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Doing more with less? Start with focus say 40 top thought leaders
John Stahl-Wert, best-selling author and founder of The SHIP Company believes that challenging economic times provide an opportunity for individuals, teams, and companies to get better and to understand things more deeply. Yet, in his experience, “Many leaders and managers see times of restraint as a time to pressure people and provide less in terms of the human side and support.”
This is so foolish, he explains. Instead, Stahl-Wert recommends that leaders “Look at ways to raise up the people capability, not try to pressure productivity.”
Stahl-Wert is one of 40 thought leaders who will be joining Ken Blanchard for a Doing Still More With Less Leadership Livecast on April 24. A free event, this online webcast will bring together thought leaders, via video, to look at ways to engage and support people while meeting the increased performance demands of the current business environment.
Charlene Li, author, consultant, and founder of Altimeter Group who will be joining Stahl-Wert as a part of the webcast says that identifying the vital, critical work that will get you and your organization the results you are looking for is the first step.
“In order to get more done, you actually have to do fewer things, but very crucially, the most important things—and just as essential, make sure all the people around you understand what it is you will do and also what you won’t do.”
Jane Perdue, a principal with Braithwaite Innovation Group suggests that leaders begin by asking themselves some key questions.
“Are we doing the right work, with the right people, in the right way, at the right time, in the right pursuit of company initiatives, and are we using the right information and the right tools to make it so?”
Find a minute to reflect
For leaders looking to reexamine their own work, Ken Blanchard recommends taking a minute to reflect and get organized.
“The reality today is that leaders have to find quiet time to think through what’s really important to do. Today more than ever, you have to identify the 20 percent that is going to give you the 80 percent. You have to find out what is vital when you’re looking at everything you have to accomplish. In order to do more with less, you have to focus your energy on the work that is the most important.
“The next step is to prioritize that work and turn it into measureable goals. Identify three to five things you can get done on a consistent basis. Get your life organized so you can focus and help others organize their lives.”
“Doing more with less means that managers and their people have to be partners. It can’t be ‘my way or the highway,’” says Blanchard. “You have to empower your people. Micromanaging is a thing of the past. Managers can’t be on top of everything.”
There is a silver lining though, explains Blanchard.
“The good news is that if handled correctly, these tough times can actually lead to increased employee motivation. If leaders can create more autonomy by giving their people what they need when they need it, building competency and stronger relationships along the way, they will increase employees’ sense of well-being and overall performance.”
You can read more about what Blanchard and other key thought leaders have to say in this new article from Blanchard’s Ignite newsletter. To learn more specifically about the free April 24 webcast, Doing Still More With Less, check out this link.
Free Blanchard webinar today! Building Trust: 3 Keys to Becoming a More Trustworthy Leader
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Join trust expert Randy Conley for a complimentary webinar and online chat beginning today at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (12:00 noon Eastern).
In a special presentation on Building Trust: 3 Keys to Becoming a More Trustworthy Leader, Conley will be exploring how leaders can improve the levels of trust in their organization by identifying potential gaps that trip up even the best of leaders.
Participants will learn:
- How to get it right on the inside first
- The 4 leadership behaviors that build or destroy trust
- The 3 keys to creating trusting relationships
The webinar is free and seats are still available if you would like to join over 500 people expected to participate.
Immediately after the webinar, Randy will be answering follow-up questions here at LeaderChat for about 30 minutes. To participate in the follow-up discussion, use these simple instructions.
Instructions for Participating in the Online Chat
- Click on the LEAVE A COMMENT link above
- Type in your question
- Push SUBMIT COMMENT
It’s as easy as that! Randy will answer as many questions as possible in the order they are received. Be sure to press F5 to refresh your screen occasionally to see the latest responses.
We hope you can join us later today for this special complimentary event courtesy of Cisco WebEx and The Ken Blanchard Companies. Click here for more information on participating.
Join us for today’s webinar: A Closer Look at the New Science of Motivation
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Join best-selling business author Susan Fowler for a complimentary webinar and online chat beginning today at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (12:00 noon Eastern).
In a special presentation on A Closer Look at the New Science of Motivation Fowler will be sharing some of the research underlying Blanchard’s new Optimal Motivation program and workshops. Participants will explore three basic psychological needs—Autonomy, Relatedness, and Competence—and the skills needed to reach a high quality of self-regulation. The webinar is free and seats are still available if you would like to join over 700 people expected to participate.
