Do you find yourself quickly judging people based on your own standards? This is, of course, normal behaviour, but is not helpful when working with people from different backgrounds to your own.
Some differences are obvious and therefore it's easier for us to recognise that we can't make the same assumptions about how this person behaves: gender, nationality, age, for example. Oddly though, the differences between men and women has long been much talked about and accepted in many domains, such as domestic, sports, schools, ... But why is it that the differences have not been resolved in the workplace?
The commom assumption is that the 'rules of the game' established by men, who typically ran large-scale commerce from its inception, are the only valid rules and all have to conform.
I was reminded of this when watching Mr. Selfridge on 10 Feb. In this episode the Suffragettes were centre-stage and the men were coping with prejudices like "commerce is not something for women, whose job is to look after the home". The notable point was that a pre-teen boy (Selfridge junior) took this as gospel. How quickly we adapt to the prevailing culture! At the same time one of his elder sisters was demonstrating with the Suffragettes and fighting to change men's minds.
Clearly we've progressed a long way since those days, yet the 'long tail' of those beliefs still hold, as evidenced by the percentage of women in senior managerial and leadership positions in organisations. The annual survey of women on boards of FTSE 350 companies, shows little change over recent years at about 11%, yet the workplace is about 50:50 men:women. Why?
Mr. Selfridge showed some of the reason for this. Back then women were significant players in how things were done, but their style was to exert influence behind the scenes, rather than being seen to make the decisions 'front of house'. Women learnt to get the outcome they were seeking by indirect means, while the men took the limelight. Unfortunately, we still see this today: one of the challenges women typically face is to be heard and acknowledged directly for their contribution. A frequent issue for female leaders and managers is that they make a suggestion in a meeting and the conversation around the table moves on, a short while later a male colleague makes exactly the same suggestion and it is acknolwedged and worked on by the group.
There are many such examples of this straight-forward difference - what examples do you have to share?
If the assumption that women have to behave like men pervades, we will all be the poorer for it. Additionally, women are in the workplace in significant numbers, so have the clout to get these old attitudes changed, what does this say about the chances for minority groups to achieve acceptance?
We all need to keep our minds open, not prejudge, this is hard work! I suggest working on your own awareness on this topic and also recognising when others are open-minded and give 'those with difference' a fair hearing. The more we all reward behaviours, which lead to cross-cultural understanding, the quicker we can change the old ways of thinking.
I'd love to hear your comments on this topic, it's something I'll blog more about. Contact me or comment here.
Monday 11 February 2013
Thursday 7 June 2012
How to manage people for performance
Appraisals often put fear in the hearts of both managers and employees, but well-conducted performance management can enable a really effective working relationship between manager/supervisor and team member. It used to be said, "No news is good news" and you judged how well you were doing by the lack of criticism, but today employees expect a regular flow of information and feedback on their contributions.
In fact, where managers do provide that regular flow, performance is high, because the pre-requisites for high performance are being met. These are:
1. Know what to do: Know how your role contributes to the overall company vision and goals and know the standards and expectations around your role and your responsibility and authority to deliver.
2. Know how to do it: Be provided with the resources you need to deliver results and where training and development is needed, receive this as early as possible to enable you to perform well.
3. Know how you're doing: Receive regular feedback on your performance, both reinforcing the things you do well and constructive support to help you develop where needed.
Here's a checklist for setting up a performance management system:
- Define the purpose of the job, job duties, and responsibilities.
- Define performance goals with measurable outcomes.
- Define the priority of each job responsibility and goal.
- Define performance standards for key components of the job.
- Hold interim discussions and provide feedback about employee performance, preferably daily/weekly; summarized and discussed, preferably quarterly but at least half-yearly. (Provide positive and constructive feedback.)
- Maintain a record of performance through incident reports. (Jot notes about contributions or problems throughout the quarter, in an employee file.)
- Provide the opportunity for broader feedback. Eg Use a 360 degree performance feedback system that incorporates feedback from the employee's peers, customers, and people who may report to him (every couple of years); encourage the employee to ask colleagues for feedback.
- Agree a development plan a)for those areas where the employee is not meeting expectations, b) for further career development.
- For the appraisal, use a structured approach to review performance against objectives and, if the company has a competency framework, to review competencies. Both the employee and the manager will prepare their review on this template, then in the meeting discuss their findings and agree the appraisal. Where the above points are done and feedback is frequent, this should be a relatively quick and painless meeting as all the information is already known. Openness and transparency takes the fear out of appraisals and makes them a great opportunity for the manger and employee to develop a strong working relationship. For more help on how to manage for performance contact me.
