Tag: business

How to Lead From a Distance

Taylor Stauffer Leave a comment

How do you provide a sense of purpose to your team when face to face interaction isn’t an option?

 

The importance of having regular meetings with team members can’t be overstated. Whether it’s to give feedback (positive and negative) or just to ‘check in’, much has been written about why this is important for overall team health, as well as individual job satisfaction and effectiveness.

Depending on the nature of the business, you could have staff that are working at a distance, or even a team scattered over a large geographic area, making connecting in person very difficult, if not impossible. So how can you authentically empower your team members from a distance and not have them roll their eyes at you?

 

1. Be clear on your purpose, as a team

If everyone is clear about what you are working towards and what the values are of the organization, it’s easier to motivate people, even from far away. When people are scattered, they need to feel that unifying purpose and they can’t do that if they don’t understand what the team is all about.

If everyone is clear about their roles and responsibilities, to each other, to the project and to you / the organization, they can get on with their work with a sense of confidence that they’re on the right track. Then it’s up to you to make sure they retain that feeling.

 

2. Keep in touch

Out of sight, out of mind: you might be tempted to push off the effort to keep in touch with each individual team member simply because you don’t see them every day. It’s easy to say that you don’t have the time and that you’ll do it next week. However, leading by example is essential to distance teamwork being effective. Reaching out regularly to each person individually also needs to be a part of your routine, as it would be in an office environment. It shows respect, commitment, interest in your team members, and enhances their trust of you. Hopefully, they will appreciate and even replicate the behavior with others.

More often than not, this will require a formal communication strategy, at least at first. Processes by which team members check in with you and you check in with them. Everyone works differently and so work with your team members in a way that is authentic to them. If a daily meeting is too much, drop it to weekly. Not everyone ‘needs’ to check in daily to feel included and empowered to get the job done. Others may need that support at least at first.

 

3. Don’t skip the small talk

Conference calls and video conference meetings are the norms for teams that don’t work in the same space, but often, they’re fairly regimented in the aim of not wasting anyone’s time. Fair enough, but there is a lot of ‘team building’ and morale-boosting that goes on during water cooler chats. It’s in these more informal interactions that you, and others, can learn each other’s non-verbal cues and idiosyncrasies. Replicating that in a Skype call isn’t necessarily easy but the person leading the meeting sets the tone for it and should make time for a little small talk at the beginning or end of the meeting. After all, you know what they say about all work and no play!

Another aspect is celebrations! Yes, celebrating a birthday, milestone, or project success at a distance can be tough but technology is there to make it easier. Such as? Send a package to each team member in advance that contains a treat, with instructions not to open it until the video conference scheduled for the celebration day. Then you can all open them together and celebrate! It may seem silly but it’s in these little ways that you can build a solid community, even miles and miles apart!

 

4. Open door policy

Make sure that your team knows when they can reach you freely, in the same way as they would in an office environment. If you were in the same space, they’d be able to see whether your office door was open or closed or have a sense of whether you are in the middle of a crisis issue and can’t break.

At a distance, those cues are gone, so creating a calendar with blocks of time when you’re available makes sense. Like a professor who has posted office hours, you can let your team know that they can always reach you but that X, Y and Z time slots are the best!

 

5. Focus on the outcomes and the effort

Unlike an employee whose desk is right outside your office, you can’t really observe or track how much effort a remote employee is making. Frankly, you shouldn’t be micromanaging an employee right in front of you that way either, but that’s another blog post!

Instead, focus on the outcomes. Are they delivering their projects/work on time? Is the work well done or does it seem rushed and incomplete? If they’re doing good work and they’re doing it on time, that’s what matters! If not, that needs to be dealt with too, so that other team members aren’t left feeling like that person isn’t pulling their weight.

 

Key to all of these efforts is authenticity. You have to believe in what you’re doing, and your team, in order to reach them. Going through the motions isn’t enough. Trust in the people you work with, show them what you expect and walk with them along the path. Even at a distance, thanks to technology, you can do all of these things and do them well.

 

 

How to Conquer Your Fear of Public Speaking in Just 6 Steps

Taylor Stauffer Leave a comment

In real estate, the mantra is: ‘location, location, location’. In public speaking? It’s ‘practice, practice, practice’.

 

Ask some actors and they’ll tell you that they never get over the stage fright, the butterflies that come before the cameras roll or the curtains part. One thing they will all tell you is that they beat back those fears with rehearsal. Not so that a piece will sound rehearsed as it comes out of their mouths but so that they know it backwards and forwards, inside and out.

 

Similarly for nervous public speaker, the comfort derived from a good level of preparation is the key to giving a good speech.

 

Here are six steps to help you get to the public speaking promised land!

 

Find the sweet spot on your material

 

Engaging an audience is half the battle: if you feel like they’re with you, that they’re listening, that they’re engaged, you’ll be more successful. So how can you ensure that they are with you? Make sure that there is a connection between what you want to talk about and what they are interested in. This is about knowing your audience and ensuring that your material is relevant to them. If you want to talk about the perils of entrepreneurship to a group of mental health workers, your sweet spot is going to be talking about stress, depression and other mental health issues, with anecdotes and stories that are specific to entrepreneurs.

