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Strong Standards Drive Freedom to Create

In a business world where innovation and creativity are in fashion right now, many organizations find the need to be more relaxed to engage with their employees and let them off their ropes.

Such freedom is, in enlightened organizational eyes, vital to ensure that every one of their people feel that the environment is ideally suited to getting in the flow and being able to have the perfect mindset for these new demands of novel approaches to work.

The challenge for many organizations is to ensure that there are standards in place which employees adhere to, whilst also engendering a culture of openness, freedom and new ways of working.

These standards may be of behavior, security, communication, equality and more. All of which are vital components that people need to understand better what is expected of them in general, when employed together in their workplace community.

Such rules are vital to ensure that everyone gets along in a civilised way together and, more importantly, each appreciates the needs and expectations of their fellow colleagues too.

Rules and freedom. Using the two words together in the same sentence seems an oxymoron that simply won’t work. Yet they are particularly comfortable bedfellows if the best value is to be achieved from every employee.

For rules create understanding that everyone adheres to. And once clear, with all the players signed up, individuals are much more able to relax and do their own thing. From rigidity can come freedom after all.

To ensure that rules do not encumber employees, engaging them by including them in the design of workplace standards enables contribution and commitment.

When they are involved in creating the structure within which all will work, joint ownership in the creative process with management, will provide more productive than when such strictures are simply imposed from an impersonal ‘above’.

Completely structureless organizations and teams might offer hope of greater flexibility and outputs, yet this is so often not the case.

Wrangling and discontent start to suck energy from creative opportunities as individuals feel, share and focus on their personal sensitivities that are being – to them – abused, so less work gets done and that which is will tend to be stilted and compliant.

Much better to be clear on the standards and rules together – and then get on with the freedom that such discipline enables.

Special Secrets to Micro-Managing Employee Performance

In general, micro-management is frowned upon in the management sphere. Yet there are occasions when by getting into the small stuff, there are benefits to managers and their people too.

The traditional view of micro-management is where a manager is so neurotic about the delivery of results that he or she cannot leave individuals to their own devices.

Micro-managers sabotage success simply because they are so close to what their people do that they stifle performance, thereby making the achievements of the desired results even more unlikely.

By failing to give responsibility to each individual to deliver what’s required, micro-managers very nearly do their job for them. This can be very demanding for the manager, who has to keep many more plates spinning than their role allows for, leading to not only exhaustion, but also to actual underperformance as they spread themselves too thinly to ensure quality outputs.

Employees find this sort of micro-management behavior incredibly frustrating. They feel watched, which diminishes their confidence. They feel that they are not trusted, so they tend to play safe and take few risks. They also find that they get nervous too, when they expect their boss to pop up at any moment to interfere and give them the guidance they clearly don’t need.

So micro-management is regarded by employees as a bad thing.

Smart managers micro-manage differently.

By seeking to interact with their people much less directly, they can understand the different motivators that every individual needs specially personalised to them. Getting to know their people, these particularly effective managers not only get to know what’s going on, they build strong, supportive and focused relationships that deliver.

Micro-managing relationships in this way, means that instead of getting close to the activities their people as tasked to deliver, they simply get close to the people themselves.

And it’s a set of skills that are easy to learn. Instead of being clever and knowing what’s best in the approach to tasks, savvy managers ask their people easy question, let them talk – and then listen, a lot. They let their people feel they are the success, because when employees talk, these exceptional managers recognise that what works is simply listening to them with focused attention and then asking them some more.

Micro-managing relationships is so much more valuable than micro-managing tasks. The accountability for team success clearly lies with a manager. Responsibility for delivering the component tasks that make up the big-picture result lies with individuals. Then each is doing what their individual roles requires.

Creating the sort of relationships that enable this dynamic and productive interaction is what defines the very best of management behaviors and attitudes.

Employees feel valued, heard, capable and confident and go on to contribute more; be pro-active; show their creativity; take on more. Managers make time for their people and, with clear expectations of each and every one of their people defined, step back from getting in the way.

Micromanaging relationships works very effectively indeed. A long way from micro-managing tasks, for which it’s much better to leave to the valuable resource of the employees they lead.