Immediately after the webinar, Susan will be answering follow-up questions here at LeaderChat for about 30 minutes. To participate in the follow-up discussion, use these simple instructions.
Instructions for Participating in the Online Chat
- Click on the LEAVE A COMMENT link above
- Type in your question
- Push SUBMIT COMMENT
It’s as easy as that! Susan will answer as many questions as possible in the order they are received. Be sure to press F5 to refresh your screen occasionally to see the latest responses.
We hope you can join us later today for this special complimentary event courtesy of Cisco WebEx and The Ken Blanchard Companies. Click here for more information on participating.
Innovators—3 ways to invite others to your next big idea
Innovation requires passion. It takes a lot of energy to develop an idea and implement it successfully in an organization. Fortunately, innovators have passion in abundance.
Innovation also requires collaboration. Very few ideas can be successfully implemented without the cooperation and buy-in of others. Unfortunately, innovators often struggle in this area–especially if they fall in love with their idea and become defensive about feedback.
In an upcoming Leadership Livecast on Un-Leaderlike Moments I share a story about the way this sneaks up on unsuspecting innovators. See if this has ever happened to you.
The birth of an idea
You come up with an idea—it’s one of your best ideas—and you can’t wait to share it with the other people on your team. So you do. And you know what? They’re just as excited about it as you are. You decide to go in together and make this idea a reality.
But soon after, something you didn’t plan on starts to occur. Your teammates like your original concept, but they have some thoughts for making it better. They begin to share their thinking and give you some feedback. How do you react?
Dealing with feedback–two typical paths
If you are an experienced innovator, you take some time to really listen to what your team is sharing with you. You explore what they are saying, you ask for details, and you draw out the essence of their ideas. You realize that no matter how good your original idea may be, it’s always smart to treat feedback as a gift and to listen closely with the intention of being influenced.
If you are a relatively new innovator—and you are really attached to your idea—you may see feedback from your team in a completely different light. Ego can often get in the way and now you become defensive when others suggest changes. You dismiss their feedback as uninformed, uninspired, or just plain limiting. Instead of listening with the intent of being influenced, you listen just long enough to respond and remind everyone why the team should stay on course with your original concept. You become so focused on leading change that you don’t notice the energy, enthusiasm and participation of team members falling off as you march to the finish line.
It’s not until you get there and turn around for a group high-five that you see their weary exasperation with your leadership style. They congratulate you on your project.
A better way
Don’t let that happen to your next idea. Here are three ways to innovate and collaborate more effectively:
- Create space for other people to contribute. Take advantage of everything that people bring to a team. Utilize their head and heart as well as their hands.
- Listen to feedback. Explore and acknowledge what people are suggesting. Listen in a special way—with the intent of being influenced.
- Recognize that no matter how good your idea is, it can always be made better through the input of others. As Ken Blanchard likes to say, “None of us is as smart as all of us.”
True innovation requires passion and collaboration. Create some space for others. It will make your ideas stronger, give you a better chance for success, and create needed buy-in along the way.
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PS: You can learn more about the 40 different thought leaders presenting in the October 10 Un-Leaderlike Moments Livecast here. It’s a free online event hosted by Ken Blanchard.
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Cultivating Employee Work Passion: The New Rules of Engagement
Join The Ken Blanchard Companies for a complimentary webinar and online chat beginning today at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (12:00 noon Eastern).
Best-selling author and consultant Scott Blanchard will be sharing the results of five years of primary research which uncovers the motivational factors that bring out the natural motivation inherent in people, get employees up-to-speed quickly in new roles, and remove roadblocks to performance.
The webinar is free and seats are still available if you would like to join over 1,100 people expected to participate. Immediately after the webinar, Scott will be answering follow-up questions here at LeaderChat for about 30 minutes. To participate in the follow-up discussion, use these simple instructions.
Instructions for Participating in the Online Chat
- Click on the LEAVE A COMMENT link above
- Type in your question
- Push SUBMIT COMMENT
It’s as easy as that! Scott will answer as many questions as possible in the order they are received. Be sure to press F5 to refresh your screen occasionally to see the latest responses. We hope you can join us later today for this special complimentary event courtesy of Cisco WebEx and The Ken Blanchard Companies.
How to Deliver Feedback in a Way that Gets Results
Join The Ken Blanchard Companies for a complimentary webinar and online chat beginning today at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (12:00 noon Eastern). Senior Consulting Partner Phil Reynolds will be sharing essential feedback skills in a presentation on How to Deliver Feedback in a Way that Gets Results.
The webinar is free and seats are still available if you would like to join over 1,100 people expected to participate.
Immediately after the webinar, Phil will be answering follow-up questions here at LeaderChat for about 30 minutes. To participate in the follow-up discussion, use these simple instructions.
Instructions for Participating in the Online Chat
- Click on the LEAVE A COMMENT link above
- Type in your question
- Push SUBMIT COMMENT
It’s as easy as that! Phil will answer as many questions as possible in the order they are received. Be sure to press F5 to refresh your screen occasionally to see the latest responses.
We hope you can join us later today for this special complimentary event courtesy of Cisco WebEx and The Ken Blanchard Companies. Click here to register or learn more.
10/20/11 update: Webinar recording just posted. Access here by clicking How To Deliver Feedback in a Way that Gets Results
Don’t Lose Your Best People Because of a Poor Growth Strategy
That’s the message Scott Blanchard shares with readers in his latest column for Fast Company magazine. Drawing on exclusive, primary research that shows Growth as one of the lowest-rated employee work passion factors in today’s organizations, Blanchard shares what individuals, managers, and senior leaders can do to improve growth perceptions inside their organizations.
Individual Employees
For individual employees, Blanchard recommends first and foremost, to focus on doing a good job in your current role while you look for new opportunities inside the company. As he explains, “Growth beyond your current job is a privilege usually reserved for people who perform in an exemplary fashion. When managers get requests for growth from people who are not performing at their best, it may feel to them like they are stepping on a treadmill with an employee who may never be satisfied in his or her current role. Most managers will avoid this, because they suspect it will become a never-ending process.”
Managers
For managers, Blanchard advises facing growth conversations head-on—even when you don’t have traditional next steps up the corporate ladder to offer. As a manager, keep your eye out for new opportunities and new projects that may come up. Know which people on your team would consider it rewarding to get involved in a project that is different than their normal job.
This could potentially be a lateral move, or even a move to completely different part of the organization. Some of the greatest opportunities for growth are found in areas that integrate what’s happening between two departments. For example, a project following up on leads could bring the sales and marketing departments together, while refining and solving a business problem could integrate the engineering and sales departments.
Good managers look out for their people and think beyond the day-to-day. When they have someone who is really working hard for them, they go out of their way to help that person grow.
Senior Leaders
For senior leaders, Blanchard reminds executives that good people always have opportunities. His recommendation? Conduct an assessment to find out how employees view current growth opportunities in the organization. Make growth a priority. Your best people are not going to wait patiently for opportunities for advancement—even in a slow economy. If you are not providing them with growth opportunities, they will go elsewhere and they will take what they learn from you and use that to build their career at another company.
You don’t want to be the person at a top employee’s exit interview who hears, “The headhunters seemed to care more about my career development and growth opportunities than this organization did.”
Learn More
Growth is just one of 12 important factors employees evaluate in their work environment. To see Blanchard’s latest research on the topic read Employee Work Passion Volume 3: Connecting the Dots. To read more on Scott Blanchard’s specific strategies for creating an engaging work environment check out his other Fast Company articles.
Do Your People Really Know What You Expect From Them?
Feedback Usually Says More About the Giver than the Receiver
Managers: Set People Free to Promote Growth and Get Results
The Role Money Plays in Engaging Employees
The Just-Right Approach To Social Media And Transparency, And What It Says About Your Company
Maintain A Startup Attitude for a Passionate Office
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Have you got “virtualosity”?
As the world becomes more connected by technology, there is a growing expectation that modern professionals are accessible and responsive. Often, this means stretching boundaries and developing new skills to conduct business with people in far-reaching time zones and geographies.
One of the basic requirements in today’s new connected world is “virtualosity” when it comes to responsiveness and engagement.
For HR, OD, and training professionals, “virtualosity” means acknowledging and meeting the needs of participants who are located across a widely-dispersed network, and using new technology and enhanced instructional design to keep your audience engaged.
