Most leaders understand the importance of getting buy-in. Few understand how to achieve it. As a result, their efforts frequently cross the line to manipulation. Are you one of them? If you have ever said, “We want people to feel they’ve been heard,” then you are probably one of them. Especially if your next steps are to attempt to create that feeling of being heard by asking for input on a decision that has already been made. That is pure manipulation.
I asked a freshly minted VP at a Fortune 50 company who has steadily risen through the ranks what he believed led to this and previous promotions. His answer echoed one I have heard from other executives as well: I am proactive Follow up Get stuff done Am helpful He takes for granted his technical expertise. But then again. he is surrounded by technical expertise. He wishes he were surrounded by more people who are proactive, follow up, and get stuff done! And he isn’t the only one. Many executives and managers share that wish. What can you do?
Great bosses are hard to come by. If you have one, quit taking him or her for granted! If you don’t and your boss is preventing you from doing your best, what can you do about it? 1. First, try to work things out with your boss
Most organizations use ratings, whether numerical or labels, as part of their employee performance review process. They should stop. Why? Because performance ratings don’t help employees improve. And, last I checked, that was the purpose of performance reviews.
There is a big problem in corporate America today. According to Gallup’s State of the American Workplace, only 30% of employees consider themselves “engaged” at work. As a result, corporations are embarked on multi-million dollar employee engagement programs in an effort to improve these numbers. Unfortunately, they are barking up the wrong tree. Employee engagement programs aren’t the solution to poor engagement. While there is a high correlation between employee engagement survey results and business performance, there is no proof that the former causes the latter. And that’s because it doesn’t. Engagement, as measured by employee surveys, does not cause success. Engagement is, at best, asymptom of success. Employees who are succeeding and feeling good about their contributions to your company are naturally more likely to:
People have been talking about conflict resolution and conflict avoidance for years as if we should all embrace conflict and shun those unwilling to do so. They are wrong. Conflict is destructive. It damages results, productivity, and relationships. Conflict is the result of the fears and unproductive behaviors that originate in disagreement. In the worse cases, conflict becomes violent. In the workplace, the consequences are rarely so severe. Nonetheless, conflict transforms decisions into painful processes. It invokes power struggles, silos, and internal competition. It makes some people talk louder, push harder, and lean in, while others shut down, react defensively, and lean out. Whatever the manifestation, conflict is destructive and prevents open, honest, productive conversation. I’m not saying you and your employees should be in agreement at all times. You shouldn’t. If you are, most of you are unnecessary. You need good healthy debate about ideas and decisions. You need disagreement. You absolutely need disagreement. And, unlike conflict, there is nothing fundamentally destructive about disagreement. Good, healthy disagreement leads to eye-opening discussions. People learn, explore, and challenge each other’s thinking. In the end, minds are changed and compromises are made or parties agree to disagree and move on. So what causes disagreement to become conflict?
In case you missed my viral posts on Forbes in the past month: 8 Secrets Smart People Know About Time Management 10 Reasons Your Employee Engagement Program Is Hurting Your Company 9 Reasons You And Your Employees Can’t Do 40 Hours Of Work In 40 Hours – And What To Do About It The first one has collected over 45,000 views. Don’t miss it!
The Power of Clarity that galvanizes commitment and drives high performance is built on three pillars. Clarity of Purpose If you want to maximize productivity, commitment, and results, everyone needs to know what they are trying to accomplish and why. You may think you’ve got this covered once you’ve established goals and priorities. You haven’t. First, you need to avoid the trap of too many priorities, which is a super common problem. Too many priorities means no priorities. If you have 2-3 priorities, you will accomplish 2-3 things. If you have 4-10 priorities, you will accomplish 1-2 things. If you have more than 10 priorities, you will accomplish nothing. I read this somewhere, don’t remember where, but I know it is true because it applies to me and everyone I know. At any given moment, you need to focus on one task. As your list grows, you spend more and more time looking at the list, shuffling items, trying to decide which to do next, playing games with yourself like adding things you’ve already accomplished so you can check them off, and not accomplishing anything that counts. Focus is absolutely critical. You and your employees must pare those lists down.
I’m often contacted about providing workshops and seminars. My most frequent response after listening to the caller is, “You don’t want training.” To understand why I would say that, think about the last class you took at your company. Or even an off-site class, for that matter. If you attended a really good session, you probably left with a good deal energy, eager to apply what you learned. That lasted until you got back to your office and the pile of business-as-usual on your desk and in your inbox devoured your fresh energy. It’s just like returning from vacation. Within about an hour, you are sucked back into the same old challenges and routines; you can’t believe you ever left.
It is amazing that I always remember the name and author of a book I barely started decades ago. The reason I do is because it taught me a powerful lesson that has returned to me countless times throughout my career: If you try to do something to others, you will likely fail. If you try to do something with others, you will likely succeed. The list of truly respectful actions that you can do with others is amazingly short: