I’m not a Facebook user of any great note. My children laugh at the small number of “friends” I have. However, yesterday, laid low with back troubles, I decided to see if I could find any of my old school mates. I found Sheila.
Sheila got “knocked up”, as we used to say in those days, when we were 16. I only saw her once after the baby was born. She brought her baby to school for a visit. I was intimidated and frightened by her new role and we lost touch. Facebook showed me that Sheila went on to a full life. She is now settled in the UK, where she and her husband run a tax franchise. Her albums are full of children and grandchildren.
There is much debate about the value of Facebook in the workplace. I recall a client being very distressed because employees would put their place of work on their Facebook pages. He felt it would lay the company open to security issues. Trying to manage what people say on Facebook, or anywhere else for that matter, is pointless. Social media is the modern equivalent of the water cooler and no boss every managed to keep that one quiet. Humans need to connect.
Social media, such as Facebook, should rather be seen as an opportunity for organizations to create networks and communities well beyond those with whom it would typically interact. The traditional mindset of a business is one where you put up a shingle and send out a few flyers. In effect “build it and they will come.” That notion of business is based on the idea of pre-existing communities, of high streets filled with people making connections and hopefully talking about your business. Sadly, communities like that do not, for the most part, exist any longer. We live isolated lives in the suburbs, using cars to connect us with our communities of friends, our work and other parts of our lives.
Because of the fractured nature of our lives, community is becoming more and more important. Savvy organizations recognize this and are attempting to provide employees and customers with a greater sense of belonging. MyStarbucksidea is an online community of coffee lovers (employees and customers) coming together to offer the mother company ideas to make the Starbucks experience even better.
Similarly a client of mine has had a fan page for clients and employees for quite a few years. It’s an opportunity for like-minded people to get together and share chat about what they consider to be important, in effect, a community. Even my neighbourhood corner store is into the notion of community. The guy who owns the store is bringing in local produce and putting in a kitchen so people can come and have a cup of tea or coffee and meet with neighbours.
There are huge advantages to building a sense of community within your workplace; the most obvious is enhanced engagement and improved productivity. In addition, once you build a community others want to join and work with your community. This translates to more potential (and like-minded) employees and customers.
Here are some basic strategies for building community within your organization:
• Tell stories of successful employees – story is the bedrock of community building
• Show employees why the organization is heading in the direction chosen by the senior team. Help them understand the broader context in which you operate and why your particular niche is important – in other words what makes us a community and how we contribute
• Have employees involved in the annual planning cycle
• Hold very regular town hall meetings with senior leaders. Make sure food is always part of your meetings. Food is fundamental to human relations
• Have a corporate cause to which everyone can contribute either financially or through time.
• Try social media in a managed fashion with a clear goal of establishing a sense of community. Start up a blogging centre. Collectively blog about your cause. Showcase stories related to your cause on your blog.
• Socialize. We are humans. Once we understand one another’s humanity – it makes working together a great deal easier.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Beyond training your leaders to communicate
I am currently working with a large client in Ontario to develop a storytelling toolkit. The aim of the toolkit is to provide managers with the resources they need to effectively share storytelling as a strategy with their staff.
Toolkits allow organizations to share top-down messages and strategies with employee in a consistent fashion, using managers as messengers. It’s not unlike “train the trainer”; managers become subject experts through a supported process.
Using managers as communicators of corporate messaging makes sense since study after study tells us that they are the most trusted source of information. Managers are in daily contact with staff and much of their time is spent communicating; anywhere between 50 to 80 percent according to research. Every day managers communicate to ensure effective performance management, innovation, understanding of clients, and coordination of effort and management of expectations. Managers are key communicators.
The message is getting out that communication is a core management skill. A recent American Management Association survey of leaders showed that 80.4 percent of companies measure communication skills and hire with communication in mind. Three out of four (75.7%) executives who responded to the AMA survey said that that competencies, such as communications, will become more important to their organizations in the next three to five years, particularly as the economy improves and organizations look to grow. Ninety-one percent of leaders rated the pace of change in business today as a leading cause for the need to grow these competencies.
As change escalates and employees become more sophisticated and diverse, business has responded by offering more management training. It’s estimated that North American businesses spend around $100 billion on training and development. I’m not sure what proportion is devoted to leadership communications but judging by the number of companies catering to the market – not inconsiderable.
The focus should be on what happens after the training session. To maximize communication training dollars we must support managers and ensure they have the tools and resources to share messages with employees in a consistent, relevant and reliable fashion.
My client in Ontario has a full time person dedicated to developing the storytelling toolkit and supporting managers in rolling it out. Not all of us have those resources. However there are steps all organizations can take to ensure leaders have the know-how and confidence to communicate to their full potential and to the advantage of the organization.
Here are some strategies to strengthen management communication in your organization:
1. Consider a communications audit; a systematic assessment, either formal or informal, of your organization’s capacity for, or performance of, essential communications practices, in particular as it relates to management communication. An audit will determine what is working well, what is not, and what might work better if adjustments are made. A strategic communications provides a “snapshot” of where an organization currently stands in terms of its communication capacity or performance, and it points to areas in which the organization can strengthen its performance. While an audit can be on the costly side, I believe it’s worth its weight in gold in terms of directing future efforts.
