Effective Collaboration

The word collaboration has become widely used but is it just empty rhetoric?

Collaboration is defined as "the act of working together to produce or create something." In this complex business environment people are being asked to share knowledge freely, to learn from one another, to shift workloads flexibly, to help one another complete jobs and meet deadlines, and to share resources-in other words, to collaborate. This activity is about behavior, work habits, culture, management, and business goals and value.

With that said I ask, "How likely are your employees to say they "sink or swim" together, want one another to succeed, or view their goals as compatible?"

Bringing people together is no longer a choice ... it is the only way to assemble the knowledge and experience required to accomplish the complex tasks your organization faces.

Here are Six Ways to Build Collaboration

1. Model collaborative behavior - Your actions send a clear message - do yours "say" collaboration is important? When the senior team works well together and internal communication is frequent and open the collaborative nature trickles down throughout the organization.

2. Create a culture of generosity - Regular mentoring and coaching helps establish a culture of generosity and cooperation in place of a more transactional "I'll do this for you if you do that for me" culture. When individuals give freely of their time to support the success of another employee everyone wins.

3. Ensure the right skill set - Employees are encouraged to cooperate and they want to cooperate, but do they know how? Crucial skills include holding difficult conversations, appreciating others, questioning to clarify ideas, attentive listening, disagreeing in a constructive way and productively resolving conflicts. Explicitly develop these skills - don't let it be left to chance.

4. The right team leaders - Teams need strong leadership and strong leaders are often task- or relationship-oriented. When a complex problem is at hand assigning leaders who are both task- and relationship-oriented will support the high level of collaborative behavior required for success. Which of your leaders possess strong project management skills and the ability to foster the environment of trust and cooperation which supports knowledge sharing?

5. Role clarity - Collaboration improves when the roles of individual team members are clearly defined and well understood. Without such clarity, team members are likely to waste too much energy negotiating roles or protecting turf, rather than focusing on the task.

6. Rewards - How does your company reward its employees? In a culture of collaboration rewards are based on team performance - it can't be a zero sum game or heavily weighted to individual results.

Does your organization's culture truly support collaboration? Strengthening your organization's capacity for collaboration requires a combination of long-term investments in building relationships and trust and developing a culture in which senior leaders are role models, AND smart short-term decisions about the ways teams are formed, roles are defined, and challenges and tasks are articulated.

Management Mistakes

7 First Time Management Mistakes to Avoid

Written by Mark F. Herbert
[Contributing Author]

We have all seen it happen. Wear a tie tomorrow you are the new manager. A recent survey by a Philadelphia based consulting group indicated that 40% of new managers fail in their first 18 months by getting fired, bowing out of the position, or receiving a bad review. The same survey cited a survey of 825 human resource managers as identifying the number one issue for new managers is failing to build effective partnerships and teamwork. The following 7 mistakes are the most common made by newly promoted managers:

1. They fail the “politics quiz.” Organizational politics are a fact of life. Don’t sacrifice key relationships because a colleague or subordinate has a talent for getting face time.

2. Don’t try to “clone” yourself. Of course you’re brilliant, that’s why you were promoted. However, good management is getting the best out of the staff you have. Improving employee performance is a process not an event.

3. Failing to communicate. You avoid giving feedback because you are sensitive to past relationships. People desperately need and desire good, balanced feedback.

4. The Sprint. Don’t try to accomplish everything on day one to validate management’s decision. Learn your staff and their capabilities. All priorities aren’t equal.

5. Trying to be Dr. Feelgood. Everybody wants something and it’s hard to say no. Special, confidential deals never stay that way. Your job is to be the boss, not their friend.

6. You’ve arrived. Management is a continuing improvement and learning process. Seek out opportunities to improve your skills and refine them.

7. You’re the star. It is very tempting to fall back into doing the “technical” things you did before. You were good at it. Competing with your staff is bad management. You need to transition from player to coach.

Avoiding these mistakes and building your own network and skill sets are important success factors for any manager - no matter how long they have been doing it.

Mark F Herbert & Associates, Inc is a management-consulting firm offering organizationally specific solutions to companies and organizations on a regional and national basis. Mark F. Herbert is president and principal consultant. He has been a speaker regionally and nationally on HR related topics. Visit his blog at New Paradigms, LLC

Promotion Derails Career?

I've worked at my company for 5 years and prior to the last 6 months have been very happy. Six months ago one of my coworkers was promoted to direct our department. This is an individual whom I greatly respect so I was looking forward to working under his leadership. However, since his promotion communication within our department has totally broken down, once enthusiastic employees have become apathetic and a few of our best workers are looking for other jobs. The most significant problem seems to be the new boss' communication style - everything from assignments and information exchanges to problem solving dialogue happens via e-mail. He never picks up his phone and often keeps his door closed. We've transitioned from a team that always talked to each other to one that only communicates via e-mail. Confusion, misunderstandings, bad feelings, poor quality work, missed deadlines, and unhappy customers abound in our department. What can I do?

Communicating solely via e-mail is incredibly ineffective yet my sense is that your boss suffers from more than just a poor communication style. Often when a superstar contributor is promoted to a leadership role he or she suffers a loss of self-confidence. The new position comes not only with new responsibilities but also high expectations of the new boss and the new direct reports. Your boss may have initially felt excited by the new position but over time that excitement transitioned to feelings of inadequacy and overwhelming ineffectiveness. In response to these feelings your boss has, unfortunately, retreated to his office and is probably using e-mail as a shield from the risk of face-to-face interactions.

This situation is not something that will go away on its own but will continue to get worse with time. Your boss needs support. If he's unable to reach out for it you may consider initiating a conversation. Depending on the kind of relationship you and your boss had prior to his promotion you may start by talking with him. Mutual trust and respect between the two of you is key to the success of this conversation. By expressing your concern and genuine interest in supporting him and his success you have the potential to shift the direction and inspire your boss to reach out for help.

If you don't feel you can approach your boss in this way I encourage you to find someone else in the organization whom you trust and talk through options with that individual. Someone with an understanding of the business culture will be able to identify what type of support your organization's leadership will embrace. Options for support include a mentor, internal coaching, or hiring an external coach.

Reaching out to support someone in your organization, whether he or she is a co-worker, a peer or your boss, is one of the greatest acts of kindness. I applaud your courage and willingness to participate in the success of your fellow employees.

Take Control of Your Schedule

"My schedule is crazy, my workload heavy, and the demands of my job and family unrelenting. I am doing everything I can to just stay above water and not drown."

Sound familiar? Is it true for you or your employees? What are you doing about it?

"I keep doing it - I just need to get through the next few weeks and then things will slow down."
or
"Some things just are not getting done - there's no way I can keep up."

If the craziness is no longer working for you and you are looking to regain some control of your schedule here are some tips to help.

It is impossible to manage your time if you don't know how you are spending this limited resource. Start by assessing your time utilization.

1. For the next week document how you spend your time. Write down all of your activities and the time committed to each. Include everything - scheduled and unscheduled events, commuting, meals, e-mail, TV, conversations at the coffee pot, etc.

2. After completing your documentation ask yourself the following questions
a. What did you actually spend your time doing?
b. On what did you anticipate/ expect to be spending your time?
c. How do you feel about how you are actually spending your time?
d. What action will you take from what you observed?

Now that you have a good handle on what's filling your schedule let's look at habits you can develop to help you regain control of your time.

1. Sitting on e-mail is a huge time waster. Build blocks of time into your schedule to read and respond to e-mail. If you have a handheld device first respond to a message by asking yourself "is this urgent or could it wait until later?" Chances are it can wait.

2. Do you have an assistant? This person can be your right hand and a key to your success. Learn to ask for help and cultivate a good working relationship with your assistant.

3. Take care of yourself. Having control of your time takes energy and stamina. Pay attention to what you are eating. Have breakfast at home and resist that pastry at the morning meeting. Get away from your desk even if you only walk to the bathroom or kitchen to wash your hands. Better still go outside for a walk around the block.

4. Develop a routine. Get up and go to bed at the same time. Arrive to and leave work at the same time. Schedule coffee with colleagues. Schedule dinner with you family. When developing a routine look for balance between rigid and flexible. Sticking to a routine requires discipline but it can also be taken too far.

It all makes sense and seems easy enough yet taking control of your schedule is going to require time and effort. This investment is worth it if you are truly tired of the craziness. The pace of business will continue to increase. Take control of your time right now and develop the habits that will support your success today and in the fast paced days to come.

Difficult Conversations

If you spend 20 years in business and never have the experience related below, you're either one of the greatest business leaders ever born, you're extraordinarily luck - or you're not listening. Consider this situation:

Hal, the CEO of a high tech company, is about to have a difficult conversation. He just received a call from one of the company's most valued customers who was very upset by a confrontation with Hal's employee Joe. Joe is the company's strongest "tech guy" and after 10 years of exemplary performance was promoted to a leadership role. Since his promotion Joe has upset this particular client on 2 occasions and Hal is beginning to wonder if promoting Joe was a mistake. After the first incident Hal did nothing hoping Joe would recognize the problem and work it out with the client. Faced with a second incident Hal can not delay confronting Joe.

An important concept for Hal to embrace is curiosity. He has already heard the client's version of the story so by staying curious Hal can introduce the conversation without the judgment that would cause Joe to move into a defensive stance. By inviting Joe to share his story ... his version of who said what and who did what, Hal is communicating that he's not taking sides but moving the disagreement toward an amicable resolution.

Another benefit of this non-confronting approach is Hal has created an opportunity to coach Joe. Through a series of questions Hal can uncover what motivated Joe during his client interaction. A few sample questions include:

What did you intend to accomplish?
How did you analyze the situation?
How did you decide what to do?

Hal can then support Joe to develop a new approach to future interactions. A few sample questions to achieve this include:

What actions will you take?
How will you monitor progress?
In what ways can I support you?

Difficult conversations provide excellent opportunities to support the growth and development of your employees - and your growth as a business leader. Get excited about and engaged in difficult conversations and they'll get less difficult over time!

WHAT IS THE BLUE-PRINT OF A LEADER TODAY?

Gareth English, innovation consultant, OPP, says: "We can see now the coming together of a number of threads: the leader is no longer a technical expert, but an expert in achieving greater organizational success through the people and processes established. While it is important that they have drive, intellect and the ability to influence, they are part of something larger than themselves. A truly successful leader must be able to put the needs of the organization first, rather than simply working towards what feels good to them. Modern leaders are focused on the needs of the business, and the modern business needs to maximize performance.

To deliver results, a leader must achieve four goals. First, they must increase trust and communication. Second, they must manage conflict, ensuring that diverse opinions are considered and that there is neither open hostility nor passive aggression. Third, they must build organizational capability, avoiding the temptation to be a hero, but instead ensuring that the succession plan puts the organization in a position of strength when they leave it. Finally the leader must align the structure and competitive strategy of the business to meet customer needs and stakeholder requirements."

Feedback … How to ask for it!

When it comes to asking for feedback individuals tend to fall into one of three categories. Those who

1. Never ask 2. Ask poorly 3. Ask skillfully

The most successful individuals in business, the ones who rise to the highest levels in their organization, ask for feedback. Asking is the only way to uncover blind spots.

There are lots of ineffective ways to ask for feedback. Some ask questions like “What do you think of me?”, “How am I doing?”, or “What am I doing wrong?” These questions give the individual providing feedback the uncomfortable options of lie or share the truth. In power relationships where the boss is asking for feedback all kinds of issues influence the answer because the answer has consequences. Can an employee really trust their boss will not become angry about the feedback at a later time?

One effective way to ask for feedback is using the question “How can I do better?” This question is future oriented and the future is where change is possible. Also, while employees shy away from criticizing the boss (to your face) they are usually eager to provide advice.

Of equal importance is a willingness to do something with the feedback. Show the people you work with you are sincere in your effort to do better by acting on their advice.

Make asking for feedback a regular practice and watch your career take off.

Celebrate Success

When was the last time you ...

       shared good news about your organization with your staff?

       congratulated your team on a job well done?

       expressed appreciation to an individual for his or her extra effort?

Remember to celebrate success at all levels.  There are few, if any, better ways to foster a positive work environment.  Happy employees are productive employees and productive employees have a positive impact on your organization's bottom line.

Relationship Strength

Do you take your relationships for granted or are you giving them the attention needed to thrive?  Think of 1 or 2 of your strongest relationships and pause for a moment to consider why they are strong.

Do your answers have anything to do with mutual respect, mutual trust, and freedom of expression?  Probably.

Mutual Respect exists when

     Value person for who they are … not what they do

     Have good intentions … may make mistakes yet want to do best

Mutual Trust exists with

     Sincerity … words match deeds

     Competence … person has skills to follow through on commitments 

Freedom of Expression exists with

     Ability to say whatever is needed without reprimand

     Willingness to be influenced 

Now pause for a moment to consider if your organization’s culture supports strong relationships.

Perfectionism

Do you have a perfectionist in your group?   Someone who gets too bogged down in the details of the work--spending unnecessary time perfecting details that aren't an essential priority?  Someone who is always tweaking and refining? Perfectionism isn’t about effort – giving 150%, but about being exact.

Having a perfectionist on your team can lead to problems.  Their “I can do it better” attitude is divisive and creates unnecessary tension.  They tend to not work collaboratively.  Longer and longer work hours lead to burn out but not increased productivity.  Their ongoing demand for perfection tends to leave them with feelings of failure.  And they tend to be lousy delegators.

What’s possible?  Change happens when someone sees things from a new perspective and engages in new activities.  To help the individual see the draw backs of their behavior share a situation in which their perfectionism created a breakdown in the work environment, i.e. a missed deadline or open conflict with a coworker, and talk it through.  Ask open-ended questions. 

          1. What did you hope to accomplish through your efforts?

          2. What are some specific ways that you could have moderated your goals?

          3. What consequences might have resulted from such changes?

Once the individual begins to see a different picture, work with him to set goals that are easier to achieve and within the realm of his possibilities.  Moderate your employee’s expectations – shifting their focus away from faults and flaws – and then watch their performance and self-esteem soar.

 

Realize Your Goals

By now most of us have decided on some goals for the year and while our commitment to them remains high the effort required to move us toward achievement may have started to wane.   This probably comes as no surprise since fewer than 10% of people who set goals or resolutions actually achieve them.  Do you want to be in the 10% or the 90%?

What can you do differently to ensure you realize your goals?  Here are four steps that will support forward momentum.

1. Write your goals down.  Writing them down makes them real and heightens your commitment.  Before finalizing your goals ask yourself a few questions.  Is this goal a priority for me?  Is this only a good idea or something that I’m passionate about achieving? What could get in the way of me realizing my goal?

2.  Set benchmarks.  Recognize the path to realizing your goals involves many small steps.  It is important to balance focus on the end result with the effort necessary to move you toward your goal.  Plan out your path and acknowledge your progress as your reach each benchmark. 

3.  Believe and visualize. Do you know the story about the group of basketball players who spent one hour visualizing making baskets, while another group actually practiced? The visualizing players had better seasons! So visualize yourself in 2009 with all your goals achieved. What would that look like? How would it feel? Visualize once a day and see the difference it can make in your life.

4.  Accountability.  Have you ever talked yourself out of your goals?  As the gap between setting goals and commencing the work widens we often rationalize giving up our goals because “they really weren’t that important anyway.”  Narrow the gap by engaging the support of others.  Start by telling other people about your goals.  Ask a few trusted friends or associates to help you stay on track.  If your goal is fitness related you could hire a personal trainer or find a buddy to work out with – someone you can hold accountable too.  If your goal is professional development you could hire a professional coach or partner with a trusted coworker. 

Take charge of achieving your goals.  Commitment inspires action and action reinforces commitment.  

Make 2008 the year you realize your goals!