Sandy Schwan at Evolving Strategies, LLC

Step Out of the Shade and Into Your Talents

"Hide not your talents, they for use were made. What's a sundial in the shade?"

Benjamin Franklin

I drive my sister crazy with all of the questions I ask people that I meet. But, if one of my life's missions to to help people understand what they are good at, then my questions must remain. [Note to sis: Coleen, I love you, but I've got to keep on keeping on with my questions!]

By paying attention and asking the right questions, you will likely discover many hidden talents among your leaders, peer, team members, family members, friends, volunteers, yourself. 

Many leaders are in a situation know where they cannot hire more talent. Why not ask the following four questions of the talent you currently have to determine how to maximize your resources? 

1. 

Turn a compliment into an interview.

• Congratulate an employee on a job well done; then, ask exactly what helped her succeed. By better understanding her process, you may uncover an unseen strength.

2. Ask why employees prefer certain tasks or projects.

• Preferences can provide insight into someone's talents. An employee might enjoy a project because it involves a product he cares about or because it gave him a chance to interact with customers directly or because... Knowing which will possibly uncover talents.

3. Inquire about dreams.

• Ask your employee what she would do if she had her career to do over again. Dreams often include an aspect of someone that she doesn't regularly share.

 4. Analyze how people think, not just what they do.

• This one is my favorite. What is behind accomplishments is a way of thinking, particular to an individual, that made success possible. Ask your team member to walk you through his thought process on how he arrived at a solution. Articulating this dimension of how his mind works will help you -- and your team member-- identify the other projects that require his inductive talents. It will l also show him that you truly understand the value of his contributions.

I will also suggest that you consider asking these questions of yourself. I know a number of people in the midst of a job search, and they feel at wit's end with what to do next. I am hopeful that these questions may be a source of freeing your thoughts to find what it is that truly inspires you.

Adapted from Steven DeMaio's How to Identify Your Employees' Hidden Talents. 24 June 2009

Two Ears and One Mouth: Use Accordingly

"Listen to the whispers and you won't have to hear the screams."

Cherokee proverb

Starting a new role? You may be tempted to jump in and provide solutions immediately to prove your value, but you might be shooting yourself in the foot with this behavior. There is nothing wrong with being active. Just be an active listener.

There are five key elements of active listening, helping you ensure that you hear the other person, and that the other person knows you are hearing what they are saying.

1.  Pay attention.
Give the speaker your undivided attention and acknowledge the message.

• Look at the speaker directly.
• Put aside distracting thoughts. Don’t mentally prepare a response.
• Avoid being distracted by environmental factors.
• “Listen” to the speaker’s body language. Recognize that what is not said also speaks loudly.
• Refrain from side conversations when listening in a group setting.
  

2.  Show that you are listening.
Use your own body language and gestures to convey your attention.

• Nod occasionally. Smile and use other facial expressions. Just make sure you are natural.
• Note your posture and make sure it is open and inviting.
• Encourage the speaker to continue with small verbal comments (try 'yes' or 'okay').

3.  Provide feedback.
Our personal filters, assumptions, judgments and beliefs can distort what we hear. As a listener, your role is to understand what is being said. This may require you to reflect what is being said and ask questions.

• Reflect what has been said by paraphrasing. “What I’m hearing is…” and “Sounds like you are saying…” are great ways to reflect back.
• Ask questions to clarify certain points. “What do you mean when you say…” “Is this what you mean?”
• Summarize the speaker’s comments periodically.

4.  Defer judgment.
Interrupting is a waste of time. It frustrates the speaker and limits full understanding of the message.

• Allow the speaker to finish.
• Don’t interrupt with counter-arguments.

5.  Respond Appropriately.
Active listening is a model for respect and understanding. You are gaining information and perspective. You add nothing by attacking the speaker or otherwise putting him or her down.

• Be candid, open and honest in your response.
• Assert your opinions respectfully.
• Treat the other person as s/he would want to be treated.

Wishing Kory and Jill, two of my colleagues and friends, the best of luck and continued success in their newly expanded roles.

Adapted from Mind Tools.

The Name of the Game? Integration.

"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships."

Michael Jordan, (American NBA basketball player, widely considered to be the greatest player in the history of the game, 1963 - )

For companies that care about the client / customer experience (and who doesn't these days?), teamwork and integration is a must.

ACTION

1. Choreograph all your client touch points so the client has a seamless experience whether s/he interacts with your account team, speaks with your finance team, walks into your storefront, contacts your service center, uses your website, or self-serves.
2. Ensure sure the systems and processes that support this coordination are in sync. Often, companies have channel-specific silos that are culturally and logistically at odds.
3. Create incentives that encourage your people to coordinate across those channels. Look out for those who serve as barriers to a harmonized customer experience. If they can't learn to coordinate, it may be time for them to make room for their integration-minded colleagues.

 

Learn more by reading the article upon which this posting was adapted and based: How Integrated Are Your Customer Experiences?,by Jesse James Garrett of Adaptive Path.

What to Ask the Person in the Mirror

"...the best way to figure out how you’re doing is to step back and ask yourself a few questions." *

Today, I was just chatting with one of my mentors, John Fowler, a Senior Vice President at The Northern Trust Company, about if and how senior leaders really assess their skills, ethics, etc. Here's why:

1. All leaders get off track on occasion.
2. The higher the rank in the company (large or small), the fewer opportunities exist for honest and direct feedback.
3. If feedback is given, it is often filtered because no one wants to anger the boss. Or, the feedback is completed rejected by the boss.
4. The performance management process does provide the opportunity for feedback, but this feedback often seems more rote than useful.

So then what? How do you really know how are you doing as a leader; the ethics you are displaying; how your peers, subordinates perceive you, your leadership style, progress, capabilities and fit?

John shared with me one of his tactics for receiving regular, honest and direct feedback. He said he has never forgotten the message his dad shared with him years ago:

"Son, you better like who you see every morning while you are lookin' in the mirror and shaving. Because that is the person you have to answer to every day on how you are conducting business and treating people." 

And, as a strong believer in reflection being a key leadership trait, I love Fowler Sr.'s advice. And, I can vouch that this 'high-tech' method John employs on a daily basis works. His leadership and ethics bars are off the charts. Let's hear it for effective self-assessment in action!

In his spot-on article, "What to Ask the Person in the Mirror,*" Robert Kaplan suggests self-assessing your performance as a leader and manager periodically related to seven key leadership challenges. Here is a teaser:

To address this leadership challenge...Managing Time

Ask...Does the way I spend my time match my key priorities?

Because...Tracking your use of time can reveal startling - even horrifying - disconnects between your top priorities and your actions. Such disconnects send confusing messages to employees about your true priorities.

Follow the link to learn more. I think this is a fantastic 'ready reference' that any leader could post on his / her bathroom mirror for daily reflection while shaving or brushing your teeth.  I am sharing this article with the team of senior leaders I am working with now. I will let you know how it goes!

Know Thy Partner: Three Client Types and How to Work With Them

An interesting perspective to consider of the outset of each 'client' and / or organizational change.

Self-Service Employee Engagement During Organizational Change

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain." Maya Angelou

Lots of interest and answers exists in how to engage employees. How are those solutions working? I am not sure, but I am thinking of a way to guarantee its success: self-service employee engagement.

One of the books I am reading currently states that "many studies have revealed that the average person possesses from 500 to 700 different skills and abilities." Wow – that is quite a large number to work with. And, it sounds like a great platform to use in helping to know that there is no lack of new ways to think about personally engage and navigate through organizational change successfully.

Going through organizational change can be frustrating. Actually, I will guarantee that you will experience frustration at some time during the change. When working with clients, I may hear questions like these regarding the managing change:

• When is 'it' going to be over, to stop?
• Why should I do anything or pay attention to anything since things are going to change again in six months?
• I am so frustrated. Just tell me what to do, and I will go do it.
• Why can't I just do my job the same way I've been doing it for the past 25 years?

How about if you decide to take the bull by the horns (yep, that is my southern heritage coming out loud and clear) and choose ways that you can win in the game of managing change? Why not think about the skills you want to show your company or skills you want to further develop? There are a lot of unknowns during organizational change, so try to define the shaping and engaging of your involvement.

ACTION

1. Make a list of activities that you enjoy doing. These activities can be in your professional or personal life (i.e., managing a family requires significant management and organizational skills, patience and flexibility to name a few!).
2. Identify five to fifteen skills that are required to do that activity well.
3. Think about how you can apply either one or many of those skills to guide you and others through the current organizational change your company is under-going.
4. Give your ideas a try.

In the end, you and your company – or team, family, organization, school, etc. – will win. Victims need not apply.

Remembering Not to Oversharpen Your S.A.W.

During lunch today with one of my mentors - Don Adamis, senior vice president at The Northern Trust Corporation, the topic of S.A.W. (Strength As Weakness) came up. For instance, do you receive...

• great reviews for your ability to make decisions quickly? Terrific! But...
  • remember to include others in the decision-making process (as appropriate), or you risk engaging and gaining buy-in from your team members  
• accolades on the data you provide to support conclusions? Outstanding! But...
  • ensure you don't overwhelm your audience will too much information, or you risk losing them in the details  
• kudos for your strong follow through? Bravo! But...
  •  make sure you know when to let something go vs. checking a box on a to-do list. Otherwise, you risk appearing weak in your ability to see 'the big picture'   

Isn't chocolate cake (or in Don's case, blueberry pie) a great treat at the end of a meal? Do you think that you would perceive chocolate cake differently if it was the only food you could eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner?

ACTION

While discovering your strengths is important, try a little moderation this week.

Crash. Burn. Turnaround: Seven Ways to Turn Failure Into Success

"Every strike brings me closer to the next home run." 

Babe Ruth (1895–1948), American baseball player

Perhaps you are leading an organizational change (e.g., merger, acquisition, downsizing, hyper-growth, business process reengineering) that is not performing quite as planned. It could even be considered a…failure. So, what do you do?

