Tag Archives: developing high performance teams

Working with Gen wotever

30 Aug

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Quite recently I have had the privilege of working with a team of Gen Y’s. I think that’s their gen name (as opposed to genome) anyway. Their a bit older than Charles Lloyd Jones in this William Dobell portrait. They’re younger than me anyway. 

We have been working on a huge and creative project – something I couldn’t do on my own. These gens have been working with me and I have been managing them and their output. 

And yes … it’s true, they do work differently. They are definitely not your old time bank clerk types. They have different clocks and they can drift off but never too far.

What I have enjoyed is telling them stuff. It’s creative and we do a lot of writing. I tell them about The Confederacy of Dunces and the Catcher in the Rye. About original writers who also wrote and thought about freedom and how it dwells in the mind a lot of the time.

I give them tasks and I check up on them with a ‘how’s it going?’ lame style of management. I don’t get too concerned when they wander off and they do from time to time but I do keep track on deadlines.

We get along fine and they are producing – and more often than not, they surprise me with their work.

So I say Gen wotever. Show people respect and listen to them. When you delegate tell stories and have a laugh. 

Oh yeah … and say thanks.

Often. 

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resilience and taking it on the chin

14 Jun

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This is the Alcántara Bridge in Spain, built by the Roam Emperor Trajan between 104 and 106 AD. That’s almost 2200 years ago. It’s not modern engineering but it’s lasted. It’s prevailed. Can you imagine the hordes of people and animals and vehicles that have crossed it. The fights and battles. The life and death it has seen in that time.

The bridge has resilience built into it. That’s why it’s still here. It has strong foundations.

People at work work together. Sometimes they’re called teams. Teams support each other if they’re functioning. It’s a necessary element in all teams including sporting and in families. That’s nice isn’t it?

But guess what. S%$t happens (I censored that for you!)

But it does, even in the most highly functioning teams because people are people and we have moods, emotions, short comings. We’re not all nice all the time.

I heard about a man who was known as a man of god. That was his life. Doing good things for people who others shunned. He was also a boss. I heard that every morning he would walk into his offices and lose his block. He would systematically fire people and then an hour or so later re-hire them (or something like that.) This was devastating to his team of kind hearts and do gooders. But they stayed with him. Why?

Because they allowed him his childish behaviour because they recognised that he was angry and stressed. It wasn’t them.

It’s hard dealing with difficult people. But when you do and the sky doesn’t fall, then you build your understanding and resilience so the next time the boss loses it they know what to do. It’s called emotional intelligence.

Great teams have this resilience and it allows them to build trust and understanding one block of stone at a time.

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The politics of great coffee

30 Jan

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My cousin is a coffee nut. She’s an aficionado. Coffee is important to her. She appreciates good coffee.

What I mean is, when she forks out between $3.50 – $4.50 for a takeaway coffee she hopes it’s going to be well made.

The problem is that you can count on your hand the number of places where the coffee is properly made. Where there’s a trained barista working the ‘piano.’ Where the taste and the blend, the colour and thickness of the froth are just as important as the silly leaf pattern.

She can be embarrassing too, this cousin of mine. It’s pretty confronting going to get a coffee with her. You know why? She speaks her mind. She tells them if the coffee is not up to her standards. She tells them and I back slowly away.

I’m tainted with that english politeness. Here in Australia, we were colonised by the British and that’s one of the hangovers. Politeness. We tend to seethe not speak up. We vote with our feet.

Is that good? NO.

Last week my cuz was in her local cafe (she lives out of Sydney.) She happened to compliment the young lady making the coffee. It was good. Up to her standards. The owner overheard this and exclaimed … ‘Oh. Coffee politics!’

No it’s not coffee politics at all. If you run a cafe, you make coffee. The coffee is supposed to be good at a cafe, hence the name … cafe.

Is it strange to expect your customers to not care about the coffee you serve?

Go on. Invest in your self, your staff.

Train them up. Give them the goal to make prize winning coffee. Make them proud!

And, get out of the kitchen if you can’t stand the heat.

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Anger = no training

14 Jan

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This is a true story. The names have been changed to protect the protagonists …

Just recently, while staying at a friends house while they travelled, I had to wait for a new pool pump to be installed (the old one had broken down under warranty.)

Days went by and there was no communication from the company involved.

Meanwhile the pool was getting greener and the weather hotter.

