they were and what made them tick. That went along way to having the "right feeling" about the job.

The second category of people wanted a scorecard. They weren't about to "feel" good until they checked off their tasks and accomplishments.

Target yourself and your people

1. Which approach most naturally fits you? Figure out what that means to the way you work and the way your work is managed. Then talk with your manager about your desire to excel and how you might use this natural preference to make that happen.

2. Managers: The next time you're in a meeting (or one-on-one), have an informal conversation about the two approaches. Let people talk about what comes first for them. You'll learn a lot about how to manage each person; and they'll get more of what they need in order to hit the top of the job satisfaction/high performance curve.

Punchline: First, know yourself and your own preference. Only then will you have a solid point of reference for understanding the distinctions of the people around you.

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Managers Build Talent

You may already have the right people to enable your company to "win"--however you define the word.

We recently designed a leadership 'program' to develop the top talent in a global company. The model created used the executive management committee as coaches for the learning activities. First we coached the coaches on how to coach; then we turned them loose. It's been the most effective learning in nearly 30 years of leadership development and design.

 What's happening that works?

• The top leadership learns a lot about their own abilities.

• They learn about their people while developing closer relationships with them.

• The high potential participants receive coaching and company insight from the leaders who know it best.

• The participants also "step up" their game. How often do you see the top leadership in a company totally dedicate two full days to the talent beneath them?

You Can Do It, Too

Managers are the natural lighting rods for developing talent. Coaching isn't another job--it is their job.

Companies are always looking for ways to develop people economically but effectively. Every research study on the planet shows that employees are most influenced--pro or con--by their immediate boss. That's exactly why managers at every level have the ability to make the most difference when it comes to grooming people for the future.

The mission: Give them the capability.

Three things managers can start now:

Diagnose: Focus on identifying the very best talent in others.

Encounter:  Seek the truth then speak the truth, wherever that path will lead.

Build: Participate in the performance growth or your people.

When managers coach, we get "two personal bests" for the price of one.

Note: Even (smart) stars find a coach somewhere: Check out John Bishop's nice story at Leadership Is A Verb.

Whoa! Just as I was hitting the "publish" button an email came through from Fistful of Talent naming All Things Workplace in the Top 25 Talent Blogs again this year. Given their criteria and primo staff I'm truly honored. And if you are a seeker of talent info, be sure to subscribe to their feed.

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How To Help Yourself and Others Learn

What else are you learning about today?

It's easy to fall into the trap of focusing on our professional specialty. We feel pressed for time and, perhaps, default to the topic that's related to our immediate job. But is that the best way to get better at it? And, is it even desirable?

Dr. Ellen Weber at Brain Leaders and Learners has shown evidence that brains are not made for repetition. Ellen points out  "... that the brain is not wired to do the same things in the same way. Your brain is not even the same at the end of the day and it changes daily."

More and more, job candidates are asking potential employers, "What will I learn here?" If they don't like the answer they may keep on searching. For leaders, managers, and heads of projects, helping people learn is a critical contribution to both individual and organizational success.

How can you impact learning in your organization? Here are four areas to consider:

Four Effects of Learning

Effect on Curiosity: For every action there's a reaction. When we say or do something, people want time to react to it, talk about it, and understand what it means to them.

Practical Application: Allow time for questions and answers. The give-and-take after you speak is where people actually learn and where they begin to develop an affinity for, and commitment to, the topic. Even if you're an expert, the learning takes place as a result of people wrestling with the information or idea rather than being the recipients of a data dump--no matter how eloquent you may be.

Effect on self confidence: How you deliver and discuss the information impacts how people feel about learning it. People with position power--managers, supervisors, team leaders--all have the ability to build confidence in the learners or create a defensive atmosphere.

Practical Application: Tell the group at the outset that you value their questions and that you hope they'll jump in when they experience an "Aha!" or a "Help me, I don't get it." When someone asks a question, throw it back out to the group to give someone else a chance to form an answer that may be framed in a way different than your own. Thank people whenever they ask a question or offer an answer.

 Effect on motivation: Even as youngsters, we knew who the teachers were who made learning exciting, interesting, and engaging. Why not be the "managerial version" of your best teacher. And remember this: Managers Are The Mediators of Motivation.

Practical Application: Take some time to develop questions and break people into groups to address them; if you're talking about a new marketing approach, give people a block of time to do a concept and present it to the group. You know the content. The time you spend designing the right approach will pay off in engaged learners and, ultimately, effective learning.

Effect on Creativity: Unless you're involved in safety procedures, accounting rules, or a regulatory issue, people want to be able to offer their own "variation on a theme." One of the reasons to bring people together is to capitalize on the collective creativity and varying viewpoints in the room.

Practical Application: Give people latitude to take the discussion in directions that you never thought of. Remember, you're in charge--but to try to be in control will shut down the kind of learning that the group--and you--have an opportunity to experience.

Bonus: When the noise level goes up and people start debating, discussing, and delving into the topic, you've been successful. Let it go until the energy begins to die down. Then, capture the points that they were making with their co-workers and discuss next steps. When learners sit passively, you may feel more relaxed because you feel in control not having to respond to questions or manage the group. What it may really mean is that they aren't engaged, aren't learning, and are waiting "until the bell rings" so they can go back to their workspace.

