Impact on the team member

• They won’t know there is a problem
• They won’t know the impact it is having on those around them
• They will therefore make no effort to address the problem
• They won’t have any idea what they have to do to improve
• They are likely to feel that these standards are acceptable

Impact on the team Leader – they are likely to be seen as;

• being weak
• being a poor team leader
• not treating people fairly or consistently
• loosing the respect of their team, peers and colleague
• Not having sufficient control over staff performance
• not having potential for future development because they don’t tackle people issues effectively
• having low standards

Impact on the team

• increasing demotivation – especially the longer it’s left un-addressed
• a loss of commitment to the team itself and to achieving their objectives
• an increase in gossiping
• loss of respect for the team leader
• increased tension within the team
• increased staff turnover within the team
• a reduction in standards
• reduction in performance overall
• Others trying the same thing (What’s good for one is good for another…..)

Impact on the company 

• Poorer standards                                  
• Increase in absenteeism
• Morale could be adversely affected       
• Potentialy higher staff turnover – leading to increased recruitment costs
• Could impact on customer service or client perceptions of the company

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Performance Management is a key responsibility of management and leadership positions, make sure that you are addressing issues as soon as possible.

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So what actions could you take?

• Address performance issues promptly
• Don’t wait for a formal performance review session (especially if its not till the end of the year!)
• Always give timely feedback – keep it constructive and involve the individual in ways to improve their performance to get buy-in
• Don’t leave people wondering how they’re doing; tell them.
• Don’t think that people know how they’re doing: tell them.
• Don’t assume by saying nothing that no one else will notice or it will sort itself out – it won’t! Address it now.
• Keep in regular contact with each person that works for you, regular feedback, guidance and coaching around performance will pay dividends for everyone.

Can you think of any other consequences or actions that you would add to the above? Your comments and views would be most welcome.

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Martin Smith is a highly regarded Freelance Learning and Development Consultant with many years experience of helping organisations, teams and individuals, to get the best from their people. His experience spans three diverse industries and encompasses sectors such as engineering, design, customer service, finance, supply chain and procurement.

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Martin specialises in working with leaders at all levels to help them improve their communication skills and get the best from their relationships with people. Martin also provides Leadership Development, Executive Coaching, Team Development, Change Management and Managing People and Performance training.

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To discuss how Martin can help you and your business please contact him;

Phone; 07702110676,      Email; contact@martin-smith.biz     Web; www.martin-smith.biz 

The original question was;

What are the 5 most powerful things you do to engage someone to make a change?

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• Build and establish TRUST – Do THEY trust themselves enough to make the change? Do you trust them to make the change?
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• Make sure that their OBJECTIVE is CLEAR and SPECIFIC and that it can be measured
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• Tied into the previous.. Make sure that their ‘VISION’ is INSPIRING ENOUGH for them to really want to change. If the Vision doesn’t inspire them to change then they need to tweak it or perhaps change it completely.
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• Help them identify their MOTIVATING FACTOR – What’s in it for them, the organisation, the family or whatever? Identify as many as possible
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• Make it as MULTI-SENSORY as possible. Help them to explore the full gamut of emotions and senses involved with achieving their Vision of Change. How will they feel? What will it look like? What will it sound like? What colour will it be? How will others feel when they see they have achieved the goal? What will be different? How will they know? Etc.
  ‘

So, how would you engage someone to make a change in their life? Do you agree with my suggestions? Or would you do something different? Please let me know, I’d love to read your comments.

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Martin Smith is a highly regarded Freelance Learning and Development Consultant with many years experience of helping organisations, teams and individuals, to get the best from their people. His experience spans three diverse industries and encompasses sectors such as engineering, design, customer service, finance, supply chain and procurement.

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Martin specialises in working with leaders at all levels to help them improve their communication skills and get the best from their relationships with people. Martin also provides Leadership Development, Executive Coaching, Team Development, Change Management and Managing People and Performance training.

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• Do re-read your message before you send it.

• Do use the phone or go and see people if at all possible.

• Do get some training.

• Do let people know if they send emails you do not need.

• Don’t use email to cover your back.

• Don’t send messages that are hard to understand.

• Don’t send emails unless you know they are of value.

• Don’t reply to an angry email – pick up the phone.

• Don’t be abusive in an email.

• Don’t cry wolf and mark an email urgent – when it isn’t.

