Setting Priorities

It was a typical Sunday evening.   The kids were finished playing outside with their friends and we just sat down at the table for dinner.  I had asked each of my kids if they had fun today playing with their friends.   My daughter answers, “Mommy, I had fun with my friends today but I would much rather have played soccer outside with you.  How come we don’t ever get a chance to play together?”  Wow this hit me like a ton of bricks.  When I stopped to think about it, she was right.  It had been a really long time since I had played with the kids.  Part of it was the fact that usually I am doing laundry, dishes, making dinner, etc., but the other part of it was that I assumed she would rather play with her friends than with me. 

It was obvious we had a disconnect somewhere.   Since we were all together I decided to use that time to talk about and write down a list of what each of us valued and viewed important.  Since I knew my daughter obviously wanted to spend more time with me, I knew that I had to make a drastic change with how I was spending my time and what I was spending my time on. So I asked myself these questions:

1.   Do the choices I make align with what I value?

2.   Will making this choice help me to honor my priorities?

3.   Do I have ultimate control over this choice?

By doing this it helped me focus my time and attention on the important things. 

I also took this concept and applied it at work.  I identified what projects were priorities and was I spending my time on those?   What was getting in the way of spending time on those projects? I met with my manager to make sure my priorities aligned with his goals and objective as well as the company’s goals and objectives.  I also blocked off time on my calendar each morning to identify what I was going to focus my attention on that day.  I found by doing that, it helped me stay focused as each of you know how easily, and how often, distractions occur.   

That was 5 months ago.  What I have found was that by adjusting my efforts and focusing on what was important, I am able to drive results that are more meaningful.  And by reviewing these priorities every so often, it allows me to make adjustments where necessary, as priorities will change.

At home, I feel like we have spent more quality time together as a family.  Initially I didn't think I would be able to find that time, and I’ll admit, the house isn’t as picked up, the laundry and dishes do pile up, but those things, to me, aren’t really that important.  There will always be time for laundry and dishes but time with the kids is limited as I know their priorities of spending time with Mom and Dad will change as they get older. 

So I challenge you to try this.  You might be surprised what you find out.

~Lori

Guest Blogger: The Good Boss

Today's Guest Blogger is Jenny Hamilton. Jenny is a Senior Attorney.  Like many of you that follow us, she migrated from a different region for career opportunities, and successfully managed to create a life for herself where she currently resides in the Midwest with her attorney husband and two kids. Jenny has a certain flair that breeds leadership and many connect with her immediately. We hope you enjoy learning more about Jenny through her blog as much as we did. If you want to learn more about Jenny, you can follow her at jennyhamiltonstyle.com.

Bosses are like teachers.  Forgetting the mediocre, even much of the bad, the best ones stick with you for a lifetime. My favorite teacher, Mr. Jim Kelly, was very strange.  In part, it was our small, fifth-grade mind, and in part, he had a wife that lived in a different country and a collection of small Japanese carved figures, or netsukes.

We may have learned some math and English that year, but I remember the culture units: medieval, Asian, art, Easter, etc.  We cooked stir fry, made Faberge eggs, reproduced famous works or art, and created battle plans.  The final unit was a culture that we had to create.  My group named itself the “Weebees”, and we lived under water.

Every six weeks, we would change our desk configuration.  We could do our work in the hallway against the wall.  And I made straight As on a regular basis.

My favorite boss was also remarkable. His office was filled with Elvis memorabilia, including a life size cut-out of Vegas Elvis. I spent a lot of time gazing at Elvis clocks and velvet Elvis paintings while we talked about work and personal development. 

Dan was also hands-off.  He was next door, but I didn’t talk to him every day.  I might not talk to him every week.  He didn’t hassle me over a comma or period.  But he was very interested in making me a better employee.  If he thought a comma or period would have made a difference in a winning argument, he would – in a gentle way – let me know.

I can go on.  I have had a lot of great bosses, teacher, and mentors.  But what I have learned about the good people in authority can be summed up in 10 key points:

1. Good bosses weather the storm. 

Managing is hard, particularly middle management, which is probably where your boss is.  All day, every day, these bosses have upper management beating down on them and their reports laying woes at their feet.  They are like the peanut butter and jelly part of the sandwich that has been squished in a back pack all morning.  Still, the peanut butter and jelly don’t exactly mix.  There are two different agendas and a good boss is trying to meet them both. 

