Think of a conversation that you need to have that scares you. Perhaps it is a conversation with your boss about something she is doing that is not helpful. Or a conversation with a peer about what you are noticing that is not working for him. Or taking it home, perhaps it is a conversation with your spouse or family member to discuss something that you do not feel the other is willing to talk about.

Ok, do you have a conversation in mind?

Does the thought of this conversation make you want to evaporate? Or run out the door? Or go on vacation? If so, that’s a good sign. These are the conversations I am talking about.

I do understand the fear. There are legitimate reasons to be scared about having these conversations. Some people do not react well when confronted, regardless of how eloquent and thoughtful you are. Sometimes, certain discussions are not career-enhancing, depending on your colleagues and boss. These are realities.

What is equally a reality is that the cost of not having the conversation is much greater than the risk of it going badly. No one will die in this process. And your mental health and wellbeing are at stake here. These needed conversations weigh you down. You know this. Science tells you this. We all know this, yet we justify our way into carrying unneeded weight around.

So, here are three tips to overcome the scary nature of some exchanges: 

1. Embrace the nervous energy. One of my prior bosses once told me that the butterflies you feel before a tough conversation are an indication of how much you care about the person. I like to think of it that way; put a positive spin on it. Ultimately, if you don’t care about a relationship or a person, you wouldn’t bother having the conversation. So come to terms with the way you feel and expect some nervousness. See it as a good sign instead of wanting to flee.

2. Prepare accordingly. Whether it is a feedback or confrontation conversation, preparation is key for having the conversation align with your intention. Here at fierce we teach the preparation piece for various conversations, and oftentimes, people tell us that it is our magic. The goal is to make your conversations authentic and drive the results you want. So, prepare by scanning some of the tips from this blog. Set aside some unadulterated time to focus and think through the conversation. Take some notes.

3.  Practice with someone. Many conversations do not go the way we want them to, because we are not clear and direct. Once you have done some preparation, find a friend or partner to practice with. Ask the person how they felt with your delivery. Ask for feedback. It is not necessary to do a role play situation, but rather, use the practice time as an opportunity to make sure you are not laying blame or using inflammatory language that could trigger just about anyone.

These tips definitely can help you stay focused. Ultimately, though, you are the one that has to make the choice to have the conversation. 

And for your own sake, I really hope you do. You have more to gain than you can imagine.

Do you have any tips for our audience about dealing with fear around conversations?

Tags: #Inaction, #Miscommunication

The post 3 Ways to Take the Scare Out of Your Conversations appeared first on Fierce.

Over the last half century, approaches to leadership have shifted and grown dramatically. Regardless, some areas (even with the most progressive and advanced training programs in place) continue to be problematic in organizations.

The most seasoned of leaders are prone to fall into certain traps, and these traps are often outside their awareness. The more aware leaders become of these behaviors, the more they will be able to mitigate their impact.

Per Robert H. Schaffer, HBR, here are the four main behavioral traps to be mindful of:

Behavior Trap 1: Failing to Set Proper Expectations

Everyone has seen senior managers announce major directional changes or new goals without spelling out credible plans for achieving them or specifying who’s accountable: for instance, “We are going to reduce the use of cash by 40% next year” or “We are going to cut train accidents significantly” or “We are going to shift focus from midmarket customers to the upper end during the next two years.” Such efforts go nowhere.

Behavior Trap 2: Excusing Subordinates from the Pursuit of Overall Goals

Every operating or staff manager is naturally preoccupied with the performance of her own unit. People with such singular focus tend to “delegate” responsibility for organization-wide performance upward to already overloaded senior managers, who often don’t push back.

Behavior Trap 3: Colluding with Staff Experts and Consultants

The work performed by internal staff experts and external consultants has multiplied by 20 to 40 times in the past five decades, and the scope of their activity has greatly expanded. But the vast majority of them still get senior management to go along with the same old flawed contract: They agree to deliver their “product” (such as a new system, organization structure, marketing plan, training program, or corporate strategy)—and even to implement it—but they don’t assume responsibility for outcomes. They imply that performance will improve but almost never include measurable gains as part of the deal.

Behavior Trap 4: Waiting While Associates Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

When senior managers challenge people to improve sales, accelerate turnaround, reduce costs, develop products faster, or make other needed improvements, the usual response is “Yes, but first we have to…” Finish the sentence: Train our people. Study the market. Replace a key player who retired. Launch the new system. Set up focus groups with some customers. Bring in Six Sigma. Make our culture more change oriented. And so forth.

Read the full article here.

