trish_tagle

It’s been a long while since I last wrote. I am glad that the reason was because I was busy, very busy. A lot of travel and a lot of speaking to business leaders, in SEAsia no less. Happy me. The weather here on the East Coast hasn’t quite warmed up yet and I was glad to be out of here to enjoy the warmer climes.

After I gave my talk, naturally there were Q&A sessions. What I found was that regardless of level of manager, there are always those questions that you get that don’t necessarily need technical skill development in order to find a solution. The answers were simple and common sensical. My answers came in the form of a question back at first — have you asked your supervisor? have you asked your direct reports?

It was common that the answer to my questions was, no.

If you need to know something, don’t be afraid to ask. The worst that can happen is you get a no. But what if you don’t and you get a yes? Again, common sense. If you get a no, you are at the same place you were at, status quo. Nothing to lose. So ask the question.

I know it is Friday and no one wants to read a long piece so I am keeping this brief. Don’t hold yourself back and keep things to yourself. If you need help or need an answer, then by all means ASK THE QUESTION. It is the only way you will get to move forward. If the answer is no, go back to the drawing board and figure out another way to get what you want. If the answer is yes, then hey … imagine if you never opened your mouth. Have a great weekend and enjoy the warmer weather coming up! I know I will.

I’ve been working on my speaking presentation these past few days and every now and then I would hit a wall. I’ve had to think really hard on how to get past it. Should I just stop and wait till tomorrow? But then tomorrow comes and there’s the same wall. Goodness. My presentation is on leadership, by the way and I’m hoping to inspire and encourage business people that are a bit besieged at the moment. Can I do it? Of course I can. But right now, that I CAN DO IT feeling feels a bit used up.

What to do?

I can’t watch/listen to another youtube video out there and TRY to be inspired. I am just worn out from all of it and it all sounds like Charlie Brown’s teacher after a while. Mind you, the people I watch/listen to make sense, it is just not inspiring me anymore. I have reached the point of overload. I’m sure you’ve been there; saturated with whatever it is that is in front of you.
I ask again, what to do?

The book Willpower by Roy F. Baumeister defines what willpower is and it discusses why there are times when you can keep going and why you cannot.

It isn’t a list based on how to gain more willpower but discusses this strength scientifically. The general conclusion is that willpower is finite and relative. If you have to exercise your willpower all day, for example, resisting the temptation to get some candy at the candy machine stationed right next to your desk AND you have to drag yourself to the gym after work in the middle of a very cold and snowy day AND you have to do this every day (you know – because you alternate between lifting and cardio) at some point, you are going to fail. You may fail sooner than you think.

So knowing this, what exactly do I do? I’ve been using my willpower for a while now for various things in my life (not eating that candy, being diligent on doing the work for some courses I have signed up for, being present for my clients, and working on my presentations and my book) and it is all starting to feel like overwhelm.

Simple solution. Get up and take advantage of today’s sunshine. Go for a walk. Do something that I have not done in a while. All work and no play make Jill a dull girl – that isn’t just a childhood throwaway saying. It actually is true (those old timers were real smart in their simplicity). Sometimes you just need a mental and physical break from the daily grind. So get it for yourself. You deserve it. I deserve it. See you in a while, going for a walk now. Ciao.

I listened to a TED talk this weekend. It was by Yves Morieux. He spoke on smart simplicity; too many rules and layers get in the way of being effective. I agree. But what struck me about his talk and his conclusions was that he spoke about cooperation. It was fantastic, not revolutionary in the sense that anyone would say all business, teams, need cooperation to succeed. But that in reality, how many actually practice this value on a daily basis?

A former co-worker is having issues at her current workplace. What issues:

• she asks too many questions,
• she escalates too many times, etc., etc

The bane of her existence, a newly hired director for client relationships that:

• doesn’t want to participate in meetings,
• doesn’t want to answer questions,
• and really, doesn’t want to work.

How do I know? I’ve worked with both at different agencies. I know these personalities firsthand.

There is a huge gap around cooperation when it comes to my former co-worker who is having a difficult time right now. This newly hired director does not value coooperation. They happen to be good-looking, very good at managing up, and even greater at smoke and mirrors. The right way to go about figuring out how to fix this situation is to stand back and analyze if business is doing better and expanding under the influence of the new hire or is it shrinking. Sadly, everyone is looking the other way. Easier to let go of a less senior person than it is one that is supposedly more senior.

If someone on the team has a question and it is relevant to the project, as a leader, be available to answer it. Cooperate.

If the team is struggling with client requirements, help them find solutions that will support the work being done day-to-day and ensure the client is happy. Cooperate.

A really simple but overlooked leadership quality, be available. That is your job; make sure that when people reporting to you or working with the team you are heading up, make sure you are there for them. Leadership means knowing what to do and when to do it. Cooperate.

As Yves Morieux said in his TED talk,

“you need to reward those who cooperate and blame those who don’t cooperate. The CEO of The Lego Group, Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, has a great way to use it. He says, blame is not for failure, it is for failing to help or ask for help. It changes everything.”

And so it does.

When you hear that buzzword, what is it that you think of? I bet you, you feel that it means that customer is KING. Yes, you are right but wait, HOW do you define KING?

If you are of the mindset that customer is king and you must jump when he says so and ask “how high?” I am sorry my friend but you are on the wrong track. This doesn’t set up a beneficial collaborative relationship between you and your clients. It just set up the environment for disaster.

When I hear customer-centric, it reminds me of what Joshua Spodek stated in his article How to Pivot Like a Pro.

Joshua says: “… People don’t buy products and services because you think they solve their problems. They pay for things because they think you’ll solve their problems.”

And that is what customer-centricity is all about. Making sure that you are listening to your customer/client and hearing what it is that they really need and positioning yourself to deliver the solution. Let me add, in a manner that is honest and true to yourself and to the client.

That last statement reminds me of a conversation I had with a client awhile back. I asked him, to the consternation of client services, to tell me what he wanted to hear and that is what I would tell him. These were his options:

A. I would tell him what he wanted to hear (launch everything on their list by x date) and he can smile now and cry later (when we could not deliver because the ask was too much,

OR

B. I would tell him what the reality was on what we could deliver and how and he could be miffed now and really happy later when what we had promised is exactly what we delivered, bug-free and ON TIME; continuing to back-fill the rest of the content through phases 2 and 3.

With a sigh, he said to me, “Trish, tell me how this needs to proceed.”

So, I told him in no uncertain terms what we would deliver and when and how we were going to move through the phases of his projects. All out in the open and just plain honest. I wanted to deliver quality work that would meet his highest priority objectives. He agreed We delivered. On time. Like I outlined. He was over the moon. Home run for our team.

Had I not positioned it as us solving his immediate issues and continuing to deliver ON TIME on the rest of the work in a fashion that would not kill our teams or have us deliver subpar work, this client partnership would have broken down and future business would not have been possible.

I understand that for many this is a change in mindset, a stepping out of your “comfort zone” if I may use that overused term. This 180 degree change from “YES-ING” a client’s every whim to talking to them like adults; expecting them to react like adults creates collaboration beyond what you think is even possible. All it really takes is honesty, integrity, and maturity (Is that too much to ask? I think not). It might mean you practice some courage but you’ll get there.

The next time you go to talk to a client, listen very carefully to what they are saying, provide a prioritized solution that works for both of you, and move in the direction of creating TRUE customer-centric relationships not “bratty, whiny, agency will eventually fire client” ones. See this possibility, create the environment that will nurture this mindset. Trust you can do it and you will.

If you feel you need some support on creating this change in the way you think about client relationships or you feel your team needs assistance with this, don’t hesitate to reach out. I am always glad to help (info at invivoclarity.com).

Most of us have had one of those and if you haven’t worked with or around one, consider yourself lucky. The non-working co-worker. They exist and you are not sure how they get away with not working but they do.

The main reason they get away with what they do is that they are very good with managing up. They talk the talk with senior executives, the people they report to, and other people at their supervisor’s level. Working WITH or reporting to them is not such a great deal. It is frustrating, PERIOD.

I have had my own experiences with the non-working co-worker and have had a lot of people approach me asking me how to deal in this environment. Every situation is different and requires a different way of handling but here are some tips that I can give you that might (might) make life a little easier.

If you work WITH them as an equal:

• Go about your business as usual
• Keep them in the loop
• Do your best to keep your head in your work and not pay attention to what they are not doing, in other words, accept that there are things you are going to have to do yourself in lieu of them taking on the task.

If you work with them but do not report directly to them:

• Keep them in the loop
• Do not engage them directly, if you can help it. Talk to your supervisor (that is at the non-working co-worker’s level), who is hopefully an ally, and discuss the situation.  As your manager they should have your best interest at heart and help you find a solution to the situation

If you work with them AND report to them directly:

• Keep them in the loop
• Make sure that when you have time with them ask ALL THE QUESTIONS you have that would need their input
• There is some risk, but speak to HR or someone at your company that is more senior and is your ally — ask them for advice on how to manage the situation.

There are many other options including asking to move to another account or area of your business and the big one — quitting.

As I said in the beginning, most of us have encountered this type of person at some point in our career. These people are masters at being able to make themselves look good in the eyes of executive management and therefore keep their jobs (a lot of times get promoted even). Any co-worker that gets away with this behavior is definitely frustrating but even more demoralizing is leadership that doesn’t truly lead.

Try your best not to let these types get under your skin. They don’t want to do the work so figure out a way to play nice, get your job done, and ask for help from other people that are in a position to get you the support and answers you need.

I took a long leave at the end of the year to, you know, spend time with my family for the holidays. 2016 was, well it was a YEAR for sure and the break was much needed.

You know that paper that you are asked to write when you get back from summer vacation, well this is something like that but hopefully a little more than just an entry to get a grade in class. Aside from seeing old friends and having more time to exercise the physical instead of the mental, I came away with a lot more.

You Can Go Back.

Today it is called a course correction. The New Year always brings about resolutions or even reflection on what we have been doing and what we are hopefully going to do next. There are those of us that go from year to year, doing the same old thing, hoping that something will change. How about revisiting the time slightly beyond a year, two years? More? Where were you then, what were your goals? Did you have any? Are you developing any goals now? An action plan to make sure you know how to get there?

Yes, sometimes we find ourselves down a road we didn’t expect to take when we took the first new steps we did back then. If you don’t like where you are now, what correction are you going to make?

You have Learned Quite a Bit.

You may not have realized it but every day spent at work (and at life), you have learned something. Question is, is it something that you wanted to learn? Something more or less? Is there something you need to understand in order to be more effective at work? at life? What is it? It is your life, your job, to identify exactly what you need to know to move yourself forward … or not. Your choice. What is it that you are learning right now?

Relationships are Fluid.

Some relationships grow with you, make you grow or keep you back. Is there someone that keeps challenging you in a good way and you want to nurture that personal or work relationship? Is there someone that was good before and not so now? How are you going to handle those relationships this year? What boundaries are you going to set for those that need boundaries? What can you do to give back because much has been given to you?

I don’t necessarily believe in New Year’s resolutions but I’m not you. You need to do what works for you. I just hope I have given you something to reflect upon. Yes, we are at the end of January and though late — Happy New Year!