 

Find a sweet title for your speech

 

Just like the first line of a novel, your speech title is what will spark interest… or not. Your audience will be drawn in by a great title and they will at least start out engaged. That interest factor applies to you too! If you’ve given the same speech twelve times, tweak it by changing up the title and a little of the speech. It’s important that what you’re saying feel fresh and interesting to you as well.

 

What should any speech include, aside from a great title?

 

Start with a story, if you can. The level of engagement that you will get will be higher and that will put you on a good footing to continue. If not a story, then ask the audience a question. Something that challenges them or makes them laugh. You want to capture their attention. Then what?

 

  • Point out the relevance of your speech to this particular audience, if it’s not already crystal clear. Your premise, or the ultimate point you want to make, should come right up front.

 

  • Give information that clearly demonstrates your expertise or knowledge in the subject matter. Without getting bogged down in too many stats, jargon or esoteric information, you can wow an audience and keep them engaged because you’re able to back up the premise you made earlier.

 

  • Opinions matter if you are a subject matter expert, so don’t be afraid to give them. You want to provide something to your audience that they can’t get by watching a series of YouTube videos!

 

Edit… and then edit some more

 

Write your speech out and then edit it. Give the speech in front of your dog, to hear it out loud. Then edit it. Give it to a camera so you can watch yourself and your various arm movements or nervous tics. Then edit it again. You want to have practiced enough to know the speech well but not so much as to sound like an over-rehearsed machine.

 

Keep your language simple and clear. Multisyllabic words may sound impressive on paper but if half your audience is asking SIRI what something means in the middle of your speech, you’ve lost them.

 

You want to see how fast you are speaking, what filler words you over use and whether or not you’re laughing inappropriately. It’s all a part of the overall image you’re going to project. When you feel like you’ve got the right image, you’ll feel more confident about giving the speech.

 

What are three known speech killers?

  1. People who blather instead of staying on point.
  2. People who use sarcasm.
  3. People who talk in platitudes and trite phrases. If you sound like a bumper sticker, you’re going to lose your audience!

 

Get some presence!

 

Walking on to a stage or up to a podium is your moment to really capture everyone. Even before you’ve said a word, you can lose them if you’re fidgeting or engaging in other nonverbal behavior that turns your audience off. Like what?

  • Not looking at your entire audience, no eye contact.
  • Staring at cue cards or at slides.
  • Talking quickly or mumbling. By practicing your speech, you can adopt a strong cadence that your audience will enjoy listening to.

 

What to do if you feel you’re losing your audience?

 

Be prepared with some humor. Without a doubt, humor is the ideal way to regain their attention and refocus it on you. Quotes, anecdotes, jokes about yourself… whatever you’re comfortable with.

 

If you want people to hear what you have to say but you’re nervous about saying it, it’s best if it feels as if you are having a conversation with them. If it feels to each audience member as if you’re speaking directly to them, you will have their attention. If you feel that way, you’ll be calmer, more collected and more effective in your speech. Good luck!

7 Tips to Help You Command the Room

Taylor Stauffer Leave a comment

 

“Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching.” — Thomas Jefferson

 

Whether you’re at a networking event, or about to chair a board meeting with a slightly hostile majority, fear is your enemy if your goal is to command the room. Instead, do as Thomas Jefferson suggests: act as if all the world was watching. What would you want them to see?

 

True leaders make their presence felt without uttering a syllable. Instead, their gravitas is almost innate and no, it doesn’t come from their title. So how do you do it?

 

Be on time

 

Nothing makes a worse impression than the person who stumbles into a meeting or presentation late, disrupting the whole event. If you’re standing around making excuses for being late, you’re not coming from a position of strength. When you want to command a room, that’s not a great start. Instead, make a positive, strong entrance.

 

Walk tall

 

Perception is reality: if you walk in looking defeated, uninterested, bored or anything other than purposeful, that is how people will perceive you. Do not walk in with your head down, shoulders bowed, shuffling your feet. Body language says a lot to others, so stride into the room with purpose! How you carry yourself tells others whether you’re commanding or just being. Even if you don’t know where you’re going to sit just yet, you need to walk in like you own the place.

 

Acknowledge others

 

Say hello, shake a few hands, and look people in the eye! It’s all about charisma: looking like you belong even if that’s not exactly how you’re feeling in the moment. Whatever your misgivings are, you need to show others that you’re engaged by acknowledging them. Eye contact is a strong body language element that gives the other person a strong sense of your confidence. If you look anywhere but at the person you are speaking to, you look like you either don’t know what you’re talking about or you have no presence.

 

Sit up straight

 

Slouching is for teenagers! You need to sit tall and straight in your seat if you want to look commanding, even while seated. The point is to give the appearance of strength. Women are in particular prone to minimizing their presence: shoulders hunched, ankles crossed, almost hiding.

