BLOG 2016

​

​Are you going for growth or groans with your team rewards?have you considered how your rewards and recognition structure can affect your sales?Dec 15 2016

 

We know that rewards and recognition can directly affect the performance and wellbeing of your team members – a well thought out reward can boost an individual and motivate them further, while a poorly thought out gift can make an individual feel discouraged and apathetic towards their work; even poor performers in your team can be rewarded through retraining and re-motivation. However, have you considered how your rewards and recognition structure can affect your sales?

A focused team

Companies all over the world conduct studies every year to discover what it is that motivates team members and every year, more and more results come in showing that it it’s the satisfaction of completing the task itself that individuals like – in fact, according to the Harvard Business Review, salary and other monetary rewards are very low down on the list of things that motivate employees.

It’s this kind of focus that drives sales; teams that have their sights set on ‘what’s in it for me’ are the teams that will ultimately fail when it comes to boosting revenue. This is when it becomes important to have a great rewards structure – incentives with off-target intentions will have off-target results, giving your team a focus, but on all the wrong things.

A loyal team

Naturally, having one’s efforts noticed and recognised – both publicly and privately – can be a huge source of motivation and it can even produce an increased respect for you. Someone who feels valued and encouraged within a team will be more loyal to the team and the manager.

To this end, it’s extremely important to spend time recognising and rewarding both individuals and teams. Focusing on individual efforts and achievements while neglecting the team can mean that the team is less motivated to collaborate together and draw upon each other’s strengths. In a similar way, spending too much time focusing on rewarding team achievements can leave individuals feeling disheartened, as though their personal efforts mean nothing, and it ultimately impacts upon their productivity.

A set of achievable goals

Every single team is different – your marketing team is different from your operations team and they are different again from your sales team.  Because of the variety throughout different teams, each team should have different goals and targets. An achievable target for the sales team could be completely out of reach for the operations team.

If your team goals are unachievable, we can safely assume that your team won’t be able to reach them. This means that they get no satisfaction in actually completing the work, nor will they receive any kind of reward or recognition for the effort they did put in, leaving the individuals, as well as the team environment, feeling deflated and unmotivated when it comes to trying again – not a great way to start heading towards boosted sales.

It can be difficult to find the right balance when it comes to rewarding and recognising your team, but it’s fairly clear that a simple rewards structure can be the difference between a happy, motivated team that drives your organisation forward or a deflated, apathetic team who keep the organisation stagnant.

 

If you want to know how your rewards structure could be helping or hindering your team when it comes to boosting revenue, People Make the Difference can help you to create a structure that really works. We can help you with training workshops, one-on-one coaching and Coach On Call services. To find out more, call us on 0412 333 415 or visit peoplemakethedifference.com.au.

​

 

 

​What motivates me doesn’t motivate you.Each week, your team is going above and beyond their job descriptions, so it’s right to want to recognise their hard work and reward them accordingly.Nov 29 2016

 

My business is called ‘People Make The Difference’ for a reason. Simply put: no matter how wonderful your business strategy or plan, you are only as good as the people you lead. Those people make the difference to your organisation or business. It is people who bring plans to life, hit sales targets, lead other people, make decisions on your behalf. Without the right people making the right difference, nothing works.

Which is why I have a personal soapbox about reward and recognition. Each week, your team is going above and beyond their job descriptions, so it’s right and natural to want to recognise their hard work and reward them accordingly.

Yet it can be difficult to know exactly how to deliver these rewards or even what to give. Here are four simple questions you can ask yourself whenever you’re considering giving recognition and rewards to your team.

Are your rewards reflecting your team values?

Remember all that time you spent carefully planning your team values and making sure your whole team was on board? All that time and effort could be undone with a reward system that doesn’t reinforce those values.

For example, do you allow employees to drink on the premises on a Friday afternoon? If not, then perhaps a gift of wine at Christmas time, or in response to an achievement, is not the wisest of gifts. Directly contradicting your own rules shows that you hold little stock in your own words, so why should your team?

If a team member achieves great results, but gets them through taking short cuts and unnecessary risks, rewarding them is telling the rest of your team that you don’t really value honesty and integrity within the team.

Is every reward appropriate for the achievement?

Do you have a standard gift for when you want to reward great work? Many leaders take this approach with the intention of being fair to everyone, but it might be more harmful than it first appears.

Throughout the week, there can be a huge variety of different achievements, from simply fixing the printer to acquiring a new client or getting a promotion. As with the variety of achievements, there should be a variety in the rewards given in response.

Some smaller achievements, such as fixing the printer, might only require words of encouragement and praise – after all, everyone uses the printer and productivity can suffer when it’s broken. Bigger achievements, such as getting a promotion, might call for a monetary gift, flowers or a gift card.

How frequently are you delivering recognition and rewards?

Have you come across leaders who love handing out compliments and positive reinforcement? These leaders can be incredibly encouraging, recognising their team members’ efforts every day and never missing a beat. Unfortunately, other leaders take a similar line but go about it in a different way, using physical and monetary gifts instead of words.

Again, this doesn’t have to be a negative approach but unfortunately, receiving lavish gifts for even the smallest of achievements can cheapen the novelty when a big achievement does come along. Among some teams, the frequency of dependable gifts can even become funny, with the team joking about always receiving a voucher for the cinemas every time anyone does great work.

Some individuals may even take advantage of a generous, yet misguided leader, only doing work to receive the reward, going against the integrity and work-ethic established within the team. Keeping an element of surprise (while still keeping it fair) to your rewards and recognition keeps everyone on their toes and makes it a great feeling for everyone.

Are your rewards and recognition personalised to each individual?

Everyone loves a good food-based hamper – especially one with lots of cheeses, right? You can hand that over to any of your team members and you can easily walk away patting yourself on the back, job well done!

That cheese-based hamper might look wonderful to you, but the team member who is now placing it on their desk is actually a vegan. What’s more, they commute to work … and it’s summer. You’ve given them a gift they have to carry all the way home on a busy train in the stinking heat, while the cheese slowly melts. At the end of that harrowing trip, they can’t even eat it.

By giving that hamper, you’ve shown your team member that you’ve not been listening and you don’t care about their preferences or personal life. Taking the time to think deeply about your rewards, gifts and recognition and personalise them to each of your team members can be time well spent in making sure each team member feels valued.

 

If you’re ready to kick-start your rewards and recognition system, People Make the Difference can help you with training workshops, one-on-one coaching and Coach On Call services. To find out more, call us on 0412 333 415 or visit peoplemakethedifference.com.au.

​

 

 

​The thought that counts?As a leader, you might have already begun thinking about giving gifts to your team to show your appreciation. Choosing the perfect gift is an art form .Nov 15 2016

 

It’s that time of year again. November has crept up on us all, bringing garish Christmas decorations, swelling social engagements and the onslaught of Christmas cards from people you barely know. It can be an overwhelming time while you try to spread your energy – and the Christmas cheer – evenly between work, friends and family.

As a leader, you might have already begun thinking about giving gifts to your team to show your appreciation. Many lean towards the generic gifts such as a bottle of wine, a gift card or flowers. These are all okay gifts but our guess is that you don’t want your gifts to be just … okay.

Choosing the perfect gift for each of your team members is an art form – some naturally have the talent but others need to put a little more time, effort and thought into their gifts to supercharge them and leave your team feeling valued and appreciated, while keeping it all professional.

Do you know your team well enough?

Did you know? According to TalentSmart, employees value managers who care about their experience. On a daily basis, these managers are the people their employees want by their side.

Spending time getting to know each of your team members is an excellent way to become one of these valued managers. Knowing their professional plans and goals is one thing, but knowing their likes, dislikes, weaknesses and strengths can be even more valuable in the long run.

What message are you sending?

Buying a bottle of wine for everyone can be a simple solution to the Christmas gift situation, but have you thought about the message it’s sending.

The same gift for everyone keeps the costs even, shows no favouritism and requires little thought. Seems like a positive, but what will each team member think? You want to avoid singling people out, but you don’t want everyone to feel as though you see them as carbon copies of each other.

Remember how important it is to get to know your team? A bottle of wine to an employee who doesn’t drink shows that you don’t listen in everyday conversations and you don’t care if they’re put in an uncomfortable position. This would, of course, never be your intention, but lack of thought into a gift can cause disastrous consequences.

It’s not just about the gift!

Lavish gifts count for very little when they’re not accompanied by words of encouragement and affirmation – whether this be verbally or through a handwritten note – can be all the difference between a gift sitting on a team member’s desk for the next month or being taken home and cherished as a heartfelt gesture.

It takes a good amount of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) to give gifts that will be valued for years to come, so if it’s the thought that counts, make sure you put a lot of thought into rewarding your team this festive season.

 

If you’re ready to start developing your EQ to give great gifts at Christmas time (and throughout the year), People Make the Difference can help you with training workshops, one-on-one coaching and Coach On Call services. To find out more, call us on 0412 333 415 or visit peoplemakethedifference.com.au.

​

 

 

​What leaders can learn from Olympians: Jana PittmanPeople Make the Difference threw a party to celebrate our first business birthday and invited Jana Pittman to spend some time talking to us about what she’s learnt about teamwork and leadership throughout her sporting career and now into her venture into the world of medicine.Nov 08 2016

 

​

Goal Setting

When it comes to goals, we all know how important it is to set that big, ultimate goal to aspire to, but throughout her career, Jana shared how important every little goal is, no matter how insignificant it may seem at the time: “celebrating all those little wins along the way can make that big scary goal even more attainable.”

No matter how big or small the goal she said it was always about running through the finish line: “My trainer pulled me up one day when he noticed I slowed up in practice meets just ahead of the finish line. When you set a standard for what you want to achieve and what you want to get out of something, if it’s a training session or a business goal or whatever it is, it’s about making sure you complete it every day, so you never take those little shortcuts.”

Failing Hard

For all her stories of sporting success, Jana had plenty of tales to tell about her failures as well. One of the biggest lessons she had to learn was how to overcome the feelings of doubt and anxiety that appeared when she got her first chance to run against Cathy Freeman. After watching Freeman warming up, Jana became so nervous and convinced herself that she didn’t deserve to run against her and that if she did, she would fail colossally.

“These thoughts just rolled over and rolled over and rolled over and rolled over in my head, and in fact, when she went back into the call room, I stayed out of it. I heard them call my name … and utter fear wouldn’t allow me to move out of that spot … I lost the most incredible opportunity of my life.”

Ever since, Jana has known that she has choice: “All of us have a choice ... I always go into a race scared, but in my mind I say, ‘Well, it’s a choice Jana, you can run today and win or you can run and come last but isn’t it better than not being there at all?’”

For Jana, failing has become as important as succeeding and she believes her failures are helping her to celebrate her successes even more.

