COACHING TO HIGH PERFORMANCE-Part Two

A coaching relationship is based on several core competencies.  The coach is partnering with the client in a thought-provoking process that is creative.  Gentle challenging occurs that encourages the employee to move beyond a comfort zone and maximize his/her personal and professional potential.  Core competencies are to establish the coaching agreement, co-create the relationship, communicate effectively, and facilitate learning and results.

Communicating effectively involves active listening and powerful questioning.  Active listening is the ability to focus on what the employee is saying and not saying, and how this relates to the issues to be addressed.  It is truly focusing on the employee’s words and body language….not to reinforce a point the coach wants to make, but to truly understand where the employing is coming from.  This type of communication is accepting and reinforcing.  When in this type of safe environment, the employee is able to take risks, own his/her deficits in soft skills, and attempt new behaviors.

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COACHING FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE-Part One

Coaching is a term which describes assistance provided to an employee to help him/her improve.  Coaching does not address deficits in hard skills or technical skills.  It addresses deficits in soft skills.  Examples of soft skills are communication, conflict-resolution, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, leadership, etc.  Coaching is often provided by a consultant from outside the business.  This outside coach enters the workplace without any baggage or preconceived notions of the company.  Having a “neutral person” provide coaching services also helps create a safe environment for the employee to explore his/her necessity to make behavioral changes.

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BUILDING HIGH PERFORMING TEAMS-Part Two

Creating your team is important to ensuring whether or not it is a high performing team.  Teams are often formed by geography or calendars.  Those chosen are based on close proximity of/in the office and who can get together at the same time.  Leaders need to recognize that while high-performing teams share certain characteristics, there are some important distinctions between them.  To ignore these distinctions can lead to poor performance, frustration over difficulty of working together productively, and disillusionment with the team because relationships grow difficult.

Again, go back to your mission.  What do you want the team to accomplish?  Teams should be formed based on the need for coordination and specialization of tasks.  Your mission of the team (your final product envisioned) drives this.  Some teams will need to be made of members with different disciplines and high specialization in different areas.  Some teams need to be made of members who are highly coordinated and cross-trained.

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BUILDING HIGH PERFORMANCE TEAMS-Part One

Calling a group of people “a team” doesn't make them one.   You can’t force someone to cooperate.  Cooperation is a product of choices---choices that are made for reasons unique to each person.  Team development is a process, not an event.  A team isn't formed; it is built.

How to build that team?  Ensure the following are present:  a shared mission, autonomy for task completion, interdependence, effective processes for decision-making, conflict management, and ongoing evaluation of team effectiveness.

Surprisingly, some teams can get hung up on the first point:  a shared mission.  If all team members don’t know the destination, they will take different routes and produce dissimilar products.  The mission must be clear, relevant, and achievable.

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Interpersonal Dialogue: Core Principles-Part Two

Our society often functions in a win-lose mode.  Politics, athletic contests, and legal situations are set up this way.  When in a win-lose situation, energy is drained when one tries to win, win, win.  Granted, some situations have to have a winner.  We can’t have two presidents sharing the role.  We can’t have two teams being the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Champions of 2014.

But, it is more about the mindset.  We can enter most situations with the mindset that we will achieve synergy.  What becomes important is finding common ground, so people’s energy can go toward finding a solution to a problem….not to making sure they come out on top.  It is a valuing of people and recognizing that everyone has something to offer, something that is to be of worth and needing to be considered.  It is also about the mindset that “together, we achieve something greater than we would have if working alone”.

Inquiry and advocacy are the core to achieving synergy.  Inquire about another person’s viewpoint.  Value his/her input.  It is crucial to know where another person is at, before trying to take them to where you want them to go.  Think about a time you were talking with someone.  Maybe you went round and round.  Remember when you finally felt “heard”.  You may have relaxed physically, loosening the jaw that had been tightened and the hands that had been clenched.  Really hearing and acknowledging another person’s stance is a gift we give during conversation.  It is our responsibility to do this, on order to move the problem-solving process forward.