But that's not all!

Here are some people whose topics and approach will have you looking at your own work from a different perspective:

Valeria Maltoni, the Conversation Agent.

Mr.Creativity Mark McGuinness at Lateral Action.

Contrarian Consulting's Alan Weiss.

Master of design Garr Reynolds and his Presentation Zen.

Drew McLellan at Drew's Marketing Minute.

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Leadership: Coaching Clarity Needed

What does Leadership Development actually mean?

The folks at CO2 Partners completed a survey some time back of 3,447 individuals, about 90 percent of whom are middle-to-senior-level managers. They asked this question:

“If you were to receive coaching at work, what focus would be of the greatest benefits to you? (Please select all that apply.)”

The  results of the survey of 3,447 individuals, about 90 percent of whom are  middle- to senior-level managers, are as follows:

• Leadership  development: 59.8 percent
• Communication  skills: 47.8 percent
• Organizational  and political savvy: 31.5 percent
• Job performance:  28.3 percent
• Business acumen:  27.2 percent
• Career planning:  26.1 percent
• Life/balance:  21.7 percent
• Health/fitness:  6.5 percent

Gary Cohen, President of CO2 Partners, makes a good point, though, in his interview with Chief Learning Officer magazine. While Leadership Development emerges at the top of the coaching wish list:

"Actually defining leadership development. . . isn’t quite as popular. . .many people do not fully understand what leadership development coaching is or what it entails."

"Leadership is a captivating objective for most managers,” he said. “So individuals feel obligated to choose leadership development, even if they have no clear sense of what it’s all about. Despite this lack of awareness, leadership ranks first on any survey of coaching needs.”

Cohen said, though, that leadership coaching is not well-defined and that it makes sense many people do not fully comprehend exactly what it is.

Get  Clear About These

I agree with Gary about the fuzziness that surrounds leadership coaching. There is an equal amount of fuzziness when it comes to Leadership Development. As a result, the coaching issue can get blurred. So here are some suggestions after a lot of years wrestling with the issue:

When it comes to coaching--or any kind of consulting activity--90% of the success or failure lies in the contracting phase. So:

    a. Get clear about who initiated the coaching request. If it was a boss, make sure to understand what that person is looking for and why. Which means asking "Who really set this process in motion?"

    b. What are the specific results desired from the coaching engagement? While Leadership is a sexy catch-all phrase, maybe the real issues are managing team performance, running better meetings, or initiating conversations with colleagues in other corporate locations. (All three of those have emerged after probing underneath the Leadership umbrella during contracting).

    c. Is coaching the best way to get at the desired growth? The fact of the matter is that some things are skills that can be learned in other ways. And if you ask yourself how you best learned Leadership, the thoughtful answer will probably be "from leading." Be prepared to suggest expanded responsibility. People grow by being lifted up and then stepping up.

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Managers, Tough Conversations, and Training

Does your company provide solid, "how-to" training for supervisors and managers? I'm talking about the kind of training that helps them become good, effective managers of people, not just tasks. You know: the people who make and get your product/service out the door.

Experienced manager and training authority Wally Bock has some pithy thoughts related to the two posts here and here regarding Honesty, Boldness, and Sins of Omission:

Making Thing Worse By Trying Not To Make Things Worse

I think most of us have been raised to avoid/minimize confrontation. That's bad enough in the situations you describe. But it is corrosive if you have a supervisor who won't step up and call attention to behavior or performance that are not acceptable. Sadly, very few companies even consider this when they promote someone from individual contributor to a boss. Even fewer offer training in how to do confrontation well. This leaves us with a legion of bosses who are making things worse by trying not to make things worse.

I think the issue is different at work and in personal relationships. In the latter, there's a context and a history that is part of every honest conversation, whether it's specifically evoked or not.

At work, rank is always either part of the discussion or casting a shadow across it. So if you're going to talk about behavior or performance at work, you need a bit of a script to achieve the outcomes you describe above.

1. Start with What the conversation is about. Be specific. Describe behavior or performance without adjectives. Adjectives trigger emotions.

2. Say Why it's important to have the conversation. Describe the impact of or reaction to the behavior or performance.

3. Then Wait. Waiting is crucial. Without it, a conversation is unlikely to happen.

I believe Wally's observation and suggestions are dead-on. There was a stretch of time from the late 1970s through the mid 1990s where supervisors and managers were required to participate in training that gave them skills focused entirely on managing, guiding, and building people. That mandate has clearly diminished. Now we hear:

Two of My Favorite Myths

1. "Everyone is a leader!" 

Really?

Then explain the volumes of books, articles, and speeches lamenting the fact that there is a lack of leadership in (you name the organization, company, or government). Also: I've never seen someone lead effectively who didn't first know how to follow effectively. 'Following' isn't a weak, one-down posture. It's an entire set of thoughts, behaviors and skills that help a person understand how best to navigate an organization and what it means to serve and perform.

