UTurn^TV

Last week I was working with a client in her office.  We needed some information from a member of her staff and it was fascinating watching the interaction between them.  As the manager (my client) was trying to extract the required information I noticed there was a real air of irritation in the way she was speaking.  Obviously the member of staff was very uncomfortable and after they left the room I asked what it was that had irritated the manager so much that she had to let it show?

She replied that she was really frustrated because she felt that she had explained this information request ‘a million times’ but still wasn’t getting the information in the way she wanted it.

I wonder how many managers and leaders feel and even show this sort of irritation with their teams?  Probably quite a lot if my work is anything to go by!

I think it’s really easy to avoid the overly emotional reactions people have at each other by following a few simple steps:

Training – Make sure your staff have the proper training to carry out their job effectively.  If someone has been in their job for a long time, don’t assume that they are still doing it correctly.  Check in on a regular basis to ensure everyone is doing what they should and make any appropriate corrections.

Delegation – Don’t be a control freak and have the attitude ‘if I don’t do it myself it won’t get done properly’.  Take the time to show, explain and support staff in delegated tasks.  Delegation doesn’t work effectively if you don’t take the time to ensure that your staff know exactly what they are doing and that they fully understand your expectations.

Discipline – Companies put a lot of time and effort into ensuring their disciplinary procedures are fair and appropriate for the organisation.  In my experience many managers spend a lot of time and negative energy avoiding using their disciplinary procedures for fear of creating a negative atmosphere or suffering the potential repercussions.  Leadership sometimes requires having conversations with others that will make them unhappy or uncomfortable but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.  Applying the rules consistently and fairly will ensure that everyone in your team is aware of boundaries, rules of operation and the potential consequences of deliberate failure to work to the appropriate standards.

Perspective – Work is not a social club.  It’s a place where we get paid to carry out tasks and activities that contribute to the success and profitability of an organisation.  It often surprises me how often managers spend energy on being worried about lots of issues that appear in the workplace which are not strictly work related.  Try shifting your perspective away from the personal and you will feel a great deal more in control.

If you work on all of the above you will begin to feel in control.  Once you are in control there will be no need to get annoyed and damage potentially brilliant working relationships.

Let me know how you get on.

Jules x

When I deliver Moments of Clarity I am often given a pencil sketch of some of the teams issues before we start the two day process but I rarely know exactly which issues are going to be raised by the team.

One theme that is regularly raised is the relationship, interaction and effect of other teams or individuals on the team.  Comments such as ‘they are rude’, ‘they don’t listen to us’, ‘they never give us enough information’, ‘they don’t trust us to do our job’ have been highlighted by teams on a regular basis.

The discussion that usually follows is often focussed on all of the negative aspects of working with this team, who is at fault, who is the worst culprit etc.  However, many teams in this situation rarely take the time to examine their own behaviour to see how it might be having an effect on the people they work with.

So, here are some tips to having better working relationships with every team in your organisation:

Consider if you are actually delivering.  Do you deliver what is required, when it is required?  When was the last time you checked that you are still doing it right?

Stop bitching and moaning about them. Ask yourselves how much time you are spending talking about how much things don’t work.  Be aware that no matter how ‘confidential’ that coffee machine conversation was – the person you were talking about will find out about it.  That’s just the law of people.  They talk.

Have a relationship with them. A good one. Why would you want to go to work every day just so that you can be miserable and unhappy all day about what’s not working and griping about who is the most rubbish in that team?  Wouldn’t it be better to have a good working relationship with them so that you can all do a good days work?  How would you feel if you were able to go home every day knowing that you and that other team are delivering consistently on that major project?

Wear someone else’s shoes. Obviously not literally but take some time out to do some creative thinking and try and look at the issues you can see from their perspective.  If you can’t manage that then…

…Ask.  Ask.  Ask. Ask.  Ask.  Ask. You will never know what someone else is thinking unless you ask them.  If you take the time to sit down and talk to a representative from another team (or better yet the whole team!) the sky will not fall in and neither will you contract a horrendously contagious disease.  Yes, you might feel a bit uncomfortable but if that is the worst that will happen in the pursuit of better working relationships then surely it would be worth it?

Work is not a social club. It’s a place where you are paid to go and achieve tasks in a given number of hours in a day.  If you meet someone that you end up socialising with or even marrying then that’s a bonus.  You are not paid to whine about someone else’s behaviour or performance.  You are not paid to stand at the coffee machine and tell anyone who will listen that the boss of that team is about as much use as a chocolate fire guard.

Be positive. Every time I work with a team I notice that the first stance on any issue is often the negative one.  Negativity is like a virus but so is positivity.  Try spreading a bit of positivity and see how quickly everyone catches the bug.

