Do you ever wonder if the words that come out of your mouth really matter? Is anyone really listening?
I had the opportunity to attend a luncheon which honored the Top 10% of my daughter’s high school. Before the event, I ran into one of our favorite teachers of all time, her 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Tina Dodson. Her presence was unusual since this was a high school event. As we caught up with each other, she shared that she had been invited as a guest of a senior, Collyn Robison.
Keeping focused is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Think in threes to simplify your plans, values, and metrics. Here are three questions to ask.
Keeping things simple helps your team stay focused.
This seems like it should be easy enough, but as billionaire investor Warren Buffett says, "There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult."
We do, in fact, live in a complex world of advancing technology, global competition, brand abundance, unprecedented variety of sales and distribution channels, and blossoming new work arrangements and organizational structures.
Trust is not spoken, it is demonstrated. Trust cannot be requested, it must be earned. Answer these three questions to assess how trustworthy your team thinks you are.
In 2008, Bernard Madoff scammed over 5,000 investors out of 65 billion dollars. Like any crime that you read or hear about, it's concerning to each of us. Shortly after I learned of the scandal, my reaction deepened when I spoke with an old friend whose aging parents had invested their entire retirement savings with Madoff. I felt the real-life implications of broken trust as my friend's parents had to consider selling their house, changing a lifestyle they had worked years to earn and feeling the angst of an uncertain final chapter in their lives.
Knowing the right questions to ask is better than having all the right answers. Or as Decouvertes put it, "It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question."
So, the fastest way to change the answers you receive – from yourself and your team – is to change the questions you ask. Consider the possible responses to questions like these:
Home is where the heart is, and work is where the laptop is.
Working remotely does not have to feel so distant for your team. Here are 11 techniques to help you team feel more connected.
Team Meetings:
1. Create a regular schedule and stick with it. Avoid the temptation to have impromptu meetings with those who are under your same roof.
2. Incorporate rituals into your virtual meetings like quickly sharing High's/Low's since your last meeting to get warmed up and create a window into your team's world.
The words you use impact your actual situation. Are you using positive words for success? Find out.
The words you use are more powerful than you imagine. Most people greet each other with words that have no power. Think of the last time you heard someone else (or even yourself) respond to a greeting of "How are you?" with "Oh, I am doing so-so," "Hanging in there," "I'm surviving" or "Not too bad." It probably wasn't much past yesterday.
Try this: use words to change your situation, not to describe it.
Your door might be open, but are you? Try these trust-building actions the next time a team member needs to talk.
We live in an information-rich, time-poor world, with lots of inputs coming at us in any given moment.
Although it seems like our environment requires us to multitask, more and more research reveals that single-tasking is the most effective approach to getting things done.
Single-tasking is particularly critical to the leader who is trying to establish real trust. Taking the right steps will make it clear to your team members that you:
