Make Feedback a Vital Tool for Your Team Members photo Shannon Cassidy

Make Feedback a Vital Tool for Your Team Members

Shannon Cassidy Leave a comment

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams implied that great leaders strive to make each of their team members better at what they do. This does not happen by magical words or project osmosis. It happens through feedback. As such, a great leader spends time learning how to give feedback that is effective. To give feedback well requires specific planning, tactful execution and purposeful follow-up.

A great leader spends time learning how to give feedback that is effective.
Tweet This

Specific Planning

Before the feedback meeting, ask and answer these questions:

What is my intention? While thinking through this, you may discover that you want your employee to feel bad and guilty. If that is your aim, the results of your meeting may be dismissal of the employee or them quitting. Instead, take time to establish exactly what your intention is for your meeting.

What impact do I want to have on my team member? Think about this and again, be specific. Do you want your employee to improve because of this interaction? Or do you want them to feel they were wrong? Your attitude about intentions and impact will influence the way you talk to your employee as well as the result of the meeting.

What exactly am I going to say? Plan your words. Write them down. Have notes with you that back up the points you want to make. If your communication is clear and to the point, your team member will not leave with any misunderstanding of what you expect in the future.

Tactful Execution

During the feedback meeting, make sure you:

Use many more positive comments than negative. You want to encourage your employee to grow and improve. To ensure that result, intentionally use positive statements about their work more than negative. It is impossible to have a fair review of someone’s performance without stating an area for improvement so they know what to focus on in cultivating the right kinds of skills. If those comments are sandwiched between other positive reinforcements, your employee will be more motivated to improve.

Be specific. Don’t speak in generalities. Instead, give specific examples. Refrain from using the words “never” or “always”. Don’t tell someone they are late in turning in assignments. Instead, give a specific instance. The same goes for praise. Don’t tell your team member they are encouraging to the team effort. Give a specific example of when they were encouraging.

Tie Actions to Consequences. Recently, Andrew Parker, director of marketing and communications for Zenger Folkman, gave an excellent example of how to tie actions to consequences during feedback. He writes:

When delivering tough feedback, many folks don’t want to hurt people’s feelings. The best way to do this is to review how their actions led to a specific consequence and not insult their intelligence, competence or otherwise. Case in point: I had a boss tell me one time that because I had failed to review my work with him before sending it on to a client, I provided something substandard and the client was displeased with our work. He never called me dumb, stupid or clueless. He demonstrated how my actions had led to this outcome. Then, he followed up with several kind comments about things I was doing well and that I need to work in this one area to improve. After that, I never had a problem—and I never felt bitter to my boss about that conversation.

Making the connection between actions and consequences can help your employee improve in their job and give you a specific and non-threatening way to convey areas where they need improving.

Purposeful Follow-Up

End your feedback meeting with a plan of action. Ask your employee to come up with ideas for his improvement in a given area. In your plan of action, have your employee do a few specific tasks in a specific amount of time. Following up in this way will ensure that the feedback you gave has not fallen on deaf ears.

Feedback can be a vital tool for you as a leader. Learn how to give it well and inspire your team members to dream, learn, do and become more.

Feedback can be a vital tool for you as a leader.
Tweet This

Sources:

http://zengerfolkman.com/5-tips-for-delivering-tough-feedback-in-a-touchy-feely-world/

http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/2012/06/07/giving-feedback-dont-make-these-10-mistakes/

https://hbr.org/2015/08/how-to-give-tough-feedback-that-helps-people-grow

 

 

 

Persistence—A Vital Quality for these Four Great Women Leaders photo Shannon Cassidy

Persistence—A Vital Quality for These Four Great Women Leaders

Shannon Cassidy Leave a comment

One is a leader in writing and she created a dynasty of stories that would affect an entire generation’s imagination. How did she do this? Persistence.

One was a leader in a southern state’s congress, a black woman who stood up to be the first of many in a line of powerful women politicians. How did she do this? Persistence.

One is a leader in the arts who faced rejection in a business where looks are valued more than talent. She kept going. How did she do this? Persistence.

One is a leader in the world of business who has faced trials and grief and yet continued to stand up for women in the workplace. How did she do this? Persistence.

