collaboration – Engaging Potential

09 Oct

Craving constructive curiosity

“Replace judgement with curiosity” – Lynn Nottage

Outrage, judgement, aggression, arrogance…seen any of that lately?

Blame, denial, deflection…?

It seems that everywhere we look recently – news, sports, politics, social media, reality TV, business – people are expressing strong opinions about, and onto, others. Sometimes this generates hurt, ridicule, division, anger – and so the cycle repeats and repeats.

Not that there’s anything wrong with having an opinion and speaking up. It’s often ‘how’ we do it that is so destructive – if not for ourselves, often for other people. If we are aggressive, defensive, judgemental or abusive in tone, then our impact could be very negative.

Making judgements before seeking understanding – is this the new normal?

In an attempt to lighten the mood, and use a simple example…take the recent ending to The Bachelor Australia. The outrage over ‘The Bach’ choosing neither woman has been loud. Is no one curious as to the reasons he made this decision? Has no one listened to the way he spoke to the women and his rationale for his choice? From a curious outside perspective, it actually could be seen as a respectful act, presented as kindly as possible in unusual circumstances. Does it really matter that normally someone ‘wins’? What reason does anyone have to be outraged about the ending to a TV show (even a highly addictive one!)? Ah, it seems a strange world.

From reality TV to the business world. In our coaching and training we often hear people deflect, deny, or blame others for dips in performance, lost clients and workplace conflicts. Could time spent focusing defensively outwards be better spent focusing on understanding someone else’s perspective, identifying possible solutions, seeking opportunities, and applying a healthy dose of reality testing? And even better, to own what you own – looking inwards to discover your role in situations and how you might turn things around or influence for a better outcome.

So, do we want to go down the pathway of destructive negativity, or can we turn this around for more positive interactions and discussions?

An idea – let’s get constructively curious before we get combative.

When we start telling ourselves – “how dare they?”, “who do they think they are?”, “are they an idiot?” – perhaps we can stop for 2 seconds and ask instead – “what’s another way of looking at this?” Or “how can I make a positive impact here?” Or “I wonder what has led them to say/do that?”

When our typing fingers get twitchy to scream out in capitals on social media, perhaps we can stop for 2 seconds and ask ourselves – “what are the (real) facts here?”

Craving constructive curiosity in this combative world might just help us slow down, think about how we react, and consider the impact we are having on others. We don’t need to agree with everyone, yet perhaps we could be a little kinder, get on a little better, and recognise that it takes all sorts of characters to make this a pleasant world.

And wouldn’t it make sense to leave ‘The Bach’ and other relatively innocent people in peace and save our outrage for those who truly do major hurt and harm in the world?

And if that seems a little too fluffy for you, please minimise your outrage in the comments.

Long live constructive curiosity!

engagingPOTENTIAL: training, team development, facilitation

Specialising in working with managers to develop extraordinary teams!

01 Sep

The ‘self’ in leadership Part 2

“The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold but not bully; be thoughtful but not lazy; be humble but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humour, but without folly” – Jim Rohn

In Part 1 of this series, we discussed the importance of both the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ in leadership, what self-leadership is, common pitfalls, and then posed some questions to consider (below).

Are you living those values and behaviours – leading by example?
Are you bringing positive intent to all your interactions with others ?
Are you respecting other people’s values through your actions ?

In this discussion, we introduce a very simple model to help hold oneself to account in self-leadership. We use the SELF model. It is fairly self-explanatory (no pun intended!) and is designed as a quick check list for those who are developing their self-leadership and collaboration style.

SELF Model

There are 4 core actions, and 3 core attitudes to this model.

Actions

Set and meet your goals

Having professional and personal goals is what sets many true leaders apart. Goals can provide you with clear focus, help you prioritise and motivate you toward results. Leaders achieve!

Engage positively with others

As we discussed in Part 1, positive intent and respect in your interactions is key to effective collaboration. And it must be genuine! Test yourself – “What impact have I had on this person today?” If you don’t like the answer, review your approach.

Listen to your brain

The brain is the core of the behaviours we exhibit to others. If we are stressed, tired or otherwise worried, our brain tends to use it’s vital resources keeping us alive and functioning and often doesn’t have much left in reserve to moderate toward positive behaviour. This is why in stressful circumstances we might withdraw from others or emotionally ‘explode’. We are not operating with our best logical brain in action. So listen to your brain – if you feel emotional, stressed, tired – take some time out. Exercise, sleep, relax, or at the very least – breathe calmly – so that you can bring your best behaviour to your leadership. Don’t ignore your brain health, it’s important.

