Month: September 2018

Newsletter – Stop Escalating Conflict With This Quick Step

 September 24, 2018

Stop Escalating Conflict With This Quick Step

What is the number one mistake leaders make when dealing with conflict? Emailing!

Email is for facts, period. It is not for arguments, debates or other such shenanigans. In my experience, email only escalates conflict and leaves you with more of a mess than you started with.

I don’t do many direct mediations any more, but most of the ones I have conducted lately have involved email. One example: a woman accused her boss of harassment. It wasn’t harassment, but she didn’t know what else to call his behavior. His office was right next door to hers but he never talked to her. He gave her all her assignments on email; he even did her performance review over email! (He was in IT. Hmmm…)

Another example involved a group of software developers who were so immersed in conflict that they couldn’t get the product out the door. They brought me in to work with the team. I went to their staff meeting and noticed they all brought in their laptops. Fair enough… they might be accessing the meeting’s agenda or want to take notes electronically, I figured. But instead, they spent the session emailing each other comments such as: “Dog breath; that was the stupidest comment that I’ve ever heard.”

What Should You Do?

  • Stop emailing!   I could go on, but my rule is that once you are in conflict: stop emailing. Only bad things can happen if you persist with emailing.
  • Prepare for conflict.  You know when these things are likely to flare up. Schedule an appointment to talk to the person. Do not escape by hiding behind your keyboard.
  • Train for conflict.   Face-to-face challenging conversations become easier if you practice. Invest in training so that you are ready for the next event.

What Do You Think?

Have you successfully negotiated a conflict over email? Let us know your experience.

Did You Know

Our sessions on conflict and effective conversations help guide you through the process.
Call or write us at: 303-216-1020 or
Learn more about our training offerings and check out our team members at:
Be sure to read Lynne’s book “The Power of a Good Fight” and learn how to embrace conflict to drive productivity, creativity, and innovation.
  
Workplaces That Work | (303) 216-1020 | lynne@workplacesthatwork.com
3985 Wonderland Hill | Suite 106 | Boulder, CO 80304

Still Doing Video Training on Harassment? Might as Well Skip That Expense

 September 17, 2018

Still Doing Video Training on Harassment? Might as Well Skip That Expense

New research out of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine after a two-year period of exhaustive and academic study, finds that video training for harassment is ineffective. Not less effective, but  ineffective.

If you are still using this training method on this topic, you might as well spend your dollars on donuts for your crew. The National Academies – not known for a political or media bias – recommends intensive, live classroom training.

The report is worth a read – especially in a week where we saw two other titans fall over sexual harassment allegations. Both Les Moonves, CEO of CBS, and Jeff Fager, famed executive producer of 60 Minutes, resigned this week over sexual harassment allegations. Interestingly, both men were not only accused of inappropriate behavior themselves but also said to have failed to respond appropriately to other complaints of harassment in their bailiwicks, as well as generally tolerating environments hostile to women.

The second important point out of the new National Academies’ research was a strong recommendation that training go beyond the law on harassment and focus on values and civility.


What Should You Do?

1)  Read the report. It’s an in-depth look at how to change a culture, including numerous other suggestions not covered in this post.
2)  Go live. Forget the 30-minute video. If you are going to do training, do it right. Go to our website for more suggestions about what effective training includes.
3)  Include values and civility. A civil workplace is a higher standard than the law requires. If you are encouraging and enforcing civility, you are not going to have to worry about ending up in the legal ditch.

 

What Do You Think?

What kinds of harassment training have you found to be effective? Email or call us with your thoughts.

Did You Know

All of our harassment training includes in-depth live presentations, discussions and interactive exercises, as well as an emphasis on civility.
Call or write us at: 303-216-1020 or
Learn more about our training offerings and check out our team members at:
Be sure to read Lynne’s book on sexual harassment.
  
Workplaces That Work | (303) 216-1020 | lynne@workplacesthatwork.com
3985 Wonderland Hill | Suite 106 | Boulder, CO 80304

Newsletter – How Can You Avoid the Worthless Vision, Values and Mission Trap?

 September 10, 2018

How Can You Avoid the Worthless Vision, Values and Mission Trap?

