To the Detail-Oriented "Folk"

Feeling unsettled about that project? Things just not sitting right?

 

Trust you gut. Chances are, you haven't done enough research. Without the facts, you aren't at the top of your game. Stop and ask yourself: Are there unanswered questions? Is there something not adding up? Am I working with unclear expectations? 

 

Also, assert your information-gathering needs with your team. Explain your need to "fact check" and investigate before jumping in. The extra up-front time will serve you (and your team) in the long run.

 

One word of caution: beware of analysis paralysis. Though you need a chance to research, be careful not to get lost in it. It is helpful to have a "Fact Finding Accountability Partner" to urge you to move on to a decision after your investigation work. You may also like working with a timer....at the end of 30 minutes, you move on.

 

Ultimately, fight for the freedom to specify - because that is how you best contribute!

Go With the Grain

I am certainly no craftsman. But, I do know the cardinal rule of staining wood - go with the grain. A beautiful piece of wood can be ruined if the stain is forcefully applied against the natural flow of the wood. A simple 90 degree adjustment is the difference between success and failure: a showpiece of artistry or a scrapped piece of wood.

Unfortunately, many individuals feel they must go against their grain in order to please a manager, employer, family member, or even themselves. Though this requires a high level of effort, and can even lead to exhaustion, the end product is often disappointing. It is truly devastating to see people force-fit themselves into a role, and feel frustrated when productivity and satisfaction do not follow.

Real success comes from identifying your inGRAINed natural talents. Determine your "natural flow" (ie. how you best operate), then find employers, positions and teams that honor - and in fact beautify - those qualities by simply allowing you to be you!

Simply put, go with your grain. That's what produces real artistry.

The Trifecta of Performance

Have you ever wondered why the individual with the great résumé fell apart after he was hired? Why two employees get along well outside of the office, but always conflict inside the office? Or how someone consistently excelled in one position, yet failed after a promotion into another?

Unfortunately, these scenarios are common to most organizations and aggressively thwart productivity, efficiency, and morale. But perhaps most troubling is that these situations also leave us scratching our heads. Highly talented people, whose IQ and personality look great on paper, don’t seem to work out in reality. Where did we go wrong? Or, maybe the better question is: 

Why are cognitive and affective traits not always solid indicators of performance?

Assessment tools have historically focused on measuring the cognitive (IQ) and the affective (personality) parts of the mind. While these tools are helpful in selecting, training, and managing people, they only offer a partial picture of a person’s full potential. IQ scores are influenced by opportunities to learn, and being smart doesn’t necessarily predict success. Personality traits are situational, and people who seem agreeable don’t always do a job successfully or accomplish team goals.

What’s missing? The third part of the mind: the conative, or instinctive, part.

Conation is not the thinking or feeling aspect of the mind, but rather the doing. It is your ingrained method for performing tasks…your unique operating system…your methodological fingerprint. It is the dimension of human performance that explains why two people with similar intelligence and personality can perform so differently in the same role. Or, how individual stars within the company, each possessing high IQ and EQ, suddenly fail when put into a team. Without understanding conation, there will always be a missing link (and most likely poor performance) in your workforce.

How is conation measured?

The only tool that exists to measure the conative part of the mind is the Kolbe A™ Index. Created by Kathy Kolbe of Kolbe Corp (Phoenix, AZ), this assessment and other Kolbe resources are used by major organizations around the world, including Xerox, Accenture, The Hershey Company, and American Express. The greatest benefit of utilizing the Kolbe tools is that they aid in creating a true match of the employee to the position, the direct supervisor(s) and the team. Crafting this ideal fit will directly impact the health of your company and the people in it.

Yet conation is not the “end all be all.” Grasping the interplay of instincts, intelligence and personality will help you optimize the hiring, deployment, retention and effectiveness of your employees. Mastering this “trifecta” is what will ultimately help you create and maintain a less stressful work environment with employees who are more satisfied and more productive in their positions.

Is a holistic approach to human performance really best? Yes.

A two-legged stool is not much of a stool – or at least one that I would sit on! Similarly, IQ and EQ are important, but only as part of the equation. Conation is the third, completing puzzle piece, which gives wholeness to your workforce decisions.

Doesn't Translate

A common error I find among organizations and job candidates is the assumption that a job title translates across companies, and even within an organization. In other words, people often think that "accountant" implies the same duties and responsibilities, regardless of the organization, industry, position level, etc. The reality is that each role in a company has unique requirements and expectations. Yes, the job title offers a general construct, but it is the subjective perspective of the company and the direct supervisor that truly define the expectation of the role. And it is this subjective perspective that, unfortunately, is often underrated or overlooked.

"Salesperson" is one of the best examples of this principle. To one company, salesperson means a salaried, customer service representative, who maintains client relationships, follows up on the initial sales transaction, and generally "keeps the client happy." To another company, salesperson means quotas, commission pay, performance-based evaluations, and cold calling. Both of these positions are labeled "salesperson," but they are two, totally different interpretations of the term. An individual who is wildly successful in the former may not, and probably will not, be at all successful in the latter, simply because the roles require entirely different natural talents.

If you are a job candidate:

• Don't apply to a position before reading the entire job description (not just the job title).
• Ask very good questions in the interview...starting with:


• What are the requirements and expectations of this position? 
• How is this position evaluated and rewarded? 
• What does a "day in the life of" this position look like?


• Don't assume anything.

If you are the hiring body:

• Work with an expert who can help you identify the many factors that go into creating/defining a position. 
• When creating a job description, be sure to think about specific tasks, not lofty expectations.
• Think about a person who has been a "star performer" in the role. What makes him/her so successful?
• Don't assume anything.

BIG, BAD Productivity Myths

BIG, BAD Productivity Myth #2: everyone should be good at multi-tasking.

Somehow, in the last few years especially, multi-tasking developed into an esteemed practice. Some even consider it the hallmark of efficiency and practicality. But that is simply not true for everyone. Yes, some people have a talent - and a need - to develop shortcuts and to perform several tasks simultaneously. These people are actually less effective if forced to concentrate on only one thing...they lose interest, become bored, and often quit before finishing. But an equal amount of the population is just the opposite - they are at their best when focusing on one task, working through it completely, and then -- only then -- moving on to the next project. These individuals need accomplishment, an ability to "check it off the list," and the space and time to focus.

I find that administrative staff are particularly wired for this methodical, single-tasking approach. Yet, they are most often expected to work several tasks at once - answering the phones, greeting visitors/clients, responding to the rest of the team...all while completing their normal administrative duties. This expectation runs completely opposite their natural talents, and ultimately negatively impacts both the administrator's and the overall team's productivity. 

So what are some solutions?

If you are a "single-tasker," come into work an hour before or stay an hour later than everyone else. That will give you a quiet, uninterrupted time to focus and get things done. During the day, look for patterns in the occurrence of interruptions (for example, most calls may come in at lunchtime), and plan to work on a low-priority, simple activity at that time. 

If you are a natural multi-tasker, respect that not everyone is wired like you. Just as you need the freedom to jump from task to task, understand that others need the time to focus. Your colleague may not attend to your request until much later in the day, because he first needs to finish the current task at hand. A second pointer is to get into the habit of asking, "Is this a good time?" And finally, be sure to set appropriate deadlines on your requests of others. Rather than expecting everything to be completed right away, clearly communicate those things that are of lower priority, and can be dealt with...in time.    

Procrastination is Healthy

Yes, you read it correctly. For some, procrastination is not only natural, but also healthy.

Some individuals naturally strive in an atmosphere of drama and urgency, even crisis. They are at their best in the eleventh hour, when they can think on their feet and fly by the seat of their pants. These persons naturally avoid finishing things far ahead of schedule...how boring is that?? They are either drawn to, or create an aura of excitement by pushing against the deadline. (I must stress that this is not procrastination out of laziness or irresponsibility, but by instinct.)

So my message to the instinctual procrastinators: let yourself off the hook. Procrastinate a little. However, as with everything, I have a few words of warning:

Do not let procrastination lead to poor output or missed deadlines. It is OK to work in the eleventh hour, but the project has to be completed by the twelfth hour. If you can identify with this popular quotation, "I love deadlines; I love the whooshing sound they make as they fly by," then you probably need to start making false deadlines. Trick yourself into completing tasks before the true due date while also creating the sense of urgency that you need. 

If you work with instinctual procrastinators:

Give the natural procrastinator on your team a project and a deadline, and walk away. You may become very nervous when it is 3 days before the deadline and little progress has been made. But it is important that each person be accountable to the deadline and the result, not how he gets there (or if he completes the project days ahead of time or finishes within seconds of the buzzer). 

If deadlines are missed, set false ones. If it is absolutely necessary that a project be completed on Friday, have the instinctual procrastinator complete her portion by Wednesday. But, don't be surprised if it lands on your desk at 11:59 Wednesday night. Just be clear about the deadline at the beginning of each undertaking.

Simply put, procrastination can be a debilitating stressor or a motivating factor, depending on your natural instincts. It is most important to trust you gut and stay accountable to the result.

Seek Out The Oddball

What does an outsider do for performance? Make it better.

Bring an outsider into your next team meeting or group project. The person doesn’t have to hang around long -- he doesn’t even have to be knowledgeable about your industry or the task at hand. The key is to find someone who possesses a different perspective or set of talents from that of your group. This diversity creates greater team synergy, which leads to creativity and growth, which ultimately leads to a better bottom line.  

What does this mean in practical terms? Simply put, seek out unrepresented talents. Do you have an entire team of "all in," high risk/high reward type people? Have a calculated risk-taker and stabilizer sit in on your next meeting. They will keep your team on task, and away from all of those off-topic “ideating” sessions and rabbit trail projects. Do you have a team of analysis driven researchers? Bring in a summarizer and bottom-liner. They will help you to stop discussing and start doing. Or maybe your team is composed of abstract thinkers. Ask a hands-on person to weigh in on the project, and you will get a more quality, long-lasting product.

If only we knew in grade school that being an oddball isn't so bad...

To Write with a Broken Pencil is Pointless

If I offered you a broken pencil to write with, you'd probably think I am crazy. But how many "broken pencils" are you trying to work with on your team?

Faced with a tough economy, or even simply the day-to-day craziness of business, many business owners and managers feel they must "make do" with the team that is currently in place. "Even if Harry is bad at filing, at least he's done it for years and knows the system."..."Yes, Sally has been consistently avoiding the phone work, but if I continue to bring it up in our performance reviews, she eventually does it." Are you trying to run a business at its optimum levels of performance with an "OK" or "acceptable" team? Are you crippling yourself, your team, and your results by trying to use broken pencils?

Remedying this situation does not always mean wiping out your current team and starting over. In fact, most business owners and managers have a gold mine of talents in their existing team; the problem is that those talents are often being underutilized or misused. A simple rearranging of tasks according to employees' talents is often one way of turning an OK team into a wildly successful team. You could consider it...sharpening the pencils. 

BIG, BAD Productivity Myths

BIG, BAD Productivity Myth # 1: taking on the most menial tasks at the beginning of the day is a good strategy.

There is a myth that just "getting the worst tasks out of the way" is a good thing. This concept couldn't be any more misguiding. We arrive at work with 100% energy in the morning. If we put that energy into tasks that are completely draining -- and lead to little money-making results in the end -- then we have little to no energy to put into projects that actually utilize our talents and add to the bottom-line. A much better strategy is to take on the most profitable tasks first, and leave the "must do" tasks until the end of the day, when you are already drained. That way, you won't overwork yourself on tasks that don't suit your strengths.

I can VS I will

Would you get on an airplane with a pilot who says, "It is not my natural instinct to strictly follow procedures, but I can fly a plane..." ???????

Hopefully, your answer to the above question is a resounding "No way!" But, as obvious as that scenario seems, all of us have said at one point: "Well, I know it is not my strong suit, but I can perform that task, do that job, be in that role, etc..." There is a big difference between what you can do and what you are willing to, or what you instinctively, do -- and that difference is RESULTS.

The concept of "can" is a physiological one...your body's physical ability to perform the task. (We all remember that teacher who made us reform the question from "Can I go to the bathroom?" to "May I go to the bathroom?") The concept of willingness, however, is an instinctual one. It's a matter of what you are hard-wired to do. And it's your willingness to do something that brings you success and satisfaction. Simply put, don't waste your time -- and money -- with can.

So what's the bottom line? Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Physiological possibility does not translate into a strength.