February   2008  

Great news, I got on top of my paperwork and Wisdom @ Work is now being archived on coredynamicsgroup.com.


Did you miss my articles on giving and receiving feedback? Do you want to review sleep tips for high performers? All the articles are there for your perusal.

Do you have an idea for an article? If you have a question, or a topic that you want to see covered let me know.
 

 
Would you like to do something kind for yourself and a complete stranger this week? I do.

TOMORROW evening I'm giving a short, but fun, talk about energy management at a charity event called the North Shore Challenge. Admission is only $10. And every penny raised goes to the North Vancouver Harvest Project.

If you want to get a little inspiration to make 2008 your best year yet, and support to local families in need, I would love to see you there. Make sure you come find me to say hi.

Chris 604.209.4988

What is your biggest strength?

How can you use it today to better help yourself and those around you?

Manage Your People

Manage Your Energy

Let Me Ask You This

If You Feel It Say It

Tools For the Tool Kit

Words of Wisdom

Contact Chris
 

MANAGE YOUR PEOPLE: When they have to go

"His numbers are horrible but the staff love him. So I'm worried that letting him go could cause a revolt."
 
Sound familiar?

"She's really not performing but they have kids and they just bought a new house..."

Ever said that one? Or how about,

"This person can't keep up but we can't be short staffed, and there is no way I can take the time to hire someone now."

All these managers know what they have to do. They have staff members in positions they no longer fit and all roads lead to telling the person s/he has to go.

But they're not doing it. Instead, they are wearing themselves and their teams down, bumping into a single, common obstacle. Can you see what it is?

These managers are getting in their own way by coming up with reasons not to act. And they are letting themselves become the problem.

Firing people is difficult.

There's no way to make it easy and I'm not going to try to tell you how you should let someone go in 200 words or less.

There are a lot of emotional issues here. I don't want to minimize that - but the message I want to get across in this article is that when you know that you have to act, you have to act.

4 things you need to know about letting someone go:

1) This is the #1 area where managers let their emotions get in the way of reason.

2) Managers can become their own biggest obstacle when they put themselves between the problem (someone doesn't fit) and the solution (letting them go and finding someone who will fit).

3) When people don't want to do something, all kinds of rationalizations for inaction start to look real.

4) When someone is a bad fit, they are struggling. If you have ever been in that situation, you know that it can be painful to go to a job where you aren't succeeding. If you think letting someone go will cause upset, ask yourself this. What do they feel every day that they go to work at the wrong place? What do those around them feel?

As a manager, your first priority is the success of your department, and your company. You know that. And when someone isn't contributing, you know that too. You can see it in the work they produce, or the in the productivity they reduce. And you know it in your gut.

Is it rational to keep someone in a position that they aren't suited to? Will guilty feelings ever make a poor recruit better at his/her job? Does it make financial sense to keep someone on the team who decreases your productivity and morale? No. No. And no.

I spend a lot of time illuminating and removing obstacles for my clients, and there is no single management issue that throws up more obstacles than firing.

This topic stirs up guilt, anxiety, pressure, and stress for many. But too often, managers make things worse for everyone by delaying the inevitable. The thing you have to remember is that if someone is holding your team back, you have to act.

FYI: Delays just cause confusion, upset, lost productivity and lost revenue. When you know someone has to go, do everyone a favour. Pull the trigger. 

Again, this is a complex topic. Look for articles about the emotional and deciding factors and the real costs involved, in upcoming editions of Wisdom @ Work. In the mean time, if you are struggling with a decision to let someone go - call or email me and we'll see if I can help.

Related Articles in the Archive:

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 If You Feel It Say It 

Chris helped me see the importance of providing ALL types of feedback to my direct reports on a regular basis.

I understand now that people need to hear the good, the bad and the ugly in order to thrive in their positions.


And in fact, they want to hear it.

He also helped me create a balance between my work and personal life.

I’m a better VP
and Mom because
of this.
 
Natalie Green
Vice President
Sales & Marketing
Kirk Integrated Marketing Services

Who Is This Guy?

MANAGE YOUR ENERGY: Start Simple 

OK let's just say that you really want to get more active. That it is really important to you to improve your health, your energy levels and your overall performance.

But despite wanting to be more active, and thinking about being more active, you haven't actually managed to get more active.

What might be stopping you? Have you tried to start?

It might sound silly, but people often stop themselves before they start. This isn't specific to exercise. Everyday, people think up ways that they could live differently, but they can't see a comfortable way to get moving down that path, so they go back to the comfortable life they know.

Prepare yourself. There's going to be some discomfort. Trying something new will take you out of your emotional comfort zone. And when it comes to wanting to be more active, there is some potential for physical discomfort too.

It is ok to feel a little discomfort. You'll feel it. You'll get through it. And you'll grow. 

When you bring home a puppy, you put a ticking clock in their basket to remind them of their mother's heartbeat and you do everything you can to make their transition more comfortable.

It takes a few days, and then all of a sudden Fido doesn't need the clock and you have a new best friend.

You can support yourself to ease into your new life too. If you haven't been as active as you would like, what could you do to give yourself some comfort as you slowly and steadily increase your activity levels? 

Try activities that fit your personality. 

Introverted and contemplative people tend to have an easier time incorporating activities they can do alone, like walking at lunch or swimming before work.

People who like structure often find organized sports and circuit training work best for them.

Extroverts might be bored to tears on a stationary bike but come to life in a dance class. 

If you are going to feel more comfortable wearing a new outfit - buy one.

If you like taking photographs, challenge yourself to take hikes and get shots that others can't.

Set yourself up for success. Use what you love to get you where you need to be. (I do a lot of work with my clients based on identifying and working from core values - I'm all about tapping into your strengths and passions to make yourself stronger.)

So, if starting is your biggest hurdle, your first step is to find a way to support yourself to start. Your goal isn't perfection. Your goal is forward motion. Then once you are moving, you'll be better prepared mentally and physically to change it up and set yourself new self-improvement goals in the future.

As many of you know, I started walking every day about a year ago and now I can't imagine life without my daily walk. What's around the corner that you won't be able to live without? Kind of fun to think about...

FYI:For those of you who may have started something new and then let it slide, it's OK to start and stop, just give yourself permission to start again. Challenge yourself to try new ways to integrate activity into your life until you find activities that feel like a natural extension of who you are and who you want to be.

Related Articles in the Archive:

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 Tools for the Tool Kit