Make Work Play: Changing Our Viewpoint About Work

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is more thinking and talking about “work” and what it means now than at any time I can remember. Certainly, we are living in a time of change and the nature and paradigm of work is changing with it. I am all for this discussion and the adaptation of new ideas about when, where, and how we work. But there is something more fundamental about work we can adapt, too. It is our fundamental view of work.

What Does Work Mean to You?

The word “work” carries meaning for everyone – and for most people it isn’t 100% positive.  Work is something we have to do. Most people say they wouldn’t work if they didn’t have to – which is one reason why people look forward to retirement so much. The synonyms for “work” support this view.  They include effort, struggle, obligation, exertion, sweat, toil and struggle.  I suppose it isn’t surprising people can’t wait for quitting time or Friday afternoon.

While all of this is the generalized view of work, what is yours?

What if it Could Change?

What if you saw work differently?  For example, if you saw your work as more like play – more enjoyable and less exertion – would it change your attitude, mental health and results when doing it?

More specifically, think of a time when you did enjoy your work – how was your experience different?

Making the Change

While it is easy to think about how our experience of work could change if our thoughts about it changed, those thoughts are deep seated. Those thoughts come from our language, as we have seen, and also from media, our conversations, and our life experiences.  Chances are you developed your view of work first from your parents, and how they talked about the work, their boss and perhaps how they “worked for the weekend!”

If you would like to change that view of work, and see it a little more like play and a little less of a pain, start with this question:  What do you love about your work?

Before you read on, think about your answer…

Some Thoughts from Others 

 A recent poll revealed answers from respondents to this question:

What do you love about work?

In each response you see a passion and a caring about work that was different from what I described above. And there is no doubt that each of those respondents were more effective and productive in their work, as well as happier too.

The answers were categorized  into the reasons they gave – their answers as to why they love their work. This wasn’t a formal survey, the pollster simply asked the open-ended question I asked you.  Some people responded with a brief line; others provided paragraphs.  From their answers the categories you see below were created. You may find it instructive that most respondents had more than one reason they loved their work.

Sense of purpose                                         22.5%

The work itself                                              19.7%

Problem solving/overcoming challenges   11.3%

Helping others                                              11.3%

Coworkers/team                                           9.9%

Coaching others                                           5.6%

Fun                                                                 5.6%

Other answers included flexibility, variety, relationships at work, and personal growth.

There is more I could say about these results that apply directly to this article.  Let me just say this:  If you find any of these things in your work – and recognize it – your view of work will likely be healthier and more self-sustaining than if you don’t.  Part of it is perspective and mindset, but some of these items a leader can help people see too – especially the number one item on the list.

To your greater success and harmony,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT

 

Take the Next Step...
Interested in learning how to develop your organization's leadership capability, culture, and employee engagement? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please 

contact: Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile: 323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, wealth management services, third-party maintenance providers, real estate services, nonprofits, government agencies and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth.

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

 

 

Moving the Needle When Participating In a Learning Event (Read: OPG-LA Tier 3)

 

 

 

 

 

What is your goal when you attend a conference, seminar, workshop, webinar or even this week's OPG-LA Tier 3 Leadership Academy session # 1?

Is it a life-changing idea or insight, or something else?

I have experienced the big aha-moments in all those settings, and that is wonderful. But that is a high bar.

I’ve also heard people be a bit cynical after and even before a session saying things like “I knew most of that material,” or “there wasn’t much new here.”

Light-bulb moments are wonderful. But attending learning events focused only on the big, new ideas will keep you from getting the most from those opportunities.

Focus on moving the needle. Learning and growing by 1%.

Going from 0-60 is great but moving the needle from 40 to 45 and creating a new average or base line is more realistic and can have a huge impact on your long-term performance and success.

The big insight is a bonus, but moving the needle to a new level – even if the change is small – can change everything.

Look for the little gains. When you look for them, you are more likely to find them – and added together, they will change everything for the better.

Whether in a learning session or just going through your workday – look for ways to move the needle today.

Check out a related post: Experimentation is Vital for Leadership Excellence. ( 5 min read)

Stay curious, stay hungry,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT

 

Take the Next Step...
Interested in learning how to develop your organization's leadership capability, culture, and employee engagement? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please 

contact: Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile: 323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, wealth management services, facilities and energy management,  real estate services, nonprofits, government agencies and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth.