Most of our clients these days spend time working on visions, values and missions. This is clearly a worthy exercise, yet the results are often disappointing.
Gathering a consensus from relevant stakeholders on these lofty ideals and plans can take a tedious amount of time. Once the ideals and plans exist, everyone, in my experience, breathes a sigh of relief and goes back to putting out the daily fires.
The strategic plan sits on various bookshelves, gathering dust along with training manuals. The vision and mission languish; even if they are framed and on the walls, everyone breezes right by them without a thought, too busy focusing on today to think about tomorrow.

While whole tomes have been written about these issues, here are our three top tips gleaned from our most successful clients.

What Should You Do?

 

1)   Revisit Often. Missions, visions and values should not be left to the communications department but should sit on every leader’s desk, reviewed daily. What actions are they taking today that are consistent with these ideals? What actions are inconsistent?
2)   Change, When Needed. “The best laid plans…” “We plan and God laughs”. We’ve all heard
these rubrics. What’s important is that missions, visions and values are agile, updated and re-examined as needed. When we fail to take account of changing times and changing resources, we are limiting our success.
3)   Use Concrete Visions. When we work with different organizations, we are subjected to many organizations whose visions could have been lifted from their own competitors. “We strive to be a world class company that provides the best value for our customers,” and so on.
Visions frequently sound the same and when the new vision is presented to employees, they nod their heads and fall asleep.

Instead, how about “moon-shot” visions?

“Our vision is to put a man on the moon by ___” (JFK)
“Our vision is to put a computer on every desk by ___” (Apple?)

These kinds of visions help wake people up and move them in a measureable, exciting direction. They may be terrified that the vision is insane but they won’t be bored and — if the leader is strong enough — your people will work with dedication and speed to bring your vision into reality.

What Do You Think?

Have you seen examples of these ideals that worked? If so, how? Do you agree or disagree with this approach?

Did You Know

As part of our leadership workshops and retreats, we are happy to facilitate strategic plans that include missions, visions and values.

Call or write us at: 303-216-1020 or
Learn more about our training offerings and check out our team members at:
Be sure to read Lynne’s book “The Power of a Good Fight” and learn to embrace conflict to drive productivity, creativity and innovation.
  
Workplaces That Work | (303) 216-1020 | lynne@workplacesthatwork.com
3985 Wonderland Hill | Suite 106 | Boulder, CO 80304

Newsletter – Want to Run a Tight, High Functioning Ship? Consider the Mueller Method

 September 3, 2018

Want to Run a Tight, High Functioning Ship? Consider the Mueller Method

 

Let’s put aside for a moment the political controversy over special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. By all accounts of former employees, bosses and co-workers, Mueller has always run a tight ship. In a New York Times article: The Mueller Method: Tenacious, Tight-Lipped and By-the-Book, former colleagues from his stint as a U.S. Attorney, as well as when he ran the F.B.I. – four decades of public service — describe him as a steady and strong leader.

Mueller has told colleagues that he had learned a management mantra as a Marine platoon leader: You cannot make people do things they are incapable of doing.

Instead prodding employees to do better, he preferred to move quickly to assemble the best possible teams, even if that required terminating long-term employees and creating disruptions.

What Should You Do?
What could you learn from Mueller’s style?
  • Understand the strengths and weaknesses of all your staff.  People usually improve by focusing on their strengths, rather than correcting weaknesses.
  • Have you given your people the tools, training and coaching to succeed?  If so, at some point, they have to take responsibility for their own success.
  • Give people chances but don’t wait forever.  If you’ve been fair and consistent in your feedback, given someone second and third chances, and the employee still hasn’t improved, consider whether you have a strength mismatch.  Can you reassign or restructure?  If not, you may need to move them out of the organization.
  • Be empathetic but realize that your ultimate responsibility is to assemble the best team, not play coach to a struggling staff forever.

For more tips on this topic, see out website: http://www.workplacesthatwork.com/newsletter-coachingtheuncoachable/

What Do You Think?

Have you waited too long to let someone go? Send us your thoughts and stories.

Did You Know

All of our management and leadership sessions include ways to make sure leaders know how to help people become more successful, as well as how to know when to let go.
Call or write us at: 303-216-1020 or
Learn more about our training offerings and check out our team members at:
Be sure to read Lynne’s book “We Need to Talk” Tough Conversations with Your Employee
  
Workplaces That Work | (303) 216-1020 | lynne@workplacesthatwork.com
3985 Wonderland Hill | Suite 106 | Boulder, CO 80304