Tips to create work-place harmony and improving productivity
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Office Politics: Survival of the Savvy
There’s one skill everybody at work wishes they were better at, but you won’t find it taught in MBA courses: office politics.
Tales of political sabotage, power plays and turf wars are part of any organization’s history. Nonetheless, political competence is the one skill everyone wishes to have more of—but no one admits to it.
Political competence is the “ability to understand what you can and cannot control, when to take action, who is going to resist your agenda, and whom you need on your side. It’s about knowing how to map the political terrain and get others on your side, as well as lead coalitions,” according to Prof. Samuel B. Bacharach who wrote Getting Them On Your Side, 2005.
Many individuals have good ideas that, if implemented, could yield positive results for their companies. Sometimes these ideas fail because the leaders who propose them cannot gain support from key people.
Defining Political Savvy
It’s naive to suggest that all office politics are destructive and unethical. If you define politics in such a narrow and negative way, you overlook the value of political awareness and skill. When political astuteness is combined with ethics and integrity, it can produce positive results for you, your team and your organization.
By avoiding or denying its existence, you underestimate how political behavior can destroy careers, a company’s reputation and overall performance. If you define politics in only negative terms, you are naively under-political, which leaves you vulnerable to overly political, self-serving individuals.
Three Phases of Political Competence
Political competence can be developed in an ethically sound way with this three-phase process:
1. Map Your Political Terrain First, identify all stakeholders—anyone who has an interest in, or who would be affected by, your idea—and how they will react. Some resistance is inevitable. You must anticipate others’ reactions, identify allies and resisters, analyze their goals, and understand their agendas.
2. Get Others on Your Side Build your coalition—a politically mobilized group committed to implementing your idea because doing so will generate valued benefits. How do you win support? You need to be credible. You communicate credibility by letting potential allies and resisters know about your expertise, demonstrating personal integrity, and showing you have access to important people and information. Through informal conversations, meetings and office drop-ins, you need to explain your position.
3. Make Things Happen You must win others’ buy-in by making it clear there’s a payoff for supporting your effort and drawbacks for not joining your coalition. Show how implementing your idea will ease their workload, increase their visibility within the organization, or help them cut costs in their unit. Once you’ve persuaded people to join your coalition, you’ve established a base that will legitimize your idea. Coalition members will then use their networks to evangelize for you. Mastering only certain parts of the three identified phases will not yield success. Some people sabotage themselves by failing to complete all three phases when attempting to generate and implement change.
Reducing Risk through Politics
There are risks with any course of action you take. You sometimes have incomplete or inadequate information when making a decision. Building a coalition through dialogue with its members pushes valuable information to the surface.
You are open to criticism and politically vulnerable whenever you make a decision. Politically competent leaders reduce risk by getting as many people as possible on their side. Building a coalition is a search process for the best solution.
Building a coalition, bringing people together and solidifying/expanding your base will leave you less vulnerable to criticism. It’s more difficult to attack a leader who has built a large base of support throughout the organization.
Resources on Office Politics
Bacharach, S. 2005. Get Them on Your Side. Adams Media Corp. Brandon, R. & Seldman, M. 2004. Survival of the Savvy: High-Integrity Political Tactics for Career and Company Success. Free Press. Kleiner, A. 2003. Who Really Matters : The Core Group Theory of Power, Privilege, and Success:. Doubleday. Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D. writes articles for business and executive coaches and consultants. She provides articles on leadership and executive development for sale, and formatted into customized newsletters. Get Patsi's Secrets of Successful Ezines 7-Step Mini-Course to learn what you need to know to publish a successful ezine. http://snipurl.com/Ezine_MiniCourse
Communication means exchange of information and ideas. It acts as the nervous system of any business organization, which means transmitting data from one organisation to another, one person to another or a combination of both. It is a two-way process. It doesn’t mean sending message to receiver but it is also important to get feedback, so that the sender may assure that the message has been successfully transmitted.
Sender – Message – Receiver.
This model shows how communication process works. There are different types or ways of communication: formal, informal, internal, external, verbal, written, diagonal, vertical, visual, non-verbal, upward and downward.
In small business, there is less number of employees working in it, which makes possible for the employer to talk directly with them and this type of communication is known as informal communication. When the message is transmitted via official channels, this type of communication is known as formal communication. The different ways through which internal communication becomes possible are statements, newssheets; fax machines, mails, telephone, memorandum, computers etc. Verbal communication means talking directly with each other. It includes face-to-face communication, telephone etc. Non-verbal communication means when we use different signs or body language to express our views. When message is in written form, it is known as written communication for e.g. letters, e-mail etc.
There is need of communication at each and every place whether it is office, home, school, college and any other. The various communication systems, which makes communication possible include: people-to-people communication, people-to-machines communication, machine-to-people communication and machine-to-machine communication.
Communication plays a key role in all types of managerial functions. If there is proper flow of communication, the employer is able to coordinate and control the activities of its employees. Communication helps individuals to know that what is expected of them.
There are certain barriers to communication, which creates problem in proper understanding of message. Some of the barriers include inappropriate selection of words or language, misunderstanding of body language, noise pollution, recipient distortion, perceptual biasness, cultural differences etc.
About author: Author presents a website on communication. This website provides information about meaning and types of communication, communication process, importance of communication. You can visit his site about network management tools
At about 3:00 on Thursday, Jack the division program manager says to the four members of his team,
"Have your proposals ready for discussion by Friday afternoon."
What did the employees hear him saying? What did they do as a result?
The following day Jack called the team members one by one and asked that they come to his office with proposal in hand.
Employee #1 arrived with a 5-page typed budget proposal on the department’s annual giving campaign.
Employee #2 stepped in and told his manager that he thought the proposals were due next Friday
Employee #3 handed Jack two-pages of analysis about the giving campaign.
Employee #4 greeted Jack with, "I’m glad we’re finally going to sit down and talk about this…I have some great ideas about what we can do."
Obviously something went wrong. Were they listening? Was the message clear?
Many will say that Jack was not clear in communicating expectations -- partially true. Don’t underestimate the role of the listener. Whether through verbal or non-verbal cues, it is the listener that actually directs the conversation.
In the example Jack said what he wanted to say and with no questions, objections or comments he had no way of knowing that there was any disconnect. Well… not until time had been spent and he was still without the important campaign information.
The listener has a responsibility to check in with the person speaking. Not one of the employees asked a question for clarification. Why not? They thought they heard what Jack was saying (assumed) and understood what he wanted in return.
The speaker can have his say but if the listener can not accurately interpret what the speaker is trying to convey there is no communication. The best communicator with great verbal skills can not overcome the failure of a poor listener. Dialogue quickly becomes a monologue. Conversely in a conversation between a great listener and a poor speaker, the listener will work with the speaker to draw out and clarify the message.
Think of how many times you have misinterpreted instructions, heard a problem incorrectly, or missed out on business opportunities. Poor listening can lead to challenges in relationships, lack of credibility, lost contacts, inaccurate reporting, rework, dissatisfied customers and lowered productivity.
Did you know...?
It is estimated that more than 50% of our work time is spent listening.
Immediately following a 10-minute presentation the average person retains about half of what they hear and only one quarter of what they hear 48 hours later.
60% of all management problems are related to listening.
We misinterpret, misunderstand or change 70 to 90% of what we hear.
When misunderstandings occur the implication is that whoever was delivering the message somehow missed the mark, that the speaker didn’t deliver a clear message. But, communication is not just is said it is what you hear someone saying. Listening is considered the most frequently used but least exercised and effective communication skill.
More Than Words Can Say
We've talked about the listener's role in relation to the speaker but there is a third component of communication -- the message itself. It is said that the 500 most commonly used words in English have over 14,000 different dictionary definitions. As I said earlier, communication is a two-way street but it has many off ramps.
Using a simple word like "office" filtered through differing:
perceptions, assumptions, exposure, experiences, relationships, knowledge, agenda, or attention
might cause one to envision corporate headquarters, cubicles, corner suites with a great view, a position held, a government agency or even a team of workers.
Even under the best circumstances, the path of communication is not a direct shot between the speaker and the listener. The speaker sends a message that is filtered by the listener and sent back again. As this path continues without clarification and stop points the message becomes muddled and strays further from the original intent. Extra effort is spent trying to figure out how the message was sidetracked, frustrations rise and meaning is lost or distorted.
Listening is Priceless.
There are no shortcuts to becoming a great listener and the price tag for poor listening is high. Listening well can cut down on misunderstandings, miscues, damaged relationships, missed opportunity and disagreements while building strong alliances, increasing knowledge and delivering better results faster.
To truly listen is priceless because listening is the key to another’s thoughts, motivation,and behaviors. Dealing with customers, employees and managers, it is the listener’s responsibility to make the adjustments toward understanding. Whether your next interaction is with a customer, a friend, or a co-worker remember how easily a misunderstanding can occur. Focus on the goal of the communication and build toward the message.
The better your listen, the more you allow both people to develop shared meaning, learning, agreement and improved results.
Valarie is CEO of Think 6 Results -- a knowledge broker passionate about learning and improving performance in organizations. She’s a writer, presenter, and executive coach on a mission to get every employee and organization focused on and thinking about the SIX business driving goals that matter. Contact Valarie at washington@think6results.com or by calling 630-705-1189. Visit us at http://www.Think6Results.com
Hiring a new employee is something that professionals often postpone as long as possible. It is important to find the right person to fill the vacancy. The hiring process takes time and effort. There is a big temptation to add someone who is available at that moment and looks like they have the skills to do it. This is often a mistake. Here is a list of other hiring mistakes that professionals frequently make:
1. No job description – By writing down in detail the tasks that this employee will be required to do the hiring manager will be able to see clearly the qualifications a person will need to do this job.
2. Hiring someone without the necessary skills – It will be clear from the job description what skills are necessary for the job. Testing the candidate to be sure that his or her skills are current is also important. (Use a Proof reading, filing, or grammar skills assessment.)
3. Hiring someone without having the person take a behavioral assessment – The assessment will help you see if this person will fit into the office and compliment the skills of the other people. It will also help you to communicate with the person in a way that that person will hear. Most managers tend to hire people like themselves when in fact they may need someone who can do some of the things that the manager doesn’t enjoy.
4. Hiring someone whose temperament or personality is wrong for the job – Some positions require people who are talkative and friendly and others require people who enjoy working by themselves. Certain tasks require a detail oriented person while others need some one who sees the big picture. Knowing the personality type and temperament that is best for the particular position will help the manager find the right person.
5. Hiring friends and/or relatives – Often people hire friends or relatives to be kind or to do a favor for someone. If the decision turns out to be a bad one, the situation can get really uncomfortable. It is often difficult to give feedback to friends or relatives and they often resent being put in a position where they have to be grateful for the opportunity but are really angry with you for the criticism.
6. Not interviewing the candidate – To really get to know if you can work with someone you need to speak with him/her directly either face to face or by phone.
7. Not preparing for the interview by creating a set of questions that you ask everyone – Spending time preparing a set of probing questions for the candidates will help you to determine which candidate most closely fits your job description.
8. Not posting the job, advertising it in the paper and/or using a recruiter so that you get multiple candidates giving you a choice – Some are tempted to hire the first applicant. If you advertise for candidates in multiple ways and use a recruiter too, you should have a variety of candidates to interview and select from.
9. Not screening the candidates so you interview everyone – Once you have a group of candidates it is easiest to have screening interviews to weed out those who are definitely inappropriate. Often screening interviews are done by phone but also could be done in email.
10. Not checking references and background – It is tempting once you have settled on a candidate to hire him/her on the spot. It is worth taking the time to check references and background to be sure that this candidate has honestly presented him/herself.
Top 7 Tips to Avoid the Top 7 Mistakes Small Business Owners Make
Small business owners numbered over 5.5 million in 2001 and generated over one billion in annual payroll. Sam Walton was quoted as saying "There's a lot more business out there in small town America than I ever dreamed of." and looks like Sam was right.
During the last five years as THE small business coach in the Chicago area, I have discovered 7 mistakes that small business owners consistently make. These small business help tips should guide you as the small business owner, entrepreneur or executive around these pitfalls as you work to dramatically improve your business results.
Work on your business not in your business Mistake: Most new business owners and many experienced business owners are so busy working in their business, they fail to work on their business and demonstrate the leadership that the business demands. In the book, It’s Not the Big that Eat the Small, But It’s the Fast that Eat the Slow, the authors revealed that executives spent less than 15 minutes each day thinking about the future of their business because they were so busy dealing with yesterday and today’s events.
Assess your business both externally and internally Mistake: Don’t presume that you know what is going on in your business. Take the time honestly and objectively to assess your business both externally and internally. Using an organizational assessment or survey based upon proven criteria such as Baldrige may help you to focus on the directionally correct actions. Develop a strategic plan Mistake: If you don’t have a plan, you are on someone else’s plan. A strategic plan indicates who does what by when. Remember, hope is not a strategy.
Work your plan Mistake: Pay for a plan and leave it on a shelf or in a desk drawer. A plan’s purpose is action. Without action, the plan is useless and the dollars invested in creating the plan are wasted.
Invest in your people Mistake: Spending dollars on things such as technology and not people. People make the business. They create the loyal customers or disloyal ones. Employees don’t come to work thinking how they can mess up the company. Invest in people development and watch your investment quickly multiply.
Pay yourself first Mistake: Wearing all the hats and not paying yourself what you are worth. Entrepreneurs wear many hats when they establish their business. As time progresses, they continue to wear these hats because money is tight and they believe that they can do things better. The end of the year approaches and the company made a profit. By paying yourself first, you will focus on what you do really well and delegate those other activities to others at a far lower rate.
Keep balance between your personal and professional lives Mistake: You are too busy to take the time with your family or friends. By attending to your work life balance as well as your personal and professional development, you will see incredible results happen within your business.
These 7 tips will help you catapult your small business in warp time. Of course, if you like where you are now, then ignore these tips. However, can you be sure your competition will also ignore these tips? And what would happen, if they just implemented one tip less alone all 7?
P.S. In future articles,as the small business coach, I will provide some additional coaching advice by expanding each tip so that you and your business can reach incredible heights. Leanne helps individuals, small businesses and large organizations to double performance in real time. Click here to learn the Secret of Success and sign up for a free monthly newsletter. If you truly don't believe doubling your results is possible, read some case studies where individuals and businesses took the risk and experienced unheard of results.
One quick question, if you could secure one new client or breakthrough that one roadbloack, what would that mean to you? Then, take a risk and give a call at 219.759.5601 to experience incredible results.
Top 10 Tips On How To Stay On The Straight And Narrow
Do you ever wonder where the hours have gone? I sometimes do. There are times when I find it all too easy to be, as the song says, “busy doing nothing”. Well, not exactly nothing, but not exactly the activities that are the most important; the ones that would serve me and my business most at that point in time.
One of the strengths of an entrepreneur is the ability to be self-motivated, to get out there and make things happen. On the flip side… our enthusiasm for all things interesting and new, can mean that we risk going off at a tangent and spending time on things that are not really key at that point in time… the next thing we know two hours have disappeared from out day. Is it just me, or does this sound familiar to you sometimes?
So, here are some tips to help you stay on the straight and narrow and maximize the time you spend at work.
1. Plan your day around high pay-off activities What is the most important thing for me to do today? How am I going to make money from this activity? These are two great questions to ask yourself. However, when deciding what’s most important to do today, don’t forget to include any personal things that are important to you e.g. helping your child with homework, buying a birthday card for a friend, exercising… things that will make you feel good about yourself.
2. Stay focused Allowing yourself to be distracted prevents you from experiencing that great feeling of accomplishment… you know… the one you have when you have completed a task without getting distracted. The easiest way to stay on track is by keeping the end result in clearly mind.
3. Set specific deadlines Have you ever noticed how things that don’t have to be done usually aren’t? If an action doesn’t merit a deadline then it might not merit a place on your to-do list at all?
4. Divide projects up A huge project can seem too daunting to achieve, but it isn’t. Break your large projects into bite size chunks, or steps, and list each step in the order it needs to be done. Nothing will seem overwhelming ever again if you do this.
