It’s getting to be about that time when people talk about New Year’s resolutions. What do you want to do differently in 2011? What would you like to be different in your life a year from now?
Just a couple of suggestions on New Year’s Resolutions: Don’t make too many of them. I’ve known some people who say, “This year I’m going to lose weight, exercise more, stop drinking, cut down on the amount of meat I eat,” and so forth, and they don’t even want to get up in the morning—it’s too overwhelming! So pick one, maybe two things that you’re going to focus on.
Several years ago, Bob Lorber and I wrote a book called Putting the One Minute Manager to Work. We talked about having a PRICE project. I like using that model for my New Year’s resolutions.
P is for pinpoint. What is the thing you’d like to do? Is it lose weight, is it exercise more? Identify what you want to work on and be specific.
R is for record. What is your present level of performance in that area? Get on the scale if you want to lose weight, or write down your present level of exercise so you have baseline data. Then with that, you can compare it with where you want to go, which involves the next step:
I is for involve. Gather all the key people in your life who can really help you and see if you can set a realistic goal. That’s the difference between what you’ve recorded, where you are now, and where you’d like to go. See what kind of help you can get from this group because it’s hard to stick to resolutions and you’re probably going to need a little help. What are they going to do to cheer you on? What are they going to do to hold you accountable? Plan it out and get agreement on your goal or goals.
C stands for coach. That means getting underway with your resolution—getting the coaching you need and the cheerleading, the supporting, the redirection. Let other people help to keep you in line. As I say, if you could do it by yourself, you would.
E stands for evaluate. That’s the end of the time period when you have achieved your goal, or moved toward your goal, and you look back and evaluate how you did. What could you have done differently? What went well? Any forward progression toward your resolution is worth celebrating. Track your progress and plan your future strategies. What will you pinpoint next?
So think about what’s going to be different next year. What are you going to be smiling about next December? Take care and have a terrific 2011!
One of the key steps to empowering people is to create autonomy through boundaries. A problem in the past was the assumption that empowered people could do anything they wanted; they were in charge. That theory just doesn’t make sense. A river without banks is just a large puddle—what permits a river to flow is its banks. In empowering people, the banks are the boundary areas or guidelines within which people can operate. Top management takes a lead in providing these boundary areas. They include the following:
Boundaries could also include policies and procedures. As I learned from coaching great Don Shula when we wrote Everyone’s a Coach—you first need to have a plan, and then you need to expect the unexpected and be ready to change that plan if necessary. In football, an “audible” is when the quarterback or defensive captain changes the plan on a given play when he realizes it won’t work. Shula emphasized that effectiveness at calling audibles begins with a plan.
This concept was verified by two of our top consultants when they had a chance to observe the training of guide dogs for the blind. They found that two kinds of dogs were disqualified from the program. The first kind, obviously, were the dogs who were completely disobedient—they wouldn’t do anything their master asked of them. The other kind of dogs that were dismissed, surprisingly, were ones that were completely obedient dogs—they would do whatever their master wanted. The dogs that worked best were dogs that would do whatever their master wanted unless it didn’t make sense.
Let me give you an example. The totally obedient dog and its master are standing at a street corner when the dog’s master says, “Forward.” The dog looks to the left and sees a car coming at sixty-five miles an hour. The dog thinks, “This is a real bummer,” as it leads its master out into the middle of the road. But a dog that is intelligent and allowed to think for itself can make a choice that best fits the given circumstances.
Many organizations don’t seem to want their people to bring their brains to work. How many times have you been in a situation where a front line employee said, “I’m sorry, but it’s our policy,” when in your specific circumstances the policy made no sense?
For example, one time when I was checking into a hotel, the woman behind the counter told me they had no rooms available until after 2:00 p.m. I said, “That’s okay with me. Could you please store my bags?”
She said, “Fine,” and asked me what else she could do for me.
I said, “I need to cash a traveler’s check.”
“I can’t do that,” she said. “I don’t know what your room number is yet.”
“Why do you need my room number?” I asked.
“I have to put it on the back of every traveler’s check.”
“That’s a good policy,” I said, “but you have my bags. It doesn’t make sense in this case.”
Her responses included “It’s our policy,” ”I just work here,” ”I don’t make the rules,” etc. Can you imagine a guide dog for the blind under those restrictions? It would be a goner at the first busy street!
Empowerment begins with boundaries. There is nothing wrong with policies or procedures or other guidelines—empowered employees welcome them—but they recognize they can use their brains and call audibles when the policy doesn’t make sense. Empowering people without giving them any boundaries can lead to disaster and failure.
One of the most difficult things I have had to do over the years is to learn to say no. As a people-oriented person, it is very difficult for me to say no to anyone—I don’t want to hurt their feelings or make them feel unimportant. As a result, ever since I was a teenager I have been overloaded with things I have agreed to do. I have always made too many commitments.
Saying no is simple, but not simply done by most people. I have tried all kinds of ways to say no in my life. When I was a professor at the University of Massachusetts, for example, I became so overwhelmed with things I had agreed to do that I sent out a letter to a number of people saying, “I am dying—dying from good opportunities. If I don’t do something about it, I will not be long for this world.” Then my letter went on to say that I had to drop a number of things I had agreed to do, just for survival. I apologized to each reader because I had to drop something I had planned to do with that person. The letter helped me out of the crisis in the short run, but was not something that made me proud.
To be effective in the long run in relieving overload, I’ve determined that you have to have a systematic approach and philosophy on saying no. I recommend three steps:
1) Be clear about what you are doing, and what your priorities are. If you are purposeful about how you are currently managing your work and time, it is easier to say no to new activities that are seemingly less important. We have a saying in one of our programs that goes, “A person who does not have goals is used by someone who does.”
To be proactive about saying no, you need to be very clear about your own goals. What are you trying to accomplish during a given period of time? How can you focus your energy on things that will move you toward those goals? This doesn’t mean you have to be rigid and inflexible if a new assignment or opportunity comes along, it just means your goals become your reality check. Within those goals, set priorities and stick to them. Then you will be better able to discern whether something is consistent with your job or area of expertise, which will make it easier to determine if you should take it on.
All good performance starts with clear goals. Without them you will quickly be a victim, because you will have no framework to make decisions about where you should or shouldn’t focus your energy. I become much better at saying no when I am more clear about my focus and what my goals are.
2) Be clear and realistic about the consequences of doing one more thing. This is for yourself as well as the person who wants you to do something new. I’ve found the best approach is to be honest and direct. For example, say, “If I do this, I won’t be able to do the other things I’ve committed to.” Or, if for no other reason than past history, you can say, “With what I’ve got going on right now, if I take on this additional task I feel certain that I won’t do as good a job as I’d like, and we will both be disappointed.”
In recent years when a new opportunity has come my way that I know I’m not able to do, I often compliment the idea (if I feel it has merit) and then simply say: “I don’t choose to get involved.” I’m amazed how, when I use this powerful approach, people very seldom say, “Well, why can’t you do it?” They just accept it and say, “Thank you.”
3) Offer alternatives and solutions. Suggest someone else who you feel could do the job or who may be available sooner to work on the task. If the request is from your manager, suggest a project or priority you are working on that could be dropped, delayed, or given to someone else, or ask your manager to do the same.
The degree of flexibility between these three approaches is, of course, a function of exactly what the task is, who is asking you to take it on, and the time frame involved. A request from your manager is going to involve more consideration and discussion than a request from an associate or someone you don’t know. Still, these basic approaches work.
Research done by Charles Garfield, author of the Peak Performance trilogy, clearly shows that peak performers only focus on a few key things. And the late, great leadership expert Peter Drucker asserted that the people who truly get things done are “monomaniacs on a mission”—people who focus intensely on one thing at a time. The more you take on, the greater the chance that you will lose effectiveness in not only getting that particular task done, but in all aspects of your life. Keep in mind that when you say no to someone, you are not saying no to them, only to their proposition. And never forget the old expression: “Nobody can take advantage of you without your permission.”
I’m constantly amazed at how employees and managers seem to consider training for themselves and their people not as an important opportunity but as a fringe benefit, reward, or social occasion, with little if any plan or expectation on the part of attendees or their managers to maximize the investment. This is a shame.
I find that with a minimal amount of forethought, the effectiveness, retention and practical application of almost any training opportunity can be greatly enhanced. This is true whether it is a presentation, classroom lecture, experiential learning situation, or even an internship. Here are three steps to follow to make sure training has a real impact on your organization.
Step 1: Set learning goals prior to training.
Before any learning experience, set goals for yourself and with your manager of what you hope to learn during the training. Just as we read faster and with better comprehension when we read with questions in mind, learning goals help us focus our attention and retention of concepts discussed in training.
For example, after you read the description of a training session, make a list of specific questions you would like to have answered while you are in the training. Ask how the session applies to your current or future job responsibilities. Then talk about your expectations with your manager and others in your immediate work group. Their comments might prompt you to form additional questions or learning goals for the training. The clearer your expectations for what you want to get out of the training, the greater the chances you will achieve those expectations.
Step 2: Use real-life applications in the training.
Once you are in the training, consistently try to apply what is being discussed back to your job and work group. For example, if the course is about communication skills, consider how to apply this learning with your employees, manager, and colleagues. If there is a chance to role-play, use someone you are having difficulty communicating with in your work group as a case study for your activity. If the course is on leadership, make it an opportunity to actively define your philosophy of leadership with examples to illustrate your beliefs. If the course is about problem solving, select one or more problems from your work environment to address during the seminar.
With other attendees and with the instructor, during a break or at the end of the day, discuss the application of the concepts to your focus area. Also, before the session ends, check your list of questions to be sure all items have been addressed.
The more you can view training as a chance to pause and examine problems and situations in your work setting, the more apt you are to get lasting value from the program. Even if the training doesn’t call for it, make an action plan so that when you’re back on the job you will be able to implement learnings and insights you gained in the program.
Step 3: Follow up on learnings once you are back at work.
As soon as you are back on the job, get out your original learning goals and see how many you achieved. Share what you have learned with others—your manager, your peers, or your employees. Having to explain things you learned will help you integrate those concepts into your own behavior.
Identify at least one change you can make right away to gain momentum for making other changes and to keep from slipping back, unchecked, into the status quo. With others in your work group, share your action plan for doing things differently as a result of the seminar and seek support for the changes you plan to make. Even the most determined person can benefit from the support and encouragement of others when trying to change his or her behavior.
Set a time in the not-so-distant future to review your plan and your progress. Hold yourself accountable by sharing your plan with your manager or others in your department. The extent and frequency of your follow-up is crucial to maximize the practical application of your learnings.
These three rules are not difficult to apply—in fact, you can have fun doing so. The time invested in getting the most out of training will help to increase your learning and its application and retention so that the initial investment in the learning activity will be paid back time and time again.
How We Lead 