2. Good bosses want to be better bosses.

A lot of people are put in managerial roles because they were good at what they did.  So they deserved a promotion.  And that often entails responsibility for managing others.  But, no one necessarily teaches a person in authority how to manage.  And some are naturally better at it than others.   Cut them some slack, and teach them how to lead you.  Ask them for what you want or need and continue to drip on them (respectfully and with good timing).

3. Even good bosses are inconsistent.

People tend to manage others how they like to be managed.  And the employee either likes to be managed the same way or does not.  I like the hands-off manager.  So, I think Jim and Dan were great.  But, I have also heard that Jim Kelly wasn’t so popular with other classes.  Sometimes, you land on a good fit.  Sometimes, you don’t.

4. Good bosses develop their people professionally. 

It’s not just about title and pay. For good employees, development hides a multitude of sins.  Way back, when I left an employment situation, I told the HR manager that a company had to do only one of two things to keep me.  They could pay me really really well or teach me some skills so I can develop professionally.  I told the manager that, theoretically, they could do both, but really, they only had to do one. 

5. Good bosses communicate the bad news in a really good way. 

Dan was the master at focusing on strengths and giving his reports the benefit of the doubt.  That came through in his communication and made his critiques softer, more palatable.  Criticism, in particular is hard to take; it requires a report to spend time internalizing a negative in a way that is consistent with their (generally positive) view of themselves.  Feeding the information in a way that assists the report through this process is a rare and powerful move.

6.  Good bosses don’t motivate people.

A good boss knows that they key is to hire people who are highly capable, highly motivated and have goals that are the same as the unit’s goal. That’s why my class did well with Jim Kelly, and Dan had a great team.

7. Good bosses spend most of their time managing upward and outside their unit.

To manage effectively, the good boss has to get the resources that assist their reports in doing their jobs and makes rewards available to them.  This requires spending time thinking about how to market the strengths of their team.  Don’t resent this shift in focus.  It has important returns.

8. Good bosses have to accurately forecast the future.

They have to focus their attention on what the upper levels want done and on actions that increase the unit’s value to the company and/or help the unit grow.  And a particularly good boss needs to talk with their reports about the forecast; to ask them if it makes sense. What do they see happening?

9. Good bosses need to make an effort to know about their reports families to carry on a cocktail conversation about what is going on.            

I will never forget the moment I saw Dan dropping a donation into a small wooden box at my nephew’s funeral.  That was early on in my employment, when we didn’t know each other that well.  And every time I think about it, I realize how deeply Dan cared about what was going on in our personal lives.  Dan was a great listener, and as one of his dear colleagues once said, many times, listening is the best response a boss can give you. 

10.  Good bosses have good reports. 

Not every report can effectively cope with a Good Boss.  Some reports are so focused on what’s in it for them that they don’t recognize the larger value the good boss has to offer.  The fact is that a good report has to give more than they expect to get.  Otherwise, the organization is doomed.

What else does a good report do?  They have to advertise that their actions are consistent with what the boss wants to do.  If there is a constant power struggle, then the report loses.  That’s the way hierarchy works.

I haven’t gotten it all figured out yet.  But I like to reflect on these memories as little gifts.  Gifts I hope to give others some day.  Thank you, Jim.  Thank you, Dan.  Thank you to all of the good teachers and bosses out there.  Your legacy does live on.

Cheers,
Jenny Hamilton

EUSTRESS- What?? A stress that is good for you.

The word eustress consists of 2 parts. The prefix eu- Greek derived means either “well” or “good”. When attached to the word stress, it literally means “good stress”.
Eustress is the positive cognitive response to stress that is healthy or gives one a feeling of fulfillment or other positive feelings.

In the workplace, stress can often be interpreted as a challenge, which generally denotes positive stress.

Eustress is actually very important to have in our lives, It keeps us healthy and happy. Feeling depressed or lack of meaning in life occurs without it.

Eustress allows us to look at stressors in our lives as ‘challenges’ versus ‘threats’ and have the extra energy required to handle these stressors.