5. Use your “peak time” Some of us are at our best in the morning, some of us in the afternoon; I even know someone who comes ‘alive’ at midnight! Whatever time of day you usually feel at your brightest and most creative… that’s the time to attack your top priorities.
6. Get help You can do it all alone BUT it will take you longer and be much, much harder. We all need some help at times. Someone to bounce ideas off, someone to do the tasks that you hate to do; someone to do the things that need to be done, but not necessarily by you. That way you get to focus your time on what it is you do best!
7. Reward yourself We are always ready to praise others for a job well done, but usually forget to give ourselves a pat on the back. So from now on, give yourself a pat on the back when you’ve achieved something positive and come up with some great ways to reward yourself from time to time… go on… treat yourself… it’s great for your self-motivation.
8. Feed your mind, body and spirit Eat healthy foods, take some regular exercise, read some good books or listen to uplifting tapes, and don’t forget to take some time out for YOU. You’ll feel all the better and be all the more productive for it.
9. Don’t neglect important relationships The relationships you have with your colleagues, friends and family are an important part of you life. The quality of these relationships is directly related to your success.
10. Be realistic Being realistic means being aware of your limitations and your abilities. I’m all for thinking big and being bold, but allow yourself a cushion, don’t set yourself up to lose.
We spend 40 . . . or 45 . . . or 50 . . . or more hours at work each week. Many of us spend more time with those we work with than we do our families. For us to be content and fulfilled people, that time must be valuable for more than a dollar. . .
We want to be engaged in our work. We yearn for work that is enjoyable, meaningful and engaging. When we are engaged we are safer on the job, more productive and more willing and able to delight Customers.
It is for these basic reasons that organizational culture matters. It is the right thing for an organization to do - to think about the work environment, working relationships and “how we do things here.”
Focusing on building and sustaining an organizational culture is one way of showing that people are the organization’s most valuable asset.
There are of course many other bottom line business reasons to focus on and build organizational culture. Here are seven of those reasons.
A strong culture is a talent-attractor. Your organizational culture is part of the package that prospective employees look at when assessing your organization. Gone are the days of selecting the person you want from a large eager pool. The talent market is tighter and those looking for a new organization are more selective than ever. The best people want more than a salary and good benefits. They want an environment they can enjoy and succeed in.
A strong culture is talent-retainer. How likely are people to stay if they have other options and don’t love where they are? Your organizational culture is a key component of a person’s desire to stay.
A strong culture engages people. People want to be engaged in their work. According to a Gallup survey at least 22 million American workers are extremely negative or “actively disengaged” – this loss of productivity is estimated to be worth between $250-$300 Billion annually. Your culture can engage people. Engagement creates greater productivity, which can impact profitability. Need I say more?
A strong culture creates energy and momentum. Build a culture that is vibrant and allows people to be valued and express themselves and you will create a very real energy. That positive energy will permeate the organization and create a new momentum for success. Energy is contagious and will build on itself, reinforcing the culture and the attractiveness of the organization.
A strong culture changes the view of “work.” Most people have a negative connotation of the word work. Work equals drudgery, 9-5, “the salt mine.” When you create a culture that is attractive, people’s view of “going to work” will change. Would you rather see work as drudgery or a joy? Which do you think your employees would prefer? Which will lead to the best results? A strong culture creates greater synergy. A strong culture brings people together. When people have the opportunity to (and are expected to) communicate and get to know each other better, they will find new connections. These connections will lead to new ideas and greater productivity - in other words, you will be creating synergy. Literally, 1 + 1 + right culture = more than 10. How is that for leverage?
A strong culture makes everyone more successful. Any one of the other six reasons should be reason enough to focus on organizational culture. But the bottom line is that an investment of time, talent and focus on organizational culture will give you all of the above benefits. Not only is creating a better culture a good thing to do for the human capital in the business, it makes good business sense too.
Hopefully this article has helped you see that time spent enhancing your organizational culture will be time wisely invested. Regardless of your current culture, it is never too late to enhance it and to begin creating the benefits described above.
What are you waiting for? Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership expert and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group (http://KevinEikenberry.com), a learning consulting company. To receive a free Special Report on leadership that includes resources, ideas, and advice go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/leadership.asp or call us at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.