Key Steps for Engaging Employees in Change

Even if change is ever present in people’s everyday lives, there are still a whole lot who find it discomforting, especially when they are not prepared for it or if it is imposed on them.

There is a way forward…

Engaging employees in change is much easier if they are given adequate information about what’s going on. The earlier that good communication processes are in place, will help maintain relationships with the workforce and ensure that the potential for full engagement is possible.

To make the best to get everyone on board – as enthusiastically as possible – here are a few reminders that will help managers be better at leading and delivering change.

In successfully engaging employees in change, the first rule of thumb is to foster good relationships with them. Talk to your people and – perhaps even more importantly – listen to what they have to say as well. When those in your team trust you, they’re much more likely be agreeable to any changes you propose. Keeping talking to them will build the necessary confidence that adjustments are not only for your betterment, but will be of value to them as well.

Another opportunity to better engage your people fully, would be to always seize opportunities for change when they crop up. Prospects for change leading to performance improvement are always nearby when it comes to the workplace. Engaging employees in challenging change situations will be much less difficult if you always take your chances in developing them and letting them grow in new ways as a matter of course.

So if they are used to appreciating the positive values that comes from change when it’s in their favour, they won’t be afraid to face different changes with optimism rather than fear and doubt.

It’s also vital to make certain that you are clear in stating the changes you want to make. By letting your people truly understand precisely and accurately what is in need of a change, they will be more prepared to accept the idea – and the consequences – and to really get involved to help you find solutions for delivering the outcomes you need.

Engaging employees in change is also be a whole lot easier if you show them that you’ll be participating in the change as well. By taking the lead in stepping out of your own comfort zone, yourpeople will have a better understanding of why it needs to be done and that you are fully behind it – even if there are some difficult circumstances that you need to accept personally too.

Finally, it’s very important to make only one big change at a time. This will lessen the shock value; enable full focus on delivery and will let people cope and be comfortable with the process. Success on any change occasion will help if they need to face more in the future.

Engaging employees in change is a very do-able option. Indeed, when they are fully informed and involved, many employees relish changes for the added interest and challenge they bring to the workplace.

© Martin Haworth 2011. This is an expanded version of just one of many change management ideas, from Resilience in Change. For your free – downloadable today – ‘Managing Change’ Super-Simple Success Tips e-book, visit http://www.ResilienceInChange.com

Change is the Name of the Game

Change management can often be seen as delivering discrete activities towards a defined outcome. A series of changes in any organization requires a plan of action for delivery, which once complete, means we can get back to the day job.

Yet that’s just the time to think of change again.

The principle of change is one that can mean concern and worry for anyone. However grounded, confident and flexible we are, the thought of change – especially where it’s imposed on us – can be daunting.

Because of the inadequate manner in which change has so often been imposed, many employees see change management as one of those activities managers and leaders get involved in that can only bring distress and pain.

Good managers know that the clichéd ‘change is a constant’ is the best attitude and that there are ways to embody the spirit of change in a positive and developmental way. Thus changing the perception of change almost entirely for their fortunate people. The way it can be.

By taking active steps to deliver change management initially on just one single occasion to be inclusive, flexible and open, whilst retaining the outcome goal required, managers can change the reality of change to be a fun, engaging and empowering activity for their people.

So, once a manager has become much better at managing change and their people come to trust them and where they are going, a whole new opportunity comes along.

You see employees like best to be challenged in their work. They like to learn new stuff; they enjoy being stretched; they love to take new risks. Indeed they want to come to their work to enjoy their day and be fulfilled in what they do.

This does not come from delivering exactly the same stuff each day. The sausage-machine mentality doesn’t work well for most employees.

A manager good at helping change become a fun and exciting activity, where risk is minimized and the edginess of fear removed, can bring the two together.

Engaging a team in seeking change that will make a difference makes for exciting workplace. It makes individuals work much more effectively and enables outcomes to be extraordinary.

Where the status quo is the safer option, these amazing teams will actively hunt out change opportunities to create even better results than before well, just because it’s a fun and creative thing to do.

‘What can we change for the better?’, will become their mantra, every day in every way.

