Improvise on stage, not on the phone

If I asked you to describe your 3 toughest callers or situations could you do it?  

Thought so.  (You probably can give me names too, right?)

Thought for the day:  Train your team on how to deal with those calls.  If you don't give them some helpful phrases and a chance to practice then you are leaving up to them to 'wing it'.

Actors are great at improv but their goal is to entertain not build loyalty.

Shameless plug:  Ward Certified Consulting has great webinars and training to help individuals and teams deal with challenging people and situations.  It's fun training with lasting results.

Intent vs. Effect

Here's something interesting for your Wednesday!

Please read this paragraph:

According to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Interesting, isn't it?  But what's that got to do with coaching and managing?
 
We all experience interactions through our own filters. If your filter is negative or critical, you may miss the meaning.  It’s easy to find the typos in the paragraph, and therefore miss the point.  Does that ever happen to you at work?
 
*  When you coach an employee, are you focusing on their past behaviors, or are you open to the opportunity for improvement?
*  When you train an employee and they make a mistake, do you feel like writing the employee off completely?
*  When your colleague shares an idea with you, are you focused on the delivery of the message, or what the message actually is?
 
This week, aim to focus on the Intent vs the Effect.

Teamwork

We all know about the importance of a mutual purpose and clear goals to enhance teamwork.  Here's a few easy tips to use that sense of 'team' as a way to improve individual performance:

• Use the social bonds within the team to influence their behavior.
• Encourage team members to work hard, change behavior or take on tasks not as a way to please you, but so that they don't let everyone else down.
• Over time, if you don’t jump in to fix situations, you will notice other team members correcting each other and providing feedback to their colleagues.
• To see this in action, watch the men's gymnastic team or synchronized diving.  Watch their reactions when they let the TEAM down.  Yikes, that's pressure!

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON!

Look 'Em In The Eyes

You've heard you are supposed to make eye contact when you meet someone new, or when you talk to a colleague.  Do you ever wonder where you are supposed to look?

To make sure the conversation is business-like, look at the person in the triangle of their face.  That's the eyes up to the forehead.

Ha, I wish I was in your offices today watching you all try this!

Change is Good...

So many of you are dealing with change at work, and are trying to get your team on board.  Here’s some food for thought:

• People resist change, so don’t take it personally.
• Let team members complain by asking for their concerns.  If they don’t share them with you, they are sharing them with each other, and you can bet it's probably in a less positive way.
• Encourage them to focus on solutions in a group setting.  Present the issue, let them vent, then ask, “What can we all do to make this work?”
• Be as open and honest as you can.  Address the straightforward concerns with direct answers, and keep them posted on new information about the change as you receive it.
• Thank them for their efforts.  Don't wait for the whole thing to be a success (that takes too long) but appreciate them along the way for trying.

Goal Driven Productivity

To improve your team's productivity, make sure these two things are clear:

1. A mutual sense of purpose

Write down what you think the goal of the team is and ask each team member to do the same.  Compare.  Are you on the same page, or even the same planet?  If not, it might be time to have a meeting and create a mutual sense of purpose.

Another pointer – make the purpose something that is exciting, noble or at least builds pride. Rather than "we file paper and answer phones", for example, aim for something like "we make women hot and men cool."
 
2. Tangible, measurable goals

Once you have the purpose defined, create measurable goals that the team can strive for daily, weekly or monthly.  Post those on the wall to create a sense of urgency and drive.

Have a great week, from the team at Ward Certified!

The Case Against Multi-Tasking

Here’s some research from The University of London.  Glenn Wilson says, trying to perform just two simple tasks while sitting at your desk, such as texting and writing an email, could take 10 points off your IQ! 

You may be thinking to yourself right now, “how bad could 10 points be?”. Well, some of us can’t afford to lose the 10 points, so consider this.  Ten points off your IQ is the equivalent to losing one night’s sleep, or as Peter Bregman of The Harvard Business Review put it, "twice the equivalent of smoking marijuana."

Are you sure you still want to multi-task?