Wednesday, January 13, 2016
" Lead Your B-Level Players to A-Level Success"
Leadership
" Lead Your B-Level Players to A-Level Success"
Can a team of B players achieve A+ success?
Research says yes – but only with an A-level leader.
Effective leaders can have a variety of styles, but they share certain characteristics: (a) Superior judgment, which helps them make good decisions and learn from mistakes.
(b)High emotional intelligence, which helps them stay calm under pressure and build relationships with their teams.
(c) High ambition, which pushes them to high performance.
In addition, there are 4 tactics any leader can use to make their teams more effective:
(1) Have a strong vision that motivates your team with tactics, a plan of attack, and milestones.
(2)Use analytics to help your team make smarter, better decisions with data.
(3) Give feedback to be honest about team members’ limits and help them improve.
(4) And foster morale by encouraging team bonding.
When people care about each other, they raise their performance for each other too.
"Looking at Nature Can Help Your Productivity "
"Looking at Nature Can Help Your Productivity "
We all want to be productive, but figuring out how to do it can be challenging.
One simple way is to spend time looking at nature on your next break at work.
Research has found that gazing at something green – through a window, on a walk outside, or even on a screen saver – can help improve attention and performance in the workplace.
Attention restoration theory suggests that natural environments have restorative benefits for us.
Because nature captures our attention without requiring us to focus on it, looking at natural environments lets us replenish our stores of attention control.
And because our attention is a limited resource that we’re constantly tapping, letting it recharge is essential.
So the next time you take a break at work (you are taking breaks, right?), spend it looking at nature.
Doing so for even one minute can show benefits.
We all want to be productive, but figuring out how to do it can be challenging.
One simple way is to spend time looking at nature on your next break at work.
Research has found that gazing at something green – through a window, on a walk outside, or even on a screen saver – can help improve attention and performance in the workplace.
Attention restoration theory suggests that natural environments have restorative benefits for us.
Because nature captures our attention without requiring us to focus on it, looking at natural environments lets us replenish our stores of attention control.
And because our attention is a limited resource that we’re constantly tapping, letting it recharge is essential.
So the next time you take a break at work (you are taking breaks, right?), spend it looking at nature.
Doing so for even one minute can show benefits.
"Help Your Team Feel Open to Receiving Feedback "
Inter personal skills
"Help Your Team Feel Open to Receiving Feedback "
Feedback is only useful if the receiver actually uses it.
But for the message to be received, the person getting feedback has to feel safe. Feeling psychologically safe helps us hear, absorb, and reflect on feedback; feeling unsafe can make feedback sound like a personal attack.
To help your employees feel ready to receive feedback:
(1) Get your intention right first.
Make sure your goal is to help the other person grow. If he's let you down or performed poorly, deal with any feelings of anger or resentment before delivering feedback.
(2) Ask permission.
Control is central to safety, so don't give feedback unless it's invited. Ask permission by saying something like, "Can I offer you feedback on your presentation?"
(3) Share your intent
. People become defensive less because of what you're saying than why they think you're saying it. Before giving feedback, make sure the person understands your positive intentions.
"Help Your Team Feel Open to Receiving Feedback "
Feedback is only useful if the receiver actually uses it.
But for the message to be received, the person getting feedback has to feel safe. Feeling psychologically safe helps us hear, absorb, and reflect on feedback; feeling unsafe can make feedback sound like a personal attack.
To help your employees feel ready to receive feedback:
(1) Get your intention right first.
Make sure your goal is to help the other person grow. If he's let you down or performed poorly, deal with any feelings of anger or resentment before delivering feedback.
(2) Ask permission.
Control is central to safety, so don't give feedback unless it's invited. Ask permission by saying something like, "Can I offer you feedback on your presentation?"
(3) Share your intent
. People become defensive less because of what you're saying than why they think you're saying it. Before giving feedback, make sure the person understands your positive intentions.
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
" Know How to Tell a Good Failure from a Bad One ! "
OD
" Know How to Tell a Good Failure from a Bad One ! "
Not all failures are bad – some of them are actually good because of the valuable learning opportunities they present.
Dividing your organization’s failures into 3 categories will help you distinguish the good, useful failures from the bad, useless ones:
(1) Preventable failures in predictable operations.
These are caused by inadequate training, inattention, or lack of ability. They’re easy to diagnose and fix – by using a checklist, for example – but they’re not very useful.
(2) Unavoidable failures in complex systems.
Small process setbacks are inevitable, so considering them failures is counterproductive. They can usually be averted by following best practices for safety and risk.
(3) Intelligent failures at the frontier.
These good failures happen as a result of forward-thinking innovation.
They provide valuable knowledge that can help you get ahead of the competition.
But they can become bad failures if your organization starts working at a larger scale THAN IS NECESSARY !
" Know How to Tell a Good Failure from a Bad One ! "
Not all failures are bad – some of them are actually good because of the valuable learning opportunities they present.
Dividing your organization’s failures into 3 categories will help you distinguish the good, useful failures from the bad, useless ones:
(1) Preventable failures in predictable operations.
