A great friend and colleague of mine, Wendy Frasier, just completed an exciting doctoral research project where she studied what team members did to work through and repair a breach of trust. She came up with six very insightful findings, which I mention here briefly:
- The teams that successfully worked through a breach of trust made more attempts to repair trust and matched an appropriate remedy to respond to the nature of the violation;
- They took an appropriate amount of time to engage in repair efforts;
- Group members were intentional about engagement, relationship building and Use of Self;
- People acknowledged their part in the violation(s) and were tenacious in the repair efforts;
- The groups generally had the right people and accessed additional people if they needed help; and
- Effective leadership within these groups influenced the repair strategy and overall success.
Thanks to the results of this study, there is now a clearer, evidence-based way to look at the success factors of working through a breach of trust in teams. You can learn more about Wendy's work here: http://wendyf.com/index.php
Monday, January 18, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
10,000 Hours
[The following post offers a brief excerpt from the upcoming Breaking Barriers book:]
Most efforts to explain the process of acquiring expertise in a given skill or endeavor include reference to a certain number of hours dedicated to intentional practice. Usually this number is 10,000, which represents the total investment required to form the vast superstructure of neural connections, habits, and patterns of attitude and action that signal the highest level of proficiency in the given undertaking.
The thought of attaining this level of expertise for most of us is overwhelming and (if we're honest) out of reach. We often project this gap because the demands of daily life leave precious few “extra” hours on evenings and weekends to pursue our truest ambitions. However, there is an activity that each of us could benefit from greater expertise. Conveniently, the nature of this activity also provides room for the timing and practice required for our 10,000 hours. I am referring to the practice of continuous learning and performance at work.
Let me put the incentive for this in terms of my own demographic: Considering the current life expectancy for Gen X’ers like me, as well as the current downward trend in the economy, if I keep my health and wits about me then I will most likely work until I am 75 years old. If we consider the implications of current bio-technology research and medical advances that could improve health and sustain quality of life beyond current levels, the millennial generation and those that follow are likely to perhaps live and work well into their 100’s. Even for me, these 60+ years spent in the workplace make an absolutely definitive statement about the truth of the adage life is work and work is life.
So, here we all are – destined to fulfill a working life with increasing pressure on ourselves to remain employable. Breaking Barriers offers a set of integrated models that can serve as a road map to navigate the challenges and pitfalls of work. When integrated fully, the system of personal and professional development can pervade every aspect of how good work is done - from the simple interactions between colleagues to the major activities and decisions an organization engage in. If you commit to full immersion into Breaking Barriers, then your path to proficiency is a lot more realistic.
Instead of the inconsistent half-hour each evening and a few hours on the weekend to inch closer to excellence, I am suggesting that the workplace can be your workshop where your full-time devotion to learning the art and practice of Breaking Barriers and improving performance can dramatically accelerate the path to expertise.
The average full-time employee works around 2,080 hours per year and in this regard getting to 10,000 hours of hard-earned practice will take less than five years. If you are going to spend 70 years in a working life, isn’t it worth the investment to set a trajectory of optimal performance and increased personal success?
Make no mistake; there isn't a short cut to this kind of proficiency - everyone must earn these 10,000 hours if they wish to experience the benefits of mastery. However, I believe that the development of meaningful excellence at work is something that each one of us can attain. The benefits include greater personal and professional success, as well as a high-demand skills set that will go with us as careers and jobs evolve into an unknown future.
Most efforts to explain the process of acquiring expertise in a given skill or endeavor include reference to a certain number of hours dedicated to intentional practice. Usually this number is 10,000, which represents the total investment required to form the vast superstructure of neural connections, habits, and patterns of attitude and action that signal the highest level of proficiency in the given undertaking.
The thought of attaining this level of expertise for most of us is overwhelming and (if we're honest) out of reach. We often project this gap because the demands of daily life leave precious few “extra” hours on evenings and weekends to pursue our truest ambitions. However, there is an activity that each of us could benefit from greater expertise. Conveniently, the nature of this activity also provides room for the timing and practice required for our 10,000 hours. I am referring to the practice of continuous learning and performance at work.
Let me put the incentive for this in terms of my own demographic: Considering the current life expectancy for Gen X’ers like me, as well as the current downward trend in the economy, if I keep my health and wits about me then I will most likely work until I am 75 years old. If we consider the implications of current bio-technology research and medical advances that could improve health and sustain quality of life beyond current levels, the millennial generation and those that follow are likely to perhaps live and work well into their 100’s. Even for me, these 60+ years spent in the workplace make an absolutely definitive statement about the truth of the adage life is work and work is life.
So, here we all are – destined to fulfill a working life with increasing pressure on ourselves to remain employable. Breaking Barriers offers a set of integrated models that can serve as a road map to navigate the challenges and pitfalls of work. When integrated fully, the system of personal and professional development can pervade every aspect of how good work is done - from the simple interactions between colleagues to the major activities and decisions an organization engage in. If you commit to full immersion into Breaking Barriers, then your path to proficiency is a lot more realistic.
Instead of the inconsistent half-hour each evening and a few hours on the weekend to inch closer to excellence, I am suggesting that the workplace can be your workshop where your full-time devotion to learning the art and practice of Breaking Barriers and improving performance can dramatically accelerate the path to expertise.
The average full-time employee works around 2,080 hours per year and in this regard getting to 10,000 hours of hard-earned practice will take less than five years. If you are going to spend 70 years in a working life, isn’t it worth the investment to set a trajectory of optimal performance and increased personal success?
Make no mistake; there isn't a short cut to this kind of proficiency - everyone must earn these 10,000 hours if they wish to experience the benefits of mastery. However, I believe that the development of meaningful excellence at work is something that each one of us can attain. The benefits include greater personal and professional success, as well as a high-demand skills set that will go with us as careers and jobs evolve into an unknown future.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
What’s Your Formula For Success?
For many people, the reasons behind our success or failure in managing the day-to-day demands of life feel mysterious and difficult to understand. Not only are there the everyday challenges to contend with, but often we experience emergencies that require additional energy to address. When you take these demands and consider the added dimension of our goals and aspirations for the future, it can feel overwhelming to find a path forward.
When coaching a person or consulting with an organization that is having a hard time meeting the on-going demands of their circumstances, I invite them to make an honest assessment of their formula for success. Borrowing from the psychologist and researcher Howard McClusky’s theory of margin, we can identify the fundamental variables that influence their success. If they are not achieving at the level they want, the simple formula indicates what changes could be made to improve results and create greater satisfaction.
The formula looks something like this: LOAD/POWER = MARGIN. Load represents the total internal self and external social demands that must be met in the course of living (i.e. family and career obligations as well as goals and personal expectations, etc.). Power is equivalent to the resources we have at our disposal to meet those demands (i.e. financial resources, time, supportive relationships, accumulated skills, resiliency, etc.). Margin is the excess of power at our disposal that can be utilized to meet both expected and unexpected challenges that arise.
Obviously, a person with a high margin of excess power is in a better position to successfully adjust to emergencies that arise, as well as to apply their surplus power to new areas of growth and development. When a person or organization’s load is much greater than the available reserve of power, the inverse margin can create tremendous stress and limited success. The question becomes how can we increase our power or decrease our load so that our margin for success grows?
After taking an inventory of all the factors pertaining to their load and power, I then ask the client to create a start doing and stop doing list. This list becomes a guide for selectively reducing the load factors and intentionally surrounding them with power factors to get their margin into better balance. The conversation could go something like this:
- Client: I have way too much on my plate right now to be successful at the things that matter most!
- Coach: Okay, let’s take a look at everything on your plate and prioritize your commitment to these things. This will give you the chance to let go of responsibilities that are negotiable.
- Client: Okay, as much as I would like to hold on to this, I guess I need to let go of activity x.
- Coach: Good, now that you’ve looked at the LOAD factors, let’s look at ways to shore up resources and increase your POWER. What available or easily acquired resources could we add to help you in your everyday experiences?
- Client: I never ask my colleagues for advice and they are much more experienced than me. Also, I forget that I have paid time off that I never take – maybe I should give myself some down time between big projects.
- Coach: Great, what else?
As this conversation progresses, ideally the MARGIN gets into a better balance and the client is now aware of a tool they can use to identify and improve their formula for success. Imagine what’s possible when you adjust your formula for greater success.
When coaching a person or consulting with an organization that is having a hard time meeting the on-going demands of their circumstances, I invite them to make an honest assessment of their formula for success. Borrowing from the psychologist and researcher Howard McClusky’s theory of margin, we can identify the fundamental variables that influence their success. If they are not achieving at the level they want, the simple formula indicates what changes could be made to improve results and create greater satisfaction.
The formula looks something like this: LOAD/POWER = MARGIN. Load represents the total internal self and external social demands that must be met in the course of living (i.e. family and career obligations as well as goals and personal expectations, etc.). Power is equivalent to the resources we have at our disposal to meet those demands (i.e. financial resources, time, supportive relationships, accumulated skills, resiliency, etc.). Margin is the excess of power at our disposal that can be utilized to meet both expected and unexpected challenges that arise.
Obviously, a person with a high margin of excess power is in a better position to successfully adjust to emergencies that arise, as well as to apply their surplus power to new areas of growth and development. When a person or organization’s load is much greater than the available reserve of power, the inverse margin can create tremendous stress and limited success. The question becomes how can we increase our power or decrease our load so that our margin for success grows?
After taking an inventory of all the factors pertaining to their load and power, I then ask the client to create a start doing and stop doing list. This list becomes a guide for selectively reducing the load factors and intentionally surrounding them with power factors to get their margin into better balance. The conversation could go something like this:
- Client: I have way too much on my plate right now to be successful at the things that matter most!
- Coach: Okay, let’s take a look at everything on your plate and prioritize your commitment to these things. This will give you the chance to let go of responsibilities that are negotiable.
- Client: Okay, as much as I would like to hold on to this, I guess I need to let go of activity x.
- Coach: Good, now that you’ve looked at the LOAD factors, let’s look at ways to shore up resources and increase your POWER. What available or easily acquired resources could we add to help you in your everyday experiences?
- Client: I never ask my colleagues for advice and they are much more experienced than me. Also, I forget that I have paid time off that I never take – maybe I should give myself some down time between big projects.
- Coach: Great, what else?
As this conversation progresses, ideally the MARGIN gets into a better balance and the client is now aware of a tool they can use to identify and improve their formula for success. Imagine what’s possible when you adjust your formula for greater success.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Whitewashing
Let’s face it; everything is not created equal in the workplace. One of the most common mistakes managers and leaders make is to treat all outcomes the same. This is often called whitewashing because everything is made to look the same on the surface.
When we treat all goals and outcomes the same, we inadvertently divert our energy and attention away from the most critical priorities. In a challenging business environment, this distraction from essential priorities can be a fatal flaw.
Although it can be important to consistently check tasks off your to do list, if your efforts are focused on the easier, but less critical priorities, then you risk leaving the more difficult challenges left undone. This requires us to be brutally honest about what matters most and to make hard choices about goals that we may not succeed at initially.
All of us, especially managers and leaders must distinguish good successes from okay successes in order to instill “top of mind focus” on the most essential priorities. When we do this, we’ll stop whitewashing and the true colors of our goals and objectives will shine through.
When we treat all goals and outcomes the same, we inadvertently divert our energy and attention away from the most critical priorities. In a challenging business environment, this distraction from essential priorities can be a fatal flaw.
Although it can be important to consistently check tasks off your to do list, if your efforts are focused on the easier, but less critical priorities, then you risk leaving the more difficult challenges left undone. This requires us to be brutally honest about what matters most and to make hard choices about goals that we may not succeed at initially.
All of us, especially managers and leaders must distinguish good successes from okay successes in order to instill “top of mind focus” on the most essential priorities. When we do this, we’ll stop whitewashing and the true colors of our goals and objectives will shine through.
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