Management 4-1-1

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to hear Daniel Pink talk about his book, Drive – pretty amazing stuff!  As a manager, it was extremely interesting to hear what he had to say around the topic of motivating employees.

Most companies continue to reward people with cash in order to incent better performance.  However, science has shown that there are other motivators at work to drive employees to better performance.

1. Autonomy – ability to be self-directed
2. Mastery – satisfaction of getting better at stuff
3. Purpose – desire to contribute to a greater good

KEY TAKEAWAY –>  As a manager, if you want better employee ENGAGEMENT – you need to find opportunities to give your people the ability to be autonomous, have chances to get better at stuff and help provide a cause greater than just profits.

Check out this super-creative 10 minute video of Daniel Pink describing what really motivates employees.  Not only is the content great, but the presentation is unique.  I promise you won’t be disappointed.

QUESTION:  In what ways can you better engage and motivate your employees?

I was recently checking out Ted Talks and came across this short (yet awesome) video clip (3m27sec) of Matt Cutts (Google dude).  Matt shares his perspective on setting and achieving goals through 30 Day Challenges.  While the concept is not new, it’s a great reminder on breaking down goals into something that’s manageable and achievable – 30 Day Challenges.  The idea is if you break down goals into measurable habits, which you can work at daily, then you begin to establish a pattern of living that ultimately leads you closer to your goals.  Popular thinking says it takes 30 days to establish a new habit, thus the 30 Day Challenge.

What does this mean as a manager?

First of all, I believe any self-development is good for a manager.  Where this can get interesting is when you apply these same concepts organizationally.

Here’s an idea…. Create a 30 Day Challenge program for your team(s).  Think about areas you want your organization to improve in.  Determine a habit that can be put into practice daily (which can also be measured).  Then offer incentives to teams or individuals who meet the 30 Day Challenge objective. You could even have your team(s) compete for top challenge honors (i.e. whoever does the most or best at the challenge).  Whether the award is monetary, a fun “gag gift” or simply for bragging rights – incentives are a great way to engage and recognize people for stepping up to the challenge.  And as an organization – you quickly see that by creating the right challenges, your teams will establish the right habits for success.

QUESTION:  What 30 Day Challenges do think would work in the work place?  How can you make them fun (and valuable)?

[This post is part of the Questioning Leader series. Check out the rest here!]

As a manager and leader, we are “success-seekers” by nature.  After all, I haven’t met a manager who isn’t chasing success.  With that said, have you ever set aside the time to define what success really means to you (or your team)?  How do you know you’re winning the game?

Different people approach this question differently.  Some think in terms of dollar amounts and financial figures.  Others think in terms of impact on the organization or its people.  The bottom-line is there is no right or wrong answer here.

OK.. the only wrong answer is… to not have spent any time thinking about what success means to you, your team or organization.

Read more…

I’ve often found managers and leaders are very focused on the business which is right in front of them.  They are on top of their team’s productivity.  They are familiar with how their department (or team) is stacking up against the goals and measures they are expected to deliver.  However, this microscopic view of their world can prevent them from understanding the bigger picture!

This blind spot can not only have disastrous consequences for your business, you may miss out on opportunities to take advantage of new trends and ideas that can fuel your growth – not to mention make you look like “one smart cookie.”

This post highlights a five ideas on how you can efficiently stay in-tune to what’s happening in your industry, as well as your particular business line (e.g., professional services, marketing, finance, sales, etc.).

5 Ways to Stay Informed

1. Follow hash-tags (#) on Twitter for key industry terms – I’ve been a laggard when it comes to Twitter.  However, this is a great resource to uncover loads of information about nearly every topic.  If you are a twitter user, you’ll know people will often use hash-tags (#) to categorize what their “tweet” is related to.  Following hash-tags for key terms used in your industry will connect you with articles and a list of people who share, write or opine on that topic.  When I first started blogging on leadership and management, I found Twitter to be the single best source of connecting me with other bloggers on this topic.  I’ve done the same thing with my industry and have learned a lot about how other professional services managers are solving similar issues I’ve run across.  I’ve been connected to some great articles on other SaaS (Software as a Service) companies, as well as what customers think about the services being provided.  All of this gives me good ideas to leverage with my own teams.  Without twitter, I may have missed all of this great information.

2. Follow industry bloggers – Blogging has taken off as one of the largest mediums to share information.  What’s interesting about blogging is the sheer number of people discussing various topics at amazing depth.  It doesn’t take long to figure out who the key bloggers are in your space of interest.

3. Follow your competitors – Knowing what your competitors are doing, will not necessarily get you ahead of the curve.  However, it will prevent you from eating their dust.  Paying attention to their financial performance, press releases and any other notables will keep you apprised as to what they’re doing.

4. Attend Conferences – The most time consuming and/or expensive (depending on the conferences you go to) idea on the list.  This also requires the most work on your part to get the most our of a conference.  It requires discipline and a game-plan.  However a well chosen and attended conference, can be a great opportunity to learn more about business best practices, as well as identify industry influencers.

5. Networking – Getting to know people who work your industry or share a similar job as yours, are great ways learn what’s going on in your space. This is also a great way to share best practices and get ideas on how you can run your business better.  Obviously, networking with a direct competitor can lead to some obvious conflicts of interests.

Tools of the Trade – how to stay informed quickly!

The good thing about the internet is the amount of information available.  There’s loads of it!  The bad thing – there is loads of it!!  You can easily get overwhelmed with the sheer volume of information coming at you.  Here are a few tools to help you take the ideas above and consolidate them into a more useable format.

Google Reader – This is a Web-based content aggregator, which allows you to subscribe to RSS feeds, websites and atoms to bring together all of the information you want into a consolidated format.  You can take a quick tour here.