The difference between the people who get overwhelmed by stressors and those who feel inspired by challenges is a factor called resilience. Being resilient, allows us to handle complex situations, get a boost of confidence and handle unexpected difficulties. As a matter of fact, this year’s Best Companies are finding ways to boost employee resilience.

As we are aware, if people find meaning and purpose in what they are doing, they can excel through challenges.

So remember to have down time and live a full life. The next time you feel “stressed out”, could it be eustress?

All the Best,
Amy

Guest Blogger: Advocates- Who are yours?

Today's Guest Blogger is Gina Flaig. These Ladies Have "IT" met Gina through the WOMEN UNLIMITED LEAD program that brought the four of us together.  Gina was our external mentor through the program and made an impact on our leadership style. Mid-program, Gina challenged each of us to identify our advocates during the program.  She was met with blank stares as we each thought about the question and racked our brains for who we could identify as our advocates. Clearly we had work to do in this area.  We asked Gina to share with each of you today her position on advocates.  She wants this to be interactive, so please respond via the comments section with your responses to her questions. 

Think back to when someone spoke highly of you in the workplace when you weren’t there to do it yourself.  What that person did for you is called advocating.  Advocates are like the wind beneath our proverbial wings.

What I have learned is that many decisions in organizations are made quickly and with much less conversation than most people would expect.  Say there was an opening due to a promotion.  There are often short meetings or concise emails that bring up a name ie “It’s time for Jaime; let’s move her into a role.”  And then, poof, the decision is made and Jaime is in.  And some are left wondering, “Why wasn’t it me?”

Sometimes we think that our hard work should speak for itself. And while hard work and results are important, they often are not enough to provide momentum when it comes to your career trajectory.  Your skills and performance coupled with others’ familiarity of you and their belief in you is how people make decisions about your future in the workplace.  Others need to believe and be willing to stake a claim on your future success to be an advocate.  If it was a betting game, they’d need to be placing bets on you.  

If you are not sure about the web of advocacy you have spun in your workplace, think about a recent organizational decision, and learn about how the decision was made.  When/if the next decision gets made that could benefit you; do the people making the decisions know enough about you? Do they know what they need to know about you?  Are they familiar enough with you? Do you have advocates whom can directly or indirectly influence the decision? ASK.

Even a more basic question is identifying who your advocates are or could be.  Think about who in your organization knows about you and has praised or complimented you; those who know your value.  Spot people whom have organizational “clout” or influence.  You might need to do some work here and create opportunities to work with and/or get appropriately noticed by these people.  Again, think through your web and get connected.   Find a trusted colleague to help you navigate through this process.

Talk with your advocates.  Get clear on how they speak of you and with whom.  Stay in contact and ask them to be barometers if your workplace currency is ever unstable.  If an opportunity comes up and you know your name is in play, ask one or two key advocates to lean in and actively support you.  Advocating is not a spectator sport.  In the spirit of paying it forward, examine your own ability and willingness to advocate for others.  

Please take a few minutes to respond to this blog by sharing one of two experiences: 1) share when you have successfully worked with your advocates to achieve a desired outcome; how did it/has it heightened your workplace “currency” and/or 2) looking back, when did you miss an opportunity to engage with an advocate(s).  Share your reflections and how you can reset your connections going forwards.   Please share!  Can’t wait to hear.  
Guest Blogger,

Gina Flaig

Social Networking and your Leadership Style - How to make them work together

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Klout. I’m sure everyone is familiar with at least a couple of these names. Are you familiar with all of them? How many of them do you use regularly? Ever wondered how to integrate these into your leadership style in an effective and efficient manner?

YOUR LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY
In order to determine if social networking could or should play a part in your leadership style, ask yourself the following question. "What is my Leadership Philosophy and do I exhibit and share it with others?" Without the answer to this question, it is difficult to know where to begin integrating social networking tools into your leadership style.

For example, your leadership philosophy might be:
"I believe in providing challenging and rewarding work in a flexible and engaging environment." (this happens to be mine) Or
"I will be a responsible, intelligent leader who is known for achieving excellence, making a difference, and always exhibiting integrity" (this belongs to Cherlyn Foster, Alcoa)

Your Leadership Philosophy is an important part of your leadership style. It is the compass by which your leadership decisions are given direction. It should help define and shape your brand image for your customers (employees) just as a company’s brand slogan ("Nothing Runs Like a Deere", "Think Different", "Just Do It") does for its products. This is not an easy task to accomplish and requires some thought into how you want to be perceived by others as well as what you feel strongly about. Sit back and think about some of the great supervisors, managers and leaders you’ve worked with and for over the years. What traits stand out strongly for you that you admire and want to emulate? How will these traits benefit your company and your leadership style? Frame a brief statement around these traits that informs others about your style. Be sure this is something you can (or already do) have in your style naturally. This should be a statement that genuinely reflects your authentic style. If it isn’t quite ready for "public consumption" find a mentor to help you round out the rough edges.

Now that we’ve covered your Leadership Philosophy, whom have you shared it with? Who knows what you stand for? Just like with a product in the market for sale, if it isn’t advertised appropriately, no one is going to buy it – or at least not many people will buy it. So, if you don’t make your leadership philosophy known, you likely won’t have many followers. And what is a leader without followers? Share this with your boss, your peers, your direct reports and other colleagues. Sharing it includes reflecting your words in your everyday interactions. Be sure your behavior is intentional and authentic. Now it’s time to put your philosophy into action to get the word out. Here is where some social networking tools can help. But, where to start?

WHAT CAN SOCIAL NETWORKING TOOLS DO TO HELP YOU SPREAD THE WORD? I found it was easiest to start small. I set myself up with a Twitter account. This would allow me to be able to share articles, insights and websites that reflect my leadership style. I found articles on websites like CNN.com, HBR.com, WSJ.com, and Inc.com. These sites have a handy button to click and post to Twitter. The articles I choose to share reflect my passion around my Leadership Philosophy. Rather than just quickly sharing the article, I ask probing questions that encourage my followers to read the article and share it with others. My following was (is?) small, but it grows a little each week. Twitter gives you suggestions for people to follow based on your interests and others that you follow. Begin following several people and they may follow you back.  If you find you don’t have the time to peruse websites regularly to hunt down articles that resonate with you, I recommend subscribing to their RSS Feeds. What is an RSS Feed (Really Simple Syndication)? It is a method of directing website updates directly to your Outlook Inbox, Google Reader account, or other RSS reader.

Have a LinkedIn account? LinkedIn is a professional networking site. My connections on LinkedIn are strictly those people I know through professional interactions. To reach a broader audience, connect your LinkedIn account to Twitter. Then when you share via LinkedIn you can post to Twitter simultaneously. For an additional way to reach more, connect Facebook to your Twitter account and all three are updated with one post. The path I follow most often is LinkedIn to Twitter to Facebook.

To make these connections, the following links will provide instructions:
http://learn.linkedin.com/twitter/
https://support.twitter.com/articles/31113-how-to-use-twitter-with-facebook

Finally, I need to mention one of the newer players in the social networking sphere, Pinterest. Initially, this site was accepting members by invitation only. This lent itself a certain mystery and elite feel that increased its popularity quickly. It started out with a largely female membership as a way to share photos, craft ideas, and recipes. You get the idea. But then, something shifted. I recall an article that intrigued me regarding how leaders can use Pinterest. After reading the article I created a few boards on my Pinterest profile where I can pin articles that I enjoyed or want to read later. My Pinterest account is connected to Facebook and Twitter, so I’m able to update Twitter with my Leadership pins on Pinterest. Now Pinterest is growing even faster – as of June 2012 it was the third largest social networking site. A recent article in Forbes gives steps to use Pinterest as a way to promote your business. These same steps can be applied to promoting your leadership philosophy.

HOW DO YOU KNOW IT’S WORKING FOR YOU? So now you have your philosophy, you’re matching your actions to your philosophy and using tools to share it quickly with others via social and professional networking sites. How will you know it’s working for you? How do you know others are picking up the messages you’re putting out there? There are some ways to measure your impact.
As any leader knows, you can’t be a leader without followers. You can gauge your reach by monitoring the growth of your followers on most of these sites. Most social networking sites have the option to post comments to items others post. Facebook includes a Share option where others can share what you have posted. Twitter has a similar feature called Re-Tweeting. All of these sites send notifications when others re-tweet, share or comment on your posts and tweets. These can help you get a feel for whether or not your message is coming across. Even better, there is a site that gathers this information on your social and professional networking activity and calculates a score that measures your influence, Klout.com . Your score is updated daily, so you can easily see the impact recent activity will have on your overall influence score.

