Editor's Note: This is a guest post by Denise Green of Brilliance Inc.
In a courageous interview about the near-death of Netflix, CEO Reed Hastings admitted “I messed up” and “got distracted by the shiny object,” spinning off a business instead of “executing on the fundamentals.”
Here are three of my least favorite ‘shiny objects’ when it comes to leading and motivating people:
- Reorganizations
- Performance management, and
- Open-space floor plans
All of these give the illusion of progress. They feed a leader’s need to be seen as worthy of his salary and title. But they don’t work. Worse, all of them create distractions that disrupt productivity, sap morale, and dehumanize employees.
So, what really motivates people to do their best work and feel engaged and inspired by a company and its leaders?
Meaningful work aligned with their strengths, and the brain-space to actually make measurable, significant progress on that work.
A leader’s job then is to provide support and remove distractions. Instead, most leaders and companies create environments riddled with distractions and stressors.
It takes a courageous, confident leader to actually learn, listen, and as Hastings puts it, focus on the core strengths of the business and execute. It takes strength of will to avoid so called “best-practice” trends that have no merit.
Want to know the 5 critical ingredients needed for people to truly feel motivated and to do their best work? Check out my Recipe for Brilliance post inspired by research by Dan Pink, Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer.
And don’t get distracted by the shiny object.
“Nothing jangles a primate like crowding”
Neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett, quoted by David Rock in his article Misunderstanding the Brain is Bad for Business about the downsides of open floor plans.
“Don’t even consider recommending a reorganization. Anyone who requires more than one reorg over the life of his or her career will forfeit a year’s income (including bonuses and stock options) and possibly serve jail time.”
~ Fierce Leadership: A Bold Alternative to the Worst “Best” Practices of Business Today by Susan Scott
Your Turn:
If you’ve been a victim of shiny-object-leadership, what coping strategies got you through and kept you sane?
photo credit: AshleyCampbellPhotography
This is a terrific article by Maria Popova, George Plimpton on the Art of Public Speaking and How to Overcome Stage Fright from brainpickings.org – enjoy!
“No speech was ever too short,” a duo of legendary admen famously advised, and Plimpton agrees: He wrote this the year TED was founded and, like any great oracle of culture, he intuited the format-meme that TED would eventually rein in, arguing for the supremacy of the 20-minute talk over the hour-long academic-style lecture:
As anyone who listens to speeches knows, brevity is an asset. Twenty minutes are ideal. An hour is the limit an audience can listen comfortably.
In mentioning brevity, it is worth mentioning that the shortest inaugural address was George Washington’s — just 135 words. The longest was William Henry Harrison’s in 1841. he delivered a two-hour, nine-thousand -word speech into the teeth of a freezing northeast wind. He came down with a cold the following day, and a month later he died of pneumonia.
by Terry Gault
Using jargon is a sure way to create barriers between you and your audience. Using simple language is always preferable to acronyms and insider terms.
A client in a recent workshop shared the MBA Jargon Watch with me. They describe the site this way:
MBA Jargon Watch is the illegitimate brainchild of an MBA and full-time member of the dotcom petite bourgeoisie (I got a promotion). The intent of the Web site is to elucidate, amuse, and gently mock users and consumers of management, business, and consulting jargon. The definitions listed were selected using JargonRank, a proprietary measure based on the word's frequency of use among management professionals, students, professors and staff.
I got a number of good laughs reading this. Here's one choice example:
boil the ocean (v. phrase)
Clearly the least efficient way to produce a pile of salt. If a member of the corporate pantheon suggests you are trying to "boil the ocean," he or she thinks you are doing something incredibly inefficiently. It's time to prepare your resume, Einstein.
Enjoy!
photo credit: gavin llewellyn
by Chuck Kuglen
I was recently given a UK-based article about the “top 5 reasons communications” fail in the workplace. Other than some inappropriate spaces and odd spellings from the writer in our motherland, I’d add a very few critical and obvious caveats to the conversation. And an action or two. I’m a very short attention span person, if there is not some sort of call to action I’ll likely do nothing!
