Make Sure Everyone Feels Welcome at Casual Networking Events

January 16, 2019

Make Sure Everyone Feels Welcome at Casual Networking Events

It’s not uncommon for people on a team to get together outside of work hours. These unplanned, informal events can be useful ways to connect, share information, and even make decisions.

 But they can also exclude some team members, even if it’s unintentional. As a manager, you can make sure everyone feels welcome at these kinds of events.

 Start by learning your employees’ preferences around social gatherings, including dietary restrictions and activities that make them feel comfortable. 

For example, make sure that not all events center around alcohol, so people who don’t drink aren’t excluded. 

When you’re thinking about future events, plan some gatherings during the day or over lunch, so those who can’t stay late don’t miss out. And then pay attention to how often the team meets informally and who’s showing up. 
These details will help you figure out who isn’t coming, and reach out to invite them when necessary.

Adapted from “How Managers Can Make Casual Networking Events More Inclusive," by Ruchika Tulshyan

When a Coworker Is Struggling to Be Productive

November 29, 2018
When a Coworker Is Struggling to Be Productive
Sometimes productivity is a team effort. If a colleague is struggling to stay focused and engaged, helping them may not be part of your job description, but it is the kind thing to do. Take time to chat with them at their desk, or invite them to grab a cup of coffee or a drink after work. Let them know that you’ve noticed they’re off their game, and talk openly about the times you’ve struggled with projects or had bad days, to show them they are not alone. But make sure the conversation stays productive; it’s easy for a well-intentioned check-in to turn into a gripe session about what’s wrong with your workplace. Brainstorm small steps they can take to make progress on their most important goals. Of course, be careful that helping your colleague doesn’t drain your energy or hurt your performance. You don’t have to solve their problems — just give them the little push they need to get unstuck.

Adapted from "How to Help a Colleague Who Seems Off Their Game," by Art Markman

No Matter How Busy You Are, You Can Be an Attentive Mentor

December 5, 2018
No Matter How Busy You Are, You Can Be an Attentive Mentor
Being a good mentor takes time. How can you make sure your schedule full of meetings, speaking engagements, and travel doesn’t hinder your ability to be an attentive mentor? 
First, appreciate that some time is better than none. If 60-minute meetings aren’t possible, try to set aside 30 or even 15 minutes. These smaller windows will force your mentee (and you) to get to the point. 
And face-to-face meetings aren’t your only option: text messaging, email, video conferencing, and phone calls can all help you connect with your mentee. 
Most important, be fully PRESENT and engaged during mentoring sessions. Whether you are meeting in person, over Skype, or even having a text conversation, demonstrate to your mentee that for the next few minutes, they are all that matters. 
If you start to get distracted by other tasks or your next meeting, refocus your attention and remind yourself: Be here, now.

Adapted from "How Doctors Can Be Better Mentors," by Sanjay Saint, MD and Vineet Chopra, MD

Surround Yourself with People Who Will Push You to Grow

December 3, 2018
Surround Yourself with People Who Will Push You to Grow
When it comes to planning our careers, we carefully choose our companies and jobs. But rarely are we deliberate about selecting the advisers and confidantes who help us succeed.
 Cultivate a support group for your career by thinking about whose advice and expertise you wish you had on speed dial. 
Consider who you feel inspired by, whether they’re colleagues, senior leaders, or peers in your field. Seek these individuals out, and be candid about why you admire them and why you want to connect. 
Focus on building a relationship that will benefit both of you. 
As you get to know each other, don’t be afraid to explore big life questions: What do you want to do with your life? What motivates you? What are you doing that you really don’t like to do? Work together to become better versions of yourselves.

Adapted from "The Key to Career Growth: Surround Yourself with People Who Will Push You," by Claudio Fernández-Aráoz

Are You Doing Enough to Retain Your Best Employees?

January 14, 2019

Are You Doing Enough to Retain Your Best Employees?

Every manager knows it’s important to keep their best people. But when retention issues crop up, it’s easy to want to blame anyone but yourself. Instead of pointing the finger, think long and hard about why your employees may be thinking of leaving and what’s needed to increase their engagement. Consider the possibility that you, or other leaders, are contributing to the problem. Don’t rely on your gut, though — collect some data. For instance, quick “pulse surveys” can be useful for keeping tabs on how employees feel about their jobs, and the job that management is doing. You might hear some uncomfortable truths when you ask for their opinions, but don’t get defensive. Be open to listening and to changing how you manage based on what people say. The good news is that, if you signal to employees that you’re willing to make meaningful changes, some of them will feel supported and inclined to stay.