J.K. Rowling

“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.” J.K Rowling

J.K.Rowling, the famous author of the Harry Potter novels, was a single mother enduring clinical depression when she wrote the first book of the Harry Potter series. She was on welfare and submitted her manuscript to twelve different publishing houses but was rejected by all of them. A year later a small London-based publishing company agreed to publish Harry Potter. Persistence brought us delightful stories that have made many, many people happy.

Barbara Jordan

“One thing is clear to me: We, as human beings, must be willing to accept people who are different from ourselves.” Barbara Jordan

Barbara Jordan won a seat in the Texas legislature in 1966, becoming the first black woman to do so. She faced negative attitudes and discrimination at first. Her colleagues were not welcoming. But she continued and sought to improve the lives of her constituents by helping pass the state’s first law on minimum wage. Later, she worked to create the Texas Fair Employment. In 1972, eight years after her joining the legislature, her fellow lawmakers voted her in as president pro tempore of the state senate, becoming the first African American woman to hold this post. Persistence gave us a woman who was willing to be ostracized in order to do what was right. She set an example for all women.

Meryl Streep

“Integrate what you believe in every single area of your life. Take your heart to work and ask the most and best of everybody else, too.” Meryl Streep

In 1975, Dino De Laurentis, producer of the upcoming movie King Kong, sat waiting to watch auditions for the female lead. Meryl Streep, then a little known actress, walked in. The director said to his son in Italian, “Why did you bring me this ugly thing?” Streep knew Italian and was taken aback. She walked out mumbling, “I’m what you got.” Looking back, Meryl wrote, “This was a pivotal moment for me. This one rogue opinion could have derailed my dreams of becoming an actress.”

It didn’t. Streep kept going and is now the most successful actress in America. Persistence gave us many wonderful experiences in the world of movies including The Deer Hunter, Kramer vs. Kramer and The Devil Wore Prada.

Sheryl Sandberg

“Leadership is not bullying and leadership is not aggression. Leadership is the expectation that you can use your voice for good. That you can make the world a better place.” Sheryl Sandberg

As Chief Operating Office of Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg has made a career of persistently leading companies and standing up for women’s rights in the workplace. Some might look at her life and say she is not in touch with the regular woman.

However, in a Forbes article critiquing Sandberg’s book Lean in, Susan Adams writes: “In the book’s opening anecdote, Sandberg describes what a tough time she had while pregnant with her first child. She gained 70 pounds, her feet swelled two shoe sizes and she vomited every day for nine months. I read this and I thought immediately, she gets it.”

Sandberg became the first woman to serve on Facebook’s board in 2012. In the same year she was named one of the most 100 influential people in the world according to Time magazine. Her humility is a part of her determination to fight for other women. “We stand on the shoulders of the women who came before us, women who had to fight for the rights that we now take for granted,” she writes. Persistence gave us a business woman who leads by example and is making strides for other women in business.

If you are a woman in business, be persistent. Women before you have faced obstacles in the workplace and kept going. Do the same and influence the women who will follow you.

If you are a woman in business, be persistent.
Tweet This

Sources:

http://beingencouraged.com/2013/10/25/need-persist-4-famous-examples-persistence/

http://www.emlii.com/9146884/31-Most-Inspiring-Women-Who-Changed-The-World

http://www.6seconds.org/2013/03/13/famous-failures-persistence/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/03/04/10-things-sheryl-sandberg-gets-exactly-right-in-lean-in/

 

Creating Your Ideal Week

Shannon Cassidy Leave a comment

What is your ideal week? If you’re like most people, it would have something to do with a beach, a book and a drink with a tiny umbrella.

That’s not what we’re talking about.

What is your ideal work week? According to Michael Hyatt at www.michaelhyatt.com an ideal week is the week he would live if he could control 100% of what happens. He claims that you can either live on-purpose, according to a plan you’ve set. Or you can live by accident, reacting to the demands of others.

Mike Anderson (www.mikeyanderson.com) agrees with the discipline of creating an ideal week. He compares it to city zoning:

In any city they want to make sure they have a good mix of commercial, light industrial, high density residential and low density residential. City planners section off the city into zoning areas so that as people want to develop property, they can—but they keep the desired balance. An ideal week should zone off your time so that your calendar can get filled in organically, but still make sure that your life has the right balance of priorities.

