Tag Archives: business coach

Using Game Theory to Navigate Business Obstacles

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Many of the strategies used in games can be effectively translated to business and professional navigation.  Find out how….

Notice the similarities between game play and office strategies:

  • Play by the rules of the game
  • Familiarize yourself with your opponents strengths and weaknesses
  • Understand the stats on your teammates
  • Accommodate for any handicaps on your team, and defend against the strength on the other team
  • Keep your ‘tells’ in check (Be aware of what your nonverbal cues and reactions are expressing)
  • Understand your options.  (You have more than one game piece on the board)
  • Continue to increase your skills and focusing on gaining additional game pieces
  • Take advantage that you have three lives.  (Be willing to take risks to learn how to get to the next level)

If you were to take advantage of just one idea — I recommend the multiple lives rules.

Most games give you multiple chances to advance. In baseball you get three strikes before you are out.   Even then you have more than one inning at bat.  In video adventure games, you have 3 virtual lives.  We grew up with the idea of multiple changes and taking gaming risks (gambling with our game pieces), but most of us are too timid to do this in the office.  Avoiding risks at the office translate into never going to bat (which means removing any opportunity for a home run).

Take the HOME RUN TEST to learn want steps to take to win at the office.

In my GoTo Academy: Tools for the GoTo Guy and Gal continuous online coaching series, I go into Time-boxing and the use of Parking Lot methods in detail.
If you are interested in more training in these areas, please signup for the continuing online coaching series.

Subscribe to my weekly newsletter

The weekly newsletter contains tips on:
1)      Time management
2)      Career maintenance
3)      Business networking
4)      Work life balance strategies

If you haven’t taken advantage of your introductory time management coaching session, please contact LauraRose@RoseCoaching.info

Why Do Workers Keep Searching Out Jobs

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Two recent surveys found that a majority of full-time workers continue searching out job opportunities, usually online and often through social media. What are the pluses and potential pitfalls of being on the search continually.
There are often many reasons for job-window-shopping:
1) If workers are not satisfied with their current work environment, they will continually look elsewhere.
The advantage to this is that many people can handle a ‘bad working environment’ as long as they see a light at the end of the tunnel (a potential new position in the horizon).
2) People are always curious. We window-shop. We want to see what is out there. Like window-shopping, people like to compare their current wardrobe to see if anything is missing, etc. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they are wanting to ‘jump ship’. This is an advantage to everyone if you take this new desire and new knowledge to your manager to see if there are appropriate jobs opportunities in your current company that fits what is attracting you out there. Management would be prudent to hold frequent career development one-on-one meetings, so that they understand what their talented employees are looking forward to doing. It the employee sees that there is no ‘next step’ within their current company, they should feel allowed to look more seriously at their next step outside of their current company.
3) People need to feel valued and want to be continually challenged in their area of passion.  At a certain professional level, it is not ‘money’ that satisfies.  It is more likely to be a combination of money, autonomy and mastery opportunities that are more aligned with the individual’s passion and talent.  If management isn’t listening, they are likely to loose their most valuable employees — because it is the talented that walk and the weak that stay.
4) If management uses this opportunity to negatively affect the employee’s advancement opportunities, then management is short-sighted. The employee is doing what they need to do to create the most effective and efficient match between what they want to do with their careers and what they are actually doing with their careers. The employee is acting responsibly. Management would be acting responsibly by listening and reviewing current company opportunities that better match their employee’s talents and passion.
Do you have a ‘ready-to-use’ resume or press kit?  To get a sample Professional Press Kit worksheet,

How to judge appropriately

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The most misquoted verse in the Bible is probably Matthew 7:1, “Judge not that ye be not judged.”
It’s impossible not to judge.  Telling someone else  “not to judge” — shows you have made the judgment that they are judging.  Most opinions, descriptions, decisions, views, rulings, and critiques are judgments.
In the workplace, performance review and evaluations are judgments on both subjective and objective criteria.  Business decisions are based on market comparisons and our judgment on ROI (Return On Investments).  Project management schedules and delivery schedules are based on group opinions and past performance trends.

I’m not sure when ‘judging’ attracted such a negative connotation.  But we can’t take inspired action without allowing some level of judgment within us and others.