Advocate for your own position.  State your thoughts, don’t just sigh and give in.  Think of a time you were talking with someone.  Maybe you were just too tired to advocate for yourself.  So, you acquiesced and gave in.  How did you feel afterwards?  Did you truly support the decision that had been made?  It is our responsibility to do this, to advocate for ourselves.  Sharing our ideas brings new possibilities to the problem-solving process.

The goal is to make decisions that are the best possible, to solve a problem in a way that can’t be compromised.  This is only done by a meeting of the minds.  When we hold the mindset that all people are valuable and that we need to consider all opinions, there is no limit to what we can accomplish.  And, people have more fun doing this….because they believe their opinion was considered valuable, and that they made a contribution to the greater good.

To learn more about how to practice this understanding, contact Results Group, LLC at www.ResultsGroupLLC.com or 515-330-2866.

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Interpersonal Dialogue: Core Principles-Part One

Conflict resolution contains many styles of communication.  Dominating, accommodating, and avoiding are three common ones.  However, these three can create a situation that is somewhat lopsided…..one person “wins” and the other “loses”.  An alternative to these is the style of dialogue…to create “win-win” relationships.

Dialogue is creating a pool of shared understanding in an atmosphere of respect.  The goal is to decide on a mutually beneficial outcome.  When this outcome is achieved, the group has created synergy.  Synergy is people working together and recognizing that, as a group, they can create a better solution together—rather than individually.

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Motivation-Part Two

There are many things that motivate us in our lives.   It is what drives our behaviors.  It is what helps us make the decision to do something that is scary or hard.  It is what helps us modify our natural behaviors, so we can fit in better or work in a group more productively.  Our motivators (or values) are formed through repeated experiences and multiple exposures in our world.  This determines our beliefs about what is valuable or good.

Research we follow indicates there are seven motivators:  aesthetic, economic, individualistic, political (leadership), altruistic, regulatory, and theoretical.  Furthering defining these scales of motivators:  aesthetic—form, harmony, balance; economic—bottom line results, competition; individualistic—control own fate, be unique; political—influence, leadership: altruistic—compassion, unselfishness; regulatory—standards, routine, order; and theoretical—knowledge, reasoning, learning.

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Motivation-Part One

Why do people act that way?  Where is the motivation, the enthusiasm, the interest?  You may have asked these questions when thinking about your family, friends, or co-workers. Or, you may have asked these questions about yourself.

Motivation is thought of as drive, impetus, and inspiration.  We exhibit this by the energy we bring to a task or the enthusiasm with which we try something new.  When motivation exists, stuff gets done and people work well together.

However, this does not always happen.  Some facts:

• 70% of workers say they are not fully engaged in their work.
• 96% of employees believe they cannot attain  personal career goals in their current jobs
• 53% of managers report not being happy with their current jobs
• Gallup poll in 2011: 71% not engaged in work
• Jobvite in 2012: 75% of people are actively looking for, or open to, new jobs
• APA in 2009: 69% say work causes significant stress in their lives

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Strengthening Our Relationships-Part Two

To make your relationships stronger, start with you.  Give more than you get.  Don’t keep score.

Accept responsibility for oneself.

• Take responsibility for your own happiness.  Don’t expect someone else to make you happy.
• Do what you say you will do.
• Admit your mistakes, then apologize.
• Be realistic with your expectations.

Respect the other person.

• Listen to his/her ideas.
• Be honest in your communication.  Don’t sugarcoat, but don’t be mean.
• Know what the other person likes and doesn't like.  Act with this knowledge.
• Accept him/her for who they really are.
• Trust him/her.  Act in a manner that is trustworthy yourself.

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Strengthening Our Relationships-Part One

How strong are your relationships?  Do you have someone you can count on….no matter what?   Are you a person that another can count on….no matter what?  Strong relationships share some common elements:  accepting responsibility for oneself, respecting the other person, sharing common interests, and a promise to create cooperative communication.

