Cards anyone?

Personality Poker - 5 deck set

Product description

Personality Poker by Stephen Shapiro

5 deck set includes: 5 decks + instruction manual  + streaming video

If your organization is having a difficult time staying ahead of the curve, it’s probably suffering from sameness—the widespread condition in organizations where commonality is valued above individuality. Unbeknownst to most, chronic sameness destroys innovation and creative thinking. 

Introducing Personality Poker, the playing card tool for driving high-performance teamwork and innovation. 

 

http://changethis.com/product/show/4-Personality_Poker___5_deck_set

Teaming up with others is smart strategy

Meeting new people and developing relationships with others is one vital key towards future growth and success.  Step outside of your usual and comfortable circles of friends and take a risk.
I like to attend events with people with whom I would otherwise never meet or interact with.  One such person that I have met recently is Tabitha Roder.  Tabitha is an e-learning specialist and is involved with a project called 'olpc' (one laptop per child).  Now I had never heard of olpc or Tabitha (no offense) before I went to a conference.  I am so glad I took a risk, introduced myself and made a new friend.
The same goes for you.  Here's the challenge -

1. Register for a conference where you know no-one and none of the content.
2. Set yourself a goal of how many people you want to meet and have good converstaions with.  Example - 3 people per day.
3. Get peoples business cards and contact details - and follow up!

"A man's growth is seen in the successive choirs of his friends."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Internet

Team Values Pt 5 - Honesty

“Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people.”  Spencer Johnson.

When one of the values that underpins and guides your team is honesty then that enables everyone to deal with the issues as they really are.  If someones work is exemplary they should be told so.  If someones work is crap then they need to be told that too.

Honesty as a value does not give free licence to pick on people or to be destructive.  What it does do is allow everyone to say their piece, deal with the issue and move on.

I recommend the Toastmasters method of giving feedback -

• Commend
• Recommend
• Commend

Honesty - it works.

(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sunnyuk/2390099471/)

Team Values Pt 4 - The Creative Team

Want to achieve greater efficiencies and improved workplace performance?

Give your staff the power to -

• Dream about how it could be better,
• Influence their work design, workspace or workflow and ultimately -
• Own the workplace.

How?

• Make time to dream and allow your staff to both imagine and see the future. 
• Let them describe what the most effective workplace would look like.
• Then ask them what they can do as a part of their existing role and with the resources they have to make that dream into a reality.  If they need more resources - guess what?  You just might have to buy them.

Note - this is not just a once off exercise.  Like muscles creativity needs to be stretched and used in order for it to grow.  By creating regular sessions to imagine then creativity will become second nature to the team.  And then the results will ultimately flow.

Here is a link to a great article that will help you in your journey towards unleashing the creativity in your team.

(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nidriel/208695752/)

Team Values Pt 3 - Developing Culture

Culture is defined by Gareth Morgan as being:  "The set of the set of beliefs, values, and norms, together with symbols like dramatized events and personalities, that represents the unique character of an organization, and provides the context for action in it and by it."

The best way to consider team culture is to view it as being the core beliefs and binding behaviors that a group of people choose to confirm, affirm and act out.  The worth of establishing team values is in the development of a team culture.

Here is what I am working on at the moment -

1. Creating a set of values.
2. Getting buy-in from the team.
3. Establishing a team culture.

Interestingly in my team we are attempting to complete this exercise after the team has already been in place for a few years.  So we already have a team culture in practice and now I would like to capture and define that culture on paper to enable the team to be clear on who, what and why we exist.  I considered in the past attempting such an exercise and getting the team to work on such a task but the timing and team understanding the purpose of such an exercise did not exist.

However with change occuring in the wider organisational culture, a new member added to the team, as well as the internal restructure of a department or two - the time now seeems appropriate.

So how is team culture established?

1. By what we do.
2. By what we say.
3. By how we do things.

Over time these three areas overlap and build on each other.  Then persons both within and without of the team begin to see the way a team works together - and that is culture.

(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/smb_flickr/2325663412/)

Team Values Pt 2 - Defending the Team

Your team should be the most important thing to you.  Even if they annoy you and tick you off - they are still your team!  Your team can be either the making or the breaking of your success as a manager.  As a manager your performance is determined by the results and outcomes that you are able to motivate them to produce.

One hugely important aspect of this is - loyalty.  You being loyal to your team and your team being loyal to you.

The easiest way to demonstate your loyalty to your team is by the way you treat your team and talk about them in public.  Team members take to heart what they hear their bosses saying about then.  So be very careful - what you say, when you say it and whom you say it to.

(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/denise-ann-wells/4456677616/)

Team Values - Pt 1

Knowing why your team exists and why the team exists is important.  It is important because it creates a bond between the team members and it also provides both boundaries and a sense of grounding.

To give the team a sense of unity and working together it is a good idea to create some team values and a philosophy of approach.  Team values provide both the methodology and the core purpose for acting.

Here are a few thoughts on team values -

1. Position.  Values are not rules but a set of guidelines that help team members to understand what is required of them as both an individual and a team member.
2. Performance.  Values help team members know what their performance assessment criteria are.  Team members know the difference between individual performance and team performance.
3. Purpose.  Values help to bond the team toward a single focus and reason for being.  Team members understand why the team exists.
4. Management.  Team values can empower the manager to lead and guide the team.  The combined team sets the values and the manager guides and holds to account each team member to ensure they remain on track.

Tomorrow the when, how and who writes the values.

(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/40383565@N06/4285112117/)

Quote of the Week - Teams

“When a team outgrows individual performance and learns team confidence, excellence becomes a reality.”

Joe Paterno.

What is Leadership?

"What is Leadcership"? was a question raised in a meeting of professional like minded people who are committed to professional development.  This kind of question has no right and no real wrong answers.

However trying to define what leadership actually is can be really hard.  Here is my quicjk checklist for what constitutes leadership.

1. Decisions.  The ultimate test of leadership is a persons ability to make a decision.  Whether that decision is made instantly or over a long time can determine a persons leadership.  If the question is able to be answered and if there is a successful outcome or not is a sign of leadership.
2. Strategy.  Leaders have an uncanmny knack for being able to see ahead and to be able to devise answers and saolutions to various situations.  Managers deal with situations as they happen or after the fact.  Leaders think and plan ahead.
3. People.  Leaders deal with people.  People follow leaders.  It is amusing how many people assume they are a leader because they hold a position.  Real leadership occurs when people listen to you and do what you ask, go where you go and just plain get on with it.

If this subject interests you try looking at this article as well.

(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephenpoff/2382055622/)

Builing the Ideal Team

Teams don't just happen.  Teams are the sum total of a decision someone somewhere in an organisation has made.  The ideal team is one where you can start with a clean slate.  No rules, no history and no axes to grind.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to work as a part of a team of highly talented and motivated people.  So how does a team like that come about and what makes the team great?  Here are a few key points.

1. Variation of skills and abilities.  Great teams have people who are skilled in different ways.  On our team we have key players in their various organisations who have the ability to create significant change within their local organisation.
2. The ability to get along.  The team only comes together quarterly.  That means the team members never see each other at any other time or stage.  So when the team gets together there is limited time to spend mucking around.  Having people who get along on the team is vital.
3. People who know people know people.  The team we have was formed through friendships first, shoulder taps second and recommendation of others third.  Getting the right mix of personalities and skills can be hard.  My recommendation is that rather then adding someone to the team just so they can do work can be more harmful than helpful in the long run for the overall health of the team.

One team that I always think was formed well and operated with excellence was the administration team put together by John F Kennedy.  That team dealt with The Bay of Pigs affair, the Cuban Missile Crisis as well as Cold War political pressures.  JFK's team was pulled together with people of various backgrounds and with different talents to deal with the biggest issues in the world at that time.

So - what do you need a team for?  And who will you pick?

(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chestertonfootball/4912484622/)

Quote of the Week

 

"You can only elevate individual performance by elevating that of the entire system."