Tweetdeck – This application can help you centrally connect with your contacts across Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and more.  They have a great user interface for helping you track various hash-tags you follow. This is my primary tool for following everything related to Twitter.

Tabbloid – I’m still playing with this one.  It’s a lot like Google Reader, but reads more like a magazine.  You can also set-up automated email delivery in a frequency that works for you – very convenient!

And while these tools can help you attack your quest for industry knowledge, it’s ultimately up to you to carve out the time to keep up on your industry and line of business to be a more robust leader and manager!!!

QUESTION: How do you stay informed on the trends in your industry?

June marks the sixth month since the beginning of Management 4-1-1!

What started as a simple idea to blog about topics to help managers and leaders (from a “practicing manager’s” perspective) has achieved every goal I had originally set for myself.

So six months and 3,200+ visitors later – I wanted to take a look back and share the top five Management 4-1-1 posts.  I hope you find them useful and informative in your own management and leadership journey.

Top Five Management 4-1-1 Posts

1. How Do You Take Time To Think? – This post is part of the Questioning Leader series and covers thoughts and strategies on how to “intentionally think” about your business.

2. One-on-One Meetings: The Power of People Connection – This post is part of the Performance Management: A Manager’s Guide to Managing Talent series.  This article shares common practices around having one-on-one meetings and why you should consider implementing them immediately.

3. Performance Management: A Manager’s Guide to Managing Talent – This was the first series ever created for Management 4-1-1 and has been a great success.  This post is a landing page for all Management 4-1-1 articles related to Performance Management, and outlines how managers can tackle performance management as a year-round activity.

4. Three Critical Guidelines to Writing an Effective Performance Appraisal – This post is part of the Performance Management: A Manager’s Guide to Managing Talent series and discusses the art of writing worthwhile performance reviews.

5. The Value of Keeping a Leadership Journal – One of the greatest habits I ever picked-up was the habit of journaling.  It’s not a “dear diary” and it only takes me 5 minutes a day.  Check out this post to learn more.

So there you have it…. the Top Five Management 4-1-1 Posts after six month and 3,200+ visitors.  Can’t wait for what the next few months bring!

Many years ago, when I first got into management, I found I was often frustrated by what I felt was a lack of accomplishment. Or at least, the same sense of accomplishment I had experienced as an individual contributor.

As a consultant, I felt my accomplishments were largely based on completing a project or a significant milestone. Once my project was completed (and the customer was happy), we all gave each other high-fives and it felt good. Every few weeks, I would finish another project, high-fives again – all goodness!

However, now as a manager of consultants, there was a certain emptiness I felt as these were now the accomplishments of others. I could only live vicariously through their results (serious downer).

It wasn’t until a few years into management, I was first introduced to the concept of “givers gain.” Givers gain is the belief that when people help others, they gain more out of the experience than the person they are helping. The satisfaction can be derived by helping others reach a lofty goal, clearing out an obstacle preventing success, standing-up for an employee or simply giving some positive feedback when a person is feeling down.

In your own life, think about the times when you have gone out of your way to give to others. Let’s look at a few examples:

• How do you feel when you take the time to stop by someone’s office to tell them happy birthday? What about when you seem them smile after you say it?
• How do you feel when you recognize someone’s efforts on a project (that have largely gone unnoticed by most), then you see the sense of pride well up in their eyes?
• How do you feel when you have the opportunity to offer someone a new job?

On a personal note… I know how excited my son was the very first time he caught a ball. He smiled from ear to ear, then shouted (at the top of his lungs) ”hooray!!!” I’m not sure how he exactly felt… but I know I felt like I was on top of the world. I picked him up and swung him high in the air. We exchanged high-fives, then both ran around the yard acting like crazy kids (only he had an excuse).

Of course, deep down this was his accomplishment. However, I had worked with him to keep his eye on the ball and to see it come into his hands – I had helped. To know my helping him catch a ball (that clearly meant a lot to him) generated so much pride and self-confidence for him. As a father – that was priceless. That’s “givers gain!”

And while this philosophy works for anyone (in any walk of life), it can be especially powerful as a leader and manager – where you have the ability to impact so many people.

Well… fast forward nearly 10 years. I have come to feel a sense of accomplishment in various ways as a leader and manager, but none have impacted me as much the mindset as this simple philosophy – givers gain.

QUESTION: As a leader, what do you do to feel a sense of accomplishment? In what ways have you used the givers gain approach to lead?

[Note from Chuck: I originally posted this on Lead Change Group Blog - which I am a contributing author. Enjoy it again!!]

Have you had one of those days, where the day passed you by?  OK… I had one of those days recently.  In a minute of despair, I looked to my reflection in the computer monitor – and I all I saw, was my email inbox looking right back at me.

Ahhhhh Haaaaaa!!!

As I pondered my day’s ineffectiveness, it occurred to me the problem was staring me right back – email.  It’s true… It just looks at me.  The moment I take my eyes off of it (or dare open another application), it beeps and shows the arrival of yet another email to be “handled.” If email were human, I’d equate it to a jealous friend.

But is my email really to blame?  I say NO!!

It’s not you email.  It’s me.  I think we just need some time apart.  I’m not ready to call it quits. I do think we need to take some time throughout the day for us to take a break.  Maybe we could hang out with some of our other friends (e.g., “goals”, “project deliverables” and “strategic initiatives”, etc.).  I admit having some time away would also allow me get out and talk to people about their development goals or provide some coaching.  And just because I see other friends… well – it doesn’t mean we can’t spend a lot of time together.  Alright, I admit I’ll also use other applications.  But only I as I need to.  In the end, I will start my day (and end it) with you (email).

OK, OK, OK.. Maybe this is sounding too much like a petty high-school breakup letter.  You get the point (maybe you laughed a little too). Read more…