My 12 year old son was waiting to have a swim but couldn’t because of the state of the pool.

I rang the company and spoke to the owner. She seemed quite cranky when i asked her what was happening to the pump.

After much to and fro-ing, the guy finally arrived to install the new (replacement) pump. As the guy was fitting it, he discovered another problem with a valve. He told me that he would ensure the owner of the business would call me re fitting the extra valve. By 11.00 am the following morning there had been no call so I rang them.

When I expressed my frustration, the owner lost her temper.

I told he that I wrote training packages on customer service, but she kept right on talking.

I said ‘but I’m the customer!’

She didn’t hear me but finished up by saying “we’ve gone out of our way for you.” She clearly hadn’t. She then hung the phone up and I was left feeling a little bit (not a lot) unhappy. Because I train in these areas I thought about how she must have felt. Stressed, unappreciated and just plain angry.

Dealing with difficult customers is something all business people need to do with the one aim of keeping the customer happy, because every angry customer tells another 10 people and so on.

Try this:

Depersonalise and strategise

Listen

Come up with solutions

Make a friend of an enemy …

and they will tell 10 people how great you are.

The issue is that many people in business don’t have any training in these areas.

They do take things personally.

Things go wrong. That’s natural.

But if you handle the situation calmly and strategically you make many friends.

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Tech heads and other odd fish

13 Dec

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I’m the King of Content.

Well I self styled that one, but after working on advertising campaigns (above and below the line,) blogs, websites (static and interactive,) brochures, newsletters, flyers, trade stands and collateral, email marketing, social networking, training programs and lots in between … I think I am the King!

But I’m not a coder … yikes!

I’m a content planner and builder, creative director and project manager.

I’m also a talent scout.

I source artists & illustrators, graphics people, TV/Radio producers …

I also source web people. The people that code. They know HTML and CSS deeply, whereas I just know about it.

I need these people. And I need to get the work done.

Sometimes, but not always, these web people can be difficult. Why? could be a generational thing. Could be a time management thing. Could be a simple communications thing. Could be all of the above.

Here’s a scenario:

The project is lagging and lacking. The vision has not come together. I can’t get the person on the phone. I can’t get them via sms. I wonder should I go out on my balcony and call their name like Steve Martin did in The Lonely Guy.

Yes … they don’t always follow my timetable.

But when you get a good one it’s amazing.

Manage these people with tenderness and care.

Coach and mentor them.

Be understanding, bit not too understanding if you get my drift.

Got kids? You’ll know what I mean

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Meet Dr NO

12 Dec

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When my son was a toddler my dear mother in law happened to mention that it was sad that little kids heard the word NO a lot of the time.

NO you can’t do that.

NO don’t be naughty.

NO. NO. NO.

Workplaces can be like that too.

Have you worked with a Dr NO? I know I have.

NO, too different.

NO, you can’t do that.

NO, NO, NO.

What makes a Dr NO?

Fear of change

Insecurity

Resentment

Risk aversion

All of the above. The only problem is that the world is changing. Industries are disappearing. Just this week our iconic car, the Holden, announced they were ceasing manufacturing here. Horror. All those people losing their jobs.

What will they do?

They’ll do something else.

Creativity is the enemy of Dr NO

Change is like Ju Jitsu … when you are attacked you step aside and push your attacker past. Going with the flow.

Scary but ultimately satisfying.

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Hello SILO … you’d better be flexible!

3 Dec

ImageI work on many projects with many different organisations. Corporations, authorities, not for profits and small to medium businesses and I often find that I’m cast adrift between mountains of giant silos.

Silos form when the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing.

I’m not casting aspersions (or aspidistras) at all the hard working people I interact with. I’m just making an observation. Silos form when people are rushing to meet change.

Change happens rapidly these days. Policies change, then procedures or ways of doing things. Regulations and laws change when governments change or government policy changes. Change happens when businesses are growing exponentially and new people are brought on board.

Silos also form when there’s a lack of communication across organisations, strategic business units (SBU’s) and teams.

Silos can also form when people don’t share.

Silos affect content developers too. We can be working away using some accepted template, or creating content in a suggested way and then … it’s not quite right.

Can this be a problem? Yes and no.

Clever consultants can pick a silo a milo off (sorry, it rhymed.)

Clever consultants communicate widely.