Focus on your development

News flash – your boss isn’t responsible for your development! Sure they should support you, yet ultimately you are responsible. No matter how experienced, qualified or smart you might be, there are always areas to develop. Listen and seek to understand feedback given – both positive and constructive. Be self-aware – monitor what you do well and identify what you can improve. Look for opportunities to grow professionally and personally.

Attitudes

Empathy

The ability to empathise with others is an important leadership trait. This is most challenging when we are called on to use it with people we don’t necessarily ‘like’ or in situations that we don’t fully understand. You don’t have to agree with the person, take sides or solve problems – empathy is all about taking a moment to reflect what it’s like to walk in another’s shoes. So remove judgement, bring positive intent, listen and genuinely demonstrate empathy.

Humility

Humility is all about keeping your ego in check! It’s great to be confident, wonderful to have an opinion and important to highlight your strengths. Humility is all about knowing the right time and place to do these things, and when to take a step back. This might be to allow someone else to speak, to seek another’s opinion, to recognise you don’t know the answer, to acknowledge a team effort, or to be gracious in success or defeat.

Humour

This does not mean that leaders have to be comedians! Nor should the humour be inappropriate – obviously! A positive leader understands the importance of laughter, lightheartedness and fun in human bonding. It’s not about cracking jokes, it’s about being willing to let down your guard, and show enjoyment of the lighter side of life – it’s being human.

What does your leadership ‘selfie’ look like? 🙂

engagingPOTENTIAL: training, team development, coaching

Specialising in working with managers to develop extraordinary teams!

21 Apr

The ‘self’ in leadership Part 1

A common misunderstanding that is often raised in coaching sessions concerns the term ‘leader’. Many people believe a leader is someone who has direct reports; someone who manages or supervises others. Some interesting conversations and insights arise when we discuss the difference between ‘management’ and ‘leadership’ and the fact that you don’t have to be a manager or supervisor to demonstrate leadership.

This is the ‘self’ of leadership – what you bring to the workplace that sets you apart from others, and what behaviours you consistently demonstrate. It is how you interact with and treat others, how you go about achieving results and how you handle set backs. Notice the use of the word ‘how’ here. The ‘what’ you deliver is very important to leadership; equally as important is the ‘how’ you go about delivering results.

If for instance, you achieve targets, yet along the way you undermine others, are rude to customers, throw tantrums in your boss’ office and break policies, then you are not showing good self-leadership. On the other hand, if you deliver results and along the way support colleagues, respect customers, uphold policies and professionally discuss issues with your boss, then you likely are demonstrating good self-leadership.

So, this sounds like common sense – yes? Well, in many respects it is – most of us have learnt from childhood that we should treat others as we wish to be treated. Yet this is where we encounter the ‘knowing-doing’ gap, the concept of differing values and the positive approach of emotional intelligence.

Knowing-doing gap examples:

“I know that I should greet all colleagues politely, yet at times I don’t, because some of them annoy me!”
“I know that it’s inappropriate to yell at people in the office, yet I find managing my emotions difficult and so occasionally I do yell at people.”

So you might know what is or isn’t appropriate; you might know the theory of a particular situation (e.g. giving feedback), yet are you actually ‘doing’ it as you ‘know’?

Differing values examples:

“I think humour in the workplace is positive; Geoffrey takes it too far because he likes to tell rude jokes that make me feel uncomfortable.”
“Respect is so important to me and I would never gossip about a colleague; I hear people talking about Jenny’s divorce when she’s not here and it makes me feel uncomfortable.”
“If I have a problem with how we interact, I’ll tell you; it concerns me when I hear that you’ve been telling everyone else but me that you don’t like how I do things.”

We all have values that are important to us; yet what they are differs widely from person to person. And even if we have similar priority values (e.g. respect), what we expect of others in relation to these values can be very different (i.e. ‘respect’ can mean different things to different people).

These differences are ok – it’s part of being human – we are all different! We just need to look at whether we respect others’ values, where we are willing to be flexible with our values, and where/when we need courage to stand up for our values.

Emotional intelligence examples:

“In frustrating situations, I am able to avoid emotional outbursts, yet still discuss my feelings in an appropriate and productive way.”
“I am able to connect with others by seeking to understand their perspective, even if it differs to my own.”
“I know how to demonstrate empathy and support others.”
“I can raise challenging issues and provide feedback in a way that maintains relationships.”
“I understand that others will differ in their behaviours and values and that I can only control my own actions.”

Do you have the emotional intelligence to handle difficult situations in the workplace and to demonstrate leadership that sets you apart in a positive way?

Emotional intelligence is one of the most effective skills to demonstrate leadership – whether it be self-leadership or leading others in a team. A key ingredient to being able to develop emotional intelligence is self-awareness – being able to identify your strengths and gaps and recognise when you do and when you don’t demonstrate appropriate behaviours.

It’s not about making excuses – “that’s just me” – it’s about truly understanding your strengths and limitations. And then from there, it’s been willing and committed to consistently demonstrate strengths and work toward closing any gaps.

Your self-leadership challenge

Think about how you would like to be perceived in the workplace.

What values and behaviours would you like to be known for?

Now ask yourself 3 questions:

Are you living those values and behaviours – leading by example?
Are you bringing positive intent to all your interactions with others (regardless of whether you like them or not)?
Are you respecting other people’s values through your actions (whether you have the same values or not)?

Next post we will look at a simple model to help hold ourselves accountable to self-leadership.

In the meantime – what does your leadership ‘selfie’ look like?

engagingPOTENTIAL: training, team development, coaching

Specialising in working with managers to develop extraordinary teams!

04 Aug

How tuned in are you? Really.

“I remind myself every morning: nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So if I’m going to learn, I must do it by listening.” – Larry King

In your everyday work, how tuned in are you to what’s happening around you, what people are saying and how others are behaving? Most people we ask this question of would say – “I’m very aware of what’s happening around me!” Yet when we dig a little deeper, we soon find a slightly different story and most will then admit that maybe they aren’t really as tuned in as they thought (or pretended) they were!

Did you realise that you were just checking your mobile phone in that meeting? Did you see how others responded when you made that ‘joke’? Did you understand what your boss just said to you? Did you see the body language your colleague used when you popped in to their office? Did you realise you just checked your phone again while we were talking?

Modern life is busy. Actually for some it feels a bit chaotic. So we often are too tired, too busy or even (should we say it…?) self-absorbed to truly tune in to what people are saying or doing most of the time.

Yet many don’t realise significant impact of not tuning in.

Others may actually think you’re rude. Do you check your phone during meetings? This is a classic example of where you might be tuning out and at the same time could be leaving people with the impression that you are rude and disrespectful. Even if you think you are still listening – here’s some big news…you’re not.
You may just miss out on important information. When you tune out, whether to check your phone, to think about your to-do list, or simply to day-dream, your brain is not accurately receiving all of the information around you. And sometimes that’s completely ok. Sometimes it’s not – you may miss information to help you at work, a family member’s story, or even important signals that could save your life.
Building and maintaining relationships just got harder. Despite our busy world, humans are still fundamentally designed to be social and make connections. In the workplace, healthy relationships can lead to better productivity, better engagement and even to better stress management. So if we are consistently not tuning in, and others notice this, we could be destroying trust, credibility, respect and ultimately damaging relationships. People want to connect more with those who show an interest in them, than with those who don’t.

So how do we develop better skills at tuning in? Well, it takes time, practice and genuine positive intent. Here are a few tips to help you get started.

Turn off your phone in meetings
Make eye contact with the person presenting/speaking with you
Truly focus on the words and body language others are using
Pause before you cut someone off in conversation
Ask questions – be curious! What can you learn from the conversation?
If your mind is wandering when it shouldn’t, take a deep breath – it does wonders to refocus you
Monitor how often you talk about yourself versus listening to others, or asking others questions
Evaluate the quality of your relationships and consider what else you can do to be more positively connected
Become a great observer – of people’s actions, words and even their environment (it’s amazing what you can learn about someone from the items on their work desk!)

Of course, these suggestions are based on common-sense and not particularly new concepts. They key though is being true to yourself – are you really tuning in to what’s happening around you, or are you only pretending?

Happy tuning in!

engagingPOTENTIAL: training, team development, coaching

Specialising in working with managers to develop extraordinary teams!

01 Feb

Committed collaboration

“Life is not a solo act.” – Tim Gunn

Many organisations, large and small, identify the importance of collaboration. For a lot of companies, it is a core competency against which they may measure their employees. Yet in what is becoming an increasingly competitive world, does collaboration still have the same relevance?