First, in my mind, “trust” trumps many aspects of communication. If you do not trust an organization, you’re probably not listening anyway. Or you find yourself poking fun at miscommunications, the organization, or a group or person within. If you do not trust someone, your boss, employee, executive, etc.—you’ll also have a bias in mistrust. And you’ll not “trust” what you hear or do not hear.
Second, most people find ways to communicate directly with those they like in an organization. They often do it with facial expressions, casual conversations, and “inside” talk about how they’ll support each other. In a word, they build alliances. They’ll rarely give focus time to people (leaders, groups) who they’ve already found a reason to not listen to. Those they do not like or trust. So it does not matter how well they’re really listening. And they take this bias back to others within their groups or work structures. This is precisely how and where “walls” are built.
More importantly, you’ll rarely find incredible listening, with honest/candid feedback and trust, even within functioning groups. It takes time and a skill-set people do not take time to develop. And, while it clearly influences numbers/results/revenue, you’ll often see this lacking on sales teams. And groups noted for their supposed “listening” abilities.
Take a peek at the linked article here, how are you as a listener? Could you spend 1-3 hours on this skill which comes back to you in saved hours communicating almost immediately? Do you have any fair to middling listeners with whom you work? Be honest, if we listened to one another better, could we see better results?
We have short modular “giving/receiving feedback” and listening programs like “How am I Driving?” We also can help if you want to try and “train-the-trainer” on coaching programs for leaders/managers within the structure. It takes minimal time and you can set up a beachhead for coaching activity with key people who influence others. Finally, let us know if you’re interested in this aspect of your communication but have no time. We can send you an article or exercise to practice on at home or with one person you often speak with.
photo credit: krossbow
by Terry Gault
I am a car guy. I have driven muscle cars, European sports sedans, and a Tesla roadster. A client took me for a spin in his Ferrari in the Oakland hills. In each case … laws were broken.
I got such a big laugh out of this. This campaign is very effective because it's a very clever premise, is well executed and very funny. Enjoy!
The ability to both give and receive candid performance feedback is critical in highly dynamic, fast-moving organizations.
4 Steps to Flawless Feedback: Dialogue and Defense
It Pays to Be Candid: 10 Tips on Business Communication
Receiving Feedback: Communication Skills
photo credit: clagnut
I travel somewhere between 15 and 35 times each year. I rarely think about how much I travel as I’ve become more mobile in how, where, and when I work. And, since I do not travel as much for business, I’ve become more pragmatic/economical with every dollar I spend. It comes out of my pocket more than it did in the past when all I had to do was submit expenses to an employer. I saw some recent ideas and sites in Conde Nast which I thought I’d combine with a couple of my own.
- If you do not already use SeatGuru, try it when you book your next flight. It’s a no-brainer and I was surprised to hear a couple friends who travel (a LOT) recently tell me they’d never heard of it. Tons of free value getting the best seats on the plane.
- I used to use Orbitz to get a sampling of “who travels where.” Kayak is the best site, as an aggregator for many, these days. They have a good interface.
- Fly on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Saturday. Always the cheapest (I travel a ton for fun and not always business. If I’m traveling on my money…I get more “bang for the buck” on good deals. You also get upgraded more easily on these days (depending on destination of course).
- Buy airline tickets midday on Tuesdays. Try this, I have been doing it more and more and it works.
- Stay over on Sundays. This is an easy one. It usually makes little difference to come back early on Mondays. It’s almost always a better time and cheaper.
- Carry one (no more than 2) Airline-branded credit card that earns you elite status. There are not many out there. AMEX is also good as you can use it on any airline.
- Book through “top producers.” I dislike it when every real estate agent uses this. But it works in Travel. As in sales, find the “right” human being. The travel agent who sends the most travelers to a leading hotel or cruise line will be able to get you the most perks. These usually come in the form of resort-credits, complimentary meals, and/or free upgrades. Ask an agent whether he is on any travel companies advisory boards.
photo credit: newsbiepix and loimere
In today's world of 9-second attention spans, our introductions mean more-than-ever before. Sally Hogshead reveals the seven triggers of fascination and how to get others to fall in love with your ideas, instantly.