The key is to judge righteously and appropriately.

“Great!  So how does one go about judging appropriately?”

In my GoTo Academy: Soft Skill Tools for the GoTo Professional continuous online coaching series, I go into these things in detail.
If you are interested in more training in these areas, please sign-up for the continuing online coaching series.

Here are a few things to consider, when making a ruling (or judgment):

  • Be self-aware of any hidden agenda or expectations.
  • Use accurate data from multiple sources
  • Be wary of ambiguous and vague descriptions (indicators of innuendos, rumors and assumptions).
  • Disengage from the results (have no hidden agenda or expectations)
  • Don’t take anything personally
  • Give everyone the benefit of the doubt

The above steps seem simple enough, but how would we incorporate in the real-world?  Below are some common professional situations:

In my on-line coaching series, we use some typical employee complaints and frustrations.  Please add your frustrations to this list for practice.

  • My manager is not a people person.
  • My manager has never learned people skills.
  • My manager avoids confrontation at all costs.
  • My manager is showing favoritism.
  • My manager doesn’t like me.
  • My coworker is a racist and is lying about me.
  • My coworker is getting paid more than I am, and I’m doing more work than he/she.
  • My coworker is always submitting buggy code and it the reason my piece is late.
  • This company expects me to work 24/7.
  • This company won’t give promotions or any type of recognition.

Be self-aware of any hidden agenda or expectations.
Most of the above examples have a hidden agenda.  The ‘finger’ is consistently pointing to someone else. Maybe you know the saying, “When you point one finger, there are three fingers pointing back.   And this is the case in these examples. We create our own situations (good and bad).
Regardless of the specific incident, you have contributed to your current situation.  While blaming someone else provides some limited relief, it doesn’t really release you from your responsibility (your ability to respond).
Review your higher-level mission and what you can do to set things right.

“How could I have handled this differently? What can I do right now that illustrates my expert people-skills, my social skills, and my ease in handling conflicts and confrontations? This incident doesn’t depend on my manager’s people and social skills. This incident depends upon my expert people and social skills. My professional reputation is my responsibility, not my manager’s responsibility.”

Be wary of ambiguous and vague descriptions (indicators of innuendos, rumors and assumptions).
Ambiguity leaves the door open for innuendos, imagination and assumptions.  When you are use words like: never, always, mostly, chances are that you don’t really have your facts together.

Use accurate data from multiple sources
As you gather your accurate data, validate it across multiple sources.  Remember that each source may have their own agenda or personal perspective.  Relying on one or two sources with the same personal agenda

Disengage from the results (have no hidden agenda or expectations)

When you are collecting the data, disengage from the results.  When you have an idea of what you want the answer to be, you will often collect data that supports your expectations.  If you enter into the discovery phase with no expectations and an open mind, you are more likely to make appropriate judgments.

In my GoTo Academy: Soft Skill Tools for the GoTo Professional continuous online coaching series, I go into these things in detail.
If you are interested in more training in these areas, please sign-up for the continuing online coaching series.

Once Upon a Classic

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There is a fabulous fantasy series called “Once Upon A Time” that I admit I watch/tape.  I enjoy it because it takes the fairy tales that we all know and love — and re-arranges them a little.  It puts a different spin on the “same ole, same ole”.  It’s very innovative.  If you haven’t bumped into it — check your local tv listings for it.

So — what does this have to do with today’s discussion?  EVERYTHING!

Have you heard of the Butterfly Effect?  (if not — watch below video).  What can you do differently today — to put a little bit of a spin on things?  I’m not suggesting anything too dramatic.  But, what do you think would happen if you were to :

  1. Instead of always asking your kids “How was your day?  What happened today?”  — You asked them “What do you want to happen differently tomorrow? What are your plans for tomorrow?”
  2. Instead of always asking your co-worker “How is it going?” — you told them how much you appreciated their help in XYZ?
  3. Instead of always accepting a task that you don’t have time for — you were deliberate about your time and always honest about your current task list?  What if you periodically recommended someone else for a task that doesn’t fit your current goals?
  4. Instead of always secretly complaining about how a meeting is run — you were to step-up and facilitated one of those meetings?
  5. Instead of coming home always exhausted – you took the time to walk around your block before entering the house?  A brisk walk allows you to clear your head, get oxygen into your body and usually uplifts your spirit.  You will be greeting your family in a much better and energized mood.

