Id33B6: Up Market

joi, 19 ianuarie 2012

Up Market

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Leading When Everything Keeps Changing

Posted: 19 Jan 2012 08:30 AM PST

There was a time when people knew what was expected of them.  Their father had been a carpenter. Their grandfather had been a carpenter.  And they were going to be a carpenter.  They probably lived in the same village, if not the same house, for generations.  This is the way life was done.  It was predictable.  And expectations were set over generations.  People knew how to behave and how to fit into the group.

Today, this isn't the case.  Factories close.  Employees quit.  Organizations relocate.  Change is the nature of the game.

Which means that virtually every day someone new is coming into your organization, your team, or your sphere of influence.  The problem with newcomers isn’t' a lack of skill, but rather a lack of knowing the rules.  In almost every social context there are different rules.  Sometimes these differences are subtle (like who gets to eat first at the dinner table), other times they are obvious (like a suit and tie culture vs. jeans and a t-shirt.)

So how do you keep leading when everything keeps changing?

The answer is to provide the right kind of feedback.

Why is feedback so important?  Because whenever someone comes to a new organization (or team) it's a stressful experience.  We've all been the new person somewhere.  Maybe it was when we moved across town, or when we went to college, or when we just took a new job.  We entered those situations without really understanding what was expected.  We weren't even sure what was "normal" for a particular group.  And we did our best to fit in.  Sometimes this worked, but sometimes it didn't.  In many ways it seemed almost chance.

If you run a team (or a business), you can't leave something like this to chance.  It's too expensive.  And too inefficient.  Instead, you need to be proactive in your response to change.  Which means providing new members feedback.  Not any kind of feedback.  But developmental feedback.

Research has shown that when leaders give developmental feedback (information that is both useful and future-oriented), employees respond by engaging in more pro-organization behaviors.  They work a little harder.  They make better choices.  And they even go above and beyond their job descriptions. Which is exactly what you want out of a team.

There are two ways to provide this developmental feedback:

1. Leaders need to lead.  If you want people to "get with the plan,"  then you need to make sure you're explaining the plan.  As a leader you have a unique opportunity to set expectations and the identity of a new team member.  Use that chance to teach them your culture, and how the team works.  This is the most important way to deliver feedback to your newcomers.  And it helps them integrate into the team. If you're not willing to do this, who will be?

2. Involve the Community. While the community can never replace the impact of the leader, they do add something important to the mix.  They help newcomers learn social norms, get a grasp of the organizational culture, and teach expected behaviors.  Make sure your team is actively teaching new members what's expected.  Make sure they're focused on helping the new person understand the social expectations that guide the team and the organization.

In many ways this advice isn't shocking.  We've known for a long time that setting expectations helps people do better work and achieve goals. But we almost never think of our groups having unique social norms and habits.  We assume that we're "just like everyone else."  Of course we aren't.  We may, in fact, be very different.

So if you're having problems integrating a new team member, start with the feedback, and make sure you're focusing on their development.  You might just be surprised at how fast your team comes together.

Photo Credit: woodleywonderworks

Evernote: Most Popular Note-Taking App

Posted: 19 Jan 2012 04:30 AM PST

The productivity experts over at Lifehacker.com ran a survey recently asking its readers which note taking service or application was the best. The top 5 contenders were:

Once the votes were tallied, the results were as follows:

Evernote fought off the competition to take the top spot, winning the poll with close to 37% of the vote. Hot on its heels in second place (and only falling behind in late voting) was good old pen(cil) and paper with 33% of the votes cast. In third place with 18.5% of the vote is Microsoft OneNote. Bringing up the rear in fourth and fifth place are Springpad and Simplenote with 6.75% of the vote and under 5% of the vote respectively.

Here's what Lifehacker has to say about the winner:

Evernote helps you remember everything—and by everything, we really do mean everything. The service’s webapp, desktop apps for Windows and Mac OS, mobile apps for iPhone and iPad, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone 7, and even WebOS mean that Evernote can help you take notes, save them, tag them with a location, create and organize notebooks, and share them anywhere you are and on any device you happen to have on you. Evernote is great for taking notes and organizing them, but it’s just as good at letting you capture, scan, and save objects in real life, clip web pages you browse, and share them with friends, colleagues, and classmates.

What system do you use for managing notes?

Photo Credit:  joe.ross

5 Questions for Business Owners

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 03:00 PM PST

Now, as we head into the New Year, is a great time to re-evaluate your business strategy and do a little high-level planning.

To help assist you in the process, small business coach and Upmarket contributor, Charlie Gilkey (of ProductiveFlouishing.com) offers five thought-provoking questions in his recent Inc.com article:

  1. What disruptive forces threaten your business?
  2. Are you building your business for tomorrow?
  3. Are you attracting the best workforce and doing what you need to retain it?
  4. Why are potential customers holding out?
  5. What's the dead weight you need to eliminate?

Use these questions as a jumping off point to evaluate the areas of opportunity for your business. If you need further clarification about why the question is important, jump over to the full slideshow on Inc.com or read the expanded version here.

What other questions do you ask yourself to help stimulate high-level, strategic business planning?

Photo Credit: Russ Allison Loar

The impact of technology on work – life balance

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 12:00 PM PST

There have always been workaholics, but this Squidoo lensmaster believes new technologies have certainly contributed to many more people taking work home and not properly switching off (literally and metaphorically).
Publicat de la 09:26

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