We think yes. We think that from collaboration, great ideas, products, and services are born.

A quick Google search on ‘what is collaboration’, headlines with two possible meanings:

1. The action of working with someone to produce something

2. Traitorous cooperation with an enemy

Well, the first sounds a bit boring and the second could be true with serious office politics at play!

The same Google search reveals many other bloggers talking about the same thing – what is collaboration? Purposefully not reading them, we considered whether another article about collaboration was needed!

What we do want to address is the approach that we have labelled ‘committed collaboration’.

Yes, collaboration is the ‘action of working with someone to produce something’ – it still sounds a bit boring! Committed collaboration should not be boring, not even a little bit. It encompasses mindset, thought-sharing, and blended action.

Mindset

To undertake committed collaboration with one or more people, you must bring the right attitude or mindset to the exercise. Whether a short or a long-term project or relationship, starting with the right mindset can be critical to a successful collaboration. This is fine if you like the other party and/or have chosen to work with them – you will generally be excited or keen to start working with them. But what if your boss makes you work on a project with someone you despise and on tasks that you loathe? OK, a worse case example, yet many collaborations are not always as we would like them.

So when you start your collaboration, kick-start the right mindset. To help, consider:

What can I personally learn from working with this person/s and on this project?
What can I bring to the collaboration?
What type of person do I want to be seen as in the workplace?
What will I need to bring to the collaboration to achieve our goals and the above?
What are the challenges I might envisage and how will I approach them if they arise?

If you start with the right mindset and keep revisiting these questions, you have created an internal commitment that should translate into the appropriate behaviours.

Even if you don’t personally like someone you are collaborating with , look for ways to bring a positive attitude to the work. Make a commitment to yourself to have genuine regard for those you are collaborating with – you don’t have to like them, or be friends forever, yet you should have respect for them as a fellow human being.

If you don’t like the project or work you are doing in the collaboration, try to find a positive outcome it might help you achieve, something it might lead to in the future, or a skill that you might be able to develop. Throughout the project or work, balance the tasks that you don’t enjoy with ones you do enjoy.

Make a commitment to work well with others and take pride in whatever it is you are collaborating on.

Thought-sharing

To have effective collaboration, all parties must bring their thoughts, ideas and opinions to the table. And others involved must have an open-mind and respect to listen!

Find a way with those you are collaborating with to share thoughts – be it about the objectives of a project, the steps to achieve goals, or the measures of success. You might need to ask people in advance to bring their thoughts to a meeting, hold a brainstorming session over lunch, or gather input over email – there are hundreds of ways to thought-share!

Each person may have a slightly different opinion or idea, yet it is important for all of these thoughts (relevant ones!) to be shared. Without generating ‘analysis paralysis’ you want to ensure that everyone has had a chance to contribute to discussions. Otherwise, it’s not truly collaborating and could just be ‘follow the leader’ – or ‘whoever screams loudest wins’!

Many people think deep down (actually most of us in the corporate world, if we are honest!) that we know the best way or hold the right perspective in situations familiar to us. Yet if we block thought-sharing, how can we innovate, how can we personally learn from others and how can we call it ‘collaborating’?

So with an open mind and a genuine regard for others, encourage thought-sharing as part of your collaboration.

Blended action

Blended action could be just another way of saying – ‘action plan’ and ‘roles and responsibility’. However the intent of ‘blended action’ is that after discussion, decisions must be made and actions taken that recognise the varied opinions and skills of those involved. It’s not just about assigning tasks to each other and then working in silos.

Blended action is all about:

Reaching decisions that truly take into account the thought-sharing that has occurred – “We recognise all of these ideas and opinions and we think the way to move ahead is ____, for these reasons____.”

Understanding the skills different people and you yourself bring and agreeing on how tasks are allocated and potentially shared. You’re not competing here – you’re collaborating!

Checking-in with each other regularly – how are we tracking, who needs some extra help here, what else should we be doing to make this a success?

After bringing the right mind-set, thought-sharing and engaging in blended action, you are well on the way to committed collaboration. And isn’t that more enjoyable and interesting than just ‘working with someone to produce something’?

Happy collaborating!

(this post was inspired by a wonderful collaboration partnership Engaging Potential is actively involved in – one that combines the super powers of two companies to create a fabulous client offering)

engagingPOTENTIAL: training, team development, coaching

Specialising in working with managers to develop extraordinary teams!

13 Nov

Uh-oh, it’s team building time…

“Unity is strength…when there is teamwork and collaboration wonderful things can be achieved.” – Mattie Stepanek

As the end of the year approaches, many managers remember that they have forgotten to hold a team building session during the year. Often this results in a frantic scramble to ‘tick-the-teambuilding-box’. Suddenly a team finds itself tolerating a competitive colleague at ten-pin bowling, or not listening to an inspirational speaker because they are too overloaded to spend time hearing someone else’s story, or perhaps even cringing through a hastily prepared ‘funny awards night’. Whilst each of these activities can be enjoyable and appropriate in certain circumstances, they are not always effective for every team and situation.

Team building should not be an after thought or a ‘must-do’. It should be something that has clear objectives and outcomes, otherwise you are wasting company time, employees’ time and often a load of money.

[As an aside, should we really be calling this team building? Over the years this term has, rightly or wrongly, come to mean ‘having fun’ or ‘being social’. But guess what? Not every team or individual wants to have fun or socialise with their colleagues! And even if they do, everyone has a slightly different idea of what fun is to them. Call it what you will – we prefer to call it Team Development – no matter what you do, you should be using the time to develop the team and enhance its culture.]

Team development can be anything from a lunch to celebrate a job well done, a 1/2 hour skills refresh, a presentation, through to a 3 day team-vision and strategy session. It may or may not include activities removed from work (e.g. sport, games) and social elements (e.g. lunch, dinner). It can have a business focus or a personal focus. An event may be organised and facilitated by the manager, or it might be facilitated by a third party – a learning and development colleague or external consultant.What you end up doing should be driven by the needs of your team, not by what someone else has done or just because an activity sounds like fun.

So how do you make sure you are doing something worthwhile and not a last minute booking that no one is interested in? Below are some questions to consider.

Objective

What are you trying to achieve with the team – both in the longer term and also at this particular event? This might include the type of culture you wish to foster, skills you wish to develop, collaboration you must generate or mutual understanding you need to encourage.
What do you want people to be doing differently as a result of your event?

Motivations

What motivates or interests your team members?
What types of environments or activities does the team respond well to? (Of course ask the team for input – just be aware that occasionally the responses will be about something fun they want to do, that has little benefit to the team as a whole)
How will you cater to different motivations across individuals within the group?

Business

How do you see a team development/building event benefiting the business?
How will you know this has been a successful investment in your team by the business?
Are their any limitations to consider? This might be related to things such as policies, OH&S issues, cultural awareness, geography, or physical restrictions.

Options

What are all the possible options for achieving your objectives and meeting team needs/motivations? (This will involve some brainstorming and/or research)
Which option or combination of options do you believe would be most successful?
Is the preferred option one that you can run yourself or is help needed?
Is the preferred option one that can be linked to other events or activities the team have done/will do? Sometimes team development is more sustainable if it is a series of related events spread over time.

Plan and communicate

Make sure you plan the event well, no matter what you are doing.
Communicate with the team to outline objectives and logistics. Most people will want to understand what the focus of the event is – whether it is do get to know each other better, develop strategy or just take some time out from the business to celebrate success.

If thought through well, team development can be used to build a team’s culture, capabilities and performance.

Happy teaming!

engagingPOTENTIAL: training, team development, coaching

Specialising in working with managers to develop extraordinary teams!

10 May

What to do when a cross-functional team gets cross

“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.” – Babe Ruth

Cross functional teams can be fabulous – a way to productively collaborate across a business or even across businesses. However they are not always a happy team in motion. For various reasons a cross functional team can derail – conflict, confusion and crisis can result.

So what do you do if the team isn’t working so well? No perfect answer, however it must be addressed.

Call it

Someone has to identify that there is an issue. It must be raised with the group – not in small sub groups, not behind other team members’ backs. Call it in the team environment.

Explain that you think there might be an issue stopping the team from working effectively
Identify the major issue – do not make it personal – make it behaviour based and without laying blame
Outline how you see the consequence of the issue – e.g. what is it preventing the team from doing?
Ask the group what they think (not everyone has to agree there is an issue; everyone must respect others’ views)

Be solutions oriented

Once the group have acknowledged there is an issue – focus on looking for a solution. Unless it is a complicated issue, you may not even need to identify the exact cause – it could just be, for example, ‘ we have issues making decisions’.

