Archive for Mgmt. Articles
Communicating at Work – Managing Unmet Expectations
Posted by: | CommentsA common complaint from managers revolves around unmet expectations from direct reports and team leaders. Whether we are talking about missed deadlines, missed goals or missed opportunities communication is always at the heart of the problem.
Let’s take a look at just one root cause of unmet expectations and a solution.
Problem: Systems and tools don’t function as needed and departments don’t work well together.
Solution:
1. Provide the needed tools to do the job–including software, hardware, human resources, filing and process systems, proper forms, paper, etc. It is difficult to hammer nails without the nails.
2. Smooth the path between departments to eliminate the “I can’t start my part until I receive this information from…” syndrome. Catch issues before they start. Ensure that all departments are coordinated with the same expected outcome.
3. Grant the authority to do the job. Often an issue between departments occurs when one department is expected to perform but has no authority to make decisions that directly affect their ability to do so. Design is often driven by manufacturing , which is driven by operating goals. If operating goals are best met by producing out-of -date products (sounds crazy, but it happens a lot), then design can not create what the market is asking for and sales people can’t meet their goals. Don’t expect a quick fix. All departments need to understand their role in profitability and growth.
Want more information about root causes and solutions? You’ll find it on pages 113 – 115 of Misunderstood! The Fast Guide to Communicating at Work–What to Say, How to Say It and When to Shut Up.
Get your copy at Amazon.com and don’t forget to pick up your FREE Bonuses.
Leave me your story of unmet expectations.
Management’s Role in Motivating Employees- How to Connect Them to Something Bigger
Posted by: | Comments
Motivating employees, especially during economic downturns, requires an empathic approach. Or, as I prefer to call it—the “connecting your heart-to-your-head approach.” The pressure of too-much-work-to-be-done with too few people often causes a low level response to the threat of job loss as a stimulus for more production. Simply, their emotional well is dry and any increase in productivity is short-lived. Threats don’t work.
Managers expect employees to be self-motivated and to a degree that should be the case. Self-motivation is the ability to get things done without being directed by others. But, this does not absolve a manager from providing Read More→
Misunderstandings in the Workplace – How to Clarify Expectations and Meet Goals
Posted by: | CommentsA common complaint from managers revolves around unmet expectations from direct reports and their teams. Similarly, workers complain that expectations are not clear and leave too much room for misunderstandings and assumptions.
Here is a look at some root problems and solutions:
Problem: Failure to clarify the desired results assuming the outcome is understood.
Management is often working within a larger framework with information that has not been made available to their direct reports. Think of this information as the missing pieces that complete the puzzle picture. The manager’s expected result is to reproduce the picture with all the parts as he sees it. Misunderstandings arise when the picture in the manager’s head does not match the picture they have painted for their direct reports.
Solution:
1. Clarify the expectations. Paint a picture in as many ways as possible-visually, verbally and vocally. Give a comparison to a known entity, if possible. “It should look like X with this adjustment.”
2. Clearly state the required details-the non-negotiable conditions.
3. Confirm interpretation and actions. Ask what was heard. Ask what that means. Ask what actions will be taken. Allow creativity and leeway to do the job as long as the end result is the same.
Problem: Systems and tools don’t function as needed and departments don’t work together.
Solution: Read More→
Internal Communication – Workplace Magic or Myth?
Posted by: | CommentsJob Function–Avoid Costly Misundersandings with Clear Communication
Posted by: | Comments
Misunderstanding a job role causes more issues than simply lost production. Customer complaints, lost business, public safety or legal issues are all at stake.
Clear communication takes more than a paragraph in a handbook or a few sentences uttered by human resources or a manager. Ideally, the job function conversation should occur not only during the interview and orientation process but throughout the first ninety days.
Here are a few ways to clearly communicate the role of a job to decrease misunderstandings:
- Verbally describe the role including tasks and expectations. The challenge here is to be both specific and broad. Use stories and examples to help create a picture that words alone fail to illustrate. Communicate the desired outcome graphically.
- Written job descriptions are critical to compliance. Don’t rely on an initialed checklist indicating the new hire has read and understood the information. Written communication alone does not address questions adequately and leaves the new hire without an appropriate venue for voicing questions or concerns. Take the time to review and expand the job description using real examples.
- Use a detailed description of a typical day or scenarios the new hire might encounter. Again, using a story format helps put the new hire into the picture.
- Describe situations outside the job description the new hire would be expected to handle. Give end-result expectations and examples.
- After giving a verbal and written description ask for feedback in the form of a summary–not a list or recitation–but a description of how they see the function and their role in making it happen. Ask how they would handle a situation and encourage details about the end results. Listen for any disconnects between their “idea” of the job and the actual expectations of the job. What is not being said is more important than what is being said.
- Ask for where they see their biggest challenge in their job. Ask for a strategy for achieving results. Do not let “hopefully, I can…” be an acceptable answer. Hope is not a strategy. Too frequently new hires are skilled at giving the appropriate answers but have no intentions or aptitude for actually doing the function.
Clearly communicating policy, processes and job function is a part of your job if you hire or manage people. Spend more time on this critical message upfront and enjoy fewer misunderstandings in the future.
If you want more tips you can use on the job be sure to get your FREE 6 part audio series by putting your name and email in the boxes to your upper right. Now, pick up a copy of Misunderstood! The Fast Guide to Communicating at Work-What to Say, How to Say It and When to Shut Up, for dozens of tips and techniques that can change your life.
Information Contact Allie at 407-313-4967
or Ask Your Questions on the Contact Page