Lead by Example

As she finished up, Jana gave every leader some very useful advice when it comes to leading our teams by example and setting them up for further success:

“If you want someone to do something, you need to be able to do it yourself and be prepared to do it yourself. If we want someone to be able to fill our shoes, we can’t be scared of them passing us, we actually have to bring them up to be equal to us so that the whole industry works well together.”

 

If you’re ready to start taking her advice and kick-start your team, People Make the Difference can help you with training workshops, one-on-one coaching and Coach On Call services. To find out more, call us on 0412 333 415 or visit peoplemakethedifference.com.au.

 

 

 

​Are you a DIY Leader?Do you ever find yourself resorting back to a ‘Do It Yourself’ style of leadership? Here are six questions to help you recognise the warning signs.Nov 01 2016

 

Did you ever hear one of your parents say, exasperated, “Don’t worry about it, I’ll just do it myself!”? It’s a lament often heard from time-poor parents. Unfortunately, under pressure, it may be a phrase a leader mistakenly finds themselves saying, or if not saying, doing. It’s a harmful place to be in.

Do you ever find yourself resorting back to this ‘Do It Yourself’ style of leadership? Here are six questions to help you recognise the warning signs:

• Are you a perfectionist, wanting the job done properly the first time?
• Do you think it’s easier to do it yourself, without having to explain the process?
• If you pass on the work to someone else, do you feel like your position as the leader has less distinction?
• Or, if you pass on the work, do you feel like your team members might upstage you, so it’s better to do it yourself to save face?
• Do you believe you can get the job done better than anyone else?
• Are you too busy to delegate tasks?

If any of the questions above resonate, DIY style may have leaked into your leadership at some point.

The DIY attitude can imply you don’t trust your team to do the work you originally chose them for – this can be a catastrophic hit to your team’s morale. If you truly believe you can manage everything on your own, why do you have a team?

Hovering over your team’s shoulders, constantly controlling what they are doing and taking over where you might not be the best person for the job can seem like it’s helping, and it might be helping your peace of mind, but it can actually be detrimental to your team’s productivity and it does not encourage individual growth and learning.

The key word here is ‘delegate’. Your job as a leader is to put the right people with the right skills in the right places at the right time and watch your whole team flourish while they all learn, grow and improve together. Delegating tasks to your team members is a great way to encourage each individual to develop themselves, as well as an opportunity for you to develop your mentoring skills, rather than your DIY skills.

It can be difficult to give up control, especially if you’ve been involved in these tasks for a long time, but passing the responsibility on to someone who has the right skills for each particular task can actually give you freedom in your leadership. With less tasks taking up your day and more trust in your talented team, your time can be better spent planning the future of your team and the next horizon. Investing the time to train others in your team to do some of the work you have been doing might seem like a burden or a waste of time, but long term you and the team will reap the rewards.

If you’re not sure where to start with delegating tasks, or how to put the right people in the right teams, contact People Make The Difference. We can help you with our training workshops, one-on-one coaching and Coach on Call services. To find out more, call us on 0412 333 415 or visit: peoplemakethedifference.com.au

​

 

 

​Failure is a great optionAs we all know too well, failure is inevitable and despite all our efforts, we can’t stop it from showing up when we least want it around.Oct 18 2016

 

Many of us tend to back away when the possibility of failure rears its head; failure is not fun, it can hurt our ego, pride and confidence and it can make us feel as though we’re going backward rather than forward. After we discussed failure in the article “Are business leaders scared to fail?” in September last year, it became clear that failure is feared by many but, as we all know too well, failure is inevitable and despite all our efforts, we can’t stop it from showing up when we least want it around.

Some leaders, in an attempt to inspire, can mistakenly say phrases such as “failure is not an option” to their team – many think that it’s all willpower; by simply refusing to recognise failure as an option, they won’t fail! Unfortunately this is not the case and, aside from being clichéd, unrealistic and overused, these kind of phrases can be damaging to the team morale.

Refusing to accept failure can breed fear and anxiety within your team and make them scared to take risks and try new things. A team that is scared into playing it safe will be stagnant, unwilling and unable to explore new territory.

Welcoming Failure

It’s unnatural to encourage failure but making it normal can help your team to be more realistic. Failure is a standard part of any business or venture, so welcoming and even expecting it can help you approach failure courageously so you don’t find yourself defeated by those failures.

Acknowledge it hurts

Failure can hurt pride and even knock confidence. That is natural - whatever you are setting out to do you start with inspiration, motivation and a vision of success. So acknowledge the disappointment, but then reframe.

When you fail, you have two options in front of you; you can either give up or try again. Giving up may be the easier option, but if you’re ready to dust yourself off and try again, there are some simple action points you can implement to turn your failures into stepping stones on your way to success.

Some suggestions:

• Get feedback from your team, everyone has different perspectives, along with their different strengths and weaknesses. Finding out what they think the problem is can help deliver a well-rounded picture of what went wrong.
• Once you’ve identified the potential problem, get ready to try again, eliminating that variable. Think of it as a science experiment, you’ve not failed, you’re just testing out your hypothesis, finding all the ways that don’t work.
• Going forward, always have a Plan B to help your team get out of any hot water you find yourselves in.

It’s important to not let failures discourage your team from moving forward, it’s much better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing at all.

If you’re ready to harness failures to move towards success, People Make the Difference can help you with training workshops, one-on-one coaching and Coach On Call services. To find out more, call us on 0412 333 415 or visit peoplemakethedifference.com.au

​

 

 

​Bearers of bad newsHave you ever heard the phrase “Don’t bring me any bad news” or even “Don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions” ?Oct 05 2016

It’s no secret that words are powerful, they can build up and tear down in seconds. There are some things that leaders say that ripple through a team long after they are originally spoken. Many times, this can be a positive thing, but there are also phrases and words that can slowly but surely seep into the attitudes of the team members and cause more harm than good.

Have you ever heard the phrase “Don’t bring me any bad news” or, “I don’t want any nasty surprises” or even “Don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions”? These phrases often have a positive intention at the root, but they can cause considerable damage and create a negative team environment.

You might have heard these phrases or even said them yourself, but have you ever thought about how much of an impact those words have had on your team? Using these phrases can convey an unwillingness to hear bad news, but just wanting to hear good news doesn’t magically make the bad news disappear – it’s still there, lurking in the shadows and slowly snowballing with other little bits of bad news until eventually, one tiny bit of bad news has grown into a full-blown catastrophe, ready to pop.

Unfortunately, these aren’t just one-time explosions, they’re constant disasters waiting to happen because, inadvertently, leaders who use these types of phrases have created an environment where team members no longer feel comfortable sharing or providing details of potentially tricky situations.

If you think that your approach to bad news might be affecting your team’s environment and attitude, the good news is that there are three simple steps you can take to start to turn things around:

1. Welcome

Leaders can start to create a positive culture by welcoming in bad news and surprises. Instead of projecting anxiety and negativity in regards to bad news, it’s time to welcome it in and create an environment where your team feels comfortable sharing and delivering bad news, as well as the good. This does not mean you need to celebrate the bad news, simply approaching tricky situations with a positive outlook can be a breeding ground for great team culture.

2. Plan

It’s inevitable that bad news will come. Whether it’s today or six months down the track, eventually it will show up. The worst thing a leader can do is ignore this fact, operating blindly while the bad news hurtles towards you. Don’t wait until the crisis hits – put systems, action plans and procedures in place now so your course runs a little smoother later on.

3. Lead

There’s nothing like a trial to bring a team closer together. Instead of going into a panicked frenzy when a problem arises, use the opportunity to lead your team as they work closely together to find a suitable solution.

Adjusting your mindset when it comes to bad news can be a long process, but it’s one that could really boost your team’s confidence and performance in the long-run.

If you’re ready to change your approach to bad news, People Make the Difference can help you with training workshops, one-on-one coaching and Coach On Call services. To find out more, call us on 0412 333 415 or visit peoplemakethedifference.com.au.

​

 

 

​Are you stuck in your ways?Here are my favourite tips to encourage change and help leaders and teams face the future with courage.Oct 04 2016

In any organisation, it’s easy to get caught up in the systems and processes  you already have in place – after all, they’ve been working so well for so many years, why bother looking for new ways to get things done?

Unfortunately, this way of thinking can lead teams to stagnate. After all, there’s a reason why we don’t rattle around using horses and carts anymore: someone out there was prepared to find a new way to travel, and it improved our efficiency tenfold! Here are my favourite tips to encourage change and help leaders and teams face the future with courage:

Eliminate The Fear of Failure

To even begin in the business of transformation and change, there cannot be a fear of failure amongst your team. There will always be some natural trepidation when it comes to trying new ways to do things, but a great leader will encourage their team to push through that fear, rather than add to it. If a team is terrified of making a mistake or failing completely, it’s highly likely they’ll shy away completely from innovation, leaving your team going through the motions and not advancing in efficiency at all.

Thomas Edison is often credited with a great vision regarding failure: “I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work” – it’s this kind of attitude that promotes a positive outlook on failing. There are some easy ways to promote a healthy perspective on failure within your team:

• Promote learning from both success and failure
• Focus more on the cost of the failure rather than how often someone fails
• Do not neglect those individuals who may not conform to ‘the way things are done’ among your team – reward them equally for good work
• Do not punish failure
• Remember to own up and take responsibilities for your own failure and show your team how you have learned from your mistakes

Take Smart Risks

Once your team is liberated from the fear of failure, it’s easier to promote an environment where risk-taking is accepted and encouraged. However, it’s not just as simple as taking any wild idea and pushing it through – taking this approach could leave you exposed to unnecessary risks. Instead, it is essential to create a space where all ideas are welcome to be thrown around and discussed regardless of whether they are feasible. The concepts which have the most knowledge and diligent investigation surrounding them can then be taken further – with more knowledge comes less unnecessary risk.

At the end of the day, it is not often that innovation exists without posing some risk to an individual, team or leader, so it’s up to leaders to be managing risks and creating a space where innovation can flourish as much as possible:

• Give all team members some designated time weekly to work on relevant side-projects
• Find the natural innovators and create a diverse team dedicated to moving your wider team forward
• Be open to throwing ideas around and never dismiss concepts, no matter how wild
• Lead by example; show your team you are willing to change things up and try new things

If you need some guidance in how to face the future with an open mind and drive out the fear of failure within your team, contact People Make The Difference. We can help you with our training workshops, one-on-one coaching and Coach on Call services.
To find out more, call us on 0412 333 415 or visit peoplemakethedifference.com.au

​

 

​Four things a leader should never say. As leaders, we have to remember even ‘throw-away’ lines can have great impact.Sep 12 2016

Ever heard a line from your manager or leader that has stuck in your head on a loop for days afterwards - and not in a good way? As leaders, we have to remember even ‘throw-away’ lines can have great impact. A colleague shared how offended she had been when a former boss said, “this strategy is the same as last year,” when it differed hugely. She felt undervalued in her role when - in reality - her boss hadn’t had sufficient time to compare the two documents in detail. Yet that one line - and the tone it was delivered in - frustrated her for days to come.