2. Develop consistent communication messages to support corporate goals and objectives.
3. Have your senior team actively communicate these messages; modelling the expectation that managers do the same to their employees.
4. Involve managers in developing communication behaviours that they should adhere to.
5. Develop consensus on how to handle certain types of communication issues for example performance issues, disagreements in the workplace and so on.
6. Link management communication proficiency to performance review.
7. Provide communication training. Begin with listening skills this is the foundation of all communication
8. Support managers when they are required to communicate information from the corporation by:
a. Creating a consistent process for top down communications. A process that cascades information logically.
b. Communicate the process to managers along with expectations on deadlines and key messages
c. Ensure managers have all the support tools needed to share the communication with their employees, such as discussion guides
d. Poor communication is self-sustaining because it omits the feedback loop. Senior leaders must model good communication behaviours with managers by providing a feedback loop. Make sure managers are able to get all the answers to questions they may have. Employees will go to them first.
Toolkits allow organizations to share top-down messages and strategies with employee in a consistent fashion, using managers as messengers. It’s not unlike “train the trainer”; managers become subject experts through a supported process.
Using managers as communicators of corporate messaging makes sense since study after study tells us that they are the most trusted source of information. Managers are in daily contact with staff and much of their time is spent communicating; anywhere between 50 to 80 percent according to research. Every day managers communicate to ensure effective performance management, innovation, understanding of clients, and coordination of effort and management of expectations. Managers are key communicators.
The message is getting out that communication is a core management skill. A recent American Management Association survey of leaders showed that 80.4 percent of companies measure communication skills and hire with communication in mind. Three out of four (75.7%) executives who responded to the AMA survey said that that competencies, such as communications, will become more important to their organizations in the next three to five years, particularly as the economy improves and organizations look to grow. Ninety-one percent of leaders rated the pace of change in business today as a leading cause for the need to grow these competencies.
As change escalates and employees become more sophisticated and diverse, business has responded by offering more management training. It’s estimated that North American businesses spend around $100 billion on training and development. I’m not sure what proportion is devoted to leadership communications but judging by the number of companies catering to the market – not inconsiderable.
The focus should be on what happens after the training session. To maximize communication training dollars we must support managers and ensure they have the tools and resources to share messages with employees in a consistent, relevant and reliable fashion.
My client in Ontario has a full time person dedicated to developing the storytelling toolkit and supporting managers in rolling it out. Not all of us have those resources. However there are steps all organizations can take to ensure leaders have the know-how and confidence to communicate to their full potential and to the advantage of the organization.
Here are some strategies to strengthen management communication in your organization:
1. Consider a communications audit; a systematic assessment, either formal or informal, of your organization’s capacity for, or performance of, essential communications practices, in particular as it relates to management communication. An audit will determine what is working well, what is not, and what might work better if adjustments are made. A strategic communications provides a “snapshot” of where an organization currently stands in terms of its communication capacity or performance, and it points to areas in which the organization can strengthen its performance. While an audit can be on the costly side, I believe it’s worth its weight in gold in terms of directing future efforts.
2. Develop consistent communication messages to support corporate goals and objectives.
3. Have your senior team actively communicate these messages; modelling the expectation that managers do the same to their employees.
4. Involve managers in developing communication behaviours that they should adhere to.
5. Develop consensus on how to handle certain types of communication issues for example performance issues, disagreements in the workplace and so on.
6. Link management communication proficiency to performance review.
7. Provide communication training. Begin with listening skills this is the foundation of all communication
8. Support managers when they are required to communicate information from the corporation by:
a. Creating a consistent process for top down communications. A process that cascades information logically.
b. Communicate the process to managers along with expectations on deadlines and key messages
c. Ensure managers have all the support tools needed to share the communication with their employees, such as discussion guides
d. Poor communication is self-sustaining because it omits the feedback loop. Senior leaders must model good communication behaviours with managers by providing a feedback loop. Make sure managers are able to get all the answers to questions they may have. Employees will go to them first.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Building a common language in your organization
Today I attended a sustainability forum in downtown Vancouver hosted by Metro Vancouver and the Board of Trade. Lunch was served, along with some interesting ideas, and a fair amount of political grandstanding.
One of the comments from the floor struck a chord; it was about the language we use and how it is open to misinterpretation and misunderstanding, particularly between different groups, say for example between business and sustainability groups.
Misinterpretation and misunderstanding based on the language we use is more common than one would imagine, even within small cohesive groups, even within families.
Here’s a telling example of how we use language very differently. My husband and I were shocked when our teenage daughter told us that girls will often call one another “bitch”, not as an insult but as a recognition of the other’s female status; horrifying to us older fogies, but perfectly acceptable to my daughter and her contemporaries.
Here is another, less extreme example. Earlier this year I was working on a technology change project. During the development phase we discovered that people were using different words to describe the same action or process. It was extremely confusing and a situation and that required action in the form of a common lexicon; a language that everyone could refer to and use. Developing the dictionary was the easy part – ensuring people used the same words in their daily interactions was far from easy.
