February 2005

Take Time to Be Successful!

The great dividing line between success and failure can be expressed in five words: "I did not have time."

As a reminder, here are five quick tips for effective time management:

1. List and prioritize weekly objectives.

2. Make a daily "to do" list and prioritize it by A-B-C.

3. Devote primary attention to your A's.

4. Handle each piece of paper only once.

5. Continually ask, "What is the best use of my time right now?" and DO IT!

Are You Expecting Success?

February is International Expect Success Month. You should expect success every day of the year. This month is a great time to recharge your success batteries and refocus on the success you expect and deserve in life.

To help you recharge those batteries, take time to read and applied the success techniques from the following articles:

• Five Secrets to Creating a "Goal" Medal Life - Part I

• Five Secrets to Creating a "Goal" Medal Life - Part II

• The Greatest Gift of All - The Gift of Empowerment

• 10 Secrets to Motivating Yourself to Great Accomplishments

• Goal Setting Secrets to Jumpstart Your Life

• Delegate to Accelerate Success

Leadership Skills for Challenging Times

We consistently face new and ever growing challenges in the workplace such as reorganizing, downsizing, and "left out sizing." We are faced with the question, "How do we lead in this storm of change?" It may seem difficult at times and the decisions we make define our short-term and long-term outcomes. I will share with you five leadership techniques guaranteed to keep you on track during these difficult times.

• Integrity. I put this first because the lack of integrity will make or break you as a professional, as a leader, as a person in the long run. The lack of this will turn yesterday's heroes in today's villains. For example, "MCI was the apple of the business community's eye. High revenues, high profits, and high growth; MCI was beating the competition hands down. Then it was discovered that there were gross accounting irregularities that accounted for the astounding profits. You see, management made a decision, "Do I continue to sustain good growth and be able to look at myself in the mirror or do I cook the accounting books and spend the rest of my time covering up this integrity deficiency? The real shame of the MCI situation was that AT&T, Sprint, and others in the industry had to cut costs and lay off thousands of employees to compete with MCI's false numbers. The lack of integrity at MCI not only affected the company but also the livelihood of thousands and the industry as a whole.
  
  I was recently speaking with a recently retired City Council member who is well respected in the community. I asked her what the secret was to her success while on the council? She mentioned that one of her political adversaries said to her, "While you were on the council, I didn't like the way you voted, but I respected the way you voted because you were consistent with your votes and had the city's best interest in mind."
  
  Ask yourself what decisions that you make are right for the long term? Be consistent in your actions, whether it is with management, your team, or your family.

• Knowledge. With change happening faster and faster every moment, it is extremely important that you gain the knowledge to master these changes. You owe it not only to yourself, but to your team and management. As I always say, "It's not having the right answer, it's that you have the right answer faster than before." Many times during my teambuilding programs a student will say, "I didn't know where to find the answer." Then I will say, "That is an unacceptable answer." Because part of being a leader is acquiring the skills to find the right answers. With the Internet, classroom and online training, mentors, etc., the knowledge is at your fingertips. Challenge your team members to use the same resources to acquire the knowledge to master their challenges. By acquiring this knowledge, you will be able to navigate your team through the ocean of change and achieve your goals.

• Decisiveness. You have seen them. They wait for information, then more information before making a decision. Then they need more information to support the information they already have. Then they need a committee to analyze the information. Then they wait for the perfect time to make the decision. Well, you know what I mean. Anyone you know? Make the decision! Good things happen when you take action; you grow, you adapt, and your team grows. There is no perfect time to make a decision. Leaders make decisions based on past experience, putting into action the decision, and staying and adapting the decision if needed. But make the decision. The worst quality you can show your team is indecision. What do you think your team sees when you can't make a decision? Make the decision and go for it.

• Vision. This is the ability not only to see what is the present - anyone can do that - it's the ability to see the future. Outstanding leaders can not only see their team for what they can do now, but what they can become, and paint the picture for them. These leaders are consistently communicating and coaching their team members to that vision.
  
  One of the best ways, and least used methods, to convey your vision is the team meeting (Teambuilding and Coaching Skills for Outstanding Results). Every meeting should start out with the team vision, mission, and goals; and the rest of the meeting should tie into the vision. For example, the motivation portion of the meeting should tie into the vision, the information portion of the meeting should tie into the vision, the training portion of the meeting should tie into the vision, etc.
  
  Also, invest time to develop your team members' personal visions and show them how they can accomplish their personal goals by tying into the overall vision. By consistently communicating the vision, your team will move with purpose, feel they are personally making a difference, and achieve their goals sooner.

• Unselfishness. Stephen Covey, in his successful book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, wrote that a true leader must be a servant to the ones he or she leads. The leader must be able to "give of oneself for the good of the team." In other words, be unselfish in words and action. Be unselfish in praise of others, in public, especially in front of management.
  
  Be unselfish in the ability to take time to listen, really listen to your team's concerns. A recent management survey said that the average time management invests doing "pure listening" to employees during the year is a mere two hours-just two hours! What was meant by "pure listening" time was listening with eye contact, acknowledgement, and not answering the phone while listening, not speaking with another person while listening, etc.
  
  Be unselfish in the ability to help your team. Whether it's the ability to readily assist with a difficult telephone call, jump in and remove road blocks for team members, or "be there" for a team member during challenging moments. Believe me, your team will remember those moments and excel for you.

Now I challenge you to put into action just one of the leadership techniques I mentioned above to achieve your vision, your mission, and your goals in the future.

How Appetizing Is Your Feedback? (Five Secrets to Give Feedback so Others will Listen)

Recently, I was watching a rerun of the successful television show, The Cosby Show. The patriarch of this professional family (He is a doctor and his wife is a lawyer.) played by Bill Cosby, was just told by his college-bound daughter that the boyfriend she brought home to meet him was really her fiancé. He was disappointed with the news. Disappointed not in the young man or what he did (he was a "maintenance engineer"), but in the way he was told about this engagement.

Mr. Cosby said that the way he was told was like taking a sizzling, delicious, robust T-bone steak and serving it on a garbage can lid. It's not too appetizing. You know the steak is delicious, but would we really want to eat it? It's not too appetizing.

I ask you, when you give feedback, do you make it appetizing for the receiver of the feedback? Or do you make your "steak" indigestible? We can be giving great feedback everyday and, unless we make it appetizing so others will digest it, our feedback will not acted upon.

The following are ten techniques for making your feedback more appetizing:

1. Prep for a Great Meal
   Just as you would prep for a great meal, you should prepare to give feedback. Mentally go over the following:
   
   • Is the feedback important?
   • What do I want to accomplish with the feedback?
   • Who are the persons I will be giving the feedback to?
   • How will they take my feedback? How can I make my feedback more appetizing for them?
   • How have they taken feedback in the past?
   • Is there someone better I can enlist to "serve" the feedback?
   Just as you would expect to produce a great meal, mentally expect to have a great feedback session. Take time to visualize the positive interaction and results by giving the feedback. Know that you will improve the lives of those you give feedback to and how you will accomplish your goals.
   Note: Remember, all feedback, with the goal of improving another individual or situation, is positive. It's when we are not receiving or giving constant feedback that situations turn negative due to misunderstandings.

2. Timing Is All Important for a Great Meal
   Make sure you are giving the feedback when it is needed. Giving feedback too long after there is need will dilute the "hunger" for the feedback. Giving feedback too early when there is no "hunger" for the feedback will allow your meal, your feedback, to go to waste and not have the impact on behavior that you need.

3. Quality Ingredients Are the Start of a Great Meal
   Be consistent every time you give feedback so that the person receiving the feedback will know what to expect. Be fair in your feedback. Also focus your feedback on actions observed, not the person. Or, as I say, "point to point, not person to person." Use "I" statements.
   • Be direct in your feedback. Just like you wouldn't want to wait forever to get to the main course, you wouldn't want to wait forever for someone to tell you why they are giving you feedback.
   • Set positive expectations so they want to eat. Instead of saying the following:

   "Mike, come by my office today at 3 p.m. so that I can give you some "constructive criticism." Mike is thinking he had rather be having a root canal.
   Say the following:
   "Mike, come by office at 3 p.m. today. I have some ideas on how to make your job easier (or some other benefit) and would value your feedback."

   Remember, in order for the receiver of the feedback to be hungry for the information, apply the "What's In It For Me" (WIIFM) technique. Ask yourself, "What is the benefit to the receiver of my feedback?"
   • Master Our Utensils. Master our utensils, the words we use, when serving the meal. For example, if you noticed someone unfocused in their conversation, you might say the following:

   "Sue, slow down! You are rambling too much."

   Instead say the following:
   

   "Sue, you sure have a lot on your mind. Let's concentrate on top the three points you want to discuss."

   Use positive words to create a great meal.

4. Ask for Feedback on the Meal
   Encourage the other person to give you feedback on your feedback. This may clear up any misunderstandings. Also, it shows that you value the other person’s opinion.

5. End the Meal on a Positive Note
   Appreciate their time, their manners, and overall demeanor to the feedback. Let them know that you appreciate the efforts they are making. Also tell them that you expect that there will be a positive outcome from the feedback session. Also, let them know that you are there to help them succeed.

Apply these techniques at work, home or in the community to ensure that your feedback is more appetizing to others. Bon appétit!