What you say is just as important as how you say it. Negativity is not usually intended, but could the words you are using be causing more harm than good? If you’ve ever found yourself saying any of the following, it might be time to think about how you can change them in order to deliver greater encouragement into your team.

1. “Don’t Bring Me Bad News”

Besides making you an unapproachable figure, telling your team that you don’t want to hear about the bad news or the nasty surprises – even as a throw away humour line - doesn’t actually make the bad news go away. Great leaders should want to know about the bad news so they can be fully informed every step of the way so they can start to work toward a solution.

2. “I’ll Just Do It Myself”

It’s easy to fall into the trap of doing everything yourself to make sure the job gets done, but remember that you have a team for a reason. Each member of your team has strengths that others don’t and together, the job will get done. By expressing that you would rather do the job yourself, you’re telling your team that you don’t care whether they are challenged and that it’s not okay to not know something. Instead of trying to do everything yourself, try showing team members how to do things or talk them through as they do it.

3. “You can do that, not me”

Are you worried that you ‘can’t’ do a certain job well and therefore avoid it? If you don’t believe in your own abilities as a leader, how can your team? Showing your team that you are willing to learn how to do a job can be an priceless display of how you want them to be acting within the team.

4. “Failure is not an Option”

Talking about failure in such a way can be a very fine line to walk. On one hand it can be inspiring to think that failure is not possible; on the other hand you run the risk of creating a fear of failure. Instead, steer away from talking about failure at all and focus on encouraging trying new things and learning from mistakes.

At the end of the day, you are the leader – your words and actions are the example for your team and you have to be setting an example that you want them to follow.

 

If you would like to make sure your words have a lasting positive impact, contact People Make The Difference. We can help you with our training workshops, one-on-one coaching and Coach On Call services. To find out more, call us on 0412 333 415 or visit: peoplemakethedifference.com.au

​

 

 

​How Can You Boost Team Engagement?Engagement within your team is a measurement of how connected and committed your members are to their individual roles as well as the mission of the wider team.Aug 24 2016

Having a team that is connected and committed means they are functioning at their full capacity. The first step to boosting engagement within your team is knowing the characteristics of the disengaged.

If you recognise any of the following team members, it is time to start taking action:

The Coaster

Do you have team members who seem happy enough but only ever do the bare minimum? They can be lazy, unmotivated and they hardly ever take initiative in the group. They sail on through without any interest in growth and they can go unnoticed because, in the end, they do get the job done.

To bring the Coaster back into the group and get them engaged, try digging deeper to uncover any issues that might be lying beneath the surface. Are there family troubles or any other external pressures that are causing them to be complacent in their role in the team? Knowing about these issues does not mean you have to try to fix them – just the knowledge can mean that you adjust their tasks and challenge them accordingly.

The Indifferent

Is there a team member who lacks respect for the process, complains, misses deadlines or just seems plain disinterested in the team’s mission? This lack of passion can halt the progress of your team and it’s not ideal.

Creating a positive environment full of inspiration can be a great chance for your indifferent team members to get excited about their work. In addition, giving them varying tasks to challenge them and widen their horizons is a great way to get their passion for their role back.

The Independent

Within your team there may be certain individuals who aren’t as dedicated to the team spirit. Prone to headstrong independence and an unwillingness to help others, they are not at all team players.

The best way to incite a team spirit is by modelling it yourself. As the leader, show your team members you care and are dedicated to working together. In the case of individuals set on being Independent, show you care about them, their lives and their interests and encourage them to take part in team building activities.

The Strong & Silent

Do you have those team members who seem to do good work, but never contribute? They seem disinterested in collaborative discussions, they never have any questions and they never offer up any feedback. Introverts are common in diverse teams but there is a difference between those who are introverted and those who just aren’t interested.

To boost engagement with your Strong & Silent types, connect with each of your team members individually, showing you care about their work and their lives. Use positive reinforcement when they do speak and use humour to grab their attention and make them feel at ease.

The Spiritless

Do you know what your team members do on the weekend? At the risk of being overbearing, it might be worth your time to find out. Individuals who are showing a proclivity for sleeping on their days off, in lieu of socialising or engaging in a hobby,  are individuals who are at risk of becoming disengaged altogether.

Encouraging team members in their strengths can be a great way to boost confidence and incite an interest in trying new things – varying an individual’s role within the team can also spark ideas and may encourage them to try new things outside of their role in the team.

To find out how you can boost engagement amongst your team, contact People Make The Difference. We can help you with our training workshops, one-on-one coaching and Coach On Call services. To find out more, call us on 0412 333 415 or visit peoplemakethedifference.com.au

 

 

 

​

​Do You Have A Type?Have you ever considered which personality type you can relate to the most? What about the personalities of your team members?Aug 18 2016

It’s easy to pinpoint who is loud in meetings and who is shy but have you considered what you can do in the way you communicate with each of your team members to help them flourish?

If you don’t know where to start, click through to find out more about common personality tests such as DISC and Myers-Briggs.

Spending the time to get to know yourself a little better can help you become a far better leader in the future, especially when it comes to ways in which you communicate with your team. It’s common to sympathise with team members who are more like us by default, but this could be causing more harm than good.

Not knowing the personality types of your entire team, including yourself, can be potentially damaging to your leadership. Having an understanding of personality types means you are able to leverage your own personality to benefit your team in different situations, while not knowing can lead to ineffective communication – a sure way to damage team performance.

For example, an introverted team member may not particularly enjoy sharing ideas aloud or running a presentation in a group setting; this aversion does not mean the individual cannot contribute in an important and effective way, it means encouraging them to play to their strengths is additionally important - particularly if they incorrectly feel they add ‘less value’ as a result of their shyness.

Avoid pigeonholing your team members. It is important to remember that people are constantly growing and learning - personality types can change despite the saying about old dogs and new tricks! Always challenge your team to try new ways of learning and encourage everyone using the communication methods they respond to best.

Some easy ways to harness your team’s preferred communication methods so that they are all learning and contributing to their best potential:

• Use the resources at your fingertips to create dynamic presentations that have a great mix of visuals, text, audio and interactive components. Without overloading your team, there will be something to appeal to everyone.
• Send out your initial ideas for meetings in an email ahead of time. Those who are more inclined to introversion will appreciate having extra time to gather their thoughts and extroverts will appreciate the chance to communicate their ideas to you.
• Ask direct questions of introverted team members, after they have had time to listen intently and think over the material.
• Use the extroverts to your advantage and use their comments and interjections to move your team discussions forward.

If you want to be a leader who harnesses personality types to be a great leader, People Make the Difference can help you with training workshops, one-on-one coaching and Coach On Call services. To find out more, call us on 0412 333 415 or visit peoplemakethedifference.com.au.

 

 

 

​

​Want high performance? Try some disagreement in your team.Disagreements can be extremely uncomfortable, but it is a sign of a healthy team when robust, honest, conversations take place.July 05 2016

 

Nobody likes going to the doctor; many people avoid it for years and yet it is important to receive check-ups regularly to ensure you are healthy. In much the same way, there are very few people who enjoy conflict and disagreement.

There can be a tendency amongst many leaders to avoid even a hint of disagreement. Yet I believe disagreement – used well – can be key to a high performing team.

Yes, disagreements can be extremely uncomfortable, but it is a sign of a healthy team when robust, honest, conversations – where all parties can come to the table and leave it respectfully disagreeing – take place. Having trust amongst leaders and teams – as discussed in an earlier article – is a key part of ensuring that you leave a meeting respectfully supporting the decision, whether you agreed with it or not.

It’s akin to the saying, ‘what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas’ – so even if a leader does not agree with a decision made, they are 100% supportive outside the meeting.

We’re not all the same: how to disagree healthily

All industries are encouraged to be diverse when it comes to their employees and this sentiment includes diversity when it comes to personalities, ideas and past experiences.

Under different leaders, disagreement can have very different results. A leader who encourages healthy disagreements will see the results in stronger, independent teams, closer relationships and enhanced approaches to their work.

Yet if disagreements and conflicts in your workplace are ending in damaged relationships, low morale, defeatist attitudes, anger and a general reluctance to continue in sharing opinions, then changes must be made to foster a healthy approach to disagreements amongst team members.

It is important, regardless of the nature of the disagreement, to resolve it. Leaving any conflict unresolved is a recipe for disaster. The conflict will come back sooner or later. So make sure that you always get to an agreed position before you close any meeting. Leaving something open will only cause factional groups to gather and discuss outside the confidentiality of the meeting room.

It is important to remember that in a healthy team, disagreements are not something to be ‘won’ – instead, a leader’s role is to encourage a solution that combines the ideas of everyone involved. Creating a culture of winners and losers - or striving to win arguments - only damages relationships and evokes bitterness.

When it comes to disagreements, there are six simple steps you can take to create an environment where creative and individual thought is encouraged:

• Prioritise trust and honesty

• Support others’ viewpoints

• Be respectful

• Listen attentively

• Focus on the facts rather than your emotional opinion

• Remember that everyone’s opinions matter

Above all, see conflict as an opportunity to learn and embrace the differing opinions and approaches. A team void of disagreements is a team that rejects the idea of learning, innovation and independent thought. Without learning, individuals and teams tend to stay stagnant.

However, know when to pick your battles – do not tolerate bullies within your team. Make sure you are familiar with each of your team members and know when to differentiate between a disagreement and an attack from a bully.  Also find time to workshop as a leadership team on how to be a high performing team and what that looks like to the group. Honesty and trust is key to making sure your team is effective as possible.

If you want to learn how to be a leader who encourages the diversity of opinions amongst those you lead, People Make The Difference can help you with training workshops, one-on-one coaching and Coach On Call services. To find out more, call us on 0412 333 415 or visit peoplemakethedifference.com.au

 

​

​Want high performing teams? Start with trust.In Patrick Lencioni’s ‘The Five Dysfunctions of a Team’ he describes the five dysfunctions of a team and uses a pyramid to show the levels.June 13 2016

 

In a previous article, I wrote of the three major challenges for most teams that prevent them from achieving high performance. In Patrick Lencioni’s ‘The Five Dysfunctions of a Team’ he describes the five dysfunctions of a team and uses a pyramid to show the levels:

• Absence of Trust
• Fear of Conflict
• Lack of Commitment
• Avoidance of Accountability
• Inattention to Results

If you alter the pyramid to show the critical components of a highly functional team, trust is at the bottom: the most important, foundational piece.