2. "We don't train people, we train dogs. We educate people."

Very cute.

Did you get "educated" in order to pass your driving test and parallel park? Do airline pilots and Space Shuttle commanders simply wave around their Ph.D's on "Aerodynamics and the Meaning of Life" or do they practice the right things over and over again before being allowed to fly? And is there some reason why you and your spouse look at each other and say, "Why does Duke the Dachshund behave better than Ashley and Jared?"

I'm sounding the trumpet call for "Here's how you do this" training for anyone who has to supervise anyone else.

Why?

Because it's the direct link to performance, retention, and creating an organization filled with people who know how to do the right things the right way.

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Four Essential Elements of a Successful Coaching Session

What makes coaching successful?

Success is often attributed to mutual chemistry, technique, and readiness to learn. I agree that those are important ingredients in the process. But in reality, they are steps to achieving results. And that's what we're looking for, right?

How do we reach the movement and momentum we want?

Yesterday I was discussing performance management on the HR.COM webinar. Managers are often concerned about how to use  performance data to really help employees.

That thought popped into mind when, a little while ago, I was in the midst of a coaching session and realized that we were on a roll. So I started paying attention to what was happening--like watching a movie where you are one of the actors. When I looked at the plot, it revealed four components that I think are essential for a coaching session to be successful.

1. Clarity

Ultimately, nothing will happen until you gain laser-like clarity on the issue or goal. The client in this case needed to put a lot of information out there before I could start to ask the right questions after hearing overlapping themes. Finally, he uttered a single phrase that summed up his goal. What was the take away?:

Total clarity before continuing.

2. Confirmation

When I repeated the phrase and asked him if that's where he wanted to go he smiled and his energy level went up noticeably. As a coach or client, ask the question: Is the excitement increasing because you've hit upon the real thing or an exciting thing?

Confirm the real deal or go back to step 1.

3. Communicate it

When we keep a goal or an issue to ourselves, there's no accountability for action. Once we state our desires or intentions to other people, we have a much greater chance of success. It's human nature. Tell someone else that you are planning on doing something and the likelihood of you doing it increases. Ask "Who else will you tell about this?" "Who else needs to be involved to help you accomplish this?"

Communicate to motivate.

4. Commitment

Create an immediate action--something that will happen today. Too often we become satisfied with the "Aha" and ignore the "Ah, when?" I ask for an action that can be taken before the end of the day. It  creates momentum, makes something happen (we both get paid to make something happen), and shows genuine commitment. It also provides a specific action that allows for follow up. "What was the outcome of your phone call to the customer?" "How did your team react to your initial meeting about the new software integration?

If the coach hears about how things went, then it opens the door to identify next steps. If the action didn't happen, it's a signal for both to examine what is happening and to get quickly on track. That could ultimately lead to a return to Clarity. Without a commitment and follow-up, it's easy to feel good about the session and still have nothing happen. (I hate when nothing happens!)

Commit to an action that will happen today.

Whether you're a coach--or someone being coached--you may have your own take on "Essentials." If so, click on the Comments link below and share with others what they are. I'll collect them and offer them as "Coaching Essentials from Real Life" in a later post.

Photo Source: iStockPhoto.com

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Announcing Changes and Making Connections

We should take care not to make the intellect our god; it has, of course, powerful muscles but no personality."--Albert Einstein

 I've watched two different executives at two different corporations make brief speeches about serious, impending changes at their companies. Both were sincere about wanting to connect with their respective organizations.  Here are excerpts from each:

#1:

"I want to let you know of the changes our executive group has designed to make our company more viable going forward. As you know, our profitability has been shrinking over the past four years. We have the ability to turn that around, and our shareholders deserve no less. As a result, here is what I plan to implement beginning immediately": (List of items)

#2

"You are all here today for training and development. But I just found out a little more about what we've expected for some time now--that we need to change the way we approach our business in order to ensure the future of ____________, our work and relationships here, and the critical services that we provide for our 300,000 customers--some of which you know personally. The most drastic changes will involve laying off about 100 of our 5,000 employees.  So I want to use some of this time to tell you how I'm feeing about that; how I feel about the future of this company;  and what I believe we need to do together.

When I'm finished, let's sit down together and simply talk for a while. We've come through a lot together over the years so we'll work through this, too. So let's get started..."

Both executives spoke the truth.

The second one--from observation--generated the more positive (Yep, let's do it!) response in the end.

"Oddly, the more personal something is, the more universal it is as well. When we dig deeper into truthful experiences, that's the work that really touches people and connects us all."--Bill Watterson, creator of the cartoon series Calvin & Hobbs

We're all different, so I'm curious to know which one would have connected, grabbed your commitment, and why?

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Feedback: Whose Motives?

Managers who are good coaches are like good journalists: they listen first and investigate the who, what, when, where, why, and how.

Remember that the real task is to stimulate thinking and help the person across the table gain clarity about some issue of concern. No matter how much we know, we can't stuff it into the other person's heart and mind. When we're on the other side of the table, what do we want?

A sounding board and a mirror.

What to do?

 Listen for gaps in logic, wandering thoughts, missing information, and lurking dangers that seem unknown. Help the person expand upon the answers to your questions, rethink the answers, or find even better ones.

Whose Motives?

We humans love to give advice. Why?

To use and show off our knowledge; boost our own sense of self; "prove" something; reduce someone else's learning curve and the pain that goes with it; or to show genuine empathy and support.

Some of these reasons are honorable while others are really "all about us." Pausing to check our own motives can help us head off the temptation to offer "help" that isn't really helpful.

Being asked for feedback is a sign of respect. Staying focused on the other person's needs is the way to respond in kind.

Be careful when you give advice--someone is liable to take it.

___________________________

It's natural to think about feedback in the context of your company's performance management "systems" and the always-agonizing annual performance review. Check out John Ingham's Improving and Innovating Performance Management.

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Feedback, Truth, and Love

Sodium is an active element found naturally only in combined form; it always links itself to another element. Chlorine is the poisonous gas that gives bleach its strong and offensive odor. When sodium and chlorine are combined, the result is sodium chloride--the common table salt that we use to preserve meat and bring out its flavor.

Love and truth are a lot like sodium and chlorine. Love without truth is erratic, often blind, and even willing to attach itself to anything that seems desirable in the moment. On the other hand, truth by itself can be quite offensive, even poisonous. Spoken without the intent of kindness or a spirit of love, it can turn people away from what they really need to hear.

Feedback is a big deal in organizations. It can be used to guide people to greater heights of performance or break someone's spirit in an instant.

Before delivering what you know to be true, check out your mental salt shaker and let your heart catch up with your mind.

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Are You Using Professional Assessments Professionally?

How is your organization using professional and leadership assessments?

Self-assessments, 360 degree feedback, assessment centers, and other similar tools are widely used in the workplace. What's your experience with them?

A lot of information is generated during the assessment process. I was reviewing some feedback that was coming in for a client and realized that there are many good uses for it. We may not always be taking the best advantage of the information and the potential process. So. . .

Would Some of These Help You and Your Organization?

Assessment feedback, by definition, is given to the subject of the assessment. That person is often asked to reflect  and decide what, if anything, to do with it. That's fine. Making changes is a choice. But here are some other ways to get the most from the data. You may be doing some are all of them now. If not, here are some thoughts that I hope you will find helpful:

1. In the case of 360 feedback, encourage the recipient (I'll use the word "Manager") to get together with the group that generated the data. It's an opportunity, at minimum, to acknowledge the time and energy they put into the activity.

Suggest that the Manager share the themes and take-aways from the data. 360 activities have some of the same dynamics as surveys. Participants want to know what happened with their input--and what will change as a result. This is a chance to do just that. And, if the Manager has misinterpreted something, the group can add clarity.

Yes, I know that the feedback is anonymous, blah blah. However, the act of inviting the respondents to come together also invites a deeper level of candor. And the fact of the matter is: These are people with whom the Manager has to work. Sooner or later it will be time to increase the honesty of conversations. This is an ideal framework in which to do that.

2. A Good Reason For A Good Conversation with "The Boss."

If you're the Manager, make an appointment with your boss. Tell what you think you want to do differently. Ask if the boss sees the data and your intended changes in the same way. Or differently. Here's the principle: Giving straight feedback is difficult for a lot, if not most, people. Including the boss. If you provide the data and ask for suggestions, you've done the work that your boss my find tough. It may be the most meaningful conversation you've had with that person.

3. A Good Reason For a Good Conversation with Your Reports.

If it's a 360, some or all of those folks provided feedback. I wouldn't call a departmental meeting and declare "Let's share." I would do one of these two:

• Make it a point to informally share what you learned and are working on with each person. Do it in the course of normal conversation.

• If you have a full group meeting coming up soon, take 10 minutes to talk about the assessment, the process, what you learned, what you are working on, and what kind of support you need to do those things. The payoff? You get help. You set the model that getting feedback and doing assessments is a valuable activity.

4. Self Assessments. Any or all of the above will be helpful to validate your self perception. We have ways of deceiving ourselves on both scales: positive and negative. Have the conversations that will give you an accurate picture.

Let's assume that you--or whoever is being assessed--will use the info for development. Here's the payoff you don't want to miss: the data provide an "objective" reason to have a "subjective" conversation. When you rally around the information, you are in an arena that's focused on performance factors and not necessarily you as a person. (That may be a result. Why not find out while you still have time to make changes?).

Most of all: an assessment offers  a legitimate reason to have the kind of conversation you've been missing.

Go for it!

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Join Kevin Eikenberry & Me On Wednesday!

On The Air With Kevin Eikenberry and Remarkable Leadership

If you want to learn more about becoming more productive, more satisfied, and more effective, I hope you'll connect with Kevin Eikenberry and me on Wednesday, October 15 at 2 p.m. Eastern Time.

You can register here free!

We're going to be covering a lot of ground in an hour: leading, shared responsibility, tapping into your real talents, and making your team even better.

