WorkPuzzle

Becoming Engaged in Your Work: Don’t Try to Sell Something You’re Not Doing Yourself

Every hiring manager is, at some level, a salesperson.  You’re selling the idea that a candidate will experience a better quality of work life in your organization compared to staying with their current employer.  But, it’s difficult to sell something effectively if you’re not experiencing the “better quality” yourself.

Last week, I mentioned that I’d focus my next few WorkPuzzle discussions around the topic of engagement—how to experience engagement yourself, how to make sure that those on your team are experiencing it, and how to make this topic a key component of your recruiting message.  Today, we’ll work on how you can feel more engaged in your role as an owner, team leader, or hiring manager.

Researchers have well-documented the notion that in order to find engagement in a job, your personal strengths have to be aligned with the tasks that you’re doing on a day-to-day basis.  For employees who work in structured jobs (typically below the middle manager level), this reality tends to have a significant impact on the engagement they feel.  This is often referred to as job-fit.  If a person does not happen to fit the structured tasks required to perform the job, it is difficult to be excited and engaged in the work.

But, for most positions middle-manager and above, a person can adapt the job to match his or her own strengths.  So, job-fit tends to have a diminished impact.  Instead, the way the job is performed by the individual (and how that work integrates into the rest of life) is more predictive of the type of engagement a person will experience.  In essence, if you can figure out how to work well, you’ll find engagement in your work.

Researchers have invested heavily in this subject over the last ten years, and best-selling authors, Tony Schwartz and Jim Loehr, have done a great job of summarizing much of the research on this topic in a best-selling book called "The Power of Full Engagement" (2003).  As I previously mentioned, Schwartz recently completed a follow-up solo project with updated information called "The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working."

Schwartz describes the lack of engagement problem this way:

“We live in a world of infinite distractions and endless demands.  Many of us juggle several tasks at a time and struggle to focus on any one of them very long.  Lack of absorbed focus takes a toll on the depth and quality of whatever we do, and it’s also an inefficient way to work, extending the time it takes to finish any task…. 

Most of us work long hours and feel a restless sense of urgency.  We juggle multiple demands without feeling we’re devoting sufficient time to the most important tasks.  We arrive home in the evenings with little energy left for our families.  We spend too little time thinking strategically and long term, too little time taking care of ourselves, and too little time simply enjoying our lives….  Is the life you’re leading worth the price you’re paying to live it?”

If you’re in any type of leadership role in your company, I’m sure this resonates with you because it is exactly the type of disengagement that leaders struggle to keep under control.  If you want to attract the best talent to your organization, you must address the issues that cause this type of disengagement.  People are inspired to work for a leader who has his/her own life in order.

How do you fix these problems in your own life?  Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts or quick answers. Schwartz describes the process as “transforming the operating system” of your life.  This means creating an inventory of the habits that drive your poor behaviors and then systematically replacing those habits with new rituals that produce the desired behaviors and actions.

This is easier said than done!  In the last few weeks, I’ve tried to change just a couple of the harmful habits in my personal workflow, and I’m amazed at the internal resistance I’m facing.  I’m not going to give up, but I also don’t want to come across as unsympathetic as I suggest you address these issues.  I do believe that it's worth the effort—both for our personal well-being, and our ability to recruit.

Here are two new things I learned as I worked through Schwartz’s book:

1.  The body and mind work best in rhythms.

All systems in our body pulse rhythmically when we’re healthy—heartbeat, brain waves, body temperature, blood pressure, and hormone levels.  Our fundamental need is to spend and renew energy.  The mind works on the same rule.

This principle has all kinds of implications.  Every area of your life—eating, movement, sleep, relationships, and work- functions optimally if it has a rhythm to it.  For example, your workflow will be most productive if you are able to work intensely (without distractions) for a period of about 90 minutes.  This 90 minute period is then best followed by a period of low mental intensity (emails, most meetings, errands, etc.).  By repeating this cycle several times during the day, your overall productivity and engagement will increase.

2. Physical routine has significant impact on your performance and sense of engagement.

There are three important components to a physical routine:  (1) sleep, (2) exercise, and (3) diet:

Sleep is the foundation of all physical energy.  No single behavior more fundamentally influences our effectiveness in waking life.  Sleep deprivation takes a powerful toll on our health, our emotional well-being, and our cognitive functioning.  The only viable solution to insufficient sleep is to go to bed earlier.

Secondly, regular exercise, especially intense energy expenditure followed by deep recovery, dramatically increases our capacity, not just physically, but also mentally and emotionally.  Ideally, we should be doing some sort of moderately intense physical activity six days per week for twenty to forty-five minutes a day.  That time can be split between two or three sessions over the course of a day, so long as each is at least ten minutes long.

Finally, how we eat (not just what we eat) has a significant impact on overall performance.  The key to nutrition is maintaining a stable level of blood sugar.  Food is our primary source of glucose, and it fuels not just our bodies, but also our brains.  Small, frequent meals serve us better than two or three large ones.  To maintain a steady source of energy, it’s best to eat something at least every three hours—that is five or six “small meals” a day.  Avoid the foods that provide a quick hit of energy but dissipate quickly.  And if you feel like you really need at least one big meal a day—eat a big breakfast.

As you can tell, I’ve just scratched the surface on this topic. There is much more to learn and implement.  Hopefully, this information will jump start your efforts toward finding engagement in your work.  Next, we’ll discuss how to lead a team that is just as engaged as you are...

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Why focusing on One Goal can beat the Competition

Stop everything you are doing right now, and ask yourself:  What is the ONE most important thing I should focus on?  What is my KEY objective?  Next, ask these questions to someone in your office.

A few weeks ago I wrote about how this type of simplification can lead to improved results.  I used the example of the Seattle Seahawks, who were predicted to do poorly and not return to the playoffs anytime soon...primarily because they have far too many new players playing together for the first time, and no one considered to be the best at their position.

Despite going up against better competitors (on paper), as I write this, the Seahawks are in sole first place in their division with 4 wins and 2 losses.  But HOW?

Danny O'Neil of the Seattle Times answers this question:  

"Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is not what he used to be.  That statement is not a critique of his performance nor a commentary on the caliber of his arm.

It's the reality of how the quarterback's role has changed under coach Pete Carroll.  It's not just the throws he makes, but the turnovers he doesn't.  Valor isn't as important as discretion.

'In our offense and our football team, it's about taking care of the ball,' Carroll said.  'Matt is the first guy who has to do that.'

It's not like turnovers just now became important under Carroll, but avoiding them is now the number one priority.  And for the past two weeks, Hasselbeck has done a first-rate job.  Seattle has one turnover in the past two games as the Seahawks have won two in a row to gain control of the NFC West.

Hasselbeck hasn't been picked off for 10 quarters, throwing 97 consecutive passes and counting, without an interception.  That's quite a change from a player who was picked off 10 times in the last four games of 2009 and at least once each of the first four games this season." 

What is your primary objective?  Can it be measured? 

For the Seahawks, it's turnovers.  This is measurable.  At the end of each game, achievement of this goal is definitively apparent, both for the offense and the defense.  By focusing on this goal, it's not as if the team forgets to focus on play development, strategy, play calling, tackling etc... They work to execute all of those tasks.  But, they hold one task above all others - avoiding turnovers.  In fact, by establishing this as the priority, the team can feel fairly assured that they'll succeed in this regard...and getting that right can lead to wins.

What about your business?

In the new agent category: Perhaps for recruiters, you could focus on number of manager appointments set each week with quality candidates.  Managers could focus on number of interviews converted into hires.

In the experienced agent category:  Perhaps Managers could focus on number of contacts per week within their agent pipeline.

Whatever the goal, measure and broadcast the results.  Pick something that all other objectives hinge on and drive toward it.  I can almost guarantee that few of your competitors do this.  Focusing on too many objectives leaves you ignoring them all.

By the time you read this, the Seahawks will have played the Raiders.  Whatever the outcome, check out the turnover ratio.  Also remember, perfection isn't the goal...improvement over last year is! 

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn.  Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

The Importance of Engagement…Both For You, and Those Whom You Recruit

If you have been exposed to the consulting that our company provides, then you’ve heard us talk a lot about the importance of being engaged in your work.  We often reference studies performed by the Gallup Organization, which document that a large majority of those in the workforce are languishing in their jobs.

With the increased knowledge we have about work and the proliferation of new technologies that support smarter work habits, you’d think the percentage of people who are languishing in their jobs would start to decrease.  But, this is not happening...

As documented in Tony Schwartz’s new book, "The Way We're Working is Not Working," the global workforce is still struggling to find engagement in their work.

“The consulting firm Towers Perrin’s most recent global workforce study bears this out.  Conducted in 2007-2008, before the worldwide recession, it looked at some 90,000 employees in eighteen countries. Only 20 percent of them felt fully engaged, meaning that they go above and beyond what’s required of them because they have a sense of purpose and passion about what they’re doing.  Forty percent were 'enrolled' meaning capable but not fully committed, and 38 percent were disenchanted or disengaged.

All of that translated directly to the bottom line.  The companies with the most engaged employees reported a 19 percent increase in operating income and a 28 percent growth in earnings per share. Those with the lowest levels of engagement had a 32 percent decline in operating income, and their earnings dropped more than 11 percent.  In the companies with the most engaged employees, 90 percent of the employees had no plans to leave.  In those with the least engaged, 50 percent were considering leaving.  More than 100 studies have demonstrated some correlation between employee engagement and business performance.”

So, 78% of the global workforce is either not fully committed or proactively disengaged in their jobs—and this was before the recession had an impact on these attitudes.  It is probably safe to assume that things have gotten even worse as financial pressures have mounted for those in the workforce.  If the researchers performed the study today (particularly in the real estate industry), they would probably have to create a fourth category below "disengaged" to capture all those people who are despairing!

While this research may seem like bad news, it actually presents quite an opportunity for a recruiter.  Think of it this way:  At least 78% of the people who you meet every day are either not fully committed or are completely disengaged in the relationship they have with their current employer.  If your primary focus is recruiting agents from other real estate companies, that percentage is probably even higher.  As you know, a person has to be experiencing some level of dissatisfaction to make a change.  The happy people stay put.

If you’re responsible for recruiting, the important question becomes: How do you tap this deep level of disengagement and help people find engagement in your organization?  I’ll cover this topic in more detail in our upcoming discussions, but here is a quick summary of what needs to happen:

1. You Need to Be Engaged In Your Work.  You’ll never be able to convince someone they will find engagement and satisfaction in your organization if you’re not personally engaged in your work.  While being in a job that matches your talents is important, researchers are now learning that how you complete your daily tasks has a major impact on how much engagement you’ll experience.
2. Surround Yourself With Those Who are Engaged In Their Work.  Have you ever been on a team that is truly engaged in their task?  If so, then you know that engagement is contagious.  But, lack of engagement is also contagious.  In fact, the negative inertia created by whom you associate with is one of the most significant factors that hinder personal growth.  If a candidate's hope is to better their life by joining your team, they better find support when they get there!
3. Become an Engagement Expert.  With the previous two foundational issues in place, learning to communicate on the topic of engagement is one of the most powerful recruitment tools you can possess.  But to be effective, you’ll have to become more knowledgeable on this topic and be able to speak to others on a new level.  Don’t worry, it is not as hard as it sounds!

I look forward to working through these topics over the next couple of weeks.  For now, see if you can put these three items into practice.   

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

How to Raise your Expectations: And Get What You Expect

We all intuitively realize that each person within an organization should be productive and perform at a level that justifies their position and salary.  It's not unrealistic to expect everyone to enjoy contributing their part to the overall goals of the company, and offer no excuses for poor performance.

We also all know that there are plenty of people in every company who don’t contribute and leave us uneasy about how to treat them.

The Great Dr. Harry Levinson (psychological consultant to numerous organizations) has a keen eye for perceiving the most fundamental problems with management.  One of the primary problems he has found in the hundreds of companies that he's researched and consulted with is the universality of what he calls “management by guilt.”

