Month: March 2011

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Multifaceted Training for Supervisors: A Best Practice

A-supervisor-checking-an-employees-work-on-her-laptop

Corporations, non-profits and any big organization–especially the financially strapped state and federal government agencies are looking for ways that save money and still accomplish training needs.

My previous article was on meetings that are held to discuss “best practices.” Here is an idea for multifaceted supervisor training that came from one of those meetings that I’d like to share.

We generally take our best workers and promote them to supervisors to do unfamiliar and dissimilar work in a totally foreign environment.

Even if they were team leaders before, it’s a whole different approach to what they did before when they were one of the guys. Now they get to be the “bosses,” separate and apart from their crews and peers. It may seem to them this impending alienation is sorry “reward” for doing a great job, but once they learn the way of things they’ll probably think differently.

You hope his attitude will help get him there. You hope you chose well.

Let’s say you’ve managed to snare the young, hard-working employee and gave him the job of supervisor, and you are anxious to see what the diligent and dependable employee can do to make his people more like him.

Hopefully, he can turn his workers into a productivity train—but he has to become a supervisor first, and that requires some additional skills. You hope his attitude will help get him there. You hope you chose well.

Now, you think of training, but they took your money. Maybe he can make it on-the-job without training. Now, that would be the way to lose him.

How did you train supervisors before they took your funding away?

The supervisor took a core set of courses, traveled to some site training and spent a good deal of time just settling in.

Okay, maybe that’s a little too simplistic and ideal, but today what he gets is a big question mark. Today, because funding is low, he is thrown to the wolves and you hope he has a knife or grew instant fangs, or is tossed in the river and you in hope he can swim.

While I like focused, self-directed and motivated, core-based, classroom and exercise-based training, I think mixing classroom training when available, using online training, company-specific training provided by local managers, a support group, and a mentoring system that provides a place for questions and feedback is something to consider seriously.

The biggest problem is getting the core-training in a timely manner.

In the absence of that it makes sense to use the other methods to fill in the gaps. A supervisor support group will help to start with and could be continued indefinitely, creating a pool of supervisors sharing problems and solutions. These groups of 8 to 10, if the company is large enough, need not meet weekly, but monthly or quarterly to share common issues, network and training.

Add in a seasoned mentor who besides, advising, can develop a working relationship with the young supervisor.

The supervisor can possibly take advantage of that relationship rest of his career; after all, who could know him better over time?

It would be the manager who would set up a plan with the mentor, who would meet with and observe the new supervisor in the office; if so needed he could recommend training in addition to providing advice. He follows up with phone calls and emails to keep up the bond that follows the supervisor for his first year at least.

That may be all it takes for the supervisor to come up to speed, but what is the harm of establishing strong links in the company with his peers (supervisor support group) and his mentor—a guide for his career. As for the mentor and other teachers/managers drafted in the process, a little refresher never hurt anyone.

These days of economic uncertainty it might to also refresh their interest in the company goals and needs.

It is also possible your trained, confident and supported talent will lead the company one day.

As for the online training, the managers sign on as teachers or teaching assistants and can monitor the supervisors’ progress. Best of all, it doesn’t have the feel of training in the traditional sense; it feels more like support, and it works. It is a Best Practice.

The result: You will have good supervisors to support the line staff, make a case for recruitment and succession planning; and besides growing strong supervisors you will be increasing company productivity. Of course, that’s not a given, but a strong probable with the right talent.

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For more resources about training, see the Training library.

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Who Is Responsible For Fundraising At An NPO?

colleagues-working-together-in-an-office

A Reader Wrote: “I have been looking around your web site/blog trying to find information about the role of employees in fundraising for an NPO. I see some information about the role of board members and volunteers, but I seem unable to find anything specific about employees….”

It’s a “given” in the fundraising world that: “Everyone at a nonprofit has an impact on the organization’s ability to raise money” … even though not everyone is involved in “Asking.”

Although someone else might have the title, the CEO is also the chief development officer. S/he is the chief advocate for the organization and its mission, and should be the most knowledgeable person about how the NPO is pursuing that mission. S/he is the public face of the NPO, with the most credibility.

The CEO is (and should often be) involved in many of the major solicitations, either alone or with someone who is better suited to do the “Ask.”

Board Members, ideally, should all give to the best of their ability and should be involved in the process of identifying, cultivating and soliciting (other) major donors — but, they aren’t always wealthy, and they don’t always have wealthy friends.

I refer to “Volunteer Leaders” as the people most involved with the identification, cultivation, evaluation and solicitation of major donors. They don’t have to be board members, but they must be committed to raising (or helping raise) the needed funds.

Staff members fall into three categories: (1) Those who actually work at advancing and supporting the NPO’s development/fundraising efforts; (2) Administrative and support staff; and, (3) The program staffers who design and deliver the NPO’s services.

In the context of this posting, nothing needs be said about group #1.

The group #2 people have occasional contact with (prospective) donors, and how they treat those folks creates an impression that can/will impact the likelihood of giving.

The folks in group #3 have the most experience with advancing the mission. They design and implement the NPO’s programs, and they know the people being served. They are the best people to be describing how the donor’s money has or will impact people’s lives.

These folks don’t have to be involved in “Asking,” but they should be involved in the process of cultivating/educating prospective and current donors … ‘cause nobody can tell the story the way they can.

One more thought: Everybody should pass on to the development staff any (non-confidential) information they have that might help identify, cultivate, evaluate or solicit (potential) donors.

I hope I answered the reader’s question. If not, let me know.

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Have a comment or a question about starting, evaluating or expanding your fundraising program? Email me at AskHank@Major-Capital-Giving.com. With over 30 years of counseling in major gifts, capital campaigns, bequest programs and the planning studies to precede these three, we’ll likely be able to answer your questions.

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Focus v. Fashion – get your board OFF the latest fad

Question mark symbol on a mini blackboard

Have you recently read any articles about what your board should be focused on? Was it social media, bird-flu, Internet portals, Terrorism or some other fad?

I wish I had a dollar for every article on the latest buzz-word that every board should worry about. Or fifty cents for every list of twenty questions board members should ask about the craze. I would hate to be on a board that was so easily sidetracked from their real concern; running the company so that it achieves what it was set up to achieve.

In some great research from Australia, Neil Buck surveyed real company directors on what risks they thought most likely to impact their companies. His initiative revealed 16 categories of risk which, when read by company directors, were recognised as things they worry about.

I have followed up on that research and interviewed 241 company directors on the big risks facing their company. Unsurprisingly the number one risk was financial but (sad news for the audit community) it was not financial statement misstatement or fraud, but simple cash flow risk that kept directors awake at night. Fixing this is a question of strengthening the business. Improving reporting or ticking boxes in the board room won’t help.

Directors the world over are focused (as they should be) on running businesses to generate wealth (or benefits in a NFP context) in an environmentally and socially acceptable manner. If bird flu is important for the business they will focus on that. If not, they should focus on what is important for their business.

Directors can rely on their own judgement to help them to evaluate such things.

They may get it wrong occasionally (all boards, when they are being honest, have a decision they regret in their history) but it rarely is so wrong that they can’t fix it. Unless, of course, they are rushing from one fad to the next without pause for thought.

Anyone who suggests that every possible risk should be a board focus is either totally inexperienced in the board room or hoping to sell your board something. For optimum results focus your board on what is important for your organisation by holding an annual discussion of strategic aims and current targets. Forget the current fashion and just talk about what the organisation needs to achieve and what are the risks that threaten that achievement.

Unleash your board on the issues that affect your organisation’s ability to deliver its strategy. You will be amazed by the power that the board can generate and the value that they can add.

Too many boards waste their time addressing the issues of the day rather than the issues that they really know are important.

What do you think?

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Julie Garland-McLellan has been internationally acclaimed as a leading expert on board governance. See her website and LinkedIn profiles, and get her books Dilemmas, Dilemmas: Practical Case Studies for Company Directorsand Presenting to Boards.

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Making Change Your Ally

Change-word on a-wooden-background

We talk about change as a process, but it is also the emergence of a new system from within the existing system. This systemic evolution occurs when we are unable to incorporate environmental discontinuities into the current Status Quo. As organizational Adaptive Strain increases, a cycle of change is induced.

“How are we going to achieve our Operating Plan goals given these new budget cuts?” Sound familiar? Our typical response to challenges like this is to create a workaround – a short-term fix that solves the immediate problem but does not address the root cause. In other words, we must deliver more output with less people, money, and time. This is the new normal in business, education, healthcare, and energy. I believe that until we become masters at using Adaptive Change our workarounds will continue to apply Band-Aids to critically wounded institutions.

When the Onyx1 brand team identified the 2016 Status Quo they desired – their 5 year vision of the future – they were able to imagine2 what they would be doing then and how it would feel. From that future they then imagined their way back to the present – an exercise called Future Back3. Because the critical period for their brand spanned the next five years they walked back to the present in one year intervals, creating a set of milestones for each year. But remember the stream bed and VUCA – we are not trying to predict the future with this exercise. We are trying to Understand the Uncertainty so that we can find Clarity within the Complexity and use Agility when our options seem Ambiguous.

Once you have made your way back to the present you are ready to chart your course to the first milestone – in other words, induce change within the organization.

Change changes change!

Kotter and most other change authors focus on the transactional aspects of change – the things we do during the change process. For example, during the PDCP change process a key transactional element was to create and validate each target opportunity for a specific disease. This was a huge investment of time and effort by over 30 cross-functional teams. The organizational effect it had was to change the business focal point from this year’s operating plan to a horizon 20 years in the future. Given the length of time required to develop new drugs, 10 + years, this proved to be a significant competitive advantage. This shift also produced additional transactional initiatives that introduced new organization capacity, for example: patient flow modeling, a decision-analysis group, deeper integration of manufacturing into clinical development, and a VP of communications. A transactional focus is necessary for change to succeed, but it is not sufficient.

As transactional plans ripple across the organizational web they generate emotional and psychological reactions in the people and teams they affect. All too often these are fear, distrust, caution, resistance, denial, and defense of the Status Quo (the devil I know). The Adaptive Strain within the organization becomes Personal Strain in its employees. Psychologist Virginia Satir extensively studied groups of people moving through change and documented the roller-coaster ride of their emotional experience, capturing it as a jagged red line. Thus, the emotional reaction to transactional change (logical, planned, and predicted) is unsettling, uncomfortable, and scary.

The red line of change pulls the change process away from its sequential, step-by-step, idealized plan and into a cauldron of chaos and VUCA – a cauldron that also contains creativity, imagination, opportunity, innovation, and transformation. While this sounds like (and to control and command leaders feels like) a nightmare and the road to failure, it is actually the path that creates individual and organization acceptance of the reality they face, with all its discontinuities, and the inspiration to achieve the full potential that the future holds. Kevin Kelly’s phase, change changes change, is the mantra of Adaptive Change.

In Summary

  • Adaptive Strain is induced by internal and external discontinuities
  • A future Vision generates a response to these that is actionable
  • In this way, Volatility and Vision initiate an Adaptive Change cycle
  • As transactional plans for change are made, Personal Strain is experienced by people within the organization
  • Personal Strain induces a red line of change, emotional responses to transactional initiatives
  • The red-line impacts the linear change process, making it unpredictable
  • This produces benefits and opportunities that can be transformational for organizations when their leaders master the Adaptive Change process

1 – A fictitious company

2 – The process of imagination uses the right brain cognitive processes (holism, emotion, and meaning) to picture a situation. NeuroIntegration® (abstraction, quantification, both/and dualism) links these to the left brain cognitive operators (reductionism, cause and effect, and either/or dualism) to make the imagined situation achievable.

3 – This exercise can also be used to understand the customer’s point of view, Customer-back, imagine their future needs, desires, or relationship to your company.

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Oh to Sleep Well and Dream

A-man-sleeping-in-his-office

To achieve the impossible dream, try going to sleep.
Joan Klempner

It is better to sleep on things beforehand than lie awake about them afterward.
Baltasar Gracian

I am inspired by a recent weekend get-away to write about the spiritual and performance benefits of sleep and dreams. I got two good night’s sleep and felt more renewed to come back to work. When was the last time you came to work fully rested? Did you feel a bit more patient, empathic, joyful, open, attentive, focused, compassionate, affirming? Sleep deprivation on the other hand leads to irritability, attention lapses, lack of focus, and poor performance on various mental tasks.

Some people get their best insights in the early waking period. It’s a time to journal, meditate, or access emerging ideas while your head is still clear. Perhaps you’ve gotten a creative approach to a problem or shift of perspective while in the shower or quietly sipping your coffee at breakfast. This time of morning is when you move from a deeper relaxation and slower brain wave to your waking goal-oriented thinking. Take advantage of this time before your monkey-mind kicks into gear.

When you are really rested you also tend to be happier, more energetic and more fun to around. Why not get more sleep?! Add extra fun, zest and joy to your work by getting more sleep. You’ll probably be nicer to others and more pleasant to be around. Think of it as a gift you give to yourself and your co-workers.

Get sleep, be happy. How’s that for a mantra?

Pay attention as well to your dreams and how you can gain insights to challenges at work. You may keep a dream journal to see if there are any recurring themes that can illuminate an area of your life you need to focus more on.

I worked with a friend who was studying with a Shaman. She learned to journey into the alternate reality of the dream state to do healing for others or get clarity on life challenges. For several weeks we would set our intention at night to meet in the dreamtime to exchange information or get clarity on an issue we had going on during the day. I found several new insights emerged when I set an intention before going to sleep. See if your dreams have anything to tell you.

Sleep and dreams can support your spiritual practice and your work performance. See what happens in the next week as you use this time for your renewal, greater clarity or insights. Let us know what comes up for you.

And if tonight my soul may find her peace in sleep, and sink in good oblivion, and in the morning wake like a new-opened flower then I have been dipped again in God, and new-created. D.H. Lawrence

Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake. Victor Hugo

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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Linda is an author, speaker, coach, and consultant. Go to her website www.lindajferguson.com to read more about her work, view video clips of her talks, and find out more about her book “Path for Greatness: Spirituality at Work” The paperback version is available on Amazon. NOW NEW!!! the pdf version of Path for Greatness is available for download from her website. Chapters 1-5 of “Staying Grounded in Shifting Sand” are now available on her website as well.

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Employee Commitment: Get Rid of “It’s Not My Job!”

A-tired-stressed-employee-not-satisfied-with-his-job

The attitude “I don’t give a rip about my job” happens every single day.

Employees get this way when they are bored with their job, or feel like a faceless cog in a big wheel or don’t know how “what they do” specifically contributes to the goals of their department or business unit. So what causes it? How can you, as a supervisor, prevent “It’s not my job” from happening within your team or department?

Here are three ways to develop employee commitment.

1. Communicate the importance of what they do.
Every supervisor should be able to state a meaningful purpose for his department and the work that is being done. Here is a short but powerful statement that was developed by a manager for her five-person benefits group.

“Benefits are about people. It’s not whether you have the forms filled in or whether the checks are written. It’s whether the people are cared for when they’re sick, helped when they’re in trouble.”

It is a statement with the focus on the end result—serving people—rather than on the means or process—completing forms. How well do you communicate the importance of what is being done in your department?

2. Recognize the importance of recognition.
The motto of many supervisors is: “Why would I need to thank someone for doing something he’s paid to do?” Workers repeatedly tell, with great feeling, how much they appreciate a compliment. They also report how distressed they are when their supervisor is quick to criticize mistakes but not acknowledge good work.

A pat on the back, simply saying “good going,” a dinner for two, a note about them to senior executives, some schedule flexibility, a paid day off, or even a flower on a desk with a thank-you note are a few of the hundreds of ways supervisors can show their appreciation. Money may get people in the door but it doesn’t keep them motivated to go the extra mile.

3. Tap into the importance of involvement.
There may be no single motivational tactic more powerful than asking for people’s input. An accounting manager presented a list of customer complaints at a staff meeting. She then broke the group into teams to find ways to eliminate these service glitches.

Getting every one involved in problem-solving accomplished three goals. It brought the customers to the center of the department’s day-to-day operations; it lead to greater ‘buy-in” when changes had to be made in a process, policy or procedures; and finally it said to everyone that they and their ideas are valued.

As one very proud production line worker in an automotive plant said to me, “They only looked at what we could do from our neck down…now it’s for what we can do from our neck up.”

Management Success Tip:

It is true that most people must work to survive and money is certainly a motivator — but up to a point. For your employees to achieve great things, they need to experience purpose, recognition and involvement. As a supervisor you can provide that. It costs you nothing. And you might gain greater productivity and profitability.

Do you want to develop your Management Smarts?

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7 Tips to Prepare for a Challenging Discussion

Young troubled looking lady trying to make a decision

In the last post we discussed your approach to communicating. We discussed the attitudes and mindsets we bring to our communication efforts, including being patient, sincere and empathetic when approaching any situation in which we need to communicate effectively. I encouraged you to examine not only your attitude and intentions, but also your actual behavior.

Today, let’s focus on some tips to help you prepare for an important communication event. It might be a performance review, an interview, or an informal capability discussion. It could be a sales presentation or a meeting. Or a problem-solution discussion of any kind. Whatever it is, it calls on you to bring your best in order to make the communication a success.

Do your research. Make sure you have all the facts ahead of time. Research alternatives and resources so you have all your “ducks in a row” and come off as professional and prepared. This can also save you from having to schedule additional meetings. For example, if you plan to suggest training to correct a performance deficiency, come with a class schedule.

Understand your audience. Put yourself into their frame of mind; how would you feel if you were in their place? For example, if this is to be a corrective action, they may be nervous or frightened. If it is to resolve a problem, do they understand that you are there to help, or are they afraid of being blamed or shamed? Just yesterday in my tax appointment I came in feeling uncomfortable over a coding error, but was instantly put at ease by my tax professional, who said; “We can fix that; no problem.” Whew!

Consider timing. Sometimes we jump into a situation where one or both parties are feeling stressed and emotional about the situation, and that makes dealing with it that much more difficult. On the other hand, if we wait too long to address it, we lose momentum, and we keep dealing with the problem instead of correcting it. Try to schedule the sit-down as soon as possible, but when all parties are less stressed. (If you do have to address something on the spot, be sure to take a minute to breathe and center yourself before proceeding; it would be great to allow the other parties the same opportunity.)

Create a plan. That might mean a few crib notes, an informal agenda, or an outline, but it really helps to write down and use notes to move the discussion forward. Take a moment to discuss the agenda or plan, and ask the other party what they would add, checking to see if you are in agreement on the situation. This helps you be more objective and more focused. Example: “Today I would like us to examine the evaluations from the last technical skills class you facilitated, and together try to discover why this one received lower ratings. It is not about casting blame, but rather, taking an objective look at what was different in this class. Then I would like to brainstorm some ideas about the next session so we can improve our ratings. I value your contributions and your professionalism as a technical trainer, and I want to help you keep growing your skills. Anything you would like to add to our agenda before we begin?”

Talk their language. Assuming you know the person you are speaking to, speak their language. Use their terms, mirror their style. If they are known as direct, speak directly without sugar-coating. If they tend to be more emotional, keep creating safety by validating them and reinforcing how you value them. If they are detail-oriented, give plenty of detailed evidence. If they are action-oriented, be ready with a plan of action. In short, adjust your style to match theirs, and you will receive better results.

Find mental focus. Before you begin, you need a moment to clear your desk, close out your computer tasks, and clear your mind. You might consider allowing 5 minutes to make the transition. Stand up and stretch. Look out the window. Breathe. Imagine how good it will feel to complete this discussion in a productive way. Review your notes if needed. Be ready to give your full attention to the person you are speaking with. OK, feeling ready?

Rehearse. If the situation is delicate, and the stakes are high, or you are not feeling altogether comfortable about the discussion to come, you will benefit from a rehearsal. Some people do this in the car on their way to an important meeting. Some people rehearse both sides of the discussion so they can predict what the receiver might say. You might even ask someone you trust to role-play the scenario so you can practice different outcomes. Whether you do it alone or with someone else, be sure to rehearse out loud. Rehearsing in your head certainly is better than nothing, but rehearsing out loud makes an amazing difference in your fluency and ability to think on your feet. Just don’t memorize your lines; you want it to be somewhat spontaneous.

Preparing for an important communication situation takes time and effort that sometimes we feel we don’t have. But the results are so worthwhile; we can solve problems better, build and maintain relationships, and resolve sticky issues. Think of preparation as an investment in creating these better outcomes. Be patient with yourself when things don’t go perfectly. Know that you will become more comfortable and more competent at dealing with challenging communication situations.

Please let me know which of these suggestions you decide to try. What works for you? What else would you suggest to help others prepare for challenging communication situations?

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How to Make Your Website “Sticky”

A lady creating a website with a desktop

Grab and Hold Your Visitors’ Attention

“Sticky” means that once a visitor lands on your page, they want to stay and look around. Here are some tips – how to grab and hold your visitors’ attention and create a sticky site:

  • Attention-grabbing headline and subhead – within 2-3 seconds.
  • Relevant and interesting pictures & images.
  • Easy site navigation.
  • CLEAR AND COMPELLING ‘CALL TO ACTION’! (State exactly what you want them to do.)
  • White space around important text.
  • Authentic, original, meaningful information.
  • Long tail keywords in headline, subheads, images, and content – italicized & bolded.
  • Articles related to the niche topic.
  • White papers / Reports.
  • Video / Audio / Podcasts on ‘How-To” topics.
  • Blog – new content 3x/week – with visitor comment capability.
  • Discussion forum.
  • Online press kit and examples of your media coverage.
  • Bookmarks.
  • RSS feeds.
  • Opt-in email emphasizing “no share” privacy policy – with an auto-responder.
  • Security emphasized on every page.
  • Traffic Stats for monitoring.

Add Comment Capability

Disqus Comments is a comment system and moderation tool for your site. This service lets you add community management and social web integrations to any site on any platform. Hundreds of thousands of sites, from small blogs to large publications, use Disqus Comments for their discussion communities. Try a demo and sign up for a free version: http://www.disqus.com/

Add a Forum

Engage your visitors and make your site stickier by adding a forum. Lefora offers free forums to imbed in your site. There is nothing to download, and no limit on the number of forums you can create. With the free version, you get 10GB of monthly bandwidth. On public forums, every topic has a button that will allow your members to share a link to the topic on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace. http://www.lefora.com/

Do you have stories to share about how these tactics have worked for you? Other tactics?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

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ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

Ms. Chapman’s new book has a name change! The Net-Powered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide will be available very soon. With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com