Leadership Blink April 23, 2012
Posted by Jeff Pasquale in Business, Change, Leadership, Life, Personal Development, Teams, Teamwork.Tags: business, Change, Leadership, Life, personal development, teams, teamwork
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Consider these as two more arrows in your quiver when you want to create, support, or effect change.
The qualities these arrows represent are seldom discussed openly within organizations but they are sorely needed - Trust and Respect.
They may sound clichéd, but answer this question honestly – do you typically embrace and support initiatives proposed by someone whom you do not trust and respect?
In his book Blink, Malcolm Gladwell posits that we all make decisions in the blink of an eye without recognizing how our biases and judgments factor in.
Forget about your knowledge, experience, or title, can people trust and respect you, or not?
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Ha!! Slogans vs Action March 22, 2012
Posted by Jeff Pasquale in Business, Life, Management, Relating, Teams, Teamwork.Tags: business, Life, management, relating, teams, teamwork
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I had a conversation with a manager from our cable company recently. Minutes before, one of the company’s customer service folks had hung up on me after I expressed my dissatisfaction with the rep’s ability to solve my problem. I asked to speak to a manager. Click.
“I’m very sorry,” the manager said, “that is clearly against our policy!” He immediately got to work resolving my problem and succeeded.
When I asked how the offending CSR would be dealt with, he responded, there was no way they could trace that call. There were too many employees in too many locations.
So, in other words, you have a policy that you cannot enforce? “Well, yes,” he replied, “but it’s a strong policy.”
Who knows? Maybe there is a way to track calls; maybe there isn’t. Regardless, they have a nice slogan, which I’ve added a few words to the end for clarity sake.
“Every … employee is dedicated to meeting the commitments above and to exceeding your expectations”…except if you’re looking to speak to their manager.
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Thinking is Overrated. DO Something! March 13, 2012
Posted by Jeff Pasquale in Business, Change, Leadership, Life, Management, Personal Development, Teams.Tags: business, Change, Leadership, Life, management, personal development, teams
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Thinking is overrated. DO Something.
It’s as easy as that and as difficult as that.
Forget about habits, elements, cheese, laws, secrets, and agreements, there is one thing that everyone can do right now, without hours of training, without over-thinking, and without spending hundreds of dollars learning it from someone else. It’s called doing.
“We have a strategic plan. It’s called getting things done.”
– Herb Kelleher
Stop waiting to be told what to do and how to do it. Figure it out yourself. Don’t be reckless but don’t be helpless either.
This is not the time to be shy or self-conscious. Only you can make it happen. Stop waiting for permission. Stop waiting for the right time. Create your own momentum. Do.
“Action expresses priorities.” ― Mahatma Gandhi
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(DO = How to perform, accomplish, act, complete, achieve, create, and execute in two letters.)
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Expectations Travel Both Ways March 7, 2012
Posted by Jeff Pasquale in Business, Job Search, Leadership, Life, Management, Relating.Tags: business, job search, Leadership, Life, management, relating
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Got a new job, new assignment, or a new project? Regardless what it is, don’t wait for your copy of clear and concise instructions to be delivered during a well-coordinated handoff meeting. It’s not going to happen.
What to do? Start asking questions. Lots of questions. And if you don’t get answers, start asking more questions. And if you still don’t get answers, start doing what needs to be done, that is, your job. Be thorough, be precise, and over deliver.
Now if you happen to be the manager of that person taking on this new job, assignment, or project, it’s your job to set a goal, state expectations, and offer support. Don’t expect the new person on the block to be asking questions in these times of economic fear. Very few will challenge the status quo, much less their boss, by pestering you with probing questions.
In other words, both parties have an equal responsibility to set and receive instructions, provide feedback, and deliver results. Both share the burden…and likewise should share in the joys of success for a job well done.
Everyone has a boss. Even your boss. But don’t assume that he or she is fair, courteous, or concerned. Do your job, do the best you can, ask questions, over-deliver where you can, and don’t look back.
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Team Flow February 13, 2012
Posted by Jeff Pasquale in Business, Creativity, Leadership, Learning, Life, Management, Relating, Teams, Teamwork.Tags: business, Leadership, Life, management, teams, teamwork
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Team flow is simply the ease of getting things accomplished.
A team will flow effortlessly when these 3 things do not exist – fear, blame, and conceit.
A lack of fear, blame, and conceit will open the space necessary for great ideas to grow and flow throughout a team.
You cannot police the flow of your team; you can only be alert for when you are being fearful, blame-focused, or self-important.
The power of this threesome is such that if even a single member of a team embraces one of them, the team’s flow, or ability to accomplish, will be diminished.
