Good Thursday morning!
I LOVE the commercial when the parrot is mimicking his owner because he can't take another day at the job. Think of how many individuals we supervise and how easy it can be to fall into the rut of routine. Those are the days that seem to drag for me, when I know what to expect all the time, when the work is not challenging or stimulating, when I watch the clock for the quickest escape into the real world. I am lucky enough to not have had one of those days in quite some time. As a Team Leader, the work is always challenging and each day is full of brand new promise.
The individuals that I supervise, however, can easily fall into that rut if I am not paying attention and engaging them on a regular basis. Keeping them in mind, and understanding their work day is essential for me to inject a tad bit of freshness into a potentially mundane professional experience. In part, I think it contributes to the distinction between having a job and a career. If you come to work to punch a few buttons and go home, you have a job. If you come into the office with a focus on future development and how what you do today can translate into bigger things tomorrow, you may be enjoying a career. Let's try to keep our staff career-minded!
Enjoy this article, The Day Job, Redefined, and have a great day!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Zooming: How Effective Leaders Adjust Their Focus
We have made it to Wednesday!
Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School professor, explains why executives must constantly consider both the big picture and the details. She is the author of the HBR article Zoom In, Zoom Out. This quick podcast provides great strategy for learning to switch from zeroing in on details, and moving back to see how they fit into the big picture.
Zooming: How Effective Leaders Adjust Their Focus
Have a great day!
Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School professor, explains why executives must constantly consider both the big picture and the details. She is the author of the HBR article Zoom In, Zoom Out. This quick podcast provides great strategy for learning to switch from zeroing in on details, and moving back to see how they fit into the big picture.
Zooming: How Effective Leaders Adjust Their Focus
Have a great day!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Cisco and a Cautionary Tale about Teams
Happy Tuesday,
When I first read this article,Cisco and a Cautionary Tale about Teams, it resonated with me. Particularly because I have divided the Production Department into several mini-teams. As I have stated in previous posts, this was in response to the JPS system. It is exciting for me to see the enthusiasm that they have when they are working in their teams. Under my supervision, they have established their workflows and clearly-defined division of duties. My concern comes in when I hear them say that they want each member to be able to perform all of the functions. In theory, that sounds a little overambitious. Although I'm a football guy, when I think of teams, my mind thinks of baseball. Not everybody can play shortstop. Somebody has to be a third baseman and there needs to be outfielders. In an emergency situation, each member should be able to slide into a clearly-defined role and work symbiotically and systematically with each other in response. Like the article states, if everybody is responsible, no one is responsible.
Enjoy the article and the rest of your day!
When I first read this article,Cisco and a Cautionary Tale about Teams, it resonated with me. Particularly because I have divided the Production Department into several mini-teams. As I have stated in previous posts, this was in response to the JPS system. It is exciting for me to see the enthusiasm that they have when they are working in their teams. Under my supervision, they have established their workflows and clearly-defined division of duties. My concern comes in when I hear them say that they want each member to be able to perform all of the functions. In theory, that sounds a little overambitious. Although I'm a football guy, when I think of teams, my mind thinks of baseball. Not everybody can play shortstop. Somebody has to be a third baseman and there needs to be outfielders. In an emergency situation, each member should be able to slide into a clearly-defined role and work symbiotically and systematically with each other in response. Like the article states, if everybody is responsible, no one is responsible.
Enjoy the article and the rest of your day!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Leadership Lessons from the Saddle
Good afternoon,
This article provides a great analogy for leadership. Enjoy!
Leadership Lessons from the Saddle
(Sorry this post is so short. Blogger has been having technical issues all day!)
-Randy
This article provides a great analogy for leadership. Enjoy!
Leadership Lessons from the Saddle
(Sorry this post is so short. Blogger has been having technical issues all day!)
-Randy
Friday, May 6, 2011
The Right to Management Competence
Happy Friday!
Each morning, I think about this question as I ride the Metro into DuPont Circle. In a slow-paced department with few staff, it may be an easy question to respond to. Pubs is not really structured as a slow-paced environment.We get the ball of clay in and churn out a published manuscript, all under deadline, with numerous hand-offs between departments and personalities. Lucky for me, my commute takes about 45 minutes (if everything runs smoothly), which allows for my mind to jump from one direct report to the next, thinking about latest developments and conversations. It's like clicking the remote control in my head, staying on some channels longer than others because those stars may require a little extra attention.
I also think about ongoing projects and things that I have failed to complete. I set my daily priorities and think about how best to serve my team for the day. Unfortunately, none of my preparation answers the question posed in the first line of this post. Am I living up to my responsibilities as a supervisor? Just as I expect certain things from my team, including professionalism, teamwork and commitment, I am sure that they expect certain things for me.
To a degree, being a supervisor can isolate us from the true reality experienced by our team members. In our last seminar with Natalie Loeb, Alex Uribe brought up an excellent point.
Have a great weekend. To all of the mothers, Happy Mother's Day!
Am I living up to my responsibilities as a supervisor?
Each morning, I think about this question as I ride the Metro into DuPont Circle. In a slow-paced department with few staff, it may be an easy question to respond to. Pubs is not really structured as a slow-paced environment.We get the ball of clay in and churn out a published manuscript, all under deadline, with numerous hand-offs between departments and personalities. Lucky for me, my commute takes about 45 minutes (if everything runs smoothly), which allows for my mind to jump from one direct report to the next, thinking about latest developments and conversations. It's like clicking the remote control in my head, staying on some channels longer than others because those stars may require a little extra attention.
I also think about ongoing projects and things that I have failed to complete. I set my daily priorities and think about how best to serve my team for the day. Unfortunately, none of my preparation answers the question posed in the first line of this post. Am I living up to my responsibilities as a supervisor? Just as I expect certain things from my team, including professionalism, teamwork and commitment, I am sure that they expect certain things for me.
To a degree, being a supervisor can isolate us from the true reality experienced by our team members. In our last seminar with Natalie Loeb, Alex Uribe brought up an excellent point.
One day, he was hanging out with other members of his coworkers, having beers and enjoying life. After he was given a leadership role, his interactions had to adjust because he now had a different set of responsibilities and priorities. "He Changed."Technically, we have all changed to some degree. Our interactions with our staff is different, as is their perceptions of us. We can no longer rely on honest feedback from our team members as a means of security that we are doing a good job. The possibility that what they say can have a negative affect on their workday may be too risky to tell Randy how awful he handled a situation. Therefore, we are met with smiles. We need to find other guidelines within ourselves in order to stay on track. This article, The Right to Management Competence, provides some jewels that can be a starting point for us to establish our own, individual frameworks.
Have a great weekend. To all of the mothers, Happy Mother's Day!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Three Leadership Steps to Defuse Tense Situations
Good morning,
I find myself writing more and more about change and ways to manage our colleagues through these changes. I apologize if it seems redundant, but there are always so many things to consider when an organization goes through changes as tremendous as ours. My eyes tend to scan articles that I can incorporate into my daily habits right away. Perhaps when we sit on the other side of JPS and AMS, other topics will seem more relevant to me. If you feel overloaded, please lead the discussion into new directions. For now, please enjoy this article, Three Leadership Steps to Defuse Tense Situations. It is a quick read, but loaded with useful tips.
Have a great Thursday!
I find myself writing more and more about change and ways to manage our colleagues through these changes. I apologize if it seems redundant, but there are always so many things to consider when an organization goes through changes as tremendous as ours. My eyes tend to scan articles that I can incorporate into my daily habits right away. Perhaps when we sit on the other side of JPS and AMS, other topics will seem more relevant to me. If you feel overloaded, please lead the discussion into new directions. For now, please enjoy this article, Three Leadership Steps to Defuse Tense Situations. It is a quick read, but loaded with useful tips.
Have a great Thursday!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Understanding People
When I read this today, I thought about how often we get frustrated when someone won't or can't just do what we asked them. How much wasted time and energy has been spent when simply taking a moment to understand the other person would save time, energy and get results that go beyond our expectations. This short article will help you see the power of understanding.
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The ability to understand people is one of the greatest assets anyone can ever have. It has the potential to positively impact every area of your life, not just the business arena. For example, look at how understanding people helped this mother of a preschooler.
Understanding people certainly impacts your ability to communicate with others. David Burns, a medical doctor and professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, observed, “The biggest mistake you can make in trying to talk convincingly is to put your highest priority on expressing your ideas and feelings. What most people really want is to be listened to, respected, and understood. The moment people see that they are being understood, they become more motivated to understand your point of view.” If you can learn to understand people – how they think, what they feel, what inspires them, how they’re likely to act and react in a given situation – then you can motivate and influence them in a positive way.
- By John C Maxwell
from The Maxwell Daily Reader
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The ability to understand people is one of the greatest assets anyone can ever have. It has the potential to positively impact every area of your life, not just the business arena. For example, look at how understanding people helped this mother of a preschooler.
Leaving my four-year-old son in the house, I ran out to throw something in the trash. When I tried to open the door to get back inside, it was locked. I knew that insisting my son open the door would have resulted in an hour-long battle of the wills. So in a sad voice, I said, “Oh, too bad. You just locked yourself in the house.” The door opened at once.
Understanding people certainly impacts your ability to communicate with others. David Burns, a medical doctor and professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, observed, “The biggest mistake you can make in trying to talk convincingly is to put your highest priority on expressing your ideas and feelings. What most people really want is to be listened to, respected, and understood. The moment people see that they are being understood, they become more motivated to understand your point of view.” If you can learn to understand people – how they think, what they feel, what inspires them, how they’re likely to act and react in a given situation – then you can motivate and influence them in a positive way.
- By John C Maxwell
from The Maxwell Daily Reader
How to Build Confidence
Good morning and Happy Wednesday!
As my department continues to migrate from RPTS to JPS, there are some people that continue to reserve a degree of apprehension. In order to adjust, they have been asked to cast away their AGU traditions, the habits that they have developed and the things that they have been doing consistently for years. In exchange for everything that they have known, I offer them the unknown. How uncomfortable they must be!
In my role as their Team Leader, I have been trying to over-educate and over-train my staff. I believe that education and development is an ongoing process and I understand just how intimidating new things can be. Therefore, I want them to experience these changes first hand, repeatedly. The idea of a new process may seem bigger than the activity of the process. My goal is to reduce the psychological mass that is buried in the word "change" until each member of my team reaches their "Aha-moment" and understands the reality of what it means to them. I suspect that tensions will dissipate, the clouds will clear and we will be brand new (at least until the next change)!
If anybody else has been having challenges with preparing their team members for changes, here is a great article on How to Build Confidence. Have a great day!
As my department continues to migrate from RPTS to JPS, there are some people that continue to reserve a degree of apprehension. In order to adjust, they have been asked to cast away their AGU traditions, the habits that they have developed and the things that they have been doing consistently for years. In exchange for everything that they have known, I offer them the unknown. How uncomfortable they must be!
In my role as their Team Leader, I have been trying to over-educate and over-train my staff. I believe that education and development is an ongoing process and I understand just how intimidating new things can be. Therefore, I want them to experience these changes first hand, repeatedly. The idea of a new process may seem bigger than the activity of the process. My goal is to reduce the psychological mass that is buried in the word "change" until each member of my team reaches their "Aha-moment" and understands the reality of what it means to them. I suspect that tensions will dissipate, the clouds will clear and we will be brand new (at least until the next change)!
If anybody else has been having challenges with preparing their team members for changes, here is a great article on How to Build Confidence. Have a great day!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
One of my favorite Leadership Quotes
“The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.”
Henry Kissinger
As we embark on the many new initiatives at AGU, I think this describes our task as leaders charged with creating AGU's future.
Henry Kissinger
As we embark on the many new initiatives at AGU, I think this describes our task as leaders charged with creating AGU's future.
Failing By Design
Happy Tuesday to everybody,
I had several topics to post today, but I read this article, Failing By Design, this morning and it trumped everything. Many times, we look at ourselves as the high performers and overachievers. We're the ones with all of the answers, right? Well, what happens when our answers are wrong? What do we say when somebody proves that we are not so smart after all? Sometimes, in order to learn, we have to allow ourselves to learn things the hard way. That means that not every initiative will be a success and not every idea is a good one. Some days will start off promising and end up disastrous. The key is analyze what happened and turn it around to your benefit. I don't always know what is right, but I do try to find what is wrong as quickly as possible so that I do not lose too much time investing my energies in distractions and deviations.
Enjoy the article and enjoy your day!
I had several topics to post today, but I read this article, Failing By Design, this morning and it trumped everything. Many times, we look at ourselves as the high performers and overachievers. We're the ones with all of the answers, right? Well, what happens when our answers are wrong? What do we say when somebody proves that we are not so smart after all? Sometimes, in order to learn, we have to allow ourselves to learn things the hard way. That means that not every initiative will be a success and not every idea is a good one. Some days will start off promising and end up disastrous. The key is analyze what happened and turn it around to your benefit. I don't always know what is right, but I do try to find what is wrong as quickly as possible so that I do not lose too much time investing my energies in distractions and deviations.
Enjoy the article and enjoy your day!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Managing Change: It's Part of Life
Does anybody remember watching the video, "Who Moved My Cheese?" That video was meant to mentally prepare us for some of the transitions that AGU was about to embark upon. I don't think that the change at AGU was like moving from Point A to Point B, but rather the evolving development of an organic life. It may be marked in milestones, but we, as supervisors, are playing a major role in this development. This article, Managing Change, provides a quick refresher with additional tips that you may want to add to your toolkit.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
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