Teamwork makes the dream work

Teamwork makes the dream works -- it's corny but it's true.  We can do more together than we can each do individually.  Here are 4 tips for getting your team to work together.  

Be flexible -- give team members opportunities to work independently of management.  Give them permission to make adjustments as needed.  

Find things that people have in common -- if they are mutually excited, interested and committed to an assignment, the synergy will happen naturally and consistently.  It doesn't mean they will never disagree or have conflicts but they will be more motivated to work through them.

Tell them what's in it for them -- when your team sees the benefit in whatever they are doing, they will be more engaged. Help them understand what they and others might gain, such as more profitability, exposure, or getting a higher bonus.   Sometimes, benefits are about the things they want to avoid. For example, successful completion of a task might help them avoid a major safety incident or a lawsuit.  

Be open - your team, peers, and other colleagues need to know they can come to you to discuss issues and even mistakes.  As a leader, you must be open to receiving feedback from others, as well. They need to know their needs and preferences matter to you.

more coaching, training, and development 
www.yourenhance.com
     

Meaningful Work Increases Performance More than Money

Rewards, even monetary ones, don't result in increased performance as much as doing work that matters. That's what a recent study by the World Economic Forum reveals.

World Economic Forum conducted a 2016 study of 400 workers to determine how performance is affected by perceived meaningfulness of work and by other incentives.  They looked to answering two questions:  Do people perform better when they believe their work is important?  Also, do workers perform better if they are rewarded?

The Forum admittedly “manipulated the meaning of work” in a field experiment.  In the high-meaning condition, workers were told that their work, which consisted of entering data into an electronic database, was of great importance for a research project. In the low-meaning condition, workers were told that their work was merely a routine quality check that most likely would never be used.  They also offered different forms of non-monetary or monetary incentives to examine how performance changed. They paid workers a fixed wage, a fixed wage plus a bonus for every data entry or a fixed wage plus a symbolic award, like a trophy. 

Those who received monetary incentives (a bonus for each data entry) had 6% higher productivity rates than those who received nothing or received a symbolic award.  Thiis group was told nothing about the meaningfulness of their work.

For the group of workers who were told their work was not meaningful, rewards has a significant positive effect on performance.  These workers, doing work that didn’t matter, were 18% more productive when they were rewarded.  Further analysis revealed that workers were demotivated by the unimportant work, but could be re-motivated by incentives of any kind – monetary or symbolic.   In contrast, when the worth of their work was perceived as high, the recognition didn’t impact performance at all.  In the latter case, they were already giving their best because they believed in what they were doing. 

Overall, the studies revealed that monetary rewards can indeed result in increased performance.  People want to be well compensated for their work.  And, if they know they will be paid more for doing more, they tend to do more. This really isn’t a new concept – pay people to perform and they will perform. Here is the evidence that today's business leader can leverage.  Even when we don’t have anything ‘extra’ to offer our workforce as a reward, they appreciate knowing how their work will contribute to the overall success of the business or how their deliverables will be utilized.  When they have a sense of worth and value, they will still do more -- in this study workers increased their productivity three times as much (6% versus 18%)  when they felt work was valuable.  

So when your budget gets cut and you can no longer offer gift certificates, free vacations, quarterly bonuses, or pay increases for top performers, don't fret.  Simply make sure you communicate the value of the work to the people doing the work.  This could encourage higher productive even more than money alone.

It's June! Join the club!

June is JOIN THE CLUB month.  Summer is an ideal time to explore new social, business, and charity affiliations. This time of year, there are more networking events, social activities and after-five gatherings than at any other time.  It's time to get out there and get connected!

Social media -- LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter -- are good sources of information about groups that might be of interest.  Also, good old-fashioned word-of-mouth, could direct you to an like-minded partnership.  Before you join, sign up for their newsletters and announcements.  This will keep you abreast of activities, meetings, and other opportunities.   Attend a couple of meetings before paying those membership fees, also; get a feel for what you’re getting, before you make a financial investment.

Once you’ve identified a group you would like to explore, think about getting deeply involved.  There’s only so much you can gain when you limit yourself to showing up, hearing a speaker, and leaving.  Get engaged by joining a committee; this will expose you to deeper interactions with members.  Committee involvement also gives you a chance to learn how a group functions and what it values.  If you’re looking for a less daunting commitment, consider volunteering to host/sponsor an event or offer to help with meeting administration. 

Many organizations also have special interest groups which appeal to those who are find larger crowds too impersonal.  A special interest group (SIG) is a subset of a larger group that is divided by geography, special preference or affinity.   For example, if you live in Murfreesboro, a Rutherford County SIG could be right for you. CEOs, may want to look for Executives SIGs to connect with other high-ranking officials.  Similar networks exist within any companies these days. Like SIGs, corporate affinity groups appeal to those with particular interests or commonalities.  Many large businesses have groups geared toward veterans, the LGBTQ community, ethnic groups, and generational alliances. 

If you are already a member of an organization or two, now’s the time to assess its value.   Are you getting what you expect from it?  Does involvement in the group continue to be worth your time, energy and money?  My peer-coach advises me that any business arrangement should have at least two benefits.  For example, it might provide access to cutting-edge information and a platform to promote products.  Or, it could offer continuing education credits, and mentoring.  Whatever the benefits; there should be more than one.  Whether you’re looking to serve, network, build relationships, grow your business, or make career moves, a little research can connect you with a group that is a good fit for you.  Happy hunting!

Passion Doesn't Guarantee Performance. So What Does?

There is a lot of talk these days about the importance of passion in one’s success.  I’m a big believer in passion.   I developed a keynote address and subsequent seminar called The Power of Passion some years ago.  I think it plays a big part in one’s overall satisfaction with a chosen career, hobby, or other pursuits.  If one is passionate about those pursuits they are likely to stick with them.  Even though I’m a proponent of passion, I’m also a myth buster.  The myth is that Passion alone will make one successful.  

The truth is Passion alone will not cause one to achieve one’s goal.  An astrophysicist must be a wiz at trigonometry to build a rocket ship; he can't build it with his passion.  A musician doesn’t win a Grammy because he’s passionate about music but because he’s talented as a musician.  If a student is passionate about learning but doesn’t complete homework assignments or show up for tests, she will likely not do well in school.  When our passion is coupled with performance we have a proven recipe for success.  And in order to achieve high performance one must have skills and knowledge. 

A family member shared with me that he learned this earlier in life when he decided to replace the brakes in his car – himself.  He was passionate about doing it and he did it.  He didn’t realize, however, that he had missed a crucial step until he slammed into the rear end of another car.   He learned that even though he was excited and confident about completing this repair, he didn’t have the know-how.  He hadn’t taken the time or spent the effort to learn how to do it.  

I have had people tell me “Angela, I got the job I have today because my employer saw passion and potential in me.”  I don’t doubt that.  But, I tell them, if you kept that job and became good at it, you had to live up to that potential at some point.  You had to transition from potential to results.  One of my colleagues is currently struggling at work because her passion will no longer be enough to sustain her.  Her boss, who hired her a year ago because of her passion, has moved on to another role.  Her new boss expects high performance from her.  She’s going to have to step it up -- do more and prove more. 

 

Can passion lead you to make greater effort and try harder?  Can it motivate you to be tenacious and dedicated?  Sure.  That is, after all, the role of passion in your success!  It’s doesn’t replace or override all else.  Most people know that Michael Jordan wasn’t successful at basketball the first time out.  But he stuck with it and the rest is history -- he was passionate.  The six championship rings he has, they were not given to him because of his passion, they were rewards for performance.  

Division Cripples Societies... and Businesses too.

There are three species that have survive thousands of years on earth and continue to grow in number. They are ants, termites, and... wait for it... people.  What do they all have in common? They work in teams and live in communities.  They instinctively know that all of them working individually can't accomplish as much as the whole group together. 

President Bill Clinton once said "to improve the state of a nation takes education and inclusion."  Any nation can be improved with these two things.    And, education refers not only to formal learning but access to information as well.  Experts say that this principle applies to businesses too. 

Here is one case that illustrates the point. The country of Singapore went from $1000 per capita income to $55000 per capita income? Now the country is acclaimed as being one of the top five countries to live; its in the top five countries for education.  The country is even rated as having the best airport, and being the cleanest country.  How did all that happen in two decades?   The powers-that-be realized that division cripples societies.  Shared responsible,  shared prosperity and shared opportunity allow a country to flourish. The same is true of companies.  

Leaders need to be able to explain what is happening and include people in the process.  Research from The Bob Nelson Group, Creative Leadership Council, Society of Human Resource Management, and others, shows that followers feel respected when leaders take the time to explain and help them understand decisions. They also appreciate understanding how changes and expectations will effect them.  Even if they disagree with the leader's choices, they will still feel valued. Also, leaders need to express their vision -- where the team is now and where they should go.

Just as important is a leader's willingness to invite opposing viewpoints.  Let's look at another example. President Nelson Mandela appointed individuals who supported apartheid onto his legislative Cabinet. He realized that those differences of opinion might make them the best qualified persons for those roles.  

Companies work very much the same way.  Leaders benefit from including those who are different from them.  It positions them to anticipate problems, formulate contingency plans, improve processes, and innovate.

A smart team makes better decisions than a lone genius. 

May is Mastery Month - What Skills Will You Sharpen?

May is mastery month.  What does that mean?  For me, it means learning something new and getting better at something old.  It could be honing a skill as well.   Its about investing some time into learning more. 

Most adult have contemplating taking up a new hobby, but never done it.  Many of us have considered taking a class or lesson, and abandoned the notion.  May is the time that I challenge you to revisit those forgotten passions or interested.  Dr. Stephen Covey called it 'sharpening the saw' (in 7 habits of highly effective people).

There is a purpose to all of this as well.  It's not just for fun, it's for development.  You might want to learn more about top companies in your industry in order to stay on top of the latest trends and practices.  You may want to sharpen an existing skill to ready yourself for a promotion.  You might consider learning more about the global economy to impress potential clients.  Perhaps you would be interested in gaining more knowledge about the stock market to improve your retirement portfolio.  

Whatever your motive or motivation, there are lots of ways to sharpen your saw.   Here are some ways to get started mastering in May.  

•  Most universities offer certification program, and executive degrees for a fraction of the price of advanced degrees.  Give them a call and request more information.
• Community colleges, recreation centers and other institutes offer skill-building courses in everything from painting to guitar to creative writing.  You can develop a new skill in one night or a few weeks.
• Joining a league (like bowling, tennis, etc) is also a great way to master abilities in certain areas by practicing frequently.  It also has the added benefit learning from others. 
• I have found that when it comes to DIY projects, YouTube videos are a quick and easy way to pick up new ideas. If you're a visual learner or have a short attention span,  this could be the way to go for you.
• Subscribing to magazines and trade publications that focuses on a particular subject matter or industry is also an effective way to sharpen your skills.  For example HR.com magazine has become a staple for me in learning about new trends and developments in Human Resources.  There are hundreds of industry specific publications available.  Garden Design magazine is a great choice for the avid landscaper; Nurse.com The Magazine is educational for those in the medical care profession; and the list goes on and on.

How will you use the month of May to make yourself more skilled or marketable?  What will you do to stay educated and relevant?  Align your efforts with your goals, and you're sure to see maximum results.

www.yourenhance.com  | Enhance Business Solutions | learning coaching development

April is for ACTION - Let's Spark Something New

Sparking New Action

Changing your actions is a cycle. It starts with changing your thinking. How you see a situation or what you believe about it, affects how you approach it. For example, if you see a situation as an opportunity, you will approach it that way. If you see it as a problem, your approach is likely to be different. Opportunities provide benefits; they are desired, interesting and worthwhile. Problems usually are not.  Thinking isn’t enough.  We hear a lot these days about changing mindsets, paradigm shifts, and mindfulness.   There are important concepts, but we mustn’t stop there.  Your thoughts will only take you half way to your destination; if your goal is improvement, change, or achievement of something, you will need more.   

Stephen M.R. Covey says you cannot think your way into new behavior. You behave your way into new behavior, he asserts. Let me elaborate. Have you ever tried something new only to discover that you really like it – a food or an activity, maybe a new hobby?  No matter how much you thought about it you couldn’t get to the point of enjoying it until you actually tried it. It was that way for me the first time I tried sushi.  I thought it would be gross initially. That thought had to change before I could even take that first bite of yellowtail sashimi. Once I changed my mind that freed me to change my action. But I couldn't discover that I love sushi, become a fan of it, and encourage others to try it until I took action by actually consuming it. My thinking was a great start but it was just the beginning.

Let’s look at how this works in the workplace.  Think of an employee who is always late for work. That person won’t start being on time until his behavior changes. He can think about being on time, understand the importance of timeliness, and want to be on time. Nothing actually changes until he stops hitting the snooze button or adjusts whatever is making him late.

Consider the millions of people who THINK about exercising every January 1. They plan for it and even select and join a gym. But sadly many of them take no action beyond that.   Clearly one does not develop a new habit by simply thinking about it. It STARTS with thinking, then finishes with doing.

A mentor of mine explained it this way: if five birds are sitting on a wire and three of them intend to fly away, there are still five birds on the wire.  What they intend to do produces nothing. What they attend to produces results.