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All Things Workplace

Life at the intersection of people and work. . . for executives, leaders, employees, and their consultants from Steve Roesler

People can give 100% of their energy, talent and time. No more.

Forget about all of the "We're going to give 110%" speeches, as well as the clever-but-ridiculous "do more with less." You aren't going to do more with less. You may be able to get by with less, survive with less, and even learn to enjoy "less." But you aren't going to do more. (If you are one who insists on saying such things, stop it now. You are losing credibility and respect).

The important factor in your personal or business productivity is how you allocate your energy, time, and talent. How much is being spent on internal concerns such as layoffs, office configuration, and status issues vs. customer relationships, products and services?

I don't know that there is a perfect, scientific, numerical answer. But I'm darned sure that if you switched the mix from, say, 65% external/35% internal to 75%/25%, you would see an increase in productivity. "Downsizing" or "Right-sizing" (it's only "right" for the people who are still left to utter the hideous term) doesn't do that. In fact, it causes people to focus even more attention internally. Why? Because under stress we want more of a sense of control. And, we can control i

Strengths, Weaknesses, and Genuine GrowthDecember 1

I decided to take a break for the past week, enjoy my family during the Thanksgiving holiday, and return renewed.

Doing What Comes Naturally was about paying more attention to what comes easily to us. Too often we ignore our talents because it doesn't "feel" like we are working very hard.

The reason I emphasized this is because of a tendency--beginning with elementary school education--to point out the deficiencies in one's performance based upon another's perceived sense of what is important, worthwhile, and desirable. We tend to hear more about our downsides than our inherent gifts. Later on in life, organizations tend to do the same thing with gap analyses based upon competencies. That's not bad at all if the competencies are related to your desired professional development. It works better if the gap analysis is tied into agreed-upon goals. That way, you are looking at performance vs. results instead of performance vs. behaviors which may not, in fact, have anything to do with your success. My experience with a number of competencies is that they fit into a textbook, social-engineering "this is how you should be" framework that can be inaccurate and merely reflect the fad-du-jour in management.

Strengths vs. Weaknesses: It's Not An Either/Or

Doing What Comes NaturallyNovember 24

We don't pay much attention to what seems to come easily to us. We should.

I'm working with mid-career executives on their professional development. One has a grouping of talents that would make any major construction or engineering firm drool with the anticipation of hiring him as a project manager.

So when I pointed out his natural strengths, what was his response?

"Oh, of course, but that's just stuff that I've always liked to do."

Well, yeah! It just so happens that what he's always like to do--and is really, really good at--fits perfectly with outstanding project management. But he never saw himself as gifted in that area because it seemed easy. As a result, he spent years not promoting his career because he thought that if it was easy it must not be worth anything.

Are you doing the same thing?

Start paying attention to what you do really well and the underlying communication, relational, and functional talents that go with it. I use a proprietary assessment to zero in on the specifics with my clients. You can start by asking those around you to tell you how they see you in these three areas:

Com

Feedback, Truth, and LoveNovember 21

Sodium is an active element found naturally only in combined form; it always links itself to another element. Chlorine is the poisonous gas that gives bleach its strong and offensive odor. When sodium and chlorine are combined, the result is sodium chloride--the common table salt that we use to preserve meat and bring out its flavor.

Love and truth are a lot like sodium and chlorine. Love without truth is erratic, often blind, and even willing to attach itself to anything that seems desirable in the moment. On the other hand, truth by itself can be quite offensive, even poisonous. Spoken without the intent of kindness or a spirit of love, it can turn people away from what they really need to hear.

Feedback is a big deal in organizations. It can be used to guide people to greater heights of performance or break someone's spirit in an instant.

Before delivering what you know to be true, check out your mental salt shaker and let your heart catch up with your mind.

How To Use The Right Words At WorkNovember 20

"Remember the meeting time."

"Don't forget the meeting time."

Do both of those say the same thing? Not as far as your brain is concerned.

Why not?

The brain doesn't register negatives. So if you use the negative sentence, “Don’t forget the meeting time,” your brain will ignore the “don’t” and hear the statement “forget the meeting time.”

If you use the positive sentence, “Remember the meeting time,” you’ll have a much better chance of seeing your participants show up on schedule.

The mind wants direction, not a sense of "lack." That's why it's important to pay attention to how you say things. If I tell you that something is "not very expensive" you'll focus on "expensive."

Try these:

"New" vs. "Untried"
"By 5 O'clock" vs. "By the end of the day"
"Economical" vs. "Inexpensive"

Note: This is how improvement efforts often get bogged down: "I want us to make fewer mistakes" translates differently than "I want to increase the accuracy of our customer service solutions by 30% before November 30."