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by Rick Baker
On Aug 18, 2016
Link to Part 1
Link to Part 2
Some say the key to accountability is 'delegating responsibility': when people feel responsible for something they hold themselves accountable.
But - How would you delegate responsibility?
Could you ask people questions like:
- "Do you believe you can accomplish this task?"
- "Do you buy into this task?"
- "Are you enthusiastic about this task?"
"Do you believe you can accomplish this task?"
- If people don't believe they can succeed, really, how likely is it they will succeed? [Sure, some argue "anything's possible", however, in real life that's not the way things work out. As the saying goes, 'You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear'.]
- If people don't believe they can succeed, is that belief founded in attitude or competence? [This is an important distinction: attitude rests in their court; you can help them educate and train for competence whereas they alone control their attitude...or worse, maybe their attitude has moved beyond their control.]
- If people don't believe they can succeed, do they know something you don't know? [You have to select your battles with care if you intend to win the war. At least sometimes, what you don't know can hurt you.]
"Do you buy into this task?"
- If people don't buy into the task, why don't they buy into it? [Is it due to habit?...some people think Devil's Advocate is an important role and if nobody else is going to play the role then they will step up and do it. Some people just don't fit on some teams.]
- If people don't buy into the task, is that due to ethical differences? [If the task violates moral codes or personal values then it is important to know their rules and where their lines are drawn. Violation of master rules and invasion of personal boundaries are poor choices, doomed to generate problems.]
- If people don't buy into the task, what would it take to get them to buy into it? [Do you need to alter the way you make decisions and delegate work?]
"Are you enthusiastic about this task?"
- If people are not enthusiastic - why? [Does the task test their weakness rather than align with their strength? People enjoy working in areas of strength.]
- If people are not enthusiastic, is it because they feel they are overworked and do not have enough time? [You might need to help them understand their priorities and how to accomplish them.]
- If people are not enthusiastic, are they stressed out or burned out? [Perhaps, their energy levels are low and they need to refuel? Perhaps, they are temporarily unable to be enthusiastic about any task?]
Could you ask yourself: "As a leader, a decision maker, and a delegator of tasks - am I doing a good job?"
by Rick Baker
On Aug 5, 2016
Curiosity opens the door to alternative realities: this is discovered when you are curious, when you ask questions and when you listen to other people's self-stories.
When people see your [sincere] curiosity at play, most will reciprocate and share their realities with you - realities that are as true and accurate as yours...but, often, remarkably different than yours.
There are, of course, other ways to learn about other people's realities. We live in the age of The Internet of Things and enormous volumes of information are available online. Consider Facebook and Twitter. These two online social media venues offer insight into people’s realities, or at least insight into the way they want to present their 'realities' to you in pictures and stories.
To really get a full perspective on other people's realities it is better to interact with them face-to-face. Have real conversations. And to maximize those conversations, it is best to be curious and to ask good questions then observe and listen intently.
Give people plenty of time to share their stories with you.
Curiosity is an innate talent. We all possess it. At least, at one time when we were young we certainly did.
Curiosity is also a learned skill.
If life experiences have beaten curiosity out of you – don’t give up. Your curiosity can be resurrected. Your curiosity can also be enhanced so it will become a lifelong tool. Curiosity will help you understand other people in ‘your world’. Curiosity will allow you to understand how you differ from other people in very fundamental ways. And curiosity will help you understand why other people disagree with your views and sometimes refuse to embrace your views. As you gain understanding of the differences, the knowledge you gain will build your self-confidence.
When you understand your perspectives differ from other people’s perspectives, you have the ability to construct your messages in ways that do not threaten other people’s perspectives. At the same time the messages embedded in your questions will help others understand your views. In effect, communication preparation – question preparation – is the key to building both self-confidence and personal relationships. Choose to deliver your viewpoints in ways that will be understood [questions] rather than in ways that will be poorly received [instructions]. When you develop skill in this area you will grow self-confidence.
by Rick Baker
On Jul 27, 2016
We became allergic to the word "No" when we were young and now all of us don't like to hear that word when others say it to us. And, our aversion to the word "No" doesn't stop there. Many of us, at least from time to time, don't like to say the word "No" to others. Often, when we say "No" to other people, we feel guilt...it's as if the word "No" delivers pain to both the person who hears it and the person who says it.
So – often, “No” is thought but not said.
This leads to many problems.
