Successful communication is a two way street

There’s no doubt about it, effective communication is a two-way street – it needs a sender (speaker) and a receiver (listener) and both of these people have responsibilities.

Effective communication means the receiver has understood the message conveyed by the sender – otherwise there is no point in communicating at all. Whether or not the desired outcome is achieved is a reflection of how effectively the information was passed on.

For all the statistics that go around about how much of what we communicate is non-verbal (body language and the like) there is still an awful lot of importance to be placed upon the words we choose when speaking to one another.

The thing to remember is that each person will, to some extent, have their own interpretation of the words they hear. Many other factors come in to play as well – just imagine how much you can completely alter the meaning of a sentence just by changing the following:

• Tone
• Pitch
• Volume
• Pace
• Emphasis
• Inflection
• Intonation

Now back to that old chestnut of body language. Consider the following and their potential impact on the listener:

• Facial expression
• Stance
• Posture
• Gestures
• Proximity to receiver
• Eye contact

As I said before, the person on the receiving end has a responsibility as well. It is important to be an active, rather than passive, listener. Show that you are interested in what is being said by using:

• Posture – keep it open and lean in slightly towards the other person
• Questions – encourage them to clarify their points
• Repeat back to them what you understand their message to be

Matching and mirroring things like posture, mannerisms and the type of language they use also helps because it gives the impression you are more in sync with the other person.

Catalyst deliver courses in soft skills such as effective communication which can help you and your business become a more harmonious and efficient environment. Our website can tell you more about our ILM accredited leadership and management courses as well as our FREE interactive workshops:

http://www.cbduk.biz/Book_Leadership_workshop.asp

 

A business has to deliver quality – but what does this mean? Part 2

Organisations are in the business of delivering quality and in this post we aim to look at what this means in practical terms.

In Part 1 we looked at we looked at how your business can deliver quality through things like preparation, encouraging a customer focus and considering competitors. Here in Part 2 we begin by looking at…

Assessing current performance 

You need specific data. This will help you decide what to concentrate on, and estimate the work involved. You may be able to get it from an existing management information system, or you might need to do some fresh analysis.

For example, you might want to reflect on the things you think you are especially good at (or not), and the effect of external influences on how you might address those characteristics. A useful technique for doing this is SWOT analysis, although there are others, such as the RADAR^® self-assessment tool, which is used within the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Business Excellence Model.

This process should give you valuable insights, but it will be an internal perspective. Surveying customers, suppliers and employees will all add fresh dimensions to your view – provided you ask questions that matter to the organisation and prepare the ground so people believe you really want to know the answers.

If you intend to use corporate statistics, look under them to check they tell you what you think they do, and that what they measure matters. 

Decide which aspects of your business to improve

What you tackle first will depend on your business priorities, your position in the company, and the time and resources available.

Find some areas for improvement that people will notice. Some that will capture the imagination of people in different levels and functions of the organisation. Some that will signal change to customers and/or suppliers.

People sometimes say the first thing to tackle is those few processes at which you really must excel. This is as true of a small team as it is of the whole company. You may know them as Critical (or Key) Success Factors (or even Mission Critical Factors). The idea is that these are vital to achieving your business aims and objectives, so tackling them will make the greatest difference to your business results. That’s true, but you might like buy in some expertise you can trust, or to get some practice first.

Tackling a cross-section of issues with high, medium and low priority, including some easy targets, will develop and maintain vital motivation while enabling you to attend to the issues that matter to the company’s results.

Plan your action

You might be working within your own area. You might have been offered responsibility for some or all aspects of quality improvement across part or the whole organisation. It doesn’t matter. Planning and (if you can) delegating the work will make life a lot easier. It’s much like any project.

If there are several projects going on, someone should coordinate work. Whether it should be you or someone else depends on circumstances. Only you can decide that.

If you’re in charge of a programme or project of any size, you’ll need to allocate resources. Even if you’re going to do it all yourself, you’ll need to know what resources are available and what you are responsible for. It is normal to make sure people are clear about their responsibilities, what they have to deliver by when and that they have the skills and motivation to do so. Check out how things are going at sensible intervals, and offer your encouragement and support or get help, or whatever is needed, when appropriate.

It makes sense to include project tasks in job descriptions, particularly if people are working on the tasks part-time. You should also incorporate work on the project into the normal performance management appraisal and accountability system.

It makes sense to identify (and take steps to minimise) the risks, and make contingency plans in case things do not go as expected. This basically involves imagining what could go wrong with each task, assessing which are the most likely or potentially calamitous setbacks, and thinking up alternative ways of reducing the risk or dealing with the fall-out if it happens. The advantage is having time to propose sane solutions when you are not under pressure because it has all gone horribly wrong.