Brainstorm – how could we make this better?
Prioritise – what are the three main actions we should take from this brainstorm list (have the team vote if there is not agreement on the priorities for action)
Action plan – what will we do by when? how will we hold ourselves accountable to this? when should we regroup to see how things are going?

Regroup and assess

It’s a good idea to check in again – whether a week or a month later – to see how things are tracking.

Ask the group if the actions agreed were implemented
Discuss whether these actions have addressed the issue
If there are still issues, decide how to move forward – sometimes this might require external facilitation to assess the problem further, to decide on team norms or to help the group understand principles of effective teamwork; other times it might just involve re-looking at the possible actions together

Happy teaming!

engagingPOTENTIAL: training, team development, coaching

Specialising in working with managers to develop extraordinary teams!

08 Mar

Why create a cross functional team?

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller

Cross-functional teams seem to be very popular at the moment. If you are new to the concept, you might be wondering ‘Why do I want to create a cross-functional team?’ A few reasons for you to ponder below.

Input and Ideas

When working on a project, you might find that it would be beneficial to gather others’ insights. Sure, you might have your own ideas, however a collective ‘think-tank’ is bound to expand thinking. If your project is about finding new ways, improving processes or coming up with new ideas, then it makes sense to gather a diverse group from which to seek ideas. Invite people who you know will have a different perspective, invite people from departments that are different to yours, invite people who may have a vested interest in the project outcomes. Whilst you don’t want the group to be too large (depending on the situation, generally no more than 8 – 10) you do want to have some diverse opinions from which innovation or inspiration is likely to come.

Politics and Policy

Some projects are going to have significant impact on others in your department or organisation. There may also be impacts on external customers or stakeholders. Especially when the project will lead to change, it is important to seek input from those who the change will affect. Allowing people to have their say or provide their ideas will go a long way towards effective change management – they and their team will feel ‘heard’ and you may also prevent problems you hadn’t anticipated. Even if the changes are not ones that people agree with, giving them a say in the process often helps to alleviate issues later. A cross-functional team is a relatively easy way to start to deal with the politics of a project.

Many projects also may be limited by, or involve change to policy . It’s very important to involve the policy makers / holders / governors during the process. Whether they are part of the cross-functional team from the beginning, or whether they are brought in at the relevant stages, their involvement could save serious headaches later!

Involve and Invigorate

As humans, we are innately designed to participate in a community. Whether an extrovert or introvert, we all generally have a need to feel involved. A cross-functional team is a great way to harness this need and to invigorate action and acceptance. Invite those who are passionate about your project to contribute and act as advocates within the wider organisation. Invite those who may be skeptical and have them involved in understanding the issues and solving problems – turning a skeptic into an advocate is a huge win and often results from cross-functional discussion.

These are just a few reasons why creating a cross-functional team can be a productive and positive influence on your project. While we can overdo meetings and involving others, if we do things the right way, the benefits can be wide-spread.

Happy teaming!

engagingPOTENTIAL: training, team development, coaching

Specialising in working with managers to develop extraordinary teams!

21 Dec

Holiday reading 2011

“My passion has been to build an enduring company where people were motivated to make great products. Everything else was secondary.” – Steve Jobs (as cited in Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson)

The holiday reading list this year is very short . If you want a great book to read while you relax, my suggestion is:

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson (the one currently in all book stores, with Steve’s face on the front)

This is a well written book and a fascinating insight into the mind of someone who many consider to be a business genius. The book is a ‘warts and all’ look at the man who helped make Apple one of the world’s most innovative and successful companies. Steve was not an angel, but he was smart.

Here’s what I’ve learnt about business from this book:

Think Different
Make sure your teams collaborate, rather than compete
Connect the dots – provide end to end solutions
Technology and art are a powerful combination
Love what you do

Happy holidays and happy reading!

engagingPOTENTIAL: training, team development, coaching

Specialising in working with managers to develop extraordinary teams!

31 Oct

A quick and cheap team assessment!

“Gettin’ good players is easy. Gettin’ ’em to play together is the hard part. “ ~Casey Stengel

For those of us who lead or participate in any type of team, we all have moments of wondering if the team could somehow operate better. Sometimes we know how to improve it and sometimes we are not really sure what the issues are. To really assess a team’s performance, we should use a diagnostic tool. There are many of these on the market and in the ideal world you would use a diagnostic tool AND a facilitator to work through your team strengths and areas for development.

But what if you don’t have the time, money or inclination to engage a diagnostic tool and a facilitator? You could try running a ‘quick and cheap’ assessment yourself. While this may not give the rigor a more formal process can bring, it is a starting point and at the very least it will get the team talking.

Step 1: Draw and label

Divide a flip chart sheet into 4 segments (by drawing a line across the middle horizontally and an intersecting line down the middle vertically)

The 4 labels for each segment are:

Well
Not so well
Should
Shouldn’t

Step 2: Gather team input

Ask the team to write down their thoughts on post-it / sticky notes with one comment per post-it

what are we doing well as a team?
what are we doing not so well as a team?
what should we be doing?
what shouldn’t we be doing?

It’s up to you if you ask for input regarding the team as a bigger picture, or if you want to delve into the detail of team goals, operating principles or specific projects. Your terminology can also be adapted to suit e.g. instead of ‘doing’ you might say ‘achieving’ or ‘focussing on’.

Ask the team to put their comments onto the flip chart in the relevant segment.

Step 3: Discuss

Lead the team in a discussion about the comments, starting with what’s been done well and then what’s not being done so well. Then move on to the next two areas. Sometimes the ‘should’ and ‘shouldn’t’ reflect the first two and sometimes new ideas will arise – double-up is fine and extra points are fine – the whole purpose is to get the team talking about team dynamics and performance.

Summarise for the group what the main findings are; ask for expansion if necessary; ask for examples if required.

Step 4: Action plan

On a separate flip chart, ask the team to agree on their top 4 – 5 actions to improve team function. This might include starting things we should be doing, stopping things we shouldn’t be doing, continuing things we do well or improving things we don’t do so well.

Confirm agreement and decide when the team will next check-in about the actions agreed.

There you have it – a ‘quick and cheap’ team assessment! While it might not be perfect, it is simple and easy to conduct and often generates some great insights.

engagingPOTENTIAL: training, team development, coaching

Specialising in working with managers to develop extraordinary teams!

24 Sep

Team vision

“Teamwork is the ability to work toward a common vision…It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” – Unknown

Does your workplace team have a vision? If it does, can you state what it is?

Many teams do have a team ‘vision’ – a sentence that describes where they are headed. Often though, the words are difficult to recall and team members do not always remember what the vision is. They don’t remember because they don’t feel connected to it.

There are many reasons why you may not connect with your team vision – perhaps you weren’t involved in its creation; you find it too wordy; you are unsure what it really means; it seems removed from your daily work. Not relating to the vision does not mean you are not able to do a good job – it may just mean that your team are not focused on a common future goal that stretches capabilities and inspires continuous improvement.

A vision is not essential to team operation, however a good vision can be a powerful tool to create team cohesion and success. A vision can provide a common inspiration that encourages team members to support each other’s efforts; it can give direction and focus during turbulent times; it can stretch achievements as team members strive for a different future state.

Creating a great vision is not easy and does take time. Once it is decided, it will need to be revisited regularly and eventually it will need to be updated. But if done well and if the team are connected to the vision, its ongoing evolution should help motivate and challenge the group.

How to get started?

If your wider company has a vision become familiar with it and what it means
Brainstorm how your team contributes to where the company is heading – what do you do that will support achieving the company vision?
Think about who your stakeholders and customers are – what problems do you solve for them; how do you collaborate with them; how do you want to see this evolve in the future?
What words or phrases describe your team now; what would you like these to be in one or two years time?
What are your current focus areas; what should they be for future success?
What themes are emerging from your discussion – are there consistent aspects related to your future focus?

These are some simple ideas to get started and there are many other ways to explore your desired future state. Chat to colleagues about what they have done to create a team vision, discuss your plans with a mentor or coach, explore options with Human Resources or an experienced facilitator.

Remember, a vision should be future focussed (aspirational) and should be inspiring to the team. There should be genuine connection with where the team is heading and all team members should be able to articulate what they contribute towards the team’s vision.

Once you have your team vision, you will need the team to decide what steps are important to work towards the vision – these will be objectives or critical success factors to focus on to achieve future success.

A common goal is a first step to encouraging teamwork and team success. Creating an inspiring vision can take the team beyond today’s achievements and might just motivate remarkable outcomes.

engagingPOTENTIAL: training, team development, coaching

Specialising in working with managers to develop extraordinary teams!