2013 Invitational Workshops with The Henderson Group in San Francisco
Our work has to be experienced to truly understand its value. We use these workshops as a way to introduce our work experientially to new prospective clients. With that in mind, we set aside a couple of seats for the right candidates. For more information or to reserve a seat please Contact Us.
Art of Technical Presentation: April 10 – 11, 2013
The Art of Technical Presentation is designed for the unique needs and aptitudes of technical presenters, who are often more comfortable with conveying information in graphical and diagrammatic displays. Communicating complex technology to broader audiences requires the ability to wrap it in metaphor, prior experience and visual illustration.
Technical presenters are coached to find their own unique style for building rapport with audiences before getting to the data, handling technical and non-technical questions, and converting technology into customer-centric solutions. Through active participation using live product demonstrations, whiteboards and projection screens, participants identify their own presentation challenges, learn new skills and techniques, and then immediately experience applying them in front of an audience
The results of this work:
- Engagingly present technical ideas and information to customers
- Educate and persuade customers using personal experience and easily understood metaphors
- Effectively hold attention while communicating complex technical information to prospects and customers, as well as to more technical types
- Convey technology via team presentations with team efforts to move sales cycles and project plans forward
Specific Skills Mastered:
- Structuring presentations for broader audiences
- Using whiteboards, product demos, illustrations and metaphors to explain complex information
- Managing Q&A sessions and difficult situations successfully
- Increasing listener retention through relevant personal stories, examples, associations and images
- Maintaining confident composure when delivering complex information to a skeptical audience
Executive Communicator: May 29 – 30, 2013
Whether you’re presenting a project status update or a major strategic proposal, knowing how to successfully infl uence an executive audience is critical for any aspiring future executive. The Executive Communicator workshop teaches you how to have a productive dialog with an executive and how to communicate to an executive audience in a way that will drive desirable business outcomes.
Participants learn to put themselves into the role of an executive, understanding the unique challenges, metrics, and motivations of executives across every major business function. Exploring leadership styles, tension-points in typical organizations, and even “personal agendas” and politics, participants gain invaluable perspective in approaching and in fluencing an executive audience. Moreover, participants also practice critical listening and dialog skills and learn how to deliver presentations with maximum impact.
By understanding “executive empathy” and practicing the skills required for communication and presentation mastery, participants come away with a dramatically improved ability to in fluence an audience and turn executive presentation opportunities into high impact business results and career success.
Executive Presence – How To:
- Make the right fi rst impression
- Empathize with functional executives according to their diverse business drivers
- Establish rapport with superiors and their superiors
Executive Communication – How To:
- Assess group dynamics quickly and cultivate support
- Modify dialog style according to each executive
- Anticipate and navigate around “political landmines”
- “Think on your feet”and handle probing questions and objections effectively
Executive Presentation – How To:
- Prepare effectively by holding the “meeting before the meeting”
- Open and close presentations with impact
- Deliver the right amount of detail without getting bogged down
- Maintain the engagement of a busy executive audience
- Use metaphor to make complex concepts easy to understand
- Avoid presentation pitfalls and “career limiting moves”
- Influence executive decisions to drive desired business outcomes
Art of Presentation: July 18 – 19, 2013
Building rapport with an audience and moving them to action requires the ability to confidently present information that convinces and engages even the most skeptical customer. This intensive work educates and motivates participants to deliver high-impact presentations.
Using interactive methods, rather than lectured instruction, participants cultivate a personal style – a style that gains the audience's attention through confident composure and meaningful interaction. Through the Henderson Group's unique and proven feedback model, participants receive immediate feedback from instructors, peers and videotape, enabling them to rapidly learn, reflect and improve their presentation skills.
The results of this work:
- Competently present ideas and information to groups of people
- Energize and persuade audiences using stories and metaphors
- Effectively communicate with peers, superiors and customers
- Move business objectives forward by quickly engaging with customers and colleagues and creating influence.
