April  2008

I'm going to take a little risk here and carefully ride that razor thin edge between sharing my enthusiasm for what I do, and bragging. I hope I've earned a bit of latitude.

I LOVE WHAT I DO! Last month I delivered some more Energy Management seminars at Microsoft. I tell you, I left those sessions feeling like I'm doing exactly what I'm meant to be doing.

I had 2 people come up to me to share life changing stories. The details were unique but the gist of both stories was, "This is what I've done since you were here last, and this is how my life is better." It's great work!

When I give a talk, some people come ready and open to try something new. Boom! Many of those people will make powerful changes to the way they work and live before they even leave the room. Some will need to come back, or read more, before they risk making a change, but they definitely keep hold of the ideas. And some will sit through an entire seminar thinking about the work piling up at the office and miss out. Hopefully something, or someone will redirect their attention when they are ready to engage.

Respecting that people learn and grow and change on their time-line, not mine, I'm announcing a new way that you can tap into the Manage Your People / Manage Your Energy articles.

Introducing my new blog. I will post articles from this newsletter, go into more depth on certain topics, and occasionally I'll share observations, stories and questions that come up in my work with high-performers.

You will still receive the Wisdom @ Work newsletter on the first Tuesday of the month, ('cause you know I like structure) but now you can also go to the blog to post comments, search for related articles, and get little extras any time you like.

 Chris 604.209.4988

What is the boldest thing you could do this week? How could your life be better if you do it?

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MANAGE YOUR PEOPLE: Stop being a hero!

How often do employees come into your office for help with a problem? How often do you solve the problem for them? And how often do you prompt them to solve their own problems.

There is something very seductive about rescuing other people. And Managers often find it difficult to draw the line between helping someone solve their own problem, and taking the problem on themselves.

Plausible Excuses For Taking On Other People's Problems:

"Employees are always in my office telling me their problems because they think I'm the only person in the organization who is listening to their concerns."

 "Josh was struggling in his position and jeopardizing a relationship with a top client. I had no choice but to take over the account. It's just until I can find another solution."

"I have team members griping about other team members all the time. Every week I have to get in the middle and mediate or nothing would ever get done."

The Real Reasons We Attract Other People's Problems:

1. You have created, or are participating in, a culture where people have learned to give you their problems.
   
   
2. Solving other people's problems is a justifiable distraction from work that you are avoiding. (Come on you know you have some.)
   
   
3. You might think it takes less time to solve the problem than to coach the employee how to work it through.
   
   
4. If you just do whatever it is that needs to be done, you don't have to deal with your employee's inadequacies.
   
   
5. If you solve your employee's problem, you get to feel like a hero; and there is a possibility that others will see you as a hero too.

The hard truth is that if you are problem solving for everybody else, you are bringing everyone down.

Your team will never become conditioned to be high-performers if you hoard all the heavy lifting. And I guarantee, you are going to tire-out long before you've accomplished your best work.

FYI: More than answers, more than quick fixes, people want to be empowered to do their job better.

When people come to you with their problems, they are waving a big flag at you that says they are ready to work on the problem. Don't disempower them at that moment. Don't take the problem away. Their problems are their opportunities to stretch themselves.

Great managers respect that, and leverage opportunities to help people grow. Click here to see if you are a Hero or a Great Manager

Related Articles On the Blog:

Be a Coach 

Wondering if I can help you or your team? Call me. Ask about one-on-one coaching and group seminars that will get you and your people working at your peak.

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 If You Feel It Say It 

Thank you for the Energy Management seminar you delivered in Paris last December.

We really appreciated that you were willing to meet with people in advance of the session to understand the cultural differences of our international audience, and that you adapted your session to suit our people.

Overall, your session was called out as a highlight of our conference and your own energy and passion for the topic really shone through.

The only criticism we received was that we didn't give you enough time, which was our problem and something we hope to rectify in the future!
 
I look forward to having you come back and would welcome the chance personally to sit in on another of your sessions.

Shannon Banks
Microsoft

Who Is This Guy?

MANAGE YOUR ENERGY: Stop Multitasking 

Multitasking can be detrimental to your relationships, your health and your career.

Yup, I'm serious.

People who multitask actually perform at a significantly lower level than people who are able to fully engage. They may "do more" but they also make more mistakes, offend more people, and miss more important opportunities. Most significantly, they find it much more difficult to achieve their goals.

3 Little Ways You Could be Harming Yourself Without Even Noticing

Relationships: Whether it's at work, or at home, the people in your life know when they have your full attention. And they know when they don't.

Have you ever been on the phone with someone, thinking the conversation is going well, then all of a sudden you start to lose them? It's not their cell phone, they started checking their email. You know the minute it happens. So why do we all think that no one notices?

Be conscious of the silent messages you send your colleagues and your family when you multitask in their presence: "You aren't as important as I am. What you're saying isn't important. I put more value on my time than on yours." All of which can leave people feeling hurt, offended or both. (And how much time / energy will you spend making up for that?)

Health: If you have a health or fitness goal, you will set yourself back from achieving it by multitasking.

People who read magazines on the treadmill split their focus. As a result, it takes them much longer to improve their strength, endurance, and fitness. Some may never improve. They are running in place, but they aren't getting anywhere.

The more fully you engage mind, body and spirit in the practice of improving your health, the sooner you will see positive results. My friend Curb Ivanic is a personal trainer. He tells me that on average, people who work with trainers have better success hitting their fitness goals. In part, that's because they are getting personalized guidance and feedback. But it's also because the trainer keeps them completely focused on their breathing, their body and their goals while they exercise.

Career: If you disengage at a meeting to start making notes about something unrelated, you take away energy from the room. Your actions tell others that you don't need to be there. Do you think they would agree? If so why are you there? Either leave and get the work done without distraction or stay, and get as much as can be gained from the task at hand.

When you focus your energy and attention on
one thing, you build your capacity.

When you scatter your energy and attention across
20 things, you build your chaos.

Now I know some of you are saying, "What harm can it do to iron my shirts, while I watch the news?" (I admit. I do that.) And I concede that there are minor tasks that can be overlapped. So here's my rule of thumb:

If it isn't important to be great at what you are doing, go ahead and multitask. But if you value what you are doing, and the people you are doing it with, give them the attention they deserve - your full attention.

I challenge you: try to stop multitasking for just one day - today. Make an effort to consciously decide what is important. Put your full attention there. Notice how you feel at the end of the day and how much you have accomplished. Try it again tomorrow, or next week. Even if you can just stop multitasking on Tuesdays I know you will enjoy extraordinary results in all areas of your life!

Related Articles on the Blog:

 Tools for the Tool Kit

The Power of Story
April 24, 2008
8:30 - 4:30
 Vancouver BC

Workshop co-facilitated by
Chris Obst and Russell Hunter

I call this book my bible

YOU Staying Young

by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz