So you Want to Change?

It's only been four days since Christmas yet the excitement is growing for what 2015 will hold. New Year is a great time to reset your goals and to look for ways in which to improve yourself. For those adventurous enough, why not take the ultimate leap and start your own business?

From someone who has been an employee for over 40 years I can tell you to expect mixed emotions. There is excitement about the prospects, anticipation of work, satisfaction as you achieve milestones, and most of all the one emotion you will encounter daily is fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of loss of confidence, fear that you will lose everything. Fear is a necessary part of life, it keeps us from doing dumb things. Unfortunately fear can also hold us back.

Of all of the hundreds of self-improvement books and biographies by famous (rich) people that I have read, all espouse the virtue of 'giving it a go'. "Easy for them" I hear you say, "they are rich". "They don't know my current circumstances - I have a mortgage, children to feed, elderly to care for, pets to look after, a student loan to repay, etc., etc., etc". I can tell you that every one of them said the same thing before they started, each had their own roadblock to surmount.

I do not know where my new career path will take me, all I know is that at least I 'gave it a go'. What's the worst that can happen? I may have to go back to being an employee. So, if you feel like jumping on the roller-coaster of emotions then take the leap yourself, start your own business. You don't want to be left wondering "what if".

Get Rid of The Praise Sandwich

Previously when we met with staff to tell them about something that we wanted them to improve on, we delivered it as a praise sandwich.  We told them what they are doing well, what we want them to improve on, and then something good that they were doing.

In today's fast-paced  world, communication strategies have changed dramatically.  No longer can we concentrate for any length of time.  15 seconds is the longest period that we can hold the attention of others.  That's why sporting events are now condensed, advertising is much shorter, even generational periods have reduced - Baby Boomers (30 year time span), Gen-X (20 year time span), Gen-Y (10 year time span).

As managers it is important to know this when meeting with your staff, even more so when holding performance improvement meetings.  Your staff member is in a heightened emotional state as they enter the meeting room, wondering what they are going to face.  Their brain is alert to the need to fight or to flee, their listening skills enhanced. 

If the first thing that they hear from you is something that they are doing well, the brain will relax and will often switch off.  When we deliver the message about what you want the person to change, they may not hear it.  As you finish off the meeting with something good that they employee is doing, their brain immediately switches on because we all like to be flattered.

So out of the performance meeting what did the employee hear?  Something good that they were doing, something in the middle that they can't remember much about, and something good that they are doing.  In their mind the staff member believes that they are doing an OK job because you told them so!

When holding performance improvement meetings, get to the point.  What are they doing, what is the impact of what they are doing, and how can they improve it.  Negative messages can be delivered in a positive way with a little thought.

Resilience Tips for Work

Here are a few resilience tips to manage the daily pressures at work;       

  • At the beginning of the day, look at the list you made the day before to ensure the priority hasn’t changed.
  • If you read an email, deal with it.  Don’t go back to it as this is double handling.
  • Deal with the difficult stuff first thing in the morning while your brain is still fresh and you can think clearly. (And you may have thought of a solution overnight for difficult problems).
  • Prepare for difficult meetings 30 minutes beforehand so that your brain is still thinking about the planning process when you go into the meeting.
  • Immediately after the meeting, go to your action points and complete them.  If you leave them for later you may lose some of the context.
  • Don’t eat at your desk – desks are for working not relaxing.
  • Take 5 minutes every hour to go to the toilet, get a glass of water, or just walk once around the floor.
  • Write your priority list for the coming day at least an hour before you leave work as you will always think of something else an hour after you have made the list.
  • Slow yourself down, if you go like a bull at a gate all day your brain will take longer to slow down once you get home.

Know Your Warning Signs

There are times when we get so engrossed in our work that we forget about taking time out to recharge the batteries, no more so is this true when you are running a business.  The last thing that I want to do is slow down because you just never know what the next email/letter/phone call may bring.

Having been diagnosed with accumulated stress disorder many years ago from not taking time out, I should be a big advocate of resting and recharging.  I am not.  Sometimes we just need to keep going and don't have time to rest.  The secret is knowing when to slow and when to keep going.

After years of trial and error, I have worked out that when the corners of my eyes start to burn it is time to slow down for a day or two.  Others I have talked with have a similar warning sign - a knot in the stomach, sore or tight shoulders, a heavy chest perhaps, or some other physiological sign.

For every negative psychological effect there is a physiological response.  When we worry about something it will manifest in the body somewhere.  Find what your indicator is and listen to it.  If you can't find it then a good guide is to take one entire day off per week.  

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