Organizations need to speak the same language over and above the everyday languages we use like English, French, or Cantonese. We all have a laugh at the terminology that plumbers or doctors use; the acronyms and terms that make sense only to them. The languages that these people speak are important not only because they provide a powerful shorthand for them to communicate, but also because it helps create a sense of identity, a sense of community. From a more practical point of view talking the same language reduces risk and enhances the likelihood that we will do better business.
Every industry, every business has its own shorthand; we use it to simplify communication and signify our membership of the group. The trouble starts when different groups use different language and the connections break down. We see this commonly between divisions – the silo effect, also between managers and employees – the “them and us” syndrome.
Language goes hand in hand with culture. The words we use can set us apart from one another and also hold us in old and destructive patterns. In one organization I am familiar with, the management team paid a consultant (a colleague of mine) to sit in on their meetings to identify inappropriate use of language as they moved from their “old” way of doing things to the “new” way of doing things. They knew that it was important to speak the new language rather than the old if they wanted to act differently.
Using a consistent language throughout the organization has clear benefits:
• The right language clearly speaks to organizational goals and objectives
• Employees feel part of cohesive group
• The language provides a shorthand to culture and process
• Risk is reduced through clear communications
• Customers hear constancy in language, and very correctly, interpret is as steady, reliable service
Developing a consistent language is usually the result of a cohesive culture. However, as in the example above, language can be used to reinforce direction and ways of thinking. Here are some steps you can take to support culture through language:
• Start at the top. Identify the words and phrases that support the corporate direction;
• Have senior leaders promise to find ways to use the new speak in their daily connections, at staff meetings and presentations
• Change policy documents, informational materials and other standard corporate documentation to reflect the new language.
• Make sure the new words are used in support of ongoing company communications; emails, newsletters, bulletin boards, intranet etc.
• When cascading important information through the company, provide supporting discussion guides with the new language so that managers begin to use the new language.
One of the comments from the floor struck a chord; it was about the language we use and how it is open to misinterpretation and misunderstanding, particularly between different groups, say for example between business and sustainability groups.
Misinterpretation and misunderstanding based on the language we use is more common than one would imagine, even within small cohesive groups, even within families.
Here’s a telling example of how we use language very differently. My husband and I were shocked when our teenage daughter told us that girls will often call one another “bitch”, not as an insult but as a recognition of the other’s female status; horrifying to us older fogies, but perfectly acceptable to my daughter and her contemporaries.
Here is another, less extreme example. Earlier this year I was working on a technology change project. During the development phase we discovered that people were using different words to describe the same action or process. It was extremely confusing and a situation and that required action in the form of a common lexicon; a language that everyone could refer to and use. Developing the dictionary was the easy part – ensuring people used the same words in their daily interactions was far from easy.
Organizations need to speak the same language over and above the everyday languages we use like English, French, or Cantonese. We all have a laugh at the terminology that plumbers or doctors use; the acronyms and terms that make sense only to them. The languages that these people speak are important not only because they provide a powerful shorthand for them to communicate, but also because it helps create a sense of identity, a sense of community. From a more practical point of view talking the same language reduces risk and enhances the likelihood that we will do better business.
Every industry, every business has its own shorthand; we use it to simplify communication and signify our membership of the group. The trouble starts when different groups use different language and the connections break down. We see this commonly between divisions – the silo effect, also between managers and employees – the “them and us” syndrome.
Language goes hand in hand with culture. The words we use can set us apart from one another and also hold us in old and destructive patterns. In one organization I am familiar with, the management team paid a consultant (a colleague of mine) to sit in on their meetings to identify inappropriate use of language as they moved from their “old” way of doing things to the “new” way of doing things. They knew that it was important to speak the new language rather than the old if they wanted to act differently.
Using a consistent language throughout the organization has clear benefits:
• The right language clearly speaks to organizational goals and objectives
• Employees feel part of cohesive group
• The language provides a shorthand to culture and process
• Risk is reduced through clear communications
• Customers hear constancy in language, and very correctly, interpret is as steady, reliable service
Developing a consistent language is usually the result of a cohesive culture. However, as in the example above, language can be used to reinforce direction and ways of thinking. Here are some steps you can take to support culture through language:
• Start at the top. Identify the words and phrases that support the corporate direction;
• Have senior leaders promise to find ways to use the new speak in their daily connections, at staff meetings and presentations
• Change policy documents, informational materials and other standard corporate documentation to reflect the new language.
• Make sure the new words are used in support of ongoing company communications; emails, newsletters, bulletin boards, intranet etc.
• When cascading important information through the company, provide supporting discussion guides with the new language so that managers begin to use the new language.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
A balanced approach to decision making
Here’s a story from my salad days. I was working in stakeholder relations with a large organization based here in Vancouver. Part of my responsibility involved attending project meetings. I was young, green and woefully ignorant on the technical complexities of the project, so I happily took on the role of listener. It turned out to be a real advantage and learning opportunity.
