Listening is one of the most critical skills of effective communication. Out of all the communication skills we are involved in such as reading, writing or talking, we spend 45% of our time listening. But are we good listeners? A question we should ask ourselves often to become skilled listeners.
Is listening the same as hearing? We all know its not. I am quite certain that most of you have had experiences where you were heard accurately but not listened to with understanding. And you know how frustrating that can be.
Listening is a skill- something we need to work on. It is a process that requires honing, a process quite challenging at that.
Following are some strategies for effective listening:
- Maintain eye good eye contact - eye contact demonstrates interest and attention.
- Be in the 'present'- instead of rushing ahead to formulate your response, hold yourself back and focus on what is being said to you. Rushing ahead may cause you to evaluate the message based on incomplete information thereby making your judgement erroneous.
- Take notes
- Check for both verbals as well as non-verbals. Body language plays an important part in effective listening. After all, more than 93% of our message is being conveyed through our body signals. So instead of just focusing on the words being said, pay close attention to the speaker's voice intonation, gestures, postures, facial expressions. They will convey a lot about the completeness and credibility of the message.
- Paraphrase. Summarizing the essence of the message conveyed can ensure that both you as well as the speaker are on the same page.
- Seek clarification by asking appropriate, relevant questions.
- Avoid distraction non-verbals like fidgeting, slumping, moving your weight from one to another, crossing and uncrossing your leg
- Avoid distracting verbals like finishing off the speaker's sentence, changing the topic, asking irrelevant, unnecessary questions, interjecting with too many uh-ah's and yes's.
- Provide attentive silence. An effective listener understands and appreciates the value of silence in a conversation. Most listeners talk too much. They speak as much as or even more than the speaker. Learning the art of silent responsiveness is essential for good listening. After all the other person cannot describe a problem or a situation if you are doing all the talking.As a listener, when you provide that silence, it gives the speaker time to think about what he or she is going to say. Silence also allows the other person to proceed at his own pace.
The above will help you to understand and capture the message that is being conveyed to you. Remember, when you actively and deeply listen, you communicate respect which is an important ingredient of interpersonal interactions.
Wednesday 24 December 2008
Self Awareness is Key for Leadership Success
There is more to leadership success than academic or technical abilities. One of the most valuable and least recognized leadership competences is self-awareness. As a leader, if you really want to inspire or influence people, you need to first start by looking within-who you are, what are your values, beliefs and expectations, where you are going and how do you want to get there?
As Stedman Graham wrote, ‘self awareness is where true success begins because its difficult to understand the world and how one will respond to certain stimuli without it’.
Below is a good article on this very important leadership competency. Read on..
Self Awareness and the Effective Leader – Chris Musselwhite (Inc.com)
Organizations benefit more from leaders who take responsibility for what they don't know than from leaders who pretend to know it all.
Although it is probably one of the least discussed leadership competencies, self-awareness is possibly one of the most valuable. Self-awareness is being conscious of what you're good at while acknowledging what you still have yet to learn. This includes admitting when you don't have the answer and owning up to mistakes.
In our highly competitive culture, this can seem counterintuitive. In fact, many of us operate on the belief that we must appear as though we know everything all the time or else people will question our abilities, diminishing our effectiveness as leaders.
If you're honest with yourself, you'll admit that really the opposite is true. Because whether you acknowledge your weaknesses or not, everyone still sees them. So rather than conceal them, the person who tries to hide weaknesses actually highlights them, creating the perception of a lack of integrity and self-awareness.
The Benefits of Self-awareness
It's easy to see how pretending to know everything when you don't can create situations that can be problematic for your entire organization. On the other hand, when you take responsibility for what you don't know, you benefit both yourself and your organization.
On an interpersonal level, self-awareness of your strengths and weaknesses can net you the trust of others and increase your credibility -- both of which will increase your leadership effectiveness.
On an organizational level, the benefits are even greater. When you acknowledge what you have yet to learn, you're modeling that in your organization it's okay to admit you don't have all the answers, to make mistakes and most importantly, to ask for help. These are all characteristics of an organization that is constantly learning and springboards to innovation and agility -- two hallmarks of high performing organizations.
Know When Strength Might Be Played Out
Most likely, your strengths are what got you to this point in your career. As your role in your organization changes, you must be careful not to overplay a former strength to the point that it actually becomes a weakness.
For example, let's say you're great with detail and have done good things for your organization as an individual contributor and get rewarded with a management role. Continuing to delve in the details once you're responsible for projects and people will cause you to lose ground with 1) your reports, who will feel unnecessary; and 2) your superiors, who may rethink your readiness for managerial responsibility.
Acknowledging the need to become better at anything is only the beginning, and it's often the most difficult step in the whole process. In many cases, individuals successfully come to the realization that something's not working but have no clue how to change it into something that works.
This difficulty to see in yourself what others see so easily is what makes the path to self-awareness so challenging. One way to get started is by soliciting and listening to feedback from those who work with you.
Solicit Feedback
There are several ways you can get feedback about your work performance. Formally, you can get it through 360 multi-rater assessments. In a 360, peers, superiors and reports anonymously provide feedback on all aspects of your behavior.
Informally, you can make time once a day to reflect on the day's events, e.g. how people reacted to you, how fluidly you were able to work with or manage others, etc. To do this effectively on your own requires a high degree of emotional intelligence. Emotional Intelligence, or EQ as it's often called, is defined as awareness of your own and others' emotions, and how they are impacted by situations. Some people are simply born with a high EQ but with diligent introspection it can be cultivated to a degree in everyone.
If you fall into the latter category, another more practical method that falls somewhere in between the formality of a 360 and the informality of quiet daily reflection is to get in the habit of doing regular post-mortems on every project in which you are involved. In order to do this effectively however, you must learn to do two things: ask good questions, and listen without justifying or defending your actions.
Ask Good Questions
The skill of asking good questions can be invaluable to you and your organization. When the question is about your own performance however, it can be harder to be objective about negative feedback. When you show that you are equally open to all types of feedback, you demonstrate self-awareness and the willingness to learn.
Plus, asking questions models a solid, transparent approach to problem-solving and decision-making that benefits everyone in an organization. But perhaps most importantly, it models that it's okay not to know everything, which encourages everyone that it's okay to be constantly learning.
By modeling habits of good self-awareness you help to create a more self-aware organization. An organization that is self-aware is open to learning and better equipped to adjust quickly to changes as the marketplace dictates. This ability is the defining characteristic of a learning organization and possibly the most compelling reason all managers at all levels should include self-awareness in their development goals.
Listen without Justifying
Once you've solicited feedback it's crucial that you listen without justifying your actions or people will stop giving you feedback. Moreover, when you are busy defending your actions, you miss what the person is trying to tell you.
If on the other hand you listen and accept feedback without defending yourself, you're more likely to hear what you need to hear, increasing your credibility with the person giving you feedback and creating a trust bond that will enable them to continue providing useful feedback in the future.
So how self-aware are you?
No doubt most of us would answer with confidence that we are pretty darn self-aware. Before you take self-awareness off your development radar screen, consider this: According to research* on management styles, you're more likely to be unaware of your behavior and how it impacts others if normally tend to operate at the extremes.
For example, at one extreme are the "Originators." Originators tend to be quick decision-makers who aren't afraid of confrontation or taking risks. On the other end of the spectrum you'll find "Conservers." Conservers are much more rule-bound and conflict- and change-averse. Most people fall somewhere in between these two extremes and are aptly labeled as "Pragmatists." Pragmatists don't either seek out or avoid confrontation. More practical and flexible, they tend to focus on issues in the order in which they need to be resolved.
So if you identify more with the descriptions of the Originator or Conserver, this may be an indicator that you are not as self-aware as you think you are. No matter where you fall on the spectrum of management styles, the benefits of greater self-awareness should be incentive enough to consistently seek (and listen to) as much feedback as possible on your performance at work.