Some examples –
When people think “No” but don’t say it:
- they are conflicted in their minds and this can result in worry-anxiety – this is especially true when the inconsistency between thought and action involve moral/ethical issues [i.e., in the zones of ego, self-image, self-esteem]
- they can be overworked because they become the dumping ground for others’ unwanted tasks
- their lives can be frenetic because they get pulled in many directions by many people
- sometimes others are confused or put off because the actions they see don’t match words they hear [or don’t hear] - sometimes honesty is questions [and that can go to the core of personal values]
- sometimes others might be compromised due to relying on false information
These are just a handful of the problems that happen when people have trouble saying “no” to others. Likely, you can rhyme off several more…from your personal experiences and your observation of other people who have struggled to say the word “No”.
Then, pose a question to yourself –
In the future, will I say “No” when that’s the word that needs to be said?
Footnote
another article
Put your foot down...
by Rick Baker
On Jul 7, 2016
Today, I am thinking about the numerous pieces of advice we receive from 'the experts' on how people should do business and how to improve company practices. For example, years ago corporate branding was a popular topic. Now, both corporate branding and personal branding are popular topics.
It strikes me that some of 'the experts' are confusing or distracting more of us than they are helping us.
I had to slow down and think about the starting point...I mean, how to explain that last thought.
After considering options for starting points, I've concluded - "When we build companies, they reflect our thinking." I am hoping the majority of people can accept and agree with that statement. Whether or not we embrace concepts around 'personal branding', we buy our favourite products. We buy 'branded products', products produced by the companies. When we buy products we prefer our actions confirm we prefer the companies that make those products. For example, many of us buy Heinz ketchup.
Even after the company closed its Leamington, Ontario production plant, many of us continue to buy this branded product - Heinz ketchup.
Does the company that makes Heinz ketchup, now called The Kraft Heinz Company, reflect the thinking of the people who built it and created the famous product?
Do the people who work at The Kraft Heinz Company reflect the the legacy of the thinking embedded in the company/organization and/or its famous product?
There's a company with a legacy, a product with a legacy, people now long gone, and people now working.
There's all these recommendations about branding.
And, there's this question...
Who sells Heinz ketchup?
by Rick Baker
On Jul 4, 2016
"Our goals should serve as markers, measurements of the progress we make in pursuit of something greater than ourselves."
Simon Sinek, inspirational post - June 13th, 2016
***
This goal advice scratched at me. [Perhaps, I was itchy before it arrived?]
While it carries an admirable-altruistic message at its surface, I'm not sure this advice fits the majority of people. Warm & friendly - perhaps. Appropriate & helpful - likely not.
For me, 'greater than ourselves' rings of fundamentalist thinking. I can imagine Nietzsche fuming at the thought. I can imagine a pained expression on Emerson's kind face. I can imagine fundamentalists rubbing their hands.
The message scratched at me for two quite different reasons, which I will approach as follows:
First, as a general rule - life is an ongoing learning experience. Certainly, this applies to people who possess normal intelligence and at least a little curiosity. For those who also possess a realistic perspective and at least a little humility, much of the lifelong learning is about self. Each person is a complex piece of art, worthy of relentless study. With the self being a lifelong work-in-process, doesn't it make sense to set goals for greater selves rather than goals for greater than selves? For those who argue they have completed their self-development and are as great as they can be...well Nietzsche would argue these elite few would be stepping backwards to find purposes beyond their own.
Second, isn't 'greater then ourselves' a strange phrase? I mean, really, what does it mean? Is it intended to imply there are goals/interests that are greater in value than our own goals? If so, are these great goals/interests distinct from our own goals/interests? Is it even possible to pursue any goal/interest without serving self-interest at some level? Can we pay forward without receiving some level of gratification/personal compensation? Now, I am thinking of the great Emerson and his discourse on Compensation. Won't we have to set the wisdom of Emerson aside if we wish to have goals 'greater than ourselves'?
by Rick Baker
On Jun 30, 2016
Google studied teamwork and determined a very important factor was 'to be nice'.
Overall, that makes common sense... I mean - isn't that what our mothers taught us? Isn't that consistent with 'playground and sandbox philosophies'?
One key question is - how do we define nice? Does that word mean the same thing to you as it means to me?
Another important question is - what do we do when somebody isn't it nice? For example, someone makes a not-nice communication error. What, if anything, do we do about that?
A lot of other questions arise when we think about the importance of being nice at work:
- What happens to being nice when your company has the habit of struggling to be profitable?
- What, if any, lines should we draw around acting nice when you are reacting to people who haven’t been nice?
- How do we act nice when customers refuse to pay our bills?
- How much slack do we cut for people who, from time to time, fail to be nice?
- How do you measure niceness when recruiting new employees?
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