Posts Tagged ‘High-Performance Culture’

Be Direct

Friday, September 30th, 2016

Every employee who disagrees with a policy or a decision has a choice: ignore it, whine about it, or be direct.

Ignoring something you don’t agree with is fine, so long as you feel the difference of opinion is not a serious error. If you feel that a policy or decision is harmful in a way that really matters, you have an obligation as a member of the team to voice your concern.

But here’s the thing: Don’t whisper your concern in a “meeting outside of the meeting.” That’s destructive to the team. Don’t cross your arms, roll your eyes, and whine to your colleagues who have no way to influence the outcome.

If it doesn’t matter, forget it! But if it does, you have an obligation to put your grownup pants on and head straight for the decision makers who can do something about it.

If those decision makers are worth their salt, and you present the idea calmly and clearly, your stock will go up in their eyes.

Overwhelm

Friday, September 23rd, 2016

A Princeton study shows that work is more overwhelming than ever—or at least that’s our perception. Three-quarters of the workers in the study said work is more stressful than it was a generation ago.

That’s certainly true in some ways. But overwhelm often has just as much to do with a conversation going in your head as in the real world. When you tell yourself, “I don’t even know where to start,” a feeling of helplessness sets in. Every task seems to be shouting your name.

STOP. There are priorities here. Take a deep breath and figure out what has to happen first, what can wait until later, and what doesn’t have to be happening at all.

Suddenly the priorities are standing in line, waiting patiently for their turn.

Finally, stop telling others how overwhelmed you are. That adds to everyone’s feeling of overwhelm, and it gives the tasks in your head permission to jump out of line again. They are not in charge—you are!

Once you step off the treadmill of overwhelm, you’ll NEVER go back.

Over-Communicate

Monday, October 5th, 2015

Bosses might like sports, and they might not. They may or may not like water-skiing or Mexican food or romantic comedies. People vary.

But there’s one thing I can pretty much guarantee your boss does not like—surprises.

I don’t mean you shouldn’t throw a surprise party or bring flowers. I’m talking about the kind of surprise that requires sudden defensive action from the boss—the kind that doesn’t give enough time for the planning and strategizing that bosses are paid to do. THAT kind of surprise is the kind they absolutely hate.

That’s one of many reasons you should over-communicate with your boss whenever possible. At the beginning of a project or initiative, get clear directions about the results and processes he or she expects.

Then as you work, report frequently on where you are in the process, what your struggles are, and what you’re doing to overcome them.

Never leave out the bad news, your struggles and roadblocks. A manager who only hears happy-happy-joy-joy will quickly turn suspicious. A boss I had in my twenties used to say, “Tell me the good news, tell me the bad news…but don’t EVER surprise me.” I didn’t—and as a result, he never micromanaged my work.

Daily and weekly reporting about where you are compared to your work plan will earn trust, and everybody will be happy.

Learn to Say “No”

Sunday, January 4th, 2015

It happens every single day. Someone finds you out of nowhere and asks you to help them in some way or another. How do you say no?

First, realize that it is completely fine to say no. This alone is a big step for many people. But it should be obvious that when someone asks a yes/no question, there are (at least) two possible answers.

Suppose a client suggests that you come by her office for a conversation that would ordinarily take 10 minutes. But now, with the commute, you’re looking at an hour – and that’s an hour you cannot give up today.

Let the client know how eager you are to connect, and that you’re equally eager to help her avoid the required charge for out-of-office consulting. Suggest conducting this conversation over the webcam. Everybody wins.

Or perhaps Chris, from the cubicle next to yours, pokes his head around the corner in hopes that you can help him with a project he’s been assigned. If you can do it, great. But if you can’t, you really need to find a way to say that.

Make it clear that you appreciate his thinking of you, but that you will not be able to assist him until Tuesday, or whatever it may be. And if you can’t at all, just say that. With all due love, of course!

Commit yourself to tasks that are most profitable. Learn to say no to the rest.

Shake it Off!

Monday, October 20th, 2014

One of the kids takes a hard hit and is lying on the ground. The coach runs over, sees that she’s not seriously hurt, then says the mantra of coaches everywhere: “Shake it off.”

At first that might sound harsh, but it’s actually great practice for life. If you’re too hurt to play on, you’ll be helped off the field and cared for, no problem. But if you’re well enough to play on, even though it hurts a bit and the wind has been knocked out of you, the best thing to do is shake it off and get back in the game.

Whether in sports or business, winners know that to win, you have to play hard. And when you play hard, you WILL get hurt once in a while.

Failures and mistakes are common and necessary. Winners know how to shake it off, get back on their feet, and move on from failure, quickly adjusting course without wallowing in the bruises to their egos.

The next time you find yourself momentarily on your back, ask yourself—How bad is it really? Do I need to be helped off the field? Or can I shake it off, take a deep breath, and get back into the game?