For Lencioni—and for me— a lack of trust prevents a team from true commitment, accountability, and results.

But what is trust within a team? And how do you encourage, grow and strengthen it?

First, you are likely to have Common Trust: the confidence / belief that a co-worker or team member won’t break generally accepted laws, policies, etc.  It’s the type of trust we extend to each other when we driving. We ‘trust’ that others will follow the road rules, stop at red lights, stay on the correct side of the road etc. Without common trust it can be difficult to operate an effective company (or society). It’s the common trust that is typically granted simply by being part of a company team: that you won’t steal the computers if left alone in the office.

Then there is vulnerability-based trust: the belief that you can do things like take risks, ask for help, admit mistakes, or confront and hold others accountable without fear of retaliation, humiliation, or resentment.

This type of trust has to be earned and given. Strong, high-performing teams base their entire foundation on vulnerability-based trust.  Common trust simply isn’t enough.

Yet vulnerability-based trust is not a trait that comes easily to most. To exhibit that level of vulnerability requires a strong sense of self-worth and self-identity that goes beyond ego. The realisation you are not defined by your successes or mistakes, and you can turn up for work ‘as yourself’ – without any of the masks we often adopt.

In her book Daring Greatly: How The Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live Parent and Lead,’ Dr. Brene Brown challenges the cultural myth that vulnerability is weakness and argues that it is, in truth, our most accurate measure of courage.

Brown explains how vulnerability is both the core of difficult emotions like fear, grief and disappointment, and the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, empathy, innovation, and creativity. She writes, “When we shut ourselves off from vulnerability, we distance ourselves from the experiences that bring purpose and meaning to our lives and our work.”

So what does being vulnerability look like? For me, over my years of leadership, it has been about:

• accomplishing more and doing better work by getting feedback and being open to receive and act on it
• growing and learning more about myself by being ‘open’
• teaching and serving more: focusing my attention on others
• caring and empathising more because I don’t have to worry about protecting myself

By doing so I have been able to grow the amount of vulnerability-based trust in the teams I have led, simply by:

1) Going first:  As a leader, it was up to me to model the behaviour. The same applies to any leader seeking to grow a high performance team. You need vulnerability-based trust to achieve high performance. So it is imperative you model it.

2) Seeking first to understand, then to be understood: From The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People this encourages you to listen with the intent to understand rather than with the intent to reply.

It’s not a competition; you have to be willing to stop thinking about winning and open up to considering someone else’s idea.

3) Creating a Circle of Safety: People must feel cared for and safe to trust. This is not a new idea – children require the same circle – but often we forget its importance in the workplace. Treat your people like people, not resources!

4) Walking the talk: as well as ‘going first’ with vulnerability, there are other behaviours a leader must model and encourage to achieve high trust, including honesty, straight talking; an immediate approach to righting wrongs and keeping commitments – doing what you say you are going to.

5) Committing to open, honest, robust and transparent communication: High performing teams increase trust by building a culture of partnership and shared values. This starts with open and honest communication. When honesty and transparency are lacking there can be no trust. Without trust teams fail to solve problems or make decisions. Without trust, teams are crippled by conflict.

6) Sharing an experience together: Any time you actually get to practice being a successful team, you re-enforce the trust and strengthen the foundation.

 

Whichever method you choose, it’s important to understand that building trust is not a destination.  It’s ongoing. The question you always ought to be asking yourself is if you are building trust up or tearing it down.

To find out how you can build a high performing team, or work on developing vulnerability-based trust in your organisation, contact People Make The Difference. We can help you with our training workshops, one-on-one coaching and Coach On Call services. To find out more, call us on 0412 333 415 or visit peoplemakethedifference.com.au

 

 

​

​Three toughest challenges faced by those in high performing teamsHigh performing teams are highly focused on their goals and achieve superior business results.May 23 2016

 

It’s a leadership dream, isn’t it? Leading a team of high-performing individuals who work so well together they outperform all other teams.

Yet what is a high-performing team? And how do you create one? Distinguishing a high performing team from simply another collection of people is not only about characteristics, but also results. If your business is seeking better quality, faster response times, higher productivity, greater sensitivity to customers, and improved profitability then people, working together in teams, can make this happen.

High performing teams, however, are highly focused on their goals and achieve superior business results. They outperform all other similar teams and they outperform expectations given their composition.

Knowing whether you have a high-performing team relies on the demonstration of certain characteristics. These include:

• A strong sense of purpose and commitment to the team and its mission
• More ambitious performance goals than average teams
• Clear understanding of every team member’s responsibilities – and how everyone is mutually accountable
• Diverse range of expertise that complements other team members
• Trust and interdependence between members

 

In my experience, there are three major challenges for most teams that prevent them from achieving high performance. Yet, as leaders, it is a privilege and benefit to lead and manage superior performance teams so it’s worth spending some time addressing the major challenges:

1) Building trust and having an aligned purpose

For a team to achieve superior performance the people in it need to have a solid and deep trust in each other and in the team's purpose. It doesn’t matter how talented or capable your people are, they may never reach their full potential if trust isn’t present. Trust is essential because it provides a sense of safety. Only when your team feel safe will they take risks and be vulnerable – rather than staying in a protectionist headspace that is all about self-interest.

2) Knowing that disagreement is welcomed

Disagreement needs to be viewed as a good thing. This is a challenge if trust is not present. Yet while conflict and disagreement may be uncomfortable, both can be healthy and positive when managed well. As a leader you will come across a variety of personality types, each with their own ways of solving problems, communicating, dealing with pressure, even in perception of what a problem is or is not.  So members must be encouraged to work toward perceiving, understanding, and respecting where others are coming from, with the bottom line being everyone’s opinions matter, and they must be able to express them without fear.

3) Decisions by natural agreement

There are times when a team can make decisions by natural agreement – and in the cases where agreement is elusive, a decision is made by the team leader. For a team to reach high-performance, there can be no second-guessing. Why? Respect has to be a priority. Disagreement and disrespect are two different things. Regardless of whether or not perspectives and opinions differ, a position of respect should be adhered to. Respect is the foundation that supports high performance teams – it’s the attribute that allows you to navigate disagreements and move forward; having the right to differ while being productive.

Over the next weeks, People Make The Difference will be tackling the individual challenges of teams and how each characteristic can be developed for high team performance.

Have you been part of a high performing team? Or experienced challenges in leading one? We would love your feedback.

If you want to take your leadership skills to the next level, People Make The Difference can help you with our training workshops, one-on-one coaching and Coach On Call services. To find out more, call us on 0412 333 415 or visit peoplemakethedifference.com.au.

.

 

 

​

​Leading people who don’t formally report to youYour ability to influence is dependent on your credibility and character.May 19 2016

 

As companies expand and become more complex, no matter what organisational structure is in place, people must work with each other across reporting lines.

It is the undeveloped leader who says, “Do it because I told you so.” When it comes to leading people who don’t formally report to you, your ability to influence is dependent on your credibility and character.

Modern – or super – leaders, need to understand how to create positive influence without being authoritative. Strong character is the starting point of influence and it often stems from a leader’s awareness about self.

You don’t have to have someone report to you in a HR line in order for you to have an impact upon their career and to help them be successful.

It is your character and behaviour as a leader that influences another person’s respect and engagement with you; a great leader binds disparate people together in order to achieve common objectives.

In today’s multi-national, connected, global economy, a common example is the local country leader with a team member answerable to a remote manager. During my time at Adobe, I was responsible as country manager for leading ten functions within the team – yet only two of those functions reported directly to me.

Tension can arise if the team member chooses not to listen to the local leader and plays his/her own leader off against the dynamic.

In the circumstance above, a local leader will require a separate relationship with the remote manager. This is where the skill to influence – not disrespect – the chain of command is vital. So how do you influence?

Find your style

You can only inspire and influence if you are self-aware and know your leadership style. What do you do well and what are your shortcomings? Do you lead with charisma or caring? Becoming aware of how you lead allows you to better influence those around you.

Demonstrate integrity

You’ve got to do what you say you’re going to do to be a successful leader. Being honest and forthright shows respect for your team and yourself and builds influence.

Manage your brand

Ensure your strengths are not being perceived negatively by asking for feedback, engaging in 360 assessments, and communicating proactively what you intend to accomplish with a particular action or question.

Care for your people

Demonstrate you care for your team personally as well as professionally – direct report or not. Know their hobbies, their children’s names, what’s going on in their lives outside of the office. One leader walks his office handing out honeycomb each Friday. It’s not so much the honeycomb, but his opportunity to walk, talk and interact with all his team personally.

Praise well, praise personally

Don’t just praise a job well done – deliver the praise in a way that is personally significant to the individually. Some may thrive on the company-wide announcement, others may shy from the spotlight and appreciate a quiet email.

Ask thought-provoking questions

An impactful, intelligent probe can deliver a subtle message while giving you an insight into thoughts and behaviours. For instance, you may not be able to impose deadlines or restrictions on people who don’t report to you. But you can ask:

• How should we be held accountable?
• What are the appropriate milestones?
• What should our top priorities be, given our timeline and budget?

Influential leaders use questions to get others to change or come around to their point of view.

Coach and advocate

Show they don’t need to be a direct report to benefit from your leadership. Be a resource, sounding board, and a safe place to talk. Advocate for them; help them get the promotion they’ve been hoping for. Leverage your influence on their behalf.

Have you experienced having to lead people who are not your direct reports? Or discovered other ways to influence? Please comment and let me know. To find out more, call People Make The Difference on 0412 333 415 or visit peoplemakethedifference.com.au.

 

 

​Are you leading by snorey or by story?Storytelling is not the domain of children’s books. Stories connect us.Apr 12 2016

​

Anyone employed in the corporate world is likely to have snored their way through a ‘death by Powerpoint’ leadership presentation at some point in their career. Conversely, you may have also experienced leadership presentations that connect, engage, motivate change, and have you walking from the room inspired.

This is not because some leaders are more naturally talented at presenting than others. Rather, great leaders employ the art of storytelling.

Storytelling is not the domain of children’s books. Stories connect us. Studies show people make decisions largely based on emotional reasons, and then rationalise them afterwards so they feel logical. Stories appeal to the emotional side of the brain that drives connection. Making a connection allows people to engage more easily; using a story is far more compelling than rattling off the corporate vision and mission.

It is so powerful, global corporations invest heavily in leadership storytelling.  Kimberly-Clark, for example, provides two-day seminars to teach its 13-step program for crafting stories and using them to give presentations. 3M banned bullet points and replaced them with a process of writing “strategic narratives.” Procter & Gamble has hired Hollywood movie directors to teach its senior executives how to lead better with storytelling.

When to use storytelling

If you’re setting a five-year plan, you need a strategist. But if you want your 10,000 people team to engage and unite behind that five-year plan and deliver on it? Then you need a compelling story.