In this particular instance a group of senior professionals were talking about technical options. One of the gentlemen noted that he felt the approach they were discussing was too conservative and would limit future options. The response to this statement from the colleague who favoured this option was: “I disagree.. let me restate my opinion once again.” With that the level of tension in the room increased significantly and the two leading proponents of the differing alternatives were politely at each others throats until the end of the meeting. The rest of the attendees sat and watched. Of course there was no resolution.
I’m sure most of you have been in similar situations. The lines are drawn, people take their positions and there is no forward movement. Our world trains us to be very good advocates. Our society rewards us if our solutions are adopted so we like to get in there and tell people exactly why our ideas are best. Unfortunately advocacy alone can lead to conflict and ideas that are not sufficiently explored - culminating in bad decision making.
In the example above we needed some inquiry. Inquiry helps people to better understand one another’s’ reasoning and thinking behind a solution. So, for example, in the situation above a little bit of inquiry in the form of a question like: "Can you give me an example of what you mean" or "Can you share with me the data you are using to support that conclusion?" would have avoided conflict and allowed deeper and more meaningful exploration of the proposed approaches.
Inquiry is particularly important as our world - and the problems we deal with - become more and more complex. Inquiry can be used to truly understand the issue and the implications of proposed solutions. It is also useful when we reach an impasse. By asking the right questions people can begin to think outside of the box and look at the world from someone else’s perspective. And of course questions can be wonderful for drawing out the wisdom in the room, particularly when some people are hesitant to share ideas.
Currently I’m working with two other consultants on a new business opportunity. We are all strong minded and independent and each of us is very good at advocating his or her position. For this reason we have set up our exploration phase to include a significant amount of inquiry. This allows us to better understand one another’s’ thinking. It’s proving to be a fascinating process and we are discovering more depth to our partnership then we had earlier imagined.
However, we should be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Being a good advocate is also important; we need to have opinions, as long as we are open to listening to others.
Inquiry and advocacy should work together. Inquiry broadens and deepens our understanding. Advocacy leads us to action. Without a balance between inquiry and advocacy people are more likely to remain neutral. As leaders, it is our role to balance the two to ensure effective interactions.
How do you balance inquiry and advocacy? Generally inquiry precedes advocacy - assuming we do not have all the information. Through inquiry we expose ideas and ask others to challenge and probe them. However if all the information is available then we can go ahead and advocate – which hopefully will lead to action.
Here are some approaches you may wish to consider in developing your inquiry skills:
Ask in a way that does not provoke defensiveness:
“Can you help me understand your thinking here?”
Draw out reasoning:
“Where does your reasoning go next?”
Explain your reasons for inquiring:
“I’m asking you about your assumptions here because…”
Test what they say by asking for broader context:
“Can you describe a typical example?”
Check your understanding:
“Am I correct that you are saying…”
Explore, listen and offer your own views:
“Have you considered…..”
A few tips for effective advocacy:
• Provide data and back up information
• Help people understand the context for an approach
• Make reasoning explicit
• Encourage others to explore your views
• Acknowledge weaknesses, and
• Actively inquires into others' views.
Nicky Fried is the principal of Nicky Fried Consulting Inc. She helps organizations to translate change and strategy so that employees understand where the organization is going and how they support it through their daily actions. Learn more about us at www.nickyfried.com or read her blog at www.nickyfried.blogspot.com
In this particular instance a group of senior professionals were talking about technical options. One of the gentlemen noted that he felt the approach they were discussing was too conservative and would limit future options. The response to this statement from the colleague who favoured this option was: “I disagree.. let me restate my opinion once again.” With that the level of tension in the room increased significantly and the two leading proponents of the differing alternatives were politely at each others throats until the end of the meeting. The rest of the attendees sat and watched. Of course there was no resolution.
I’m sure most of you have been in similar situations. The lines are drawn, people take their positions and there is no forward movement. Our world trains us to be very good advocates. Our society rewards us if our solutions are adopted so we like to get in there and tell people exactly why our ideas are best. Unfortunately advocacy alone can lead to conflict and ideas that are not sufficiently explored - culminating in bad decision making.
In the example above we needed some inquiry. Inquiry helps people to better understand one another’s’ reasoning and thinking behind a solution. So, for example, in the situation above a little bit of inquiry in the form of a question like: "Can you give me an example of what you mean" or "Can you share with me the data you are using to support that conclusion?" would have avoided conflict and allowed deeper and more meaningful exploration of the proposed approaches.
Inquiry is particularly important as our world - and the problems we deal with - become more and more complex. Inquiry can be used to truly understand the issue and the implications of proposed solutions. It is also useful when we reach an impasse. By asking the right questions people can begin to think outside of the box and look at the world from someone else’s perspective. And of course questions can be wonderful for drawing out the wisdom in the room, particularly when some people are hesitant to share ideas.
Currently I’m working with two other consultants on a new business opportunity. We are all strong minded and independent and each of us is very good at advocating his or her position. For this reason we have set up our exploration phase to include a significant amount of inquiry. This allows us to better understand one another’s’ thinking. It’s proving to be a fascinating process and we are discovering more depth to our partnership then we had earlier imagined.