Clever consultants are flexible and don’t go into spasms of disappointment  and take things personally regarding their work.

My mum told me that a truly sane person has an ingrained ability to change their minds!

I tell my kid all the time, life is full of paradoxes … be flexible and open minded.

And smile a lot          : )

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I just want to be a useful little engine

22 Nov

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I do love being a dad. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had. I especially used to love watching the kids shows with my son when he was a bit younger. He’s on his way to becoming a teenager so we’ll see … but he’s still my boy.

We used to watch a lot of shows together like Fireman Sam, Postman Pat and of course Thomas the Tank Engine. What I really enjoyed was the cosy atmosphere of the small villages where these shows are set. Some are in Wales and feature the beautiful lilting Welsh accent (it’s not a burr is it?) Tight knit communities where everyone seemed to be looking after each other. The characters are warm and friendly and … sweet.

Which brings me to Thomas and his oft heard catch cry “I just want to be a useful little engine!” Sometimes the Fat Controller gave Thomas a real job to do and off he’d go with his smile beaming.

There are lots of people in businesses and organisations everywhere that just want the same thing. They do their job and put something extra in and sometimes, even often, they are overlooked. Why? Because some other engines aren’t so humble. They roar around and make sure they’re seen.

I work with a Thomas. It’s a she actually. She’s a front line customer service/technical support for a medical business and she does a great job. You only have to hear her on the phone to notice the goodwill she spreads. Nothing is a problem and she not only sells, but advises and counsels. It’s all part of the job for this lady.

She’s a useful little engine!

Where would we be without them?

Take time to notice all the useful little engines at your workplace. Get them to train up or mentor other little engines. make it best practice and … reward them!

Love makes the business world go round.

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Still life with customer service

19 Nov

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I love art. What else is there in life? It ranks up there with love. Our reason for living.

But what’s art go to do with customer service? A lot really, especially when it’s a still life.

Let’s look at the terminology: Customer service is not really correct. It’s neat but limiting. Great customer service is pre, present and post service.

Still life studies in customer service abound. Pop into a retail establishment and the CS person is on the phone; or writing a first draft of the novel on the computer, or better still, updating Facebook. The point is that they aren’t busy. Yes they greet you with great warmth but there’s as much life in that place as there is in a cemetery. Beautiful surroundings and very calm.

I like to think I was trained by the best of them.

My family was in retail for over 70 years. One of my first jobs was working in a bookstore with an old hand at book retailing.

These people taught me to be busy! Do things. Rearrange the stock. Change the promotions around. Take care of the displays (visual merchandising in today speak.)

Once at the bookstore, this man, who was well into his 60’s was out the front moving the remaindered discount books around. I asked him what he was doing. He replied with just a touch of failed Shakespearean actor:

‘People are sticky beaks. They love to see what’s going on!”

What he meant was that action breeds action.

When people start buying there’s an energy in the room. It’s palpable. Everybody’s up. It’s the makings of a shark feeding frenzy.

Product knowledge is great, but boredom shows.

Don’t have your customer service as a still life work of art. 

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BAT CEO = CREATIVE + STRATEGIC

15 Nov

bat maskA young guy I know well has recently been appointed as CEO of a large not for profit organisation. He’s a very clever person and I have watched his career unfold.

When he was first appointed, I know he struggled as to how to be the CEO. He doesn’t wear suits. He’s not a fan of corporate speak. He’s a blend of creative and strategic. He’s an entrepreneur, a musician, a story teller but probably not an administrator.

He knows how to network and he does so at very senior levels. His passion for the good deeds and the clients his organisation serves are what makes this guy so compelling.

He utilises the media and has clear objectives for the publicity. Often it’s to inform policy makers on what’s happening ‘on the ground.’

But what astonished me is a video he sent me: BAT CEO

He filmed himself with a Bat Mask on going around the office enquiring how the team was going but in the gravelly, vigilante voice of the new BATMAN. The reactions of many of the staff was unmitigated glee at seeing their big boss being so light-hearted and well, damn funny.

It was a master stroke in my opinion as it disarmed and calmed while introducing a different mode of leadership.

It’s not always appropriate being BAT CEO. There are difficult strategies and difficult conversations leaders have to have but why not engender some fun.

Humour is a strategy in itself and it breaks all kinds of ice.

Here’s to BAT CEO. Long may he serve!

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