Tags: #Confused Priorities, #Inaction, #Inadequate Training, #Personal Agendas, #Power Games, #Unrealistic Goals

The post 4 Mistakes Leaders Keep Making appeared first on Fierce.

“Not often” is a common answer. And I’m here to tell you that “not often” is not often enough.

I used to work for an organization where employees received bi-yearly reviews. During these 30-minute meetings, my supervisor and I would go over the review forms and determine what was going well and where there was room for growth. The reviews were helpful when they occurred, but I wonder—if I had received this feedback months ago, or as issues were occurring, what difference would it have made for my own growth, the quality of my work, and the company? I’d bet money that it would’ve made a significant difference.

The Case for Frequent Feedback

Feedback (and how often it’s delivered) directly impacts performance and employee engagement. Hands down, employees perform better with more frequent feedback.

According to Deloitte’s 2017 Global Human Capital Trends, the lack of ongoing feedback within performance management is costing organizations in big and varying ways: “Creating a holistic approach to the employee experience demands better tools and programs to capture employee feedback continuously…[t]he neglect of regular employee feedback helps explain other challenges companies face today, including shortcomings in driving culture and purpose and providing a healthy work-life balance.”

Whether reviews are yearly, bi-yearly, or quarterly, one thing is for certain: there’s a lot of time in-between these reviews, time that’s full of precious opportunity. We’re missing out on opportunities to grow professionally, strengthen workplace culture, and drive results.

Professional development—especially with recently-graduated millennials now making up the largest percentage of the current workforce—is becoming the central intention behind feedback. Many organizations are thankfully catching on and moving away from the mentality that you either make the cut or you don’t. The truth is that skills can be learned, knowledge can be acquired, and if an employee has a desire to grow, they can. Frequent feedback can nurture and support this growth.

One of many downsides to infrequent reviews is that we may lose a degree of authenticity when we don’t express ourselves and instead think, I see an issue, but it’s not time for a formal review yet, so I’ll pretend there isn’t anything wrong for now. We’re also limiting rather than expanding the other person’s awareness of their own performance. They may not know what’s going on if you don’t tell them.

Frequent feedback can do much to strengthen relationships. Personal and workplace relationships are often considered different in nature, but at Fierce, our mindset is that relationships are relationships, regardless of the external circumstances that surround them. And the stronger our relationships, the richer our lives.

That said, if you’re having an issue with a spouse or friend, it’s ideal to discuss the behavior sooner rather than later. It wouldn’t make sense to wait for a bi-yearly or yearly conversation to say, “hey babe, when you put your dirty socks on the floor a few months ago, it really bothered me.” It makes far more sense, both for the health and sustainability of our relationships, to nurture them in the now rather than the later.

What Holds Us Back

Organizational policies and old systems in place are often the culprits of infrequent feedback. The transition out of this old yearly system will largely depend on whether an organization intends to improve employee performance. But policies aside…if we know frequent feedback nurtures success, what prevents us from following through?

In most cases, fear is the culprit. The idea of giving feedback in the moment makes us nervous. We fear the reactions of others, we fear hurting their feelings, we fear that they will misinterpret our intention, and we fear that our direct feedback will rupture the relationship. But here’s a thought that may help put these natural human fears in perspective: what we are fearing is their fear. And we can’t control what other people fear. To remedy, consider what we lose when we stay silent (authenticity and opportunity for growth) and what we stand to gain if we choose to supply more immediate feedback. Also keep in mind that giving feedback effectively is a skill set, and one that can be learned.

Realistically, infrequent feedback can actually heighten fear. Consider the anxiety that often goes along with formal reviews. I recall my hands feeling clammy and my heart racing before every bi-yearly review. Why? Because very little communication about my performance had taken place before the review, which created an unwanted air of mystery about whether my performance was up to par.

Another form of resistance that holds us back is the belief that we don’t have enough time. Let’s tear that excuse to shreds, shall we? Giving feedback in the moment can save time (and money) by creating immediate, rather than eventual, improvements. A few moments of feedback could potentially save months of mistakes, poor-quality work, or misunderstandings.

Another reservation that often occurs is that we may want to process what’s taking place in our environment before we communicate our thoughts or feelings to another person. If this is you, cut yourself some slack. Is it better to receive feedback the day after an incident, or six months from when it occurred? Go easy on yourself and give yourself what you need, even if it’s a bit of time to process.

If You Think Your Organization Needs More Frequent Feedback, Here’s What You Can Do

Plain and simple: have a conversation with your fellow leaders and propose changes to your organization’s feedback approach. Build your case and bring a list of solutions to the table, which might include leadership training intended to strengthen skills around feedback conversations and tool-based solutions such as feedback technology.

The same recommendations apply if you’re in a non-leadership role. And don’t wait for leadership to approach you with feedback. Ask for it, give it, and request that it occur more frequently.

What experiences have you had with the quality and frequency of feedback? How would you rate yourself and others? Share with us.

Tags: #Disengagement, #Inaction, #Lack Of Transparency, #Unproductive Employees, #Unrealistic Goals

The post Why Frequent Feedback Conversations Are Thriving (and Annual Reviews Are Dying) appeared first on Fierce.

A performance improvement plan (PIP) enables managers to address a team performance issue and holds the employee accountable for turning around their performance. There are dozens of reasons why an employee may have poor performance. It could be a personal issue they are dealing with at home that is bleeding over into their work, or a miscommunication on expectations of the role.

Per SHRM, there is a six-step process that when followed will help identify gaps in training and skills, create recognition of the performance issue, and will result in performance either turning around or not. If it is the latter, actions such as demotion, job transfer, or termination can result with no surprises.

1. Document performance issues. By documenting the areas that need improvement, clarity around expectations are set.

2. Develop an action plan. The manager should establish an action plan for how the employee can turn around their performance. Creating this plan in collaboration with the employee will eliminate confusion and ensure expectations are understood.

3. Review the performance plan closely. Prior to sharing the final plan with the employee, the manager should consult with his or her supervisor or an HR professional to ensure everything is stated clearly.

Read the other six steps and the entire article here.

Tags: #Inaction, #Inadequate Training, #Role Clarity, #Unproductive Employees, #Unrealistic Goals

The post How to Establish a Performance Improvement Plan appeared first on Fierce.

Whether you’re giving (or receiving) feedback, confronting a colleague, having a collaborative meeting, or just engaging in casual conversation, your body language matters.

Body language alone can make or break a conversation. According to Psychologist World, human communication is 20% verbal and 80% non-verbal. Body language that doesn’t coincide with the message we intend to send can therefore lead to relationship ruptures, misunderstandings, and unwanted outcomes.

Body language is the primary language of emotion, and how others perceive our emotion influences how our communication lands for them. A study by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and at New York University and Princeton revealed that body language is an even more accurate determiner of judging emotion than facial expressions. In short, your body language plays a significant role in how successful your conversation is on an emotional level.

Although what we say verbally is important, our nonverbal expression can greatly influence whether our message is communicated effectively.

The outcome of a conversation can vary greatly depending on the type of body language you’re using. Ask yourself: how do I want the other person to feel when I’m speaking to them? What outcome do I hope to achieve from this conversation, and is my body language of reflection of that? If your objective is to strengthen the relationship, then being aware of your body language can help achieve this objective.

Two key words to consider when it comes to your body language are intention and accuracy. Honesty plays a role—the point is not to smile when you feel like frowning or pretend to be relaxed when you’re upset. The point is to let others know how you really feel while keeping your intended outcome or objective in mind.

That said, here are a few body language cues via lifehacker that may be interpreted as “uninviting,” unproductive, or misleading:

• Arms folded across the chest
• Crinkled eyebrows that create a scowl
• Excessive fidgeting
• Slouching
• Not making eye contact
• Appearing “dominant” in posture

To create warmer body language and what will likely be a more connecting conversation, try instead:

• Opening your arms – having an “open” chest
• Relaxing your shoulders
• Making eye contact
• Nodding to show understanding
• Being present/avoiding distractions
• Slightly mirroring the other person’s gestures
• Being at eye level to the other person

During your next conversation, pay close attention to your body language. What are you noticing? How can you be more intentional with your body language to improve the quality of your conversations?

Tags: #Hostile Work Environment, #Inaction, #Lack Of Transparency, #Negative Thinking, #Workplace Conflict

The post How Your Body Language Impacts Workplace Conversations appeared first on Fierce.

M. A. Rosanoff: “Mr. Edison, please tell me what laboratory rules you want me to observe.”
Thomas Edison: “There ain’t no rules around here. We’re trying to accomplish somep’n!”

Motion pictures, rechargeable batteries, electric lighting. Thomas Edison and his research team managed to make a huge impact in the world. How exactly? By prioritizing innovation.

Luckily, organizations don’t need to create a modern equivalent of something as pivotal as the incandescent lightbulb to make a positive impact. Innovation can take place in any industry and is present any time there’s a new improvement to a product, service, process, or strategy. When innovation occurs, positive impact is inevitable.

Organizations often focus on initiatives and strategies that lead to innovation, such as strengthening leadership skills and promoting diversity of thought. But it’s only when innovation is approached as a goal rather than a perk or side-effect that organizations can tap into their full creative potential and fulfill on ambitious mission statements that make big improvements to “the status quo.” And when it comes to business, who doesn’t want to do it “better?”

Innovation provides an answer to some common and crucial questions:

• How can we keep up with or exceed our competition?
• How can we attract, retain, and engage employees?
• How can we provide the very best products or services to our clients?
• How can we use technology to improve our processes?
• How can we find our way out of a company crisis?
• How can we promote company sustainability and longevity?

The solution is innovation.

So why exactly should organizations prioritize innovation? What are the tangible results?

1. More engagement

Nothing makes talented people run for the hills more quickly than stagnation, innovation’s opposite. Employees want the opportunity to step off the proverbial hamster wheel and dive into their own creative potential. A Krueger & Killham study published by Gallup found that 59% of engaged employees say that their job ‘brings out their most creative ideas.’ Of the surveyed employees who were disengaged, only 3% said the same thing. When leadership communicates innovation as a goal or intention, it gives employees the opportunity to focus their strengths on making improvements and creating better ways of doing things.

2. More growth

An important question for all organizations to ask is, “why do we do what we do?” The answer is often to “improve” a product or service and find “better” ways to serve others. Naturally, improvements will lead to growth—better products and services drive more sales. Innovation has the power to promote growth both in profit and recruiting efforts by meeting employee and client needs as they arise, and it’s important for leaders to recognize when the old way of doing things isn’t keeping up with demand. The ability to adapt to these evolving needs is a key factor in company longevity, and prioritizing innovation is the best way to keep up.

Additionally, recruiting efforts receive a quality boost when innovation is prioritized—talented, forward-thinking people who value innovative ideas will want to be part of the effort.

3. More purpose

Innovation requires creativity, breaking through bias, and bringing “the whole person” to the table. It requires abandoning the status quo and the “just get it done and go home” way of thinking about work. It requires an understanding of the big picture and the why behind what we do. Innovation requires us to consider the footprints we’re making and what we’re leaving in our wake. In a Forbes article titled “Why Purpose-Driven Innovation Trumps All,” contributor George Bradt wrote, “Innovation that sticks is purpose-driven—led by someone on a mission to do good for others…what matters is that the innovator is committed to a cause and is compelled to innovate to overcome a barrier keeping people from realizing their purpose.”

Ask yourself: what is your organization’s purpose? How can new improvements and new ways of operating better fulfill this purpose?

Organizations that fail to prioritize innovation will eventually fall behind organizations that do. If innovation isn’t a priority in your organization, have a fierce conversation to involve leadership in making it a collective goal.

Tags: #Creative Block, #Groupthink, #Inaction, #Uninspired

The post 3 Reasons Why You Should Prioritize Innovation appeared first on Fierce.

This week’s Fierce resource was originally published by The Balance and talks about how to create an action plan that will help you achieve your lofty goals in 2017.

We all know that setting goals is important for personal and professional development. It can be much more difficult to identify specific tactics that work to move the needle towards achieving your goals.

For starters, try writing down your goals and placing them close to your desk. This may seem minor, but a surprisingly small percentage of people physically write down their goals. The act of writing the goal down solidifies it and forces you to revisit your goals every time you see them staring at you.

Leslie Truex, The Balance, offers six steps that can help create an action plan towards achieving goals. For starters, you must make sure your goals are SMART.

“Here is a basic definition of SMART goals:

Specific: Your goal is clearly defined. “I want to make more money,” is vague. “I want to make $10,000 per month,” is specific.
Measurable: You need to quantify your goal so you know you achieved it.
Attainable: It’s good to set goals that make you stretch and challenge yourself, but you set yourself up for frustration and failure if your goal is impossible.
Relevant: Your goals should fit within your ultimate plans in life.
Time: You’ve set a date by which your goal will be achieved.”

Another important step is identifying a realistic timeline. This is often where people run into trouble. A goal is hard to steadily work towards when the due date is so far off. By the time most people start to get the wheels moving, it is too late. Try working backwards from your end goal and setting milestones along the way that are feasible to achieve. These can be quarterly, monthly or even weekly tiny goals. This way you will know when you are off track and need to step it up a notch or two to keep pace.

Read Truex’s four other steps in the full article here.

Tags: #Inaction, #Inadequate Training, #Unproductive Employees, #Unrealistic Goals

The post How to Create an Action Plan to Achieve Your Goals appeared first on Fierce.

The answers are in the room.
– Susan Scott

Last week, I was in Chicago at the Human Capital Institute’s Learning and Leadership Development Conference. A resounding theme from Fortune 500 leaders was the need to engage on a deep level with employees, to include them, when solving the most important issues for the business. They encouraged companies to invite others outside of the usual suspects. There were many examples of how ‘best’ practices ended up not being what worked for their companies, and what really worked was listening to their people.

This mentality of engaging with others to solve problems applies on an organizational level along with the individual. So I ask you: What do you currently have on your plate that would benefit from other perspectives?

From where I sit, the marketing team at Fierce is innovating on some processes we use with our Salesforce system. It is absolutely necessary for the marketing team to get together with the sales team and talk about the problems we want to solve. To be more inclusive, we are creating think tank meetings, and we will be using our team model. In this model, we take the time to truly discuss and understand the diverse perspectives before jumping to the decision. I am excited to see the solutions that come to the table.

This week’s tip is to solve a problem by including others. Ask people for their perspectives on an issue and really get curious. Stop being the expert in the room, and rather, facilitate a conversation.

Besides different people being invited to the conversation, do you have any tips for being more inclusive?

Tags: #Disengagement, #Exclusion, #Inaction

The post Leadership Tips: Be Inclusive to Solve Problems appeared first on Fierce.

The holiday season is a time to reflect, a time to stop and think about all that we have to be grateful for. For many individuals, thankfulness is directed towards friends, family, and all the delicious food!  Not many, however, are sitting down at the table and sharing how grateful they are for their employees or colleagues.

A study by OfficeTeam revealed that more than half of workers would likely leave their position if they didn’t feel appreciated by their manager, and this number increased for those 35 and younger. This seems surprising in many ways, as so much of our time and energy are invested in our job —so why is it that we have such a hard time expressing gratitude in our day to day interactions? Often we move so fast that we don’t stop to acknowledge one another and share our appreciation with others.

Here are some ways you can encourage your team to show a little more appreciation this holiday season:
Gratitude On The Spot: In an upcoming meeting, set aside some time for the group to focus on gratitude. Have each person on your team or in a project group stand up for two minutes while colleagues say out loud what they appreciate about the person standing. Have a timekeeper that makes sure you stay on track, so everyone else can focus on the task at hand.

Why? Acknowledging the importance of appreciating team members publicly is vital. By taking the time to do this, you are signaling to the larger group or organization that you value appreciating others.

Gratitude Notes:  Supply notecards for team members to write notes to one another expressing appreciation. The goal is to make each note very specific and share why it is significant to the team and/or organization. Encourage employees to focus on how colleagues make their lives easier and/or more enjoyable. Make this a monthly activity throughout the year.

Why? Physical notes seem to be a lost art. This exercise allows people to reflect and give something physical that can be kept by others.

Gratitude 365: Expressing appreciation shouldn’t only happen in the months of November and December. Make it a daily practice within the organization by making it a part of every meeting—be it 1:1s, smaller work gatherings, or larger office meetings.  Start each of these by first expressing your appreciation—it could be as simple as a thank you for showing up, or a shout out to an employee going above and beyond.

Why? Making something a habit can be hard, but the payoff will be well worth it. Before you know it, this practice will become second nature, and replicated throughout the organization.
How will you share out loud your gratitude this holiday season? And don’t forget about those who you spend 40 hours a week with!

Tags: #Inaction, #Miscommunication, #Power Games, #Work Relationships

The post 3 Gratitude Exercises for Leaders To Embrace appeared first on Fierce.

Fierce Accountability: A desire to take responsibility for results; a bias towards action. An attitude, a personal, private, non-negotiable choice about how to live your life.

I would venture to guess that most people, when directly asked, say they want to be accountable for their actions, decisions, and commitments within their organization.

So why is accountability an issue for organizations?

First, accountability can be a messy topic, and so people avoid talking about it. Many organizations’ cultures have developed around the idea that it is easier to just not say anything. As a leader, it can seem difficult to approach the topic with those on your team who are not fulfilling their responsibilities. It can often become a blame game. Regardless, it is necessary to have the conversations.

Second, too often accountability is something we try to legislate. Accountability is not a process or a tool. It is a choice that each individual needs to make to be responsible for his or her results. You cannot make someone accountable. Effective leaders model and coach in a way that their teams choose accountability, and each member understands that this is the choice they need and want to make to be successful in their organizations.

What are your thoughts? Why is accountability such an issue?

Tags: #Bias, #Inaction, #Personal Agendas

The post Why Is Accountability An Issue? appeared first on Fierce.