If you are poised to buy your largest competitor, you need a CFO to guide you. But once purchased, and you want the 2000 people who work there to stay – then you need a good story to persuade them to stick around.

Storytelling is for inspiring, setting a vision, teaching important lessons, defining culture and values, and explaining who you are and what you believe.

But it’s also good for delicate issues like managing diversity and inclusion, or giving people coaching and feedback in a way that will be received as a gift. It can help bring out people’s creativity, or to rekindle passion for their work.

Your team will always remember the story of Janet - who followed the rules, received a pay-rise and it helped fund her safari in Africa - over your directive to read the new company rulebook.

The only barrier to telling stories as a leader is not having any stories to tell. So start collecting your own. When something teachable and memorable happens to you, write it down.

Some guidelines for great storytelling:

• Begin with the context of the story
• Use metaphors and analogies
• Appeal to emotion
• Make your story tangible and concrete, avoid management speak and vague generalities
• Include a surprise as they make your story more memorable. Studies show surprise triggers the release of adrenaline in the brain that heightens memory formation
• Be concise and to the point – it may be a story, but it’s still a story in a business context

My own story: after I was coached on storytelling I changed from a 30 slide Powerpoint to two or three. I changed my narrative from bullet points and the company ‘spiel’ to stories and experiences.

The reaction from people was immediate.  After I had finished, they wanted to come up and tell me about their shared experiences; weeks later they returned to tell me how they had used storytelling in their own teams that had resulted in greater empathy and motivation.

Importantly, stories that get retold become a part of an organisation’s culture and heritage— and they can come from the CEO or a new hire, or anyone in between.

People will tell stories about you and your company whether you want them to or not. Fortunately, you can help choose which ones they tell. It starts by telling them a great story first.

Want to change your style to lead by story not snorey? Have a story-telling experience in leadership you’d like to share?

Comment or contact People Make The Difference via our website or on 0412 333 415.

​

 

 

​Six steps to becoming a super leader.Don't dismiss emotional intelligence from being an exceptional leader.Mar 21 2016

 

When team members talk about you, what are they saying? If it’s something like “Joe’s great with the numbers, but he’s really not a people person,” then you are not living up to your full potential as a leader. Operational excellence is without a doubt an essential requirement for all leaders, but equally important is emotional intelligence – and dismissing emotional intelligence is holding you back from being an exceptional leader for your team and organisation.

Yet for many leaders, this critical area of leadership is often neglected. In fact, emotional intelligence – or EQ – is the area that 8 out of 10 leaders I coach need help improving their skills and refining their leadership.

EQ is the missing ingredient for super leadership

Before you start thinking that EQ is all a bit woo-woo, let’s get clear on why emotional intelligence is a critical success factor in leadership success. According to TalentSmart:

• Emotional intelligence is the strongest predictor of performance out of 33 other important workplace skills
• EQ explains 58% of success in all types of jobs
• 90% of high performers are also high in emotional intelligence
• People with high EQ make more money – an average of US$29,000 more per year
• Every point increase in EQ adds US$1300 to an annual salary

Put simply, you just won’t reach your full potential as a leader if you can’t manage the emotional elements of doing business. But the great news is that EQ is a skill that can be learnt and developed with ongoing effort and commitment.

Blending operational excellence and EQ in practice

The best leadership performance comes when operational excellence is combined with top EQ skills. Here’s six ways that super leaders put this combination into practice:

1. Great communications all levels

Super leaders know that everyone in the organisation has something to contribute. They’ll regularly get out from behind their desk and talk to anyone in the office to get their opinions, not just the thoughts of direct reports and executive team members.

2. Clear vision and strategic direction

Super leaders understand that if you want your team to get behind and support your decisions, they need to know the reasons behind those decisions. Having a clear vision and being able to communicate that effectively is a key attribute of super leaders.

3. True understanding of leadership team

Super leaders recognise that everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, and knows when to exploit people’s skills and when to push them with more challenging tasks.

4. Know the things that influence success

It’s easy to get caught up in distractions rather than what’s really important for your organisation. Super leaders can stay focused on the factors that matter for an organisation to reach its goals and know when to move on from failures.

5. Actively reward and recognise good performers

Unappreciated employees are unmotivated employees, and poor performers drag down the performance of everyone else. Super leaders take the time to make sure employees know the expectations of them and will give recognition to people performing well, without being afraid to have tough conversations with employees who aren’t up to scratch.

6. Invest in people

Super leaders know that the biggest asset any organisation has is its people. Accordingly, super leaders invest time in getting to truly know the people in their team and commit to providing them with fulfilling and rewarding work experiences.

If you want to take your leadership skills to the next level, People Make The Difference can help you with our training workshops, one-on-one coaching and Coach On Call services. To find out more, call us on 0412 333 415 or visit peoplemakethedifference.com.au

​

 

​Boost team performance with the right recognition.Not recognising performance is an easy trap to fall into.Mar 14 2016

 

It’s an easy trap to fall into – getting so caught up in the day to day of your business, achieving financial targets, reporting to the board and so forth, that you forget to acknowledge the great work of your team.

But it’s a dangerous mistake to make. Not recognising performance is one of the nine most common factors that lead to good employees leaving an organisation says Talentsmart. And according to Bob Nelson, author of 1001 Ways to Reward Employees, the top two drivers of employee performance are being able to say “I am able to make a difference at work” and “I have been recognised for what I do.” Yet in his research interviews, Nelson found that 68% of workers had never even received a simple thank-you!

The business impact of employee recognition

Recognising performance has a measurable impact on an organisation’s overall success. One study found that organisations that meaningfully recognise employee achievements score 14% better on employee engagement, productivity, and customer service – and have a 31% lower voluntary turnover rate. Plus there’s the cost of employee disengagement to consider – Gallup estimates this to be in the range of $450 billion to $550 billion annually in the US alone.

Recognition motivates

If you want to motivate your employees to go the extra mile and to deliver on their loyalty to you as a leader, then recognition plays a big role. But it’s important to recognise performance in the right way for each employee. Leaders need to use their relationships with and knowledge of employees to tailor this recognition in a way that employees will appreciate.

Here’s just a few different ways that employees can be given recognition:

• Being presented an award at a public event, like an all-hands staff meeting
• Recognition during a one on one meeting
• A financial reward, like a salary increase or a one-off bonus
• A weekend away with their family
• Extra time off
• A promotion
• Professional development opportunities like training programs or a secondment
• A new project or additional responsibilities

But it’s not all good

Recognising good performance is an important, and often overlooked, aspect of leadership. But equally important – and definitely overlooked – is recognising and managing poor performance. So often leaders avoid tackling unsatisfactory employee performance head on and instead hope that the employee will improve of their own accord, or leave the organisation.

But the head in the sand approach is risky and costly. First of all, how can you expect an employee to get better at their job if they don’t know there is a problem? As a leader, you need to be able to use your emotional intelligence to have these tough conversations and help your employees to learn and develop – and if necessary, implement a disciplinary procedure. The second reason not to avoid broaching unsatisfactory performance is the impact it has on other employees. This can take the form of frustration, overwork and burnout if not effectively managed. It can also mean you look weak as a leader for not taking action on poor performers.

Ultimately, leaders need to remember that for most businesses, people are their greatest asset and it’s important to have everyone working at their best towards achieving common goals. If you have employees who aren’t meeting expectations or employees who start to feel frustrated because their efforts aren’t seen to be recognised and appreciated, it drags down the performance of the entire organisation.

To help you become a more effective people manager and implement strong employee recognition programs, People Make The Difference has our one-on-one coaching services, in-house workshops and Coach-on-Call for those times when you get a bit stuck and need some quick advice. To find out more, visit www.peoplemakethedifference.com.au or call +61 412 333 415.

​

 

​Are you co-dependent with your email?There is no substitute for face to face communicationFeb 24 2016

 

Everybody does it – they get busy and think “oh, I’ll just shoot off a quick email about that.” And yes, there is no denying that email is a very effective tool when used properly. The problem however is that email is overused and most definitely abused. Leaders who are looking for an edge need to break the hold that email has on them and find new, more powerful ways to communicate.

Here’s three ways to break the vicious email cycle:

1. Get up and walk around

So often a leader’s view of what is happening in an organisation is informed by only a handful of people in the management or executive team. Take the time to step away from your desk and walk around the office, talking to people outside your direct reports. Be friendly and approachable, whether you’re saying hi to the cleaner or the CFO. You’ll become a more in-touch leader with a better read on the pulse of what’s going on in your business.

2. Hold meetings on their turf

If you are in the same office as someone, there is no reason to send them an email – unless it’s to follow up and confirm details of a conversation. Instead, at the very least pick up the phone, and even better go and see them in person. Help your team members to be more comfortable by going to their office or desk, rather than making them come to you, and maybe even take them a cup of coffee.

It’s also worth practising this habit beyond your direct reports. Skip-level meetings – i.e. meeting with the team members who report to your direct reports – is another great way to get a better insight into what’s going on within your organisation. These meetings can also help you to identify future leaders so that you can invest in their skills development.

3. Visit and listen

Getting an insight into the customer experience is an important element in any leader’s role. Yet when you send an email to customers requesting feedback, it’s fairly standard to have an incredibly low response rate. Asking for feedback via email sends the message that you’re only asking their opinion because you feel that you should. In contrast, physically going to visit your customers gives a stronger impression that you actually care and want to hear about their experiences – and that you’ll be taking action about any feedback that they give.

Making the effort to communicate more in person allows you to better get to know your team members and customers on a human level. You can read body language to determine more subtle signs and get a less filtered view of events. There’s also less room for misinterpretation – especially with more difficult conversations – leaving everyone with a much clearer understanding of any issues and expected outcomes.

For more tips on enhancing your leadership communication skills, sign up for regular updates from People Make The Difference.

Or if you’re ready to commit to become a stronger, more people-focused leader, call us on
+61 412 333 415 to find out about our leadership coaching services.

​

 

​How your leadership reputation fosters loyalty Feb 09 2016

 

When I mention the word loyalty in relation to leadership, what comes to mind? Is it employees blindly following a leader, no matter what? Or an environment of no-questions asked? That’s not loyalty, it is autocracy and while it can work in the short term, it’s not a recipe for long term success.

Strong, loyal teams boost organisational performance

There’s no doubt that loyalty is an important element in organisational success. Yet research regularly finds that at least 25% of employees do not feel loyal to their current employer, and it’s not unusual to have employee turnover of anywhere from 20% to 50% in any given year. Statistics like this are bad news for business, with the high cost of recruitment a factor, but employee retention isn’t the only reason to develop loyalty to you as a leader.