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

 

 

The Root Cause and Cure for Most Team Conflict

 

 

 

 

 

Recent research into team dynamics by the Quantum Group has led to extraordinary revelations about the root of conflict--in particular, the morale-sapping and productivity-killing kind that develops within teams. You know what I mean. You assign a group to a project, and the next thing you know, World War III has broken out in your conference room. Or people start knocking on your door to complain about one another. Or you observe that one of two people are carrying the whole effort and running themselves into the ground, getting more resentful and burned out by the day, while the rest of their so-called team order pizza and surf the Internet. 

Teams in conflict cost millions of dollars a year in lost productivity and generate untold ill will among coworkers.

In the Quantum study, high conflict teams were asked to identify the source of their conflict. Nearly 100 percent of them said that the main problem was other people.

Two root causes emerged from these conversations. The first root cause of conflict that people reported was personality clashes: that some people are difficult to work with. They're jerks, basically. The second root cause of conflict that people identified was that some people on their teams--although perfectly nice--just had no idea what they were doing. For sake of simplicity, let's call them idiots. (You will already be familiar with jerks and idiots from your commute--jerks are the ones driving faster than you, and idiots are the ones driving slower than you. [Thank you George Carlin!])

Let me back up for a moment: in all fairness, it is completely human, and natural, that when we meet someone new, within minutes we try to label them. We want to know: Does this person like me? (Is this person like me?) Do we agree? When we find someone who agrees with us, we label them immediately. (We call those people geniuses.) And when we meet somebody who does not agree with us, very quickly we have to figure out whether the person is a jerk or just kind...flawed in some way. So, it's not at all strange taht we heard people attributing conflict to the personalities and incompetence of others.

There's only one problem with this theory that the roots of conflict are personal. It sets up a paradigm in which there is no real solution. If the root causes of conflict could be reduced to jerks and idiots, then there would have to be a way to nicen up jerks and smarten up idiots. I'm not sure if you have ever tried that, but my attempts have not been very successful. The Quantum research would uncover a truth more heartening than that. There is indeed a way to help teams resolve conflict.

AMBIGUITY IS THE SOURCE OF MOST CONFLICT

The researchers solicited more information from the groups in conflict, asking them to rate their level of clarity around three categories of work: their team's goals, roles and procedures. The teams in conflict had a high level of ambiguity in all three categories. The researchers concluded that the root cause of conflict is very rarely personality or incompetence. The breakthrough understanding that resulted from this research is that most conflict comes from ambiguity.

There are three basic types of ambiguity that can derail a team. First is ambiguity about goals--a lack of alignment of a lack of clarity that causes people to work against each other without realizing it. The second ambiguity is about roles. When people don't have a clear understanding of who is doing what, and where the boundaries between the roles are, it leads to conflict. Finally, there is ambiguity about procedures--a lack of agreement as to how to get the work done. When we operate in the state of nonalignment, it's no wonder we judge each other as jerks and idiots. That's why, when we work with other people, we really have to get clear on what we want to create, what each person's role is, and how we are going to proceed. Those questions drive much more professional conversations, prevent conflict, and move us toward our ultimate goal a lot more efficiently.

Ambiguity About Goals

Think about how your staff's lack of clarity on goals affect your department and organization. I guarantee you that some of your people have no idea what your main goals are or how their efforts can fit in and support those goals. You have to tell them. Never take for granted that everyone is on the same page. At times, you will have to negotiate with other teams or departments to coordinate your goals in a way that's respectful of everyone's time, expertise, and effort.

Ambiguity About Roles and Procedures

The same kinds of conflicts erupt around roles and procedures. We all make assumptions about what other people should be doing or what their roles encompass. But instead of of discussing our expectations with them, we usually save it for the agenda after the meeting, talking about them only after they have left the room. In addition to being unfair, it's unproductive. Many of us, in order to avoid having to talk to or confront each other, look to job descriptions. But these are not fixed---they're always changing, and people's interpretations vary. So making assumptions leads to conflict, whereas talking about roles ensures that everyone is in alignment. When roles and procedures are transparent, teams rum much more smoothly and efficiently.

Once leaders learn to facilitate clarity around goals, roles, and procedures, and people get used to initiating those conversations, they can't understand why they had conflict at all. So why don't people come to it intuitively. Why does conflict keep happening?

It takes a lot of courage to ignore our visceral emotions and instead have a professional clarifying conversation. It's easier in the moment to come up with a story to justify not taking the initiative: we just tell ourselves it wouldn't make any difference, because other people are unreasonable or incompetent. But the moment we make it personal, we are no longer dealing with reality. And when we start making decisions out of that kind of story, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If I see someone as a jerk, I only collect evidence that proves my point. That story feels safer than stepping and providing real leadership: having to clarify, to reach out, to communicate, to empathize and respond. In the long run, though, it's much easier and more efficient to have that honest conversation than to live with the long-term conflict. When you finally figure that out, it is life changing.