If you want to learn more about Moments of Clarity I am holding a free seminar that still has a few places left.  If you would like to attend please use this link to book your place: http://happierstaff2.eventbrite.com/

Be happy.

….…‘How to stop staff crying in the corridors and bitching in the kitchen!’

If you’ve ever had one of those days when you get nothing done because you’re dealing with staff crises, then this is the seminar for you.

Whether their woes are justified (let’s face it times are hard) and they really need your support, or whether the tantrums and twisting are down to internal issues, there’s a way to solve them all.  In just two hours you’ll learn:

• How to spot the problems before they start
• How to deal with each issue as a team
• How to get your team working together happily

Book Online now: http://happierstaff.eventbrite.com/

You’ll hear from UTurn’s own Jules Rutherford, who used her vast experience in team management to develop the Moments of Clarity programme.    In this insightful and interactive seminar, Jules will share her real life tales – some will amuse you, some will amaze you, including:

• How a Snickers Bar improved my performance
• What happened when I hit my target to employ 72 people in just 3 months

Book Online now: http://happierstaff.eventbrite.com/

You’ll learn something from each tale to help you work in a caring and compassionate way and keep your staff happy.

Places are limited so book your place today for the chance to experience how it feels to have a MOMENT OF CLARITY LIVE in the seminar.

Book Online now: http://happierstaff.eventbrite.com/

Yesterday I had lunch with the lovely Justin Turner who is the MD of Carrot Media.  I delivered my Team Building programme to him and his team just over a year ago when they were experiencing some operational and staff challenges.  Over a year later he has done a video for me where he explains that not only did Moments of Clarity resolve their issues in the short term but has had a long lasting effect on the team and the success of the business.

Thank you Justin.

Jules

x

Many thanks to Gavin Elliott for the inspiration to today’s blog.

It’s often all too easy to forget that whatever work you do that somewhere you have a customer. Even if you don’t come face to face with them they are always there at the end of some process. Does your team spend too much time on non-productive work and forget that who they are serving?

Love to hear from you.
Jules

When Jules has something to celebrate she does her victory dance. What do you do when you have something to celebrate?

We want to see your victory dance! Take a look at Danny Johnson’ for inspiration and send us your own!

http://bit.ly/9QUAna

For those of  you out there who run your own businesses as I do you will understand some of the challenges that I sometimes face.  The continuing search for clients, balancing the books, delivering a quality service or product and just generally staying consistently on top of your game can be a real battle.  As  I work in the personal development and training arena which means we have the added challenge of having to ensure that I check in on my work/life balance and make sure it’s not overly tipped one way or the other, otherwise I could easily be seen as a hypocrite.

So far, the majority of my clients have come to me either through recommendation from existing clients or because they met me face to face and instantly ‘got me.’  This is wonderfully gratifying and it means that I know that everyone I deliver to is there because they understand that they will have a moment of clarity about the issues they are facing and be in a much better state of mind than when they first came to me.

In the last few weeks as I have been upping my game I have had a number of conversations with others where I have had to stand still and check in on what I am doing to make sure I am still on track. Given my line of work it is inevitable and right that I should do this.  I’m sure most of you out there do the same thing but I wonder how often you change direction, even by a tiny amount, based on how influenced you have been by outside forces.

Clearly there are some outside forces, such as the economy, which many of you have had no choice but to adapt to in order to survive.  However, I do wonder how much we are influenced to change direction and later regret it because we didn’t stay true to our core beliefs, what we are truly good at and what we love doing.

Whilst I will never have a problem with change for the better I think sometimes it’s very easy to think that an idea proposed or an opinion given should be cogitated over, absorbed and implemented.  For those of you who run your businesses alone, not having someone to bounce ideas off when these new shiny things jump up and down at you can be a much greater challenge.

I know that sometimes from the outside my work can be seen as ‘namby pamby’, ‘weird’ or just plain daft.  Added to that I tend to approach things in my own quirky, unique way which may look unconventional but really really works for me and my clients.

I never check out ‘the competition’ because I know it would be a waste of time and energy, and whilst some businesses need to do this to survive, it will never work for me.  I don’t do suits.  I would probably lose the will to live if I had to wear a suit to win a piece of business.  I don’t do brochures because I know that the majority of them will end up in the bin and a piece of paper could never express who I am. I dare to be different.  And it makes me very happy to work this way.  And ultimately, isn’t that the point?

I am so looking forward to growing my business in the way that I have chosen to do.  And what if I fail I hear some of you cry?  Not an option.  I love what I do too much for the money not to follow.

I would love to hear from you and particularly if you have some daring ideas on how you want to run your business but think it might be a bit too ‘out there’.

I wish you much love and joy and hope that life is treating you amazingly well.

Jules