However, we should be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Being a good advocate is also important; we need to have opinions, as long as we are open to listening to others.
Inquiry and advocacy should work together. Inquiry broadens and deepens our understanding. Advocacy leads us to action. Without a balance between inquiry and advocacy people are more likely to remain neutral. As leaders, it is our role to balance the two to ensure effective interactions.
How do you balance inquiry and advocacy? Generally inquiry precedes advocacy - assuming we do not have all the information. Through inquiry we expose ideas and ask others to challenge and probe them. However if all the information is available then we can go ahead and advocate – which hopefully will lead to action.
Here are some approaches you may wish to consider in developing your inquiry skills:
Ask in a way that does not provoke defensiveness:
“Can you help me understand your thinking here?”
Draw out reasoning:
“Where does your reasoning go next?”
Explain your reasons for inquiring:
“I’m asking you about your assumptions here because…”
Test what they say by asking for broader context:
“Can you describe a typical example?”
Check your understanding:
“Am I correct that you are saying…”
Explore, listen and offer your own views:
“Have you considered…..”
A few tips for effective advocacy:
• Provide data and back up information
• Help people understand the context for an approach
• Make reasoning explicit
• Encourage others to explore your views
• Acknowledge weaknesses, and
• Actively inquires into others' views.
Nicky Fried is the principal of Nicky Fried Consulting Inc. She helps organizations to translate change and strategy so that employees understand where the organization is going and how they support it through their daily actions. Learn more about us at www.nickyfried.com or read her blog at www.nickyfried.blogspot.com
Facilitating for success
Every day about 25 million meetings take place in corporate North America; half that time is wasted.
Researcher Steven Rogelberg surveyed employees and found that professionals spend 5.6 hours a day in meetings. We can all relate to the feeling of gloom the surveyed employees expressed when sitting in unproductive meetings with piles of work waiting on their desks.
I have a game I play in one of my workshops where we look at the cost of holding a series of meetings over the course of a year. It’s quite shocking to realize your organization has just dropped $30,000 for last year’s departmental meetings.
The reasons for failed meetings are well documented, they include:
• No meeting objective
• Agenda incomplete and not sent out prior to the meeting
• Lack of clarity on roles
• Meeting does not start on time
• The agenda is not followed
• Conflict is not managed
• The meeting does not move toward resolving an issue/s
• Actions and deadlines are not assigned.
All of the above are valid. However, in addition to solid meeting management I’d like to suggest that we also need good facilitation skills for effective meetings. Let me explain.
We tend to work very much in isolation; often people come together from different parts of the organization to complete individual pieces of the pie. When we meet, it’s to get the big picture and to make decisions to move the process forward. However, given our cultural inclination to avoid confrontation and crucial conversations, we tend to revisit the same issues and our meetings become exercises in frustration.
Meeting management is defined as the process of planning, monitoring and coordinating all components of a meeting. Facilitation, on the other hand, is leadership by consent. Facilitating a meeting is different from leading a monthly organizational meeting using parliamentary procedure. The facilitator is a neutral guide who takes an active role in guiding the process.
When you become a facilitator, you share responsibility with the group members for progressing toward the goals. As facilitator you act as a guide, drawing out wisdom in the room as you move the participants forward in a particular direction.
Recently I had the pleasure of facilitating a series of management meetings with a very specific purpose. Initially I was participating very actively, by the last session my presence was superfluous and the group was self managing.
This is the process I use for facilitation. I hope you find it useful.
Stage 1 – Prior to the meeting
• Clarify purpose and objective of meeting.
• Develop an understanding of the issues
• Explore any previous sessions – reviewing strengths and weakness of those sessions
• Look at potential conflicts between participants
• Confirm expectations for you as facilitator
• Develop and send out the agenda
• Prepare materials and logistics for the meeting
• Agree on process / methodology of the meeting
• Confirm roles and responsibilities
• Establish group norms and rules for meetings
Stage 2 – During the meeting
• Begin the meeting and establish the meeting objective
• Keep everyone on track with the agenda
• Challenge thinking
• Help the group create lists of important points
• Summarize the issues from time to time
• Share ideas when they can help the meeting progress
• Provide handouts when needed to clarify the main points
• Raise questions to bring out different viewpoints
• Guide discussion
• Restate ideas when the person presenting them is not clear
• Provides constructive criticism when, for example, a person or people attempt to dominate the meeting
• Take notes
• Conclude the meeting.
Stage 3 – After the meeting up
• Report back in a fashion that ensures the process will move forward
• Follow up with people who committed to actions in the meeting.
Nicky Fried is the principal of Nicky Fried Consulting Inc. She helps organizations to translate strategy and change so that employees understand where the organization is going and how they support it through their daily actions. Learn more about us at www.nickyfried.com or read her blog at www.nickyfried.blogspot.com .
Researcher Steven Rogelberg surveyed employees and found that professionals spend 5.6 hours a day in meetings. We can all relate to the feeling of gloom the surveyed employees expressed when sitting in unproductive meetings with piles of work waiting on their desks.