Conclusion
When you pretend to know it all and never admit mistakes, you model behavior that can have negative consequences for yourself and your entire organization. Conversely, when you are self-aware enough to openly admit missteps and concede that you still have plenty to learn, you turn mistakes are learning opportunities and give people permission to be collaborative without fear of appearing unqualified.
To begin to increase your self-awareness, seek feedback on your performance from others by asking good questions and listening without justifying or defending your actions. Remember, organizations benefit far more from leaders who take responsibility for what they don't know than from leaders who pretend to know it all.
As Stedman Graham wrote, ‘self awareness is where true success begins because its difficult to understand the world and how one will respond to certain stimuli without it’.
Below is a good article on this very important leadership competency. Read on..
Self Awareness and the Effective Leader – Chris Musselwhite (Inc.com)
Organizations benefit more from leaders who take responsibility for what they don't know than from leaders who pretend to know it all.
Although it is probably one of the least discussed leadership competencies, self-awareness is possibly one of the most valuable. Self-awareness is being conscious of what you're good at while acknowledging what you still have yet to learn. This includes admitting when you don't have the answer and owning up to mistakes.
In our highly competitive culture, this can seem counterintuitive. In fact, many of us operate on the belief that we must appear as though we know everything all the time or else people will question our abilities, diminishing our effectiveness as leaders.
If you're honest with yourself, you'll admit that really the opposite is true. Because whether you acknowledge your weaknesses or not, everyone still sees them. So rather than conceal them, the person who tries to hide weaknesses actually highlights them, creating the perception of a lack of integrity and self-awareness.
The Benefits of Self-awareness
It's easy to see how pretending to know everything when you don't can create situations that can be problematic for your entire organization. On the other hand, when you take responsibility for what you don't know, you benefit both yourself and your organization.
On an interpersonal level, self-awareness of your strengths and weaknesses can net you the trust of others and increase your credibility -- both of which will increase your leadership effectiveness.
On an organizational level, the benefits are even greater. When you acknowledge what you have yet to learn, you're modeling that in your organization it's okay to admit you don't have all the answers, to make mistakes and most importantly, to ask for help. These are all characteristics of an organization that is constantly learning and springboards to innovation and agility -- two hallmarks of high performing organizations.
Know When Strength Might Be Played Out
Most likely, your strengths are what got you to this point in your career. As your role in your organization changes, you must be careful not to overplay a former strength to the point that it actually becomes a weakness.
For example, let's say you're great with detail and have done good things for your organization as an individual contributor and get rewarded with a management role. Continuing to delve in the details once you're responsible for projects and people will cause you to lose ground with 1) your reports, who will feel unnecessary; and 2) your superiors, who may rethink your readiness for managerial responsibility.
Acknowledging the need to become better at anything is only the beginning, and it's often the most difficult step in the whole process. In many cases, individuals successfully come to the realization that something's not working but have no clue how to change it into something that works.
This difficulty to see in yourself what others see so easily is what makes the path to self-awareness so challenging. One way to get started is by soliciting and listening to feedback from those who work with you.
Solicit Feedback
There are several ways you can get feedback about your work performance. Formally, you can get it through 360 multi-rater assessments. In a 360, peers, superiors and reports anonymously provide feedback on all aspects of your behavior.
Informally, you can make time once a day to reflect on the day's events, e.g. how people reacted to you, how fluidly you were able to work with or manage others, etc. To do this effectively on your own requires a high degree of emotional intelligence. Emotional Intelligence, or EQ as it's often called, is defined as awareness of your own and others' emotions, and how they are impacted by situations. Some people are simply born with a high EQ but with diligent introspection it can be cultivated to a degree in everyone.
If you fall into the latter category, another more practical method that falls somewhere in between the formality of a 360 and the informality of quiet daily reflection is to get in the habit of doing regular post-mortems on every project in which you are involved. In order to do this effectively however, you must learn to do two things: ask good questions, and listen without justifying or defending your actions.
Ask Good Questions
The skill of asking good questions can be invaluable to you and your organization. When the question is about your own performance however, it can be harder to be objective about negative feedback. When you show that you are equally open to all types of feedback, you demonstrate self-awareness and the willingness to learn.
Plus, asking questions models a solid, transparent approach to problem-solving and decision-making that benefits everyone in an organization. But perhaps most importantly, it models that it's okay not to know everything, which encourages everyone that it's okay to be constantly learning.
By modeling habits of good self-awareness you help to create a more self-aware organization. An organization that is self-aware is open to learning and better equipped to adjust quickly to changes as the marketplace dictates. This ability is the defining characteristic of a learning organization and possibly the most compelling reason all managers at all levels should include self-awareness in their development goals.
Listen without Justifying
Once you've solicited feedback it's crucial that you listen without justifying your actions or people will stop giving you feedback. Moreover, when you are busy defending your actions, you miss what the person is trying to tell you.
If on the other hand you listen and accept feedback without defending yourself, you're more likely to hear what you need to hear, increasing your credibility with the person giving you feedback and creating a trust bond that will enable them to continue providing useful feedback in the future.
So how self-aware are you?
No doubt most of us would answer with confidence that we are pretty darn self-aware. Before you take self-awareness off your development radar screen, consider this: According to research* on management styles, you're more likely to be unaware of your behavior and how it impacts others if normally tend to operate at the extremes.
For example, at one extreme are the "Originators." Originators tend to be quick decision-makers who aren't afraid of confrontation or taking risks. On the other end of the spectrum you'll find "Conservers." Conservers are much more rule-bound and conflict- and change-averse. Most people fall somewhere in between these two extremes and are aptly labeled as "Pragmatists." Pragmatists don't either seek out or avoid confrontation. More practical and flexible, they tend to focus on issues in the order in which they need to be resolved.
So if you identify more with the descriptions of the Originator or Conserver, this may be an indicator that you are not as self-aware as you think you are. No matter where you fall on the spectrum of management styles, the benefits of greater self-awareness should be incentive enough to consistently seek (and listen to) as much feedback as possible on your performance at work.
Conclusion
When you pretend to know it all and never admit mistakes, you model behavior that can have negative consequences for yourself and your entire organization. Conversely, when you are self-aware enough to openly admit missteps and concede that you still have plenty to learn, you turn mistakes are learning opportunities and give people permission to be collaborative without fear of appearing unqualified.
To begin to increase your self-awareness, seek feedback on your performance from others by asking good questions and listening without justifying or defending your actions. Remember, organizations benefit far more from leaders who take responsibility for what they don't know than from leaders who pretend to know it all.
Wednesday 17 December 2008
Managing Four Generations-Strategies for All
Generational diversity is probably the most challenging of all diversity issues. For the first time in the history of America, there are four generations working alongside with one another. And each one is different. They are shaped by their unique experiences and they all bring different attitudes and feelings into the workplace thus making it a challenge for many managers and leaders. Although there are separate management strategies for each group, the following are some strategies that are common to all:
- Regularly communicate with them, both formally and informally.
- Be transparent and honest.
- Listen to them
- Understand their needs and requirements and then show your willingness to accommodate them
- Provide them feedback-both positive and constructive.
- Make sure they understand what is expected of them. Set clear goals and parameters
- Be a coach to them
- Provide opportunities for growth and learning- discuss career paths and progressions
- Be flexible and adapt to meet their needs - behavior modification is key
- Reward and recognize them
- Empower them by involving them in decision making and problem solving processes.
- Regularly communicate with them, both formally and informally.
- Be transparent and honest.
- Listen to them
- Understand their needs and requirements and then show your willingness to accommodate them
- Provide them feedback-both positive and constructive.
- Make sure they understand what is expected of them. Set clear goals and parameters
- Be a coach to them
- Provide opportunities for growth and learning- discuss career paths and progressions
- Be flexible and adapt to meet their needs - behavior modification is key
- Reward and recognize them
- Empower them by involving them in decision making and problem solving processes.
Wednesday 10 December 2008
Are Your Employees Engaged?
While many factors contribute to an organization's success, none is more important than a workforce - a healthy, productive and engaged workforce.
Employee engagement is a buzz word nowadays. One that is commonly heard in business circuits, one that many organizations struggle with.
How do we keep our employees engaged? is a question that is often asked by leaders and managers in organizations. Here are some strategies that leaders can employ to begin the process of engagement:
Clear mission/strategy: Establishing a clear mission/business strategy is imperative and critical to an organization's success. What is our purpose? What do we hope to accomplish as a company? How do we see ourselves in the next few years? How do we differentiate ourselves from our competitors? These are some of the important questions leaders must analyze and answer to establish a mission. A mission that is not limited to just the C-suite but that trickles down the organization and is adopted by each individual as a tenet to success. Leaders and managers should continually communicate the mission to their teams and employees, help them understand its importance and aid them in seeing the connection between what they do and the impact their contributions have on the mission.
Clarity in Job Expectations: Most employees don't necessarily have a full understanding of their role in the organization. What was I hired to do? How does what I do impact the overall success of my organization? These are questions often posed by employees who face this dilemma. And often, they don't voice these concerns for fear of retaliation or retribution. Job clarity is important especially when it comes to keeping employees motivated and engaged. They need to understand the critical role they play, how they contribute to the bottom line. They need to understand that very clearly and it is up to their managers and leaders to help them see their purpose. Setting clear/SMART goals, establishing performance parameters and making employees accountable are some of the critical steps in accomplishing clarity.
Communication: Lack of communication, particularly that of feedback from managers is one of the top reasons why employees leave organizations. Leaders and managers should understand the importance of staying connected with their employees both formally as well as informally. Employees want to know what's going on. They are interested in knowing the direction the company is taking, the initiatives it is involved in, the programs/projects that it plans to implement, how is it performing financially. Granted, information need to be divulged on a 'need to know' basis, but it does not take away the fact that information sharing(top-down, lateral, upward) should be one of the most important priorities for success. The organization should not only establish clear communication guidelines on how information will be disseminated,but should also establish proper channels that employees can use to offer ideas and feedback. After all, successful communication is a two way street.
Creating growth and development opportunities: Create an environment where employees are 'celebrated rather than tolerated' as Simon T. Bailey (http://simontbaileyblog.com/)would say. It is important that companies provide an environment where employees are provided with numerous growth opportunities. An environment in which employees thrive, take on challenging tasks/ projects, encouraged to take risks, learn from their mistakes, problem solve, utilize their skill set, acquire new ones. There should be opportunities for cross training, job rotations, lateral moves-any avenue that will help the employee acquire and maximise their skills and capabilities.
Recognition and Rewards: Recognition is one of the critical pieces of the engagement puzzle. Employers who take the time to reward and recognize their employees are much more successful than employers who don't. One of the common excuses companies use to justify lack of recognition is that it costs money. But rewards doesn't always have to be monetary. Here are couple of ideas that don't cost a dime. It's all about making an effort.
- Provide them feedback on how they are doing. Consistently and regularly.
- Involve your employees in the decision making – this is a great way to empower them.
- Ask them what they think. Ask for their ideas and input on work processes, issues you may be facing. The message you convey is: Your opinions matter, you are valuable.
- Listen to them. Listening to them sends the message that you care and that they are important!
- When you have a new member joining your team, ask them: “When you do a good job, how do you like to be recognized?” You will not only learn what motivates people but you also begin establishing an expectation that team members will do a good job.
- Know them as people! Find out what is important to your employees. What do they value? This shows you are interested in knowing them for who they in life than just what they are at work.
Create a recognition program in your organization. Better yet, task your employees to develop one. After all, they know best what works for them.
An organization is a vaccum without people-the single most important asset. The above are few important areas it can focus on to keep its employees engaged and motivated.
Employee engagement is a buzz word nowadays. One that is commonly heard in business circuits, one that many organizations struggle with.
How do we keep our employees engaged? is a question that is often asked by leaders and managers in organizations. Here are some strategies that leaders can employ to begin the process of engagement:
Clear mission/strategy: Establishing a clear mission/business strategy is imperative and critical to an organization's success. What is our purpose? What do we hope to accomplish as a company? How do we see ourselves in the next few years? How do we differentiate ourselves from our competitors? These are some of the important questions leaders must analyze and answer to establish a mission. A mission that is not limited to just the C-suite but that trickles down the organization and is adopted by each individual as a tenet to success. Leaders and managers should continually communicate the mission to their teams and employees, help them understand its importance and aid them in seeing the connection between what they do and the impact their contributions have on the mission.
Clarity in Job Expectations: Most employees don't necessarily have a full understanding of their role in the organization. What was I hired to do? How does what I do impact the overall success of my organization? These are questions often posed by employees who face this dilemma. And often, they don't voice these concerns for fear of retaliation or retribution. Job clarity is important especially when it comes to keeping employees motivated and engaged. They need to understand the critical role they play, how they contribute to the bottom line. They need to understand that very clearly and it is up to their managers and leaders to help them see their purpose. Setting clear/SMART goals, establishing performance parameters and making employees accountable are some of the critical steps in accomplishing clarity.
Communication: Lack of communication, particularly that of feedback from managers is one of the top reasons why employees leave organizations. Leaders and managers should understand the importance of staying connected with their employees both formally as well as informally. Employees want to know what's going on. They are interested in knowing the direction the company is taking, the initiatives it is involved in, the programs/projects that it plans to implement, how is it performing financially. Granted, information need to be divulged on a 'need to know' basis, but it does not take away the fact that information sharing(top-down, lateral, upward) should be one of the most important priorities for success. The organization should not only establish clear communication guidelines on how information will be disseminated,but should also establish proper channels that employees can use to offer ideas and feedback. After all, successful communication is a two way street.
Creating growth and development opportunities: Create an environment where employees are 'celebrated rather than tolerated' as Simon T. Bailey (http://simontbaileyblog.com/)would say. It is important that companies provide an environment where employees are provided with numerous growth opportunities. An environment in which employees thrive, take on challenging tasks/ projects, encouraged to take risks, learn from their mistakes, problem solve, utilize their skill set, acquire new ones. There should be opportunities for cross training, job rotations, lateral moves-any avenue that will help the employee acquire and maximise their skills and capabilities.
Recognition and Rewards: Recognition is one of the critical pieces of the engagement puzzle. Employers who take the time to reward and recognize their employees are much more successful than employers who don't. One of the common excuses companies use to justify lack of recognition is that it costs money. But rewards doesn't always have to be monetary. Here are couple of ideas that don't cost a dime. It's all about making an effort.
- Provide them feedback on how they are doing. Consistently and regularly.
- Involve your employees in the decision making – this is a great way to empower them.
- Ask them what they think. Ask for their ideas and input on work processes, issues you may be facing. The message you convey is: Your opinions matter, you are valuable.
- Listen to them. Listening to them sends the message that you care and that they are important!
- When you have a new member joining your team, ask them: “When you do a good job, how do you like to be recognized?” You will not only learn what motivates people but you also begin establishing an expectation that team members will do a good job.
- Know them as people! Find out what is important to your employees. What do they value? This shows you are interested in knowing them for who they in life than just what they are at work.
Create a recognition program in your organization. Better yet, task your employees to develop one. After all, they know best what works for them.
An organization is a vaccum without people-the single most important asset. The above are few important areas it can focus on to keep its employees engaged and motivated.
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