How to Be a Great Manager if You Tend to See the Glass Half Empty but Want to Inspire Your Team

Thank goodness it is FRIDAY!

Everything that could have gone wrong this week – did!

But, let’s face it, right now – this feels like every week. Things keep going wrong. Deadlines keep getting missed. And your team, OH YOUR TEAM.

You know they’re trying – and that they need some inspiration but… when you keep seeing everything that is going wrong it is a challenge to give your team what they need!

This week we have Coach Keith Edmunds with us to share how to inspire your team when you are seeing the glass half empty.

Take it away, Keith!

“There are many approaches to inspiring a team when your leadership tendency is to see the glass half empty. Often, inspiration will come with:

 

1. action
2. transparency and sharing the challenge together
3. fun!

One of the best ways to make this real is in the form of an activity. Try to facilitate the meeting (not lead it!), where your team self-identifies the “half empties” and the “half fulls”. There, you can openly discuss the attributes, challenges, and possible outcomes of each style.

This is a great place to inspire your team not only to understand, but also to experience transparency through sharing the challenge together!

How do you add the fun in? Maybe expand the exercise by coming up with fun ways to “call it out” when negative or “half full” statements come out from anyone in the team, not just you. Practice this throughout the day, week, and month to continue the awareness journey.

Another approach is to notice the language you use. As you deliver the “glass half empty” messages, try to substitute words that are more inspirational – for example: “our poor performance “ with our “challenge” or “opportunities.”

Thank you, Keith!

Let us know what works for you or some of your best tips!

How to Be a Great Manager If You’re Introverted and You Have An Extroverted Team

Did you stop by last week and think “I have the opposite situation! I’m introverted and have an extroverted team!”?

This week we’ve got Coach Peter Pintus here with some tips on how to most successfully manage your extroverted team, while staying true to you.

Take it away Peter!

“Managing a high impact team successfully is critical for any organizational project. This can be a challenge when a manager’s personality type is introverted and the personality type of his/her team members is extroverted.

 Why is this a challenge? Because introverts and extroverts tend to process information and approach tasks differently. Eric, an introverted team manager, prefers to process ideas internally while his extroverted team members prefer to process ideas by dialoging and openly interacting with others. Sara, another introverted team manager, prefers to spend time deeply thinking about and developing strategy and then implementing that strategy, while her extroverted team members prefer to think in broad terms, put a strategy in to place now (whether it is clearly defined or not) and then take the necessary time to critically evaluate that strategy. These two scenarios illustrate potential challenges for any introverted manager.

 How can an introverted team manager with an extroverted team go from being a good manager to a great manager in these types of situations?

 Following are six techniques that can help you manage your team toward success!

1. Be willing to model your role as leader by releasing your way of doing things so that your team can function optimally. The important thing is that the end goal is reached. By allowing team members to work in their extroverted way, you encourage engagement, collaboration, and accountability, rather than stifle it.
2. Make sure that the team task (e.g. deliverables and time frames) is clear and agreed to by team members. This will minimize confusion regarding your expectations and allow you to redirect the process if it goes off course.
3. Establish team rules. Make sure everyone has a chance to contribute, listen actively to others, and agrees to time frames and goals. Establishing agreed upon rules in advance circumvents potential issues associated with differences in the way an introvert and an extrovert approaches a task.
4. Allow sufficient time for team members to process externally through verbal interactions.
5. Create engaging team process activities such as visual strategic flowcharts and plans that provide team members opportunities to use their gifts and talents in an outward-focused way.
6. Request that team members provide you with pertinent information before any meetings so that you have the chance to review the material beforehand. This will help you feel more prepared when engaging in dialog with your team members.

 The mark of a great manager is one who is willing to adjust their style so that their team members can successfully apply their uniqueness and strengths to achieving team goals!”

Thank you, Peter!

How to Be a Great Manager if You’re Extroverted and you have an Introverted Team

So, your extroverted. You love to be around your team and to talk out all our ideas and plans.

You get energized by having some alone time and you despise small talk.

And, your team? We’ll they despise small talk and need thinking time (alone!) to come up with their best ideas.

It can feel like a challenge when you want to hear their ideas on the spot.

This week we have Coach Judy Laws with us to share some thoughts on how to most successfully manage your introverted team, while staying true to you.

Take it away Judy!

 “A great manager appreciates the difference between extroversion and introversion and finds ways to adapt and leverage these differences. To do this, they first need to understand the extroversion and introversion preferences.

Extroversion and introversion is about the direction in which we focus our attention and energy. Extroverts focus their energy and attention outwards; they are attracted to the outer world of people and events. Extroverts are more likely to: Speak-think-speak, speak out easily and often at meetings, favor an energetic atmosphere, find too little interaction stressful, and desire an action-oriented leader.

Introverts, on the other hand, focus their energy and attention inward; they are attracted to the inner world of thoughts and reflections. Introverts are more likely to: think-speak-think, be quiet in meetings and seem uninvolved, favor a calm atmosphere, find too much interaction stressful, and desire a contemplative leader.

As an extroverted manager, here are some things you can do if you have an introverted team.

Manage your Extroversion

• In conversation or in a team meeting, pay attention to how much you are talking. Ask yourself, A.I.T. – Why am I talking? If the answer is I am doing most of the talking, stop and let the other person speak.
• Moderate your approach at times, in order not to overwhelm introverts. Practice silence i.e. Stop, Look, Listen first.

Allow Introverts Time and Space to Think and Speak

• Extroverts (including Introverts conditioned in an extroverted world) need to develop sensitivity to the impact of their behaviour on introverts, particularly with respect to leaving “silences” to encourage introverts to take their share of the air in discussions.
• Allow introverts the space that they need to produce their best work, which will be on their own or with a couple of their team members, in a quiet space.

 When Working as a Team

• Send out team meeting information ahead of time to allow introverts time to think about the topic, agenda items, etc.
• Use Meeting Guidelines / Ground Rules, established by the team, to manage team dynamics.
• Create opportunities for small group interaction.
• Ensure that airtime is shared amongst the team. For example, “I noticed that we have heard from many of the same people and want to open the discussion to others who haven’t had a chance to share their thoughts.”
• Devise methods for including everyone in a discussion, e.g. silent brainstorming, round robin allowing individuals to pass, surveying the team before the meeting, sharing the group’s input and then discussing it, etc.
• Before proceeding with a decision or action, allow time for team members to think about it before proceeding.
• Coach your introverted team members to let their peers (and you!) know when they are thinking and/or need time to think.

 Finally, it is important to treat each team member as an individual, recognizing that individuals show up differently on the extroversion-introversion scale. Observe and learn more about each team member so that you can leverage their strengths and adapt your management style accordingly.”

 Thank you, Judy!

Let us know how these tips work for you! And, if you’re an introverted Manager be sure to stop by next week for some tips for you!

Creativity at Work: Coloring Outside the Lines While Thinking Inside the Box

Imagine this: you are sitting on your normal Monday morning conference call being grilled about hitting the weekly benchmarks—sales, profits, team expansions. You have implemented all of the suggested tactics, but the old solutions just. aren’t. working. anymore.

You have new strategies to try, but they fall on deaf ears. Sound familiar?

You aren’t going crazy. There is a barrier against creativity in the workplace – even if we don’t mean to have one! According to research from Cornell University, this creativity bias is a subconscious reaction to avoiding risk and minimizing uncertainty in the face of the unfamiliar. Even if your boss wants (and emphatically states a desire for) new, creative ideas, this creativity bias actually prevents novel suggestions from being recognized, encouraged, and accepted.

So, what can you do to convince your boss that your creative solutions are viable, while toeing the company line?

• If your company is devoted to developing innovative ideas, try tying innovation to embracing a certain amount of uncertainty. After all, being new, different, or improved requires changing the status quo. Cite exciting, risk-taking thinkers. Think Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, or Sergey Brin.
• What if your company has an aversion to all things new? Try reducing the uncertainty and risk for your boss and decision-makers. Are there studies that support your suggestions to improve efficiency, morale, or productivity? Present them as evidence that your suggestions are proven and effective.

Either way, you can color outside the lines while thinking about what’s inside the box.

How have you exercised creativity at work? Share your comments below.

Happy Labor Day!

It is the Friday before Labor Day weekend… with a much deserved extra day off!

Check out your to-do list, rock out what is mission critical, and leave work on time today!

You have been working hard all year so take your 3 day weekend to rest, relax, and recover to come back next week with restored energy and drive!

You’ve got this!