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Everyone Creates February 3, 2012
Posted by Jeff Pasquale in Business, Creativity, Leadership, Learning, Life, Personal Development.Tags: business, creativity, learning, Life, personal development
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Creativity and standardization do coexist comfortably despite popular opinion’s best efforts to keep them separate. Standardization is the foundation upon which to build and establish things. Creativity improves them.
Creativity is really problem-solving in disguise. Each one of us has been forced to be creative from time to time. Whether it’s figuring out a different route home because a road is blocked or coming up with another way to process an order at work because the system is down, you can create; you just may not believe it.
Everyone is creative; the difference between a highly creative person and one who says he is not is confidence.
You may prefer the straight and narrow path of predictability instead of creativity. If so, be prepared to change plans when your system fails because of a power outage, or a strike shuts down your supplier’s plant, or your laptop gets stolen. These are all situations that require creativity on your part. You’re going to have to figure out something.
Learn to flip the switch and create on demand. Get comfortable with thinking on your feet and not spending hours in the conference room with teammates trying to decide where the company logo should go on your coffee mugs.
There is a time and a place for standardization but there is an ever-increasing demand for creating great things (products or services) quickly and affordably.
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Team Politics January 25, 2012
Posted by Jeff Pasquale in Business, Leadership, Life, Personal Development, Relating, Teams, Teamwork.add a comment
It seems you can’t go far without getting involved in politics anymore. The discussions are endless and there’s little resolution. The only thing worse than watching the drama of politics play out in the media is experiencing it first hand on the job.
Office (or Team) politics usually is a no win situation. You are seemingly trapped into choosing sides; one side’s right and the other is wrong, but each side believes the other is wrong. With all of the bantering back and forth (he’s this and she’s that) it’s a wonder any work gets done…or does it?
What should you do when confronted with office politics? Your job.
Sorry, it’s that simple…about 90% of the time. The reality is, if you have time to discuss office politics on the job, you’re not busy enough. (Don’t confuse office politics with office gossip. That’s another post.)
Office politics will always exist, but that does not mean you have to participate. If you find yourself in a situation where office politics rule, and you’re forced to choose sides, you’re in the wrong company. If you have no chance of breaking free anytime soon, the next post will offer some steps for working in a “political environment.”
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No Permission Necessary January 16, 2012
Posted by Jeff Pasquale in Leadership, Learning, Life, Personal Development.Tags: Leadership, learning, Life, personal development
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You don’t need permission to:
- Make a decision
- Create something new
- Change your job or career
- Enjoy what you’re doing
- Sing in the rain
- Go the extra mile
- Do something special for someone
- Put others first
- Put yourself first
- Go on an adventure
- Dream big
- Ask for help
- Make a mess
- Start over
- Rediscover your partner
- Clean things up
- Take time to think about things
- Offer your opinion
- Lead
- Change your life
- Do more than expected
- Help without being asked
- Always do your best
- Be yourself
What are you waiting for?
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Team Politeness January 10, 2012
Posted by Jeff Pasquale in Business, Life, Management, Personal Development, Relating, Teams, Teamwork.Tags: business, Life, management, relating, teams, teamwork
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Is your team honest or too polite?
Even the most harmonious team has arguments, problems, and disagreements, but there’s a fine line that should be drawn to keep things from getting personal.
The issue is the problem, not the person. But too often there’s a transference of energy that occurs during an argument, and it usually gets directed towards a person.
This energy push is usually power-driven or ego-driven.
If you’re strong, you’ll dish it out; if you’re timid, you’ll get bulldozed; but if you’re an engaged (and honest) team member, you’ll just state your position, defend it, and then let it go.
Polite is saying please and thank you, being an engaged team member is being truthful about how you feel and what you think – and not making it personal.
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Team Horse Race January 5, 2012
Posted by Jeff Pasquale in Business, Life, Relating, Teams, Teamwork.Tags: business, Life, relating, teams, teamwork
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Do your team meetings ever resemble a day at the races? Not the race track but the Marx Brothers movie, “A Day at the Races.”
Sometimes a team member will withhold important information from other members (not maliciously but with the intent of controlling things). This requires other members to pull information out of the person, bit by bit.
There’s a scene in the movie that depicts this kind of behavior. It involves Chico selling Groucho a “hot racing tips” book from his bogus ice cream cart. (“Gettaya Tuttsi Fruitsi Ice Cream,” he beckons.)
Grouch gives in and buys a book only to find out that he must buy yet another book, and another book, in order to get the information he needs.
Team members who control the flow of information slow things down, send signals of mistrust, and generally are playing with the heads of their team mates. Why?
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