Feed your team

Posted on April 10, 2013 by humanergy

I am a card-carrying member of ASDT (Adult Survivors of a Dysfunctional Team). I am sure that it is just a coincidence (or the fact that I have been working for many, many years), but I’ve served on a few teams that were not productive.

Dysfunctional teams do tend to get attention, even if the intervention doesn’t always work. The teams that get short shrift are the okay, average and good ones. As long as the team isn’t hopeless or causing too many problems for others, it’s not likely to rise to the top of the boss’ priority list.

Too bad. Great teams are the drivers of amazing results, as reinforced by Harvard Business Review blogger, Judith A. Ross, in Make Your Good Team Great. Research shows that the qualities that drive top team performance can be described as group Emotional Intelligence. In other words, these teams know how to recognize and manage the emotions of their members.

Ms. Ross recommends making time for the team to connect both inter-personally and around their strengths. This will help them appreciate each others’ contributions and tap each person’s strengths. She also emphasizes the importance of teams recognizing and managing the emotions that are sure to arise – the conflicts and the joys.

Kim Kanaga and Henry Browning authored the Center for Creative Leadership’s Keeping Watch: How to Monitor and Maintain a Team. They recommend that leaders regularly monitor a team’s status in six dimensions of team performance:

Clear purpose

Empowering team structure

Strong organizational support

Positive internal relationships

Well-tended external relationships

Efficient information management

The authors suggest ways to evaluate each of these six dimensions, and also expand upon four key indicators, which they liken to the gauges on a car’s dashboard.

Effort – Extent to which members devote time and effort to the task

Knowledge and skills – Degree to which the team possesses the right competencies

Tactics – Using rational, logical and direct approaches to accomplish goals

Group dynamics – Extent to which the team works without undue friction or waste

People who lead teams must regularly “take the pulse” of the team and help them adapt to changing circumstances. Teams need a leader who can smooth the way, ensuring that the team has the information, resources, autonomy and management support that will ensure success. What can you do today to make the life of your team better?

Need help leading your team? Contact Humanergy.

Photo from iStockphoto

Leadership examined

Posted on February 26, 2013 by humanergy

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” Socrates

Life seems to move at the speed of light, and most leaders don’t feel they have the luxury of stepping back to reflect. Yes, you may do a project debrief when you finish a chunk of work. But when was the last time you took the time to reflect on your organization or your leadership as a whole?

The downside of examining our work in bits and pieces is that we don’t see patterns of thinking, behavior and results. We miss the interconnections between the success of Project A with the missteps with Client B.

How do you focus on the bigger picture without the luxury of lots of time?

Journal. I used to dismiss the benefits of journaling, until I tried it. I know I struggle with doing something every day, so I don’t hold myself to that rigid standard. Regular journaling, however, has helped me see connections that I would have otherwise missed. I recognized patterns in my behavior that worked and some that didn’t. I also was able to see progress over time by re-reading entries from months earlier. Quite motivating!

Use words and pictures. While I tend to be a word person, I find that visualizing problems and solutions in pictures unleashes new thinking and insights. It isn’t easy for me, and that is why the payoff is so great.

Get away. A change of space often frees the mind. Even something as simple as relocating to the coffee shop for 20 minutes can unleash your creativity. Just stay focused on asking your “why?” questions, rather than chatting with your fellow caffeine imbibers.

You don’t have to escape to a mountain retreat to find some space for contemplation. Turn off your media for ten minutes and tune into the big picture. You may be amazed at what your “examined life” produces.

Want some help discovering connections and patterns? Contact Humanergy.

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One simple way to show you care

Posted on February 13, 2013 by humanergy

I am in a meeting with someone, talking about the status of projects, next steps and responsibilities. As usual, I bring along a notepad and pen to jot down important details that I know I won’t remember. (I have given up the illusion that I am capable of remembering anything.)

The other person actively engages in the conversation and writes down nothing.

Is it just me, or is that just…wrong? I have actually told our interns that they need to take notes. I don’t care if they use paper or their phone, or if they even write something on their bodies with a pen. Just care enough (or in my case, be humble enough) to write something down.

David Wheatley, one of Humanergy’s founders, refers to this as the latest in technological devices – the iCare. Regardless of the type of technology you use, writing things down shows you care enough to track conversations and commitments. It also acknowledges the reality that for most of us, memories really don’t last forever (and rarely even an hour).

Need help tracking your commitments? Contact Humanergy.

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You get what you schedule

Posted on January 2, 2013 by humanergy

I am great at making to-do lists. Right now I have a paper list at my office, one in Outlook tasks, and two or three on scraps of paper at home, including one that’s buried in a pile of bills and paperwork that needs filing.

No surprise – my “system” is clearly not working. As my colleague David Wheatley says, you get what you schedule. He recommends that you eliminate to-do lists and just put it on the schedule.

Most people use some form of a web-based calendar, but this system works on a pencil-and-paper version too. Rather than collect multiple, independent lists that can go missing, assign tasks to time on your calendar. If you don’t do it during the allotted time, move it to a different slot.

David uses Google calendar creatively to make sure he focuses on his most important work. He starts each day with a number of calls and other work populated in the “wee hours” on his calendar. Each morning, he drags each task from it’s 2:00 a.m. holding spot into an available slot during the day. In this way, he knows what he wants to accomplish and when he will do it.

Scheduling your to-dos creates the expectation that things will get done at a certain time – a great improvement over the “do-this-maybe-sometime” lists I have been creating (and losing). Scheduling also has a built-in feedback mechanism. If you keep moving that task, is it something you’re really committed to do?

Need help with tackling the work that really needs to be done? Contact Humanergy.

Photo from microsoft.com

When do you put out the red carpet?

Posted on July 11, 2012 by humanergy

When we’re recruiting new employees, it’s tempting to paint a rosy picture. We want to impress these candidates, especially if we think they possess the skills we desperately need.

One of Humanergy’s clients recently noted, “The typical organization puts out the red carpet when hiring, then the vinyl flooring during onboarding. We do just the opposite.”

What they meant was that they expose candidates to the brutal (and wonderful) reality of the job during the hiring process. They strive to be as realistic as possible about the challenges, working conditions, deliverables and organizational culture.

The typical interview process is part “inform” and part “woo.” Make sure that you don’t err on the side of under-informing. Not sharing the “nitty-gritty” details can result in unrealistic expectations and misalignment from day one. That could mean that you’ll have to repeat the hiring process sooner than you’d like.

When you’re hiring, don’t just allow candidates to try to figure out how it will be to work at your organization. Be as thorough as you can, giving people a realistic preview of the scope, role and culture if they choose to take the job.

The biggest payoff of the “vinyl flooring” approach is that you will save time and money getting the right person in the right position the first time around. After all, as Ray Kroc said, “You’re only as good as the people you hire.”

Contact Humanergy for more information about hiring and making the most of your terrific people!

Photo courtesy of sxc.hu

This problem could be killing your leadership

Posted on May 29, 2012 by humanergy

Pat has a problem that she does not acknowledge. Everyone else can see it, but not Pat. In fact, when asked about this issue, she replies that it is part of the job and not impacting her leadership effectiveness.

Pat’s problem is stress. More and more, extreme levels of stress are accepted as a normal requirement of a leader’s job. Many actually consider this constant mental pressure to be a badge of honor.

This bravado about stress means that leaders often won’t address it as the serious situation it is. A 2007 Center for Creative Leadership Research White Paper titled The Stress of Leadership states:

Eighty-eight percent of leaders told us that work is a primary source of stress in their lives and that having a leadership role increases the level of stress (75 percent agreement). Further, about 65 percent of the sample believes that their stress level is higher than it was five years ago.

Pat may be cavalier about today’s stress. However, if her stress level increases over time, she may experience Catastrophic Leadership Failure, as described by Dr. Henry L. Thompson in his article, Catastrophic Leadership Failure™: An Overview:

Cognitive ability (IQ) and emotional intelligence (EI) abilities are required for successful leader performance—at all levels. Recent findings combined with my experience and research on leadership, stress, IQ and EI over the last 25 years indicate that when a leader’s stress level is sufficiently elevated— whether on the front line of a manufacturing process, in the emergency room, the Boardroom or on the battlefield—his/her ability to fully and effectively use IQ and EI in tandem to make timely and effective decisions is significantly impaired. This impairment often leads to catastrophic results.

Do you need to get real about stress and its effects? Are you skeptical that there is a solution to stress, given the intense demands on leaders?

We will be writing more about stress management in upcoming posts. In the meantime, check out this for some tips to get you started on your journey to a more calm existence.

Want to figure out how to make work more fun and less stressful? Contact us.

Photo courtesy of stock.xchg.

Are women really less confident in the workplace?

Posted on October 19, 2011 by humanergy

A coworker recently commented, “It’s true that women are less confident on the job than men.” As you might expect, I couldn’t just let that statement slide. “You don’t really think that’s true,” I said. With some trepidation, he said that he did. I asked for his sources of information, and decided right then to figure out more!

Part of my shock at this commentary on confidence was due to my past experience. In my dealings with male and female leaders, I have found no correlation between gender and self-confidence. I would say that women were generally more willing to admit their faults and limitations. Men, on the other hand, more often buried their insecurities, hoping that people wouldn’t notice. (They did anyway.)

Often the issue of perceived confidence boils down to social conditioning. According to Dr. Lois Frankel, author of Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office: 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers, women learn as girls that they are expected to be “nice.” This meant being quiet, taking care of others and not asking for what you want. These behaviors in adulthood, such as excessive apologizing, stating opinions as questions or asking permission to take action, sabotage women’s careers.

