Tag Archives: transformation

Difference between managing and harassing behavior

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There is a fine line between behavior by a manager that is legitimately harsh and within normal management
practices and behavior that could be considered harassment. For example:
  • How do you determine whether reprimanding an employee in front of his or her peers is harassment?
  • Are there certain criteria that apply to conduct that is considered to be harassment?
  • Can yelling at an employee in front of his or her peers be harassment?
  • What determines whether or not it is?
  • How likely is it that an employee who is disciplined under legitimate circumstances will complain of harassment?
  • How does an employer deal with this situation?
While there may be a fine line between management and harassing, this issue can be greatly simplified by simply focusing on ‘appropriate behavior’.
Instead of trying to define the line between managing and harassing behavior — corporations should focus simply on appropriate behavior. Something can be deemed ‘inappropriate’ more easily than the legal definition of ‘harassing’.
If the company’s only goal is to avoid legal ramifications, then that is one thing. But if the company’s goal is to provide an appropriate atmosphere for employees to be productive and inspired — then focusing on ‘appropriate’ behavior will be more beneficial to both management and employee.
Appropriate behavior supports and encourages calm, confident, and flexible leadership.
If management is confident that he/she can handle any situation that comes their way,  then there is no need to yell, scream or curse at any time.  Overreaction in this way tells more about employer’s ability then about the employee.
Inappropriate actions would include:
  • reprimanding an employee in front of his or her peers
  • blaming individuals or external environment for project status
  • requiring employees to consistently stay late to compensate for poor project management skills
  • defending one’s position on a particular solution against all other solutions
  • demanding that there is only one way to accomplish a shared goal.
If you focus on high-level appropriate reactions, then the legal line of harassment rarely comes into play.

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.

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

If you can drive, you can understand project managing.

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If you can drive, you can understand project managing.

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.
If you know how to drive, you already understand project management.  You may still not want to be a project manager, but at least you understand better their function and value.  In fact, project management and defensive driving have much in common.  Let’s look:

Road Expectations Project Management Equivalent
Traffic patterns and traffic rules Project ground rules, schedules, resources, budgets, etc
You cannot safely go faster than the car in front of your Critical path analysis and task dependencies
Everyone in your lane (even though they have a variety of destinations) really needs to be heading in the same direction Everyone on your team (even though they may have different motives) need to be heading in the same direction.
Car’s break lights are RED for a reason RED FLAGS on a project mean slow down; stop; and re-evaluate.
Motorist pull over for emergency vehicles Projects have recovery protocol charts and plans
Motorists merge temporarily into another lane to get around an accident. Project resources are temporarily redirected to past a blocking issue.
Traffic lights and signs are placed to control the traffic patterns and keep everyone in-synch and on time. Status reports and quality metrics are placed to keep everyone in-synch with the delivery schedule.
Motorists risk lives when they speed and ignore traffic rules. Employees risk the project schedule and create hostility in the team when they ignore the project rules.
Accidents and traffic tickets delay time to destination Defects and morale issues delay project delivery schedules
Optimal routes change depending upon road conditions, weather, traffic patterns, time of day traffic loads, and construction schedules. Projects often deviate from the original route because of various contributing factors such as: resource allocations, equipment failure, outsource/contract disputes, defects in components, scheduled maintenance and security upgrades, etc.
General motorist courtesy: slower traffic stays right, left lane reserved for passing only, leave enough space when you change lanes (no cutting off people), allow people to merge into your lane, etc. Project meetings have certain courtesy ground rules: No interruptions, allow everyone to speak their opinions, no arguing, allow the option to change direction (as long as the destination stays the same).
Yield the right of way Abide by the priority of the team goals (not just your own agenda).
Pedestrians have the right of way Keep the client perspective in mind at all times.  Project Managers need to also be a client advocate
Motorists encounter detours because of unexpected road constructions – but their final destination is the same. The natural flow of a project will have some detours – but the final destination always stays the same.
Getting angry at the non-moving traffic doesn’t make the traffic move any faster. Getting upset at the lack of visible project progress isn’t helping.  Either take constructive action or be confident that things will eventually move along.
Road rage Sometimes there is road rage in the boardroom or office meeting.  It’s as dangerous in the office as it is on the streets.
Texting while driving may cause something to be missed and end up in a fatality. Texting and multitasking in a project meeting will cause something to be missed and end in a delay in schedule.
Bridges ice first Project pieces not well grounded or rooted, are risky.  That is why you have Risk Analysis and Risk Management as part of the project manager’s toolbox.
Different cars handle differently on the road. All employees and resources are not the same.  You need to handle them individually.
Want more help?   Setup a one-on-one chat session or email consult with LauraRose@RoseCoaching.info

Do you have what it takes to be a good project driver? 

Take this online project driver test to find out….

What we can learn from Judge Judy.

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Back in the old days (when I was growing up), daytime television was composed of soap operas.  Today it’s slightly different.  Today there are a plethora of judge TV shows.

Is there anything we learn professionally from Judy Judy that we can use in our career advancement?

      ABSOLUTELY!

 

 

 

Some of the things are:

  • Most disputes stem from miscommunications
  • Document expectations to reduce miscommunication
  • Answer the questions being asked
  • People get pissed-off when they think you are hiding something

To avoid miscommunication:  Paraphrase everything you think they are saying back to them. This gives them the opportunity to correct you or agree with you. Ask them to repeat what you say to them. This gives you the opportunity to see if they heard what you meant to say.

Document expectations:  Write down your agreement to include measurable criteria , who is responsible for what, and reasonable time line. Also include consequences on any missed goals and deadlines.  Sign and date.  If you verbally alter agreement, then document the changes, sign and date.  (For more information on Change Management Strategies, contact LauraRose@RoseCoaching.info)

Answer the questions being asked: I recently asked a vendor about their status on my project XYZ. They quickly told me the status of their project ABC.  That was nice, but I was interested and asked about my project.    The deflection frustrated me and I had to ask again.

People get pissed-off when they think you are hiding something:  The above Q&A repeated once again, until I lost patience.  I imagined that they had not spent any time on my project; and didn’t have any status to report.  Since I had a signed contract that identified expectations, time frames and consequences,  I was able to discontinued their service without payment and found a better fit.

How can you re-use these lessons in your profession?

 

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Whose job is it to take out the trash?

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Now a days both husband & wife go for work to run the house.They are unable to balance the work/life properly.  Below are some suggestions to balance work/life at home.

There are several techniques. I agree that a life coach (like myself) can help with work/life strategies. There isn’t a single ‘silver bullet’. And if the couple is open and willing to try different things and appreciate each other — things will smooth out.

Some things that work:
1) Take time to discuss your individual imperatives with each other (If you want a worksheet on how to create your non-negotiables or imperatives, email LauraRose@RoseCoaching.info)
2) Create a calendar that accommodates your imperatives. (If you would like more information on this, email LauraRose@RoseCoaching.info)
3) Agree not to worry if things are not perfect or don’t get done. The MUST DOs will always get completed. If the item doesn’t get done — it was incorrectly categorized as a MUST DO. So relax.
4) All chores can be written on index cards. Family members select the chores that they enjoy (or don’t mind) doing. The remaining chores, consider paying or bartering outside help. Just because something needs to be done — doesn’t mean that you have to do it.  If an item consistently doesn’t get done, move it to the ‘barter/pay for service’ area.  The paid service will do it faster and better than you can do it, anyways.
5) Schedule weekly date nights in your calendar. If it’s important to you, you should block the time off on your calendar. Even if you don’t know exactly what you are going to do — block the time in your calendar to make sure you make time for it. (Similar for vacation and family time).

Bottom line:  Consider your ROI  (return on investment) on these things.  Just because you can do it doesn’t always mean you should be doing it.  For example, if your salary is $60/hr and it takes you 3 hours/wk  to clean your house or handle your social media campaigns — then you have actually spent $180/wk on house cleaning or your social media campaigns.  Perhaps your time is better spent by hiring someone at $150/month.  It will get done faster, better and cheaper.

For more information on how to reduce your time and increase your results with social media campaigns, watch the “It’s a SNAP” video.

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

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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.

How a diet tip helped me get a work-related request accomplished.

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I know this sounds strange, but I used a diet tip that I read from Micheal Thurmond’s “6 Day Body Makeover”  – to accomplish career critical tasks.

The diet tip is about  ‘how you stay on your meal plan when you go out to eat’.  The tip suggest that if you want substitutions (for instance a healthier vegetable as opposed to a high-caloric side dish) – then peruse the menu for vegetables.  If the kitchen is already offering broccoli on a different menu entree, then it is more likely that they will not have a problem substituting broccoli for your side dish.  If you don’t see that vegetable on any of the menu’s entrees, it’s less likely that your request will be granted.

Yes — that’s a great diet tip, but what does that have to do with collaborating with others in the work environment?

Well — take this example:

I am a vendor for an organization.  This organization has not been proactive in promoting our series (of which they get a revenue share).  Since it’s to both of our advantage that this series is successful, I searched for low-hanging fruit items for them to implement to increase our exposure and promotion opportunities.  So — I did the following:

  1. Investigated what they are already doing for other vendors in regards to promotions.
  2. Mocked up similar buttons and video clips for our series.
  3. Proposed integrating these things along with the other things they are already doing.

Since they already had the mechanism in place for the other vendors, they had no problem slipping my things in that same mechanism.

How about this example:

You want to attend an out-of-town conference.  Your company has  a tight budget.  Although they will give you paid-time-off (without the cost of a vacation day), they didn’t initially approve the cost of the conference or travel expenses.  What if you did the following?

  1. Investigated which of your high-profile clients are also attending this conference.
  2. Contacted the sales/marketing person associated with those specific clients to catch up on any current issues and promotion opportunities.  Ask their opinion if their client would be interested in meeting the actual developer of their product (to discuss future and current feature lists)?  [Most clients jump at the chance to talk to a developer]
  3. Propose a technical support/sales event, such that with one trip (to this conference)– you can visit this specific list of high-profile clients.

What if you designed the proposal like that above?  Would you have improved your changes?

What to find out about a handful of professional tools and cheat sheet for your use?  Check out the  10 Tools in 10 Minutes video at:

 

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,

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.

How To Say No/Tactfully Leave Volunteer Positions

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I recently received the question ” How do I say ‘no’ to volunteer positions I don’t have time for or don’t want?”
How does one tactfully leave a volunteer position that has become overwhelming, stressful, or is requiring too much time? How do I take better charge of my time in the new year?  Read on www.lauraleerose.com/blog
Although this is a common situation —this really isn’t as difficult as we often make it, if you truly understand and accept your value AND acknowledge all the opportunities there are to help.
CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE:
1) You are in the driver’s seat in a volunteer position.
2) Legitimate volunteer organizations appreciate your un-paid time, energy and talent. They don’t really want to do anything that would burn your bridges with them. The ‘tact’ responsibility is therefore, on their side; not yours.
3) Any time, energy, attention you can provide is appreciated with nonjudgmental hearts, at any legitimate volunteer organization. Volunteer organizations do not expect these volunteers to be long-term. It’s not how they work.
4) Volunteer organizations expect short-term stays and large turn-overs. Retention rates are 0. They are equipped to handle this. It’s not a big deal to them. This is in their wheel-house. So – don’t make it a big deal. Don’t make it personal.
4) If it has become too time consuming and overwhelming — this is on you. Therefore, consider reducing your hours or limiting your task responsibilities. Volunteer organizations are appreciative of any level of assistance. They are not the ones telling you that you need to put in these hours or do these tasks.
5) If you can not assist at all at this time, don’t apologize for taking care of yourself. You can not help others if you aren’t taking care of yourself. Things change. Lifestyles and events ebb and wane. Volunteer organizations understand this and they do not take it personally.
6) The volunteer organization has the entire community as a resource; you have yourself. They have better opportunities to fill their positions than you have in accomplishing your personal goals. Therefore, offer to keep an eye out for other people that might like to volunteer for them. Continue to refer others. Although the work needs to be done, it doesn’t have to be done by you. Helping them to find a replacement will be of value to them (although I would not agree to stay in that position until they find a replacement. Doing this gives them no incentive to find a replacement).
7) Realize that if the work you are doing is truly a MUST DO for their organization — they will find someone else to accomplish that task. If they don’t have someone to replace you — that means it wasn’t a MUST DO in the first place.
Sometimes (but not all of the time) it’s not the volunteering that you don’t have time for — it’s the way you are going about it. The way you can make a difference is unlimited.
Volunteer differently:
1) You can reduce or limit your time or tasks — so that it does fit your current lifestyle.
2) You can ask them to contact you in 6 months (or whenever you feel you will be able to donate again). Or contact you when they have a special occasion that needs some extra hands.
3) Consider re-aligning your tasks to support your own career and professional goals. If you are a software developer, then instead of agreeing to clean out the cat-litter at your local ASPCA — offer to work on their website. If you are in marketing and sales — offer to handle their promotions and marketing projects. Integrate your volunteering directly into your professional business development plans.
4) Refer both business opportunities (money making opportunities) and other volunteers to this organization.
5) Use your social media contacts (i.e. facebook walls or linkdin contacts) and blogs to tell people about your experience at this volunteer organization. Ask this organization is there are specific highlights or emphasis that they would like you to publicize.
6) Donate a portion of your Visa or Mastercard Reward Points to this organization to show your appreciation. Since Reward Points really don’t cost you anything — suggest that they create a Reward Point Donation center…such that others can easily donate a portion of their reward points.
7)Offer to keep an eye out for other people that might like to volunteer for them. Continue to refer others.
If you relax into the knowledge that volunteering isn’t an off-on switch or yes/no opportunity, you will be more at ease with handling these types of changing situations. Stress often comes from limited thinking. For example: “If I help, I have to help this way. I want to help — but I can’t do it this way.” This causes an internal dilemma and therefore stress. Volunteer organizations are open to all sorts of collaborations. I recommend that you be open as well.

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 next performance review workshop

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Greetings from Laura

I just completed a great lesson plan on “Designing your next performance review.” for my online coaching series.  I’m really excited about the materials, techniques and alternative references that I have been including in this subscription based lessons-learned series.
But this particular episode holds a particular soft-spot in my heart.   Most of my professional friends are disappointed at one time or another about a recent performance appraisals.   This particular lesson outlines several easy steps to assure an exceptional review.

If you would like this on-line class material (at no cost and one-time limited offer), please fill in this order form.  No credit or payment information is required.

My hope is that you will find the material very valuable and decide to subscribe to this continuous on-line coaching series.

Even if you decide not to enroll in the series, please use this particular lesson to your best advantage.

Warmly,
Laura Lee Rose