I have a game I play in one of my workshops where we look at the cost of holding a series of meetings over the course of a year. It’s quite shocking to realize your organization has just dropped $30,000 for last year’s departmental meetings.
The reasons for failed meetings are well documented, they include:
• No meeting objective
• Agenda incomplete and not sent out prior to the meeting
• Lack of clarity on roles
• Meeting does not start on time
• The agenda is not followed
• Conflict is not managed
• The meeting does not move toward resolving an issue/s
• Actions and deadlines are not assigned.
All of the above are valid. However, in addition to solid meeting management I’d like to suggest that we also need good facilitation skills for effective meetings. Let me explain.
We tend to work very much in isolation; often people come together from different parts of the organization to complete individual pieces of the pie. When we meet, it’s to get the big picture and to make decisions to move the process forward. However, given our cultural inclination to avoid confrontation and crucial conversations, we tend to revisit the same issues and our meetings become exercises in frustration.
Meeting management is defined as the process of planning, monitoring and coordinating all components of a meeting. Facilitation, on the other hand, is leadership by consent. Facilitating a meeting is different from leading a monthly organizational meeting using parliamentary procedure. The facilitator is a neutral guide who takes an active role in guiding the process.
When you become a facilitator, you share responsibility with the group members for progressing toward the goals. As facilitator you act as a guide, drawing out wisdom in the room as you move the participants forward in a particular direction.
Recently I had the pleasure of facilitating a series of management meetings with a very specific purpose. Initially I was participating very actively, by the last session my presence was superfluous and the group was self managing.
This is the process I use for facilitation. I hope you find it useful.
Stage 1 – Prior to the meeting
• Clarify purpose and objective of meeting.
• Develop an understanding of the issues
• Explore any previous sessions – reviewing strengths and weakness of those sessions
• Look at potential conflicts between participants
• Confirm expectations for you as facilitator
• Develop and send out the agenda
• Prepare materials and logistics for the meeting
• Agree on process / methodology of the meeting
• Confirm roles and responsibilities
• Establish group norms and rules for meetings
Stage 2 – During the meeting
• Begin the meeting and establish the meeting objective
• Keep everyone on track with the agenda
• Challenge thinking
• Help the group create lists of important points
• Summarize the issues from time to time
• Share ideas when they can help the meeting progress
• Provide handouts when needed to clarify the main points
• Raise questions to bring out different viewpoints
• Guide discussion
• Restate ideas when the person presenting them is not clear
• Provides constructive criticism when, for example, a person or people attempt to dominate the meeting
• Take notes
• Conclude the meeting.
Stage 3 – After the meeting up
• Report back in a fashion that ensures the process will move forward
• Follow up with people who committed to actions in the meeting.
Nicky Fried is the principal of Nicky Fried Consulting Inc. She helps organizations to translate strategy and change so that employees understand where the organization is going and how they support it through their daily actions. Learn more about us at www.nickyfried.com or read her blog at www.nickyfried.blogspot.com .
Monday, June 7, 2010
Giving it all away
This week I had the satisfaction of working myself out of a job. As a consultant it’s part of what I do. I create plans, systems and processes, and engage people in them with the ultimate view that they become part of my client’s business; owned by the employees. There are some similarities to delegating.
Delegating multiplies your effectiveness provided 1) the people you are delegating have the skills to do the job and 2) you have the ability to let them do it their way and don’t have the need to look over their shoulders every five minutes.
The group I handed control to was a team going through a major change. Connecting this group to change meant we had to set up projects that connected and involved them, in a meaningful way, in the new world they were to work in; in other words they needed to take ownership of the process. In this instance a young woman had embrace a leadership role that she was very unsure about.
As a seasoned employee it’s sometimes hard to understand why a task you are so comfortable with should be so daunting to someone else. Sometimes we have to look to our personal lives to better understand how to support people. As parents, partners and friends we can certainly understand what it means to take on new ventures; the exhilaration and anxiety that goes with a challenge. Once we can connect with that experience – we can plan for success.
Here are my 11 steps for effective delegation for managers and employees:
1. Delegation means you transfer authority and the associated responsibility, from an employer or superior (who has the right to delegate) to an employee or subordinate. This means that someone else is now responsible for the work. So – butt out. Provide support and guidance but understand that everyone does things differently. Don’t you hate being micro-managed? Why would you want to do the same and lose the trust of an employee you value?
2. Delegation is an opportunity for both the manager and the employee. It’s a thoughtful process which means you don’t just give away work because don’t enjoy it. You do, however, want to give away work that will stop you from reaching your full potential.
3. Think about the fit. Does the employee have the skills to take on this task?
4. Plan the handover. Define the tasks and how the transition will take place.
5. Take time to communicate the new process to the assigned person; let them know why you are delegating to them. They need to understand what they are getting out of the assignment.