What if you altered your habits just slightly?  What do you think would happen?
Watch this video on the Butterfly Effect — and let me what steps you are ready to take right now.

Designing an Above Average Performance Rating

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Designing an Above Average Performance Rating

Professional development series

This is Laura Lee Rose, a business and life coach that specializes in professional development, time management, project management and work-life balance strategies.  In my GoTo Academy: Soft Skill Tools for the GoTo Professional continuous online coaching series, I go into office etiquette on various real-world IT topics in detail.
If you are interested in more training in these areas, please sign-up for the continuing online coaching series.

In the recent interview with Steve Wynkoop (founder of SSWUG.org) we covered some tips to taking more control of our own performance evaluation process (don’t miss another professional newsletter tip—signup for the free newsletter here). This article covers the topic in more detail.   Or better yet; attend the workshop at https://www.lauraleerose.com/take-command-of-your-performance-reviews/

Last few interviews and articles; we introduced the Personal Business Commitment tool as a great way to communicate your goals and commitments to your manager.  We also discussed the importance of frequent meetings with your manager on the topic.  This is great for getting a “Meet Expectation” or average performance rating.  What if I wanted to get an Above Expectations, Above Average or even and Exceptional performance rating?  How would I go about that?

How do I go about designing an Above Average rating?

Well – the first step is having a frank discussion with your manager on what he/she sees as “Above Expectations”.

For example:  A developer’s primary role and responsibility is perhaps to design, code, test, and deliver high quality products and services.  Being an exceptional development is exactly what your manager expects of you.  Therefore, being an exceptional developer (even though you feel that it warrants you an Exceptional rating) is a “meet expectation” to your manager.  There is nothing wrong here – except there is a mismatch of understanding.

Above Expectations or Above Average often refers to activities outside your regular development duties (while still accomplishing your regular duties with high quality).  If you were to get published in a technical journal, present at a technical conference, bring back sales leads (contact names, numbers, email address from people that attended your presentation or workshop), visited client sites to provide on-site Q&A, job-shared with a Technical Support person so that you gained additional customer insight into your product, manned a Tradeshow booth as the technical support partner to the sales force, or conduct an executive business strategy proposal based on your innovation – those things would fall outside normal expectations for a developer.  If you were to accomplish those things in addition to your high quality development responsibilities, that would better warrant an Above Expectation rating.

Gosh!  If that’s an Exceeds Expectations or Above Average, what the heck is Exceptional and Excels Expectations?  This rating seems impossible.

Once again, it means sitting down with your manager to discuss what they see as Exceptional. More often it is tied to the business results of your “extra activities”.   For instance, if your client visit (which is outside of the normal duties of a developer) caused the client to purchase $50,000.00 more product or services – that would be exceptional.  If you conference presentation and subsequent collection of contact names/emails, lead to a huge sale – that would be exceptional. If your presentation to the executives an on innovative business strategy was accepted, executed and successful – that would be exceptional.  If the business result of your activities propelled the business forward faster to the business goals – that would be exceptional.

Conclusions:

The key is to have this discussion with your manager to understand what your manager feels is Above Expectations. If you have no clue on your manager’s scaling process, you are less likely to hit the target.

If you liked this tips, more can be found at www.lauraleerose.com/blog or subscribe to my weekly professional tips newsletter at http://eepurl.com/cZ9_-/

The weekly newsletter contains tips on:
1)      Time management
2)      Career maintenance
3)      Business networking
4)      Work life balance strategies

If you haven’t taken advantage of your introductory time management coaching session, please contact LauraRose@RoseCoaching.info

 

Detaching from results opens doors to new possibilities.

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Detaching from results opens doors to new possibilities.

This week I have been reviewing some of the events that lead me to some of my largest successes.  Almost all of them stemmed from unexpected and unforeseen resources.

Some examples:

  •   Last several years I had been invited to speak at the DevLink Technical Conferences in Tennessee.   Last year SSWUG.org was attracted to my DevLink seminars and invited me to Tuscon, AZ to tape 4 seminars for their SSWUG.org online webinar series.  This led me to a wonderful working relationship with Stephen WynKoop (founder of Bits on the Wire and SSWUG.org).  We now have a weekly interview program and online coaching series on professional development.
  •  A few years ago, I presented at a local company health fair.  There I met Theresa Corcoran (who was manning another booth at the fair.  Today we are business partners at 360 Degree Inspired Success  (www.360degreeInspiredSuccess.com)

 

In both cases, I had no reason to expect these results.

 

1)      Although DevLink is an exceptional conference, I had no reason to believe that another company would be interested in video and incorporating the 4 presentations into their main-stream learning cycle.

2)      After I connected with SSWUG, the DevLink invitation stopped coming.  This was very interesting to me because it led me to believe that my DevLink interaction has completed its mission.  The sole reason for DevLink to cross my path this way was to allow me to hook up with SSWUG and to better sales opportunities.

3)      The local company health fair only had 20 employees.  On the surface, one may have thought it wasn’t worth my time or energy.  But I met my future business partner — which is leading me to better recurring revenue stream in areas that are in my genius.

Bottom Line:

Don’t attach to a specific result.  Chances are that the results of our actions are not always predictable or immediate.

Take a deep breath and relax….everything is unfolding perfectly.

Give Reasonable Directions

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Follow up instructions with reason.

Professional development series

This is Laura Lee Rose, a business and life coach that specializes in professional development, time management, project management and work-life balance strategies.  In my GoTo Academy: Soft Skill Tools for the GoTo Professional continuous online coaching series, I go into office etiquette on various real-world IT topics in detail.
If you are interested in more training in these areas, please sign-up for the continuing online coaching series.

I experienced two very different situations that highlighted the need for explaining the reason for your instructions.

1)     A friend received instructions from her doctor to take the next few days off and away from work.  My friend agreed to take several days off – then proceeded to continue to read work emails and call into conference calls.

2)     A family member wanted to increase their protein intake and purchased some Whey powder to mix in with their coffee.  Since the canister’s instructions mentioned that 9 scoops will cover their daily protein requirements, she returned the product because she would not be using 9 scoops in her coffee.

As you can see from the above (very different) examples, different people interpret instructions differently.

But what if the instructions came with the following explanation or reasons?

What if the doctor said: “The reason I recommend taking several days off and away from work is to allow both your mind and body a break from work-related issues”?.  I want you to unplug completely for several days to recharge and get well.  This means no emails, no meetings, no nothing.  Hand off any immediate tasks to your manager and then completely unplug.”

What if my family member understood that the protein supplement is just that, a tool or supplement to add more protein to your current dietary program?  You wouldn’t necessarily need to use 9 scoops, if your current meal plan already included protein.  It is only meant as a tool to assist you in absorbing the right amount of daily required protein in a balanced plan.

If my friend and family member had understood the purpose behind the instructions, their response would have been more in lined with the intent of the instructions.  But by providing just the instructions, we have allowed room for error.

So – how can we, as team leaders and employers, avoid these pitfalls?  The first step is to avoid one-way instructions or directions.  Although email may be a convenient “instruction” media, it does not assure that the directions were interpreted correctly (or the way you had intended).

Here are some steps to assure that you will get what you want.

Understand the intent or goal of your instructions:

If you cannot articulate the reason for your request, it’s impossible for your employee or teammate to ‘hit it out of the park’ for you.

Verify that every step of your instructions support and are aligned with your goal.

Everything changes.  What worked last month may not be relevant today.  Verify that your current process is still aligned with your intentions.

For example: Requiring your salaried employees to submit time cards to verify that they are working the proper number of hours.

 This procedure may not be accomplishing your true goal.  Your goal is probably to make sure your salaried employees are performing and accomplishing the work they are committed to accomplish.  You may want to consider weekly one-on-one meetings to verify status on projects and tasks (versus keeping track of the hours they are logging).

Convey both the directions/instructions and reason to your staff/team.

To properly convey the instructions and reason, you need to also include active and empathic LISTENING skills.  Merely stating the instructions and reasons, only, do not assure that the message was received properly.  You need to also ask Open-ended questions to verify the message was received correctly.  This means sending an email-instruction is not sufficient.  You need an interactive face-to-face or phone meeting.  Some things to validate on that interactive meeting:

  1. Convey your instructions and reason
  2. Ask audience members to paraphrase your instructions and reason
  3. Ask audience members to share what these instructions mean to their current roles and responsibilities
  4. Ask audience members how these instructions will change the way they do their jobs (both positive and negatively)
  5. If any negative changes results, discuss/brainstorm on alternatives to accomplish your goal without negative impact to the team.

Conclusions:

Although these above steps take a little more time upfront (versus merely providing an email directive), it will avoid misinterpretations and some email-churn of Q&A after the project has started.     Being impatient or too concise with your direction may cost you in the long run (because your instructions can be misinterpreted and your project derailed). Allowing your team to play a co-creative role in this solution will lead to a more collaborative working relationship.

If you liked this tips, more can be found at www.lauraleerose.com/blog or subscribe to my weekly professional tips newsletter at http://eepurl.com/cZ9_-/

The weekly newsletter contains tips on:
1)      Time management
2)      Career maintenance
3)      Business networking
4)      Work life balance strategies

If you haven’t taken advantage of your introductory time management coaching session, please contact LauraRose@RoseCoaching.info

Design your own performance review

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In my GoTo Academy: Soft Skills Tools for the GoTo Professional continuous online coaching series, we cover real-life professional dilemmas such as the below.
If you are interested in more training in these areas, please signup for the continuing online coaching series.

Do these feelings sound familiar?
  • Made it through my yearly eval with only one ‘below expectations’ – the overall eval was ‘average’.
  • I was prepared for the absolute worst.
  • Someone who had their eval earlier that day handed in their resignation immediately after getting their eval
Is this the way you really want to approach your performance review?  Take the time NOW to visualize what you really want your performance review to report.  Then set upon a plan of action to achieve those SMART goals.  You will be much more successful if you use the work-year to actually create your perfect performance review, versus just letting it happen without your design input.
Other things to incorporate:
  • YOU initiate quarterly reviews of your performance (if going well — more frequent if you are not on target)
  • YOU articulate your performance goals to your manager
  • YOU keep track of your achievements throughout the year that illustrate your accomplishments of these goals
  • YOU ask your manager on what projects and opportunities he/she  commends for you to accomplish your performance review goals.
Most people act as if  their career goals and accomplishments are their manager’s responsibility.  This is actually a false premise.  If you are interested in more tips on how to take more control of your professional development and career, please check out my on-line coaching academy series.We talk more about how to incorporate this philosophy into the real-world professional environment in my on-line coaching academy series.  <check out our GoTo Academy: Soft Skills Tools for the GoTo Professional>

Is keeping the status quo keeping you back?

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Is keeping the status quo keeping you back?
Is there such a thing as being too content?

Take these three scenarios:

  1. low income, high school degree, 2years of college, working at hardware store, getting married in spring, looking forward in starting a family right away
  2. medium-high income, college and master, software industry, interested in expensive side hobby or second business
  3. multimillionaire on the level of Donald trump and Oprah Winfrey

Of these three, who do you feel should be working to keep everything exactly as it is?

Who should keep their income, their job level, the size of their home, their circle of friends, their opinions and beliefs–exactly the same? Of these three, who should consider a lateral change over a promotion with addition training, growth and income opportunities?

Would it be the multimillionaire that already has everything anyone could ever imagine?  Or would it be the medium or low income group, because they don’t have any spare funds to explore and experiment with (you have to have money to make money…)?

It’s difficult to answer because it is not the individual situation that dictates our response but our emotional and belief system.  People that believe they can do, have and be anything they can imagine are often both very appreciative of what they currently have —- and are excitedly anticipating more and greater things.  They are always exploring and expanding.

It’s rarely the size of their pocket but the wealth of their confidence-in-self that dictates the life they have designed for themselves.

Let me know what you think about these ideas.

And if you would like some individual help on designing your perfect life, contact LauraRose@RoseCoaching.com

Stop working 7 Days a Week to get your job done.

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This is Laura Lee Rose, a business and life coach that specializes in professional development, time management, project management and work-life balance strategies.  In my GoTo Academy: Soft Skill Tools for the GoTo Professional continuous online coaching series, I go into office etiquette on various real-world IT topics in detail.
If you are interested in more training in these areas, please signup for the continuing online coaching series.

In the previous newsletter article on Professional Development, we covered some office conflicts (don’t miss another professional newsletter tip—signup for the free newsletter here). A follow-up client question (regarding the previous newsletter article) was “If your workplace is getting too hard, but you like the job – do you leave the job or stay there? What’s your recommendation, please.”

I am not a fan of the idea of working 7 days a week. As a time and project manager, I am more in-lined with realistically scheduling for 5 quality work days (or equivalent). The company is paying you for 5 days of quality (i.e. the very best of you). You can’t give the best of you,  if you are not the best of you (which mean the well-rounded healthy, happy, stress-free you). I recommend realistically planning and working 5 quality work days. This way you have the energy and stamina to handle anything that comes your way. You will have the adrenalin required for the infrequent emergency.

“But the works continues to come and my boss expects me to do it.  If I don’t do it, I get a poor performance review or worst: fired!”

Imagine the company as a restaurant with a glutton of menu items.  But you don’t have the funds (time and energy) to purchase everything on the menu.  Therefore, you deliberately pick and choose the items that best fit your budget and preferences.  Now, imagine your manager as a blind waiter.  The blind waiter will continue to pour your coffee until you say “when”.  In both situations (the menu and the coffee), it is your responsibility to speak up.  The company and waiter will continue to bring you food and drinks until you say “stop”.  Their job is to push their product.   And even if you take the meals home to complete later, they end up spoiled and stacked at the back of your refrigerator.

Your manager wants the work ‘done with quality’ — not laying at the bottom of your in-basket (i.e. back of your refrigerator).  He doesn’t much care if you get it done or someone else gets it done.  Allowing him enough lead time to manage and hand-off to someone else is the responsible thing to do.

“I’m worried about my performance review.”

At the end of the day, your manager expects good work from you.  They contracted for 5 days of quality work, allowing you to create a balanced life that sustains your energy, passions, and expertise.  The weekends and vacations are designed to energize, feed your creativity and hone your skills.  Taking this needed time away from work allows you to be more productive and effective during the paid 5 days at the office.  Being fully transparent on the items that you can realistically accomplish with quality and those that need to be re-assigned or postponed, allow your team to properly manage the business.  Taking full advantage of the team attitude propels you to a different level.  Quality and honest service begets larger rewards.

On the other hand, working long hours 6 or 7 days a week will product mediocre product and services. Not taking the vacations, weekends, breaks and training drains your batteries.  Although effective for short periods in ‘high-crunch’ emergencies, the execution as a long-term strategy will be exhausting. You will be producing 7 days of mediocre work.  Not producing your best 5 days a week is stealing from your company.  The company will not be impressed with the mediocre work (even though you feel you are working hard and putting in extra hours) and you will get a poor performance review. Now you are resenting the extra hours and the lack of appreciation.

Conclusion:

As in the restaurant, the company will always have things for you to do.  The projects and ideas will continue to flow and evolve.  Every accomplishment will yield new ideas for the next project or service.  It is a never-ending spiral of growth and expansion.  Therefore, the list will never be completed.  If the list will never be completed, then working 7 days a week won’t be enough, either.  In the restaurant, you have no problem picking and choosing from the menu.  You have no problem saying “when”.  We need to feel that comfortable in the professional office as well.

On the other hand, I believe you can have it all.   To learn how to have it all, please subscribe to the GoTo Academy: Soft Skill Tools for the GoTo Professional.

If you liked this tips, more can be found at www.lauraleerose.com/blog or subscribe to my weekly professional tips newsletter at http://eepurl.com/cZ9_-/

The weekly newsletter contains tips on:
1)      Time management
2)      Career maintenance
3)      Business networking
4)      Work life balance strategies

If you haven’t taken advantage of your introductory time management coaching session, please contact LauraRose@RoseCoaching.info