To accept responsibility for yourself means you recognize you have choices.  When something goes wrong or is misinterpreted, you can accept the part you played and correct the issue.  To respect another person means you accept them for who they are…..not what you’d like them to become.  Sharing common interests may bring people together at first, but if not nurtured, it can become just a laundry list of activities or beliefs.   There is no meat in it.  A promise to create cooperative communication can slip off our tongues easily, but can be hard to maintain.  This requires us to attempt to understand the other’s point of view, before we express our own…..even before we think about our own.  It is a willingness to be open to another person’s ideas, even though starkly different from ours.

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Embrace Reality-Part Two

Remember the old movie Reality Bites?  I’m not sure I ever saw it, but I was always intrigued by the title.  Yes, reality does bite at times.  But to admit that means we have embraced it.  We have acknowledged reality for what it is…..not for what we’d like it to be.

We have many options for viewing reality.  We can think of it as an enemy, something from which to escape.  We can view it as a requirement, something we have to endure.  Reality can be a challenge for us, something to defeat.  Or we can look at it as an opportunity to learn, and then embrace it.  To embrace reality means we are living with integrity.  Instead of banging our head against the wall, we step back and ask what we can learn from our situation….our reality.

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Embrace Reality-Part One

To embrace reality, we have to acknowledge its existence.  Very simply, reality is “what is”.  This doesn't take into account our feelings about the reality we are experiencing.  That is another story!  But in order to embrace reality, we first must accept it for what it is.

“What is” defines the context of our lives.  Reality shoves limits and boundaries at us…..even though we may try to sidestep them.  “What is” is just that…..what exists.  There are no judgments to it, no meaning to it.  We add those things ourselves.  We may color our reality with negative connotations, which leads us to certain behaviors.  We may paint our reality positively, which can help us handle something (or so we think).  Reality “is” whether or not we acknowledge it accurately.

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Team Decision Making-Part Two

Six common methods of team decision making exist.  They are:  lack of response, authority rule, minority rule, majority rule, consensus, and unanimous consent.  One method is NOT always better than another.  Each method is useful at the appropriate time.  Each method affects the way the group will work together (the storming and norming phases).  It is important that the leader guide the team members to choose a decision-making method which appropriately fits the amount of time available, the history of the group, the nature of the task, and the work climate.

Lack of response is the most common method.  Someone suggests an idea, but before someone else comments on it, another person suggests something different. Authority rule functions under command decisions.  This method is efficient, but often results in lack of ownership from the team.  Decision by minority rule is something everyone has experienced.  A few members dominate the discussion and force decisions. Decision by majority rule involves voting.  This may be used to break a deadlock, but a high percentage of decisions made this way end up not being implemented.  A decision put into action by a 6-4 vote, is most likely doomed. Use of consensus to make decisions is very effective. Time is taken to ensure everyone understands the goals and decision.  Even if some members don’t share the majority view, they clearly understand it and have agreed to support it.  The final method is decision by unanimous consent.  True unanimous consent means that every team member truly agrees on the decision as being the best they could develop.  To achieve this takes an incredible amount of time.

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Team Decision Making-Part One

Excellent team decisions are based on communication, respect, and group dynamic skills.  Teams that are high performing know that collaboration leads to better decisions and the ability to solve problems more effectively. But put people together for the first few times, and difficulties will arise.  There are generally acknowledged stages of team development.  B. W. Tuckman identified these four as being:  forming, storming, norming, and performing.

In the forming stage, people are learning about each other.  Rules of the team may be laid out, and the goal to be achieved is clarified.  In the storming phase, activity abounds.  People are vying for “lead” of the team.  While it may look like chaos from the outside, this phase is very important to the team’s future functioning. The norming phase demonstrates that rules have been plied, then defined and agreed upon.  Assignments have been made according to people’s strengths.  In the final phase, performing, the team moves forward.   The goal of the team is achieved, with members acknowledging that it took a group effort.