Marie Poulin uses the ideal week model consistently for her business and life. By structuring her time, Marie has seen her work thrive naturally simply because she wastes much less time. She also recommends tracking your time. One way is the program Rescue Time found at www.rescuetime.com. Once installed into your computer, it runs in the background and tracks where your time is being spent, even how much time you waste on Facebook.

So how do you create an ideal work week?

  1. List all your essential tasks. Put them on paper so you can look at them face to face. Ask yourself what is most important. Number them by priority. By doing this you are getting your brain to make sure that you find time for the tasks that are most important.
  2. List your goals. Put them on paper, too, so you can see them before you and make a decision to have your ideal week reflect your intentions. Thomas Edison had a goal to create a major invention every six months and a minor invention every ten days. He did not invent on accident. He was an intentional inventor.
  3. List the routines you have. Exercise, shopping for groceries or writing might be a few examples. Do you make time each day to comment on social media sites? Write that down and put a time limit on it.
  4. Having all of this information on paper prepares you for creating your ideal week. Find a calendar or a template that will fit your schedule. Michael Hyatt has a great one he offers at http://michaelhyatt.com/ideal-week.html
  5. Identify themes for each day. This can help immensely in grouping certain activities today so your brain doesn’t have to switch gears so often. For example, Marie Poulin wrote identified the themes of each of her days:Sunday: Rest and plan for weekMonday: MentorshipTuesday: Creation

    Wednesday: Mentorship

    Thursday: Mastermind

    Friday: New business development and content creation

    Saturday: Personal day

    Now, using your themes, label your days or sections of your days.

  6. You are ready to take your lists and schedule your important activities. Use a specific color to help identify them.
  7. Fill in the less-important activities. Shade them a different color.
  8. Tweak your ideal week. It usually takes a few tries before you have it how you want.
  9. Don’t be legalistic. Remember it is a calendar. You are in charge of your life, not it.
  10. Share it with your team. This is a vital step in having an ideal week. If your team knows your schedule, they can help you stay on track with your business’s goals and even your personal ones. Encourage your team members to make an ideal week too, and share it with you.

In the Power of Habit, author Charles Duhigg shares how making an appointment with yourself significantly increases the likelihood that you will do what you intend to do. Vicki Davis writes When you create your ideal week, you are visualizing what it looks like. As you make choices of what you will and won’t do, you’re aligning your week with your goals.

If you take the time to create your ideal work week schedule, those ideal weeks at the beach with a book in one hand and a little drink in the other will be even better, knowing all you have accomplished.

 

Sources:

http://www.coolcatteacher.com/time-management-tips/

http://mariepoulin.com/blog/design-your-ideal-week-increase-productivity/

http://michaelhyatt.com/ideal-week.html

http://mikeyanderson.com/planning-your-ideal-week

www.rescuetime.com

5 ways for a leader to practice thanksgiving Shannon Cassidy

5 Ways for a Leader to Practice Thanksgiving

Shannon Cassidy Leave a comment

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” G.K. Chesterton

It’s almost Turkey Day. Folks are gearing up to eat deviled eggs, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie before they watch the game and take a nap. But Thanksgiving is not all about the three f’s – family, food and football.

It is about giving thanks.

As leaders of your team, this is a wonderful time of year to begin the habit of practicing thanksgiving so you can do it all year, not just in November. Saying those two powerful words can mean the world to someone who has worked hard. Not saying the same two words, especially when it requires little effort, can diminish one of your team member’s worth and that will lead to them not giving as much effort on the next project.

Saying “thank you” is a win-win. Your appreciation will boost the effort of your team and their response to being appreciated will boost their productivity. It’s a win-win.

So follow these five suggestions to make the phrase “THANK YOU” a part of the culture of your team.