Adapted from “Don’t Let Lazy Managers Drive Away Your Top Performers," by Mark C. Bolino and Anthony C. Klotz

A Case for a structured Peer to Peer learning in organizations

A Case for a structured Peer to Peer learning in organizations
 " A learner’s development is dependent on 3 factors .
 (1) a willingness to make mistakes, (2) challenge ideas, and (3) speak up about concerns .

 Peer-to-peer learning creates a space where the learner can FEEL SAFE taking these risks without a sense that their boss is evaluating their performance while they are learning. 

You’re more likely to have candid conversations about areas you need to develop with a peer than with someone who has power over your career and income. In peer-to-peer learning, the dynamics of hierarchy disappear.

 Peer-to-peer also learning provides a structured opportunity to have these discussions to begin with. "

Create Ways for Your Employees to Learn from Each Other

December 27, 2018
Create Ways for Your Employees to Learn from Each Other

Peer-to-peer learning can be a powerful (and free) development tool.
 Research shows that when people want to learn a skill, turning to colleagues for help is often the first thing they do. 
You can encourage this kind of learning in your organization by setting up a formal program for it ! 

Start by appointing a facilitator to oversee the program. It’s important to have a neutral party — who is not the team’s manager — to organize sessions, keep everyone on topic, and maintain a positive atmosphere. 
You also need to build a safe environment so that people feel comfortable sharing their thoughts, experiences, and questions. 

Setting ground rules around honoring confidentiality and accepting feedback graciously can help. 
During sessions, be sure that learning is tied to real-world situations and problems so that participants can apply the skills they’ve learned quickly. 
And encourage employees to network, whether online, at networking events, or through another method, so that anyone in the company can get involved.

Adapted from “How to Help Your Employees Learn from Each Other,” by Kelly Palmer and David Blake

Equip Your Global Team to Turn Down Bribes

January 10, 2019
Equip Your Global Team to Turn Down Bribes

 " Commercial bribes are illegal in many countries, but members of your global team may still encounter officials who demand them. To handle these sensitive situations, prepare people to respond. 

Often a bribe isn’t about money — it’s about respect. So empower managers on the ground to say, “I can’t give you a bribe, but what I can do is…” You might offer the official or their staff members a chance to participate in high-level decisions about your company’s commitment to the local community. 

Or you could talk about the official’s desired legacy and promise to publicly highlight their involvement in a mutually beneficial way.

 And be realistic about the costs of saying no to a bribe request. Could it lead to delays in delivery (if a customs official refuses to release goods at the border until he gets a kickback)? 

To failing to win a contract (if a minister expects a 10% cut of the procurement deal)? When needed, adjust cost and timing estimates so that your company can pursue its goals in an ethical, sustainable way." 

Adapted from “How Managers Should Respond When Bribes Are Business as Usual," by David Montero

Tips for Managing Your Most Creative Employees

January 9, 2019
Tips for Managing Your Most Creative Employees
Some bosses wonder how to manage creative people. Research suggests that they may in fact have a different type of personality. But that doesn’t mean you need to manage them in a completely different way — a lot of the same rules apply. Here’s what to focus on: Make sure there’s a good fit between their creative tendencies and their role, so you can tap into the full range of their talents. Surround them with detail-oriented project managers who will handle the implementation of their ideas. 

Don’t worry if their approach to work is nothing like yours — as long as they’re meeting deadlines. Prove that your company truly values creativity by rewarding people who come up with innovations. 

And apply the right amount of pressure to projects — too little will lead to a lack of motivation, and too much will create stress that inhibits creativity. 

Organizations that provide their most talented people with personalized development plans and mentoring opportunities, and that promote a culture of support and inclusion, will benefit from increased creative performance.