As a leader, it’s important to know that your team will follow your decision. Loyal teams will put in more effort to get the job done and work harder to achieve organisational goals. So what can you do to increase the loyalty of your team?

Loyalty is a two-way street

An important element in developing loyalty is providing and inviting feedback. Trust is built by regularly inviting your team to share their opinions and views. By demonstrating that you listen to and value their thoughts, it makes employees and team members more likely to ultimately support decisions that go against their own ideas because they have faith in your leadership. But remember that this is a two-way process, so it’s important to also share information with your team. Don’t withhold information, as it signals that you lack trust in them and that undermines confidence in your leadership.

So how do you get to this point of your team supporting you and working hard to achieve your vision, even when it goes against their own ideas and suggestions? Well, loyalty breeds loyalty – so by demonstrating loyalty to your team, you will increase their loyalty to you. By fostering a relationship based on mutual respect, consideration and trust, you establish the foundations for long-term success.

Using EQ skills is vital

Once again, developing loyalty is another area where strong emotional intelligence and self-awareness is a vital skill for leaders. You use your emotional intelligence to recognise when your own behavior is not in line with your expectations for others and take the time to pause, regroup, and act in a calm and considerate manner. You can also remain humble, and not let your ego take control. You make decisions in an environment where ideas and views can be openly shared, and you are always thinking about what is best for your team and customers.

Leaders who have strong employee loyalty are also better at connecting with their team members as individuals – not just resources. By taking the time to know your team members beyond the boardroom table – knowing about who they actually are as people, and allowing them to truly know you also – they are less likely to see decisions that go against their own views as impulsive leadership choices. Instead, there is confidence in the direction that you are pursuing as a leader. Remember that you are only as good as the people you have working for you – so take the time to get to know them and treat them with care and respect.

To help you become the type of leader who inspires loyalty and gets results, People Make The Difference has our one-on-one coaching services, in-house workshops and Coach-on-Call for those times when you get a bit stuck and need some quick advice. To find out more, visit www.peoplemakethedifference.com.au or call +61 412 333 415.

​

 

​New Year, new ideas, new drive: Hit the ground running in 2016 Jan 17  2016

 

Last month as the year came to a close, I wrote about the importance of taking the time to reflect on what has worked well and what hasn’t in the past year and planning for the year ahead. And now that January has rolled around, it’s the perfect time to make changes as a result of this thinking time. But of course if you find yourself reading this article later in the year, if something isn’t working, it’s always the right time to make changes!

I’m a big believer in starting with some quick wins to keep you motivated and drive your success. Here are some fast and easy changes you can make now that will have a genuine impact on your business.

Communicate better

• Schedule a regular team meeting time.
• Change up the format of your team meetings if they are getting stale or not working. Maybe try setting a time limit or focusing on a single topic or inviting a special guest to speak on a topic.
• Or if team meetings are proving to be a waste of time for your business, make it clear to your team that there are direct lines of communication to you. If there are problems, don’t wait for the official meeting to discuss it!

Get personal

• If you realised that you don’t actually know your team members that well, set a goal to meet one on one with a few employees each month – schedule the first meetings today!
• Find out your team’s thoughts on a semi-regular (but not compulsory – everyone is busy and has different priorities) social outing to get to know each other outside the confines of the work environment. Get input from your team on the frequency and type of activities that they would like to be involved in.

Invigorate your mind

• If you are feeling bored and uninspired, make Friday afternoon learning time. Watch a 30 minute TED talk or read an article on your favourite business website to spur new ideas.

Commit to a cause

• Business lost its heart? Pick a new cause to support either financially or in-kind and get your team involved too with generating ideas and taking action.
• Remember, community involvement doesn’t need to be about money. It’s about uniting your team behind a common goal that serves other people. So if you can’t make a financial donation, encourage team members to volunteer or provide other forms of support.

Manage your time

• Is working 14 hours a day really a productive use of your time? Studies after studies show that more isn’t necessarily better and while there are occasional times when you need to burn the midnight oil, it shouldn’t be a daily occurrence. Use the New Year to create new time management habits so that you can prioritise your health and non-work activities that elevate your energy and actually help you to be more productive at work. This might mean leaving early one afternoon to spend time with your kids, making sure you take a minimum 30 minute lunch break each day, or turning off email notifications on your phone so you stop checking for messages last thing before bed and wrecking your rest time.

We know that as leaders it can be hard to do everything and there is often resistance to change – both from our teams and from ourselves. Starting with a few small tweaks that are easy to maintain can build your confidence and motivation for taking on some of the more revolutionary changes you may have thought of over the break.

To help you break down plans into achievable actions that will get results for your team and your business, People Make The Difference has our one-on-one coaching services, in-house workshops and Coach-on-Call for those times when you get a bit stuck and need some quick advice. To find out more, visit www.peoplemakethedifference.com.au or call +61 412 333 415.

​

 

 

​Leaders need a break too Dec 7  2015

 

As I write this, summer has hit Sydney with a bang and there is a very distinct holiday vibe in the air. Everyone is racing back and forth across the city to Christmas parties, end-of-year school concerts, and catch ups with friends and families. In other parts of the world, the weather might be chillier, but that same holiday season buzz is kicking into gear.

In the past as a business leader, and now as a leadership coach, I encourage everyone to make the most of any break you take around this time of year. Having worked in Australia, Japan and Europe, all of these geographies have some kind of break over the Christmas and New Year period, offering employees and leaders an opportunity to relax and enjoy time with family and friends. Typically, there are no phone calls and emails to deal with (or at the very least, a greatly reduced number) and your office may even be closed.

Reflect and review

A practice I’ve always found useful is to use the holiday season break as an opportunity to reflect on the past year, and review what has and hasn’t been successful. The ability to critically assess the past is an important element in developing emotional intelligence and leadership skills, especially if you can do so in a non-judgemental way.

When looking back on the year, here are some questions to ask yourself in order to prompt your thinking:

• What worked well?
• Where did results exceed your expectations?
• What didn’t work well? Can you pinpoint why?
• What would you do differently?
• Are there any activities that weren’t worth the effort required?
• Did you have team members working on the tasks they were most well suited for?

Plan and prepare

The holiday season is also a perfect time to plan for the idea ahead. Many leaders report that the distance from the day-to-day operations of running an organisation frees up mental space to come up with new ideas and creative possibilities. Relaxing and breaking your routine has regularly been shown to boost creativity and provide a new perspective on problems.

Taking a break can also help your professional development. It can provide a chance to catch up on all those articles you bookmarked with good intentions over the year, and give you the mental breathing room to think about how you could put any learnings into action. (But equally, don’t feel guilty about using the holiday to catch up on the latest fiction blockbuster while you laze on the beach or curl up in front of a fireplace!)

Use this time to think about both the short-term and long-term direction of your organisation and any actions that will be necessary to achieve your goals.

Don’t wait for the festive season

Ultimately, holidays are the perfect opportunity to replenish your energy levels. This will in turn allow you to be a better leader. Leaders should embrace taking leave and actively encourage team members to take leave also. The benefits from leave are widely recognised and shouldn’t be saved just for the festive season. By taking breaks throughout the year, you can improve your performance and that of your team members.

If you need help with tools to help you review your organisation’s progress and setting achievable goals, People Make The Difference can help. Our one-on-one coaching programs for leaders and executives, together with our workshop offerings, can help you to develop a stronger toolbox of leadership skills. To find out more about our training and coaching services, visit www.peoplemakethedifference.com.au or call +61 412 333 415.

But for now, enjoy the time with family and friends. I’d like to wish everyone a fantastic festive season and the best for a wonderful 2016.

​

 

 

 

​Don’t let your small business stagnate – kick start your growth with the right strategic adviceNov 30 2015

 

Small business forms the backbone of the Australian economy. According to SME Australia, 2,045,000 small to medium businesses employ 70% of the Australian workforce. With small to medium businesses forming such a critical part of the economy, it’s important that owners and leaders can access support to help them lead and grow their businesses.

And when you are building a business, there are a lot of decisions to be made – often quickly and with limited information. Often it isn’t appropriate to discuss these issues with staff – and certainly not with suppliers and customers – so it’s important that small business leaders can find an avenue to get independent and confidential advice.

Some of the biggest challenges that the small businesses we work with at People Make The Difference are facing are isolation, setting a strategic plan for the business, and creating a long term vision.

Overcome isolation with the right strategic advisors

There’s no getting around the fact that running a small business can be lonely. All the leaders I work with – even those from large organisations – report that it can be lonely at the top, but I think the sense of isolation can be especially strong for small business owners. If you only have a few employees, who can possibly be quite junior, they are often not able to provide support and guidance. You can find yourself with no-one to bounce thoughts off or brainstorm for new ideas.

The other problem a lot of small business owners’ face is a lack of suitable networking groups. You’re too small for organisations aimed at CEOs. Your problems and challenges are different to those being discussed in groups aimed at solo and micro businesses. Many small businesses join their local Chamber of Commerce which can be great for generating business leads and referral partnerships, but not an ideal forum for discussing issues related to the running and growing of your business. It can be hard to find the right people to connect with and feel comfortable to have open conversations about your business challenges.

To overcome these challenges, one of the recommendations we often provide to our clients is to set up an advisory committee for your business. These can be people who have expertise in specific areas and can help you to delve into the details of your business challenges with the goal to create a realistic action plan. For many small businesses, this group or committee may only meet a few times and provide you with advice and support to develop a strategy for your small business. By sharing their experience, your advisors can help you to gain the confidence to take the calculated risks that are necessary to expand and grow your business.

Know where you are going and how you’re going to get there

Aside from isolation, the other major problem that our small business clients struggle with is floundering about how to move their business forward and set achievable plans for growth. Typically small business owners are very good at providing whatever their core business is, but don’t necessarily have skills in strategic planning.

By engaging a third party who has experience in running and growing businesses of varying sizes, small business owners can bypass a lot of mistakes. Instead of figuring it out on the fly – and maybe taking a couple of sidesteps or even backward steps along the way – you can get a realistic and achievable roadmap to provide you with guidance and direction.

To help small business owners overcome some of these challenges, People Make The Difference offers leadership coaching, including our one-to-one Coach-on-Call service. We can help you to develop a tailored approach that meets the needs of your business and your growth aspirations. To find out more about our training and coaching services, visit www.peoplemakethedifference.com.au or call +61 412 333 415.

​

 

 

 

​Leaders – stop and think about the message your employee gifts are sendingNov 9 2015

 

As November rolls around, it can often feel like time starts to speed up. All of a sudden, Christmas decorations are everywhere, your calendar starts filling up with social engagements and you are left with no doubt that the festive season is in full swing. As an organisation’s leader, you could well be starting to think about employee gifts and how to reward your team for another year of hard work. Perhaps you’ve even started browsing one of the various gift hamper sites on the internet?