The crux of management by guilt is the tendency to not hold people accountable for how they should be performing due to the manager’s internal discomfort around conflict and disappointment.  In his research, Levinson has repeatedly witnessed managers reporting feeling like a “not nice person” when they had to confront people with the reality of their poor performance.  When this pattern has been set, managers will typically procrastinate dealing with these individuals who clearly have not been doing what’s expected, for years.

This irrational way of managing comes from our general reluctance to deal with what reality tells us, if that reality forces us to see and feel our disappointment in someone’s performance. This is usually an overly developed conscience at work. Additionally, people who are poor performers often elicit our sympathy and have a way of making others feel guilty if they are confronted.  This sets up the destructive little dance that can continue indefinitely.  In the meantime- the company, the team, and the person who is allowed this leniency; are all left to languish.

Management by guilt typically follows a six step process:

1. Disappointment in the subordinate;
2. Failure to confront him/her realistically about his/her performance or behavior;
3. Procrastination in reaching a decision about him/her;
4. Covering up with false compliments to ease the guilt of the disappointment;
5. Transfer to another position;
6. Finally, discharging the person.

Levinson goes on to say that the consequences of the above often include:

1. The subordinate's occupational opportunities are either impaired or destroyed in the name of kindness;
2. Executives hurt each other as they transfer this person;
3. The company suffers because the subordinate often draws a salary for years without producing adequately.
   (Harry Levinson; Selected Articles, 2009)

Remember, A poor performer has an impact on much more than their immediate, obvious responsibilities.  I have personally witnessed individuals bottleneck an entire department because of their refusal to do what was expected.

Here are some quotes from Dr. Levinson about this topic that we each need to etch in granite:

"Each person must see adequate reaction to his performance and behavior if he is to govern it accordingly."

"When after two or three direct discussions of a person's performance, she is unable to change her behavior to meet the requirements of her position, it is a reasonably safe assumption that the person cannot change voluntarily."

"Unless a Leader takes charge, and makes it clear that she is in charge, her subordinates are likely to continue to challenge her and to be in conflict with each other."

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn.  Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Why fundamentals matter: The simpler the better

 I trust that you've read the last two entries (1, 2) regarding the importance of building a list of absolute, non-negotiable, principles or objectives that everyone in your organization knows and practices.  I have received some feedback that I will share with you shortly, but I am hoping to get more ideas from you, the reader, before providing a list.  Please refer to the above links to review exactly what I'm looking for in your list.

Briefly, the case was made that we can't rely on talent alone to achieve our business objectives.  I used the Seattle Mariners to support this idea.  Today, I'll present you with an excellent example of obsessing over the right things, this time using the Seattle Seahawks as an example.

The Seattle Seahawks are not predicted to return to the playoffs anytime soon.  They have far too many new players and very few positions, if any, held by anyone who is considered the best at their position.  Nonetheless, their record to date is two wins and two losses.

The reason for their relative success is fairly simple:  Pete Carroll realizes that he can't match other teams, position for position.  In fact, he realizes that having a team with so many new players and a lack of cohesion demands that he MUST boil down their objective to eliminate confusion and bring about a unified purpose... so that everyone GETS IT.  So, instead of focusing on a complex set of principles, he has simplified the focus to one... Yes that's right, ONE objective:

"Offense= Don't give up the football; Defense= Get the football."

That's it.  So, this entire year this Seahawks team will focus on their turnover ratio more than any other stat.  Will they still make mistakes and turn over the football?  Yes.  Will they go to the playoffs?  I don't know.  But will they have a more favorable turnover ratio than their opponents?  I believe they will.  My hunch is that Pete Carroll knows that having small, attainable objectives can bring a team of new comrades together to build something great.

And by the way, remember....as I write this, they are 2-2 and challenging for the top of their division.

Have you simplified your objectives?

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn.  Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.  

Recruiting Messaging and Branding: Are Your Competitors Causing You to Act Stupidly?

 

A couple of weeks ago, I spent some time with a client in Richmond, VA.  My meetings did not begin until late morning, so I had the opportunity to go for a run before my day started.  The hotel where I stayed was on a frontage road, just off one of the major interstates in Richmond.

This frontage road contains a number of billboards that are visible from the main road.  One of these billboards caught my eye and I couldn’t help but snap a picture.  (If you’re not able to read the text on this picture, click on the image to enlarge it.  If you’re an email subscriber, you may need to click through to the WorkPuzzle site to see the image.)   
 
As I read this billboard, I couldn’t help but think that this poor guy has been driven to distraction by his low cost competitors.  I think the “15 minutes could save you 15% or more in car insurance…” must be what he hears when goes to sleep at night!  To combat this messaging, he does the marketing equivalent of standing in a crowded room and yelling “Discount!  Discount!  Discount…!”  And while he is yelling, the rest of us are wondering what creative thing the little gecko is going to do next.

Before we get too critical, we have to give Geico and some of the other low-cost insurance companies credit for running effective marketing campaigns - They are good competitors.  But, to try to compete in such a reactionary way does not seem very effective.  Most people perceive State Farm as a full service insurance company that is able to offer their customers a higher level of service.  This is not a bad position to have in the marketplace—pay a little more and receive an outstanding level of service.  From a branding perspective, it would be more effective to reinforce their core strengths than to blatantly publish a “me too” message in response to their low-cost competitors.

We’re all great armchair quarterbacks when it comes to evaluating someone else’s problems, but does this type of thing happen in the real estate industry?  When it comes to recruiting, it happens every day.  Many of the most prominent real estate companies in the country are competing for agents against companies who have low cost or alternate business models.  When the competitors start to have even limited success, it is amazing how quickly even successful companies will succumb to the temptation of watering down their recruiting message (and sometimes even their business model) to compete.

How do you keep from making this mistake in your company?  Here are some guidelines that will help:

1. Make Sure Your Branding/Message is Believable.  What is the value proposition that you offer the candidates who interface with your organization?  You should be able to articulate this in several sentences.  Now ask yourself:  Would you be engaged by this proposition if you were a candidate?  Would you encourage one of your kids to accept this proposition for their career?  If not, you need to adjust your message until it passes this test.  If you do change your message, do so based on what candidates think, not what competitors are pushing you towards.
2. Stick to Your Core Message.  Why does everyone know the Geico marketing proposition?  Because it has been repeated so many times that it is ingrained in all of our minds.  You don’t have to run an enormous, multi-year marketing campaign to take advantage of this principle.  For example, we have one client who has boiled down their recruiting message to the following:  “We’ll take you by the hand and show you how to do it.”  They repeat this message many times during the recruiting process, especially when they face objections.
3. Be Willing to Say No to Some Candidates.  When you know who you are and what you stand for, you are going to find some people at odds with your message.  When this happens, don’t be afraid to say, “You may not be a good fit for our organization,” and then suggest they go see one of your competitors.  By doing this, you’ll not only avoid making some bad hires, but you’ll also cause the most talented candidates to respect your position.  Some of those candidates will be intrigued by your clarity and reengage.  Others will remember who they can trust to tell them the truth when their low-cost alternative lets them down.

Maintaining a consistent message and staying true to your recruitment brand takes courage--especially in today's economic climate.  But, it's an investment that will produce a return and help you maintain your dignity.  Without this focus, you could be the next person figuratively shouting "Discount!" in a crowded room. 

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Ben Hess.  Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below. 

Converting Conference Excitement Into Long-Term Habits

Many of us have experienced the emotional high that results from a well run motivational sales conference.  Unfortunately, not many of us successfully convert that flash of energy into long-term change that impacts our business.

What's missing?  We are not using that temporary moment of motivation to begin the process of replacing old habits with new ones.

Successful people understand that their success, in part, is derived from a consistent pattern of converting emotional "ah-ha" experiences into sustainable long-term habits and rituals.  Without the habits and rituals, we keep doing what we did before, and those “ah-ha” catalyst moments are forever lost.

If you are naturally gifted at converting these short-term energy bursts into the hard work of developing and sustaining long-term habits, then chances are, you have built a successful life.  That is what successful people do.

What might come as a surprise to you is that most people don’t do this.  It may even frustrate you that people under your management don’t do the things that you do so automatically.  It's critical for managers to understand that they need to expand their role to include teaching others the formula for forming new habits.  It's also imperative for managers to develop systems to help this become part of the overall culture.

A recent survey of 10,000 real estate professionals outlines what agents expect from their company.  Look at what came in number 2 and 3:

1. Respect, honesty and trust
2. Leadership, guidance
3. Accountability / career coaching

According to the second two expectations, agents are expecting you to hold them accountable.  This desire opens the “I give you permission” door to teaching and building what I am about to describe.

To accomplish the above you must become an expert at habit change, as well as an educator, facilitator and creative strategist in building venues around sustaining these changes.  So, let me help you get started on becoming an expert on change...

People resist change.  Period.  For most people change must be understood, taught and aided toward and through implementation.  Habits are not formed by emotion (although this is the initial catalyst).  Change comes through a very predictable formula.

So, what does create change?  People say will power is the primary ingredient, and that is true to some extent.  But, will power without action, doesn’t work.

Let me use an example that is relevant at this very moment.  Millions of five-year-olds are starting school for the first time this month.  I live on what is referred to as “Education Hill” in Redmond, Washington.  There are five schools, three of which are elementary schools, within 1.3 miles of my home.  My commute is heaven in the summer and horrible in the fall.  Why?  Because all of these new-to-school children are being dropped off by their parents to ease the transition into this new habit of leaving home daily and going to school.

The first few days, there are tears, tantrums and resistance to this intrusive new habit of leaving donuts, Barney, Lego’s, and Sesame Street at home, and instead being expected to sit quietly without mom or dad, for three to six hours at a time, with a teacher who wants them to concentrate on what she’s teaching them.  Yuck. 

A month into this process, most children will have converted this whole new process into a habit that they’ve learned to enjoy and sustain.  This serves as a great example of the fundamentals of habit change.

So here are the steps made simple - A habit will become part of your typical day if you do these things:

1. Start it now.  New habits must begin when the emotional surge or temporary insight is available and fresh.  You, as a manager, must be prepared to help new agents and experienced agents returning from a conference, implement new habits, and get rid of old ones immediately.
2. Do it early in the day.  Any new habit is much more likely to be sustained if it is initiated in the morning hours, if not first thing in the morning.  Once behaviors become habits they can be moved around throughout the day.  For example, when I first started working out 24 years ago, I had to do it in the morning.  Now that I can’t imagine life without it, I can move it around the day, knowing I’ll get to it.
3. Don’t deviate.  This is key.  You must maintain the new behavior or task for at least 45 days if it is being practiced daily, and up to 4 months if it is weekly, to begin to feel like it is a habit.  Anyone who attempts to reward themselves with old habits while trying to build new ones, is usually doomed to failure.
4. Set up accountability.  This is where you come in.  There must be systems developed to help the agents keep themselves accountable.  This is usually done in one-on-ones, groups, or both.  There is a reason why AA is so popular.

One of our most successful clients has a manager or two who have developed groups that meet in the mornings on a regular basis, specifically to build new habits.  One manager even began a walking group that meets in the mornings for a two-mile walk, three times weekly.

The point is, as a manager, this is your job.  Your agents want it.  Become experts at delivering it.  If you're too busy to do the above, then you may need to find others to put out the fires so that you can spend more time doing what really impacts the business--- and the lives of those entrusting their livelihood to you.

 

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn.  Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.  

Jet Blue Moments and Resilience

As I pointed out in my last blog, when people are undergoing economic and job-related stress, evidence confirms some important principles that determine what direction one takes.  Namely, that under economic and job-related stress, either people grow and go on to achieve, or they regress and become physically and emotionally unhealthy.  

I used the Jet Blue incident as a backdrop to launch some learning on what happens to people who respond like Slater and alternatively, what happens to people who actually reframe their current job-related stress in a different way.  I actually received a comment from someone that implied that Slater (the airline attendant who threw a public temper tantrum) was not in the wrong.  If you share this opinion, you are headed in a precarious direction.  There is more than ample evidence that adulthood stress can help you grow, if you're willing to reassess how growth and achievement takes place.

Dr. Kerry Sulkowicz makes it clear that you are going to need resilience if you are going to maintain a clear head during  tough times:

“Many psychologists consider [resilience] a key component of emotional health.  Resilient people, they have observed, are naturally better at containing their anxiety.  And that enables them to see in hardship the seeds of opportunity.  What would emotional resilience entail in the face of the current crisis?  The ability to resist being swept up in the global state of panic and to adapt as creatively as possible to one's setbacks and losses.”

We see this principle played out with our clients every day.  Some people are not very good at containing their anxiety and they become paralyzed as a result.  But, others are busy working to find new opportunities.  We all feel the strain, but certain people have figured out how to use that strain as a catalyst for action.

If you find yourself in the former group, Dr. Sulkowicz has some advice for you:

“But just as there is no shortcut to emotional health, you can't become resilient overnight, or by sheer will, or by reading the latest book on the subject.  Instead, resilience is acquired through increasing self-awareness.  You must connect with trusted and candid intimates who help you build confidence.  You need to repeatedly expose yourself to a range of difficult circumstances and then overcome them.”

If you are responsible for coaching those around you, you have a great opportunity to put this into practice.  You are the “trusted and candid intimate” your protégés need to overcome their anxiety.  Can you help them identify the things they are already overcoming?  This is the foundation to build upon that can give them courage to take on the next challenge.

If you are struggling yourself, then you need to connect with others who can provide you support.  The first tendency will be to just talk with those who will compassionately identify with your circumstances.  Slater has an entire fan club filled with this sort of support....all people who are going nowhere fast.  While sympathetic support is important, but we also need those “tough love” friends who can give us the push we need to take on the next challenge...

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn.  Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.  

8 Key Behaviors of Successful Leaders

I want you to ask and answer the following question as honestly as you can: With the future of business being unpredictable and evolving quickly, how important is it to employ flexible and adaptable managers?

The latest issue of one my professional journals focuses its entire publication on answering this question.  Although the article focuses on businesses in general, I could relate everything I read to challenges in the real estate industry.

Rapid technology advances, more diverse workforces, more use of outsourcing specialized tasks, new forms of social networking, increased use of virtual interactions, and the need for online branding capabilities, have all contributed to an interest in this topic.  

While I can't cover everything here, one of the insights I thought most helpful concerns a manager's ability to embrace uncertainty and manage it effectively.  Hodgson and White, in their book Relax, It's Only Uncertainty, were able to identify some very interesting clusters of behaviors in managers who did this well, and clusters of behaviors in managers who did not excel.

The Adaptive Group (or most successful managers) demonstrated these measurable actions:

1. “Mystery Seekers” are fascinated by what they do not yet know.  We might describe them as taking a road just to see where it goes.  Curiosity is high.
2. “Risk tolerators” are not necessarily risk takers, but they have the willingness and ability to make choices with incomplete information.  They see mistakes as a way to learn.
3. “Future Scanners” are those who want to understand how a business operates, and constantly consider how it will play out in future states.
4. "Tenacious challengers” are tireless in solving problems.  They continue to seek solutions in a relentless way.
5. "Exiters” want everyone to be energized by what they do.  Behaviors that come out of this include wanting to make work fun.
6. “Flexible adjusters” exhibit two tendencies:  the ability to admit they are wrong and the ability to sell change to people whose self interest is against the change.
7. “Simplifiers” are able to take complicated ideas and help everyone in an organization understand where they are going.
8. “Focusers” have the ability to identify and attack a critical few actions that need to be done, as well as the ability to shift to a different few critical actions at the right time.

Which of these describes you?  Which characteristics do you struggle with or wish you possessed?  I recommend resisting the urge to become overly concerned with your weaknesses and spending a lot of time trying to overcome them - This would be very difficult to accomplish.  Instead, focus on becoming even more purposeful in developing the traits you naturally possess.  Then, fill in the gaps by surrounding yourself with people who are good at the other items.

In the next edition, I’ll share the eight traits found in “Restrainers” - those people who aren’t good managers because they resist change.

(Reference:  Consulting Psychologist Journal:  Practice and Research, Acceptance of Uncertainty as an Indicator of Effective Leadership, June 2010)

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn.  Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.  

Motivation Revisited: Six Kids in a Car for 7,000 Miles

Over the past couple of weeks, Dave has been making most of the contributions to WorkPuzzle, as I have been working remotely in the Midwest.  Now, he is off to Europe for a few weeks to visit his daughter who is working in London, and I’ll be writing the WorkPuzzle entries.  Hopefully, you’ll enjoy the extended focus each of us have/will put toward WorkPuzzle during the weeks in July.

The reason for my trip to the Midwest is a music tour I decided to embark on with my family.  Some of you know this already, but my family started a bluegrass band a few years ago.  We normally perform in the Northwest a few times per month, but this summer we decided to do a cross country trip from Seattle to Indianapolis.  By the time we’re done, we’ll have performed 12 times in various communities across the country.  (If you have an interest in reading more about the band, you can visit the band website at www.noteasilybrokenmusic.com.)  Since we perform during the evenings and weekends, I’ve been able to work remotely. 

The trip has been a lot of fun, and we’ve created some great memories along the way.  But, as we conceptualized the journey, I knew there would also be some challenges. One of those challenges was going to be getting my six kids to ride in the car for 7,000 miles without killing each other.  My wife, Sally, suspected it would be similar to those experiments she read about in her psychology classes where they put rats in very confined spaces and they eventually start eating each other!

To keep this from happening, Sally started planning months ahead of time.  Of course, we had all the normal tricks such as books on tape, videos, games, crafts, etc.  But, when boredom sets in, we knew it would still be tempting to take a little bite out of a sibling.  To head this off, she put a request out to her network for ideas to keep kids occupied and civil during long car rides.

While she received many ideas, one in particular caught her attention.  It was provided by a mom who has eight kids and regularly takes trips across the country.  This woman had devised an incentive system whereby her kids could earn quarters for good behavior in the car.  Here’s how it worked:  Each child was presented with two rolls of quarters ($20), but they could not claim their quarters until the midpoint of the trip.  During the trip, if relational offenses (rudeness, disrespect, physical harm, etc.) were committed, one or more quarters would be deducted from their account.  So, at the halfway point in the trip, they could potentially earn $20 for good behavior.  The process would then be repeated for the return trip.

Now this all sounded good and we’ll try almost anything when it comes to parenting, but I did notice that this incentive system was at odds with what I had recently learned about motivation from Daniel Pink’s work (see previous blogs 1,2,3).  Research demonstrates that “carrot and stick” incentive systems are not effective.  In addition to having a little peace in the car, I was curious to see if we could defy the research.  Do those researchers really know what they’re talking about anyway?

Unfortunately, for my wife and I, they do.  We’ve now crossed the midpoint in the trip, so we held a “results ceremony” at lunch with our extended family last Sunday.  The results were not good.  Of the 480 quarters available, only 248 were claimed by our kids.  This means that there were 232 offenses committed over 3,500 miles.  I bet you’re glad that you were not in the car with us over the last three weeks!

If you dig into the data a little bit further, it’s even worse than it appears.  For three of the kids (I won’t name names), 124 out of 180 quarters were lost due to poor behavior.  Of course, these were the particular kids who we were hoping the incentive system would have the most impact on.  Where we needed behavior modification most, we had a failure rate of nearly 70%.  I knew we were in trouble when one of my boys said, “Dad, nice try on this quarter system.  The way I see it, this is just a way for me to be able to commit 80 free offenses.  I don’t really need the money.”  He said this about three hours into the trip!

So, science again triumphs over the well-intentioned schemes of desperate parents.  So...if “carrot and stick” incentive systems don’t work, what does?  The researchers are right on this account as well.  Inspiring individuals to personally buy into a meaningful purpose is what produces outstanding behaviors.  When it came to the band performances, there was a single event to which the entire family could focus.  With this goal, the negative behaviors generally disappeared.  Interestingly, the more important and difficult gigs were, the higher the level of focus and good behavior.

Hopefully, you can see how these principles could apply to the team you manage.  As for producing good behavior in the car, I’m still working on that…  

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Ben Hess.  Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.