Don’t Lead In A Vacuum: 3 keys to creating a successful vision
Even under the best of circumstances, creating a business plan and getting others to actually buy into it is a difficult task. Don’t make things three times as hard by trying to do everything yourself. That’s the advice from Jesse Stoner in a recent article on Creating a Vision Statement that Works.
Stoner explains that too many executives try to do everything on their own. They don’t leave room for other people. As a result, people don’t feel like they own the vision and so they are less likely to follow it.
For executives looking to create a strong picture of the future for their company that will guide planning and decision-making in the coming year, Stoner recommends paying special attention to what she calls the three “hows.”
3 “Hows” of Creating A Successful Vision
- How it’s created. Resist the temptation to huddle together with a small group of executives at an off-site retreat to create a vision for the organization. While part of leadership entails setting a strategic direction for the company, the key is to make space for all of the people who are going to be responsible for implementing the vision. If you want them to buy into the vision, give them a chance to be a part of the process.
- How it’s communicated. Avoid the urge to laminate your latest vision statement, frame it on the wall, and distribute copies among the rank-and-file. Instead, ask managers to share the new vision in small group settings, discuss what it means, answer questions, and gather feedback.
- How it’s lived. This is something that a leader can do personally. Actions speak louder than words and employees will be watching a senior leader’s behavior to see if the vision is really a new direction or just words on a paper. Make sure that your behavior is consistent with the stated direction of the company. Nothing does a better job of bringing a vision to life.
Don’t lead in a vacuum—involve others in the process for better buy-in and greater results.
To learn more about what Stoner has to say on creating a clear direction for 2011, be sure to check out Creating a Vision Statement that Works in this month’s Ignite newsletter. Also, learn more about a free webinar Stoner is conducting this Wednesday on Creating Engagement and Alignment through a Shared Vision. Over 700 people are registered already!
Don’t Overthink Recognition and Praise
Managers can be shy or unsure of themselves when it comes to recognizing and praising others at work. That’s some of the feedback we’ve been getting as people have been participating in our Catch People Doing Things Right Twitter contest (see details below). Part of the reason is that leaders are concerned that they won’t do it right—or that it won’t be received well. These fears are mostly groundless. Everyone loves to be praised. For managers looking to catch their people doing things right, there are really only two things to keep in mind:
1. Be Immediate and Specific–For a praising to be effective, it must be immediate and specific. Tell people exactly what they did right as soon as possible. For example, “You submitted your report on time Friday, and it was well written. In fact, I used it in a meeting today, and that report made you and me and our whole department look good.”
Use examples such as “I see productivity in your department is up ten percent” or “Your report helped us win the contract with the Jones Company.” Comments that are too general, such as “I appreciate your efforts,” “Thank you very much,” “I don’t know what I’d do without you,” and “Keep up the good work,” are less likely to seem sincere and thus are unlikely to be effective.
2. State Your Feelings–After you praise people, tell them how you feel about what they did. Don’t intellectualize. State your gut feelings: “Let me tell you how I feel. I was so proud after hearing your financial report presentation at the Board of Directors meeting. I want you to know how good I feel about your being on our team. Thanks a lot.”
Recognizing people and expressing appreciation doesn’t have to be a laborious, drawn-out process. In fact, many times your best praisings are the informal, spur-of-the-moment opportunities that happen throughout the course of the day.
Get started today. Catch someone doing things right. It’s a powerful way to show someone you care and it can be your best management minute of the day.
Twitter Contest–Today’s Winner!
Congratulations to Christie at Mississippi State’s Women’s basketball program. She was recognized by Coach Joey Burton and is the winner of today’s prize of a personally autographed copy of one of Ken Blanchard’s latest books.
If you’d like to participate and recognize someone you know for a job well done, just follow the instructions below. We’ll be choosing one more winner tomorrow.
Instructions for “Catch Someone Doing Things Right” Twitter Contest
1. Go to http://www.twitter.com and post the name of the person you would like to catch doing things right along with a very short (140-characters or less) description of why. Include the following code in your message @leaderchat
For example: @leaderchat Nick Peterson—for your work in developing our new press release program and keeping everyone up-to-date on a regular basis. Thank you!
2. Push the UPDATE button
It’s as simple as that. Every day between now and Friday we’ll randomly choose one lucky person among those entered to receive a personally autographed copy of one of Ken Blanchard’s latest books. Each day’s winner will be posted at 6:00 a.m. Pacific Time right here at http://www.leaderchat.org