Adapted from “Motivating Your Most Creative Employees," by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic and Reece Akhtar

Figure Out Which Data Skills You Need for Your Job

January 11, 2019

Figure Out Which Data Skills You Need for Your Job

Data and analytics are increasingly important to how we do our jobs. But how do you know which data skills to learn (or brush up on)? To figure this out, think about two factors: the amount of time it will take to learn a certain skill and how useful it will be in your role. For example, data visualization might be relevant and useful to your job, and it’s generally straightforward to learn (at least the basics). Focus on skills that are useful and aren’t time-consuming to acquire; these will have the most immediate payoff for your career. Think carefully about skills that would be useful but would take a lot of time and effort to learn. You’d have to prioritize them ahead of other activities, so you’d need to be sure they’re worth the investment. And the skills that are easy to learn but not that useful? Skip them.

Adapted from “Prioritize Which Data Skills Your Company Needs with This 2×2 Matrix," by Chris Littlewood

Dealing with office grapevine

January 8, 2019

When You Want to Gossip About Someone at Work, Stop and Ask Yourself Why

We all get frustrated with colleagues from time to time. But complaining about a coworker behind their back can be destructive. It erodes trust on the team, risks hurting the person’s feelings, and makes you look bad. The next time you’re tempted to complain about someone, stop and ask yourself why. If it’s to justify your feelings or to confirm that you’re right, don’t do it. On the other hand, if you’re having a problem with a coworker and want someone else’s take on the issue, or you want to brainstorm helpful solutions, then go for it. And when someone comes to you for a gripe session, pivot the conversation away from complaining and toward problem solving. You can also adopt a “tell them first” policy with your colleagues, meaning you’ll let someone vent to you about a coworker — as long as they’ve already talked to that coworker about the issue.

Adapted from “Stop Complaining About Your Colleagues Behind Their Backs," by Deborah Grayson Riegel

Breaking the Silos

November 30, 2018
Resolve Cross-Departmental Problems by Learning More About Your Counterparts

Companies naturally fragment into silos as they grow, and it’s common for those silos to feel competitive with each other. But cross-departmental tensions don’t have to get in the way of your team’s success. If you lead a function that historically has been at odds with another, reach out to your colleagues in the other department and let them know you’d like to collaborate better. 

The first step is for both sides to understand each other’s work. Spend time talking about what your departments do and what it’s like for your teams to interact. 

(You may hear something like, “I had no idea you do that! No wonder our requests drive you crazy.”) 

Think through the decisions you’ll need to make together, and determine who will get the final call. You may also need to acknowledge the historical baggage between your departments. The goal of these conversations is to build mutual respect and commit to collective success.

Adapted from "How to Permanently Resolve Cross-Department Rivalries," by Ron Carucci

Dealing with Project Overload

December 10, 2018
If Your Team Is Overwhelmed, What Can They Stop Doing?
Project overload is real. But as a leader, it can be hard to tell whether your team needs more resources or just could be working more efficiently. Start by asking people to identify their key activities and how much time they spend on them in a typical week. Use that data to assess workloads and priorities. Consider which tasks the team could stop doing and which might benefit from having their process rethought. Pay special attention to low-value projects that have to get done but that take up an inordinate amount of time. Are there ways to simplify the workflows to reduce the amount of time your team spends in these areas? And last but not least, look for tasks that simply can be done more quickly. If your team is still struggling after these steps, it might be time to hire more people.

Adapted from “What to Do If Your Team Is Too Busy to Take On New Work,” by Dutta Satadip

When , training is a good idea and when bad !

December 24, 2018
When Offering Your Team Training Is a Bad Idea ! 

Every good manager wants their team to have the skills to succeed. So it makes sense to invest in training, right? Not so fast. 

Training can be powerful when it addresses an underdeveloped skill or knowledge deficit. But too often managers turn to training or formal learning when it won’t actually solve the problem it’s meant to. 
When is training worth trying? 
First, be sure your internal systems support the newly desired behavior. 
For example, training in proactive decision making won’t help employees if senior leaders make all the decisions in your company. Second, there needs to be a commitment to change. If your team isn’t willing to address a problem’s root cause, training won’t have the intended benefit. 
Third, the training needs to be connected to strategic priorities. If employees can’t see how what they’re learning relates to where the company is headed, you’ll waste your money — and their time.

Adapted from “When Companies Should Invest in Training Their Employees — and When They Shouldn’t,” by Ron Carucci