NO HR GYAN - I PROMISE

Feedback is a gift. Proactive feedback is the greatest gift.

2011-07-12T03:20:00.000-07:00

This is an article written for an in house magazine (atyati) recently
Reproducing for the benefit of others !

The dictionary describes ‘feedback’ (“feed” + “back”) to represent the return of a part of the output in a given process or system to its input. The term ‘feed - back’ was originally used by scientists launching space shuttles to communicate data with the space vehicle in order to maintain peak performance and to ensure that it was on track.

In the organizational context, feedback is the corner stone of communication and performance effectiveness process. As an individual it helps us become more self-aware and get in touch with our blind spots. The absence of any feedback mechanisms (formal or informal) could result in creating blind spots – when you will never know how you are doing (current performance) and what you can do better or differently (potential).

When was the last time you sought feedback from your leader, colleague, significant other, family member or friend? How often do you invite it?

Management research proves that high performing individuals proactively and periodically seek feedback to assess how they are performing, to determine the consequences of their actions and modify their behaviours. In a team the ease of giving and receiving feedback determines its climate. Often we find it easier to give positive feedback.

Here is a quick guide to giving and receiving feedback.

Giving feedback

1. Feedback must always be backed by data or specific incident or patterns of behaviour.

2. You must be descriptive in sharing what you have ‘seen’ the individual ‘do’ or ‘say’ (or not do or not say)

3. It is essential not to judge or label the person while sharing feedback

4. In communicating feedback it is critical to highlight the consequences of what you have observed to help them understand why your feedback is important. In essence a good feedback conversation helps establish the dots between actions, reaction and consequence

5. If you experience resistance (the other person get defensive), it would help to step back (re convene later) or reframe the manner in which you are providing feedback to help them understand your perspective.

6. Time your feedback by making sure that you and the seeker are in the right frame of mind.

Receiving feedback

1. Be specific on your request – it’s a good idea to share the reason why you are seeking feedback and what specific behaviours or areas you want the other to focus on.

2. When the he/ she starts sharing feedback – just listen, don’t defend or give explanation.

3. Ask open ended questions or specific examples to make you sure you understand the other’s perspective

4. Keep asking – “what else”, “anything more you want to add” to get the details.

5. Focus on the future by asking advice on what you must do differently or better

6. Summarize in your own words what you have understood after the conversation to communicate what you have understood and the missing links

7. Sincerely thank the person for their time and inputs.

8. Take some visible actions to demonstrate how you have incorporated the feedback you have received.

Find opportunities to give and receive feedback. It shows that you care about yourself and the other in your environment. Remember feedback is a powerful tool to help you and the other realize their full potential and release their brilliance!!

Want to try : The only way one can learn the art of giving and receiving feedback is by practicing. As the next step this is what I recommend

Find one person you want to seek feedback from and ask them these questions:

1. What are the areas of strength that I can leverage?

2. What are the areas of development or opportunities that I need to work on?

3. What do you see are ways in which I can maximize my potential?

Reach out to me with your experience – lets dialogue on how you can further improve yourself – remember it is an art not a science J

outside in

2011-01-17T00:38:00.000-08:00

Any one waiting at the visitors lobby (reception) is sure to observe many subtle, un-articulated aspects about the place (be it a organization or hospital or a spa)

The buzz in the work place, the culture of service and warmth speaks volume especially to the passive visitor. Its interesting to watch the manner in which employees walk into the workplace, their conversation with each other / over the phone, their sense of purpose or the lack of it ! The manner in which the visitor is welcomed, the process of ushering in and treatment during the waiting time says a lot more about the company culture and values than an attractive poster hung on the wall.

If one is pushed around from the security to the reception to visitors desk by rude personnel. All of who having oodles of attitude and pretend to be the CEO, the message is clear - "dont waste our time, we have something more important to do :))".
On the other hand, if the experience is warm, the visitor lounge keeps the needs of the visitor in mind..often we would pause and say - "this seems like a nice place - can i know more - i will like to talk about my experience with my friends"!.
In my experience, very few organizations use the idle time that visitors have to their advantage. There is so much to say and experience about the organization - but there is no material, no kiosks to subtly educate the visitor. Remember we could be a prospective employee, customer, vendor ...

Go to your visitor lounge - ask yourself
a. How is your reception treating visitors ? What is the attitude of the staff at the first point of contact? do visitors positively experience your company culture and values at the reception ? Even if the staff is outsourced - have you spent time on educating them on what is important ? Have you provided for water, tea / coffee, clean washroom etc at the minimum.
b. How much time do visitors wait ? Can you help your staff learn to value other peoples time. Its a good practice to have the reception know about visitors during the day. It feels good to hear
"you are welcome and some is waiting for you " as a message?
c. How can you use the visitor time to subtly educate on your company - products, services, customer statement, employee wall of fame...
d. Ask for feedback - there is always a scope of improvement
Does this make sense... ?
Any good / bad experience to share ?

Saying Thank you ...

2010-11-25T09:19:00.000-08:00

Its the season of "Thanksgiving"

To me this poem answers many doubts
More importantly it re deems why appreciation matters.
It reinforces what we gain by being appreciative and what we lose by shying away from it

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn;
If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight;
If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy;
If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty;
If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient;
If a child lives with encouragement, he learns confidence;
If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate;
If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice;
If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith;
If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself;
If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, he learns
to find love in the world.

In our roles as a leader, spouse, parent, coach , citizen etc we experience a genuinely difficulty in saying thank you.

a) We hesitate to do it 'often', 'enough'and 'on time'
b) We spend most of our time and energy complaining.
c) Our focus is more often on observing and articulating what is not working.

In this approach we miss creating an environment of fun and joy around us.

We find excuses to avoid appreciating by saying -
a) "I have high standards"
b) "This is a one off instance - i will wait for consistent behaviour "
c) "Its too soon, let me wait otherwise it will distract this individual"
d) "I dont want to single out anyone specific - everyone is doing a good job"
e) "i have other important things to do"
f) "i dont have time"
g) "Why should i appreciate anyone, no one thanks me"

Even those of us who make the extra effort to appreciate people struggle to create an impact.
Powerful appreciation happens when we align T, F, A in that one instance . What is that -

T = Thoughts : our intent.
a)Think about why this is this behaviour / action is significant ?
b)What did this person do well / differently

F= Feelings : our expression

A = Actions : The impact we make
a) Timeliness
b) Body language
c) Communication

In the next few days keeping with the spirit of Thanksgiving
a) Catch someone doing a good deed
b) Make a big deal about something done well
c) Proactively share what you value in the key people in your life - family, friends and co worker
d) Make a few people in your life (especially the "unsung" heroes) feel special
e) Treat yourself to something special

Why wait for an yearly event. Make this a ritual integral to your everyday life.

Enjoy !
Additional resources
http://communitycomposers.wordpress.com/2010/11/25/gratitude-as-part-of-a-culture/

Fun @ Work

2010-11-15T09:40:00.000-08:00

Most organizations work hard to achieve fun @ work.
It’s a paradox
It’s true.
Live and work but do not forget to play, to have fun in life and really enjoy it.”
-Eileen Caddy

Imagine an employee, who is having fun at work.
• Won’t he think hard before leaving the team / organization that s/he enjoys being a part of?
• Won’t he find it difficult to divorce the organization that makes life exciting for him/her?

An affirmative to these questions is the business context to fun @ work

A) What is having “Fun" –“Visualize”
a) Children playing in the sand pit (park/ beach)
b) Sports enthusiasts watching an interesting match.
c) Veterans playing musical chairs (or any fun games) in a holiday resort.
d) Friends meeting after many years

B) When d0 Adults have Fun?

Having fun brings out our positive energies and induces an overall sense of well being

C) Why is fun important in the organizational context
It facilitates
• Informality in the work place.
• Building an exciting work culture to motivate and retain people
• Bonding across levels, age and gender
Everything else being equal, fun @ work can truly differentiates one organization from other

“If a man insisted always on being serious, and never allowed himself a bit of fun and relaxation, he would go mad or become unstable without knowing it.”
Herodotus quotes (Greek author, 484-430/420BC)

D) Organizations go wrong with Fun @ work when -?a) It’s seen as a one off aspect of the work culture, delivered in terms of discrete activities.
b) The overall organizational culture is stiff (formal & hierarchical) and fun@ work is an artificial stimuli.
c) Interaction amongst employees and / or employees - manager is essentially transactional (need based - work related) with no/ low focus on relationship building.
d) Personal expression is blocked / not encouraged in the organization.
e) Organization initiates fun@ work program for the wrong reasons (to temporarily improve employee satisfaction, become the best place to work, gain short term popularity)

E) Fun @ work can be successful in the organization only whena) Fun is part of day to day work
b) Employees experience informality. We hear laughter, sense spontaneity every day at work.
c) There is across the board involvement including senior management, women employees, new hires. All employees feel involved regularly and in enough numbers.
d) Every employee takes ownership in some way to facilitate fun @ work.

Hope these thoughts help to reflect and review fun @ work in our respective organization and
Do share your experiences

Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.
- Victor Borgec
Nupur Bedi, thanks for suggesting this topic.
___________________________________________________________

To further build on the subject, I interviewed Ramesh Shankar (Senior Vice president Human resources - ABB). In my experience, Ramesh is an individual who truly knows how to have fun and create a enjoyable workplace.

Me : What constitutes fun @ work
Ramesh : In my view, anything which makes people enjoy work and enjoy working in teams would constitute fun at work - work itself becomes fun and the way we do it - flexi time could be one way of creating fun - flexibility to design my workplace, choosing my team and projects I want to work on and so on.

Me: What are companies doing wrong in this area?
Ramesh: Sometimes companies think fun at work has to be discreet activities not related to work at all. This may be a wrong way to approach this issue. - This could be like celebrating Holi is fun at work but creating a colorful workplace is not fun at work

Me: What do you think we need to focus on to create fun @ work?
Ramesh: We need to focus on activities, which bonds people, makes work fun and makes employees eager to come to work. - Activities which bond people like choosing your team, selecting projects, flexibility in working beyond organizational/functional boundaries etc.

Me : How do we know our workplace is fun !
Ramesh : We will know workplace is fun, when we find it difficult to send employees home and sometimes need to force people to go home. Of course, engagement scores could be another indicator.

Chai Chat series - Is it possible for a serious hobby to co exist with a full time job ? find out

2010-11-11T01:32:00.000-08:00

"You should like what you do and do what you like"!.

What if there are multiple things that fall into this category ?

Geraldine Voost is some one who will tell you - "you should pursue everything and its possible to do them all well".

I worked closely with Geraldine in the past. Every time i collaborated with her, i was amazed with her attention to detail and passion for whatever she did.

Geraldine works full time and also pursues a serious hobby (competitively) full time. I was interested to know talk to her and find out how she manages these simultaneously ?