By leveraging the energy that change can precipitate when change management is delivered in a good way, a manager will be able to radically magnify the performance of any team.

Not only will results be exceptional and out of the box, but their people will be engaged and love to stay, contribute and do even more of this stuff. And as manager who is captaining this ship, what a testament to their capabilities too.

Living with Change and Facing It with Acceptance

In today’s economy, recession is pretty much the name of the game in many organizations. In such difficult times, it’s inevitable change will come. And whatever business you’re in, people are going to be affected…

In a lot of organizations these days, financial challenges will mean it’s time to cut costs. And because of the vast number of workers getting laid off by their respective companies, money will be tight, meaning people will find it hard to afford all their consumer needs, in all but the most basic essentials.

Of course this begins the vicious financial cycle, where less spending often causes businesses to struggle, bankrupcies multiply and businesses are forced to shut down. Which in turn causes even more unemployment.

The income versus spending cycle, with the frequent hardships for so many people, makes it hard to find much comfort for anyone. So instead of letting those negative feelings fester, it’s time to appreciate how to live with change and learn some ways to face it with acceptance – even confidence and excitement!

With recession the main problem – at least in the short term – one option is to see beyond the present and consider the bigger picture – the real opportunities that change can present, even if right now, things are looking tough.

Many people get into roles they are not fully aligned with, partly because they received poor guidance at an early age; partly becuase they chose wrongly for themselves and partly because roles evolve in different directions to what they anticipated.

So, here’s the thing. A great first step to be able to accept the changing workplace environment is to let go of comfort zones. Living with change is especially hard after the stable and dynamic business environments of the past ten years. So when it’s time to move forward into the unknown, it’s very understandable to feel some apprehension.

Instead of dwelling on the downsides, it might be best to accept the fact that it’s time to move on, with the option to return to those comfort zones at a later time – if that’s really essential! For now, how about taking that progressive step to really engage with and accept that the time for change is now.

Next, since living with change, for this discussion, may mean changing direction, it would be really smart to research will help to acknowledge and then welcome new opportunities with a more open disposition.

By releasing preconceived notions that are held already about the most appropriate career, will enable personal growth, enjoyment and – because people perform best when they are being authentic – success too.

Finally, it’s vital to manage perspectives and be optimistic. Yes, accepting and even being pro-active with change is can be a frightening thing, being positive about it is a major asset to adjusting and getting comfortable again.

Living with change and facing it with acceptance may be hard at first, but with the tips mentioned above, it shouldn’t be that difficult in the long run. It might even be fun!

Dealing with Business Changes

Change is all around. It is something that no-one can avoid, especially for those in the corporate world, because business change is always looming around the corner.

Whether it’s your most awaited promotion, being a part of a new team or being sent to work for a branch of your company in another location, it is truly certain that the only thing constant in anyone’s life is change.

So how do you deal with business change and the feelings that accompany it? Do you sulk in a corner and complain about how unfair life is? Or do you stand with your chin up and face it head on?

If your answer is the former, here are a few tips to help make your answer the latter instead.

Given the experience of change people often have, it’s quite understandable for many to feel uncomfortable simply hearing the word ‘change’. However, instead of tending to looking at the negative side of things, it can be much more productive to look for positives instead.

By doing this, changes ahead can be much less daunting and instead of trying to resist, embracing it with open arms can be of great value indeed. Once people know that change is going to happen anyway, it’s not worth wasting time and effort evading it.

The sooner most individuals get familiar with the said change, the sooner they’ll find the exciting new possibilities that come with it.

Even more important, is that whenever business change happens, no-one is ever alone in handling it. Building a support system for one another will strengthen bonds and make professional relationships work in a more collaborative way.

Lastly, be patient when change happens. Yes, it may take quite a while to get used to the new challenges, but over time, yesterdays change becomes today’s norm. So, by taking control and avoiding the seemingly endless and uncertain period take its toll, everyone will gradually be able to adjust and move forward.

When there is little control, business change is feared by many because of the feelings that they encounter when faced with it. Yet, with enough preparation and proper knowledge, all these worries can be found unnecessary.

Following the tips and ideas above can make business change much more interesting – and much more successful too.