Not sure I’ve ever encountered an organization that doesn’t complain about “poor communication.” But what does it really mean? Too often companies respond to the complaint with meetings, memos, newsletters, announcements, presentations, and videos without ever touching the real cause of the complaints. There are four main reasons why employees complain about a lack of communication: 1. Employees don’t know what is important An unclear strategy and priorities make it impossible for employees to make smart decisions. While poor communication of the strategy and priorities is one possible cause, more often there isn’t a clear strategy, the strategy is too complex, and/or there are too many priorities. If there are too many priorities, there are no priorities. If employees don’t know what is important, they assume someone is failing to tell them and thus, poor communication is the complaint. 2. Employees don’t know who is supposed to do what when Ill-defined roles, responsibilities, and processes are another common culprit. Communication may be part of the problem but, more likely, roles, responsibilities, and processes are simply poorly defined. The resulting confusion is annoying at best. People begging for clarification often complain about poor communication. 3. Employees don’t do what they are supposed to do A lack of commitment, discipline, and/or accountability by even a small minority of employees can create the feeling that no one knows who is supposed to do what. You can clarify and communicate roles and responsibilities until you are blue in the face but if employees just do their own thing, confusion ensues, and others will complain about poor communication. 4. Employees don’t like surprises that affect their work and lives The way decisions are made and communicated is often more important than the decision itself if you are affecting employees’s sense of security and control. When… read more →
Politicians provide such excellent examples of how not to behave! Rewriting history is one of their favorites. Recasting their own beliefs, statements, and behaviors to reflect current sentiment rather than an ugly or unfortunate past is all too common. Worse, we seem to forgive them for it! But don’t make the mistake of following their example, especially not in the workplace! Instead, own up to your mistakes. Take heed from Verna Bailey, who said: “When history collides with self-image, it is not history a principled person seeks to change.”
OK, she didn’t exactly roar. However, the quiet helper who always slipped timidly into my house, vacuum cleaner in hand, behind her boss is no longer timid, quiet, or “not quite ready for prime time.” After her boss was sidelined by a serious car accident, “the mouse” walked in with confidence, assured me she would continue to serve me and that the sister in tow had experience, gave me her phone number, actively sought opportunities to go above and beyond, and engaged in relationship-building conversation, though not too much!
Feel like your weeks are slip-sliding away? Not satisfied with what you accomplish each week? The secret to a successful week is two-fold: Identify what would constitute a successful week Make it happen If you have too many priorities, you have no priorities. You must identify the top few that will make a difference and leave you feeling satisfied with your week. On top of that, you must protect the time you need to spend on those critical few to make measurable progress. You can’t let distractions and interruptions suck up valuable time. Today I offer the first in a series of specific techniques to help you take control of your time, feel great about each week, and watch those weeks add up to impressive results. I suspect you will find that you already use some of the techniques, can’t make some work for you, but are propelled toward peak productivity by others.
The good news? Many companies have finally decided that they can’t just wait for the recovery to come to them. After all, it might not! The bad news? Many are latching onto misguided methods for plotting their course. If you’ve been around, as I have, you’ve probably witnessed these scenarios. 1. Brainstorm and Vote The exact process varies but it boils down to creating a big list of everyone’s ideas and picking the favorites. Strategic planning should not be a popularity contest. Nor should your choices be limited to a random assortment of ideas, many old, many in the news, and most constrained by current assumptions and beliefs about the organization, the competition, and the market.
When you feel self-confident, big obstacles can seem pretty small, you are persistent, and you believe you will succeed. When you lack self-confidence, even small obstacles can seem enormous, you feel like quitting, and you don’t believe you will succeed. Here are ten steps to build your self-confidence. Don’t draw generalized conclusions about setbacks and mistakes. Recognizing that you made a mistake, were in the wrong job, or didn’t prepare adequately will allow you to learn. Telling yourself that you are stupid will undermine your self-esteem and make learning harder.
I’ve just discovered Bump and now I can’t wait to try it! The worst thing about meeting lots of new contacts is loading up all that contact info afterwards. The business card scanners I’ve tried are not great. But now there is Bump! Tap iPhones together and you are done! So if you have an iPhone and you run into me somewhere, let’s give it a try!
Despite high unemployment, I know many companies who just can’t find good candidates to fill openings. There are many possible reasons such as unrealistic expectations or unusual experience requirements. Or, they may just be boring. Here is a snippet from a newsletter I received from DreamHost. Do you think they will get some energized and talented inquiries? I do. “Here’s something you don’t hear much of anymore… “We’re hiring. And not only that, we’re hiring like crazy. Right now these jobs are holes with no pegs. Pumpkins with no guts. Glazed donuts with no…donut holes. We’re hiring across the board with openings in nearly every department. Human Resources, Marketing, Product Development, Software Development… You name it, there’s got to be SOMETHING here you’re good at.
Feel like your weeks are slip-sliding away? Not satisfied with what you accomplish each week? The secret to a successful week is two-fold: Identify what would constitute a successful week Make it happen If you have too many priorities, you have no priorities. You must identify the top few that will make a difference and leave you feeling satisfied with your week. On top of that, you must protect the time you need to spend on those critical few to make measurable progress. You can’t let distractions and interruptions suck up valuable time.
While on the Mass Pike (in the passenger seat, to be exact), my iPhone popped up with the wireless option “PeterPanFreeWIFI.” I spun around quickly and sure enough, a Peter Pan bus had just passed in the other direction. Twice more this fairy dust message appeared and twice more I spun around and smiled. What great publicity! I am unlikely to forget anytime soon that Peter Pan offers free WIFI on their buses.I wonder how soon they will be interested in changing the name of their wireless network to “Call Uncommon Clarity today!”