We tend to think that clarity is a byproduct of a highly functioning team, but it's the reason why they function well. As a leader, you do not have to resolve conflict--just provide clarity about goals and roles. Clarity gives employees the freedom to operate within their roles and be as effective as possible. And it stops conflict in its tracks.

Communicate consciously. Make sure everything you are asking people to do ties back into a strategic plan that you have shared with them. Never assume people will fall into place. If you are a leader at the managing director or vice president level, you should be spending a significant of your time with people clarifying goals and roles. If you're doing your job correctly, you should not--brace yourself---have to get very involved in the procedures piece. People who are clear on their goals and roles should--and will---devise their own procedures for getting the job done.

Finally, the best things you can do do for building an effective team is teach you people one key question: "How can I help?" This question, and the spirit in which it is asked, are the heart and soul of a healthy group dynamics. In most workplaces, both the question and attitude are all too rare.

I suggest that you adopt the golden rule of teamwork for your group: 
Stop Judging and Start Helping.

To your greater success and harmony,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT

 

Take the Next Step...
Interested in learning how to develop your organization's leadership capability, culture, and employee engagement? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please 

contact: Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile: 323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, wealth management services, third-party maintenance providers, real estate services, nonprofits, government agencies and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth.

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

 

7 Simple Ways to Boost your Internal Networking Skills

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many people think, mistakenly, that since they do not have to go outside the company walls to do their job, then they do not need to network.

Even if your job rarely requires you to interact with other people outside your company, you still need to know how to interact and network internally with your colleagues.

This is nothing to do with the scope of your job and your responsibilities, and it is actually a must behavior within organizations, small or large.

I believe that your ability to network internally will make your working environment much more pleasant and will influence dramatically the teamwork spirit within the organization and your career.

Moreover, internal networking means creating value, caring and giving authentic attention to others.

The 7 simple ways to boost your internal networking skills:

1. Have lunch with others

Lunch is a great opportunity to try your internal networking skills.

Make a plan to  regularly have lunch with another colleague or colleagues.

This short time can be very valuable in building strong relationships with your colleagues, discover what are they busy with, add value to them and try to help solve their needs. Try not to eat lunch with the same people each time.

I guarantee you that if you are sincerely interested in your colleague stories, you will often find these lunch meetings the most enjoyable and interesting part of your week.

Remember, to be interesting be interested.

If lunchtime can’t work, do not try to find excuses, schedule a coffee/tea break together with your colleague.

2. Participate in internal and external training and events

Try to participate in any training programs and events that the organization offers.

In a case of a large organization this training is usually a great opportunity to meet colleagues from other departments, divisions or geographies.

If your organization is small and no internal programs are offered. I consider joining with other colleagues in a external event or training also as internal networking.

During the intense days of participation in the event, you will see your colleague much more often than in the office and you will interact with him also on a personal level.

This will help you to learn much more about your colleague and it definitely part of the internal networking process.

3. Become a project leader

Many people do not embrace the golden opportunity given to them by their employer and develop a unique project within their company.

Start your own project within the company and involve as many colleagues as you can to support you and take leading roles.

In the first instance, it seems like a time-consuming activity with no immediate benefits.

But this kind of volunteering has many benefits to you and the organization.

For me, as far as I remember, I developed new projects in most of the companies where I worked. Thus, I got to learn more about my colleagues and was much more appreciated by my colleagues as well as my employer.

4. Be a supporter

Some of your colleagues have other activities outside of the office, e.g. volunteering in a non-profit organization; helping special institutes etc.

You should try to find it out and support your colleagues' good causes by attending, volunteering or donating to the other nonprofit organizations.

This behavior surely shows commitment and real interest to build a relationship with your colleague.

5. Be a connector

An easy and rewarding way to practice networking internally is to act as an internal connector.

 I  believe that contacts you share you do not own.

Take every chance to introduce people from different parts of your organization.

You can also introduce your colleagues to your external network and vice versa.

It’s amazing how many relationships will deepen once you have helped people to connect.

I want you to understand that these connections do not need to have a direct link to your organization or job.

For example, you may introduce your colleague to a great doctor to take care of her health problem; you may help your colleague’s son land an interview for a job.

Your connecting efforts will be highly valued and surely remembered!

6. Be the first during moments of joy and sadness

Celebrate with your colleagues their moments of joy! And be with them in moments of sadness.

When your colleague is promoted, receive an award, got a new child or got married, send congratulations.

While on the other hand, if your colleague experiences a very sad moment in his life, be there for them. I mean physically, in real life (not only via social networks).

A quick hand-written card to someone (even if you don’t know them well) will go a long way towards showing that you care, you are paying attention
 

7. Praise others.

 How many people in your organization talk about other people’s accomplishments?

Most of the people talk naturally about their own achievements. But what if you start to praise other colleagues’ achievements and really mean it?

As a matter of fact, if you turn it into your habit your will create yourself a name as a real team player and everybody would seek your company.

Learn not to be afraid to share credit.

Remember – your internal network and the authentic relationships you build within your company will go with you forever!You will probably develop a different sort of relationship with them than with external parties.

If you keep others’ interests in mind, you will be seen as genuine relationship builder; an authentic attention giver; someone who’s willing to lend a hand.

The well-connected person creates value for all.

Many of my ex-colleagues and clients are still a great source of continuing friendship and inspiration. These are relationships that I will always cherish.

Remember, it's called net-working, not net-setting. Set a goal and go for it.

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT

Take the Next Step...
Interested in learning how to develop your organization's leadership capability, culture, and employee engagement? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please 

contact: Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile: 323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, wealth management services, third-party maintenance providers, real estate services, nonprofits, government agencies and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth.

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

Why We Micromanage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Micromanagement. We have all experienced it – and if you are a leader, you have mostly likely done it. Yet no one ever says that great leaders are micromanagers. If it isn’t effective and we don’t like it done to us, why do we micromanage?

The Pressures to Micromanage

Not all the items on this list will affect or afflict all leaders in the same way, but all are among the reasons why we take over, step in, or “try to help.”

·        We are trying to exert some control. Yes, some people have a greater need for control than others, but leaders are held responsible for things they don’t personally do. Leadership success is more about influence and less about control. As individual contributors we had more control – as we transition to leading successfully, we must make this mental transition.

·        We micromanage things we know well. Much of micromanagement happens as leaders focus too much on the tasks they know well. It makes sense that we would rather focus on what we know (and perhaps got us promoted) than the unknown roles of leadership. Why would we want to give up what we know?

 

·        We micromanage things we are good at. There are things we were good at in the past. Things we have done hundreds of times and could do in our sleep.  Why would we want to give up these things, especially if someone on the team is struggling with them?

·        We micromanage highly visible things. Because as leaders we often don’t have control – we may try to take more on specific projects that are visible or especially important. In these cases, there likely is a role for us, but taking the reins from those who have been assigned those tasks cheats them of their development, shows them you don’t trust them, and keeps you from other important work.

·        We value short term results. Because we know the work and are good at it, we will be more efficient at it. We micromanage when we convince ourselves that speed is more important than allowing others to learn, grow and have higher commitment and accountability for their work.

·        We like the tangible. It is always gratifying to see our results. If we are writing the report, solving the problem, handling the Customer complaint, we see a result immediately. Much of the work of a leader doesn’t have that tangible, immediate reward. Sometimes we micromanage because we want to feel like we accomplished something.

·        We really do want to help. There is nothing wrong with helping. In a pinch, when there is a backlog, or someone is on vacation. But you’ve experienced someone “trying to help” that felt like they were taking over.  Be careful your desire to help is desired by the team and not misunderstood.  A good rule of thumb is to offer help when they request it, and not before.

 

·        We confuse showing with coaching. Coaching is an important part of the job of leader. But too often leaders do the work, and assume people are learning through observation. Demonstration can be a powerful part of coaching but should be used sparingly.  People learn by doing, not my solely watching. And if they aren’t learning by watching, they are feeling micromanaged.

·        Few of these are bad things. They are understandable, and doing them doesn’t make us a bad leader or a bad human being – unless they are how we always work.  While this may not be a complete list of why people micromanage, it includes the biggest and most common reasons.  When we see ourselves in this list it should help us better understand why we might micromanage, help us overcome that habit, and importantly, reduce our guilt or feelings of inadequacy when we do.

The Big Truth

Micromanagement is in the eye of the beholder. A leader can lead/manage two people in exactly the same way, and while one loves the approach, the other feels micromanaged.  This means that to succeed in this area we must balance the pressures on this list and be flexible in our approach to leading and coaching each person on our team.  It also means that despite our best efforts and intentions, there will be moments that we are seen as micromanaging. We (and our team can live with moments of micromanaging.  And when we understand why we micromanage, it will be moments, not our standard approach to leading our team.

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT

Take the Next Step...
Interested in learning how to develop your organization's leadership capability, culture, and employee engagement? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please 

contact: Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile: 323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, wealth management services, third-party maintenance providers, real estate services, nonprofits, government agencies and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth.

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.