  1. Be prompt. Don’t wait too long after you’ve noticed a job well done to say “thank you.” Put a note on your desk or calendar reminding yourself to look for moments to say “thank you”. If you wait too long, gratitude loses its power.
  2. Be specific. Say exactly what you are thankful for. Although “thank you” is polite and powerful, its potency is increased ten-fold if you follow it with a specific reason.“Thank you for working extra hours yesterday.” Practice adding specifics to your gratitude and your team members will notice. “Thank you for making sure our coffee orders were correct.” “Thank you for going the extra mile with this report.”
  3. Be discerning. Learn what your team members appreciate as rewards and add it to your “thank you”. Handwritten notes or gift cards are loved by some people. Take your team or team member to lunch and then give them the rest of the day off. Get to know what your team members would consider a great reward. Not everyone would consider a handwritten note a bonus, while others would consider it a lovely touch. If you email a team member thank you, copy the message to your boss (and theirs, if you aren’t their boss). Free days off coupons, telecommuting days, or flexible scheduling are great rewards for the person that appreciates those types of rewards. Match the reward to the person.
  4. Be sincere. Don’t rush it. Intentionality comes across as genuine and heartfelt. So make your “thank you” deliberate. Don’t walk by someone and say “By the way, thanks!” Stop at their desk or cubicle, look them in the eyes and say it with honest appreciation. Those two words will go a long way with sincerity behind them.
  5. Be consistent. If you praise often during one month but then skip the next month, your team might wonder what’s going on. Practice thanksgiving by making it a habit. Give yourself a goal and put the goal on your desk or calendar or phone and stick with it. By doing this you will be creating a culture of thanksgiving that includes recognition and reward.
Instead of stuffing yourself with turkey, how about stuffing yourself with gratitude?
Tweet This

Instead of stuffing yourself with turkey, potatoes and gravy, how about stuffing yourself with gratitude? Don’t be a leader who hoards appreciation. Spread it around your team and make it a habit that they will see and begin imitating. Let the Thanksgiving of 2015 be the beginning of practicing thanksgiving all year around.

 

Sources:

www.teamworkandleadership.com/2014/11/two-of-the-most-powerful-words-leaders-can-say-and-why-you-should.html#sthash.ozVAEqrX.94ZD4Hsd.dpuf

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_54.htm

Small Changes Big Results Ripple Effect photo Shannon Cassidy

Small Changes, Big Results

Shannon Cassidy 1 Comment

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” – Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa knew that change very rarely happens in big swooping gestures, but in smaller movements, often personal decisions. As a leader, you have the chance to make changes that could produce big results. But to be highly effective, those changes need to small and intentional.

Here are five small changes you can make that can lead to big results.

  1. Learn Something Every Day. The more you know, they healthier you tend to be. Reading articles online will grow your knowledge over time. Warren Buffet, one of the richest people in the world, is said to read over 500 pages a day just to learn. If you aren’t a reader, listen to books on tape or podcasts. This small change can add up to big results in your brain power and can also reverse any downward spirals in your thinking abilities.
  2. Do Something New. Sometimes work can feel like a rut or a grind and you might crave a change. Instead of making a big change like a new job, make a small change. Switch up your schedule. If you eat every day at the same time, try eating 30 minutes sooner or later. Try a new perfume or cologne. Fresh smells can create innovative sensory experiences which can make your day or week feel brand new.
  3. Bring Playfulness Into Your Day. Remember when you were 9 years old? What did you like to do? Try doing it again. Find a park and whizz down a slide or swing for a while. Maybe throw a football around or bake a cake from a recipe your mom always used. This kind of small change can slow down your life for a bit and hit reset. After recharging, your child-like energy will help you tackle your work in a new way.
  4. Change Your Speed-Dial List. If you have a top ten list on your phone that are made up of business-related people, maybe it’s time to reevaluate that list. Business situations change, so it is important to reevaluate your business priorities. Every time you look at what is important in your life, even if you only make small changes, you naturally reset your vision for your work or life, which usually results in positive growth.
  5. Change Your Surroundings. Your office often reflects who you are and where you have been. It might even reflect where you are going. If you want to grow, it is important to change your office. Life is full of adjustments and compromises and your office can be a vital reminder to you to move toward your goals.

The opportunities of a new path are open to you, but you must move forward in focus. Making these small changes can increase your focus and productivity. Like Mother Teresa, if you cast those stones across the water making small changes in your life, the results will creative positive ripples throughout your life.

 

Sources:

http://www.smallstepsbigchanges.com/43-alltime-quotes-change/#ixzz3r8A48vwK

http://breakingmuscle.com/health-medicine/make-one-small-change-to-make-a-big-difference-to-your-health

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/70936

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jen-glantz/small-ways-to-make-big-ch_b_5675549.html