These are caused by inadequate training, inattention, or lack of ability. They’re easy to diagnose and fix – by using a checklist, for example – but they’re not very useful.
(2) Unavoidable failures in complex systems.
Small process setbacks are inevitable, so considering them failures is counterproductive. They can usually be averted by following best practices for safety and risk.
(3) Intelligent failures at the frontier.
These good failures happen as a result of forward-thinking innovation.
They provide valuable knowledge that can help you get ahead of the competition.
But they can become bad failures if your organization starts working at a larger scale THAN IS NECESSARY !
" Win Attention for Your New Idea or Project "
Persuasive skills ,selling
" Win Attention for Your New Idea or Project "
It’s hard to start a new initiative – to convince people to listen to your idea, understand it, and take action.
But being able to get new initiatives off the ground is critical to your career.
You want to stand out and get noticed as a leader.
One way to jumpstart your idea is to propose a trial run.
This reduces the risk of implementing something big and new.
Try saying, “Let’s not worry about making this change wholesale – let’s try a pilot.” Pilots give people a chance to test out the idea, and they can create data that changes minds. Basically, they’re a cost-effective way to sell your idea.
If you don’t have the power to allocate budget to a pilot, you need to sell harder to those who do. Your proposal should explain how you’ll measure the pilot’s success and the impact it will have on the company.
" Win Attention for Your New Idea or Project "
It’s hard to start a new initiative – to convince people to listen to your idea, understand it, and take action.
But being able to get new initiatives off the ground is critical to your career.
You want to stand out and get noticed as a leader.
One way to jumpstart your idea is to propose a trial run.
This reduces the risk of implementing something big and new.
Try saying, “Let’s not worry about making this change wholesale – let’s try a pilot.” Pilots give people a chance to test out the idea, and they can create data that changes minds. Basically, they’re a cost-effective way to sell your idea.
If you don’t have the power to allocate budget to a pilot, you need to sell harder to those who do. Your proposal should explain how you’ll measure the pilot’s success and the impact it will have on the company.
" Know When to Speak Up About an Ethical Issue "
Business ethics
" Know When to Speak Up About an Ethical Issue "
Sometimes you sense that something isn’t right at work.
Maybe you suspect that a finance colleague is fudging numbers or that a coworker often sneaks out early.
How do you know if it’s worth speaking up?
Here are some tips for these tricky situations:
(1) Consider what’s really at risk.
If a coworker leaves early, ask yourself why that bothers you. Is the issue important to the company or only to you?
(2) Understand people’s motivations.
Before assuming the worst, try to learn why it’s happening.
Your colleague might be fudging the numbers because he’s afraid of losing his job.
(3) Talk to the perpetrator first.
Before taking the problem to your boss, give the person a chance to explain. Ask questions rather than accusing.
(4) Escalate when necessary.
If needed, share what you’ve learned with your boss. And be open to new information that might change your perspective on the situation.
" Know When to Speak Up About an Ethical Issue "
Sometimes you sense that something isn’t right at work.
Maybe you suspect that a finance colleague is fudging numbers or that a coworker often sneaks out early.
How do you know if it’s worth speaking up?
Here are some tips for these tricky situations:
(1) Consider what’s really at risk.
If a coworker leaves early, ask yourself why that bothers you. Is the issue important to the company or only to you?
(2) Understand people’s motivations.
Before assuming the worst, try to learn why it’s happening.
Your colleague might be fudging the numbers because he’s afraid of losing his job.
(3) Talk to the perpetrator first.
Before taking the problem to your boss, give the person a chance to explain. Ask questions rather than accusing.
(4) Escalate when necessary.
If needed, share what you’ve learned with your boss. And be open to new information that might change your perspective on the situation.
Biz Research
"Are You Paid at Market Rate? Employees have wrong notions
Research fact and sample size
A survey of 71,000 workers by PayScale found that 64% of people - who are paid AT the market rate for their positions believe they’re underpaid !!
For those who are paid ABOVE market, 45% think they’re paid AT the market !
Repercussions
Writing on HBR.org, PayScale’s Dave Smith argues that people’s often false perceptions about their wages play a huge role in whether they are engaged in their work or intend to leave.
One way for managers to address this issue is to have honest conversations with employees about how their pay compares with others’.
Even if your company pays below the market rate, Smith notes, clear communication about why that’s the case can keep people satisfied with their work regardless.
"Are You Paid at Market Rate? Employees have wrong notions
Research fact and sample size
A survey of 71,000 workers by PayScale found that 64% of people - who are paid AT the market rate for their positions believe they’re underpaid !!
For those who are paid ABOVE market, 45% think they’re paid AT the market !
Repercussions
Writing on HBR.org, PayScale’s Dave Smith argues that people’s often false perceptions about their wages play a huge role in whether they are engaged in their work or intend to leave.
One way for managers to address this issue is to have honest conversations with employees about how their pay compares with others’.
Even if your company pays below the market rate, Smith notes, clear communication about why that’s the case can keep people satisfied with their work regardless.
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