 

You may not realize it now, but you have (at least) two key responses: the ‘little w’ response and the ‘Big W’ response (and I am hopeful that my Northern Trust Corporation colleagues reading this entry are smiling at the re-use of big and little w).

 

Option One: The little w response. wallow in self-pity

 

Option Two: Big W response:  Be Willing. Be Willing to turn disappointments into great accomplishments by:

• Changing a course of action that isn’t working, no matter how much faith, time and money you may have put into it so far
• Abandoning a path that is not taking you where you want to go, and starting over again

Thomas Edison believed there were no mistakes or failures, only “eliminated options” that brought him one step closer to his goal. Decide to eliminate option one above and rethink failure.

A failure can be a valuable opportunity to regroup and rethink strategies and goals. Do not let pride keep you stuck in a wrong decision. Realize there is hope on the other side of the change, even if you cannot see it yet.

 

ACTION: Try these seven steps to turn failure into success. 

1.   Look at your past objectively

2.   Focus on the purpose on the other side of the failure / pain

3.      Realize that you can’t see the whole parade from where you stand

4.      It’s not whether you have won or lost in the past; it’s the person you have to become to win in the future. Think about who you want to become 

5.  Accept that falling is a normal part of life, but try to fall forward - in the direction of your goal

6.  Realize that pain and heartache are only labor pains before your / the change's birth

7.  Know that retreat does not equal defeat

I recognize that these steps are not easy. There are strategies and tools to help you succeed in each step. Consider adding your steps that have worked well for you in the past. Even better, create a new step.

Make a deliberate decision not to give up in transforming your adversities into success springboards.

 

Adapted from © Advisor Today 2008 and Critical Choices That Change Lives: How Heroes Turn Tragedy Into Triumphby Daniel Canstro. All rights reserved.

Pain & Suffering or Pain & Pleasure? You Pick.

"Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional."

Adlai E. Stevenson (1900–1965), American politician

It is true – changes affecting industries, organizations, teams or individuals can bring pain. Nevertheless, how you choose to handle this pain is up to you.  

Action

Generate Positive Momentum by Planning for and Creating Small Wins

1. Identify and write down the changes you can control.
2. Write down a plan to address each change in a productive way.
3. Communicate. Execute. Adjust. Communicate.
4. Repeat Step Four as often as you can.

Broaden Your Sphere of Influence and Control by Leveraging New and Old Relationships

1. Write down the changes you think you cannot control.
2. Accept that some changes are simply outside of your sphere of influence, but...
3. Consider whether you can influence components of a change.
4. Consider what relationships you can leverage to broaden your influence.
5. Collaborate and write down a plan to address each change or change component in a productive way.
6. Communicate. Execute. Adjust. Communicate.
7. Repeat Step Six as often as you can.

Organizational change – it is inevitable. Try to view each change as an opportunity to sharpen your leadership skills.

Facing a Naysayer, a Sally Stubborn? Then Isolate and / or Neutralize.

"Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship." 
  Benjamin Franklin, (January 17, 1706 – April 17, 1790), one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, noted polymath, leading author and printer, satirist, political theorist, politician, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman and diplomat

In addition to the lengthy description of Mr. Franklin noted above, it seems as if he also was an expert in organizational change. Those ‘little expenses’ can add up quickly. The little expenses I am referring to have more to do with time and energy than with money. And I can tell you from experience that organizational change – actually, any change – requires many people’s time and energy to work.

So what do you do if you have a naysayer who will not accept an organizational change that needs to occur and is already underway? Let us call this person Sally Stubborn. With Sally, you have two options: isolate or neutralize her.

ACTION

Decide if Sally is needed during and / or after the organizational change.

If so:

Neutralize

Schedule time with Sally to listen actively to her point of view about the change. (I will bet you may be able to find a nugget of truth in her concerns.) Ask her for recommended solutions to her concerns. Ask her if she wants to lead one of these efforts to address her concerns.

Find an ally - how about Coleen Cooperative? Coleen is at the same level as Sally and she is an engaging leader in the organizational change strategy and execution. Ask Coleen for assistance and / or guidance in dealing with Sally.

Encircle Sally with people who are excited about and engaged in the change. Attitudes can be infectious. 

Determine a plan with dates and expectations to help Sally succeed. Decide at what point you want to include Sally in building this plan.

Isolate

Work around Sally. This can be an effective strategy if you have other change champions or willing participants on the bandwagon. Especially others who are at the same organizational level.

Develop an exit strategy for her. If you have tried all of the above to no avail, inform Sally that she needs to get with the program or she runs the risk of having to explore other options outside of the company. Sometimes you will have to cut bait with energy-draining employees who simply will not cooperate.

There are other options to consider, but this is a solid starting point. Whichever path you choose, consult a select few about your concerns with Sally before making your decision. Sally may simply need a little push, assistance, validation that she is being heard, or some one-on-one time with someone she trusts who will listen then explain why changes are occurring. And guess what? These options do not have to cost you a penny.

You and your team’s time and energy during an organizational change are precious. Use wisely.