Bonus: I'll be giving away--free of charge--one membership to Kevin's Remarkable Leadership Learning System to an All Things Workplace email subscriber. If you want a chance to win something of genuine professional value--  Remarkable Leadership Learning System--fill in the email box in the upper-right sidebar in the yellow box above "Get email updates."  You will be eligible if you register as an email subscriber by midnight on Friday, October 17. The winner will be announced on Monday, October 20th.

See you at 2pm ET on Wednesday, October 15!

Note: If you are totally unable to join us, we'll have the program available afterward for a nominal fee.

 

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Talent: The Ever-Changing "Unique You"

You are a moving target needing to pause and catch up with yourself.

Not the navel-gazing kind of pause but the "Where Am I Now?" kind.

Thanks to Beth Robinson I realized that The Intersection That Is Uniquely You is dynamic.

Beth writes:

I agree with your point that all three must be considered and there are two ways that I might alter your diagram based on my experience...

A more dynamic background. The "uniquely you" spot moves. Interests change. Skills develop. Different ways to use talents are identified. And it will keep moving.

More than one question mark option in the pop-out box. The "uniquely you" spot is an area not a point. There are often multiple potential points that can fit in that area and some are reachable by more transactional paths and some require the transformational paths that you mentioned in your last post.

It helps to have a gifted chemist/artist/writer as a reader and contributor. Talk about talents!

The Original

The Dynamic You

Over the course of a lifetime, what you bring to your life and work is dynamic. As Beth points out, talents and interests change and grow; you may become more closely aligned with your values and priorities; and the "uniquely you" transforms as a result.

Individuals: This is a good reason to stop and self-assess periodically. Is your career in sync with your development? Are you developing talents and skills that could be better-used and more highly rewarded?

Note: We often discount the very things that make us valuable contributors. Why? Because when we are using a great deal of our natural talent it often doesn't "feel" as if we are working "hard." As a result, we undersell the value of what we bring.

Employers: The change-dynamic is the very reason that ongoing feedback and developmental discussions are critical.  People achieve increasing mastery within their talents and skills by virtue of how they use them and learn from them each day. You want to know how that's going, the best way to support it on behalf of the organization, and how you can channel that growth into bigger things for the company and the individual.

Need some incentive?

A  2008 survey by Right Management of mid-level and senior leaders showed the top reasons employees are leaving their jobs include: 30% for lack of new internal opportunities, 25% due to poor leadership, 22% because of poor relationships with their boss and 21% because they felt their efforts were not valued.

This is quite straightforward:

• People grow and develop, they want to keep doing so, and they want it to be acknowledged and recognized in some meaningful way by employers.

• Employers want people who get better at what they do, can then take on new challenges, and ultimately make a difference on behalf of the company.

Doesn't that sound like a good reason to sit down and have a talk?

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Talent: Where's The Best Place to Use Your Strengths?

There are a lot of places where you can work.

What you want to know is: Which ones will allow me to use my talents for peak performance and satisfaction?

Talents, Learned Skills, and The 60/40 Rule

I spend a lot of time in developmental discussions and career transitions. A good rule of thumb to follow is this: make sure your situation allows you to use your innate talents about 60% of the time and your related, learned skills about 40%.

Why?

It will keep you operating at peak performance because:

a. Your talents inherently seek to grow and improve

b. Your talents are flexible and adaptable to change. If you want to know how you'll do in a new job, see how closely it relates to talents and not the rote skills you've developed in support of those.

c. Talents are transferable from one job to another.

d. They ultimately make the best use of one's time and yield the highest quantity and best quality when it comes to results.

Organizations take note: Instead of looking for "excellence" in every aspect of job duties, start paying attention to where your people are talented. That's where they will excel. When it comes time to appraise individual performance or assess for future opportunities in your company, focus on where the person is talented. Talents transfer across job descriptions, departments, organizations, and even careers.

Where You Fit Is Where You Should Be

There are all kinds of organizations and settings in which you can exercise your talents in return for compensation. Not all of them are good fits for you.

I've been in the military but didn't consider it for a career.

I worked in education but came to a similar conclusion.

I've been a manager in a large corporation as well as a sales manager in a smaller one. Nope.

Now, my client list is represented by each of those organizations. The organizations weren't the issue.

I had to come to grips with the fact that none of those would allow me to do things fast enough and creatively enough to satisfy me. So I decided to ply my craft from the "outside" and the decision has been a good one. Clients allow me leeway to use my expertise in ways that they wouldn't allow internally. (That's because they can also make me vanish rather quickly if they so choose).

Note: In an ironic twist, I've had two clients for 16 and 20 years respectively. That may come close to qualifying as a career person at each:-)

Here's where we are:

1. In The Intersection That Is Uniquely You, we took a look at how your talents, interests, and values come together at the place that makes you unique.

2. Today, think about the kind of organization that's a fit for you and your talents:

If you aren't big on structure and procedures, the military or law enforcement may not be the right arenas for you regardless of your related talents.

Gifted at sales and influencing? Then you've got some options. If you value a high income, then business may be a good fit. But if it's important to you to use your talents on behalf of a cause or the community, then selling or promoting on behalf of a regional theater company (Performing Arts) would be a good fit.