Experts like Carol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D., have identified nonverbal behaviors that women often use that convey weakness. Women generally tilt their heads more, which is a sign of attentiveness that is also interpreted as submission. Women who twirl their hair or play with jewelry are exhibiting girlish ways of dealing with stress that erodes their power. Likewise, nodding and smiling convey engagement and approval, but can derail your efforts to broach a serious subject or make a credible argument.

On the flip side, exuding confidence brings potential pitfalls for women leaders. A meta-analysis of research, conducted at Northwestern University, found:

Women are viewed as less qualified or natural in most leadership roles, the research shows, and secondly, when women adopt culturally masculine behaviors often required by these roles, they may be viewed as inappropriate or presumptuous.

Women must walk a tightrope between being perceived as too nice (and weak) or overly aggressive (and witchy). Women who can display both stereotypically male and female characteristics appear to be most successful. A Stanford University study states that “for women to be successful they must simultaneously present themselves as self–confident and dominant while tempering these qualities with displays of communal characteristics.” Women who were good self-monitors and knew how to adapt situationally actually achieved more career success than men.

True confidence comes from your core, from knowing who you are and what you can and cannot do. Confidence can be bolstered by achievement, but only in the sense that attaining something meaningful reinforces and expands upon that unwavering core. It is incumbent upon all leaders, male and female, to feed this healthy sense of self, measuring success not by what others think, but by what you know to be true and in the best interests of the greater good.

What has been your experience with gender and confidence?

Do you make too many decisions?

Posted on September 21, 2011 by humanergy

Leaders take pride in being able to make well-reasoned decisions – and lots of them. A recent article in the New York Times Magazine should give all frequent decision-makers pause. It turns out that all decisions, even minor daily choices, like whether to have a bagel or a banana, contribute to decision fatigue. The more decisions you make each day, the worse at making them you are.

John Tierney writes in To Choose is to Lose, “Decision fatigue helps explain why ordinarily sensible people get angry at colleagues and families, splurge on clothes, buy junk food at the supermarket and can’t resist the dealer’s offer to rustproof their new car. No matter how rational and high-minded you try to be, you can’t make decision after decision without paying a biological price.”

That price is reduced mental energy that saps self-control, willpower, judgment and discernment – all qualities that leaders need in vast quantities. Essentially, your brain is tired, even if your body does not perceive it, and you take unconscious shortcuts in decision-making.

How can you maintain healthy decision-making and mitigate the dangers of decision fatigue?

Recognize it. Many leaders like to think that they are decision-making machines, capable of analysis and decisiveness from dawn to dusk. They do not want to admit that their capabilities can be limited by the number of decisions they make. In fact, their egos often lead them to believe that they get better and sharper as the day goes on. To be on the safe side, examine your mental energy at various times of the day. When are you most prone to act impulsively? Take steps to move critical discussions and judgments to a time of day when you’re fresh.

Feed your brain. Tired brains can be restored and decisions improved, in part, by ensuring that the brain is operating on enough glucose, the simple sugar our bodies get from a number of food sources. Keeping your blood sugar levels appropriately high will give your brain the energy it needs to consider implications, look at long-term prospects and make sound judgments. A Snickers bar might seem like the jolt your weary mind needs. However, the problem with the candy bar is the sugar low that soon follows, leaving you less capable of thinking clearly. The best solution is a balanced diet that gives you sustained energy throughout the day, to keep your mental acuity on an even plane.

Reduce the quantity of decisions. If the decision doesn’t have to be made by you, don’t do it. Whether it be what color to paint your office or where to hold a meeting, delegate decisions and let others make choices that aren’t critical for you to make.

Decide ahead of time. Lay out your clothes the night before, prep breakfast and pack your lunch for the next day. This will reserve more brain energy for today’s important decisions.

Examine some choices. Reserve the right to review your decision, particularly if you’ve made it under less-than-ideal conditions. While this isn’t always possible, sleeping on a critical determination will allow you to figure out if it still makes sense to your better-fueled brain.

Adjust implementation. Maybe the decision is the right one, but the details of implementation may have been overlooked by your fuzzy mind. The devil really can be in the details, as William Pollard noted when he said, “It is not always what we know or analyzed before we make a decision that makes it a great decision. It is what we do after we make the decision to implement and execute it that makes it a good decision.”

You can’t avoid making decisions, even if you want to, so take steps to amp up your mental energy. Frequent breaks for food and relaxation may seem like you’re slacking, but they are really fundamental success strategies. Focus on the more commonly-known decision-making best practices (latest data, trends and analysis), AND examine your brain’s energy stores to see if you are up to the task at hand.

