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.

leadership

How to succeed by treating everybody like a Somebody

Posted by Beverly Jones on

Here’s a simple rule for success:

Treat everyone like they matter

The Foster Harris House is a lovely little Inn and restaurant in the tiny, historic town of Washington, Virginia. For the new owner, Klaus Peters, running the House is a post-retirement labor of love.

Innkeeper Klaus Peters, with Executive Chef Dawn Sieber, and Director of Operations Zoe Sieber.

Klaus is a distinguished gray-haired man with a bit of an accent and a beaming smile. Before his “boring” short-lived retirement, Klaus enjoyed a long and successful career managing some of the country’s top hotels, like the Watergate and The Fairfax at Embassy Row, both in Washington DC.

But Klaus started his career in hospitality at the bottom, as a 14-year-old kitchen apprentice. His German father had lost his job and money during World War II, so in the late 1950’s young Klaus had to help support the family. Eventually he worked his way up to a waiter’s job in Paris, and at age 18 he answered an ad to become a waiter at a Texas hotel.

Klaus told me that in those days in Europe, if you were a German at the low end of a hierarchy, you were treated like a non-entity. He recently wrote in a LinkedIn post, “In 1964, I arrived in Houston as a ‘Nobody’ server, at the Hotel America … making $3.50 a day plus tips…I had low self-esteem and thus became arrogant to cover up my insecurities. I don’t believe that I was liked by too many people.”

But then a miracle happened. He was given the opportunity to serve dinner to the hotel manager, Earl Duffy, and his guests.

“Just imagine, Mr. Duffy greeted me by name and introduced me to his guests and his guests to me,” Klaus wrote.

“WOW, this had never happened to me before. Mr. Duffy respected me and treated me like an equal. To him and his wife, I was a “Somebody”. The way he made me feel, totally changed my personality and the way I would treat subordinates in the future,” he said.

Klaus’ life was transformed by the realization that you can shift another person’s sense of self, and behavior, by focusing on them and treating them with respect. So Klaus adopted the rule, “treat everybody like a Somebody.” And by the time he was 26 he was managing a Florida resort, and greatly enjoying a career built around making other people happy.

Klaus understands that leadership is not as simple as respecting each team member. Not only must you motivate your colleagues, but you must share the vision and give them the resources they need. But “treat everybody like a Somebody” is a mantra that can take you a long way, in your career as well as the rest of your life. Here are some reasons the practice is so powerful:

  • Expressing gratitude makes you both feel better. Research makes clear that when you experience a feeling of gratitude your stress goes down and you become more optimistic. And expressing gratitude is even more powerful than simply feeling grateful. So when you treat a person “like a Somebody” by thanking them, and you mean it, you boost your happiness as well as theirs.
  • Modeling civility creates a productive culture. When workers routinely experience rude or demeaning behavior, their stress can skyrocket and the level of their performance may plummet. They are likely to spend less time at work, they may lose their creativity and commitment to the mission, and they could take out frustrations on customers. But leaders who model civility, treating every team member “as a Somebody,” can dramatically change the culture. When they approach everyone with respect, listen intently, and smile often, they set a tone that supports achievement.
  • Noticing people makes them feel better. In our busy society, folks may have little time or opportunity for real conversation, they may feel unseen and unheard, and loneliness is rampant, even in crowded workplaces. People who feel invisible and marginalized are not likely to do their best work, or appreciate the efforts of others. But those who feel valued often want to help. I have watched the way Klaus charms people by providing them his full attention. He tells his inn guests, “we’re in the business of making you feel good.” And part of the way he accomplishes that is by making each individual feel as though they matter.
  • Paying attention helps you improve. Offering attention to other people is not effective if you are just going through the motions. Treating a person like they count requires that you truly listen to what they say, and you notice what they may need. That careful observation can help you spot problems, improve processes and policies, and at the same time build your expertise.