All interested parties should regularly be told what’s happening. It is important to establish at the outset what the key stages are at which to check in with the team, and when and how to report progress and obstacles to senior management.

Remember it should be a two-way conversation though, not a broadcast. If you don’t attend to this, rumour will take over. Unless you control any tendency to broadcast, you might find conflicting or negative messages circulating, instead of positive ones. Then you will get bogged down in dealing with whinges, instead of getting on with the job.

Training may be needed, for you or your colleagues. It’s helpful to consider the cost of external trainers and the time ‘off-job’ of trainees. For example, it may suit your circumstances to pay for external training for a small core of employees, who would then be expected to train/coach their colleagues.

Some will just need to understand the concept. Others may need technical skills, if they are likely to use ‘quality techniques’ in their work. Some say that everyone should know about the techniques. It can send helpful messages about openness and common purpose if delegates on a course come from various levels in the company.

Post courtesy of People Alchemy

Catalyst Business Dynamics deliver have a reputation for delivering courses that develop many of soft skills mentioned here. For information on what we offer or to book a place on one of our FREE interactive workshops check out our website: http://www.cbduk.biz/Seminars.asp

 

How to negotiate a ‘win-win’ situation in the workplace

Negotiations have a huge role to play in the workplace and you can potentially end up with one of several outcomes, ranging from win-win to lose-lose.

Why should win-win be my preferred goal?

While conflict is invariably present in negotiations, these days there’s a much greater emphasis on seeking to achieve a win-win outcome wherever possible. In other words, whatever the issue over which you are negotiating, you should look to achieve a mutually beneficial or acceptable outcome.

The Harvard Project on Negotiation is based upon a win-win approach which adopts ‘principled negotiation’ or ‘mutual gains bargaining’. Here, negotiation is seen as essentially a problem-solving process. This is the approach that we are advocating here.

From win-win to lose-lose

You should always aim for a skilful win-win outcome wherever possible. We cannot stress this point too often.

Win-win is the most desirable outcome of, and approach to, negotiations. In his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People Stephen Covey identifies win-win as one of six paradigms of human interaction. These paradigms, which are inherent in games theory, are:

1. Win-win (interdependence) 
2. Win-win or no deal
3. Win (independence)
4. Win-lose
5. Lose-win (dependence)
6. Lose-lose

The following table explains each of these paradigms in more detail as they relate to negotiation.

Six paradigms of human interaction	Features and consequences
1. Win-win (interdependence)	A win-win paradigm is beneficial to all parties, based upon a shared belief that there’s a better way of doing things and a shared desire to find it. This winning outcome is a result of the mutual competent use of negotiation skills and a predisposition to behave interdependently. This is interdependence at its best and it’s a view that’s based upon three key assumptions: Success depends upon cooperation with other people There are sufficient gains and resources for everyone to share Cooperation is more likely than confrontation to achieve a successful outcome.
2. Win-win or no deal	A win-win or no deal paradigm is evident in attempted negotiations where none of the parties can find a mutually beneficial solution, so they agree to disagree amicably. This often happens at the early stages of negotiating a business relationship.
3. Win (independence)	A win paradigm is a context in which one party wins without regard to the cost to, or the feelings of, other parties. It’s still very common in the business world, and the likely consequences are similar to those of a win-lose paradigm or outcome (see no 4). This is independence in its most obvious form. The danger here is that the other – ‘defeated’ – party will seek revenge at a later stage.
4. Win-lose	A win-lose paradigm is evident when one party uses its power, resources or authority in an attempt to win at the expense of the other parties. The party that’s operating within this paradigm is often described as ‘playing hardball’. This approach is clearly not compatible with mutuality or interdependence and is likely to preclude any further negotiations between the parties concerned. However, the reactions of the losing party may not be as extreme as in a win outcome.
5. Lose-win (dependence)	A lose-win paradigm is characterised by appeasement, placation, abandonment or submission. It’s the opposite pole of win-lose, and it’s not uncommon for managers (and others) to operate within these two extreme paradigms at different times. Lose-win is dependence at its most obvious.
6. Lose-lose	A lose-lose paradigm may be created if the parties involved are each playing a win-lose game. The outcome is the result of incompetent negotiation and a common attitude of dependence.

Why ‘win-win’ is not a soft option

Trust, self-interest and negotiating expertise constitute the glue that holds negotiations together. Once these bonds are loosened, it is difficult to get round the table again.

