Recruit, Inspire & Retain

If you want to learn about yourself, there are many routes to take: meditation, psychoanalysis, personality quizzes. Then there’s the 21st-century option of "Googling" yourself — typing your name into a search engine can yield sometimes surprising results.

Googling your name, however, isn’t just an exercise in self-congratulation — it’s also an action many employers might take to learn about potential employees. That’s something Roxanne Jones, a copy editor for Newsday, takes to heart. Jones maintained a blog as a college student, and she continued to do so for a while after graduation. After leaving a job in April 2006, Jones received an e-mail from a former co-worker, who said she was upset by something she had read on the blog. Jones had mentioned her blog only in passing conversations and never told co-workers how to access it, and she was surprised to hear from her co-worker months after she had left the job.

"I figured someone had Googled my name and had found my blog, which you could do, and so whoever found my blog saw the comments and passed them along," Jones said. "They went to the guy who actually hired me. So, he called me and asked me, ‘Why didn’t you like being here?’ and all these other things, and it ended up becoming a big misunderstanding."

When applying for another job, Jones learned the person who was interviewing her had talked to the former co-worker who had been upset by Jones’ blog.

"My fear was, now that these people didn’t think much of me anymore, what if I looked for a job in the future, and the recruiter called someone there and asked about me, and they said disparaging things about me? Would that prevent me from getting a job?" she said.

Although everything worked out, Jones said the experience was an eye-opening one.

"I was really, really naive in thinking I could be a private person on the Internet," she said. "Things I thought I was just whispering to people, I was really screaming — you could Google me, you could see it. The Internet is not a private place."

She said up-and-coming job applicants need to be aware of the consequences of posting things to social networking Web sites, blogs and Web sites such as YouTube.

"People put the most ridiculous things on the Internet," Jones said. "And as time goes on, if you’re applying for an internship or a job, and you put a tape of yourself shaving your friend’s head while he was sleeping or something like that, it’s going to come up, and I think that’s something a lot of young people aren’t thinking about."

Lessons from External Coaching…Developing Managers on Their Own Terms

Why are fewer managers attending traditional leadership development training workshops? Why is it that many managers who have attended such training typically reflect upon the experience as “good;” yet, most have a hard time remembering the specific strategies they learned or more importantly, used as a result of the training?

New Zenger Folkman research (2007) indicates less than 10% of today’s leaders have their own personal plan for leadership skill development. The root of these findings may not lie in the managers’ lack of interest; rather, the training offered does not address current managers’ demands.

Two leading U.S. companies recently discovered that managers are still keenly interested in self-development, but only when it is offered on their terms.

When the managers from these companies worked with an external coach in bi-weekly coaching calls over the telephone (telecoaching):

• 90% of the managers rated this way of learning and the actions they were able to take as good or excellent

• 100% recommended this type of performance improvement to their peers

Why the high-ratings?

Pure and simple. External telecoaching met managers on their terms unlike scheduled group training. Let’s consider some of these terms and how these were satisfied through the external telecoaching approach.

1. Most managers are consumed by the pressures of producing results, over-scheduling,
    customer-driven demands, and inadequate resources.
Over 80% of the participating managers noted the convenience of the one-hour telecoaching sessions as an outstanding feature. They could schedule their coaching as they do conference calls; and since these sessions were done on the telephone they could be conducted when traveling or telecommuting. Telecoaching offered managers the flexibility to pursue their performance improvement while still achieving their many other priorities.

In all cases, managers linked the actions they chose to take as a result of their coaching to improved results; these results provided the tangible returns managers are looking for.

2. Managers learn primarily through informal channels.
A moderate number of the managers surveyed were initially skeptical about trusting a coach they had never met and the coaches’ ability to add value when they didn’t really know the inner workings of the managers’ environments. However, after they tried this coaching, 90% of the managers agreed they preferred the fact that the coaches didn’t work for their companies and we didn’t get any comments saying they felt a lack of rapport or trust.

Comments in this area included, “They were able to ask questions with a greater level of objectivity,” “I found it refreshing my coach wasn’t involved with our politics; it made for a more straightforward and honest conversation,” and, “I felt my coach really understood me and my problems.”

3. Today’s managers demand deeper levels of advice to solve the challenges that arise in
    their jobs because the workplace is far more complex than it used to be. They’re seeking
    answers.
The coaching sessions were only on the issues the managers were most concerned about. What a change from group training dealing only in part with a person’s most pressing issues. Coaches could offer advice resulting from their own experience and knowledge and also those solutions they had developed in conjunction with their diverse client base. The external coaches helped managers to dissect and analyze their issues at a greater level of detail resulting in strategic solutions that would succeed given their unique work environments.

4. Managers are in a position that forces them to focus on retaining their jobs in the face
   of severe competition. This competitive reality typically leads to managers not wanting
   to disclose what they don’t know.
External coaches provide an additional value resulting from the managers’ willingness to share their professional shortcomings with someone outside of the organization. This might be considered the “bartender” or “hairdresser” effect. An external coach can act as a “safe haven” for seeking help on one’s personal management challenges. The coach is not there to judge nor do they have a stake in the politics or choices the managers make.

Lessons for All Organizations Considering External Coaching
If what happened to these two companies and their managers sounds good:
1. Consider using external coaches as an effective alternative to group training. It’s convenient,
    objective, and confidential and provides a superior level of personalized focus and pay-off.
2. Find opportunities to incorporate some of the “satisfiers” managers discovered when using
    external coaches when you are coaching others yourself:
    • Coach via telephone – it is convenient!
    • Listen objectively (cast aside your assumptions and biases related to politics, personalities,
      departmental agendas, etc.)
    • Provide and deliver on the promise of confidentiality; build a relationship of trust and respect
3. Seek ways to provide training the same easy way you schedule one-hour meetings.
    Remember, convenience and flexibility are critical success factors to hard working managers when
    it comes to fitting performance improvement in with their many competing priorities.
4. Provide opportunities to focus on the individual needs of those being trained and be sure the time
    spent nets tangible benefits in the form of actions and results.

By Cindy McCann, Custom Performance Solutions, Inc.

If you are interested in exploring an external coaching program for yourself or your managers; or would like to develop additional training for your leadership team on effective coaching practices that incorporate these same best practices contact our partner, Custom Performance Solutions, Inc. at 510-530-3423 or Email TRAINING SYSTEMS, INC.

Performance Cornerstones for the 21^st Century

The 21st Century has brought with it a New World of Work. The growing use of virtual workers, the expanding needs of our multi-generational workforce, and heated competition for top talent have put increased pressure on businesses of every size and industry. To see how well your organization is responding, check the statements below that are true about your organization:
Our people have a clear understanding of our most critical business goals.
Our leaders handle having differing opinions represented on a team with ease.
Our people are clear on what is expected of them.
Our people know how to get the information they need to perform effectively.
Our managers are comfortable handling personnel issues.
Our meetings produce clear courses of action.
Our managers resolve interpersonal problems quickly and effectively.

Not happy with your score? There are 3 Performance Cornerstones proven to sustain the leadership style, culture, and best practices that grow strong businesses. Enforced together throughout your organization, they form a foundation for ensuring that your people are actively engaged in achieving success.

Cornerstone 1: Clearly articulate your most critical business goals at regular intervals
Harvard Business Review's report on successful strategy implementation points to the importance of management's ability to identify and communicate the most critical priorities of their organization. Everyone on your team needs to know what fits your vision and what doesn't. The more they appreciate how what they do fulfills critical business goals, the more they understand what is expected of them and why. Most can even better align their contributions so that those goals are reached faster and more thoroughly.

Business goals should be specific, measurable, and simply worded. Compound ideas can result in a loss of important detail. Include a clear description of what "successful completion" looks like. When you define your expectations from the outset, completing every project becomes a shared vision.

Cornerstone 2: Reward and reinforce desired performance
Poor managers cost US businesses $300 billion a year in productivity losses. They give more work (instead of better work) to their best performers, who consequently become overloaded. Because of their discomfort with conflict, they gloss over reviews of underachievers and employees who may be a bad fit. Consequently, these people continue to detract from team effectiveness and the wrong behavior is unintentionally rewarded.

Evaluation, feedback, and reward systems should be designed to align your results with your intentions. That way, you get the best results from your best people and move more rapidly towards your business goals. Work with your team to create and publish guidelines for evaluating ideas, giving constructive feedback, and rewarding performance that forwards team objectives. Publicly acknowledge when someone has gone the extra mile. Your organization benefits from shared information and positive feedback and good employees are encouraged when they see their work making a difference.

Cornerstone 3: Focus on problem-solving over blame
McKinsey's analysis of hundreds of global companies identified a strong correlation between improved reporting relationships and financial performance. Yet, many businesses have evolved using a blame or fear basis for inspiring people. This model stifles initiative, accountability, and creativity — 3 forces organizations need to flourish.

Problems often present an opportunity for improving existing processes and team effectiveness. To take advantage of this opening, your team members must be able to be honest about their observations and experiences without fear of punishment. Using problem-solving language encourages people to work together to develop lasting solutions. Following is a chart illustrating the differences between typical blaming language and problem-solving language.

In today’s New World of Work, you need to consistently promote the appropriate sharing of information to move your organization forward. By putting these 3 Performance Cornerstones in place, you optimize worker commitment, nurture quality employees, and attract and retain top talent. In short, you get what you’re already paying for.

January 17-20, 2008
33rd International Alliance for Learning Conference 2008, "Learning that Counts - From a Dream to Reality", Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, http://www.ialearn.org/conference.php

EASY TO BE GREEN!

RECYCLING
Recycle yogurt containers and old toothbrushes!
Recycline’ Preserve partnered with Stonyfield Farm and is recycling yogurt containers into toothbrush handles. Old toothbrushes are used to make plastic lumber for picnic tables. Go to http://www.recycline.com for details.

Responsibly Dispose of Your Old Electronics
Donate Old Cell Phones
911 Cell Phone Bank provide free emergency cell phones to needful people through partnerships with law enforcement organizations, http://www.911CellPhoneBank.com

Recycle PCs, cell phones, printers, CDs diskettes, etc., with GreenDisk. For $29.95, they send a 70-pound-capacity box. When it’s full, you download postage from their website and ship it back. Your “junk” then goes to workshops for the disabled and are refurbished.  http://www.greendisk.com

Donate PCs to National Cristina Foundation, http://www.cristina.org; Goodwill, www.goodwill.org, Salvation Army, www.satruck.com/MakeDonation.asp.

Recycle PCs and other computer products at Hewlett Packard and Dell. See their websites for details.

Several other places to recycle old PCs: www.plugintoscycling.org, www.earth911.org, www.eiae.org.

Find local Electronics recyclers at http://www.earth911.org and http://www.ebay.com/rethink