May   2008   

Today is the 1 year anniversary of Wisdom @ Work!

Thanks to all our subscribers. Your feedback has been great and I love the challenge of coming up with articles that give motivated managers like yourselves something dig your teeth into every month.  

Leading up to the anniversary we've been talking about making changes to Wisdom @ Work. I've wondered about shortening the articles, moving towards tips, trying a Q&A, sending it out more often, less often. There's a lot we could try.

But through my fog of possibilities I saw a flash:

just because you can make something different, doesn't mean you have to.

(Read the client story that brought that into focus for me.)

This newsletter reaches out to hundreds of high performers, and every month you send great feedback, and tell me how the articles are impacting your work. Wisdom @ Work is doing what I want it to do.

So, I decided not to shake it up just for the sake of it. I'm going to keep my eyes and ears open for ways to make it better, and if you have any ideas for how you would like to see this newsletter evolve, I always welcome your feedback. But for our one year anniversary, my gift to you and me, is to appreciate what we've got going here, and not mess with a good thing.

Happy anniversary everyone. Here's to many more!

Chris 604.209.4988

What could you to today to really help someone you know?

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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: Build From Trust

I'm a big fan of Patrick Lencioni's book The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team. Its dysfuctions model  is very strong. At the base level, team dysfunction comes  down to trust. "And when it comes to teams," says Lencioni, "trust is all about vulnerability."

It's kind of obvious right? Logic says:

Trust is the foundation of all healthy relationships. Your team needs to have a good working relationship to work effectively. They can't do that if they can't trust each other. Simple.

But think about it, what do you do to build trust within your team? Does the corporate culture at your office really encourage trust? How comfortable are you with showing your vulnerabilities?

Quick Self-Assessment: Does your team trust?

• Do team members ask for help?
  
  
• Do team members admit mistakes?
  
  
• Do team members apologize?
  
  
• Do team members openly discuss their ideas?

If Your Team Doesn't Trust:

• They won't take risks.
  
  
• They won't support each other to succeed.
  
  
• They won't be able to get over even the smallest of hurdles or disagreements.
  
  
• They won't work for the common good. They will look out for #1.
  
  
• They will waste energy pretending, and stunt their own growth.
  
  
• They will limit what they can achieve. That limits results.
  

3 Things You Can Do Today to Foster Trust

Be honest about your mistakes. Something as simple as admitting, "I really blew that!" can inspire people's trust. You aren't perfect. They know that. Be real. It builds your credibility. They'll respect that you aren't hiding or dodging and they'll follow suit.

Show your staff that you respect vulnerability. When someone on your team takes a risk, or exposes a weakness in an effort to grow, show him or her your support.

Expose a little of your own vulnerability. The truth of the matter is, your team already knows your weaknesses.

Say you struggle to keep people accountable. Your people notice that you let Joe slide on his quotas every month, and its just a matter of time until Lyn takes advantage too.

If you come out and say, "Look, I realize that I have to work on this" and people see you do it, you shine a light on something that is helping you to grow as a manager. You get to grow, keep control of the team, release some pressure and encourage your staff to do the same. Win, win, win, win!

FYI: It's one thing to read about this stuff, but the power of this work lives in people actually doing the work.

Last week I had the opportunity to run an executive team through a workshop based on the 5 Dysfunctions of a Team model and I wanted to send a quick shout out to that team - the work you did was truly inspiring!

Interestingly, most of the people there had read the 5 Dysfunctions of a Team. They new the model.  But the courage that they demonstrated as a group, opened up growth possibilities that transcended what any one individual had been able do in isolation. It was phenomenal work.

Related articles on the blog: 

Quick Introduction to The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team 

New Workshop: Working Through the 5 Dysfunctions of a Team

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 If You Feel It Say It 

Chris’ up tempo presentation on Best Practices for Energy Management was excellent.

His passion really showed through and he really made our group think about the importance of being fully engaged with all aspects of our lives.

We all came away with practical tools to help us mange our energy in order to create a great work/life balance. 
 

Tasha Bukovnik
Event & Communications Manager
PGA of British Columbia

Who Is This Guy?

MANAGE YOUR ENERGY: On the Road 

 Frequently when I travel to give Energy Management workshops, people say to me, "Yeah this is great,  and I do it at home, but how do you do it when you travel?"

The strategy I use, and what I recommend, is to ramp up your routines and be extra diligent.

Working in new environments has its perks, but travel stresses your system more than you might think. The hours in airports, or on the highway, the unfamiliar surroundings, people and demands, the reliance on restaurant food, when you are on the road you can’t help but lose control over certain aspects of your life.  So it’s up to you do the best you can with what you’ve got and give your system a fighting chance.

Top 4 Energy Management To-do’s When You Travel

Hydrate: Planes, trains, and conferences rooms can literally suck the life out of you if you let them. Stay aware of your water consumption, and commit to drinking a glass every hour to keep the life-blood flowing.

Also, watch your caffeine and alcohol intake. Free coffee during the day and drinks at night may be part of the usual travel package, but remember that you need to drink 1 extra glass of water for each of these dehydrating drinks.

Exercise: You may not be able to do your usual routine at the gym, but finding new ways to incorporate cardio and stretching will help you manage your energy, recover from stress, and give you a visceral experience of the place you are visiting.

The trick to working exercise into travel is to make it fun and doable. Beat your best time for 20 laps in a hotel pool. Commit to walking to 1 meeting and 1 meal a day. Set small challenges for yourself so that you can keep your body moving throughout the day.

Eat Right: Pack to snack. Laptop, files, best shoes, almonds, dried apricots, clean... Healthy snacks help you stave off blood sugar dips. So pack portable protein and fruit and have them on hand.

Choose meal options that give you energy, not heartburn. We'll cover portion control as an energy management strategy next month. For now let's just say that, "all you can eat" is a marketing slogan, not a health mantra. Step away from the buffet.

Sleep: A lot of people struggle to sleep when they travel. Proper hydration and adequate exercise will help you get a good night sleep.

So will familiar routines. If you always listen to music after dinner, load up your ipod before you go and take your soul satisfying habit with you. If you and your spouse always have a hot water and lemon before bed, order that at the hotel bar. Who’s stopping you?

The key is to take your best practices, your snacks and your walking shoes with you when you travel. 

Related articles on the Blog:

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 Tools for the Tool Kit

The Power of Story
~NEW DATE~
May 29th, 2008
8:30 - 4:30
 Vancouver BC

Workshop co-facilitated by
Chris Obst and Russell Hunter

Working Smart with Microsoft Outlook
May 13th or June 25
Vancouver, BC

This is a workshop that I learned a great deal from and I recommend it often.