6. Think about training and resources. Will the individual need some training or additional resources?
7. Be extremely clear on your expectations.
8. Get agreement on timelines.
9. Make sure the individual is reporting to you on a regular basis.
10. Is there anyone else who needs to know about the delegation? If yes - inform them. Connect your employee with them.
11. Stay in touch. Provide feedback. Create a safe environment for your employee to grow.
By the way, I am delighted to report that the young woman I mentioned in the third paragraph has taken on the challenge with gusto. In fact she has improved on the process I started her off with. She has the advantage of a manager who meets with her regularly and supports her every step of the way. He trusts her enough to let go, but is caring enough to make sure she is not left alone.
Delegating multiplies your effectiveness provided 1) the people you are delegating have the skills to do the job and 2) you have the ability to let them do it their way and don’t have the need to look over their shoulders every five minutes.
The group I handed control to was a team going through a major change. Connecting this group to change meant we had to set up projects that connected and involved them, in a meaningful way, in the new world they were to work in; in other words they needed to take ownership of the process. In this instance a young woman had embrace a leadership role that she was very unsure about.
As a seasoned employee it’s sometimes hard to understand why a task you are so comfortable with should be so daunting to someone else. Sometimes we have to look to our personal lives to better understand how to support people. As parents, partners and friends we can certainly understand what it means to take on new ventures; the exhilaration and anxiety that goes with a challenge. Once we can connect with that experience – we can plan for success.
Here are my 11 steps for effective delegation for managers and employees:
1. Delegation means you transfer authority and the associated responsibility, from an employer or superior (who has the right to delegate) to an employee or subordinate. This means that someone else is now responsible for the work. So – butt out. Provide support and guidance but understand that everyone does things differently. Don’t you hate being micro-managed? Why would you want to do the same and lose the trust of an employee you value?
2. Delegation is an opportunity for both the manager and the employee. It’s a thoughtful process which means you don’t just give away work because don’t enjoy it. You do, however, want to give away work that will stop you from reaching your full potential.
3. Think about the fit. Does the employee have the skills to take on this task?
4. Plan the handover. Define the tasks and how the transition will take place.
5. Take time to communicate the new process to the assigned person; let them know why you are delegating to them. They need to understand what they are getting out of the assignment.
6. Think about training and resources. Will the individual need some training or additional resources?
7. Be extremely clear on your expectations.
8. Get agreement on timelines.
9. Make sure the individual is reporting to you on a regular basis.
10. Is there anyone else who needs to know about the delegation? If yes - inform them. Connect your employee with them.
11. Stay in touch. Provide feedback. Create a safe environment for your employee to grow.
By the way, I am delighted to report that the young woman I mentioned in the third paragraph has taken on the challenge with gusto. In fact she has improved on the process I started her off with. She has the advantage of a manager who meets with her regularly and supports her every step of the way. He trusts her enough to let go, but is caring enough to make sure she is not left alone.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Influence: helping others reach their potential
“The greatest ability in business is to get along with others and influence their actions.”
John Hancock
Last month I gave a talk on influence in the workplace. We spent some time exploring the difference between influence and persuasion. One of the participants felt that persuasion brings to mind someone getting you to do something that you might not really want to do. Influence on the other hand is all about creating “win win” situations.
The word “influence” comes from the Latin, "influere", which means "to flow into". The ancient Romans believed select individuals had special powers flowing into them from the gods. The assumption of strength and power and uniqueness remains to this day. To be regarded as a person of influence is to have power.
Chain-of-command hierarchies are obsolete. Today we function in networked, team-oriented organizations. To be successful we need to be able to influence others-especially those over whom we have no direct control.
Consider Ray Anderson who started Interface, Inc., in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1973. Every year his factories produced hundreds of gallons of wastewater and nearly 900 pollutants. Then Anderson read Paul Hawkens' book, The Ecology of Commerce. And he knew he had to change the way his organization did things.
At its plant in LaGrange, Georgia, Interface used to send six tons of carpet trimmings to the landfill every day. By June of 1997, it was sending none. At Guilford of Maine, a division of Interface, new computer controls installed on boilers not only reduced carbon monoxide emissions by 99.7%, but also improved the boilers' efficiency. The result - waste decreased and profits increased.
Anderson did a masterful job of persuading an entire organization to change. Admittedly he had the advantage of being the CEO. But many CEOs are not able to shift their organizations. Great plans die because leaders can’t figure out how to change people’s behaviors. Research shows that 70 percent of change initiatives fail because those who are to carry out the work are not engaged.
True influence is about understanding how to work with, and through others, to achieve a stated objective while staying true to your core values and maintaining your integrity.
There are three factors to consider in influence; emotion, strategy and consequences.
Emotion:
Ninety percent of decisions are emotional. In fact even with what we believe are logical decisions, the very point of choice is arguably always based on emotion. To influence means we must have the ability to connect with people at a fundamental level. No matter how logical your arguments you have to appeal to people’s emotions.
Research shows that we do business with people we like and avoid those we don’t like. So the more in tune you are with people you are trying to influence - the more they will be open to influence.
What to do:
• Develop relationships well in advance of attempting to influence. Understand and connect with the people you want to influence so that you are the person they like and trust.
• Help people to see the emotional benefits of the facts and figures so it’s easy for them to come to a point of decision.
Strategy:
Your likelihood of influencing others will increase significantly if you have a strategy or plan of action. People will feel far more comfortable if they see you have a vision and a path to achieve that vision.
The psychology of influence tells us that people respond more favourably to solutions if they believe the plan of action came from them. Find a way to link your strategy with their ideas.
What to do;
• Build a plan of action when trying to influence for a project. Show people you have thought about the issues.
• Link your strategy to pet ideas of the people you are attempting to influence.
• Link your strategy to corporate strategy to show strategic thinking and a willingness to plan for the good of all.
Consequences:
Influence is built upon making others successful. When you are trying to influence others ensure that your solution deals with their pain points and/or achieves goals and objectives of interest to them. Often the need to protect against pain takes priority over everything else.
What to do:
Understand the concerns of the people you are attempting to influence. Build your approach with their needs, not yours, in mind.
Influence is all about facilitating for mutual benefit. Take a real interest in the success of others, be likeable and focused on offering real results in a strategic fashion that mitigate any potential pain for the person you are trying to influence.
And finally, remember enthusiasm is contagious. Believe in your project, like the people you are attempting influence and be credible.
Nicky Fried is the principal of Nicky Fried Consulting Inc. She helps organizations to translate strategy and change so that employees understand where the organization is going and how they support it through their daily actions. Learn more about us at www.nickyfried.com
John Hancock
Last month I gave a talk on influence in the workplace. We spent some time exploring the difference between influence and persuasion. One of the participants felt that persuasion brings to mind someone getting you to do something that you might not really want to do. Influence on the other hand is all about creating “win win” situations.
The word “influence” comes from the Latin, "influere", which means "to flow into". The ancient Romans believed select individuals had special powers flowing into them from the gods. The assumption of strength and power and uniqueness remains to this day. To be regarded as a person of influence is to have power.
Chain-of-command hierarchies are obsolete. Today we function in networked, team-oriented organizations. To be successful we need to be able to influence others-especially those over whom we have no direct control.
Consider Ray Anderson who started Interface, Inc., in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1973. Every year his factories produced hundreds of gallons of wastewater and nearly 900 pollutants. Then Anderson read Paul Hawkens' book, The Ecology of Commerce. And he knew he had to change the way his organization did things.
At its plant in LaGrange, Georgia, Interface used to send six tons of carpet trimmings to the landfill every day. By June of 1997, it was sending none. At Guilford of Maine, a division of Interface, new computer controls installed on boilers not only reduced carbon monoxide emissions by 99.7%, but also improved the boilers' efficiency. The result - waste decreased and profits increased.
Anderson did a masterful job of persuading an entire organization to change. Admittedly he had the advantage of being the CEO. But many CEOs are not able to shift their organizations. Great plans die because leaders can’t figure out how to change people’s behaviors. Research shows that 70 percent of change initiatives fail because those who are to carry out the work are not engaged.
True influence is about understanding how to work with, and through others, to achieve a stated objective while staying true to your core values and maintaining your integrity.
There are three factors to consider in influence; emotion, strategy and consequences.
Emotion:
Ninety percent of decisions are emotional. In fact even with what we believe are logical decisions, the very point of choice is arguably always based on emotion. To influence means we must have the ability to connect with people at a fundamental level. No matter how logical your arguments you have to appeal to people’s emotions.
Research shows that we do business with people we like and avoid those we don’t like. So the more in tune you are with people you are trying to influence - the more they will be open to influence.
What to do:
• Develop relationships well in advance of attempting to influence. Understand and connect with the people you want to influence so that you are the person they like and trust.
• Help people to see the emotional benefits of the facts and figures so it’s easy for them to come to a point of decision.
Strategy:
Your likelihood of influencing others will increase significantly if you have a strategy or plan of action. People will feel far more comfortable if they see you have a vision and a path to achieve that vision.
The psychology of influence tells us that people respond more favourably to solutions if they believe the plan of action came from them. Find a way to link your strategy with their ideas.
What to do;
• Build a plan of action when trying to influence for a project. Show people you have thought about the issues.
• Link your strategy to pet ideas of the people you are attempting to influence.
• Link your strategy to corporate strategy to show strategic thinking and a willingness to plan for the good of all.
Consequences:
Influence is built upon making others successful. When you are trying to influence others ensure that your solution deals with their pain points and/or achieves goals and objectives of interest to them. Often the need to protect against pain takes priority over everything else.
What to do:
Understand the concerns of the people you are attempting to influence. Build your approach with their needs, not yours, in mind.
Influence is all about facilitating for mutual benefit. Take a real interest in the success of others, be likeable and focused on offering real results in a strategic fashion that mitigate any potential pain for the person you are trying to influence.
And finally, remember enthusiasm is contagious. Believe in your project, like the people you are attempting influence and be credible.
Nicky Fried is the principal of Nicky Fried Consulting Inc. She helps organizations to translate strategy and change so that employees understand where the organization is going and how they support it through their daily actions. Learn more about us at www.nickyfried.com
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