The IMPACT Blog
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July 20, 2010
Like, um, you know, Dealing with Those Bad Communications Habits, eh
We all know them. They’re those people who are skilled and intelligent, maybe even exemplary at what they do, but whose communications habits are so irritating and persistent that people would rather avoid the individual rather than sit through another excruciating conversation or meeting with them. I once had a colleague like this. She had great ideas, but they were weakened by her inability to make it through a sentence without saying “like” every third word or so. She spoke in a valley-girl style upspeak (an intonation when you’re saying something, such that it sounds like a question) and she had a tendency to share ideas in loud bursts punctuated by snorts.
One day she came into my office and complained that she felt she wasn’t taken seriously at work. She felt she wasn’t being heard. She was right —her habits were getting in the way. The good news is that they were just habits and they could be eliminated or changed.
June 23, 2010
It isn’t all about the leader.
“Being aware of and celebrating differences and rewarding people for their contributions will go a long way to making sure that ensure that your team will be supportive even in a crisis.”
Read more about my views on the controversy over France’s national Football team in today’s Globe and Mail.
May 27, 2010
Get your spine tingling. Put on your “game face”.
I thought I would share a really happy little story. I was inspired by one of my clients yesterday. I was meeting him for the first time. I usually spend the first meeting asking a lot of questions and getting to know the client. As I was listening, my spine started to tingle. (It always does when I meet someone really talented). This guy was really inspirational and he didn’t even think about it. He just made things happen. Nothing fancy. Just effective. Let me give you a little snippet of our conversation and see if I can get your spine tingling. Here’s what he said.
April 29, 2010
Your pillows can be almost any colour of blue
I was in a meeting with a client and we were discussing his plans to make some changes in his organization. He knew exactly the steps that needed to be taken and he had been working through his plan. He was stalled. His boss had just said “no” to a key part of his plan. He was angry. He was discouraged. He looked at me and asked for my thoughts. I said “blue pillows”. He sat back in his chair and pushed away from the desk. “Blue pillows?!” He said.
I said, “Yes. I like to decorate. I know from years of decorating that if you need blue pillows, there are many, many different colors and patterns of blue that will work. If you can’t get your favorite, you will eventually find another one that works. It is like that with work. If one approach isn’t available to you, there are many, many other approaches that will also work. Your job is to pick another color of blue.”
My client had just finished a renovation and he completely got it. He went back to the drawing board and started looking for other options for his plan. It took some work but he eventually found that other option and he learned something. The war is far more important than each individual battle. You can lose a lot of battles over blue pillows before your run out of different colors of blue.
April 21, 2010
Are you listening?
I am writing this blog to the couple sitting across from me on the airplane. (They don’t know this of course). There is a very attractive woman and a man (glasses, kind of ordinary looking). They are clearly co-workers.
The woman has talked loudly, non stop for an hour or more. She is animated. Her hands are expressive. She bobs her head as she talks. She talks fast.
The man is mostly quiet. The man starts a sentence. The woman launches into another sentence before he finishes his. He stops and let’s her talk.
The man has his arms and legs folded. He is intermittently squinting like he is being “hit” by her words. Mostly he is nodding and saying “yes”, “I understand.” “Uh huh.”
He is patient.
I want to shout “pay attention!” I won’t. That is his job.“Why doesn’t he ask to be heard?”, I think to myself.
The art of conversation—is it dead?
April 12, 2010
How to thrive in change
A number of my clients are experiencing big changes. The belt tightening of 2009 has given way to restructuring in 2010. People are tired. Here’s the quick advice I provide to my clients to help them maintain their personal energy levels:
- Change creates opportunity. Use the change as an opportunity to put in place some things you have always felt were important (new products, a change in strategy)
- Reach out. Solidify old relationships and build new ones. It always feels better to talk to people. Talk about the opportunities not the complaints.
- Be a leader. Help others who are stuck. Communicate more. Do more coaching.
Do all these things and you will feel better, be better and help others.
April 05, 2010
Commitment brings contentment. Commitment comes with the acceptance of imperfection.
In my last blog I celebrated the return of loyalty to work. According to Towers Watson people are becoming more interested in staying with one employer for life. If people are more committed to their employer, they will be happier at work.
How can you be happier if you are stuck with one employer?
You will be happier because you will no longer be searching for perfection. There are no perfect employers. Organizations are full of people and people can be difficult at times.
March 24, 2010
Loyalty has become a good thing again.
The “company man” is back according to Towers Watson. People are now more interested in staying with their employers for life. I can’t believe I am saying this but I think this is a really good thing.
If people start to commit to an organization, there will be a lot less complaining and a lot more satisfaction at work. It is a bit like a marriage, if you think you can easily leave, then why would you work hard to stay?
Lately, I have spoken to a lot of unhappy people. I usually try to get them to recommit to their organizations and find a way to work out their problems. Why? Problems with work are universal. Rarely is the grass greener in a new organization. Trading one organization for another does not result in a perfect work situation just different problems.
Everyone would be a lot happier if they focused on fixing problems and not on looking for a perfect workplace. Loyalty is a good thing.
March 19, 2010
You cannot control anyone but yourself.
One of my clients is struggling with a meeting he plans with one of his senior staff people next week. This staff person has been difficult in the past. Meetings are always fine but have no impact. The staff person agrees with whatever feedback is offered and agrees to take action. That same staff person then proceeds to do whatever he wants which of course does not include what my client has asked him to do. My client is the “boss”. He runs the practice this staff person works in.
To further complicate matters, the staff person is mediocre. He is not awful. What should my client do?
March 09, 2010
There is no short cut to creating change
A very few leaders I know really know how to create lasting change in their organizations. I can think of only two or three who have really been successful at completely transforming their organizations. When I think about these leaders, there are two things that they all do.
One, they get the right people on the team.
Results speak and they put people on their team who have proven in the past that get where the organization needs to go in future and that they can inspire a large number of people to get there. The people they choose are not always the popular choices.
Why is this important? Change is complex and change is about leverage. These leaders know they need a team to help them think through the change and to “spread the word” through the organization.
Two, they persevere. In the middle of change, results dip, the team becomes unfocused and the whole organization can become disheartened. The leaders who are successful at change persevere through this malaise.
They work with the individuals on their team. They work with their whole team. They work with the whole organization. The pressure to “change back” is often immense. Through this, they persevere.
Once change happens, people look back and think it was easy. It wasn’t.
