Posted: April 26, 2012 | Categories: Team Building

In an earlier blog, I talked about a working agreement and how a team can construct one together.   (http://www.durhamcoach.com/blog/2011/10/19/does-your-team-have-a-working-agreement/)  I outlined the process for quality communication.  Now it is time to look at the skill level needed to generate consistent quality conversations.  There are three phases.  Here they are:

Level one:  Win-lose

This is the lowest level of communication.  There is no trust.  It is a zero-sum game.  I win – you lose.  For example, recently there was a dispute in the Wisconsin State Legislature, and this resulted in some of the representatives going to Illinois.  They were staying in hotels, holding out until they were sure that had the votes.  In the end, one side won, and the other lost.  It doesn’t take much skill to communicate at this level.  If your team communicates like this, give me a call.  We need to talk!

Level two: Let’s Negotiate

This is the level I find most companies operating in.  It is not bad.  Trust has been built, and different teams or departments look to find common ground.  They do some “give and take”, and end up with a plan that they both can live with.  To illustrate, last year there was a dispute in the US Congress last about the debt ceiling.  Just when the government was on the brink of shutting down, Congress worked out an agreement, and they were able to move forward.  Each side had to give up something.  No one was thrilled with the plan, but they agreed to abide by it, and the country was back in business.

Level three: Synergistic communication

This is the highest level of teamwork.  Teams that perform consistently at the championship level know all about this stage.  Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi used this as his secret weapon of success.  Let’s look at what it takes:

To begin with, we need to have built a very high level of trust.  This is something that is not done overnight, but it can be done.  Anyone who has ever been through military boot camp is aware of this.

Once trust is built, teams learn how to solve problems.  Here is how it goes:  One person describes a problem or a challenge.  He or she appeals to the group for suggestions.  One person says, “I think we should do this”.  Someone else might say.  “OK.  As I am thinking that through, I like this about the idea.  I am also thinking that if we added this, it would better accommodate _______.  What do you think?”  This pattern continues, and in the end, the team comes up with an idea that everyone had a part in.  The best news is, the final solution was built with team synergy, and it is better than any one idea alone.

Of course, good problem solving involves several steps.  The key point here is that when a team operates at a synergistic level of communication, they have the ability to do a better job of solving problems, and are likely to be more productive.

Posted: April 4, 2012 | Categories: Management, Team Building

“Interrogate reality, promote learning, tackle touch challenges, enrich relationships…success occurs one conversation at a time”

Susan Scott
Fierce Conversations

If there is one common denominator among all the companies I work with, it is that they want to increase sales and improve profit margins.  To triumph in these objectives, selling is important, and just as important is communication within teams and among departments.  When a sale is made, the customer expects the product or service to be exceptional and they anticipate that the work will be completed on time and within budget.

When companies conduct surveys about how things can improve, the topic of communication comes up consistently as a key focus area.  The quality of communication helps ensure that important information is transferred and things don’t slip through the cracks.  In addition, good communication strengthens teamwork by increasing engagement and reducing toxic finger-pointing and blame.

Let’s take a look at some important fundamentals and components that make up quality communication:

Trust: A strong platform of trust and mutual respect must be built.  This doesn’t means that everyone has to like each other.  Chicago Bulls legends Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen did not like Dennis Rodman.  They did  trust him and respect his work ethic and playing ability.  That was enough to get them more than one championship.

Focus: Mistakes, problems and challenges occur every day.  When they do, there are often two or more people involved in solving the problem.  The first step of the conversation is to clarify and maintain focus by asking the questions:

1. What is the focus of our discussion?
2. What would be a desirable outcome (A corrective action plan defined and committed to)

List all possible solutions:  Without judgment, get all ideas and possible options on the table.

Evaluate options:  Determine action.  After identifying the decision-making criteria, which of the options makes the most sense?  Who is going to do what?  When are they going to do it?

Remove Barriers: When we committed to a task that involves a change in pattern, much can get in the way.  At this stage, we flush out all the possible barriers, and have a strategy to help prevent the potential barriers from impeding our progress:  Here are some questions we can ask;

1.  What might prevent you from succeeding?
2. What’s missing?
3. What resources do you need?
4. What are the roadblocks you expect or know about?

To operate profitably and efficiently, look for ways to collaborate with each teammate on improvement opportunities.  Focus, list options, evaluate options, formulate action steps, remove barriers, and commit to action.  You will solve one problem after another as a team, and your team will keep getting stronger.

Posted: March 27, 2012 | Categories: Management, Sales

We all know why gold and diamonds are so expensive: They are in high demand and the supply is limited.

The same rules apply to you and I regarding our product or service. If what we do and how we do it is exceptional, in demand, and rare, we can make more profit. This is why it is so important for us in business to find our “gold.” Here is a process that can help us do that:

1.  Think of all the problems we solve for our clients.
2.  Consider all the competencies we have to solve those problems.
3.  Make a list of these competencies
4.  Put the list in a chart form with four columns
5.  Label the columns: Me, Customer, Competency, and Competition.

Here is what the headings stand for:

Me = How important do I think the competency is?

Customer= How important do my customers think it is?

Competency: Of all the competencies, where am I most strong and competent?

Competition: How strong is my competition in this area?

To complete heading #2, you will need to survey a handful of your most important customers. Ask them to rate the competency on a scale of 1-10. After you have tabulated the information, look at the data to determine:

• Consider what both you and your customers think is most important
• Evaluate how it matches up with your greatest competency
• Research your competition’s website and see how strong they are in that area

In most cases, what you will come up with is an area where you are uniquely qualified. Once you have done this, you have now discovered your “gold.” This is your unique selling proposition, and also where your greatest profit margin should be. Clients will pay you well since they do not believe they can replicate what you do for them.

Posted: March 26, 2012 | Categories: Management, Self-Improvement

One thing I love about coaching is the opportunity to get to what is most important.  In every conversation I have with clients and teams, they all start the same way.  It all boils down to focus and desired outcome.  What my clients are really saying is, “This is my “Here and now” and here is my “then and there”…How I get there?

The outcome of such a conversation always involves one or both of two components:  Building a new competency or skill and forming a new habit.

This morning I was talking to a client who was looking to connect with a person in a key position.  Jim had been thinking about calling the VP for several months.  He kept postponing the phone call.  So what was getting in the way?  Selling skills.  We did some role-playing practicing some key fundamentals, and at the end of the conversation Bill had both a commitment and eagerness to call the prospect.

Jim’s situation is one we can probably all relate to in some way:  When we are avoiding doing something that needs to be done, there is a reason.  If we can identify the reason, we can make the adjustment in our skill or habits to turn it around.  The other option is to keep avoiding the task, and we all know the definition of insanity.  Simply put, “If nothing changes, nothing changes”.

From this point on, as Jim and I continue to work together, he will become more and more competent in his selling skills.  As he does, sales will become easier and more enjoyable.  In time, what was once avoided will become a productive habit.  His skill and attitude will have changed, and making this new activity into a habit will be a natural evolutionary process.

Here is what we can do right now:

Ask ourselves:

1.  Am I where I want to be in my career and life?
2. What new habit or skill do I need to move forward?

Once we have  determined the key action we need to take, remember the 4 rules to build a new habit or skill:

1. Seize the first opportunity
2. Launch the strongest possible initiative
3. Keep the faculty of effort alive with daily practice
4. Never allow an exception to occur

It’s simple! (But not easy)

Posted: March 20, 2012 | Categories: Self-Improvement

If we are strong achievers, most of us have had the experience of being overwhelmed to the point where we say:

What’s the use?

I can’t catch up.

I am working around the clock with no end in sight

The irony is, most people I know who have achieved something they are proud of end up going through plenty of frustration.  If it were an easy achievement, we probably wouldn’t be that proud of it.

I was talking with a client last week who had reached a frustration point:  He was a regional manager, and was overwhelmed with constantly changing new policies and procedures in addition to taking assessments and getting new certifications.  He was required to get his team of 12 on board with the new mandates, and they were already overwhelmed with their time management challenges.   We put a focus on the problem.  First, we looked at his planning habits.  As pointed out in the planning blog last December, that is usually the first place to look when we want to manage our time better.  Bill (not his real name) was doing a good job of planning.  The next thing we did was look at time management goals.  A time management goals represents a new habit that we need to form.  New habits are the only way we can improve or time management skills.  After all, if it was a present habit, we would already be doing it!

I challenged Bill to consider what habit he could build that would help him.  In thinking through his situation, he discovered he worked more efficiently when he wrote up his reports right away after a meeting, rather than type them up after he got home.  He found that this habit kept him from bleeding in to his family time, and it also saved time, since the most efficient time to write the report was while his thoughts were fresh. All in all, he found he saved 30 minutes a day by building this new habit.  No big deal?  Consider this:  That is 2 ½ additional work weeks a year.  That is just from one habit. So how do you find what new habit would make a big difference for you?  Here are three steps I would recommend:

Do a time log and list all the things you do in your day

Ask yourself:

What can I combine?

What can I eliminate?

What can I delegate?

When you target the new habit, commit to tending to it daily until it is second nature.  This could take three weeks, or it could take six months.  Stay with it!