Before your mouse clicks the ‘Buy Now’ button for 27 gift hampers containing questionable crackers and chutneys, or send your assistant out to buy a few cases of wine to distribute among the team, take a moment to stop. Giving an end-of-year gift is an opportunity to show employees that you truly know them, care about them, and understand them. Is a generic corporate hamper going to be genuinely appreciated, or just seen as something tokenistic? Or even worse, could you be giving wine to someone who doesn’t even drink?

You’ve no doubt heard the phrase ‘it’s the thought that counts’ and maybe you’ve even used that as a justification for standard corporate gifts. But if that adage is true – and I believe that it is – how much thought have you really put in to buying that hamper/wine/chocolate? If you are buying the same thing for each of your employees, then I’d have to say that it’s probably not a lot. A hamper is great if you know your employee would like to receive it; perhaps you know that they’ll be hosting lots of family members over the holidays and having a stash of edible goodies will be really useful. The problem is when you don’t take the time to know what an employee would like and just choose any old gift with no level of personalisation.

Here’s three fantastic reasons why leaders should put a bit more effort into corporate gifts this festive season:

• According to TalentSmart, managers who care about the experience of their employees are the managers people will want to have on their side not only when things get tricky but also on a daily basis.
• If you want to be a more likeable leader, never forget that your team members are humans first. Giving a personally tailored gift is an opportunity to connect with employees as a person first, boss second.
• Taking time to know your team members strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes will allow you to use that knowledge to draw the very best performance from your employees. So not only can you use that knowledge to get a gift that your employee will enjoy and appreciate, but also get a tangible business benefit.

Relating to people as humans and individuals first is an important element of emotional intelligence. And emotional intelligence is absolutely a skill that can be learned and enhanced. Through our leadership coaching, including our one-to-one Coach-on-Call service, and training workshops, People Make The Difference can help you to become a more people-centric leader.

To find out more about our training and coaching services, visit www.peoplemakethedifference.com.au or call +61 412 333 415.

P.S. – Don’t forget that these same tips apply to client gifts too! Showing your appreciation with a low-cost but personalised and considered gift will go a lot further than an expensive but generic gift.

 

 

 

 

​Building leaders from the ground up: Leadership skills training isn’t just for those who have reached the top.Oct 25 2015

 

Where is your organisation investing in leadership skills training? For many businesses, that investment of both time and money is being directed to people who have already reached the top. But is that strategy going to give your organisation the best return? I’d argue that leadership skills training is something that should be offered to high performing employees at all levels of your organisation.

Leadership exists at all levels, in all types of organisations

Leadership writer John C. Maxwell says it well: “Leadership is not about titles, position, or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.” Leadership isn’t just about those at the top telling those beneath them what to do. It’s not about one person – the boss – who leads anymore, if indeed that’s ever what leadership was.

In our fast paced culture, leadership and decision making has become increasingly distributed. This is true for all types of organisations - schools, government departments, and companies of all sizes. Leadership isn’t just about being the big boss, but about guiding teams, mentoring other employees, modelling behaviour, and empowering people to make smart and timely decisions.

Why leadership skills training matters

What are some of the skills needed by leaders? At People Make The Difference, we think some of the core skills leaders need are giving and receiving feedback, developing self-awareness, and the ability to learn from experience. Do these sound like skills that are only needed by people at the top of your organisation? No, didn’t think so.

Leadership skills training is an important element in your organisation’s succession planning. Even if you think no-one at the top of your organisation is leaving, change can happen at any time. People get sick, accidents happen, or they just wake up one day and decide that it’s time for a change. By investing in leadership training for people at all levels – especially those identified as having strong potential for future opportunities – you can avoid your organisation ending up in limbo.

Investing in skills development also plays a key role in employee retention. Providing leadership training gives employees the message that they are valued, their contributions are appreciated, and that there will be opportunities in the future for them to grow and advance their career. Even if these employees don’t go on to become leaders in the conventional sense of the word, the skills they learn will still boost productivity and create a feeling of good will towards the organisation.

Set the foundations for success

It’s true that it takes time and money to invest in future leaders – and that sometimes, employees can go off and put their new-found leadership skills to use in other organisations. That’s a real risk.

But a far greater risk we believe is waiting until a leader is in place to invest in skills development. In this scenario, leaders can flounder, trying to learn the skills that they should have been taught before they got appointed. This takes away time and attention from other important business management tasks and can create a culture of uncertainty within the organisation.

To help organisations provide leadership skills training to people at all levels, People Make The Difference can provide workshop-style sessions. These can be tailored to suit your organisation’s needs. We also offer one-on-one coaching programs. If you’d like to find out more about our training and coaching services, visit www.peoplemakethedifference.com.au or call +61 412 333 415.

​

 

 

 

​Stop avoiding difficult conversations and learn how to approach them with confidenceOct 13 2015

 

Difficult conversations are a routine part of leading an organisation. Beyond the typical performance management problems that we tend to think of, confronting conversations can often be part of the day to day operations of an organisation. If leaders choose to avoid and delay those talks, there can be detrimental effects for the business.

Successfully managing difficult conversations can mean integrating information signals from our heads, hearts and tummies. We need to listen to and respect the nervous and uncomfortable reaction of our gut, but balance that with the logic of our brain to determine the right course of action for the particular circumstances at hand.

It’s my experience that people avoid or delay difficult conversations for two main reasons. They are either not confident in their ability to lead the conversation, or they are afraid of conflict. But learning how to successfully manage these situations is one of the most important skills leaders can develop, whether they are a school principal, the head of a government department or a senior leader of a company.

Thankfully, there are some proven strategies leaders can use to help tricky discussions run more smoothly. These are tips that I’ve successfully used and have seen coaching clients use with great success.

Five steps to better difficult conversations

1. Analyse the situation and think about any potential outcomes, both positive and negative. Consider any consequences from delaying or avoiding the exchange. Also determine what you want to achieve from the conversation and any topics you need to avoid.
2. Work out your strategy. You should consider where the conversation takes place, where to position yourself, how to open the conversation, and what sort of tone and body language you should use. Free tip – never cross your arms!
3. Practice and prepare. Aim to practice what you want to say at least five times. Try doing it the mirror!
4. Deliver with confidence. Tone and body language are critical – you don’t want to be too firm, or too kind and nurturing.
5. Don’t forget to follow up. Once the conversation has taken place, it’s important to regularly check in to make sure agreed actions are taking place and to monitor any results. Otherwise you could find yourself having to have yet another tough conversation down the track.

I’ve always found that I have achieved the best outcomes from tough conversations when I’ve taken the time to stop and think about the problem, and how I should communicate. When I’ve had a clear strategy to know what actions and outcomes I wanted to achieve, and a plan for how to follow up on the conversation, typically there has been a result that has been productive for all parties. Conversely, when I’ve acted on the fly and not planned and thought through outcomes, the resulting talk has usually not gone well.

If you need help with strategies to help you manage difficult conversations, People Make The Difference can help. We hold workshops on this topic, as well as one-on-one coaching programs for leaders and executives. To find out more about our training and coaching services, visit www.peoplemakethedifference.com.au or call +61 412 333 415.

​

 

 

 

​Leadership + community engagement = a stronger team

Sep 29 2015

 

For many leaders, it can be hard to make the time to think about the big picture. Pressures include quarterly targets to make, board members to satisfy, and shareholders demanding better returns. Leaders spend so much time thinking about how to increase revenue and customers that they don’t get around to thinking about community engagement – it’s a take, take, take mentality.

But it is vital to also think about what your organisation can give back.

All organisations operate within the wider community and being able to give something back to that community can play a critical role in uniting your team around a common cause. A strong corporate social responsibility program often infers practical benefits for team morale and improving your organisations reputational capital. Clearly, CSR can be good for business. But more than that, investing in communities and maintaining a long-term view about the sustainability of an organisation and its operations is simply the right thing to do.

But how do you decide which programs to fund? When I was a leader of the Japan and Asia Pacific region with a previous company we always involved our leaders and our teams in CSR activities in each country that we had an office. This meant programs were relevant to the local market and would engage the team members. Despite different tactical implementations in each geography, all projects united our team members around the chance to give back to less fortunate people and to make a difference in a social way.

Now at People Make The Difference, this commitment to CSR is continued through our support of the Nelune Foundation. The Nelune Foundation’s motto is ‘helping patients fight cancer with dignity’ and it recently held its 15th annual Lilac Ball in Sydney. Through the event, the Nelune Foundation raised over $2.1 million to make cancer treatment more accessible to patients and the experience more tolerable. The services and facilities funded include transport to and from treatment, psychologists, breast care nurses, more comfortable treatment chairs and beds – anything that can help patients through their treatment and on to recovery. As a small organisation, our sponsorship was limited, but every dollar raised can make a difference to a cancer patient. More important than the financial aspects was the opportunity for our team, friends and business partners to work together in support of the community.

As sustainability advisor Dr Carol Adams says on the topic of leadership and CSR, “change towards sustainability is mostly about people and we can all make a difference – together.” Obviously, at People Make the Difference we 100% agree that having a strong and motivated team is critical to an organisation’s success. A well-considered and effectively implemented CSR program can play a significant role in maintaining team motivation and contributing to a strong workplace culture.

• When developing a CSR program that both serves your organisation and the broader community, we believe there are four critical factors to consider:
• Your commitment as the CEO (or organisation leader) to the program and your leadership qualities.
• The executive team’s understanding of the relevance of sustainability to strategy and risk and your ability to communicate that relevance effectively.
• Supporting an organisation that is relevant to employees and that they can engage with. Consider involving employees in the selection of the organisation you support.
• It’s not about the money. Instead focus on what projects you are able to support and how this enables your team to work together on something that has a positive social impact.

If you need help with getting support in your organisation for a CSR program and implementing it in an effective way, People Make The Difference can help. Our leadership coaching can assist you to be clear on your values and why you want to support a particular program, how it aligns with your organisation, and how to communicate that in a way that will motivate and inspire team members. To find out more about our training and coaching services, visit www.peoplemakethedifference.com.au or call +61 412 333 415.

​

 

 

 

​Blending gut and data for successful leadership.

Sep 15 2015

Instinct versus insight. Intel versus intuition. Gut versus data. However you describe it, these are the two most important dynamics at play for business leaders when it comes to making decisions. In the modern world, we are both blessed and cursed with more data than ever before. But is all this data diminishing the trust we have in our instincts? And does it matter?

Why instinct is still important in the age of data

According to the 2014 Economist Intelligence Unit report, ‘Gut & Gigabytes’, 64% of executives said that big data has changed decision making at their organisation, and 49% said that data analysis is undermining the credibility of intuition or experience.

But even the largest data set cannot be relied on to make a decision without human involvement.