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Leading So Others Will Follow-Part Two

Leadership is influence.  It is the ability to guide people to where you want them to go….your vision.  It is the ability to motivate them to take risks and go to that vision with you.  And, as Stephen R. Covey said, “it is the ability to communicate people’s worth and potential so clearly, that they are inspired to see it in themselves”.  These all make up a leader who has followers.  A leader who is doing more than just taking a walk!  A leader who has empowered followers.

To empower people, a leader should teach them, develop them, give them responsibility, and trust them.  This will help move you to level four and level five leadership, as defined by Maxwell.  You will have committed followers.

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Leading So Others Will Follow

“Leadership”.  There can be a lot of talk about “leadership”.  But, can we really define it?  Do we know it when we see it, or experience it?  Sometimes, people pause before answering these questions.  But, if I asked you “what is poor leadership” and “would we know it when we see it, or experience it”….most people would be able to respond right away.  And, most people would be able to list numerous examples.  Sad, isn't it? To be a leader, you have to have followers.  If you can’t get people to follow you and be truly committed to you, then you really aren't leading.  If you lead and no one follows, you are just taking a walk!

John Maxwell posits five levels of leadership:  position, permission, production, people, and pinnacle. The lowest rung is position.  People follow you because they have to.  This person has a title.  The next is permission.  People follow you because they want to.  They've decided you may have something to offer, or you might know what you are doing, but they aren't truly committed to you yet.  The third level is production.  People follow you based on what you've done for the organization.  You can get results.  But, again…..not a level of true commitment.   If another person comes along who can produce as you can, suddenly people turn into lemmings.  Maxwell’s fourth level is people.   At this stage, people follow you because of what you've done for them.  This is when we see commitment.   People at this stage will follow you…whether it is to a new mission, a new direction for the company, or to another job at a different company.  The fifth level is pinnacle.  At this level, people follow you for who you are and what you represent.  They see beyond the data and realize you are a person who can be trusted and has authentic intent.

To learn more about how to practice this understanding, contact Results Group, LLC at www.ResultsGroupLLC.com or 515-330-2866.

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Conquer Your Key Moments-Part Two

A key moment is an event or situation which presents a challenge to us and demands a response.  The key moment occurs; we interpret it according to our paradigms; we assign meaning to the moment; we experience feelings about the moment; we behave following the key moment; we move down a positive or negative pathway.  Wow!  That’s a lot of absorb, and the whole thing must take minutes upon minutes to go through….right?   No, the response chain can happen very quickly.

The beginning parts to the response chain (interpretation according to paradigm, assignment of meaning, experience of feelings) can take only a matter of seconds.  The interpretation part can be almost natural, as it is based on our paradigms (core beliefs).  It is a “go to” thought for us, almost automatic.  The interpretation is the “spin” we put on an event.  The spin is driven by our core beliefs.

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Career Summit for Service Members and Veterans

Calling All Service Members and Veterans!

Career Summit for Service Members and Veterans
April 15, 2014; 8 AM – 5 PM
Veteran's Memorial Building
50 2nd Avenue Bridge, Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
http://careersummitcr.eventbrite.com-Event is free

This event is to help service members and veterans convert hard-won military training and experience into a rewarding civilian career!

Highlights include:
Meaningful training seminars (Presented by The Results Group, IOTA, Hero to Hired)
Keynote Speakers – Ret. General Tommy Franks and Joe Crookham of Musco Lighting
GI Bill benefit information
Pre-screen and employer interactions
Take-away resources


Participating Employers include:
Alliant Energy
Home Depot
Principal Financial Group
Rockwell Collins
Transamerica
Unity Point

Registration is required as seats are limited
http://careerssummitcr.eventbrite.com

More info:
Please Contact: Aubrey Leisinger
Aubrey.leisinger@cwa.wmpenn.edu
515-422-6173

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Conquer Your Key Moments

Life is wonderful, isn't it!  We have so many things to be thankful for, in our lives.  We are able to make choices about our lives, not suffer under government tyranny.   We are able to travel to beautiful places….whether it’s across an ocean, across state lines, or across the yard to the neighbor’s.  We are able to participate in sports or watch them from the sidelines.  We can read books and magazines by turning pages or by pushing the advance key of our e-reader.  Some would even say life is great, because we have over 250 channels to choose from, as we lounge on the couch.

But, there are times life is filled with adversity.   And, I don’t mean when the electricity goes out for three hours, and we miss our favorite television shows.  I am talking about difficult times, where we are struggling.  These can be huge, traumatic events or everyday hassles.  We all know people who turn everyday hassles into traumatic events, but you see where I’m going with this.

Even though we have made many great discoveries about our world (it’s not flat, water can be turned into electricity, the universe may hold opportunities for us), and have created magnificent inventions (automobile, computer, air conditioning), we have not been able to rid our lives of adversity.  There is no magic wand that whisks away every negative aspect of our lives.  So, our choice then is to learn strategies for dealing effectively with these adversities.

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Time Management-Part Two

Time management is a choice.  We are the ones who are in control of whether or not we do this.  Of course things happen.  John Lennon said, “Life is what happens while you are making other plans”.

Overall, planning our schedule and keeping it is our responsibility.  Time management is not so much about checklists, sticky notes, calendars, and Outlook reminders as it is about knowing what is most important in your life and aligning your activities with your priorities.

If you are not sure how you spend your time, REALLY spend your time, try an exercise.  For one week, record what you do during your day and night.  Use fifteen-minute increments.  You don’t have to be detailed, just write down the gist of your activities.  You don’t have to say, “called Jenny, Mr. Davis, the contractor, and the library”.  You can just record, “made various phone calls for home renovation.”  Be careful not to record “miscellaneous”.  This category will become like the junk drawer in your kitchen:  filled with items that lead everywhere, but nowhere useful.

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Time Management-Part One

“I would like to take a class on French cooking, but I don’t have the time.”  “I know I should practice meditation daily, but I don’t have the time.”  “I’d like to spend more time with my kids, partner, pets, parents, garden, reading books……”.  You can fill in the blank with something that is important to you.  Do any of these statements sound like you?

Some of you reading this are at an age that you grew up watching a certain show on television:  The Floppy Show.   Duane Ellett was a talented man who brought his dog puppet to life, for 30 years.  Every show was shot live, with a studio audience filled with squealing children.  A favorite part of the show was when kids were able to come up to Floppy and Duane to tell a joke.  A common and frequently (very frequently!!) repeated joke told was “Why did the man throw the car out the window?”  Floppy would feign ignorance.  The joke teller would gleefully laugh, clap hands together, and shout, “Because he wanted to see time fly”.

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Performance Expectations-Part Two

How do you get from a state of chaos to one of high performance?  You do this through the correct use of performance expectations.  This involves establishment and monitoring of expectations.

Careful establishment of expectations is important.  If just pulled from the air, people will know there is no connection between the goal and your expectations.  Set too rigidly, expectations will not be met and people may feel discouraged.  Employee engagement will be decreased.

As an effective leader, you want to check the “non-negotiables” you have.   These are foundational expectations, laying the footings for the building of high performance teams.  They are basic expectations that are almost “unwritten and just understood”.  Examples can be “treat others with respect”, “report dangerous conditions or actions”, “share team roles”, “participate in team problem solving actions”.  Non-negotiables improve the stability of a company.  When these expectations are automatically met, employees’ efforts can be directed toward specific expectations you set that require discipline and drive people to greater performance.

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Performance Expectations

RESULTS!

One of the ways a leader demonstrates competence is through the achievement of results.  In his book Leading at the Speed of Trust, Stephen M.R. Covey says that credibility is composed of four cores:  integrity and intent (part of “character”); capabilities and results (part of “competence”).