Klaus says he loves his new life at the Foster Harris House, partly because he loves the hospitality business. During his retirement years he missed the engagement with guests and the sense of making a difference. Beyond that he loves to deliver comfort and warmth and a top quality experience, in a small, friendly community where he can get to know everybody. For him, making everybody feel like a Somebody “is an absolute pleasure.”

8 tips for inspiring employee engagement

Posted by Beverly Jones on

Engaged employees get things done.

See 8 tips for re-engaging your team.

It’s well understood that upbeat and highly motivated employees achieve more than their negative, disgruntled peers. Recognizing the link between attitude and job performance, human resources experts used to talk a lot about the need to enhance “employee morale” and build “job satisfaction.”

In recent years, however, the buzz has been all about increasing productivity and innovation by promoting “employee engagement.” Definitions vary, but the Gallup organization describes “engaged employees” as “those who are involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to their work and workplace.”

Your engaged colleagues are the builders – the ones who are moving the organization forward. You probably enjoy working with these animated people. Folks who aren’t engaged may do the basics, but they won’t be passionate about tackling challenges or breaking new ground. And your actively disengaged coworkers can spread their unhappiness around and undermine the whole group’s progress.

According to Gallup Daily tracking, only about 32 percent of U.S. employees are engaged at work. And, despite a wave of engagement improvement programs, that number hasn’t fluctuated much since Gallup started its measurement in 2000. Experience shows that there’s no one simple way for leaders to jumpstart a surge of workplace enthusiasm, but many small steps can help.

My client Heidi began reading about employee engagement as she started a new assignment. She had moved out of the busy headquarters office of a Federal agency to become director of a low performing regional office.

Heidi is talented, personable and deeply committed to the service mission of her agency. To date, her rise through the government ranks had been rapid and smooth, and she’d made many friends along the way.

When Heidi arrived at her Midwestern post in the dead of winter, the climate inside her office felt as cold and frightening as her icy commute to work. Three of the top ranking members of her team had applied for the directorship, and now all three made it clear that they resented having the position go to her, an outsider. And while the attitude of those senior staffers seemed to vacillate from sullen to openly hostile, most of the dozen other professionals just seemed tired and disinterested.

Happy folks get things done (Image by whitehoune via fotolia)

Heidi developed a set of principles for stimulating new energy and commitment from her team. After a year, she has seen a mood shift, and the office’s performance statistics are up. These 8 strategies are helping Heidi to stimulate better work from her more fully engaged team members:

  1. Meet in person. Heidi’s predecessor, Jill, was described as a brilliant but reclusive workaholic. Jill spent long hours alone in her office, with the door closed, and she’d make her wishes known by shooting out frequent emails. Particularly during her early weeks on the job, Heidi elected to meet often and face to face with her team members. She shared news from around the agency but generally tried to listen more than she spoke. As Heidi concentrated on listening, she grew better at resisting the urge to feel defensive or disheartened from the flow of negativity
  2. Empower the team. Jill had talked often about her own high standards, and had tried to control the workflow so that every project was done in exactly the way she would do it. Heidi looked for ways to delegate more responsibility, and make assignments that allowed professionals to show off their strengths and personal styles. She caught an early break when her embittered deputy left for another job, enabling her to distribute his responsibilities so that more people could share in team leadership.
  3. Reward good work. As a Federal manager, Heidi had limited control over bonuses and raises. But she found other means to express appreciation for excellent work. For example, she shared an insightful staff memo with high-ranking colleagues in Washington, she worked her network to snag a plum speaking invitation for one of her experts, and she asked her people to speak about their successes at meetings with sister agencies.
  4. Find learning opportunities. Heidi saw that many of her team members had been doing the same kind of work for years, and they were bored. She made training a top priority, and encouraged each person to commit to a professional development path. She also shuffled assignments so that most folks enjoyed more variety, and she came up with new projects that meant learning for everyone involved.
  5. Clean up. When she agreed to take the job, Heidi negotiated a budget to improve the office’s aging physical space and furniture. Early in her tenure she involved her team in planning the modest office redesign. And she designated certain days when everybody wore jeans to work and pitched masses of old documents and other clutter. When the renovations were done, the fresh new atmosphere gave most people a boost.
  6. Have fun. In an early meeting, one employee told to Heidi, “Once this was a fun place to work, but Jill didn’t believe in fun.” On the job, “fun” might mean that the tasks are stimulating and coworkers are good partners for brainstorming. But sometimes “fun” just means having a good time. Heidi found ways to vary the routine with surprise treats and entertaining meetings. She invited clever speakers to come to staff meetings, she encourages humor as long as it wasn’t mean-spirited and she created a committee to create events like surprise pizza parties.
  7. Remember the mission. Most members of the staff began working for the agency because they believed in public service. But they had become cynical and discouraged. Heidi invited reports about the full scope and value of the agency’s work, and she encouraged team members to join agency-wide or other professional committees. She regularly looks for ways to remind people of the value of their work together.
  8. Take care of yourself. Even though she had family members nearby, Heidi was a bit lonely in her new town. And after a week of struggling to be relentlessly positive, she often felt like spending the entire weekend in bed watching old movies. Heidi knew that negativity can be contagious, and in order to inspire her team she needed to remain optimistic and energetic. So a key element of Heidi’s leadership philosophy is to find stimulating activities and build supportive relationships when she’s away from the office. As part of her program of self-care, she decided to act on her lifelong dream of horseback riding. She rented at horse housed near an indoor riding arena, and she takes lessons every Saturday.

Engaged employees need strong relationships and lots of communication with their managers. To launch an effort to energize your colleagues, consider a round of meaningful conversations.

For more tips on how to engage your team or rediscover your own enthusiasm at work, check out my new book The Like an Entrepreneur, Act Like a CEO

Moving past an error of judgment

Posted by Beverly Jones on

How to bounce back after

 a poor decision at work

Recently I wrote about Ira Chaleff’s fine new book, Intelligent Disobedience, that explores situations where ignoring your supervisor’s command may be an act of wisdom and courage. In response, a friend told me a story about an executive who kept pushing on a proposal after her boss had nixed it. In this case, the CEO not only forgave the executive, but also had a transformative leadership experience as a result of his team member’s challenging behavior.  In this post I’ll share that story, modified to protect identities, and then offer my own suggestions about how you can recover from a poor decision at work.

That CEO, who I’ll call“Tony,” ran a large medical technology company, and “Sarah” led one of the company’s research and development units. Sarah had teams exploring a variety of tools for delivering more effective patient care. Personally, she was particularly interested in devices addressing cardiac disease because she had friends and family members with heart problems.

Sarah sent Tony a detailed proposal for an innovative device with a high likelihood of helping patients suffering from a certain kind of heart defect. She made a strong case that the device could save patients’ lives and that it had a good chance of moving quickly through the regulatory review process.

When he received Sarah’s proposal, Tony was preoccupied by a corporate merger. Although normally a thoughtful and thorough decision-maker, this time Tony just took a quick look and fired back a note saying that the proposal was a non-starter because the defect was relatively rare and the impacted patients didn’t represent a big enough market to justify the cost of introducing the product.

Despite Sarah’s appeals for further consideration, Tony made it clear that he didn’t want more resources to be invested in the device. But Sarah was haunted by the thought of the people who might die without it. So she ignored Tony’s wishes and authorized continued work on her pet project, quietly folding the costs into a much larger cardiac initiative.

Sarah kept pushing forward without seeking permission. Eventually the device was approved and did indeed start saving lives. Soon the technology was attracting attention in the medical community because it held the potential for additional applications. Then one day Tony called Sarah to his office and handed her a letter from his college roommate. It said, “Tony, your new device saved my life.”