You get the idea.

Just remember: Your talents will grow in an environment that values them and allows you to use them. Take some time to choose thoughtfully.

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When Customer Service Makes You Disappear

So I sat down quietly on Tuesday morning to do the next installment of the Career series. The phone rang.

Right now, it's Sunday morning at 12:34 a.m. Eastern Time and the first chance I've had to open up the software to get back in touch with our community here at All Things Workplace

What happened?

Well, it's been what you might call a consultant's dream/nightmare. Suddenly, it was important to take action immediately on projects ranging from 360 feedback to talent management to designing a new process for a global system. In the midst of that, a call came in from what turned out to be a new client.

The result: Four consecutive 15-hour days in different locations interspersed with a 4 a.m. teleconference to accommodate global participants followed by a surprise visit from out-of-town friends and then a dinner to celebrate another couple's wedding anniversary.

Hey, it's all good. But I got very, very antsy the longer I felt out-of-touch with the daily interaction at All Things Workplace.

The relationships here are every bit as genuine and real as those in the brick-and-mortar world and I really missed the daily contact and learning. If you commented and wondered what happened, I was working (contrary to much popular belief about consultants:-)

Before the phone rings again I'm headed toward the comment boxes to pick up where we left off, then add the next Career post (along with some things I think I learned from the various engagements this week).

Thanks for continuing to weigh in. . .it's good to be back.

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The Intersection That's Uniquely You

When it comes to a career that has meaning, you are really looking for something that captures that which is uniquely you.

Work satisfaction rests on a foundation that joins together the best of who you are with the best of what you can accomplish. Outstanding accountants, teachers, lawyers, welders, and musicians somewhere made a choice that turned into a "best fit" career.

You want to do the same thing. That's why it's important to know the elements that go into a meaningful career.

This is where it's easy to get confused. There are three elements that come together to create an effective career decision. There are coaches, counselors, and helpers who, because of training, education, and personal preference, may lean toward over-emphasizing just one. Each is valid but is only 1/3 of the total picture:

Values: That which you hold dear and represent personal priorities in your life.

Interests: Subject matter that holds your attention and keeps you engaged.

Talents: Those innate gifts and learned skills that allow to perform at peak levels under the right circumstances.

Here is a graphic that I developed for corporate clients who are transitioning inside--or outside--of their organization. I use the same graphic for individual clients. It offers a mental model to think about these three areas in ways that lead to the intersection of "uniquely you."

I hope you find it useful as well.

If you are a manager, use this as a discussion starter when engaged in professional development plans.

For parents: Begin watching your youngsters using these as a lens to through which to view their activities and decisions. As they move into their teen years, ask them how they see themselves in each area and where they see things coming together. Bonus outcome from helping them focus: Four years of tuition is a lot cheaper than six!

Here's to a career that is uniquely you.

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Career Transition? Start at The Right Place

"People who've been fired or laid off, or are really flat about their current situation, are coming from a "world of work" mindset. They're still immersed in the sensations and day-to-day reality of their last/current job when they find their way to a coach. By using talents as the primary access, it really honors what's present and right in front of them."

   --Lisa Gates, Career Coach/Leadership Muse

Lisa is so right about this that it prompted a little continuation of What Should I Be Doing With My Life?

The Myth of the Cumulative Career

Whether you are someone making a transition--or a coach/HR person/friend who is trying to be helpful--realize that the natural tendency when making a career change is to build on where you've been.

It's natural because the most comfortable and socially acceptable way for us to live is in a linear fashion. We're taught to think and build upon what came before; that's the way you "get ahead."

This may, in fact, serve you well if you started out with the right career fit. But  you are making a change! It's a signal to start thinking about yourself, your life, and your career differently.

If it's helpful to find some catch-phrases to go with this, here they are:

1. If you are simply building on your existing career, then you are on a Transactional career path. In other words, more education, experiences, and opportunities in your current professional discipline will get you where you want to go. You exchange time and effort for more of what you're getting now.

2. If you seek to change your work life, then the change is Transformational. You are on a quest to morph into the new you (which is actually the real you). Linear thinking based solely upon past experience will make you hear voices that say, "You're earning a good living. You should be grateful (and you really should). Why change?"

Why? Because you know you have to. You are getting burned out, worn down, and disengaged as a result of your present condition. If the issue really isn't your work environment (which it could be), then you are right: the issue is you and your future satisfaction.

Here is a visual reminder as you begin to move ahead:

Up Next: The place where career elements intersect.

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"Aha!" Signals A Beginning

How many times have you studied, thought, worked, conversed, or meditated in order to reach an "Aha!" moment?

It seems to me that we have a tendency to treat "Ahas!" as if they are a result.  Yet when you look at them carefully, they signal a beginning; a sign that there may be a new path to pursue, something new to learn, or a situation to re-visit in a different way.