SO NOW WHAT? There is a lot to consider when it comes to social networking and your leadership style. Bottom line – know what you want to communicate to others, know your audience, and be intentional about your actions. Let the websites do the heavy lifting by connecting your accounts together to reach a broader audience and enjoy the results as you watch your influence grow! Happy Tweeting!


Your Guest Blogger,
Liz Meeks
Find me here:

The Gift of Thanks...

As a leader providing recognition is very important. I have found that small acts can go a long way with your team. Recognition is a way of reinforcing positive behaviors that you want to see repeated.  Today I thought I would share a few of my thoughts on recognition and provide you with some examples I have done and perhaps you could leave comments about other ways you show recognition to your team and those you work with. 

 A handwritten note: Yes this is old school but it is VERY powerful. Break out the stationary and write a couple of sentences commending your team member on a job well done. I keep a stack of thank you cards at my desk and when someone does something of note or I am appreciative of the time they are investing for the company I jot them a quick note of "thanks".  It's the personal approach that is meaningful, its not just another email its a piece of mail. I don't know about you but I love mail, so when I receive a handwritten note it excites me.  I often find that those who receive my handwritten notes have the card posted in their cube or keep it in a safe spot, it doesn't end up in the trash bin like an email does.  Give it a try.

Making it personal: Recognition can come in many forms but it can often be very simple. A couple years ago I sent my staff a questionnaire asking for their favorite candy, Starbucks request, fast food venue, ice cream, etc.  I then have used this information as a form of recognition. For instance, I know you worked hard to finish deliverable "B" on time, here is a token of thanks and provide them a cup of their favorite Starbucks beverage.

Upper management: At times it may be appropriate to alert upper management of a job well done. Sending a copy of your handwritten note not only to the recipient but also to their manager or the head of the office.  Or maybe its an email and you cc' others on the email so they see the efforts put forth by the team member. What better way than to tell your team member not only do I believe you are doing a great job but I want others to see your efforts as well.

Recognition does have to take hours of your time, in a matter of minutes you can make another persons day!  Take 15 minutes out of your week and write a note to someone who has done something worthy of recognition. 

I am always interested in mechanisms others use for recognition, please share your ideas in the comment section. 

~Faye

Guest Blogger- How Am I Different?

Today's Guest Blogger is Liz Meeks. These Ladies Have "IT" met Liz through the WOMEN UNLIMITED LEAD program that brought the four of us together.  The program was instrumental in growing not only us as leaders but a classroom full of women.  We asked guest blogger Liz Meeks to share her experience with WOMEN UNLIMITED, INC. LEAD Program.  Liz carries a presence that is inspirational and it is our hope that her story will lead you to reflect on your own journey of leadership. 


How am I different?
Reflection is important. It allows insight into what is possible, what is present and what has transpired over time. I recently sat down to reflect on what has transpired for me over the last year and the changes I have experienced in myself as a result of my Women Unlimited LEAD participation.

My goal for this last year (as stated in my IDP) was, "I will be known as an inspiring and influential leader people want to work for by providing rewarding and challenging work in a flexible and engaging environment." Using the EQ rules to frame my changes, here is what feedback suggests is different:

THINK EXCELLENCE – NOT PERFECTION AND DON’T DO IT ALONE. These two rules together illustrate a major shift for me. It was said that I’m, "not jumping in so quickly with the solution – I’m letting others find it on their own." This change is significant for me, because I am leading a team of people who are responsible for resolving problems that I used to be responsible for resolving. Pulling myself out of the details and finding satisfaction in others’ successes rather than my own was a transformation. Then, recognizing that their successes were also my own – by leading them through and to them – was another shift.

LOOK LIKE A LEADER AND MANAGE WORK, LEAD PEOPLE. These rules also come into my change together. One naturally leads into the other. In order to look like a leader, one must be visible. This was challenging for my team due to location and space issues. To overcome this, I embarked on a mission to gain more visibility, not only for myself, but for my team as well. I was intentional about getting my team to the locations where the majority of our larger organization resided – this allowed face to face meetings to occur and relationships to be built. These relationships are foundational to any highly engaged team and they cannot be built in a virtual environment.
Visibility isn’t the whole picture. Ensuring that what people are seeing is translating as leadership presence is crucial to looking like a leader. A huge factor in this is the level of one’s self-confidence. My confidence level has increased this last year and I’m successfully overcoming my Imposter Syndrome symptoms. These changes are the result of increase comfort in my current position and leadership level. This increased confidence has contributed to my being more influential in the organization.
Secondly, I needed to lead my team by removing obstacles to their successes, supply them with adequate resources (people, time, equipment, etc) to get the job done, and rejuvenate stale processes that got in the way of their engagement. In order to do this, I became a spokesperson for the "FICO Experience." I shared with HR and prospective candidates information about what our team is looking for in an employee as well as what someone can expect to gain from an experience with my team. I also reached out to the HR community to let them know that our team fully embraces flexible work arrangements like part-time opportunities, telecommuting, compressed work weeks and other informal flexible arrangements. Getting the word out about the benefits of an experience on my team brought more candidates to our job postings and enabled us to hire top talent into our group.
To provide them with additional time they need to do their work, I led a brainstorming session with my team to discover where our "time wasting" was occurring. We determined that we could reduce the frequency of several meetings – as well as the duration and agendas. We focused our time then on more knowledge management to allow all team members to gain insights into other areas of work, topics of interest to the overall group, as well as topics relevant to the company.
In order to better manage the work, I encouraged my team to be more active in the decisions affecting their work. They have the best understanding of the current workloads. When "nice to have" requests come in, they are free to say no, or defer them until later. Providing clear expectations for priorities allows them to make these decisions with the knowledge that management will support them.

TAKE RISKS – MAKE DECISIONS Being more decisive was an area I knew I needed to improve upon. My tendency was to get mired in the details and not able to make a decision without ensuring it was 100% correct. The following story illustrates this transformational shift for me.

Prior to our first Women Unlimited workshop, I took the initiative to organize a group dinner for all the participants. This would give us all a chance to meet one another in a social environment prior to entering the workshop. First, I sent out an email asking for everyone’s restaurant preferences. I polled all 30+ women, collected responses and narrowed it down to Maggiano’s. Then I took the menu options (there are several "levels" of family style dining available) from Maggiano’s and polled the 30+ women on what their menu preferences would be. I collected the responses and then agonized (right up until meeting everyone at the restaurant) on what selections to make for each course. My WU pal, Kathy R., finally brought me back to reality when she said, "Just make a decision, Liz. Everyone will enjoy it, no matter what you choose!" Wow – she was so right. I buckled down, made the decision and everything went off perfectly (or, rather, excellently!).
Flash forward 12 months…we are preparing for our graduation and final WU workshop. I wanted to organize another dinner for everyone to celebrate the culmination of our journey together. Rather than poll people for their choices, I simply sent out an invitation (for Maggiano’s), and collected the RSVPs. The rest of the process was my decision. I chose to have the event in a banquet room, I chose the menu (being conscious of any dietary restrictions), and scheduled the event for a time frame that should accommodate the majority of attendees. No agonizing over locations, menu options or other details.

THE BOTTOM LINE I am a changed leader. The change is subtle in some ways, more dramatic in others. My challenge moving forward is keeping up the momentum without the benefit of monthly workshops with my WU Clan. What am I going to do to ensure I am continuing to develop as a more strategic leader? There are several options here, all of which I hope to make use of. The Alumnae network provides regular opportunities to connect with other WU graduates for Webcasts and conferences. I have already scheduled a meeting for several WU graduates in my organization to collectively attend the next WU Webcast. There are several LinkedIn groups available that I am currently contributing to and will continue to stay engaged with in the coming months. Women Unlimited also provides opportunities to stay connected through attending one Lead session on a drop in basis as well as by becoming a TEAM mentor. I intend to make use of these options as well. I hope every one of my WU sisters keeps in touch. I will miss their faces, laughter and conversation.

Guest Blogger,

Liz Meeks
Find me on: