2009 March | Coach Train Learn

Archive for March, 2009

I Changed My Sandwich Shop

I have a Subway just up the road. I kinda like Subway, though when you have the ‘Sub of the Day’ each week, you sure know when it’s Monday.

Still it was a nice walk and a nice Sub, so I did it – till my tipping point, I guess.

I guess that came from a juxtapositioning of three four things:-

I got fed up with Subway
I got fed up with the same walk
The guy in Subway is an example to us all of being miserable and providing less than interested customer service
I found another sandwich shop.

All came together as my decision-maker. The icing on the proverbial is the miserable service, I think.

In fact, I’m thinking of making my own Subways and bringing them in. After all, although I know my thinking will not help the world economy, there are other things to think about, there is a…

CREDIT CRUNCH

And, until I know what qualitative (what would be the difference if it was quantitative) easing is, I’m trying to be frugal.

And being very aware of who puts the effort in to retain my custom (just don’t get me started on BA – I now know what Bloody Awful stands for).

Employee Satisfaction Surveys Stink!

It’s an easy fix for organizations to churn out the annual or even bi-annual (‘to show we really care’) survey to their people, to assess ‘employee satisfaction’.

It is a great tactic for the Annual Report. Yet in my opinion, in most cases, it stinks!

Once the results are in, they get analyzed at Corporate, Divisional and Area level. Any improvements result in back-slapping ceremonies. Individual teams may get feedback on how they did.

Yet for many organizations that’s where it stops.

Sure, they may have a briefing and belief they are going forward, but no-one gets into the deep-seated behavioral issues that need to shift – because it’s tricky, time-consuming and indeed they may have no clue as to how to take this element forward (but they did their survey OK!)!

Whilst the big-picture organization things are important, they usually fit at the bottom of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

The upper levels of fulfilment and self esteem cannot be delivered at arms length.

The only delivery-boy for the behaviors that really make a difference to your employees’ engagement is the direct environment where they work.

And that’s where each and every manager needs to get into close one-to-one relationships with each of their people.

To truly listen, to understand what they can really do to maximize engagement/retention/attendance as the minimum (and extremely good indicators in themselves, rather than the wheeled-out “to show we care ‘survey’”).

Big-time pro-active contribution from a whole team of employees (or is it ‘colleagues’?), the bigger reward.

One-on-one coaching for a manager in this area, by someone who knows what they are doing. really can add positive numbers on the bottom line. I know, I’ve worked with clients who have seen number spiral, for the want of a pretty small investment in relative terms

And once behaviors shift, they shift for a lifetime of value!

This article may be only used with the following acknowledgment:-

(c) 2009 Coach Train Learn! Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach and Trainer. For more information about First Class Coaching, Training and Learning – simple as that, checkout http://www.coachtrainlearn.com

Delegation for Business Leaders – How Letting Go Works

To create the time for the specific role of a leader, as much as possible of the day to day delivery must be handed over.

This level of delegation is very important, not only to create the space for the leader to develop visions and longer terms strategic goals, but also in encouragement of key individuals who will both be challenged by new activities, but will also be developed for the future benefit of the organization.

A leader’s role is to focus on those areas of operation where he or she can deliver the greatest value and this requires huge shifts in perspective of the role. Leaders differ from managers in terms of accountability.

Whilst a leader is accountable for the strategic growth of the organisation and the delivery of results, a manager is more responsible of delivery of shorter-term results through people.

These are, of course, generalisations and roles vary.

Developing others through delegation is a great way to grow skills and confidence in your workforce. Through utilising the viewpoints of others, you create the variety of solutions which might well escape you, from your own experienced, though single perspective.

As well as radically improving the quality of your workforce, the leader who works in this way also does much more for their own focus. If a job can be done at the lowest possible cost level, true with some training and on the job coaching, then that frees you up for the role you’re being paid for too.

Your Q2 time (see ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’ – Stephen Covey) multiplies and you can start to use your own creative skills in the bigger framework.

To grow and develop your business or organisation. Safe in the knowledge that you have great people around you and they are realising their own potential too.

An exercise to consider!

1. Make a list of those things you currently do, yet someone else could do.

2. Decide to give up 20% of your role to others within your organisation within a defined timescale (1 – 3 months). 50% within a year. Value your time for what your strengths can uniquely provide.

3. Check out your own, personal ‘nice-to-do’s’ rather than ‘need-to-do’s’. I.e. is it something you are choosing to do because you like doing it ahead of it being important enough?

4. Review how the extra time can be best used to deliver the more challenging parts of your role – especially regarding future goals and visions.

5. Spot check that you are also enabling others to develop and remember that they may well require clarity and coaching in new activities to start with.

Dumping the stuff you do, rather than achieving your true worth, is escapism – it is finding things to ‘do’ rather than thinking, creating, challenging and firing yourself up.

So it’s time to step up.

This article may be only used with the following acknowledgment:-

Doing the Opposite

Whilst many of the opportunities each of us face every day seem to have straightforward solutions, sometimes it’s worth considering taking a different angle.

As we go about our daily lives, we follow set patterns of behaviors that are along paths we have walked many times. It becomes difficult for us to amend our thinking and so we carry on as we have before.

So, I’d like to suggest an alternative course of action for a while. Just humor me for a while as you read on!

How would it be if instead of makimng a decision that you would normally do, you instead consider carefully doing exactly the opposite.

For example, if you have a set procedure to follow, I’d like you to consider what would happen if you did the complete opposite.

What would happen? What might you learn from thinking this way? Indeed, what positives might you gain, maybe unexpectedly, if you seriously considered doing the oppositie to where your natural and common thinking would ususlly take you.

Clearly there are some life and death situations where this would not be a valuable course of action to consider – and these will be less frequent than you might expect. It depends on how flexibly, risky even, you might want to try out.

Many times when you take this option and consider the other way, even the opposite way, there will be a learning to gain from seeing a completely different angle/perspective.

It just depends how you look at it and whether you can be creative enough to allow yourself this opportunity.

Noticing Employees Strengths

In the busy lives managers and bosses lead it is easy to miss potential and the opportunities that sometimes stare you in the face.

And not being in a position to notice those around you can lead to frustration on their part and, without question excessive workload on you.

The key to making the most of your people is taking time to reflect on who is good at what and leveraging their capabilities in as many ways as possible.

Using individuals who are excellent in an area of your business, elsewhere to utilise their skills to the full is an efficient and effective way forward.

But what about those who hide their capabilities for any number of reasons.

Perhaps they are shy; they don’t appreciate their own strengths; they see themselves as small players in the big game of your business or they might even not realise that they have strengths that are valuable and can be recycled effectively on a broader stage.

It’s your job, if you want to develop a highly effective team, to make the space in your own thinking to identify and then challenge your people, gently.

By providing stretching opportunities for individuals to shine, in an environment where they know they won’t get shouted at for having a go, will release potential like you would never expect.

And that means that you are strengthening overall capability of your team; being much more effective in your work performance; building succession in and making your life far less like a fire-fighter and much more like a facilitator of solutions.

This ‘noticing’ sense needs nurturing and helping along. If it has not been something you are used to up to now, it might take a bit of getting used to – so be it.

Giving yourself permission to try something new, in helping your people grow in those small ways where they are already showing promise, will help you, help others, help yourself and ultimately help improve your business performance too.

What kind of success would that be then!

Quick Thinking Required

I’m fascinated by productivity. Making things actually happen, instead of pondering endlkessly is a huge step forward for any manager.

When I was in Australia recently, I met up with Dr Ken Hudson, from The Speed Thinking Zone. Ken’s premise is that things take way too long and there is a better way.

Hudson’s Law of Meetings

February 27, 2009

In 1955, Cyril Northcote Parkinson suggested, in a tongue in cheek way, what has since become known as Parkinsons Law. It states:

Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.

I would like to suggest that this be updated for meetings in what i have called Hudson’s Law of Meetings:

Meetings expand to the time set for the meeting.

Think about it. Have you ever been at a meeting when someone says, well we have the meeting room booked for the next hour why don’t we stay till then. Why should you? If the meeting is over the meeting is over.

Why do most of us feel guilty about having a shorter meeting or one that finishes early? In a recent workshop we covered all we had to do and i suggested that we finish early. One person started to complain about this.

Why I asked?

Why don’t you use the extra time to go to the gym or see your kids or go to a movie?

If Hudson’s rule is valid then we should think seriously about the amount of time we spend in meetings. Why are all our meetings at least one hour? Why aren’t these half an hour?

Imagine how much time you could free up and how more productive and enjoyable your life could be.

Ken Hudson

Ken’s thinking is fast paced, as you might expect. I like his stuff and I want to know more, despite Australia being quite a hike from where I am.

I think you might like to check it out too, right here at The Speed Thinking Zone