 

Where you sit matters too. If seating isn’t assigned, take these tips on board:

 

  • Tables: sit at the table, not in a background chair. If there is a seat for whoever is in charge, sit near but not next to them. In doing so, you’re giving yourself access to them and still leaving yourself open to connecting with others around the table.

 

  • Rows: don’t sit in the front row, but choose a chair near the front. Usually, a front row is reserved for speakers or honored guests, so you want to be near them and able to interact with them if the opportunity presents itself, without necessarily being among them. The point is to be able to engage with those around you and ensure that they see you as much as you see them. Setting yourself apart, as would be the case with the front row, creates an invisible barrier to that connection.

 

Keep to your intro

 

If you’re introducing yourself to others, use your practiced and polished intro speech. No extra details: just the meat. This isn’t a pitch, so make it short, sweet and memorable.

 

Project your voice

 

When speaking, unless it is a private conversation, make sure that you project your voice. Not to be obnoxious but to appear authoritative. So many people get quieter, or worse, mumble when in a group situation, but if you want to be seen as commanding the room, you have to take it! No one is going to hand it to you.

 

If you are speaking to a group, make sure to gesture with your arms, above the hip. Keeping your arms away from your body gives a sense of openness and strength while you speak. Keeping them unmoving at your sides, almost like a robot, gives the impression of fear or weakness.

 

Influence by being concise

 

People who have an opportunity to speak, whether at a meeting or a larger gathering, but then drag on about a variety of topics instead of staying on point are rarely people of influence. If anything, they develop a reputation for being unable to get to the point, and people start to ignore what they’re saying even before they’ve begun speaking. Don’t be that person!

 

Know when to remain silent too: “Well-timed silence is the most commanding expression.” ~Mark Helprin

 

If you’re not yet in a leading position in your organization, being able to command a room will get you noticed by those who can affect your role. It’s a skill that you need to practice to perfect.

 

 

So next time you find yourself in a meeting or getting ready for a presentation, remember these tips and remember that a great leader can lead a room without saying a word.

Do You Know Your Next Career Move?

Taylor Stauffer Leave a comment

“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” – Milton Berle

“If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat! Just get on!” – Sheryl Sandberg

 

What are your options to grow and evolve, when you’re already at a senior level? Obviously, that depends on your organization, your industry and your interests.

 

Most people don’t reach a high level in their careers without opening some of their own doors and breaking a few glass ceilings. The point is that even when you’re happy with what you’re doing, it never hurts to look forward to the next step.

 

Many careers have an obvious path but that doesn’t mean that you have to follow it. You can go from an accountant to a department head to an AVP and ultimately CFO, on a financial track. Or you could go from department head to running your own company, developing apps for accountants. However you want to change, there are certain steps you should follow to gather your WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHY AND HOW. With these, you can be sure that your next move is the right one.

 

To reach your end goal, you need to know what it is

 

By end goals, I am referring to your WHERE and your WHAT. Where you want to be in five to seven years and WHAT success looks like to you. Ultimately, if you don’t know WHERE you’re going, you won’t be able to find the right path to get there.

 

Do you want:

  • More time for family or personal pursuits
  • Secure financial positioning
  • A more creative role
  • A challenging, ever-changing role
  • A whole different role from the current one

 

Ask yourself what a perfect day in your ideal next role would be? That should help you hone down what you see as priority end goals, and what you don’t. Factor in things about your current role that you DON’T like. They matter too, in terms of your overall role satisfaction.

 

In other words, WHAT does success look like to you? If you’ve already reached senior levels where you are now, odds are success looks different than it did when you were twenty and starting out. That’s okay. It’s not a fixed target!

 

Think about WHAT you want right now and for the next few years, not what you think is expected of you or what others want. It’s okay if you have several end goals since there is often a way to make them overlap. Prioritize your different end goals and focus in on the top two to help guide you.

 

Develop and research paths that will take you to role’s that include your end goals

 

Ask yourself WHY you want to reach certain goals. If you want to be CIO, why? Is it to run the whole show? Is it to have control? Is it because you have ideas that you think could take the company into the next generation of technology growth? Think about your WHY and then develop your HOW.

 

HOW are you going to get there? If financial stability is your goal, entrepreneurship might not be the right choice! If you’re bound and determined to become the CIO at the company you’re currently working for, what is going to take for you to get there? Figure out the path to what you want. Once you have the path worked out, you can easily determine if you can meet the steps required or not.

 

Assess your skills and possible sponsors

 

This is the WHO: Take a cold, hard look at what your skills are and factor in personality traits too. Do you have what it takes to take your career to the next level on a projected path? Do you need to enhance your skills or exposure in certain areas in order to achieve your goals?

 

If you want that CIO job, what is it that you will need as skills before you will be considered? Research other CIOs at other companies, get a mentor, improve your material skills (public speaking, organizational, etc…).

 

As to sponsors, is there someone WHO can help you get you where you want to go? Someone WHO will champion your career move, open a door or two or simply give you some solid advice? Work with them, network with them, find a way to open up a conversation and see if they are open to working with you.

 

Taking some time to reflect on the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHY and HOW of your career path is like any business plan: it’s a guideline that can help you take the next step without falling into a hole!