In fact, where managers do provide that regular flow, performance is high, because the pre-requisites for high performance are being met. These are:
1. Know what to do: Know how your role contributes to the overall company vision and goals and know the standards and expectations around your role and your responsibility and authority to deliver.
2. Know how to do it: Be provided with the resources you need to deliver results and where training and development is needed, receive this as early as possible to enable you to perform well.
3. Know how you're doing: Receive regular feedback on your performance, both reinforcing the things you do well and constructive support to help you develop where needed.
Here's a checklist for setting up a performance management system:
- Define the purpose of the job, job duties, and responsibilities.
- Define performance goals with measurable outcomes.
- Define the priority of each job responsibility and goal.
- Define performance standards for key components of the job.
- Hold interim discussions and provide feedback about employee performance, preferably daily/weekly; summarized and discussed, preferably quarterly but at least half-yearly. (Provide positive and constructive feedback.)
- Maintain a record of performance through incident reports. (Jot notes about contributions or problems throughout the quarter, in an employee file.)
- Provide the opportunity for broader feedback. Eg Use a 360 degree performance feedback system that incorporates feedback from the employee's peers, customers, and people who may report to him (every couple of years); encourage the employee to ask colleagues for feedback.
- Agree a development plan a)for those areas where the employee is not meeting expectations, b) for further career development.
- For the appraisal, use a structured approach to review performance against objectives and, if the company has a competency framework, to review competencies. Both the employee and the manager will prepare their review on this template, then in the meeting discuss their findings and agree the appraisal. Where the above points are done and feedback is frequent, this should be a relatively quick and painless meeting as all the information is already known. Openness and transparency takes the fear out of appraisals and makes them a great opportunity for the manger and employee to develop a strong working relationship. For more help on how to manage for performance contact me.
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Attitude is all
You probably know the quote from Henry Ford, "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right!" It's spot on! As a coach, this is one of the first things I find out as this determines how we need to go about addressing the situation the individual is bringing. There's a lot of work that goes into changing limiting beliefs and that doesn't really work in a blog, but if you'd like to know more, please contact me.
For now, what I would like to offer you is a simple tool to help you ensure you have the right attitude for the situation you face. It's a self-check tool to help you prepare for any meetings, etc when you want to be at your best. It brings together four elements: Attention, State of mind, Goal and Intent and I call it GISA for short.
1. Attention: have you noticed how, when you're attention is on something it fills up the whole space? Eg. If you have aching feet, they seem to take over your whole being, if you're out in the sunshine and enjoying the rays, that's all there is. Right, so you need to pay attention to the thing that will make a difference in the meeting/conversation.
2. State of mind: is influenced by what is your centre of attention. Eg Aching feet = I'm tired, sunshine = pleasure. So you need to adopt the State of mind that will help you achieve your desired outcome and linked with where you put your attention.
3. Goal: For your interaction, have a goal in mind, an outcome you wish to achieve as a result of the interaction.
4. Intent: This differs from goal in that you intend to make this happen in the moment, so it should be in your control.
Let's build this for a scenario of a meeting with a difficult person, who you want to build an effective working relationship with. You might decide: Goal: I'd like to demonstrate that I'm trustworthy and start to build a positive relationship with this person and I'll judge that by agreeing another meeting to discuss this issue in more detail. Intent: I want to enjoy the conversation and leave on a high. To do this I'll look for interest and humour in our dialogue. State of mind: a helpful State of mind is curiosity to try to understand this person's view of the world Attention: I'll pay attention to the useful information they give me and the nature of the questions they ask Can you see how this preparation will help get the best out of self and the other person in this meeting? So much more useful than "This is a difficult person, I hope I can just survive the meeting without getting shouted at". Preparation is empowering - so always prepare your GISA for those encounters. For more on this or other techniques, contact me.
For now, what I would like to offer you is a simple tool to help you ensure you have the right attitude for the situation you face. It's a self-check tool to help you prepare for any meetings, etc when you want to be at your best. It brings together four elements: Attention, State of mind, Goal and Intent and I call it GISA for short.
1. Attention: have you noticed how, when you're attention is on something it fills up the whole space? Eg. If you have aching feet, they seem to take over your whole being, if you're out in the sunshine and enjoying the rays, that's all there is. Right, so you need to pay attention to the thing that will make a difference in the meeting/conversation.
2. State of mind: is influenced by what is your centre of attention. Eg Aching feet = I'm tired, sunshine = pleasure. So you need to adopt the State of mind that will help you achieve your desired outcome and linked with where you put your attention.
