Bev's Tips for a Better Work Life

Tips for a more rewarding and resilient career

For almost 20 years, Bev has been coaching
professionals to thrive at work, navigate
transitions and grow as leaders.

Blog

6 ways to get more from meetings

Posted by Beverly Jones on

Stuck in endless meetings?

Make better use of that time.

How much time do you devote to meetings? Your first answer might be: “Too much!” But seriously, do you have any idea what percentage of your work life is spent meeting with people? Try calculating it. And if meetings take just 20 percent of your time, and you work 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, that’s a whopping 400 hours annually.

I often talk with coaching clients about how to cut down the number of hours they spend sitting at a conference table. You can reduce meeting time by:

  • Agreeing with your colleagues to maintain shorter default times. For example, if your team always gathers on Monday mornings for an hour, commit to a new time limit of 45 minutes.
  • Say “no.” Sometimes your presence isn’t all that important, and you can be excused simply by explaining that you have another commitment.
  • Run better discussions.       Particularly if you’re the leader, you can recapture wasted time by establishing good group habits, like always having an agenda, and insisting on punctuality.

Business meeting, brainstorming in flat style.But no matter how adept you are at managing your own meetings, and avoiding some others, you probably still spend a big chunk of your work time convening with colleagues.

You may sometimes feel like my client “Sharon,” who was frustrated because she felt stuck. Sharon wanted the chance to lead a team. But Jenny, her mentor, warned that some senior colleagues felt Sharon wasn’t ready to be a manager.

Sharon complained, “If I didn’t have to waste so much time sitting in their useless meetings I could really show them what I can do.”

Jenny countered, “You can’t get out of those meetings, so why not make better use of them? [Read more…] about 6 ways to get more from meetings

Tips for talks that keep them engaged

Posted by Beverly Jones on

 Have a speech coming up?

Want to sharpen your style?

Finding more opportunities to make presentations can bring new energy to your career. Public speaking allows you to stand out, show what you know, and connect with a wider group of people. The more talks you give, the more you build your confidence and polish your style. And the prospect of presenting helps you identify what’s important and work harder to know your stuff.

I often encourage clients to raise their profiles by finding speaking venues. This might mean offering remarks at a company meeting or sitting on a convention panel. Or it could involve inventing an event that gives you the chance you need.

If one of your goals is to do more speaking, take note of how successful delivery styles have evolved over the years.

Libby Vick

My favorite expert on public speaking and workplace communications is Libby Vick, who once worked on Capitol Hill and is now a member of the faculty at Northern Virginia Community College. When I asked her about recent trends, Libby (who also is my sister) said, “Speeches are shorter and the audience of today is much more visually oriented. And, for better or worse, the younger the audience the more they expect an element of ‘entertainment.’”

A format Libby now uses in her classroom is based on the increasingly popular Ignite talk videos, where the motto is “enlighten us, but make it quick.” Ignite presenters talk for exactly five minutes, and during that time the audience sees 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds. Libby said, “The idea of having visuals – without words – throughout the speech is a new concept, and it seems to work.”

“Another interesting aspect of Ignite is the premise that storytelling is the key to a successful presentation. And this can be applied to any subject,” Libby said. “For example, business audiences are often bored by PowerPoint charts and graphs, even in pretty colors.”

“So let’s say the ‘story’ you want to tell is that a once thriving industry is now suffering layoffs. Instead of a graph, you can have a slide that’s a photograph showing a plant at full production, followed by a slide that shows the same plant half empty. The story is told and the point is still made, but in a way that holds the audience’s interest,” Libby said.

If you want a fresher approach for your next talk, Libby’s advice is: [Read more…] about Tips for talks that keep them engaged

When not to worry about being a sychophant

Posted by Beverly Jones on

Afraid of looking like a “suckup”?

8 times you should get over it.

One of the greatest TV characters ever was Eddie Haskell, Wally Cleaver’s oily conniving friend on “Leave It To Beaver.” Eddie was an archetype who no decent person wants to resemble — a two-faced sycophant, always scheming and currying favor to promote his plans.

The fear of looking like a brown noser is so powerful among professionals that sometimes they shy away from obvious opportunities to make a friend or pursue a goal. Among my clients, it seems that the people who worry most about looking like Eddie Haskell are the modest straight shooters.

Are you one of those who is reluctant to offer a heartfelt tribute for fear it will be taken as apple-polishing? Do you avoid voicing sincere admiration because people might think you have a hidden agenda? If so, you’re probably overreacting.

Here are 8 situations when you should get over your fear of sucking up:

  1. When they’re your customers. Whether you’re a techie or an accountant, remaining upbeat and sometimes even a little complimentary can be part of how you offer excellent service. As you think about how to pitch your remarks, recall a meal where you received superb service in a restaurant. Chances are your server was flatteringly attentive, without being obsequious or intrusive. You can refine your conversational tone by noticing what makes you feel well cared for when you’re the one paying the bill.
  2. When it’s a boss. Are you reluctant to say “good job” to the big boss because you don’t want to seem sycophantic? Well, consider what it’s like from that boss’s perspective. Maybe she worked her way into this job because she’s the kind of person who is motivated by getting A’s. Now, however, if everybody is afraid to applaud her achievements she may start to feel unappreciated. It’s not healthy or smart when the whole team is reluctant to give a leader honest positive feedback. Stop being so self-conscious and allow yourself to be as nice to your boss as you are to your other colleagues.
  3. When you’re supporting a positive environment. Research suggests that people are most productive in a workplace where a substantial majority of the comments are affirmative. Humans tend to over-respond to negative cues and may do their best work when about two-thirds of the feedback they receive is good. If you consistently contribute to the environment by keeping most of your words authentically upbeat, people won’t regard your praise as manipulative.
  4. When you want to make new friends. As long as you’re not being untruthful or over-the-top, it’s OK to express respect or gratitude to a person you’d like to know better. Finding something nice to say is a polite and acceptable way of building a relationship.
  5. When it’s wise to avoid conflict. Some people are never going to be your friends but you have to find a way to get along with them anyway. If they are annoying, you may make things even worse if you indulge in complaints. If they are bullies, you may attract more torture if you let them see your pain. When you’re dealing with difficult people, a good starting point can be to talk yourself into a mood of relaxed confidence. Then look for the good things about them, so you can diffuse the tension with a compliment that is genuine and on target.
  6. When you owe them an apology. There are moments when groveling is justified. Like when you forgot an important deadline, or said something dreadful at the office holiday party. It’s OK to cringe and humble yourself when you want forgiveness for doing something truly wrong.
  7. When it would be kind. It is always appropriate to put people at ease or calm their anxiety, regardless of their rank or yours. If empathy makes you want to offer a flattering remark, don’t be put off by concern about how observers may judge your motives. And if you can’t say anything nice maybe you really shouldn’t say anything at all.
  8. When you feel shy. When some people say, “I don’t want to suck up,” the real truth is that they are afraid to step forward. If you feel reluctant to speak up, look more closely at your motives. Do you actually think it would look bad or is it just that the thought of drawing attention to yourself gives you butterflies? It’s OK to be fearful. But make a smart, conscious choice about how you will respond to that fear.

If you do mean it, and you want to say it, don’t hold back from offering praise or thanks just because cynics might criticize you.


Celebrations support a healthy workplace culture

Posted by Beverly Jones on

Build your team & boost productivity

with 13 ideas for workplace celebrations

Celebrations can enhance your workplace culture and help team members do even better work. Sharing appreciation for success and good fortune can support the well-being of individuals, foster a sense of community and promote the health of your whole organization.

Creating a celebration can be a wonderful way to acknowledge achievements and encourage people to continue to excel. Positive reinforcement is a powerful motivator and a celebratory event can be a smart way to offer good feedback.

Celebrations provide times when colleagues come together, get to know each other better and develop a shared perspective. Enjoying festive occasions helps workers become friends, and having friends at the office helps you do your best.

Arranging celebrations can provide a moment for reflection, allowing people to develop a collective focus on the right stuff. It’s a way to draw attention to the organization’s goals and values, and to remind participants that they work at a great place.