Post courtesy of People Alchemy

Catalyst run ILM accredited leadership and management courses which teach you to effectively resolve conflict resulting in a happier, more productive workplace. For more information and to see the courses we offer, visit our website: http://www.cbduk.biz/Catalyst_Business_Academy.asp

 

Coaching and the GROW model – Part 2

Following on from Part 1, in which we examined the Goals and Reality aspects of the GROW model, in this post we look at Options and Will.

Options

Both of these truisms help illustrate the importance of options in coaching. You need to assist the other person in coming up with alternatives – different possible courses of action that can move them forward towards their goal.

Increasing choice is a key principle in coaching, so you have to help create the environment where this can happen. Choice often evolves from a creative environment so here are some Dos and Don’ts that might help.

Do

• Use brainstorming to help the other person come up with new ideas.
• Ask questions, such as ‘What else can you do?’
• Expand the coachee’s thinking with your questions: for example, ‘What if you could start again?’, ‘What if money was no object?’, ‘If you already had X, what would then be possible?’, ‘How would your hero or heroine tackle it?’
• Suspend judgement of the options until you have them all out – often one seemingly unlikely option can give rise to a very practical but creative thought!
• Feel able to offer suggestions as well, but make sure you ask permission first and help the coachee come up with as many options as possible before you offer yours.

Don’t

• Settle for one or two options – these are not likely to be the most creative.
• Offer your suggestions until the coachee has come up with as many as they can.
• Once you have elicited the options, you can then encourage the coachee to start evaluating them and thinking about which would be the best to progress with. 

Will

This final stage of GROW is about a ‘call to action’. It’s about both making a decision and committing to action. Remember, these two things are different – decisions can be easy to make, but you need to ensure that action will be taken.

In this phase, you are helping the other person construct a clear plan of action. This needs to include specific dates and measures. Once you have this you need to probe for possible barriers – what could prevent these actions being taken and what is the other person going to do to overcome those barriers?

A lot of people have good intentions for action but can get sidetracked or waylaid by circumstances when they get back to their desks – email, telephone and any number of other priorities can stand in the way of action following a coaching session.

Finally, you need to probe for their motivation – how sure are they that they will take the actions? By being explicit at this stage you take away excuses and raise responsibility and accountability in the other person.

It is surprising how much activity coachee’s do just before a coaching session to complete the tasks they were set. The knowledge that those tasks will be scrutinised is itself a powerful motivator.

How can the GROW model be used? 

• For coaching after a person has attended a training course to help embed learning and transfer it to the workplace
• Before sales calls
• At the end of an accompanied visit
• As part of a telephone coaching session
• During a performance management review
• During a team meeting
• As an initial coaching session or relationship meeting
• In the ‘quick win’ coaching session.

Here are some key principles that underpin the GROW model.

• Build rapport first
• Be open and honest as the coach
• Discuss the other person’s needs
• Discuss your needs
• Elicit needs rather than impose them.
• Discuss how you can best work together
• Work towards a win-win situation

Post courtesy of People Alchemy

 

Assertiveness at work: Have you found the right balance?

What is assertiveness?

• Respecting yourself and others

• Taking responsibility for your actions

• Being honest with yourself and others

• Sharing understanding other’s situations

• Dealing with conflict

As human beings, we have two natural responses to perceived threats – fight or flight. This means we either behave aggressively or submissively.

If we behave aggressively, essentially we are looking to satisfy our own needs at any cost even if that is at the expense of somebody else. 

For the individual, the short-term benefits might be that we achieve a sense of authority but in the long-term we might feel a sense of guilt and a feeling of isolation.

Unsurprisingly, behaving submissively is not without its pitfalls either. It’s basically accepting defeat right from the off. We should never feel apologetic just for wanting something different.

Sure, we might gain a certain amount of popularity from colleagues for accepting an unpopular task, or we might get praise from the boss for the same thing. But long-term, problems can arise such as feeling a lack of self-worth, low self-esteem and fatigue from an unmanageable workload.

So, what is it that affects our ability to be assertive?

Self expectation: You must have a positive mental attitude and believe you will achieve what you are setting out to do because if you do, then this will come across in your communication.

Attitude: They influence behaviour and your attitude toward someone will come across in how you talk to them and behave around them. Things like prejudice and certainty prevent effective communication while flexibility and openness facilitates it.

Benefits of communicating assertively:

• You can influence others by stating your preferences clearly and appropriately
• You will quickly find out what others think and what they prefer
• You will feel more confident about making decisions that work and are right for you and others

Finally, being assertive is NOT:

• Getting your own way at all costs
• A series of tricks or techniques
• A way of manipulating others

Being Assertive is one of a number of issues covered in Catalyst’s Active Knowledge Bites™ which we deliver as part of our portfolio of training solutions. More information on these and other courses are available on our website.

 

Coaching and the GROW model – Part 1

Some people have a preference for structure and would feel a little lost without it; others prefer the perceived freedom of working without structure.

Where do you sit?

We would argue that structure can really help people to feel more confident as it gives them a sequence that will lead to an output for each coaching session.

There are many coaching models that can be used to bring structure and sequence to your coaching. We have chosen to illustrate the GROW model here because it is simple, powerful and well proven. It is the most widely used business coaching model and grew out of studies of how successful people seemed to be able to move situations forward, particularly in the context of face-to-face meetings.

It was first created by Graham Alexander in the mid-80s and was subsequently refined and published by John Whitmore in his book Coaching for Performace (1992) .

The GROW model is easy to apply in practice and it ensures that you cover all of the important bases in your coaching conversations. It is flexible, easy to follow and can structure either a short or longer coaching interaction. 

Goal setting

What do you want? Identify short-term and long-term goals, and the goal for the coaching session.

Reality

What is happening right now? Focus on the current situation – current challenges, performance and strategy.

Options

What could we do to achieve the short/long-term goal? Brainstorm to explore alternative strategies or specific courses of action.

Will

Now let’s decide. What is to be done as a result of the exploration of options? When will it be done and by whom. Explore the will to do it (motivation). This is an opportunity to investigate obstacles and ways of overcoming them.

Let’s look at the first half of GROW in a little more detail.

Goals

Goals are particularly important in a coaching relationship. Goals give us direction and clarity, and assist in developing and engaging motivation.

Studies have shown that people with clear, written goals are far more likely to achieve them than those who don’t have them. Goals give specific focus to the coaching and align the coachee’s mind with what, specifically, they want to achieve.

Here are some important tips for goals in the context of coaching.

• Ensure you take time to set long-term goals for the coaching, and short-term goals for the session itself. This helps set expectations and keeps coaching sessions on track.

• For individual coaching sessions, you can ask ‘What specifically do you want to get from the next 45 minutes in relation to your goals?’

• For long-term goals be sure to look for shorter-term performance goals. These are the milestones that give a sense of achievement along the way and help the coachee to see that they are on track for the long-term objective.

• Build a compelling vision of what success will look, sound and feel like. Help the coachees see, hear and/or feel it for themselves. This is a technique that top sports people use to engage motivation and maximise their performance.

• Make sure that the goals you set are towards something that you want rather than away from something that you do not want. Rather than a goal such as ‘To reduce customer complaints’, set a goal along the lines of ‘To achieve a 95 per cent or better rating on our customer service questionnaire’. The first focuses the mind on complaints whereas the latter focuses on achieving a level of satisfaction. When the coachee comes up with an ‘away-from’ goal, such as ‘I want less of …’, then you can turn this into a ‘towards’ goal by asking: ‘If that is what you don’t want, what specifically do you want instead?’

Reality

Reality is about objective, descriptive facts and current reality. Before you can move a situation forward it really helps to get very clear on what, specifically, is happening now. Often, this is the time that you surface limiting assumptions and beliefs that the other person is holding, which might limit their performance and sense of choice.

In your questions around reality, you might make a lot of use of the word ‘specifically’ to bring clarity and awareness to the other person. Look to find out what is working at present, what has been tried, what the result (specifically) has been, and so on. Be wary of generalisations about what is happening currently. Watch for words like ‘always’, ‘never’, ‘all’ and other words that tend to accompany global generalisations.

It is important to retain your objectivity as you are looking for what can be learned from the current situation. As soon as you judge, the learning available to the coachee is diminished and the other person might be tempted to justify what has happened and what they have done, rather than to think about it as feedback and learning.

In part 2 we will be looking at the second half of the GROW model and how it can be used in practice. 

Post courtesy of People Alchemy (@peoplealchemy on Twitter)

 

Do you find it easy to say “no”?

Very often in the workplace, people start wanting to know how to be assertive when they realise they find it difficult to say no to others, and thus end up overwhelmed, acting always for others and not for themselves.

Why don’t we say no?

There can be a variety of reasons why it can be difficult to say no to a task:

• If the person making the request is your line manager, you cannot exactly refuse the request. However, rather than conceding straight away (passive response), why not try an assertive approach?
• If you like to please others, you may feel that no would be an unwelcome response. You may fear that it would have an adverse effect on the relationship.
• You may be afraid of the aggressive reaction a no might provoke.
• Perhaps you find it difficult planning out how long things take to do, so you therefore unthinkingly accept work you are unable to deliver.
• You may think the other person genuinely cannot cope with their workload.
• You may think that you might not be asked again if you say no.
• You may imagine you will be thought of as uncooperative.
• Moreover, we can make matters worse by agreeing to do something that we don’t really want to do and then
• We cancel at the last minute, arrive late or harbour resentment
• We don’t do the work to the highest quality and we sulk.

What rights do you have in the situation? 

The question is this: are you on a platform of rights to say no? In the case of the colleague asking for your computer password in an earlier section, he is most definitely not on a platform of rights to ask.

If it’s your line manager asking you to do something, then you are not on a platform of rights. You may be able to challenge the request assertively, and establish a workable compromise, but you will need a reasoned argument as to why you cannot achieve their request.

So how can you say no?

People often find it difficult to say no for the reasons above. However, if you have a genuine reason for saying no and believe in your reason, the next step is to consider your approach.

Base your approach around achieving a win-win result – in other words, a solution that meets the needs of all parties. This might include:

• Being flexible (for example, being willing to work late to meet a deadline)
• Offering alternatives (for example, suggesting a different way of achieving the required result)
• Stating both parties’ objectives
• Doing your homework (for example, knowing your audience and responding in an appropriate manner)
• Encouraging creativity (for example, brainstorming other options).

Here are some examples of phrases you might use for these approaches:

• Yes I’d be delighted to help, but the only time I could do that would be…
• I’d love to do that for you. Could you pick up the children/visit my mother in the hospital/cut my grass for me, otherwise I’ll have no free time at all this week?
• No, I couldn’t do all that, but if I did this bit, you could do the rest, couldn’t you?
• If I weren’t so pressed for time…
• If I had known about this six months ago…
• If you had asked me sooner, I’d have been delighted, but…
• I am fully committed at the moment, but will you remember me next time round?
• I am in such demand at the moment that I could not really do justice to what you need, but my planning gets easier next week/month/year. Is that any use to you?
• Thank you for asking. I am otherwise engaged then, but have you thought of asking Mr/Mrs…
• I always feel bad about saying ‘no’. It makes me feel guilty. Please forgive me, but I just have no time for additional commitments that week.
• I’m very poor at that; you need someone who could do it better.
• I’m working on a project at the moment. Please ask me another time.

Giving reasons for saying no

Beware about giving reasons for saying no. If it is your line manager, you may need to substantiate your decision and eventually come to a workable compromise. With others, the picture can be very different.

Reasons or excuses become ‘hooks’ for the other person to come back to you to debate your refusal. This is ineffective because it makes it more difficult to stick to the refusal and wastes valuable time that you could be using to get on with other priorities.

Post courtesy of People Alchemy – @peoplealchemy

 

The inevitability of workplace conflict

It’s inevitable that at some point managers will have to deal with workplace conflict of some kind. Why is it inevitable? Because people are involved and it’s human nature for people to have differing opinions, therefore managers need to know how to identify potential problems.

But that’s just the start; they then need to step in to resolve issues in such a way that they actually have a positive outcome for the individuals involved, the team as a whole and the task.

Not too difficult then!

Walk into any office in the world, talk to the staff and you will be given any number of reasons why people get annoyed and irritated by their colleagues – anything from talking loudly to being ignored in meetings.

It’s all workplace conflict and it’s possible to put these into three categories:

Intrapersonal: this is conflict within the individual, for example, frustration with goals or achievements or when we are at odds with a decision we have to make. This type of conflict often leads to…

Interpersonal: this is between individuals. This could typically be a disagreement with a boss, an argument with a colleague, or a heated debate in a meeting.

Intergroup: this is between groups, teams and departments in the workplace and often stems from a lack of understanding of how one another works and how one impacts on the other. 

By the same token, we can also put what causes conflict neatly into three categories:

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the first one is Communication. Whether it’s sarcastic, insincere or just plain lying, infrequent and ineffective communication can lead to any number of conflicts.

Personal issues can cause conflict whether through a difference of opinion, differing personalities, or a perceived lack of respect or empathy.

People can sometimes view the Process as wrong, ineffective or inefficient and hold the belief that things should be done in a different way and this where conflict stems from.

At Catalyst we can show you how best to deal with such conflicts, eradicate personal and communication problems and make process issues work in your favour. Check out our website for more information and to book a course:

http://www.cbduk.biz/Book_Leadership_workshop.asp