Some Aha! Questions to Ponder

1. When was your last "Aha!"?

2. Did it lead somewhere?

3. If  so, where?

4. If not, why not?

5. Is it time to re-visit it to see what you might have missed?

(Almost) Everything I Know About "Ahas" I Learned From Fourth-Graders

When I got out of the Army, I went back to college to complete the last few requirements for my degree.  I also went back to being a working--and paid--musician.  Life was good. Except for the next "Aha!."

You see, at that time in the history of the universe, there was a strange, quaint phenomenon known as dating.("Dating" was a very common ancient ritual that involved asking a young woman to go out with you alone to a movie, or a restaurant, or an event. The idea was that if you could get to know each other better, you might want to continue and develop an even deeper relationship. If this sounds strange and you want to learn more about it, go to a garage sale, buy a 45 RPM record (they look like oversized CD's with a big hole in the center), and listen to the lyrics. Hint: you will notice that the lyrics rhyme. Oh, and you'll need to buy a 45 RPM record player,too.)

Sorry.

Back to the related "Aha!" which was known as:

"Come in and meet my father"

Me with mandatory strong handshake: "Hello, Mr. ____, nice to meet you. "

Father: "Hello, young man (fathers do not utter the actual name of the perceived weasel-disguised-as-a person. Now that I am the father of a daughter, I understand the dynamic. But I can't reveal it, otherwise I would betray the other fathers-of-daughters-about-to-be-dated-by-the-weasel).

"Tell me, young man, what do you do for a living?" (This is a man-question to determine the extent of your slackerness).

Me: (proudly): Mr. _____, I'm a professional musician and I play at ______and ________.

Father: (Silence)

Father again: (Continued silence, furrowed brow, followed by look of disdain).

Father, turning to wife while walking out of the room: "Ethel, tell him to have her home by midnight."

Aha!

I learned that:

a. "I am a musician" was not a good thing to say, no matter how much money I made.

b. I would have to do something that appeared to erase my perceived weaselness and make me respectable.

Aha!

I will be a teacher.

So I did a little stint at a Junior High School.

Aha! Working with 13 and 14 year-olds clearly wasn't going to do it for me. I concluded, rather hastily, that every existing 13 and 14 year-old should be universally housed in their own country or state--say, North Dakota--until they are 20.

Obviously, High School would work out better for me.

Aha! I apparently had a very short memory and forgot that, between the ages of 15-18, Homer and Hemingway were completely overshadowed by Heaving Hormones. That leaves:

Elementary School. Yes, but what grade?

Third graders still had "accidents."

Fifth graders were reaching puberty.

And if I were to be somehow elected President, they would soon be sent to North Dakota anyway.

Aha! Fourth grade.

. . .and Here Are The 5 Things I Learned About Business from Fourth Graders

The kids--and all of us at work-- show up each day hoping that we'll have an Aha! experience. That it will lead to something new, engaging, and satisfying. As a teacher, it was my responsibility to attempt to create the conditions for that in the context of what was to be learned. So I had to do five things:

1. Be crystal clear about the learning goal.

If I wasn't clear, the day didn't go well. Minds and bodies gravitated toward something that did seem clear. The world--even the world of fourth graders--abhors a vacuum.

2. Show them the connection between what they would learn and how it works in life.

If they couldn't see how "it" was real, eyes glazed over.

3. Understand each of the kids and how they learn.

Hands-on doers, Readers, Questioners, 10-year-old Cynics. They were all represented.

4. Create an experience that would allow #3 to be satisfied.

I always thought that this was the toughest part. How do you achieve the learning goal in the designated amount of time with so many different kinds of learners?

5. Manage the experience and follow up with each of the kids.

Once I put the activity in motion, I had to touch base with each of the students, check out how they were doing, tell them how they were doing, and then formally evaluate how they did.

Applied Management That Creates "Aha!"?

1. Managing starts with clarity. The time a manager spends getting clear about what needs to be done will pay off in focused effort from increased understanding.

2. The Manager is the Mediator of Meaning. Clarity is the first part of  the issue. The other part is taking the time to show exactly how "what" you are proposing to do is directly connected to the success of over-arching goals.

3. Managers Understand How People Learn and Work. Intellectually, we all acknowledge that people learn differently and work differently. Really successful managers take time to pinpoint what those styles are and genuinely acknowledge their inherent value.

4. Managing Means Knowing How to Orchestrate the Experience. When to have a meeting or not have a meeting; who needs one-on-one attention? What isn't negotiable and what will work best with a full discussion? Is the objective really achievable--at the level of quality desired--in the originally designated timetable? Managers, go ahead and add your favorites to this list.

5. Managers Lead from Every Proximity. You'll spot a good manager out in front of the group; alongside of a direct report who is struggling; or standing in the back of the room listening to a discussion and only joining in when re-direction or a fact is needed. And everyone knows how they're doing in relation to what's expected.

I hope this has sparked an "Aha" for you. If it did, by all means weigh in in the comment box below.

Graphic Source: A Perfect World www.aperfectworld.org

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When Bosses Get Good Scores

"The persistent, spirited craving we have for connection, meaning, relevance, peace -- can't really be abandoned because from 8-to-5 we have a job, can it? More and more and more we see people bringing their humanity to work, and finding ways to specify what's really important. Less is more. Seems to me the only time more is more is when it's more of less." (my italics)   

                --Lisa Gates comment on Goals, Clarity, and Less

Headlines often highlight the negative, or questionable, in order to grab our attention. It works.

We're so used to it that when I see one that puts a smile on my face, it actually has more impact.

Here are statistics that say things aren't quite as dismal as most headline writers would like us to think:

More than half--58%--of U.S. workers have confidence in their company's leadership. A full 66% say that they would recommend their firm to their friends who are seeking a job.

Those figures come from a survey conducted by NetReflector, a company that offers tools for gathering customer and employee feedback. The survey included 9,351 people in 10 different countries. I'm not sure of the exact amount from the U.S. survey population.

What does this mean?

We're always seeing headlines or journal articles about difficulty in recruiting and retaining talent. If these stats are true, then companies would seem to have a lot going for them. Additionally, the NetReflector folks point out that high employee satisfaction usually equates with high customer satisfaction. Not bad.

Is there a hidden challenge in there?

I think so. I did a post about what job seekers want. The top 3 items were interesting, challenging work; rewards and recognition for accomplishments; and a chance for quick career growth and advancement.

The NetReflector survey asked "what could bosses do better?" The highest percentage of responses stated "use my skills and abilities better." And just under half (49%) felt that what they did actually contributed to the company's mission.

If we can assume that this is an accurate representation, then supervisors and managers can probably boost their effectiveness even more by focusing on two things:

1. Creating assignments that offer some stretch goals and professional growth.

2. Intentionally talking about how the work unit's efforts tie into the company's overall mission.

I'm thinking that if managers can focus on just a couple of meaningful things at a time--instead of being faced with multiple programmatic fads--they can make a difference.

What do you think?

 

         

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When Managers Engage In This Way, People Learn

How Do You Successfully Build Up People?

Success is often attributed to mutual chemistry, technique, and readiness to learn. I agree that those are important ingredients in the process. But in reality, they are steps to achieving results. And that's what we're looking for, right?

When Can You Start Your People-Building? kicked off a passionate discussion. Read through the comments and you'll see the depth of feeling surrounding the topic.

Longtime management pro Wally Bock of Three Star Leadership offered up two of the most succinct thoughts I've seen associated with managerial coaching or, for that matter, any of the helping professions:

                                       _______________________________________________________

"When looking outward, try to concentrate on the things you can witness and describe, what people say and do, and don't try to guess what might be behind them.

When looking inward, try to judge yourself by your results instead of by your intentions."

                                       _______________________________________________________

What Should We Pay Attention To?

In the midst of a coaching session I started paying attention to what was happening--like watching a movie where you are one of the actors. When I looked at the plot, it reflected four distinct components that I think are essential for any coaching session to be successful:

1. Clarity

Ultimately, nothing will happen until you gain laser-like clarity on the issue or goal. The client in this case needed to put a lot of information out there before I could start to ask the right questions after hearing overlapping themes. Finally, he uttered a single phrase that summed up his goal. I've learned that when you hear a single, powerful sentence instead of a rambling paragraph, you're probably there.

Total clarity before continuing.

2. Confirmation

When I repeated the phrase and asked him if that's where he wanted to go he smiled and his energy level went up noticeably. As a coach or client, ask yourself the question: Is the excitement increasing because you've hit upon the real thing?

Confirm the real deal or go back to step 1.

3. Communivation

Yes, according to the spell-checker, I made that up.

When we keep a goal or an issue to ourselves, there's no accountability for action. Once we state our desires or intentions to other people, we have a much greater chance of success. It's human nature. Tell someone else that you are planning on doing something and the likelihood of you doing it increases. Ask "Who else will you tell about this?" "Who else needs to be involved to help you accomplish this?"

Communicate to motivate.

4. Commitment

Create an immediate action--something that will happen today. Too often we become satisfied with the "Aha" and ignore the "Ah, when?" I ask for an action that can be taken before the end of the day. It creates momentum, makes something happen (we both get paid to make something happen), and shows genuine commitment. It also provides a specific action that allows for follow up. "What was the outcome of your phone call to the customer?" "How did your team react to your initial meeting about the new software integration?

If the manager/coach hears about how things went, then it opens the door to identify next steps. If the action didn't happen, it's a signal for both to examine what is happening and to get quickly on track. That could ultimately lead to a return to Clarity. Without a commitment and follow-up, it's easy to feel good about the session and still have nothing happen. (I hate when nothing happens!)

Commit to an action that will happen today.

                                       _______________________________________________________
 

Whether you're a manager/coach--or someone being coached--you may have your own take on "Essentials." If so, click on the Comments link below and share with others what they are. I'll collect them and offer them as "Coaching Essentials from Real Life" in a later post.

And: Three Good Reads

• Leadership alert for hard-working, ordinary people: Jim Stroup's As Bad As All That?

• Listening, Attention, and Patience at Slow Leadership will help manager/coaches everywhere.

• What we're talking about is individual change. Doing it in an organizational context can be a challenge. Check out Michal McKinney's post at Leadership Now.

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