Consider these 13 ways to celebrate at work: [Read more…] about Celebrations support a healthy workplace culture

For a thriving team, communicate, communicate, communicate

Posted by Beverly Jones on

For a team strong, effective team

Have structure and communication

If you want a quick sense of whether a team is working well, take a look at how the members communicate. It’s long been intuitively obvious that talking frequently is a basic step of teambuilding. But the new science of mapping team communication patterns suggests that how team members talk with one another may be more important than their skill, personality, intelligence and discussion topics combined.

A 2012 Harvard Business Review article offered a fascinating account of how MIT’s Human Dynamics Laboratory can chart and portray the interactions that characterize high-performing teams. When working with a client organization, the Lab’s experts equip members of the client’s teams with electronic badges that collect data on communication behavior. When a team member wears a badge, it records her tone of voice, body language, the people she speaks with, and more. Then the Lab uses data visualization techniques to create maps that vividly illustrate how members stay in touch.

Even though the data doesn’t reveal what is actually discussed, the maps allow the Lab to predict high performing teams with surprising accuracy. Lab Director Alex “Sandy” Pentland wrote that they had equipped 2,500 individuals, from a broad variety of projects and industries, with badges. He said, “With remarkable consistency, the data showed that the most important predictor of a team’s success was its communication patterns.”

What is most surprising is that it doesn’t seem to matter what members discuss. What counts is the way they routinely talk with one another. Regular social conversation during breaks is at least as important as business talk during project meetings.

Pentland said that, regardless of the type of team or its goal, successful teams tend to share several characteristics, including these:

  • Everyone on the team talks and listens in roughly equal measure, keeping contributions short and sweet.
  • Members connect directly with one another, and not just with the leader.
  • Members regularly meet in person, they face each other, and their conversations and gestures are energetic.
  • Team leaders circulate actively, communicating with everyone equally, listening at least as much as talking, and making sure all members get a chance to communicate.

While communication is key, teams also need structure. Even if you’re not the leader, these strategies may help you to strengthen your team:

  • Define it. Be clear about the basics. Members should know who is on the team and who is not, as well as what they’re supposed to be doing together.
  • Model respect and positivity. Be relentlessly positive and treat everyone with respect. In healthy teams, every member’s contribution is recognized. Notice each person’s strengths and look for ways for each to shine.
  • Share leadership. Even where there is a designated leader, every member takes responsibility and shares accountability for success.
  • Address the need to belong. Humans have a fundamental need to be part of communities, particularly those that allow us to make contributions that are appreciated by others. So focus on the power of belonging, and find ways to reinforce it. Even silly ways to embrace membership, like T-shirts or mottoes, can enhance team spirit.
  • Celebrate little victories. Team members are most likely to feel satisfied and motivated if they believe they are making progress on meaningful work. To keep up the team energy level, find appropriate ways to celebrate even small wins.
  • Create norms. Even if leadership is loose, high performing teams need some structure. For example, when the team conducts group meetings, members should agree on elements like:
    • Scheduling,
    • Attendance requirements,
    • Promptness,
    • Participation in discussions,
    • Cell phone usage and other interruptions, and
    • Ways to track and follow up on action items.

There’s no single formula for creating a great team. But a good starting point is to engage regularly with each member, listen as much as you talk, find ways to acknowledge each person’s contributions, and enjoy the camaraderie that team membership can bring.

Positive games can empower your career

Posted by Beverly Jones on

How the games we play can

help us through tough times.

 

Positive games can energize your career (Image(c)denis_pc via Fotolia)

When I asked George, a fairly new manager, about his work, he hesitated. Then he said, “Objectively, it’s going really well. But I don’t know how long I can stand it.”

The good news was that, after two years of building collaboration and creating expertise, George’s team was exceeding all its goals and had been recognized as a shining “center of excellence” within the large organization.

But now leaders in other divisions were trying to steal some of the glory and resources. They were attempting to poach George’s critical experts by having them reassigned away to other challenges.

When I asked George how many team members he’d actually lost, he said, “None. But I’m so exhausted from the constant fight to protect them that I’m not sure if I can keep this up. The stress is just too much.”

I thought about how much George loves board games and recalled a party where he and friends had played fiercely for hours. The intense players shouted and mocked each other. But at the end of the game they simply laughed about the competition and rejoined the festivities.

I asked George whether he could take a step back from the challenges to his team, and view his colleagues more like other players in a strategic game. [Read more…] about Positive games can empower your career