Achievement of results is one of the cores of competence, which is part of credibility, which provides the foundation for trust.  Without trust, a leader is just taking a walk.  There are no followers.

So to improve leadership skills and the influence you have on people, check your “results record”.  What are your “numbers”?  What outcomes have you achieved through people?

Notice that I said “achieved through people”.  Good leaders achieve results through people.   Leaders don’t meet that production deadline all by themselves.  Leaders don’t develop a new program which nets hundreds of thousands of dollars all by themselves.

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Vision-Clarifying and Communicating-Part Two

Maybe you created a vision just for yourself.  Maybe your vision involves other people.  Maybe you have several visions, covering both individual and others.  Any way you slice it, you still need to communicate your vision.

If you communicate your vision(s), two things happen.  One, others can assist you in its achievement.  And we really do need others to assist us.  We live as interdependent beings, relying on others for support and ideas.  Two, others will hold you accountable.  While sometimes painful, being held accountable does help us grow to our future vision.

If your vision involved others, these two are very important.   But a third importance for communication also emerges.  If you want others to go with you, not just support you but actually be by your side, you must tell them where you are going.  Imagine saying, “I am going on a journey and want you to go with me.  The trip will be a long one.  I am sure of that.  However, I’m not sure how we will get there, but I’ll know it when we are.   And, the GPS screen will be pointed in my direction only.  We will stop when I think it is time, but I don’t want any requests from you.  We will nourish ourselves when I think it is necessary and in the manner I choose.  Any references to the Golden Arches and Casey’s will be ignored.  And, I’m not quite sure what you’ll do on this trip, but it will be an effort somewhere in between napping in the car, changing a tire, and pushing the car if we run out of gas.  OK, now, who’s with me?  Let’s go!”

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Vision-Clarifying and Communicating

Someone asked me the other day what it meant to clarify your vision.  We had an interesting discussion, which started by centering on the definition of vision.  We didn't know we were participating in an exercise that would rival Webster, but that seems to be where we started. We talked about goals and dreams, the location of a vision, and who was involved.

A vision has at its center goals and dreams, however it is more than that.  A vision most often is centered on a point in the future.  It can involve just you, or a group of people.

Often, when we try to grasp a somewhat nebulous concept, we start with defining it.  This seems to make us feel comfortable, more in charge.  If we can define it, we can see it.  If we can see it, we can hold it.  If we can hold it, we can control it.  We are more in charge.  And, when dealing with nebulous concepts, we like to be in charge!!  Then, we know what we are talking about……or so it seems.

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Empowering Others For Success

Leadership is influence.  Leaders have the opportunity to positively influence people every day, through any type of interaction.  Everyone is a leader.  You don’t have to have the title to lead.  People are leaders with their families, co-workers, direct reports, neighbors, co-volunteers, co-members of a place of worship, etc.

Influence means that you are guiding people toward a way of acting that demonstrates integrity and concern for others.  Influence means that you have inspired others how to meet their professional and personal goals.  Influence occurs through the modeling of your behaviors (how you choose to handle key moments) and by empowering others for success.

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Integrity

What is integrity?  A quick check of a dictionary and thesaurus indicate integrity is honesty, veracity, and reliability.  But, I’m sure we all know people whom we think are reliable or honest….yet we wouldn't say they show integrity, or act with integrity.  Meanings of words can go deeper than “just a definition”.  Meanings of words can be hard to speak with our tongue, but we know those meanings with our brain and heart.  In other words, “we know it when we see it”.

Displaying integrity is more than just a word.  It encompasses behaviors.  Integrity means following our moral compass...what we think is right.  Showing integrity means giving up short-term rewards for something better in the long-term.  The rewards given up are not tangible, such as money.  They are much more intangible:  being able to escape a tough situation now, avoiding responsibility, blaming others, giving excuses when something you do goes wrong, seeking immediate pleasure, gaining approval, and indulging oneself.  Even though those are intangible rewards, they are VERY powerful motivators for our choices of behaviors.

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