Specific Skills Mastered:
- Using voice, gesture, movement, presentation structure, stories and metaphor for powerful presentations
- Helping audiences learn through use of examples, associations and images
- Turning fear into excitement through creative visualization
- Structuring presentations for maximum impact
- Engaging listeners and increasing audience attention span.
Editor's Note: This is a guest post by Ron Yu of ExecCatalyst
“Absolutely Not!”
Years ago, I was mentally preparing my defense and counter-attack with a peer (I’ll call her Anna). I was the VP of Services and she was running Sales. In order to win a new customer, she wanted to give away “free Services.” It was a typical negotiation situation where she had her position (e.g. “the company needed the revenue and a new customer) and I had mine (giving away Services would jeopardize our revenue recognition, kill my margin, etc.). I was ready to dig my heels in, already determined what my “bottom line” was, and wasn’t going to budge. I’ve had these same debates and arguments dozens of times so I felt I was an expert at “justifying” my position. There was no way that I was going to give in to Anna’s demands.
Suddenly, I was reminded of the something I learned in The Henderson Group’s Complete Communicator workshop. I had attended just weeks before. As my conversation with Anna began, I started listening to what she was saying and tried to understand why she was asking for what she needed from me. The most amazing thing happened. Anna came to my position without me having an ugly argument with her about how I was right and she was wrong!
The Problem with Being “Right”
As early as I can remember, I was taught to fight for what I believe in. While that can be a good principle to guide your life direction, “fighting with others” is a recipe for disaster in your job and career. Even if you “win” an argument or debate, you will “lose” because you’ve damaged a professional relationship. Creating an “enemy” will come back to bite you at some time in the future.
The Difference Between Boxing and Ballroom Dancing…
While boxing can be a form of entertainment for many, the result is usually a bloody mess. When you’re faced with opposition, don’t create a boxing match. Although knocking out your adversary may bring personal satisfaction, you’ll have a much better outcome if he isn’t “out for the count.”
The perfect metaphor for what I experienced with Anna can be explained in this way. Ballroom dancing is full of drama and passion by both partners where each movement is complemented by the other’s. Moreover, instead of using this emotion and power against each other, the outcome is positive for both.
I didn’t have to expend much energy (or political capital) at all with Anna. By demonstrating that I heard her and understood her position, she retracted from her aggressive approach towards me – which led to a great result for both of us!
Focus on Respect vs. Being Right
Moshe Garielov, CEO of Xilinx, told me that one of his most important career lessons was to “focus on respect vs. being right.” Fortunately, he realized that the way he treated people directly impacted how they felt about him, and ultimately, how they viewed him as a leader. As a manager, you have position power over others and it’s very easy to flex your political muscle to get others to comply with what you are demanding of them. On the other hand, it’s hard to resist the urge to direct and let others come into alignment with you.
In my situation with Anna, it was extremely difficult to keep my mouth shut (and ears open) and not cut her off with my counter-points. I suppressed my urge to “fight back” – to lay out all the reasons why I could not do what Anna was asking for. When I started repeating back to her what I had heard and why those things were important to her, something very different happened. Instead of a tense, emotion-charged discussion (where both are talking over each other) there was calmness to our interaction. We replaced a relationship-damaging boxing match with a relationship-building dialog.
One of Steven Covey’s most famous quotes is “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Turning this into practice gives you a powerful tool that can be applied in many areas of application. I’ve seen the same results in sales situations as I had with conflict situations as I had with Anna i.e. the person that I was negotiating with “gave in” to me without me having to present my terms. Demonstrating “understanding” is most effective in diffusing the tension that comes along with back and forth counter-proposals. When you show someone that you are agreeable then you make it easier for them to give you the benefit of the doubt… and then some!
These communication techniques are so effective that we’ve adapted them to high-tech executive influence scenarios in our Executive Communicator workshop.
If you have similar experiences or advice on how to create a “win-win” from a bad situation, please share your comments.