Soon after that, at an annual meeting of the company’s top 400 leaders, Tony told the story of Sarah’s defiance. And he made three statements that won respect from his team and shaped the corporate culture for handling future errors of judgment:

  • He apologized for being wrong and acknowledged that he had told Sarah “no,” not once but three times.
  • He commended Sarah for having the courage and strength of her conviction to approach leaders repeatedly and finally buck the system because it was the right thing to do for patients.
  • He committed to doing something “exceptional” to make amends and create a process that would make future errors in judgment less likely.
Sometimes ya gotta say "sorry"
Sometimes ya gotta say “sorry

In an environment where innovation is encouraged, professionals must become comfortable with taking risks. And where risk-taking is the norm, it’s inevitable that some decisions won’t work out well. Savvy leaders support the creative culture by modeling a method of accepting responsibility and moving forward after a mistake has been made. One smart way to manage judgment errors is the three-part approach I call “Plan A”:

  • Acknowledge that you made the wrong choice and accept responsibility for the consequences. At the same time, thank anyone who helped you to recognize or overcome the problem.
  • Apologize for the damage you caused, or the opportunity you missed. Be specific so that people can see how you recognize the result of your choices and actions.
  • Identify Action Steps that will rectify or make up for your mistake and make it more likely that good judgment will prevail in the future.

We all make decisions that don’t work out well. Next time you make a blunder, face it straight on, try handling it with Plan A, and quickly refocus on doing excellent work in the future.

To explore more career issues, please check out my book, Think Like an Entrepreneur, Act Like a CEO, coming soon from Career Press.

When “intelligent disobedience” is the best choice

Posted by Beverly Jones on

Sometimes the right decision

is to ignore a boss’s orders

Guide dogs undergo intense obedience training to prepare them to lead visually impaired people around obstacles. But what happens when a blind woman doesn’t hear the approach of a quiet electric vehicle and directs her dog to step off the curb? At that moment, the dog must make a life and death decision: does he block the woman from going forward, even if it means disobeying a command?

Ira Chaleff, author of “Intelligent Disobedience”

“Intelligent Disobedience” is the term trainers use to describe the quality that enables a dog to resist a command that would put his human in danger. In his new book, leadership expert – and my friend — Ira Chaleff explores how a similar quality may be needed in the workplace, when a team member sees that a leader is about to make a dangerous mistake.

In Intelligent Disobedience – Doing Right When What You’re Told to Do Is Wrong, Ira explores how ignoring a command can become an act of heroism. A compelling example is the story of Rick Rescorla, VP of security at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, who was working at the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. When a public address announcement directed people to stay at their desks, Rescorla refused to obey. Instead, he marshaled employees to follow the escape drill he had devised. He led thousands to safety, then lost his own life when he went back to the building to rescue others.

Ira says that enjoying the benefits of an organization does require obedience to the norms. And there are three factors that make obedience appropriate:

  1. The system is reasonably fair and functioning.
  2. The authority figure is legitimate and reasonably competent.
  3. The order itself is reasonably constructive.

But what should you do if you see your boss about to step off a curb? Ira suggests this practical test for Intelligent Disobedience: “Based on the information we have and the context in which the order is given, if obeying is likely to produce more harm than good, disobeying is the right move, at least until we have further clarified the situation and the order.”

Obedience tends to be a habit and it’s challenging to create an organizational culture where professionals don’t just habitually say “yes.” But so many scandals or tragedies might be prevented if a leadership group empowers followers to push back against ill-advised orders. Ira draws on guide dog training for lessons on developing the human capacity for Intelligent Disobedience:

  • Refusal skills can be developed through carefully designed training and practice. Exercises should involve identifying risks and early questioning of inappropriate order.
  • Training can begin with simple simulations and move toward more complex exercises.
  • In addition to practicing resistance to a poor or dangerous command, participants can practice the equivalent of a counter-pull, to bring the leader back to a safer position.
  • Acts of Intelligent Disobedience should be praised.

Ira’s book creates an intriguing picture of a culture where, instead of just following orders, people hold themselves accountable to do the right thing.

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.