Martin Smith is a highly regarded Freelance Learning and Development Consultant with many years experience of helping organisations, teams and individuals, to get the best from their people. His experience spans three diverse industries and encompasses sectors such as engineering, design, customer service, finance, supply chain and procurement.

‘

Martin specialises in working with leaders at all levels to help them improve their communication skills and get the best from their relationships with people. Martin also provides Leadership Development, Executive Coaching, Team Development, Change Management and Managing People and Performance training.

‘

To discuss how Martin can help you and your business please contact him;

Phone; 07702110676,      Email; contact@martin-smith.biz     Web; www.martin-smith.biz 

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Deal in facts not rumours

Learn all you can about the Changes ahead and communicate the facts to your team

Maintain open 2 way communication

Ask open ended questions to encourage discussion and build relationships within your team/organisation.
Examples of open-ended questions include:

• How are you doing?
• Would you like to talk about it?
• Now that you’ve had time to think about it, what are you feeling?

Maintain / Increase your presence

Stay visible. Consider the following ways to maintain presence with your team or organisation:

• Keep the focus on objectives and on performing meaningful work
• Regularly coach and follow-up on work assignments
• Maintain your regular staff meeting schedule
• Consider additional meetings to ensure prompt communication of latest pertinent information. Make sure 
  that your team don’t hear key information from others outside the team.
• Set up 1:1 meetings with direct reports, or spend more time “managing by walking around”
• Maintain close contact with your boss, ensuring that you have the most up-to-date information

Repeat key messages. Even if it feels like you are over-communicating or repeating yourself. It allows your people to hear and process messages when they are ready and it promotes clarity and consistency in understanding.

Be Self Aware

Understand your own feelings so that you can better empathise with your team members’ thoughts and feelings. Being self aware can help you anticipate employee reactions and plan a suitable response.

Anticipate what you can’t plan

Use your knowledge of your team to help you anticipate their needs. Tailor your communication to match what you already know.

Do what you say you are going to do

Model the behaviour that you would like your team to match. When faced with an emotional situation, be empathetic, act very calm and lower your voice. Watch your body language

Take advantage of resources available to you

You may be part of a larger organisation but even if you’re not there are many tools and resources at your disposal to help you communicate and assist your team during organisational change. External consultants, External advice organisations such as ACAS, internet resources, business link, your contacts and support network etc.

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 ‘

Martin Smith is a highly regarded Freelance Learning and Development Consultant with many years experience of helping organisations, teams and individuals, to get the best from their people. His experience spans three diverse industries and encompasses sectors such as engineering, design, customer service, finance, supply chain and procurement.

‘

Martin specialises in working with leaders at all levels to help them improve their communication skills and get the best from their relationships with people. Martin also provides Leadership Development, Executive Coaching, Team Development, Change Management and Managing People and Performance training.

‘

To discuss how Martin can help you and your business please contact him;

Phone; 07702110676,      Email; contact@martin-smith.biz     Web; www.martin-smith.biz 

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• Have realistic goals – and keep moving towards them

• Give your plan structure but be flexible

• Look for opportunities for self discovery

• Keep things in perspective

• Maintain an optimistic outlook

• Don’t become a victim

• Remember your family and friends

• Develop and use your support systems

• Surround yourself with resilient people and energy givers – make connections

• Avoid seeing the crises as insurmountable

• Accept that change is part of living

• Nurture a positive view of yourself

• Be decisive – rather than detaching yourself from problems

Martin Smith is a highly regarded Freelance Learning and Development Consultant with many years experience of helping organisations, teams and individuals, to get the best from their people. His experience spans three diverse industries and encompasses sectors such as engineering, design, customer service, finance, supply chain and procurement.

‘

Martin specialises in working with leaders at all levels to help them improve their communication skills and get the best from their relationships with people. Martin also provides Leadership Development, Executive Coaching, Team Development, Change Management and Managing People and Performance training.

‘

To discuss how Martin can help you and your business please contact him;

Phone; 07702110676,      Email; contact@martin-smith.biz     Web; www.martin-smith.biz 

So….. when writing emails to anyone make sure that it has the IMPACT that you want it to have;

I = Intent

What do you want to achieve as a result of sending the email?

M = Medium

Is email the best medium to achieve your intent?

P = Profile

How do you want to profile yourself to others?

A = Assumptions

Is there anything you have assumed about your recipients that might not be correct?

C = Craft

Craft your message to be read easily

T = Them

Before you send an email imagine you are them and re-read it!

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Thinking about these simple headings as you are writing your emails will help you get better results. Good luck 

Martin Smith is a highly regarded Freelance Learning and Development Consultant with many years experience of helping organisations, teams and individuals, to get the best from their people. His experience spans three diverse industries and encompasses sectors such as engineering, design, customer service, finance, supply chain and procurement.

Martin specialises in working with leaders at all levels to help them improve their communication skills and get the best from their relationships with people. Martin also provides Leadership Development, Executive Coaching, Team Development, Change Management and Managing People and Performance training.

To discuss how Martin can help you and your business please contact him;

Phone; 07702110676,      Email; contact@martin-smith.biz     Web; www.martin-smith.biz

‘ 

In my view feedback is like my bracelet -the person giving the feedback will have spent time, energy and given some thought to the feedback they want to give you and will why they want to give it to you. It is my belief that very few people set out with the intention of upsetting others and it is therefore likely that they will also have your interests at heart, especially if they know you well and care about you as a friend and / or colleague.

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Feedback is a way to let people know how effective they are in what they are trying to accomplish, or how they impact or affect you. It provides a way for us to learn and understand how we impact on those around us and it helps us to become more effective. There may be a difference between how we perceive ourselves and how others perceive us; if there is, getting feedback will enable us to narrow that gap. Of course, there are two sides to feedback: giving it, and receiving it.

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Some people hold the view that feedback is just criticism and therefore don’t like or want to hear it. Others have a more extreme view and see it as spiritually crushing; a confirmation of their worthlessness, if you like. Some others only want to hear praise, but nothing that might suggest imperfection or a need to change.

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Of course, that’s not the case for everyone. Many people are willing to accept feedback and some even seek it out, even if it is sometimes disturbing, largely because they believe they can grow from it and become more effective.

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I guess that it comes down to whether you believe feedback will harm you or benefit you, I’m firmly in the court of the latter.  That’s not to say that we should always have to accept feedback or the manner in which it is sometimes given. We all have the right to refuse feedback, and we should expect feedback to be given in a respectful and supportive manner. But let’s also not forget that we have a choice about the feedback we receive, the choice about what to do with it and whether or not to take any action at all. As the anonymous quote below says…..

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“If one person says that you are a horse, smile at them. If two people say that you are a horse, give it some thought. If three people say you are a horse, go out and buy a saddle.” ANON  

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My suggestion would be to think carefully about the gifts of feedback that you give and about how and where you deliver them and, for those receiving gifts of feedback, be grateful to the giver, if you’re not, they may not bother next time and you could end up losing out in the long run!

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Click on the link if you would like further information on a suggested Feedback Model that you may find useful. I hope you have found this article useful, thought provoking  and that it helps you deliver your gift more effectively. Do you have any feedback for me and this blog entry?

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Martin Smith is a highly regarded Freelance Learning and Development Consultant with many years experience of helping organisations, teams and individuals, to get the best from their people. His experience spans three diverse industries and encompasses sectors such as engineering, design, customer service, finance, supply chain and procurement.

Martin specialises in working with leaders at all levels to help them improve their communication skills and get the best from their relationships with people. Martin also provides Leadership Development, Executive Coaching, Team Development, Change Management and Managing People and Performance training.

To discuss how Martin can help you and your business please contact him;

Phone; 07702110676,      Email; contact@martin-smith.biz     Web; www.martin-smith.biz

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I have been lucky enough to work with some very large organisations over the years, most of who were almost in a constant state of change and business re-organisation, re-shaping or downsizing, leading to redundancy for many roles. Naturally at times like this a lot of effort is put into making sure that those impacted by the loss of jobs are well cared for and given as much help as possible to find new employment opportunities.

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It’s easy to think that the new organisation is all ‘designed’ and ‘ready to go’ but often that’s not the case. And, what about the people who will be staying to bring this so called ‘new organisation’ to life? How much do they actually know about the shape, size, vision, objectives or roles in the new order? All too often the ‘stayers’ can start to feel ‘neglected’ as energy is focused on making it as easy as possible for people that are leaving the business.

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Sometimes it’s too painful or considered insensitive to start talking about the new organisation before those being made redundant have actually left, but it’s important to start to share the new vision and get people working towards it as soon as possible to help accept the change. There is a real need to talk about and share the Vision and Shape of the new organisation to start to engender hope and optimism for their future.  In my experience this can be done sensitively and can include everyone.

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Here are some of the practical lessons (and recommendations) that I have learnt from my experience both during change and after it have occurred;

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• Communicate as much as possible – What is being done to help those affected? How the new organisation will be structured. New reporting lines etc. Keep communicating throughout as well. During times of change and uncertainty people often don’t listen too well once they have heard that jobs are under threat!
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• Don’t forget the outside world! – Often overlooked in change projects is the need to engage and communicate with the ‘wider world’ i.e. your customers, other departments or suppliers. After all, it could be that their primary contact with your organisation will not be there in the future. Service levels need to be maintained throughout the change so that there is as little disruption to the customer/supplier as possible. Make sure they know who to contact with questions or queries etc.
  ‘
• Share the vision for the new organisation – It’s important that you and your team know and understand the reasons behind the changes. What’s driving it? What would happen if you didn’t change? What benefits will the changes bring etc. Keep emphasising these points whenever possible, both in team meetings and 1-2-1 sessions.
  ‘
• Have individual meetings – Spend time with each of your team individually during times of organisational change. They will all have separate concerns, issues and questions and they may not raise them in a group setting. Keep an open door and allow time to listen to their ideas, thoughts, concerns and problems, answer their questions as much as possible and find answers when you don’t know them.
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• Be clear about new roles and objectives – One of the biggest issues during organisational change concerns new roles and objectives. To respond to these make sure that Job Descriptions and Reporting lines and objectives are ready to share with your team to answer any questions that they have. It’s important to discuss these issues even if you don’t have all of the answers, you will at least know what is of concern to your team and can be ready to provide answers when they are ready.
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• Engage your people quickly – The faster and deeper that you can engage your people in any  changes and shaping their own future, the more likely it is that you will get their buy-in and commitment to the new organisation. Ask them for input, delegate tasks and involve them in generating ideas for how you can make the new organisation a success. It’s been my experience that; Greater involvement = greater buy-in to the change
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• Team Events/Morale Boosters – Give some thought to organising team events and morale boosting opportunities. These can be as simple and informal as having Pizza ordered in for lunch one day to going for a drink with the team after work. Of course you can also go down the more formal route of organising a team workshop where you could focus on the team’s objectives and have some fun activities throughout the day as well. A small amount of time and money spent on your ‘stayers’ now is likely to pay dividends in the long run.
  ‘
• Hold regular Team Meetings – In times of change you really need to understand how and what your team are thinking and feeling and team meetings are a great vehicle to enable this. Team meetings provide an opportunity to repeat the key messages, re-iterate the objectives and remind them of the vision. They also provide an opportunity to share thoughts, feelings and air any questions.

The ideas shown above are taken both from best practice and my own experience and have all ben used to great effect in change projects that I have been involved with. 

Do you have any experiences to share? What would you add to the ideas above? I would love to read your responses.  

‘

Martin Smith is a highly regarded Freelance Learning and Development Consultant with many years experience of helping organisations, teams and individuals, to get the best from their people. His experience spans three diverse industries and encompasses sectors such as engineering, design, customer service, finance, supply chain and procurement.

Martin specialises in working with leaders at all levels to help them improve their communication skills and get the best from their relationships with people. Martin also provides Leadership Development, Executive Coaching, Team Development, Change Management and Managing People and Performance training. Please feel free to contact me if you feel that I could be of help to you.

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Now, in my experience, all leaders and managers, but especially senior ones should ‘be’ what they expect their staff to ‘be’. In other words they should be role models of the behaviour and skills that they want their staff to demonstrate and use. Now, presumably the performance of your staff and company are interlinked (they have been in all the organisations that I have worked in) and thus there is an intrinsic need to achieve the best performance that you can from your team. It follows therefore that if you want your managers to support and improve their staff performance, you should be using and demonstrating that same behaviour when you work with them.

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We live in an increasingly demanding world, where time is rapidly becoming one of the most valuable commodities. Leaders, managers and staff are having to make decisions about what gets done and what does not. If getting the best performance from your staff is important, then performance management needs to be something that your staff are measured against. I would recommend that it is included in everyone’s objectives, not just leaders and managers, but the whole team or organisation.

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Ultimately, in this busy World, people do what gets measured, if it doesn’t get measured, it’s unlikely that it will get done. Can you afford for this to be the case for your team?

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Here are some guidelines that you might find useful when thinking about performance management in your team;

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• Be the example: All leaders and managers, but especially senior ones should be role models. Therefore if you want your managers to support and improve their staff performance, you need to be modelling that behaviour with them first – otherwise, where is the knowledge or incentive to do something differently for others. Set them an example to follow! It can be a simple cascade process. “Do unto others as you would have done to you” 
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• Include Performance Management in everyone’s objectives: If you want to make Performance Improvement come alive in your organisation make sure that it’s written into everyone’s Objectives and actively followed up, particularly with leaders and managers as the rest of the team will be watching what happens with them.
  ‘
• It doesn’t have to take long: Just ensure it happens regularly! Even ten minutes spent on some simple development techniques up front with your team can save you so much more time later on – You will actually save time by being proactive rather than reactive.
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• Praise brings real benefits: Help your managers understand the benefits of praise and regular feedback on performance. Instead of finding fault look for the things they are doing right and well and tell them about it, give them praise. The rise in confidence and morale will boost performance on its own.
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• Regular Feedback brings results: The more that you give timely feedback and coaching to your leaders and managers the more likely they are to do the same for their teams. Regular feedback helps people to understand what they are getting right and the areas where they need to improve. In time people will start to improve the things they do without being told, in which case you can then ‘reward’ them with praise and recognition.
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• Team Meetings and briefings improve team working: If done well team meetings and briefings will energise and help your team to achieve their goals and tasks. They can provide a real opportunity to share learning, problems, future activities and feedback between the group. A good leader will use these opportunities to give recognition where it’s due and offer support and guidance where it’s necessary. Try having a quick 5 minute ‘chat’ at the start of each day to get everyone in a positive frame of mind and understand the key tasks for the day. Alternatively have a meeting at the start of the week to look back at the achievements of the week gone by and prepare the team for the challenges ahead.
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• Use  a ‘Coaching Style’: Adopt a coaching style when working with your leaders, helping them to explore the options and find the answers for themselves which will help them to develop and grow. It may take a little longer at the start but it will ultimately pay dividends, with your managers and staff feeling more confident and empowered in their abilities to make good decisions for themselves.
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•  Monitor performance: Both formally and informally, offer coaching and guidance where appropriate, keep up to date with how your team are doing on their key projects/tasks and activities. Find out what their problems are and what support they need from you to help them resolve them.
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• Keep an eye on the Future: Performance management is a great way to identify tomorrow’s managers and future leaders. They are possibly the future of your company so you need to ensure that talent is being developed with the right skills and opportunities.
  ‘
• Don’t forget: To ask for feedback for yourself. How are you doing as a leader, what could you be doing differently to help the team?

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Martin Smith is a highly regarded Freelance Learning and Development Consultant with many years experience of helping organisations, teams and individuals, to get the best from their people. His experience spans three diverse industries and encompasses sectors such as engineering, design, customer service, finance, supply chain and procurement.

Martin specialises in working with leaders at all levels to help them improve their communication skills and get the best from their relationships with people. Martin also provides Leadership Development, Executive Coaching, Team Development, Change Management and Managing People and Performance training. Please feel free to contact me if you feel that I could be of help to you.

‘

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In my experience meetings can go wrong in several ways. Think about the last meeting you attended. Consider which of the following criticisms might apply:

• The purpose of the meeting was unclear 
• A meeting was unnecessary to achieve the purpose
• Some of the members had no reason to be there 
• Not all members knew who all the other members were 
• Some people who should have been there were not 
• The meeting suffered from a lack of leadership 
• No-one was taking adequate notes or minutes 
• The meeting was disrupted 
• People with important things to say were not given a proper hearing 
• The person in the chair talked too much 
• The meeting ran out of time 
• The meeting was allowed to go on long beyond the agreed finishing time 
• Several topics failed to result in decisions 
• Members felt their time was wasted 
• The costs (salaries, expenses, etc.,) involved in having the meeting were not justified by the results.

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What nightmares would you add to this list?

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”

Martin Smith is a highly regarded Freelance Learning and Development Consultant with many years experience of helping organisations, teams and individuals, to get the best from their people. His experience spans three diverse industries and encompasses sectors such as engineering, design, customer service, finance, supply chain and procurement.

Martin specialises in working with leaders at all levels to help them improve their communication skills and get the best from their relationships with people. Martin also provides Leadership Development, Executive Coaching, Team Development, Change Management and Managing People and Performance training. Please feel free to contact me if you feel that I could be of help to you.