Frankly, we are overwhelmed by data – and it can be difficult to assess what is truly useful. This is where instinct remains a useful tool for leaders. According to neuroscientist Antonio Damasio, our brain produces powerful somatic markers when something feels right – or not. Paying attention to these markers and our intuition in combination with facts and data can lead to better decision making.

Ultimately, all data tells you is what has happened, not what will happen. Intuition remains critical for making predictions based on data. Thankfully, our brains are powerful prediction machines and tapping into gut instinct helps us to assess those predictions. Jeff Stibel, CEO of Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp and holder of a master’s degree in brain science, sums up this balance between data and instinct: “What do you need to do with a gut? You need to feed it, and to feed the gut of the brain you have to give it knowledge.”

How to harness gut instinct together with data for better decision making

I haven’t always been such an advocate for gut instinct in business. It is a result of learning the hard way that an over-reliance on data leads to analysis paralysis and delays decision making. A manager called me out on this and told me that I was spending too much time making sure that data was right. I was encouraged to look to my gut and learn to tap into my intuition – and I needed coaching to do this.

Today, clients needing guidance on how to listen to and trust their gut instincts forms a key part of my work. Here are some of the strategies I use with clients to help combine instinct with data in their quest to become more effective leaders:

• Start by listening to your gut on decisions that aren’t related to business – for example, when at a restaurant, what’s your gut feel on what you want to eat from the menu?
• Only rely on your gut for non-critical decisions until you have become comfortable with interpreting your brain and body’s signals and know you can trust those instincts.
• Pay attention to the intensity of your gut feelings. If it’s only a tweak, maybe the numbers are right. But if every fibre of your being is shouting at you that the data doesn’t stack up, then you really need to take another look and see if the right questions have been asked.

Knowing when to go with your gut despite the data, and vice versa, separates super leaders from mediocre managers. Making decisions purely based on instinct could be reckless – but making decisions purely based on data can also be a path towards disaster. Combining both perspectives helps to reduce risk and can speed up the decision making process.

If you need help learning to tap into your intuition and learning how to better manage the never-ending data flow that leaders are exposed to, get in touch to discuss leadership coaching with People Make The Difference. Stop feeling overwhelmed and instead become empowered to confidently make decisions that you feel are right. To find out more about our training and coaching services, visit www.peoplemakethedifference.com.au or call +61 412 333 415.

​

 

 

 

​Are business leaders too scared to fail?

Sep 05 2015

 

It’s the mantra of most start-ups – ‘fail fast, fail often’. And for start-ups, it’s a great mantra because the very act of creating a start-up is filled with risk. But what about established businesses, with investors, shareholders and quarterly earnings targets to achieve? What’s the role for risk in these businesses and how can leaders negotiate this terrain?

Why risk is good

I’m not going to try to tell you that failure is pleasant – nobody likes to fail. But as IBM’s Thomas Watson, Sr once said, “The fastest way to succeed is to double your failure rate.”

As a leader, you can’t let the fear of failing stop you from taking risks. Risks are an essential part of business; taking risks drives innovation. You can’t make new products or introduce game-changing processes without an element of risk. Taking no risks will ultimately make your business stale, competitors will start to impact your market share and you can potentially lose the loyalty of customers and employees.

This was a lesson I had to help my team learn when I relocated to Japan. The Japanese operation needed to step up its performance and meet the company’s expectations for growth. I had to encourage my team members to be prepared to try new things and to know that it was okay if not everything we tried was successful. The team learnt that it was more important to take the risk and not have it work, than to take no risk at all and maintain the status quo.

How can leaders make better risk assessments?

True leaders understand their business and have a good feeling for their team and their customers. They can match data with gut feel to take wise risks. Combine this with solid emotional intelligence (EQ) and you have a winning formula: Data + gut instinct + EQ = good risk taking behaviour.

Emotional intelligence is an important element in risk taking, as an understanding of our emotions – and the causes behind them – helps to provide a filter for our instincts. For example, your gut might be telling you that you’re nervous about a business decision. But in reality, your anxiety is being triggered by the presentation to the board you need to make that afternoon. By developing your EQ, you can not only better recognise and name your emotions, but also identify the true triggers for those feelings.

Equally, if the data that you have points to a certain decision but your gut is telling you that something is not right, by harnessing your EQ you can have the confidence to investigate that reluctance and make a call that aligns with your values and instincts. We’ll discuss how to tune into your gut instinct more in a future article.

Bouncing back – What to do when new ideas and approaches fall flat

Sometimes, in business and in life, we take risks that don’t pay off. As a leader, it’s important to be honest and upfront about the risks that don’t work out – and take the time to both understand what the reasons were for the failure and ensure that is appropriately communicated to your team. Vulnerability and transparency are important attributes for super leaders to develop. By allowing yourself to be open, you give your team members the space they need to take their own considered risks.

As Farson and Keyes write in Harvard Business Review, failure is not the opposite of success – it is its complement. Understanding and embracing that dynamic, together with leadership that seeks to learn rather than blame, will help you and your team to feel comfortable with making decisions that might not feel like the safe choice.

Do you need help in embracing risk and getting over your fear of failure? Do your actions when your team stumbles match your words? At People Make The Difference, our leadership coaching can help you to develop your EQ, learn to trust your instincts and empower you to make decisions with confidence. To find out more about our training and coaching services, visit www.peoplemakethedifference.com.au or call +61 412 333 415.

​

 

 

 

​Have you got the ‘E Factor?’
Emotional intelligence is what sets super leaders apartSep 01 2015

It has been 20 years since Daniel Goleman’s ground breaking book Emotional Intelligence, which introduced the term emotional intelligence (EQ) to business circles. In the years since, there has been a growing recognition of the importance that EQ plays in business leadership. The best leaders can blend operational excellence and emotional intelligence in a way that motivates and inspires team members to achieve better results together. At People Make The Difference, we call them super leaders.

EQ isn’t soft and fuzzy; studies show bottom-line benefits

Most organisations now recognise the importance of emotional intelligence. It has been proven to be an essential element in successful leadership and correlates with improved financial performance and building winning teams. For example, according to the report The Business Case for Emotional Intelligence, managers with high emotional intelligence achieved 34% greater profit growth.

My own experience of leading teams globally confirms this. Where members of my team were in touch with their EQ and blending that effectively with operational excellence, they were able to accomplish more and accelerate their careers.

But despite the benefits that EQ and its impact on leadership, many organisations are not doing enough to support leaders in developing their EQ and creating an environment where EQ can be put into practice.

The organisations that ARE investing in leadership development programs though are reaping the rewards. According to a study in Consulting Psychology Journal, companies reporting strong leadership development programs are 1.5 times more likely to be found atop Fortune magazine’s ‘Most Admired Companies’ list.

Get the ‘E Factor’

There are four key elements that are recognised as essential for building EQ:

1. Self-awareness: The first step to building EQ is to recognise and acknowledge your own emotions, and be prepared to ask people for their insights.
2. Self-management: Once you are in tune with your emotional responses, to further build your EQ you need to learn how to control and manage these emotions.
3. Social awareness: To foster your EQ, become aware of how your emotions, verbal communication and non-verbal communication impact others.
4. Relationship management: The best leaders recognise the importance of people to the success of their business, and foster these relationships.

Here’s the good news. Like any skill, emotional intelligence CAN be developed. For some people, EQ levels are naturally high, but others need to work at it. For some people, that might involve digging deep and making some uncomfortable discoveries about themselves. Developing emotional intelligence takes time and commitment; it isn’t something that can be learnt from just reading a book or by attending a seminar. You need to do the work. The best results come from learning these skills in an environment where ideas can be discussed, strategies can be put into practice on a consistent basis, and you can be held accountable for what you are learning.

Even for leaders who do naturally possess good emotional intelligence, being promoted to a leadership role can erode those skills. In leadership roles, getting bogged down by the running of a business and achieving financial targets, suddenly you can find yourself having less meaningful interactions with staff, and becoming out of touch with the needs of your team. It is true what they say – it can be lonely at the top and this can have a negative impact on emotional intelligence.

Whether you are looking to build, enhance or retain EQ skills, coaching can help. Fast Company reports that 43% of CEOs and 71% of senior executives say they have worked with a coach – and 92% of those leaders plan to use a coach again. To help leaders build their emotional intelligence and embrace their potential as super leaders, People Make The Difference offer tailored and personalised solutions, like one-on-one coaching and mentoring. If you’d like to discuss coaching options to help you become a super leader, get in touch at www.peoplemakethedifference.com.au or call +61 412 333 415.

 

PREVIOUS POSTS

Jun 26

Are you listening close enough?

Jun 15

What I've learnt : hard decisions.

May 30

Why bother with heartfelt goals?

May 15

Are your goals SMART or HARD?

May 03

Teams: true talent, true grit or both

Apr 24

Avoid performance partiality

Apr 04

What I've learnt : hiring friends and family

Mar 21

Do you have a trustworthy team environment?

Mar 07

Would you pass the marshmallow test?

Feb 20

Are you active in your teams development?

Feb 07

Do you practice the habits of a successful networker?

Jan 24

Five ways to identify and fix poor performance

Jan 13

Getting the message across

Dec 15

Are you going for growth or groans with team rewards?

Nov 29

What motivates me doesn't motivate you

Nov 15

The thought that counts

Nov 08

What Leaders can learn from Olympians: Jana Pittman

Nov 01

Are you a DIY leader?

Oct 18

Failure is a great option

Oct 05 2016

Bearers of bad news

Oct 04 2016

Are you stuck in your ways?

Sep 12 2016

Four things a leader should never say.

Aug 24 2016

How can you boost team engagement?

Aug 18 2016

Do you have a Type?

Jun 13 2016

Want high performing teams? Start with trust.

May 23 2016

Three toughest challenges faced by those in high performing teams

May 19 2016

Leading people who don't formally report to you

Apr 12 2016

Are you leading by snorey or by story?

Mar 21 2016

Six steps to becoming a super leader

Mar 14 2016

Boost team performance with the right recognition

Feb 24 2016

Are you co-dependent with your email?

Feb 09  2016

How Leadership fosters loyalty

Jan 17  2016

New Year, new ideas, new drive: Hit the ground running in 2016

Dec 07 2015

Don't let your small business stagnate

Nov 30 2015

Don't let your small business stagnate

Nov 09 2015

Leaders – stop and think about the message your employee gifts are sending

Oct 25 2015

Building leaders from the ground up

Oct 13 2015

Stop avoiding difficult conversations and learn how to approach them with confidence?

Sep 29 2015

Leadership + community engagement = a stronger team

Sep 15 2015

Blending gut and data for successful leadership.

Sep 05 2015

Are business leaders too scared to fail?

Sep 01 2015

Have you got the ‘E Factor?’
Emotional intelligence is what sets super leaders apart