3. Goal: For your interaction, have a goal in mind, an outcome you wish to achieve as a result of the interaction.
4. Intent: This differs from goal in that you intend to make this happen in the moment, so it should be in your control.
Let's build this for a scenario of a meeting with a difficult person, who you want to build an effective working relationship with. You might decide: Goal: I'd like to demonstrate that I'm trustworthy and start to build a positive relationship with this person and I'll judge that by agreeing another meeting to discuss this issue in more detail. Intent: I want to enjoy the conversation and leave on a high. To do this I'll look for interest and humour in our dialogue. State of mind: a helpful State of mind is curiosity to try to understand this person's view of the world Attention: I'll pay attention to the useful information they give me and the nature of the questions they ask Can you see how this preparation will help get the best out of self and the other person in this meeting? So much more useful than "This is a difficult person, I hope I can just survive the meeting without getting shouted at". Preparation is empowering - so always prepare your GISA for those encounters. For more on this or other techniques, contact me.
Thursday 12 April 2012
Characteristics of Most Admired Leaders
Kouzes & Posner in their research found the top 4 selected characteristics of admired leaders to be: Honest, Forward-looking, Inspriring and Competent.
These characteristics stood the test of time, coming out on top over a 20 year period and also are common across different cultures.
As a leader, how do you think you would be rated by your followers on these characteristics?
Competent: we all want to know that the leader knows what s/he is doing and we can therefore have some trust in their decisions. Are you new in role? Would you describe yourself as competent yet? If not what are you doing to compensate for your learning curve? You could work with a coach or mentor to support you in this learning, you could ensure that relevant information is tabled and decisions are made by the top team. Given the first characteristic, it's important that you are honest about this learning curve and how you are dealing with it.
Inspiring: do you inspire by your actions or by your words? Brilliant presentation skills are definitely desirable for leaders and can make a significant difference to how the leader is perceived. However it is the whole picture that counts and your actions are just as important, if not more important. If you get stuck in and demonstrate leadership you will find people want to follow you.
Forward-looking: Many see leaders as those who can envision the future and articulate it for their followers. They look to the leader to be aware of market and economic trends and anticipate suitable courses of action for the firm. Leaders need to look forward and prepare their people for what the future brings, not look back and work on the past.
Honest: This is the most challenging characteristic to uphold. For 'good' reasons we are tempted not to disclose the full facts of situations, especially when the circumstances are not good. We think that the hard facts could cause damage and affect the confidence of our people, so we try to protect them. However, people can see what is going on and know when the leaders are massaging the facts and it is this that destroys confidence. Once proven to be dishonest, or at least 'economical with the truth', it is very difficult to build up others' confidence in us.
Whereas being open and honest about the situation takes courage and this is recognised by your people and they admire you for it - so much so that this characteristic is consistently top of the list.
These characteristics stood the test of time, coming out on top over a 20 year period and also are common across different cultures.
As a leader, how do you think you would be rated by your followers on these characteristics?
Competent: we all want to know that the leader knows what s/he is doing and we can therefore have some trust in their decisions. Are you new in role? Would you describe yourself as competent yet? If not what are you doing to compensate for your learning curve? You could work with a coach or mentor to support you in this learning, you could ensure that relevant information is tabled and decisions are made by the top team. Given the first characteristic, it's important that you are honest about this learning curve and how you are dealing with it.
Inspiring: do you inspire by your actions or by your words? Brilliant presentation skills are definitely desirable for leaders and can make a significant difference to how the leader is perceived. However it is the whole picture that counts and your actions are just as important, if not more important. If you get stuck in and demonstrate leadership you will find people want to follow you.
Forward-looking: Many see leaders as those who can envision the future and articulate it for their followers. They look to the leader to be aware of market and economic trends and anticipate suitable courses of action for the firm. Leaders need to look forward and prepare their people for what the future brings, not look back and work on the past.
Honest: This is the most challenging characteristic to uphold. For 'good' reasons we are tempted not to disclose the full facts of situations, especially when the circumstances are not good. We think that the hard facts could cause damage and affect the confidence of our people, so we try to protect them. However, people can see what is going on and know when the leaders are massaging the facts and it is this that destroys confidence. Once proven to be dishonest, or at least 'economical with the truth', it is very difficult to build up others' confidence in us.
Whereas being open and honest about the situation takes courage and this is recognised by your people and they admire you for it - so much so that this characteristic is consistently top of the list.
Monday 5 March 2012
5 Leadership Practices
Kouzes & Posner developed these 5 Leadership Practices from years of research and they are as solid now as they were when their Leadership Challenge book was first published 10 years ago.
MODEL THE WAY
Credibility is the foundation of leadership; effective leaders are clear on their values, guiding principles and what they stand for. People will not believe the message unless they believe the messenger, so you must lead from what you believe. Leaders who model the way, do what they say they will do. They have the courage of their convictions and set an example for their people to follow. Modeling the way is essentially about earning the right and the respect to lead through direct individual involvement and action. People first follow the person, then the plan
INSPIRE A SHARED VISION
Leaders passionately believe that they can make a difference. They have a clear vision of an exciting, highly attractive future for their organisation and have a strong desire to make it happen. To enlist people in a vision, leaders must know their constituents and speak their language. They get people to see how their own dreams can be realised through a common vision and shared aspirations. Leaders’ enthusiasm is catching as they communicate their vision through vivid language and an expressive style, inspiring others to believe in it too.
CHALLENGE THE PROCESS
The work of leaders is growth; they focus on improvement, not the status quo. Leaders search for opportunities by seeking innovative ways to change, grow, innovate and improve. They recognise others’ good ideas, support their development and challenge the system to get new products, processes, services and systems adopted. Leaders encourage experimentation and take risks by constantly generating small wins and learning from mistakes as well as successes.
ENABLE OTHERS TO ACT
Leaders know they can’t do it alone, leadership is a team effort. Leaders promote a sense of “we’re all in this together”. They foster collaboration by promoting cooperative goals and building trust. They engage all stakeholders and the extended team, not just direct reports. They understand that mutual respect is what sustains extraordinary efforts. Leaders make it possible for others to do good work and strengthen others by sharing power and discretion, so they feel a sense of power and ownership. Through relationships founded on trust and confidence, leaders turn their constituents into leaders themselves.
ENCOURAGE THE HEART
The challenge to achieve the long-term goals and objectives demands hard work and persistence. People may become exhausted, frustrated and disenchanted and be tempted to give up. Leaders encourage their people to carry on by recognising contributions and showing appreciation for excellence. They celebrate the values and victories in small (eg. note of thanks) and large (eg. party) ways and through this create a spirit of community, which can carry a group through tough times.
Leadership is a relationship
Please comment below on your views on leadership
MODEL THE WAY
Credibility is the foundation of leadership; effective leaders are clear on their values, guiding principles and what they stand for. People will not believe the message unless they believe the messenger, so you must lead from what you believe. Leaders who model the way, do what they say they will do. They have the courage of their convictions and set an example for their people to follow. Modeling the way is essentially about earning the right and the respect to lead through direct individual involvement and action. People first follow the person, then the plan
INSPIRE A SHARED VISION
Leaders passionately believe that they can make a difference. They have a clear vision of an exciting, highly attractive future for their organisation and have a strong desire to make it happen. To enlist people in a vision, leaders must know their constituents and speak their language. They get people to see how their own dreams can be realised through a common vision and shared aspirations. Leaders’ enthusiasm is catching as they communicate their vision through vivid language and an expressive style, inspiring others to believe in it too.
CHALLENGE THE PROCESS
The work of leaders is growth; they focus on improvement, not the status quo. Leaders search for opportunities by seeking innovative ways to change, grow, innovate and improve. They recognise others’ good ideas, support their development and challenge the system to get new products, processes, services and systems adopted. Leaders encourage experimentation and take risks by constantly generating small wins and learning from mistakes as well as successes.
ENABLE OTHERS TO ACT
Leaders know they can’t do it alone, leadership is a team effort. Leaders promote a sense of “we’re all in this together”. They foster collaboration by promoting cooperative goals and building trust. They engage all stakeholders and the extended team, not just direct reports. They understand that mutual respect is what sustains extraordinary efforts. Leaders make it possible for others to do good work and strengthen others by sharing power and discretion, so they feel a sense of power and ownership. Through relationships founded on trust and confidence, leaders turn their constituents into leaders themselves.
ENCOURAGE THE HEART
The challenge to achieve the long-term goals and objectives demands hard work and persistence. People may become exhausted, frustrated and disenchanted and be tempted to give up. Leaders encourage their people to carry on by recognising contributions and showing appreciation for excellence. They celebrate the values and victories in small (eg. note of thanks) and large (eg. party) ways and through this create a spirit of community, which can carry a group through tough times.
Leadership is a relationship
Please comment below on your views on leadership
Tuesday 28 February 2012
The Power of Charisma
We’ve long known that it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it and now scientists have proved it. The social signals people send out are more important in determining who will succeed, than the content of their message.
The more successful people are more energetic in building relationships. They do more - more listening and they talk more; they spend more face-to-face time with others. They pick up cues from others, draw people out and get them to be more participative. It’s not just what they exude, it’s also what they elicit. Charisma shows in their positive attitude, which is now proven to be infectious.
Previous studies have shown that we attribute positive, good-looking people with intelligence and success, and we can put that down to the hard-wiring of our brains – after all our species has communicated in groups long before we developed language. So it stands to reason that the signals from non-verbal behaviours are deeply rooted and significant to our interpretation of a message. This scientific research shows just how significant those gestures and signals are.
For example researchers were able to predict which candidates would win a business pitch, based only on their observation of the social signals they used at a party, without even reading or seeing the pitch they correctly forecast the winners.
This research shows how important face-to-face communication is and has interesting implications for the current trend to increasing digital contact. In another experiment the research showed that face-to-face communication affects productivity, generating as much as 2.5 times more than additional access to information.
This information is from a recent article in Harvard Business Review (HBR) featuring the research of Sandy Pentland of M.I.T Human Dynamics Lab.
Amanda Bouch works with people to improve the impact they make in their communications, contact amanda to discuss this further.
The more successful people are more energetic in building relationships. They do more - more listening and they talk more; they spend more face-to-face time with others. They pick up cues from others, draw people out and get them to be more participative. It’s not just what they exude, it’s also what they elicit. Charisma shows in their positive attitude, which is now proven to be infectious.
Previous studies have shown that we attribute positive, good-looking people with intelligence and success, and we can put that down to the hard-wiring of our brains – after all our species has communicated in groups long before we developed language. So it stands to reason that the signals from non-verbal behaviours are deeply rooted and significant to our interpretation of a message. This scientific research shows just how significant those gestures and signals are.
For example researchers were able to predict which candidates would win a business pitch, based only on their observation of the social signals they used at a party, without even reading or seeing the pitch they correctly forecast the winners.
This research shows how important face-to-face communication is and has interesting implications for the current trend to increasing digital contact. In another experiment the research showed that face-to-face communication affects productivity, generating as much as 2.5 times more than additional access to information.
This information is from a recent article in Harvard Business Review (HBR) featuring the research of Sandy Pentland of M.I.T Human Dynamics Lab.
Amanda Bouch works with people to improve the impact they make in their communications, contact amanda to discuss this further.
Tuesday 29 November 2011
Coaching model
Coaching for Performance
Definition of Coaching for Performance:
Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximise their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them. Timothy Gallwey
GROW
The GROW model provides a structure which will help achieve the task and development outputs from the coaching process. First established by John Whitmore.
After identifying the performance issue you want to work on, you need to set the goal you wish to achieve. Ask questions to help the person be clear on what they really want.
Goals – should be:
• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Trackable
Reality – a stage for exploring, gathering information, finding out, not a time for making decisions or finding solutions. Ask questions aimed to help the person to really understand what is going on and why they are not achieving already.
• No assumptions
• Cut through irrelevant history
• Avoid problem solving at this stage
• Review session goal if necessary
• Gathering information to facilitate a high quality decision
Options – solution time! Ask questions to help the person find solutions, which will suit them, deal with their challenges and help them achieve the desired goal.
• Generate all possibilities
• Offer suggestions – carefully
• Ensure choices are made - weigh up and test options for feasibility
Will or Wrap Up – agree action. End the coaching with a clear action plan.
• Make action steps specific and time phased
• Identify possible obstacles and strategies to tackle them
• Agree support
• Confirm commitment to take action
As appropriate offer a follow-up session to encourage and support action.
Definition of Coaching for Performance:
Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximise their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them. Timothy Gallwey
GROW
The GROW model provides a structure which will help achieve the task and development outputs from the coaching process. First established by John Whitmore.
After identifying the performance issue you want to work on, you need to set the goal you wish to achieve. Ask questions to help the person be clear on what they really want.
Goals – should be:
• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Trackable
Reality – a stage for exploring, gathering information, finding out, not a time for making decisions or finding solutions. Ask questions aimed to help the person to really understand what is going on and why they are not achieving already.
• No assumptions
• Cut through irrelevant history
• Avoid problem solving at this stage
• Review session goal if necessary
• Gathering information to facilitate a high quality decision
Options – solution time! Ask questions to help the person find solutions, which will suit them, deal with their challenges and help them achieve the desired goal.
• Generate all possibilities
• Offer suggestions – carefully
• Ensure choices are made - weigh up and test options for feasibility
Will or Wrap Up – agree action. End the coaching with a clear action plan.
• Make action steps specific and time phased
• Identify possible obstacles and strategies to tackle them
• Agree support
• Confirm commitment to take action
As appropriate offer a follow-up session to encourage and support action.
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