W. Edwards Deming

(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/deniscollette/1817034358/sizes/o/)

Understanding Your Team

There are quite a few different models and systems for labeling and categorising people in the workforce.  Some of those systems are time consuming and require a lot of input from other people.

Some of the models are very simple yet can be just as effective if used in the same manner and method as the more labour intensive types.

Here is a link to one of my more favorite models that is clear and concise.

Very simply people fall into one of four categories -

1. The Iceberg.  These are the people for whom everything is an issue.  They have very little motivation and usually are ignored after the boss gives up on trying to help them.
2. The Backbone.  These are the people who are the stayers of the company.  They know their job and they know how to do it well.  Yet they don't have the charisma or the drive to move up into star status.
3. The Problem Child.  These people have tons of potential but don't have a constructive way of venting their ideas and their energies.  So they become rebellious and mouthy.  They still have a ton of potential but require a good telling off more often than not.
4. The Star.  These are the people who are determined to be the best and have the skill and drive to achieve great results.

The awesome thing about this model is that you can quickly differentiate between personality types and the descriptions used provide excellent analogies for the people you have.  The other great thing about this is that you can figure out what the motivators are for each group which will enable you to proactively encourage your team towards greater results.

Once you have formed a clear picture of who you have in your team and what they are capable of achieving then you can begin to divide the various projects and assignments according to who will and who won't get the results that you require.

What model do you like?  Do you use it?

Understanding Your Place in the Team

Sports provides some great analogies and illustrations for the everyday manager and the everyday employee to use to better understand the workplace environment.  Today let us look at the roles within teams.

Sports teams usually have a combination of the following sorts of players -

• Starters,
• Reserves,
• Developing Talent, and
• New Recruits.

Knowing which one of these positions you fit into and currently hold can help you better understand the whys and how's of your job.

The starter - usually means you have had time to develop your skills, you understand the game plan, you have chemistry with your fellow team mates and you are reliable without being boring.

If you are a reserve - this probably means you are good at what you do but there is someone who is that little bit better than you are.  This isn't a crisis situation but it allows you the opportunity to watch what the starters are doing and to work on your own game out of the spotlight and the glare of watching crowds.

Developing talent - is usually a younger person who has been in the team for a while but still doesn't fully understand the game plan or doesn't yet have the same levels of chemistry with the remaining team members as the reserves do.  Developing talent is also usually on rotation which means they are exposed to the spotlight every so often and then are sent back to training for more development.

New recruits - doesn't need much explanation.  The great thing about being a new recruit is that you haven't yet been in the team long enough for your skills and personality to have been pigeon holed.  So the new recruit can showcase their skills and grasp opportunities that developers and reserves may not have the same opportunity to show off.  Recruits need to make the most of every chance they get to impress and build.

Starting on a team is never a guaranteed position.  Neither is being on the bench.  One thing great coaches understand is the capability and potential of their players and they have the skill to know when someone needs a rest, when they are peaking or when it is time to cut them loose.

So which type of player do you think you are?  Do you understand your role and how pivotal it is?

(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianauer/3766020250)

The Team

It is important that as a manager you have a team you can trust, depend on and can delegate to.  Often times you may not get the choice of who is in your team.  If you do get the choice to create a team keep these thought in mind -

• Pick people that have a track record of being dependable. 
• Choose people who turn up every day.
• Choose people who can roll with the punches.  Having flexibility in your staff and knowing they can handle last minute surprises without losing it is awesome.
• Find people who will complement the existing team.  Getting the right mix and balance of staff is crucial to ensuring success and ongoing excellence.
• Look for people who have different skills than you do.  Use people who are skilled in different areas than you are. 

Team is about a bunch of people workng together to achieve great outcomes together.

(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/atomicshed/162331999/in/set-72157594157568583/)

Human Capital Management

PeopleStreme.com have made this awesome video and posted it onto You Tube.  I have put it here and will add my contribution further down the page.

What value do you place on your work?  What value is placed on you?  Do you rate yourself or not?

Conversely - What value do you place on others work?  What value do you place on others?  How do you measure that value and is that measure relevant or accurate?

Here are a few facts of life as far as organisation's go -

• Size matters.  The bigger the organisation the less they know about you.  What happens is the more layers in an organisation the more removed you will be from the central services.
• Front Line Managers matter! The relationship between you and your direct manager is always the most important relationship you will have.  This is true if you are the cleaner all the way through to if you are a Director of the Board.  You must work with your boss!
• The HR Department matters!  Admitted in most organisations the only time you most people will interact with HR is when they are hired or if they are fired.  But it doesn't have to be that way!  Go out of yur way to meet the staff and make sure they remember who you are (for the right reasons of course).  It pays to make friends and keep them for as long as you can.
• The skills and abilities of your staff matter!  Update them!  Watch your staff.  Learn from them.  Be open to having your staff tell you where they think what sklls they need to work on and develop.  If you disagree you can help steer them in a better direction.  Create an audit or questionaire to work through at appraisal time to help lead and guide your discussions about where peoples skills are at.
• Coaching matters!  The best time to coach someone is when they are reflecting and considering their performance.  If your manager doesn'tdo this for you - tell them or look for another manager.

PunkRockHR posted a great piece on employee engagement a few days ago which ties in nicely with this post.  Head over there and check it out - WARNING: it will provoke a response.

People who are paid to do work will do a better job when they feel valued, understood and have the freedom to do what they have to in a way that makes sense to them (while adding value to the organisation).

Leadership Lessons - The Role of the Conductor

Here are the quick lessons from the video below -

1. Have fun.
2. Let the stories of the individuals, groups and community flow together to create a symphony.
3. Give clear instructions but then relinquish control and let the group interpret your motives in their own way.
4. Let the magic of others emanate from them as you provide overall guidance.
5. Execution is everything.
6. Express yourself.
7. Authority is important and people must respect your authority. There is a time and a place to exert your authority and it is better to deal with a situation in private after the moment - than during the moment.
8. Authority in partnership with autonomy creates the best music.
9. Put it all together and let the music play.
   
   
   
   
   Itay Talgam describes music, harmony and music performance. This is a great video and is one to remember.

Beware - Too Much Knowledge

Having a star performer employee is great. Having two or more is fantastic!

What you need to watch out for though is sometime's the knowledge of the business can be held by only one or two people.

So what happen's when those people go or holiday? Does the business come to a standstill?

Be careful not to let too much knowledge be stored up in particular invdividuals. rather work as much as you can to ensure the knowledge is spread around.

Just in case.

Talent - what do you do with it?

Every employee you have and person you know has a particular talent and tons of potential. The key is to figure out - what is that talent and how do you make the most of it?

Talented people generally are on the move (either upwards or sideways) and think they know where they are going. What you need as a manager to do is to provide a balance between untried ambition and actual skill. Provide a balance between new challenges and the development of new skills as well as the refinement and strengthening of current skills. Getting the balance between the two is hard - but the results are also very rewarding both for your business and the person concerned.

The other idea is to make every employee a CEO of something. Make them completely responsible for an idea or project. Give them a budget, authority and the right amount of support to make it happen.

Talented employees also need feedback and reflection time. The reviewing of KPI's and goals is a powerful motivator. Keep the KPI's short and aggressive. By doing this you, the manager, keeps close to the talent and you can gauge their growth. Where growth is quick - you can set higher targets and more complex problems. Where growth is slower - this provides a good time for both you and the talent to catch a breather before proceeding.

Note - not all talent is under 30! Some of the most talented people you have are over 30, settled into their jobs and are quite possibly bored. the mission is to identify them, lure them out of their secure place and unleash their hidden skills on the world!

Lessons University Never Taught Me - No. 1

People are different. Their work styles and methods are different.

So why do we focus so much on - creating and maintaining teams?

There is nothing wrong with individuals. Individuals make up teams and need to be treated as individuals.

"There's no I in team, but there is in win" Michael Jordan.

What does this mean? Teams are made up of individuals, but for the team to win the individuals must take responsibility for themselves.

Individuals need individual - coaching, development and time.

Here's a great article from Don Bobinski of Management-Issues that talks about the same issue in a slightly different way.