Leadership requirement: X-ray vision

Posted on August 31, 2011 by humanergy

High performance leaders know how to read the pulse of the organization. They regularly adjust strategies and tactics based on their understanding of what is really going on. This type of X-ray vision is the ability to see the unknown, inner mechanism of people and organizations. Leaders with x-ray vision:

Understand the meaning behind surprises. When people are surprised it gives you insight to their internal landscape of beliefs and expectations. You will also learn more about your own assumptions and recognize that not everyone views the world as you do.

Gain insight from people’s emotions. When people have an emotional reaction, they are really communicating about something that is important to them. Conversely, if they are working hard to contain an emotional response, that also gives a clue that the issue is significant. Be aware of and sensitive to people’s responses, and your analysis will be better informed.

Recognize the importance of noise. We’ve all seen it. A seemingly minimal change creates a furor. People become frustrated, distracted and unproductive. This “noise” tells you that something isn’t right or a process is not working. Dig deeper and listen carefully to analyze what is happening, before you respond.

Watch for the vacuum. The signs are chaos, stress and an increasing number of unanswered questions. These symptoms indicate that some aspect of leadership isn’t being filled. Respond quickly with a clear vision and the direction that your people need to move forward. No matter what, the vacuum will be filled. It’s up to you to ensure that it happens productively.

Practice “show me.” When you’re fuzzy about what’s going on, get out of your office. Go connect with your people, see firsthand the challenges they encounter and observe how they resolve them. You will have a more complete picture of their world and be better equipped to support them in their work.

Practice “teach me.” There is no substitute for direct personal experience. You will further deepen your understanding (and credibility) if you ask others to teach you what they know. Ideally, you should then roll up your sleeves and grapple with this new task. You’ll be better able to strategically address gaps and foster learning when you know from experience how hard it is to get the job done.

Summarize their understanding for others. You’ve gone out there with your x-ray vision, and you think you’ve gleaned just the right information. Before you leap to making changes, restate your insights to others to make sure you’ve got it right. You need to be open to the possibility that other eyes “reading” the situation have picked up on a nuance you’ve missed.

Are fully present. X-ray vision requires that you are not caught up in your own head, your own thinking and your own agenda. In Mark Goulston’s blog on presence for Fast Company, he quotes Wilfred Bion about the importance of listening without memory or desire: “…when you listen with memory, you have an old agenda that you are trying to plug/maneuver someone into and when you listen with desire, you have a new agenda that you’re trying to do the same thing. In neither case are you listening to their agenda and in neither case are you present.”

X-ray vision gives you a new perspective on reality – allowing you to experience its full, connected complexity over time. It takes dedication and hard work to look beyond the surface as an ongoing discipline. As Alfred North Whitehead said, “It requires a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious.”

Want to find out how you can acquire x-ray vision or teach this super-power to others? Contact Humanergy.

Photo courtesy of stock.xchng.

Strategic persistence: Don’t give up if the cause is right

Posted on July 27, 2011 by humanergy

You have a position on an issue or a new idea that you believe is right for the organization. In spite of significant effort, the innovation isn’t gaining traction. In fact, there appears to be significant opposition. It can be tempting to throw in the towel, even when you have the facts to support your position. How do you persist when you know you’re right and others aren’t on board?

Persuasion involves more than charisma and charm. Patience, time and a disciplined set of strategies are required.

Shape the discussion. You need to be the one driving the conversation. provide the facts, give the context and connect the dots for others who need to get on board. By all means, include others’ perspectives. Just don’t let them be the spokesperson for the topic.

Infect others. Think of your idea as an epidemic that needs to be spread. Your enthusiasm and ability to articulate your argument can be persuasive tools. Figure out who the key players are in this situation. They may or may not be people in positions of authority. Some people may be “connectors” - individuals with broad social networks who are able to influence others (see Malcom Gladwell’s book, The Tipping Point).

Be nice. Forget taking off the gloves; you won’t advance your position by getting into a sparring contest with your opponents. You will score points by punctuating your argument with self-effacing humor and an open mind.

Know your opponents’ position. Play devil’s advocate and come up with every conceivable reason why your idea is terrible. You can then anticipate the opposition’s arguments and be prepared to derail them before they are mentioned. Your adversaries will come up with some unexpected roadblocks, so be ready to think on your feet.

Adjust to new realities. External factors may change the equation. Be prepared to adjust your plan and your persuasive tactics based on new information. This will show a fluid grasp of the situation at hand, and you won’t be caught using last year’s data for this year’s problem.

Outlast them. Be calmly persistent and keep the issue front-of-mind for key people. Sometimes the victor is simply the person who is willing to continue playing the game.

Persistence involves resilience over time and the ability to maintain serenity in the midst of turmoil. Don’t underestimate the power of simply maintaining a forward momentum. As Calvin Coolidge said, “The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

Want to be more persistent when the time is right? Or could your team learn some new strategies for “pressing on”? Contact Humanergy.