Me : What is the serious hobby you pursue ?
Geraldine : Competition Ballroom Dancing

Me : What is your full time job
Geraldine : Learning & Development Manager of a company in Europe

Me : When did you get started on your hobby ?
Geraldine : We started with ballroom dancing in May 2007 and started to take part in competitions in November 2007

Me : What investment does your hobby require (time, resources, learning etc.) ?
Geraldine : We are now competing in the one-but-highest competition class in the Netherlands and have just started competing internationally as well. We try to train 2 to 3 evenings a week in addition to at least one 1 1/2 hr lesson each week. We also attend lectures & workshops from top trainers on a regular basis. During the season there is a competition almost every Saturday. Competition Ballroom Dancing is a very expensive sport, so money is needed to buy competition & training clothes and shoes, pay for the lessons and training, pay competition admission fees, travel & living etc.

Me : How do you find time from a hectic job schedule for your hobby ?
Geraldine : By giving up almost all our personal and vacation time. We pretty much work in order to dance!

Me : How does this hobby help you professionally / life ?
Geraldine : Ballroom dancing is a very active sport, which is good for the body & mind. It has also given me more self confidence. I use ballroom dancing analogies in the workshops and presentations I give. Finding out that I was good at something (competition dancing) gave me a huge boost at a time when my self confidence was very low because I had just lost my job, a job I had enjoyed very much. It helped me out of the downward spiral (I was heading for depression) and gave me the confidence to look to the future again. As it happened, I found a new job within a couple of weeks after winning 2nd place in the very first dance competition I took part in!

Me : Any message for people waiting to start investing more seriously in their hobby / passion ?
Geraldine : When I started dancing, I never realized that I would love it so much and that I had a talent for it. Do not hesitate to try something new, you never know what kinds of wonderful things it can bring you!

Picture courtesy : Rob Rhonda

Thinking of reviewing HR policies ?

2010-10-24T17:50:00.000-07:00

Reflect on the following if you are serious about a re design -

a) The target audience is the employee !
1) It must read to the employee.
2) It is not an effort to safeguard the organization (legally) from a possible problem anticipated in the future.
3) It is not a test of the English language.

4) The spirit and intent over rides everything else !

b) An employee is an "intelligent" and "logical" being?
1) It must follow an intutive (logical) pattern

2) It must be based on an employees' frame of reference.
2) Test - if the employees is able to take a course of action when in doubt, it means they get it !!
3) It must not address the 5% employees (who in any case) will behave irrationally

c) It is an indication of your people philosophy?
If an outsider (example - new hire) reads the handbook, s/he should be able to decipher the culture of the organization.

d) Does your policies say the latest employee buzz words ?
1) A progressive policy has to tie in to the employee demographic, expectation, needs and aspirations. For instance if you have a lot of young people - allowing "significant other" in social events is a cool thing to do.
2) the policy framework has to be relevant for employees in the 'here and now'. '

When reviewing the policies
1) listen to employees - incorporate buzzword /aspirations. Eliminate problems /whats not cool !
2) Get a sense of what is working (& not working) on the ground by constantly dialoguing with managers and team leads.
3) Leverage cross functional linkages - Finance, admin, IT data to understand what make sense in the current context.
4) Keep employee demographics (age, gender, experience...), new hire feedback, exit employee feedback etc handy when you review policies (ofcourse the industry best practices!)
5) Policies cannot be reviewed once in a few years. It has to be an ongoing process of review and re caliberation

Enjoy the un learning process !

Super humour!!!
http://www.humorbin.com/showitem.asp?item=399

Poll results 2 - What do you DIS LIKE MOST about your place of work

2010-09-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

Organizational factors - work culture and lack of work life balance are the most disliked factor amongst the respondents in their current workplace.

However Employee centric factors - Salary, Manager, type of work are relatively lower in the rank order

Questions for reflection

a) Are employee centric factors lower in the rank order because the employee feel empowered to make an active choice. They will not live with a dis satisfier for long.

b) Is it because, in this category, they can / will take actions at any cost to convert it from a dis satisfier to a satisfier. For example an employee could - re negotiate the terms of their employment, request for a job rotation, raise a grievance, talk to their manager or if nothing work - quit their current job

c) Organizational factors on the other hand can surely cause dis stress to the individual but our tolerence level seems higher. The only time it would trigger a strong reaction would be when it in complete conflict the individuals style / values or personality.

d) What keeps the employee going in the absence of a conducive organizational culture / environment ? Maybe employees have learnt to adjust, find spaces of comfort that keeps them linked to the organization. These aspects be their immediate manager, team, technology, compensation.. again individual factors...

Interstingly, Work culture / environment is high on 'likability' and 'dis likiability' factor amongst employees. It reminds me on what i had learnt about compensation...

But are we paying adequate attention here... ???

Ready for the next poll....

Chai Chat - Jump start to flawless Social Networking

2010-09-06T23:20:00.000-07:00

I am thrilled to have Lauren Klein on my blog. Lauren is a passionate community - composer, consultant & coach.

She comes alive in leading, institutionalizing and buil ding engaged communities for networking and learning.

At present, she is the Chief Community Officer at Executive Networks and Community Coach, Consultant & Advisor at LaurenKlein.net. Lauren lives the life and values of an active social networker herself and is a role model for others in this space.

I have known Lauren for many years. Even though we belong to diverse backgrounds and cultural context, we instantly bonded and kept in touch. Our paths intersected on multiple things including our interest in Leadership Development, exploring opportunities of recognizing good managers, artistic jewellary and food. Lauren loves food; she recently published a book called Peeled Apart.

Professionally I got an opportunity to watch her “bring to life” a community of practice for leaders at Novell. It’s was an enriching experience seeing the group involved and learning collaboratively. I saw her intuitively reaching out and connecting with individuals, team and organizations across the globe. As a person she is easy going and her love for people comes across effortlessly. You can reach out to Lauren on Twitter or subscribe to her blog.

I chatted with her on the A B C of social networking for individuals like you and me.

Me: Does social network provide advantage to succeed in our career? If so - how?
Lauren -

As a natural born networker, it's hard for me to answer no to the question, so I will say, it depends.

It depends on your personal style and goals. For example, I think in today's society it does make sense to use a social networking tool like Linked In, Plaxo, etc to host your resume and recommendations. It makes it really easy for others to look up your background if they are considering you for a job position, a speaking engagement or in general just want to understand your context. Now I can reach out to people even if they don’t know me by using my profile as a way to connect the dots as to why I may be reaching out to them and get more context.

However, in other cases where someone is a celebrity, in need of privacy or at a retirement stage, it may not be a good fit.

Over the years, I've always encouraged my employee's to keep active and up to date resume's because it's important to invest in documenting your roles, jobs and projects as a memory. Not just for yourself, but also for other internal transfers and/or out of organization opportunities such as a nonprofit board role, a new role within your company, a Community of Practice, or some other volunteer leadership role. Not to mention if you are actively looking for a job outside of your current company, I think it's a must.

Me: How can I as an individual get engaged -Tips and Tricks?
Lauren -

• It’s useful to find time at least twice a year on updating your on-line profile with the work from the past 6 months.

• It’s important to reach out to increase your professional connections and consider taking a personal challenge. For example, submit an abstract to speak at a conference, be a panelist and/or apply for a position that you've thought looks interesting, just to keep yourself familiar with the process. It can also keep you nimble for interviewing and communicating.

• It's essential to look at your personal development goals and your current network, because social networking makes it really easy for you to build new relationships. This way you could spend a few hours a year to reach out to setup phone calls or on-line conversations with people you have wanted to get to know.

Me : Any cultural / social nuances we need to be aware of in community interactions ?

Lauren -

• Yes of course, do your research on culture before you reach out to others.

• Be sensitive to other people's time.

•Make sure you are clear about your intentions when you reach out to meet someone and/or ask for their time because in today's society we are all time impoverished, so we sometimes need to focus on the WIFIM (Whats in it for me!).

• Be honest, authentic and just try.

As the saying goes, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Me: What are the blocks (typical) that individuals face in becoming engaged community members - what can be done?
Lauren -

Two different questions really.

As an individual, you can -

• Reflect on knowing yourself. Use emotional intelligence to understand what you do as a facilitator that can create elements of your community personality and work with it.

• Encourage diversity and find ways to balance out personality styles.

• Spend time in understanding their preferred means of connection by understanding the digital habitat. Just because you build it - doesn't mean they will come.

• Focus on understanding how and why people are connecting. Sometimes we push out content and assume employees will read it because they are supposed to. But the real work is getting done via the on-line forums or a Yammer tool. So you need to make sure that you know where employees are most comfortable connecting with information, content and each other.

As a Community Composer

•I would encourage the community builder to get to use social graph tools to identify who are active and engaged members (positive or negative).

• I would further use this tool as a means to engage with them and invite them into the creation of the community charter. This way you can ensure that you have a core team of engaged individuals that you as a leader/facilitator can leverage in the future to extend the reach.

There are many great books, methodologies and consultants that can help organizations to think through the process.

Me: Any closing comments ?

Lauren -

Social media makes it easy to post a comment on someone's blog, reach out to them via Facebook or Twitter, to get an opportunity to find areas of commonality and/or connectedness. It takes will power, commitment to yourself and focus - but you can do it!

_____________

We would like to make this topic interactive, Lauren has agreed to answer the first three questions we receive.. so do send them to me on invoguetoday@Gmail.com. Please do share your comments and suggestions for new topics for my blog.

Happy learning !!!

Receiving Feedback Gracefully

2010-09-06T10:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we saw a school bus filled with small children been driven on the wrong side of the road.

We stopped the bus

We spoke to the driver.

We told them about the implication of this unacceptable and dangerous practice.

It fell on deaf ears.

Frustrated, we decided to visit the school authorities and provide them "constructive feedback".

Our intentions were positive.

We took time out from our schedule

We were utterly DIS APPOINTED with our experience!!!

We walked out, tempers flaring and insults flying.

We found their doors closed to our FEEDBACK

We feel angry if some one else is un receptive to our feedback

How many times have WE demonstrated this behavior?

We all agree, the only way we can change ourselves, things, systems or processes is if we can be shown the mirror. But are we willing to see (even before we accept) our flaws ?

In our many roles - as a spouse, parent, team member, manager, leader, customer… we find opportunities to listen statements such as -

“this is not working”
“this is not what I expect”,
“ you can do better”
“you messed up”
" i dont like what you are doing to me"
" i wish you could try this..."

Most times, we un consciously PUSH AWAY NEGATIVE feedback. We are scared of receiving information contrary to our belief about things, people, our environment and most importantly OURSELVES.

Something similar happened in the school. I am sharing this as a learning example so we can become more skilled in receiving feedback with grace.

The school authorities (we also do this often) demonstrated lack of feedback skills BY -

1. Making the other feel insignificant.

This is what happened -

Even though we gave details of what we saw. We were passed around from one person to another. Finally the person who was responsible for the bus met us.

BUT
• She questioned our integrity
• She demonstrated lack of interest in listening to us

2. Being defensive
This is what happened
We were asked to wait until the bus driver could be located. The concerned person wanted to verify our feedback with the bus driver. She protected the bus driver / conductor. She said "our bus drivers dont do such things".

AND

• She was un willing to get into details to understand our perspective
• She did not find out about our context and intent
• She considered the incident to be a personal insult

3. Demonstrating no commitment on the feedback received

This is what happened

The authority was not interested in sharing the next steps that would be taken on the feedback

My learnings in this process

• Any feedback (especially constructive feedback) will make us feel defensive

• If we want to receive constructive feedback, we need to temporarily suspend judgment / implications.

• It’s important to demonstrate appreciation for the people who have taken the time out to share their perspective with us, our managers, customers….

We can receive feedback with grace by -

• Being approachable

BY
o Demonstrating warmth and courtesy
o Being appreciative in our approach
o Deep diving to get details of the feedback

The school could have said :
“I appreciate the time you have taken to give us this information….”
“Let me write down the details”.
“We will validate the information and take suitable action”.
“We thank you for thinking about the interest of the children and school”
... maybe offer us a cup of coffee..!!!

b) Summarizing and rephrasing what we hear.

BY
o Demonstrating understanding and positive intent
o Genuinely believing that it’s our opportunity to improve
o Asking questions to clarify and understand the feedback in the right perspective.

The school could have said :
“I hear you telling me that our bus number < > was on the wrong side of the road”.
“The driver and conductor were not listening to well intentioned people on the road”
“They seem to demonstrate un safe driving practice jeopardizing the children in the bus and the school's image......”
?.”.. “Which route was this seen”
“What was your conversation with the driver / conductor - how did they react”?

c) Leveraging feedback for improvement

BY
o Doing our home work on the feedback.
o Talking to all the stakeholders to get the complete perspective
o Making an active choice to use feedback as a positive change
o Completing the loop

The school could have said
“Thank you once again for your feedback, we have found out…. “
“ we have taken the following steps..”
“please drop in any time you see a illegal practice

Questions for reflection
1. When was the last time i receive 'hard hitting' constructive feedback ?
2. How did i receive the feedback ?
3. Do i have people around me, who give me un adultered negative feedback ?
4. How can i improve my feedback receiving skills ?

Share your experience
Do you have an experience, wherein a strong negative feedback in the past has really helped you grow / develop / improve yourself ? Please share ...by posting a comment

Poll results 1 - What do you love MOST about your place of work

2010-09-03T09:54:00.000-07:00

I recently ran a poll.

Here my thoughts on seeing the numbers -

Its affirming to see -
a) Employees willing to make a choice to work in a lower paying organization if they get challenging work (Start ups can leverage this)

b) Fun @ work combined with work culture can cement employees to an organization

Questions for reflection

a) My Manager does NOT remain significant. Even though organizations invest a great deal in building management competencies, the impact or need is NOT YET articulated as their first choice.

b) Growth opportunities does not receive any votes. Does it mean most of today's employees are comfortable in being in the "here and now" with the organization and NOT commit to the long term future with the organization.

Do share your thoughts on the results and participate in the next poll.

Stay happy

Chai Chat - an invitation to pursue your passion

2010-08-31T04:17:00.000-07:00

We all work for a living BUT do we truly, deeply, passionately love what we do? Very few amongst us actually do.

Most of us have resigned to the fact that enjoying what we do and making money are mutually exclusive.

Now meet Savita, a dear friend and a fellow co traveler in the journey of personal growth. Savita to me represents someone who has nurtured a unique dream and has been able to make it commercially viable.

I hope her story can help us review our strengths, passions and avenues to bring them to life.

Me: Tell me something about what you do?
Savita: I have created “Buda Folklore” that is located in Honnavur in the Uttara Kannada region of Karnataka. Buda Folklores' vision is to emerge as a focal knowledge center for folk culture and heritage. We plan to create a folklore research center with an extensive database on various tribes and indigenous communities thereby ensuring public access and awareness about folklore.

We do the following -

Education
Publication
Research and Documentation
Production
Community development
Conservation

Our focus is on -

Propagating the knowledge of folklore of Uttara Kannada to the world
Making folklore traditions relevant to current world scenarios across various application
Creating a learning community that explore folklore knowledge and its application in contemporary situation.
Exploring connections and commonalities with folklore traditions across India and the world.
Sharing knowledge-online
Enabling continuity of folklore

Me : How did you discover your love for this area of work ? What about you (as a person) makes this area special?

Savita: I grew up in a context where village life was valued and we had close relationships with indigenous communities. Their dark kitchens, open bathrooms, the festivals, the village fair, the sound of folk music, the smell of firewood, and the kerosene lamps stayed with me in my early childhood memories.

I interacted closely with the tribals who were affectionate, content and happy people. I saw them transforming into scholars of great knowledge. They could recognize hundreds of medicinal plants, make tools and toys on the go. They would sing songs based on epics and their perspective on these epics was so different from what we read in books. I experienced community living with their rituals and festivals. They enjoyed an intimate connection with nature. Every part of their life involved nature. There was simplicity and wisdom in their way of living.

When I went to the city to work as a teacher. I missed that part of me. I realized that this unique context provided me a perspective that others who were city bred lacked. I also found a lot of ignorance about tribes / tribal living.

I realized there was immense scope to explore new avenues, revisit documented knowledge at field level, and showcase their work. I painted the canvas to create “Buda folklore”. Building on our existing relationship with the local communities I started examining ways of facilitating small scale low impact cultural tourism to the area. I involved the local communities to help diminish the negative cultural impacts that tourism has especially on the young people of the communities.

Today, we have been embraced by everyone who values our wisdom and traditions.

Me: How do you make your passion earn money?
Savita: I have combined my passion with education and community development. Honnavar the place itself was a great advantage for me to attract people. The geographical landscape of Honnavar with the Western Ghats on one side and the Sharavathi River and the Arabian sea on the other side is unique in its location.

At first, I took my friends on a holiday to stay with my parents and enjoy the local cuisine. Then I invited a group of my students to experience Honnavar .Then I invited schools with nominal fee. Then I invited students from Mount Carmel College for internships for a month to documentation work.

Now we have expanded - have a multitude of offerings

Workshops on medicinal plants, folk art, mat weaving, folk drinks, uncultivated plants.

Honoring folk artisans

My next plan is to initiate a pilot project in the region to develop artisan community centers that would act as culture center for the community as well as a place for visitors to go and come away with a better understanding of the community and the local culture.

I am able to recover all my costs and invest the money back to the communities. We invite schools, environmentalists, designers, historians, botanists, food technologists, culture travelers, architects through our various programs. We provide them an opportunity to interact, observe, and learn by living with the tribes in Uttara Karnataka.

Me: What gives you the determination to work around challenges / obstacles?
Savita : Working with the community is not an easy task. For them visualizing the long term benefits is not easy May be its our need to conserve or to preserve. I have several limitations. The biggest challenge is working without appropriate communication medium -brochure, website, blogs, posters etc. Communication plays an important role in this kind of work. But what helps me is so many people joining hands, I see friends helping me in writing proposals for funds etc. I see more and more educational institutions sending in their students here.

Me : What is your message to others who are waiting at the threshold?
Savita : If you are really passionate about something and if you truely believe in it then take a deep dive. Until then your soul will be restless until you take that decision.

This path gives you strength.

It becomes your identity.

It becomes your life and soul.

Money follows.

Chai Chat - Leveraging interpersonal skills for success

2010-08-27T03:15:00.001-07:00

Rajneesh Singh has been someone I have known from my early days in Eicher. At that time, he was managing Industrial relations in a fairly large factory in Central India (Indore). I had just passed out of a Management institute and had read a great deal about the volatile relationships between the IR manager and the workers (especially the trade union leaders).

I was in for a surprise. I witnessed someone who enjoyed ‘fantastic’ relationship with all the workers. They could talk to him formally and informally. They treated him with love and respect and it mutually reciprocated. This made the life of this IR manager a treat.

This strength of building and retaining key relationships has contributed to his professional success. His face book page has more than 300 friends and Linked in 500+ connections. He is the Group Head of HR at Network 18

I wanted to talk to him on how he does it – maybe for all of us to learn a few tips!

Me: How many contacts / relationships do you have?
Rajneesh: It will be difficult to put a number to this but there are innumerable relationships right. I have kept in touch with people right from my childhood days, college days, B school days, all my organizations.

These relationships have been with people at my peer level, people younger in age to me and with people older than me.

Me: What advantages have you seen due to see due to this ability of yours in your career?
Rajneesh: In my view good, long lasting relationships bring immense happiness in one’s life both professionally and personally. I have been blessed in having relationships which have been nurtured over a period of time and have resulted in associations that have stood solid in good times and bad times.

Since I am into HR, this passion for people (and relationships) has only aided in my overall growth. It has enabled me to lead teams effectively throughout my career. It has helped me to mentor young achievers in organizations and academic institutions. And more than anything else, it has led to my personal growth as a human being. I can clearly sense the whole personal evolution process which has been facilitated through relationships that I have had.

End of the day each relationship and the interactions therein, leave an impact on our lives. They have done so in mine.

Me: How do you keep up / continue to invest in this relationship?
Rajneesh: Maintaining relationships surely requires investment of time, energy & effort. In the day and age of internet and mobile phones, it has become even easier to stay connected.

These are some of the things I do regularly -
a) Remembering close ones on their special occasions
b) Sparing some time while travelling to meet up old friends / ex colleagues.
c) Being active member of associations or alumni groups

Me: Tips and Tricks for shy folks?
Rajneesh: I think the very first thing that everyone needs to accept is that building relationships pays in the long run. It is only when you open up to people that your personality evolves and your perspective grows.
It is in so many ways a confidence building journey

My invitation to every one would be -
• Become member of some social groups/associations/alumni.
• Introduce yourself to co travelers to work on your inhibition.
• Email / write to people with whom one has got acquainted (ex colleagues / college friends)
• Invest time in knowing interests / likes of people close to you.
• Make people around you feel special
• Call up your contacts once in a while to check how they are doing.
• Keep a record of important events/dates which affected your relationship with someone, etc.

Treasure your relationships, not your possessions.
Anthony J. D'Angelo

Chai Chat - Women Leader in Action - Ms Sangeeta Patni

2010-08-08T21:02:00.000-07:00

Ms Sangeeta Patni is one of the first women leaders. I met in the early days of my career. In those good old days there was no concept of diversity management or any enabling support systems.

As I watched her, I realized
a) Competence and credibility is gender neutral.
b) It’s important to be comfortable in your skin (read: being women).
c) Building rapport and relationship facilitates informal networks.
d) It’s critical to leverage family support system.

I wanted her to share her experiences for the benefit of all of us women managers.

About Sangeeta

She is the president of Extensio Software (http://www.extensio.com/)

Q1) What advantages do you bring to a team / organization being a women manager?

Sangeeta
1. A focus on user experience: I am more focused on the "how will it be used in the user's hands" rather than on "how was it built".
2. Communication sensibilities: I am more tuned towards the communication needs of people. I like to keep things clear - and also insist that good language, in tone and content is used at all levels - whether verbal or written or body. I also pick up cues from communications much better than others, pushy, plaintive, bossy, leery, and intimidating or others. I can "read" people better.
3. Putting people at ease: People find me easy to get along with.
4. Irreverence towards power games: I find pandering to power games very difficult, and tend to focus on getting the job done, rather than playing to people's games of either increasing their influence within the organization or increasing the number of people in their teams. I find it difficult to create a "power center" by anything else except the job.

Q2) What were the triggers when you faced the work life dilemma?

Sangeeta

Work life balance is a really tough one. However, I found that this is best done early on when one gets into nurturing, when you are internally setting up expectations of you as a mother within the family - including the child. Once you have decided to delegate some and accept responsibility of all the big issues, you can have the family and work both.

The key thing here is to find dependable people you can work with, who are ready to take on subsidiary roles in child rearing, to acceptable standards. For example, I did not consider it imperative that I should be around whenever my child was fed, but considered it imperative that the person who fed her would do it with love and required attention to detail to hygiene. These kinds of people are very difficult to find - and even if they are found, most women find it very difficult to let go and trust them. In my view, both of these are challenges.
Incidentally, I am not talking about the wife role here - which I assume is easier to manage rather than the mother role. Also, I never felt the need to do any balancing here. My husband was always proud of my professional skills, and had no issues feeding the child and doing the required household chores. It has to be an "equal opportunity" marriage.

Q3) What kept you going?

Sangeeta

For me, I knew that I would be a terribly crabby mother if I could not work and converse with stimulating adults. Ditto for wife.
I HAD to work with other people - a husband and a child was too small a universe of me to be happy with. Since I knew my "happiness and stimulation center", it gave me no rest, and I had to find situations which would keep me occupied, though very harried at times. It is tough, but I really believe that for me, to have a non-harried, not-working-for-anything-more-than-a-happy-home life was a no choice option. I would have been terribly unhappy if I had to do that - for whatever reason. For me, working on interesting stuff was the only way I could keep myself from being dreadfully bored. Work was/is fun for me.

Q4) Tips / tricks for other women managers ?

Sangeeta

Everything else is just details - the principle thing in women is to know their reason for wanting to work. Women are more emotionally centered, and unless they figure out their center, things will appear insolvable, insurmountable etc.
Money is a slippery motivator for women. The pushes and pulls are so enormous that only money cannot keep women working, and if it turns out that women need to work to get money to keep body and soul together, women can be very bitter about the people/causes that made it so.

Early on, in professional life, women need to take a deep dive inside and figure out why they want to work. And enshrine that knowledge inside of them. Keep that part sacred, and feed that fire. If they do not have that fire, they should work till the time they need the money, and then give up once they find a better provider for themselves and their family, with a deep knowledge of why they are making that choice.

There is enough work at a house hold and much value - they just need to accept that valuable part of themselves, and respect that.

Q5) Other tips:
Sangeeta

1. Never work unless you are deeply convinced that you need to.
2. Never use your sexuality to get work, or get appreciated at work
3. Never think you cant do something at work. Every woman is fully capable of everything.
4. Do not hesitate to negotiate about money and promotions. And more team members if you need them
5. You do not have to "nice" all the time.
6. Listen well, talk well, and appreciate well - all traits that come more naturally to women. Use these skills. You will automatically do well if you do.
7. Sit easy on your chair at work. Do respect it, but do not be in awe of it. You deserve it. Tell yourself that every time you lower your ass there. You are in the right seat, and the seat has the right person on it.

Chai Chat - Meet Freelancer Vidya Sury

2010-08-07T10:56:00.000-07:00

Vidya chanced upon my blog on leveraging freelancers and reached out.(http://nohrgyan.blogspot.com/2010/07/leveraging-freelancers.html)

Chatting up with Vidya, I felt she was representative of a successful freelancer. In her journey, she made deliberate choices in her life and career, found her 'niche’ and leveraged it. Today she is marketable and has found a good work life balance. A position many of us surely envy !!.

Here is an excerpt of my chat with her. Hope it can inspire others in the same boat. If anyone of you reading this blog, want to share your story on any of the topics i have written about, please get in touch with me

About Vidya
• Professionally qualified (B.Sc., MBA, Dip T&D)
• Currently stay at home mother
• Freelance writer, blogger ( Going A-Musing, I love you, Mom!, Your Medical Guide, Website SEO Content, Clinicom, Vidya Sury's Mental Health Break, It's a blog's life, A Caregiver's Notes)
• CLINICOM ethics committee member.

1) What triggered your decision to become a freelancer?
Vidya:
I quit my job as a Regional Manager with a UK based company, RS Components in January 1997 to relocate to Mumbai. At that time I had personal challenges, my mother’s health and a young child that made working full time impossible.
After a few years, we moved to Bangalore and even though I had an opportunity to re join my previous organization, I declined since the context and my personal needs had not changed. I wanted to work and wanted flexibility and needed to prioritize my personal challenges.

2) Please share your professional journey - how did the freelance writing work get started?
Vidya:
In 2000, a family friend told me that someone was looking for a part time employee for their home office. The initial expectation was to work for 2-3 hours a day. Even though the remuneration was fairly un-attractive, I decided to take it up during the time my kid went to preschool. The employer was flexible with the hours and that best worked for me.

As the organization grew in size, I became their India Liaison for a consortium of US based companies that imported pharmaceuticals into the US. Slowly the role became full time, even though the money was still negligible. From 2004, for about 1.5 years, I took on the same role working out of home.

I had often been told that my writing skills were good. I enjoyed writing stories and poetry and had published quite a few with good reviews. I edited the in-house magazines where I worked. My grasp of idiomatic English was good. So, I thought - why not check it out? And I did.

At that time I got together with Ashish Dutta, as co-editor of a business magazine. We did get a couple of issues but that venture fizzed off after that.

In 2005 - someone left a message on my MySpace profile saying the company was looking for freelance writers. After I sent a sample that was accepted, I began to receive regular work that soon became a full-time income. Presently I also work with several other outfits that outsource their writing work to me.

In addition, my previous company invited me to be part of an Independent ethics committee – CLINICOM with the objective of evaluating protocols for clinical trials.

3) What were your initial struggles establishing yourself?

Vidya
a) The main worry was whether I would actually make any decent money to speak of, during the first month after I began the freelance writing stuff.
b) I had a bit of a problem with time management – as working out of home can be so distracting.
c) Each time I got a new job assignment and could not take it up, I felt bad about the money I could have earned. While it did make me feel very "marketable", there was a temporary twinge of regret.
d) I also felt bad when ex-colleagues said things like "thought you would be at the top of the ladder by now".
e) I missed the interaction with colleagues

4) How did you network as a freelancer?
Vidya
Strangely I did not have to do anything consciously.
• Ex colleagues pitched in
• People who came across my blog got in touch with me to do work for them
• My social networking profiles include “freelance writer” and this helped tremendously.

5) Learning’s that you would like to share with other freelancers?

Vidya

• You have got to be prepared to take some risk.
• It makes sense to sit down and think about/take stock of the talents, hobbies and abilities one has.
• Keep an open mind and follow through when something does come up.
• Networking is very important – it is a huge community out there across various social media sites and you never know what could possibly come up.
• Get involved in online forums and discussion sites related to what you want to do and be interactive.
• Be focused and Practice time management!

6) Anything else that you want to share
Vidya

If we want something, and put in the effort, everything is possible. I am happy that I had the courage to walk into something completely different and make it work - and I am grateful to my family, work associates and friends who motivated me all the time.

Fun @ work

2010-08-05T03:00:00.000-07:00

In most organizations we work really hard to create fun @ work.

Yes, its a paradox and its true.

Just think about a happy employee work, about someone who is having fun at work. Will s/he ever think of quitting? Will s/he ever think of leaving the team that s/he enjoys being a part of. Will he even contemplate divorcing an organisation that makes life exciting for him/her.

This is the business context of fun @ work

Lets understand what "fun" constitutes visually - think about

a) Children playing in the sand pit (park/ water)
b) People watching an interesting sports finale.
c) Veterans playing musical chairs (or any fun games) in a holiday resort.

d) Friends meeting after many years

Adults really have Fun when ?
a) We do something we havent done for a long time (feeling a sense of excitement)
b) When we break some boundaries - mental, physical or emotional (experience exhiliration)
c) When we feel like a child again (letting go of our inhibition)

d) When we express spontaneity(dancing, music, expression of creative form)
e) Where there is a freedom of expression (laughter, joy)

f) Being with people we like (friends, well wishers)

We all agree that when we have fun, we feel happy and energized. Its a great way to release our energies constructively and manage stress.

In the organizational context, a fun environment in the organization facilitates

informality in the work place

creation of an exciting work culture that motivates and retains good people

encourages bonding across levels, age and gender

Timeless "memories / moments" to remember and revisitt.

Everything else being equal, fun @ work can truely differentiates one organization from other

Organizations go wrong with Fun @ work when -

a) Its a one off component of the work culture delivered in terms of discrete activities

b) The overall organizational culture is stiff (formal) and hierarchical.

c) Most interaction amongst employees and / or employees - manager is transactional (need based - only work related) with no/ low focus on relationship building

d) Employees dont experience freedom to express themselves

e) The organization initiates fun@ work program for the wrong reasons (to temporarily improve employee satisfaction and become the best place to work)

(You have success ful Fun @ work (Metrics!!) when -

a) Fun is part of day to day work - you can experience informality, hear laughter and sense sponteinity every day at work.

b) There is across the board involvement - Senior management, Women employees, new hires feel involved regularly or in enough numbers. Every employee takes ownership in some way to facilitate fun @ work. This could mean planning and participating in team get togethers, informal lunches, inducting new hires, cultural and sport events, getting everyone involved etc

To further build on the subject, i interview Ramesh Shankar (Senior VP HR - ABB) who in my experience is one individual who truely know how to have fun and create a fun workplace.

Me : What constitutes fun @ work
Ramesh : In my view, anything which makes people enjoy work and enjoy working in teams would consititute fun at work - work itself becomes fun and the way we do it - flexitime could be one way of creating fun - flexibility to design my workplace, choosing my team and projects I want to work on and so on.

Me : What are companies doing wrong in this area ?
Ramesh : Sometimes companies think fun at work has to be discreet activities not related to work at all. This may be a wrong way to approach this issue. - This could be like celebrating Holi is fun at work but creating a colorful workplace is not fun at work

Me : What do you think we need to focus on to create fun @ work ?
Ramesh : We need to focus on activities, which bonds people, makes work fun and makes employees eager to come to work. - Activities which bond people like choosing your team, selecting projects, flexibility in working beyond organizational/functional boundaries etc.

Me : How do we know our workplace is fun !
Ramesh : We will know workplace is fun, when we find it difficult to send employees home and sometimes need to force people to go home. Ofcourse, engagement scores could be another indicator.

Nupur Bedi, thanks for suggesting this topic, i had fun writing it

Sharing success stories....

2010-07-30T08:49:00.000-07:00

"If you understand, things are just as they are; if you do not understand, things are just as they are." - Zen proverb
• All of us want to be successful.
• We always want to leverage our potential to achieve significant outcomes like success/ personal satisfaction.
• We all have experiences in the past which we feel “proud” to recollect and share.
• In these instances we have pushed ourselves despite odds.
• We have given 100% of ourselves because of the way we interpreted the situation.
• If we recollect and reflect on these, we may see some common themes / patterns.
• Identifying these themes can help answer the question on why we tend to have a greater urge to engage, act or drive ourselves in one situation over others.
• Extrapolating this – if we can understand the “themes / driver” we can help the individual recognize their potential and create opportunity to leverage them.
I am doing some personal research in this area. I am looking for people to share their success stories. In case you are interested to participate, send me a mail invoguetoday@Gmail.com

Chai Chat - Sharing the experiences of Ram - who survived a micro manager

2010-07-30T02:02:00.000-07:00

In the past, I wrote about Ram’s struggle working for a micro manager. (http://nohrgyan.blogspot.com/2008/11/world-of-micro-management.html) . My objective was to provide an independent perspective. To open the eyes, mind and heart of the micro manager. To encourage them see themselves in the mirror.

Interestingly, we can bump into micro managers in every life space. She could be the mother we notice in the park “instructing” her kid to play in a certain way. He could be the father who would accompany his 20 year old daughter for their first job "ordering" her around. She could be your wife who does not give you any "space". Last but not the least the manager who will give you "un meet able" deadlines and successfully drive you up the wall.

In fact there is a micro manager inside all of us, only if we dive deeper and acknowledge.! Micro management is not a problem if it’s a one off style used deliberately in critical or life threatening situations.

As an individual, we micro manage compulsively when -
• We dis trust the other.
• We firmly believe that people are generally incapable of meeting / honoring commitments especially when left to themselves
• We think people need constant follow up (help) to avoid disappointments
• We believe high pressure brings out the best in people.

Here is the detailed interview with Ram. I hope his experience will further help us reflect on our style of managing people.

Me “What made you believe your manager was "micro managing you”?
Ram: I had the following routine experience with my manager –
At the task level:
1. Every line item on the status sheet was tracked on a daily / weekly basis.
2. We spent all our time together on status meetings. Daily status meeting with peers, weekly one on one meetings, one on one with all my direct reportee individually, project review meeting etc

Interaction
1. If anything went wrong (minor or major), we were insulted publically (“made to feel like a fool”)
2. We would re visit the same issues, (failure related) meetings after meetings.
3. The manager was very quick to form perceptions that often colored judgment (in fact once an opinion was formed the person was given little chance/ hope!)

Me “: What were you missing (as an individual) working with a micro manager?
Ram: When I looked around, I saw some good managers. This was what they were doing “right”
1. Giving individuals space.
2. Managing individuals / team on deliverables rather than task
3. Building accountability in their direct reports (example : mutually agreeing on deadlines, enabling them to stick to the commitments, risk managing if any problems)
4. Praising in public & reprimanding in private (definitely avoiding personal attacks)
5. Involving the team in collective decision making process by seeking everyone’s idea.

Me: What were your struggles - professionally and personally working with the micro manager?
Ram
• I completely lost my self confidence / self worth (due to personal attacks, public beating)
• I became pre occupied and stopped interacting with others in the organization (withdrew)
• I became insecure (feared for my job every day)
• I felt un happy / dis satisfied even after putting in 16hrs work every day (work life balance was severely impacted)
• I kept everything (feelings, experiences) bottled up which added severely to stress and impacted my sense of well being

Me: What did you learn while working for the micro manager?
Ram : I learnt
• To manage people better.
• To work with difficult managers.
• To be task focused (forgetting the rest of the challenges)
• The importance of meeting deadlines / deliverables
• To manage perceptions and become proactive in showcase my accomplishments

Me: How did you survive / manage (What kept you going)?
Ram:
• My personal qualities determination & resilience helped me greatly in not cracking under this pressure
• My team supported me. They saw me struggle with my manager. I did not pass on the pressure which they appreciated.
• I became proactive and increased my communication. I initiated meetings to give status review, timely update and seeking feedback to gain the confidence of the micro manager
• I managed the micro manager “indirectly” by leveraging some team members who were trusted by him.

Me : How can your experience help others in the same situation ?
Ram
• The coercive style work for a short time – soon you will struggle. Practice other engaging styles…..it works!!
• Learn to be sensitive to team members/teams. Avoid the fear psychosis
• Suspended judgment. Take a pause before dis crediting team members.
• Give space to your team members – unless there is crisis.
• Seek inputs/ involve the team
• Motivation is the key – Focus on the good job done!

Leveraging freelancers I

2010-07-21T08:18:00.000-07:00

In my younger (and more idealist days), i was 100% sure i could never "sacrifice" my career ever !!!

Infact i considered any one who took the plunge as weak people who did not value themselves

Then it happened to me

I gave up a full time, high flying, well paying, corporate job to become a "freelancer"...

In my mind, it was a great balance - best way to manage my personal priorities and career aspiration
I had seen many such people ("Freelancers") in my MNC jobs across countries - why couldnt i find these jobs...
A sure shot way of engaging myself professionally and finding quality time for the family

However

The idea remains, the question remains -

How come Indian market has not matured to leveraging this talent pool ?

A) I will define freelancers as (gender neutral)

1) Individuals who have limited but quality time available for professional engagement out of their own choice and thirst to keep their professional "fire" / learning alive.

2) They want to use some time for themselves (family, hobby, pursuing interest....)

3) They have a wealth of rich experience and professional competence.

4) They expect to be treated professionally and valued for their competence and not short changed for their current circumstances

Even though most organizations talk a lot about strategies in engaging diverse work force, we seem to expend our time and energy on resources for whom professional connect and opportunity may not mean a lot

Can we not start thinking differently ? Can we not keep aside roles / challenges / projects periodically and ask freelancers to bid for them ?

Maybe set up a process similar to summer interns ?

B) Some ideas on the kind of work / projects for freelancers -
1) Requiring application of rich / diverse experience (your full time employees may not have time and summer interns / junior contractors may not have experience)
2) Time bound & Tightly scoped - Short term to Medium term (to eliminate legal issues)
3) Improvement oriented (Product / Process / Efficiciency) - Even cross functional interface
4) Maybe a project you may have set aside in the budgetting process for consultants at 3-4 times more cost

C) Some ideas that HR folks / Business managers could explore
1) Mentoring / Coaching opportunities during employee role change / new roles / inducting - hand holding new incumbents

2) Improvement oriented project
Competitive Benchmarking , Efficiency study, New technology / tools exploration , trouble shooting, Customer Engagement process improvements, Quality initiatives, Cost / operational efficiencies, Data analysis (exit interviews, recruitment pipeline, cycle time)

3) Training
Skills, Technology, On the job competencies

4) Community outreach program

5) Project Management of large projects

I meet so many talented people who qualify but dont have a channel ?
Can we not use the social media to create processes that provide an opportunity that could surely be a win win ?
Can we have some organization to volunteer and lead an example for others ?
ANYONE ??

Employee perspective 4 - Keeping ‘ownership’ alive!

2008-11-13T08:31:00.000-08:00

I met some one who just a few months back enthusiastically told me – ‘I will do this…. and …this and more, this decision makes more sense, lets not think about it this way, I feel this is a better way, this is what will make us WIN!

Today he said ‘I will deliver as per my role description’

I was aghast with the transformation !!

The following actions words, behavior KILL ownership (in projects, product, teams or / and organization).

Written purely from an employee’s perspective.

When I realized no one really cared!
When being 'politically correct' was more important then being 'authentic'

Just one wrong step and you may lose a valuable employee behavior. These could be intended or un-intended by you.

An employee doesn't really care why you did what you did.

Its similar to the feeling of the first crush being crushed!

Think again!

Manager of Choice 8 - Micro Management series

2008-11-07T08:49:00.000-08:00

I bumped into Ram on his way back from work. Ram looked exceptionally tired, I enquired if he was feeling well. He sounded extremely frustrated. I probed a little more. He said he was just very tired of being 'micro managed'. He added, “If my boss continues this way, I will have a show down with him soon”.

I started thinking about the world of micro management. Webster's Dictionary defines micromanage as “to manage with great or excessive control or attention to details.”

The image that conjures up in our mind the moment you hear this term is -

A person who is constantly over your shoulder (or your laptop or your life!).
He / she questions everything you do and keep checking on your work status almost on a daily (some times hourly) basis.
He / she checks on work details (via phone, emails etc) through the day (and night)
He / she advises (un warranted) you on how you 'should' go about your task or deal with a specific situation.

The feelings associated while working for a micro manager is 'irritation, annoyance, anger, frustration'. In fact, 90% of micro managers may NOT even be aware that they may be causing this level of frustration in an employee.

If you ask them 'why do you manage your team / employee in this manner?’, he / she will say –

This employee is new or un aware of how things need to be done
That employee is not competent enough or lacks experience
The project is too critical, I cant take any chances
The team has not gained my trust

If you delayer these statement, what they really believe is – ‘OTHERS BRING OUT THIS BEHAVIOR IN ME’

In my view micro management is a great task management strategy. However the moment it is used to manage ‘people’, the trouble begins.

These are the only context in which you can still justify micro management -

If an important deadline is missed consistently
If your customer (internal or external) is extremely un-happy
If the project is not going as planned.
If an employee in your team has huge attitude issues

PS: If an employee in your team is a poor performer or low on competencies, micro management may not be the best strategy because it promotes dependency.

Even in situations you have to micro manage, keep these assumption as the ‘north star’ for your action

Every one is capable in my team and wants to be successful as an individual and in the team (or project etc)
I will ‘add’ value only on aspects my team cannot ‘see’, 'judge' or 'extrapolate on'.
My team member will seek what he/she wants from me (instead of me assuming that they need this or that)

If you are being micro managed

Be proactive and gain the confidence of your manager.
Make your manager feel that you know what you are doing and are open to seeking advice.
Consult your manager on areas / aspects where you may fail. This will avoid them saying ‘I told you so’ at a later stage. They may also give you some advice that could turnaround the situation.
Don’t gang up with others in your team on this topic
Don’t let his / her behaviour impact your self confidence
Gather data objectively on his / her style and talk about it with your manager in your next 1-1. Help him/ her understand, how you will work better if they withdraw and give you space (provide examples)
Try to understand what is causing this behaviour and take steps to address them from your perspective (example he/ she may be insecure about the project status – make frequent update, he/ she may need a lot of information – provide them with details etc)

If you a micro manager

· Begin by gathering data on your style by asking for honest feedback. Especially how your words, actions or behaviour may be making the other feel

· Analyze what is causing this behaviour – think of your worst fear and ways of addressing them.

· If you have the tendency to micro manage, get into the habit of catching yourself giving advice or pre maturely checking on things

· Explore how existing organizational process / system intervention (example team meetings, status report, and performance management) can help address the challenges you are currently responding to by micro managing.

· Work on your and your team’s strengths.

· Make the right assumptions about people (refer to the earlier section on assumptions)

· Learn to praise the positive behaviours you see, so that those are reinforced.

Think of moments you felt stifled... Now take steps to exit the world of micro managing.

Manager of Choice 7- Open Door culture - what does it really mean !

2008-11-03T21:33:00.000-08:00

In the last few years, the statement – ‘we have an open culture’ strategically found place in key employee interactions (example job interviews, induction sessions, skip level discussion with CEO etc)

This term is described in most organization as ‘a receptive, listening approach to management characterized by a ready, informal availability on the part of the manager toward employees'. Open-door culture eliminates the need to make appointments or to show the deference traditionally associated with relationships between superiors and subordinates in hierarchies.

Most employees experience open door culture as ‘approachability’. This behaviour is reinforced if an individual at any level or status across the organization can freely access their manager or leader for any matter concerning them (project related or personal). This is an expectation mostly from managers and leaders in the organization.

To really to live an ‘open door culture’ and invite others freely and un inhibited atleast to your professional space is an individual characteristics. It’s all about your body language and your ability to make the other feel comfortable (often achieved if you interact informally and formally)

A self assessment check list for you to evaluate if you live an 'open door culture' for your team

Does your team (others) hesitate to ‘visit’ you informally at your seat / cabin?
Do you spend some time (every other day) with your team (others) informally (fun, hierarchy less)?
When you walk in the office – do you interact and acknowledge with others – do you smile at them and talk to them once in a while? (this includes the receptionist, office boys and security staff)
If you are busy at the moment (when some one approaches you) and commit to call the individual back – do you?
If you have a secretary – have you given instructions on how employees need to be dealt with especially when you are busy?
Do you often ‘walk by’ to the location where your team sits?
Do you respond promptly to request for assistance by others?
When interacting with some one – do you give your 100% or are often pre occupied with something else.
If you give some a commitment (example to attend a meeting or promise to call them for their birthday) , do you follow through ?
Do your moods visibly change your behaviour with others?

If you answer 7/10 of these questions affirmatively, you are perceived as some one who is approachable!

The only caution I have is draw the boundaries as necessary even in this approach. Some one who I worked with often said ‘Open door culture does not mean your time and space can be taken granted’.

Women Employees 2 - Survey Results and learnings

2008-10-30T21:13:00.000-07:00

I recently did an informal survey to understand 'what really takes women with young kids (less then 10 years) to continue working in organizations'.

The survey results are attached (click on the image to enlarge it - I recommend that you open it in a new window)

Note : The survey outcome are nothing new, the real question is - how many of us have really extended a hand or done our bit in this space (professionally or personally)

Let me share the insights i have gained through this survey. It may offer some food for thought or action ideas for key stakeholders (managers, leaders, HR, spouses) on sustaining the momentum especially during the rough patches.

Its not easy balancing these 'multiple' & 'equally' demanding roles - support from work and home front can 'really' help reduce the stress and improve efficiencies.
If a women is continuing to work post mother hood - there is a strong compelling reason for them to do so.
Its critical that organization's 'ask' 'how are you managing ?' , 'what's working well' and 'what more can be done' ?. Having these conversations can offer simple ideas (most times non financial) for extending support (especially when the other is feeling down!)
Organizations hesitate to 'treat' women differentially. They are worried about the message it gives out in the environment ('we are equal opportunity'!) or wonder if it means any financial commitment (example invest in a day care facility etc). In today's day and age employees (across gender) have become sensitive to this need. In fact they will appreciate your concern !
The most important way to extend support is to 'listen' (just saying "i trust you to give your best" or " you decide your work hours and i know things will get done" or " lets have all our meetings during work hours"). This by itself can reap tremendous huge benefits
You dont need have a reasonable number of women to get going. Even if there is one women, make the effort - the long term advantages (loyalty, retention) is tremendous!
Manager can play a pivotal role since they have the highest touch point
The spouse can make or break the situation !

Even if we take some actions based on these insights, we can have more women in the top 'x' successful women in business

SURVEY RESULTS

Click on the image to enlarge it - I recommend that you open it in a new window)

Managers of choice 6 - ‘SURVIVORS’

2008-10-24T05:15:00.000-07:00

Every organization has this ‘beast’ in their jungle. Presenting the survivors - 'more dangerous then the carnivores and more skilled then the herbivore'

Ways to identify them in your organization ! (If more then 3 characteristics apply, you have spotted one !)

Those who grow consistently in the organizational ladder despite others not necessarily respecting them for their skills and competencies.
Those who goes through every minor or major organizational change without his /her position or role getting impacted.
Those who are not really liked by their team but are considered valuable by the boss and other senior people (those who finally matter in the system).
Those who are passionate about being in the 'winning game'. Loyalties really don’t matter to them. Leaders may come and leader may go, values may alter
Those who love being in any team that gives them maximum visibility with minimum work.
Those who mingle with the right people and do whatever to get included in the core groups (this may mean hanging out after work with the important people, being in the right network, aligning their interests with those who matter in the organization join smokers group, learn golf etc)
Those who say what (how and when) really matters. They may as well change their opinions and decisions depending on who is asking for it. They never say anything controversial that makes them un-popular especially with the ‘key’ people.
They don’t mind taking credit for what they have not done (as long as no one can really figure it out).
They behave differently with different people. The folks who don’t really count in the system – see the real skin!
Those who are the first to know everything – information gives them an edge because their own competencies are scarce.
Their boss thinks, this individual is working really hard (but everyone around him / her may not agree to that opinion)

As managers we need to be skilled in dealing with this animal, some suggestions !

Always take advantage of this individual for you to be on top of things - information wise .
Don't confront him / her directly - always use performance related metrics to work around this individual - its the only way to deal with him / her
Explore the possibility of assigning him / her into projects that can get them out of the comfort zone and really challenge their behavior.
Build relationship of trust and use it to work with them on their improvement opportunities.
Always communicate the right message in the team about this individual - if you give him/her too much importance, the sincere employees may get demotivated or confused on what is the right thing to do !
Get behind perceptions to understand the real picture.
Be ahead of him / her in terms of competencies and skills.

Best of luck

Inspiration

2008-10-16T22:44:00.000-07:00

Most of us have unique ways of pepping ourselves up when we feel most let down in life

This is my current list of inspirational dose

Rx - Take one a day !

1. Steve Jobs most humble but beautiful commentary on his life

http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html

2. The famous statement 'This too Shall pass'

3. An Indian saying - 'What ever happens is for good'.

4. Success Stories of Start ups / People who came up against all odds - Example 'Nudist in the late shift'

5. Reading a lovely love story - 'The Bridges of the Madison County'

6. Meeting some of my favorite people and discussing 'existential' questions

7. JK Rowling on 'fringe benefits of failure' - http://harvardmagazine.com/go/jkrowling.html

8. Playing football with my son

9. Crying on my husband's shoulder !

10. logging into Facebook ! !

Pl share your list !

Managers of Choice 5 - World Boss Day !

2008-10-15T22:04:00.000-07:00

I was listening to the radio this morning and learnt that today - Oct 16^{th is}being celebrated as World boss day. I really love this concept.

Most times, being a boss is a thank less job. At least once in a while during the year if your team appreciates you, you will find the energy to touch more lives with positivity.

On this day, i would like to say a big thank you to all my managers.

This is 'my subjective list' of the top 7 things i have learnt from my most favorite managers.

From Ramesh – i learnt that it’s not at all necessary to 'act' like 'the boss'. All you need to do is get your team to take ownership and ensure that every one is having a lot of fun- recipe to achieve great results.

From Rajeshwar – I experienced that developing your team needs 'you as a manager' to also take some risks. You need to help individuals in your team constantly move out of their comfort zone and provide opportunities to build new skills. This approach makes your job as a manager really tough in the short run but helps every one including the organization in long term.

From Rajneesh – The ability to build rapport is a huge strength as a manager. If you can get people to like you and reach out for you, they will slog to ensure you succeed!!!.

From Radha – being human is as important as being a competent professionally. One needs to live the same professional ethic and approach - be it the office boy or the Managing director of the company !

From Prabir - the amazing ability to give an individual 'space' to do their best. No follow up, no micro management just facilitating the individual to give it their 100%.

From JV – that its important to consult / involve your team 'before' you make any decisions that impacts them - directly or indirectly. Demonstrating through your approach that you value your team members for the wisdom and perspective they bring on the table.

From Alka – 'Confrontation' is not a bad word, as long as every one is aligned to achieving the same goal. In reality, pushing each other’s (Manager and Employees) boundaries/ thoughts/ assumptions helps every one grow and succeed !

Writing this blog actually makes me feel emotional . A sincere thank you to all managers who are helping their team grow in both personal and professional space.

On reading my blog, if you feel like appreciating your boss - please 'add a comment with the details' in my blog - Just do it

Credibility

2008-10-15T03:26:00.000-07:00

The quality of being believable or trustworthy

Synonyms: credibleness, believability

I was keenly observing this quality in people.

Some of my people observations

I have worked with an office boy in one of my past organization who did what he promised, he would remember what you told him and close the loop (within his powers – following up, chasing people, doing things in his capacity etc). With him, one could tell him a task and then be assured that it will get done (Like the famous ad – Fill it, Shut it, Forget it)

I have also closely interacted a brilliant individual – creative, extremely talented – but would never do what he said he will do – and as per agreed deadlines. The work output (whenever) it reaches the concerned stakeholder would clearly be ‘out of the world’ but one could never rely on it reaching you as promised.

Another ex colleague would always expect you to do things for her as committed but never reciprocate in the same manner. So if she scheduled a meeting with you, it would happen but if you had scheduled a meeting with her it would be delayed or postponed etc. These are people I refer to as ‘world at my terms’.

A person who once reported into me came from a great academic background and credentials would never ‘follow through’ and complete tasks assigned to him. You learnt (as a manager) the hard way that you had to micro manage or do things yourself, if you wanted something done well. Example once a training program was organized by him for a set of new hires – the participants were asked to reach 30 minutes before the program began, the faculty was not given any details to do his job effectively, none of the loose ends were tied up, logistics were poorly coordinate and he would reach after everything ‘started’.

Another colleague who would never get back to you. He was in recruitment and got calls / emails from consultants, prospective hires, managers etc to find out about openings or the status of their positions or candidates etc. He would always say ‘I will get back to you’ but never would.

A person in my friend’s team would prioritize tasks based on how senior the person requesting the task was in the organizational hierarchy. The more important people would get their work done with out winking an eye lash and others would have to wait for their turn.

Just writing out this blog, i realize that this quality is so important in making some one successful in their career and life. It help others respect you for what you are !

No education or professional training helps you gain this skill.

The only possibility of getting there is

if you are self aware and receptive to feedback
if you have individuals around you who will honestly tell you how you are being perceived and how you can better yourself !

Best of Luck !

For Mothers - running 2 surveys

2008-10-14T04:40:00.001-07:00

SURVEY 1

Hello Friends

i am conducting an informal survey to study the challenges of women in organizations. I have put together a short questionnaire for this purpose. I would appreciate it if you can circulate it in your friend circle.

The target group is women who have children and pursuing an active career in organizations

I will use the outcome of this research to write on this topic on my blog and look at ways of supporting women to achieve more !!!

Pl use this link to attempt the survey

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=nctoRorclIFdT9zup4ZOIg_3d_3d

SURVEY 2

Welcome. This is an informal research to understand the needs and expectations of full time mum's now aspiring to re-engage professionally.

The target audience for this survey is women who gave up their career due to mother hood challenges and now want to do something meaningful in a professional capacity.

To take this survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=l1uCXmpq5bvad_2b2N5BG60w_3d_3d

The outcome of this informal research will be used for purely academic purpose. For starters it will help me understand what will facilitate women in this space to re engage professionally.

I will update the outcome of this research as an article on my blog. I will be grateful if you can spend a few minutes to answer these questions.

I assure you of the confidentiality of your responses

Thank you in advance for your time.

Employee perspective 3 - Changing Indian Work force

2008-10-13T02:27:00.000-07:00

Recently I interacted with some Management graduates in an informal context. They came across as extremely enthusiastic and seemed un afraid of asking question. They quizzed me on work choices I made, my work experiences and most things under the sun.

What I observed about them was their un canny honesty, ability to ask questions without any inhibitions and zest for life. What stuck me was that all of them seem to have a life interest that they nurture, are living an interesting life and pursuing a full time education.

They knew what they know and knew what they did not know!

After I met them, I thought of consolidating a list of what I notice in my environment - which we should be ready for in working with GEN X.

This is what i came up !

They start working at a much younger age – most of them either as students doing a summer job or part time work along with their education.
They are clear in their thinking of their career goals – most of them have a plan – ‘what they want to do, how and by when’!
They are much more independent in their thinking – not stuck by norms and boundaries like many of us. Often heard statements from them – "I don’t respect you for your age I respect you for your competency, I don’t need to slog in the system to learn I can figure out the short cuts to success"
They are much more ambitious – Want to achieve a lot more in less time
Changing Gender mix – (in my son’s pre school class, there are only 3 boys and 15 girls, those many girls coming in to the corporate world)
They are not risk averse – These folks are easily able to say I quit or I want to take a break. " I recently met some one who has quit his current job, does not have anything in his hand, but is cool about it (I hear that there are many more like that!)"
Compensation for their background and competency is a given – they don’t mind demanding what they think belongs to them
Stronger social networks – every one is connected to everyone every where – before they join jobs or go into interview, they ‘ping’ for information, bad news spreads (example if you are a bad pay master or do not honor your word etc)

Questions brewing in my mind with this kind of employee demographic -

What does this mean to organizational culture and structure?
How does the role of managers change in the near future?
What is the role of leadership in the organizational context?
What should HR do differently?
How do we nurture Gen X while retaining the positive qualities of the current workforce

What Say !!!

Employee perspective 2 - Memorable work days!

2008-10-07T22:44:00.001-07:00

I am sure all us had our special days at work !

Even though most of us get stuck in routine at the work place, we need to find some way to feel renewed, rejuvenated and happy every once in a while !

These are the moments that made my work day truly special (these are some of my favorite moments in random order)

the day I faced a huge challenge – solved it braving all odds
the day my boss praised me ‘genuinely’
the day I was able to bring my family to the work place
the day I really enjoyed working with others – fun combined with great output
the day I learnt something
the day I did something 'out of box'
the day I shared my knowledge in a fun way!
the day I trusted some one in my team to do their thing!
the day I stood up for something I truly believed in
the day I asked a difficult question in public
the day we had a special team lunch
the day some one told me I made a difference to their life!
the day I was given honest feedback that will take me forward in life
the day I had an un scheduled holiday and left early
the day something positive happened I never expected
the day some one I did not get along with - 'bonded' over something unexpected
the day the biggest critique said something nice
the day I got my first salary hike
the day the leader in the organization (I worked in) said positive words in my honor!
the day I got promoted or took on a new role (or both)

JAGTE RAHO

2008-10-02T22:14:00.000-07:00

Recently I met a friend who also happens to be a senior IT professional and spoken to her for about an hour or so on many things. This included her life experiences, her work interest, passion, business context of her work etc.

Interestingly 'through out' our deep and intense conversation she did not utter a single politically incorrect statement.

Every time I asked her about what she felt about so and so individual or her experiences on such and such thing or What does think of this episode etc - she described it, talked about it but did shared her opinion (judgement) or her feelings.

I realized that being able to articulate your feelings - I feel bad, I felt humiliated, I felt thrilled etc helps the other 'really' connect with you in a conversation !

After my meeting, I was really perplexed.

I was left with some un answered questions -

v What makes us so guarded?

v What makes us say something and yet say nothing?

v What makes us so clear (in our head) about what we want to talk about when and how much and with whom?

v Does she even know that i thought she was politically perfect ! and does that perception bother her at all ?

Even though i did not find answers to most questions, the only thing i knew -

She had instructed her mind -

‘jagte raho’ (be awake)

Dont utter imperfections!

Lets have a Perfect Conversation !

Manager of choice 4- STRETCHIING

2008-09-30T21:00:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while - so very often - an employee hears his/her manager say

'You don’t Stretch enough'.... ‘I think you can stretch some more'

Most times this is easily inter changed with this sentence - ‘you should take some initiative'

'Stretch' in the manager's parlance means -'staying back, making it loud, clear and visible that the employee is working very long hours’.

Stretching can mean doing extra work, participating in meetings, logging on to the official messenger, sending and receiving emails late in the night, taking conference calls all through the day and night and essentially sacrificing ‘personal’ time.

Some of the common reasons Employee's stretch' (willingly or complying to their organizational norms) especially in the Indian context are -

v They have not completed their work – (Read - they got very busy during the day or week or may not know how to manage their time or had too many interruptions they could not say no too)

v Their managers or senior management always stay back and they think it’s important to hang around and make sure their manager notice

v Their managers or senior management did not give them time during the day and they need to find some time during the day / night to build relationship and facilitate decisions making (this is especially true in a multiple time zone context)

v They want to create the perception that they are handing a lot of responsibilities and are ready for the goodies (promotion, transfer, new role etc)

v Their life resolves around work (read – no hobby, no real incentive to get back home!)

v They are genuinely overloaded - (read – is not a good delegater or cannot say no and hence take on way too much work)

I was shocked when a senior interviewer was thrilled to hire a prospective employee because he was single and was willing to 'work his butt' off (read - give all of his time to the organization).

Another time a lady employee who kept to the office timing (was extremely efficient - did not waste any time) and met all her goals was not rated 'outstanding' because she was seen as the 9-5 types and will send out a wrong message in the system!!

I think as a work ethic there is nothing right or wrong in this approach. In fact some times employees themselves will stretch to complete some tasks at home. As long as this is need based and not a habit - it’s fine.

In the organizational context, it is manifested as a problem as soon as this work ethic is 'generically' applied to every on in the organization.

And some one who does not follow this norm in the same way as every one else - is perceived as ‘inflexible’ or 'not adequately loaded'.

I think one big reason this happens to us is that we dont have a concept of 'personal space'. We dont seem to guard this space. We all want to be successful and get confused when there are conflicting demands on our time.

In our culture - working hard = coming home late.

I think organizations (read managers) need to find ways to move out of this trap

v Every employee is unique - we should not brand every one in the same manner

v Every employee is different and has differing productivity level (irrespective of the hours they clock in)

v Organization need to be sensitive to employee's personal time

v Managers need to coach their team to balance work / life

Hopefully we will hear some managers also say -'just chill chill .. just chill'

Manager of choice 3 - Developing Employee

2008-09-15T00:49:00.000-07:00

I have interacted with many Managers who have created history with outstanding performers But very few Managers who have 'discovered', 'honed' and 'given birth' to great performers out of an average employee.

There is a clear advantage being a high performer in any organization

But what happens if an employee is average or worse below average performer-

Do organizations really invest in moving them up the performance rating scale?

Most employees in this 'not so desirable' population do well ONLY when they change organizations or role or boss.

The question is - what happens then - how come some one who is almost write off - turns around !

I think its the power of the following things that come into play to make this happen

a) Power of positive or neutral perception - When employees know they have a fair chance to prove themselves, they do everything possible to live up to that expectation.

After all no one likes to 'feel' they are no good.

These vibes comes through.

If you observe any team meeting (as an outsider) - just by the way employee are being spoken to - can easily get you guessing on where they stand in the performance distribution graph.

If managers have no time for nothing else, they all they can do is - make sure they think positive thoughts on the ability of the employee to do well.

b) Being honest - All employees appreciate honesty.

You can experience 60 minutes of well scripted performance feedback discussion with no authenticity vs a 5 minute heart felt - honest review of where the employee really stands and what they can do to stir up things

You can guess which one would work

c) Leveraging Strengths - Each one of us have strengths (some thing !)

This is what gives us entry to the organization we work for.

But this is soon forgotten.

Managers need to focus on constantly discovering the employee's strengths and passion...

To leverage them to re create the magic.

A good question to ask an employee is - which is one past achievement you are proud off - what made it happen ! ! How do we re create that performance in this team ?

A simple change in attitude to employee performance would change everything.

The last word - Two Minute noodle may be easy to cook but can it beat the taste of elaborately cooked hyderabadi biryani !!

Manager of choice 2

2008-09-10T01:34:00.000-07:00

I was recently talking to prospective managers on what could make them a manager of choice.

The role of managers especially in IT industry is very critical. Most leading organizations are investing $ in training and grooming managers. The question i have for them is

a) Whats the process of selecting managers - we all know that great Individuals do not necessarily make best managers.

b) Do we really know what makes managers successful in organizations - remember every organization is different !

Accordingly to research the top seven reasons employees leave organizations are

1) The job or workplace was not as expected.

•2) Mismatch between job and the person.

•3) Too little coaching and feedback.

•4) Too few growth and advancement opportunities.

•5) Feeling devalued and unrecognized.

•6) Stress from overwork and work-life imbalance.

•7) Loss of trust and confidence in senior leadership.

Most of these triggers finally are directly or in directly managed by one's direct manager.

I recently did a survey amongst a group of internal target group to understand if there were things that made 'great managers'.

What astonished me was -

a Number of people who responded on this topic - something close to every one's heart

b Diversity of expectation - every individual is different and unique

i am sharing some of the expectations i received during my survey -

__________________________

Works with my strength and helps with my areas of improvement

Trusts that I am giving my best

Gives me space

Holds me accountable for my deliverable

Has good peer relations

________________________

Good planner

Good decision maker

Had Trust in us

Crisis Handling

_________________________

More knowledgeable, Skillful, Polished

Accessible

Good Planner

Practiced Work life balance

___________________________

For me to love working for someone can only come from sharing the same page, sharing the same goal, the same passion. Being a part of a team with the same dream. Which means openness, sharing of risks, rewards, picture-behind- what-we-see-immediately - and that essentially means a person who has integrity and honesty. I can even tolerate a verbally abusive person provided he/she can inspire me and lead me to create a better world. Basically a man or a woman who has a vision, a dream to change the world

___________________________

Understood my strengths and where I could contribute most, they trusted me to manage my work, they challenged me with new assignments that I might not have had all the skills for but they had confidence in my ability to figure it out, they recognized my contributions and dedication, I knew I could trust them to be open, honest and a good communicator

______________________________

Had & Showed Trust in me

Was open to discussion and encouraged ideas

Cared about and helped me build my career

____________________________________

Good functional knowledge and experience, Keeping cool under pressure, good planning and tracking Straight forward, Belief in able reportees and encouraging them

______________________________________

Never Micro Managed

Understands my work load priority

Trusts my judgment

Always supports me

Recognizes my efforts

__________________________________

Do you think organizations are doing enough - is people management still considered a art - ?

Drawing parallels 1 - Big Boss

2008-08-27T10:09:00.000-07:00

I have been watching this reality serial ...

The serial in essence 'locks a set of diverse people in a house, with no

contact with the outside world

'Records' every thing they say and do....

Every week they ask all the members to nominate people they don't want

in the house

Normally the results get published mid week. 2-3 people get ' nominated'.

As soon as some one gets nominated, they spend most of their time wondering -

why me, what could i have done differently etc. Discussing and strategizing

with every in the house

Wondering who nominated them ...and WHY

Making statements to get the viewers (voters) to get on their side and save them.

As time passes by, politicking begins between the members.. and finally there

emerges a survivor. The winner ! !

I was wondering if i can draw any any parallels with what we experience in

organizations

Couple of points that immediately pop up (maybe a bit too simplistic)

- Everything is finally about Perception - difficult to change it once established

- Those who position strategically vis a vis peer group are accepted as leaders

- Optimum politicking is required - Extremes (none or very high level of politics)

does not help the individual

- 'Feedback' process is what determine who stays (sorta like our Performance

Management process - criteria and process being different)

- Employees in organizations also tend to be in silos - no contact with outside their organization, groups, department, locations...

- Everything is being watched :)

- Groups gets formed - Challenges of Inclusion, Exclusion and Belongingness

- Finally its all about the BOSS ! !

Enough !

Pl get back to work

Big Boss is watching

What have i been up to...

2008-08-21T23:07:00.000-07:00

Its been a really long time since i blogged.

During this time, i have made some fundamental changes in my life space. The big one being the fact that I quit a corporate job.

I have started freelancing as a HR consultant. I currently handle any assignment that is interesting and supports of my need to working limited hours away from home and any number of hours from home :)).

I keep wondering if this has been a right decision for me and my career.

The positive is that i find myself feeling excited professionally and happier as a mother...

For starters, I was able to spend dedicated time getting my son "inducted and adjusted' to a pre school environment. Every day during that phase i used to wonder if i could have done it - guilt free if i was working full time.

During that phase of waiting for my son outside the school, i interacted with so many women who like me gave up great jobs to become more involved mothers. These conversations made me feel good and sad. ...

I was left with the feeling - so many talented women , no one has yet found a channel to know about options that balance their professional expectations (growth, interaction, learning) with their personal desire (being a better mother, being there for my kid, spending more time..)

Many organizations do talk about supporting women etc etc. This is an invitation to those organization to deeply reflect on and ask a question - 'is this good enough' , 'what else can we do ?'. The Answer is how can we enable women to find that balance they want (mentally, physically and work wise)

I have met a few women - who would die for their organizations - brimming with loyalty having experienced relentless support - in action... .

I still to figure out what can be done - in some way i think i am starting with being an example

Asking women how we find the middle path......

Till later

Re organizations 1

2007-11-26T08:19:00.000-08:00

I was talking to a friend of mine whose organization went through the typical Multi national company (MNC) reorganization process. Having worked in a MNC for many years, one becomes accustomed to re orgs. In fact if nothing came our way for a few months, we would be nervous and wonder what was happening ! ! !

After any such announcements we noticed a plethora of questions and speculations in the organization. People delayered the message over coffee and lunch. They discussed endlessly and in a lot of detail on what was happening ? who or what was behind it ? Whats not being said or what is likely to happen in a few months time.??

Depending on how starved the organization was on information, more and more data is un earthed. Managers i have worked with took either of the 2 approaches on communication. One kind who dealt with these questions at face value. Another kind who stated what was expected off them in their role in a politically right manner.
Personally for me being honest and authentic always worked for me and my time. Employee look for credibility of communication in addition to content. Credibility comes through in terms of your home work in the matter, your involvement in the decision making process and your ability to act on feedback.

Thanks to the upbeat market economy in India, most of these changes are taken positively, people ways know they have the option of walking out and finding something more attractive always exists.

I think organizations need to review -
a) what frequency of announcements really bring in effectiveness in the organization ?
b) what is the role of communication in this process ?
c) What is the cultural context of this process, especially in organizations having a global presence.

Women Employees 1- No Women No Cry ! ! !

2007-11-22T07:29:00.000-08:00

Working Women.....

Its a tough world for working women, especially in traditional organizations.
I think the mind set in most organizations to enable a women to work with flexibility to support her family needs is a tough one. I have read so many articles on this subject, but honestly it is a personal struggle each day.

I think what we need to appreciate is that women in general DO carry the guilt of missing out a large part of their children growing up. Often missing out on the first word the child spoke, the first fight in the park, the first run..... and so much more.
Since many of the women also have a strong achievement orientation, its hard to just give up a career you have build so painstakingly and sit at home.
With this inherent contradiction i live each day and each night.
I am also not sure of options that exist for HR professionals to work virtually. I did see a lot of my colleagues in my earlier company especially in US & Europe being able do my kind of work from home.. always wondered when the Indian industry would be able to enable that.
What is a plus for a working women in India is
a) Manager and team that accommodates and supports, that helps stick to the discipline of a daily routine of getting in and getting out ON TIME.
b) Tools and infrastructure that enables flexibility and connectivity
c) A supportive spouse who covers up and is willing to share responsibility
d) A resolve each day NOT TO GIVE UP

A tough day just ended for me, lets see whats in store tomorrow.....

Managers of Choice 1 - Can we avoid being judgemental....

2007-06-03T09:14:00.000-07:00

Human beings have the faculty of thinking and judging. This is reason why we are classified anthropologically as human beings and not an animal. Sometimes this faculty in excess actually makes an animal.

What does this charecteristics impact leaders... i wonder

As a thumb rule, I am sure you would agree "anything excess is un desirable". Further being judgemental clubbed with poor listening skills, low empathy and abrasive attitude can make others "shrink".

I have met many people (I am sure you have too..) who within seconds of meeting others will point out many pitfalls and problems. It could be about an environment, place, people, way of doing things etc etc. Most of us like to avoid such people. We feel suffocated and beyond a point want to run away far away in a sound proof room (if possible).

This characteristic especially in leaders and managers is a big deterrent.

From a leadership perspective what works is -

* Leaders who is a sensitive listener and can constantly communicate their intent to engage with an employee through words and body language.

* Leaders who can share what mistakes they have made with their subordinate can open up the doors to relationships that can take business results to the next level.

* Leaders who praise in public and reprimand in private.

What has been your experience on what makes us human as leaders !!! ??

Employee Perspective 1- Employee Exit

2007-05-28T03:48:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting period in life for me.

Almost 5 years later, an opportunity for me to pause and re engage professionally. This time to a new context (change of industry) and a different role.

Most people with whom i shared my decision - were surprised. Two things that they could not comprehend - "how can you move out of the IT industry ?". " how can you take on an individual contributor role after being the head of the function in the current organization?".

All i said in response was - "hmm, good question"

Looking back, there are many things that went well for me in these years and surely many aspects if given a chance i would like to re-script.

Talking about exits, the exit analysis report is one of the most requested data from HR. Typically when putting together this report, one consolidates the demographics and stated reasons of employees who have left the organization in a period of time - example reasons across age, gender, tenure, grade, role, qualification, location, manager. ..

What cannot be consolidated or categorized is what lies below the surface - "what was the ACTUAL trigger to leave". When asked specifically, some employees speak their mind, some don't and some say what they want you to hear.

I have always wondered - how does one deal with the un-articulated, un- spoken part and asked myself - should this matter to the organization...

To gather this (authentically and accurately)

Manager can play an important role - identifying in an employee - dis engaged body language or behaviour that seems subtly un usual.. . If discovered early on he/she can be an opportunity for dialogue and may even pre empt the exit.
Talking to the exited employee a couple of days after they have left. I know an IT company that sent out mailers to employees who had left earlier in the year to get to know the "truth". They found some interesting findings (better then exit interview conducted in the organization !)
A combination of formal and informal exit interview - conducted by HR and a senior person whom the employee feels comfortable (and can opt for him/her).

In my experience, most employees look out for (either one, some or all of the above) as the pull out of the current organization -

More money
Better role
Interesting career opportunity (onsite, promotion, team leader)
Different manager
Greater alignment (values, style, business)
Lesser politics
More empowerment (decision making ability, expression of thoughts!)
Conducive work environment (culture, team..)

It would be interesting to map the triggers for the same person across organizations and see if there exists any patterns. Is that possible ? Hmm then would there be any action planning left from the exit analysis for the organization...