Most of us baulk at the idea of indicating, even in the slightest manner, that the boss is anything but god-like in his decisions and ideas.
“Let’s do X merger” “Yes, boss!”
“I think the sky is green today” “Yes, boss!”
People who do nothing but agree sycophantically are scorned as ‘yes’ men, but is the alternative even possible? We’ve all felt the pressure to stay in the boss’ good books, and one of the easiest steps seems to be to agree with said boss. Right?
Wrong.
Stating a fact or airing an opinion that contradicts your boss is not necessarily career suicide. In fact, doing so may show that you have courage as well as a working brain, both of which are positive characteristics that may work well in your favour when it comes to your annual appraisal! That said, you are not advised to embarrass your boss or openly cause dissent, because that would be unprofessional and can come off as petty or vicious. Here are 5 easy steps you could take to make your point or stand without ruffling any feathers.
1. Above and beyond everything else, remember that your boss is still your boss. That means respecting his or her authority; so watch that tone. It’s important to phrase your points carefully, eg: “I understand your point, but…” Avoid, at all costs, saying things like “This is MY area of expertise,” as it will automatically make your boss go on defensive mode and may lead to sparring matches from which you will definitely emerge the loser.
2. Be professional. You want to be heard and not shut out immediately, so avoid whining or taking things to a personal level. Do say things like “X way will save the company up to RM Y” and avoid saying things like “My way is better.” The best way to get your boss’ attention is to show that your point is being made with the company’s best interests at heart.
3. Set a proper time for the discussion. One good way to ensure that your points are heard is to plan your timing well. Arrange a time that is convenient for your boss as well as yourself, by asking either verbally or through writing – via email would be a good option, so your politesse is recorded. You will find that with proper timing comes better results! After all, you wouldn’t like it either if you were ambushed on your way to the car park with criticisms or complaints so don’t inflict it on others.
4. Don’t give up after one try. Nobody will change their opinions overnight, so just one great presentation may not be enough to turn your boss’ frown upside down. But that doesn’t mean you should throw in the towel and call it quits: If you truly feel that your idea is a fantastic one, persist in trying to pitch your idea. But be pleasant about it! Try saying “I took your previous comments into consideration, and have revised the plan some more. Could I have 5 minutes of your time to show you the amended copy?”
5. That said, you also need to know when to let it go. While you shouldn’t give up after one try, 10 tries is just too much. If you sense your boss is starting to avoid you, or worse, resent you then it’s time to step back gracefully. And by gracefully, we mean avoiding statements like “I’m invisible around here,” and “Nobody listens to employees.” Try statements like “Thank you for your consideration” or “Thanks for listening to my views” instead; and if you know what’s good for you, never climb over your boss’ head and approach his boss instead! The bottom line is, it is possible to have your own opinions and stands. Bosses are not (usually) totalitarian dictators, so a mature discussion about the best move for the company should be perfectly doable.
by
Saturday, March 03, 2012
An effective team member is one who also thinks and behaves like a leader.
Walk into any bookstore or library and you will find no shortage of books on leadership. A search for the word “leadership” on Amazon.com results in more than 60,000 entries. Search for “followership” however and only 150 entries pop up.
While there is clearly an overwhelming desire to learn about leadership, interest in followership is decidedly underwhelming. Does this mean that it is very easy to become a good follower?
If your idea of a good follower is someone who does whatever he is told, then the answer is “yes”. However, the organisation of today does not want its people to simply follow instructions.
Indeed, organisations expect every individual to take the initiative and constantly seek to achieve higher levels of personal effectiveness. In other words, followers should think and behave like leaders.
While many of us understand the need to practise personal leadership, people may take on attitudes that detract from their effectiveness as followers.
Here are some such attitudes:
Not clarifying
This is the mindset of “do what you are told; don’t ask questions”. Sometimes when you are tasked to do something, you tend to work on it without asking questions.
The fear is that if you ask too many questions, you may come across as negative or as someone with “attitude problems”. However, understanding the rationale for a task is very important. It leads you to get a big picture of your work.
For example, if you are tasked to organise a company dinner, ask questions to find out the underlying objectives. Is it meant to celebrate success, recognise individuals or promote team bonding? With a clear understanding of what is expected, you stack the odds of success in your favour.
Not challenging
This is characterised by the assumption that “the boss is always right”. A classic example of how the boss is not always right comes from the legendary Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company.
In the early 1900s, powered by the Ford Model T, the company produced more cars than all other car makers combined. Ford was so proud and protective of the Model T that he once famously remarked: “Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black.”
Four years after the first Model T was produced, his engineers surprised him with a prototype of an upgraded version of the car. Ford was apparently so incensed that his prized asset was modified, he destroyed the prototype with his bare hands.
Thereafter, his engineers never dared to suggest modifications to the Model T, and it remained unchanged for the next 15 years. The company was finally superseded by other carmakers who continued to innovate to produce better cars. Despite efforts to play catch-up later, Ford never regained its No.1 position.
Today, business has become so complex that it is no longer possible for one person, including your boss, to be an expert in all areas.
Your boss may have blind spots in terms of his prejudices, perspectives and knowledge. A good follower is one who can highlight these blind spots to his superior. The idea is not to challenge the boss but rather, to question the thought process behind the decision.
Not committing
In moments of frustration at work, many of us may think: “I don’t agree with the decision, so I am not going to carry it out” or “I’m just going to pretend to do so.”
Intel addresses this with a slogan that says “Disagree and Commit”. They encourage people to disagree, raise arguments, innovate and find better ways of doing things during the decision-making process. But once the group makes a decision, everyone is expected to commit to its implementation even if they disagree with it.
By all means, challenge a decision objectively and openly, but do not undermine it once it is made. Commit to its success even if you do not personally agree.
Everybody should realise that they work as members of a group and sometimes trade-offs and sacrifices have to be made for the greater benefit of the organisation. Covert resistance, such as bad-mouthing the organisation or your colleagues, not only undermines the success of the organisation, it creates tension, distrust and toxicity in the workplace.
Effective followership
It is somewhat unfortunate that the topic of followership has not received as much attention as leadership. Being a follower is the first thing that everybody must learn to do well when they enter the workforce.
Practise the 3Cs of effective followership: clarifying, challenging and committing to become a more effective team member. Even if you aspire to lead others one day, you must realise that to lead, you must first learn to follow. -
Article by Lim Poh Guan, vice-president of Learning & Organisation Development at the United Overseas Bank. Singapore Straits Times/Asia News Network
While there is clearly an overwhelming desire to learn about leadership, interest in followership is decidedly underwhelming. Does this mean that it is very easy to become a good follower?
If your idea of a good follower is someone who does whatever he is told, then the answer is “yes”. However, the organisation of today does not want its people to simply follow instructions.
Indeed, organisations expect every individual to take the initiative and constantly seek to achieve higher levels of personal effectiveness. In other words, followers should think and behave like leaders.
While many of us understand the need to practise personal leadership, people may take on attitudes that detract from their effectiveness as followers.
Here are some such attitudes:
Not clarifying
This is the mindset of “do what you are told; don’t ask questions”. Sometimes when you are tasked to do something, you tend to work on it without asking questions.
The fear is that if you ask too many questions, you may come across as negative or as someone with “attitude problems”. However, understanding the rationale for a task is very important. It leads you to get a big picture of your work.
For example, if you are tasked to organise a company dinner, ask questions to find out the underlying objectives. Is it meant to celebrate success, recognise individuals or promote team bonding? With a clear understanding of what is expected, you stack the odds of success in your favour.
Not challenging
This is characterised by the assumption that “the boss is always right”. A classic example of how the boss is not always right comes from the legendary Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company.
In the early 1900s, powered by the Ford Model T, the company produced more cars than all other car makers combined. Ford was so proud and protective of the Model T that he once famously remarked: “Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black.”
Four years after the first Model T was produced, his engineers surprised him with a prototype of an upgraded version of the car. Ford was apparently so incensed that his prized asset was modified, he destroyed the prototype with his bare hands.
Thereafter, his engineers never dared to suggest modifications to the Model T, and it remained unchanged for the next 15 years. The company was finally superseded by other carmakers who continued to innovate to produce better cars. Despite efforts to play catch-up later, Ford never regained its No.1 position.
Today, business has become so complex that it is no longer possible for one person, including your boss, to be an expert in all areas.
Your boss may have blind spots in terms of his prejudices, perspectives and knowledge. A good follower is one who can highlight these blind spots to his superior. The idea is not to challenge the boss but rather, to question the thought process behind the decision.
Not committing
In moments of frustration at work, many of us may think: “I don’t agree with the decision, so I am not going to carry it out” or “I’m just going to pretend to do so.”
Intel addresses this with a slogan that says “Disagree and Commit”. They encourage people to disagree, raise arguments, innovate and find better ways of doing things during the decision-making process. But once the group makes a decision, everyone is expected to commit to its implementation even if they disagree with it.
By all means, challenge a decision objectively and openly, but do not undermine it once it is made. Commit to its success even if you do not personally agree.
Everybody should realise that they work as members of a group and sometimes trade-offs and sacrifices have to be made for the greater benefit of the organisation. Covert resistance, such as bad-mouthing the organisation or your colleagues, not only undermines the success of the organisation, it creates tension, distrust and toxicity in the workplace.
Effective followership
It is somewhat unfortunate that the topic of followership has not received as much attention as leadership. Being a follower is the first thing that everybody must learn to do well when they enter the workforce.
Practise the 3Cs of effective followership: clarifying, challenging and committing to become a more effective team member. Even if you aspire to lead others one day, you must realise that to lead, you must first learn to follow. -
Article by Lim Poh Guan, vice-president of Learning & Organisation Development at the United Overseas Bank. Singapore Straits Times/Asia News Network
Personal branding: Make your first impression your best impression
Branding is not just for companies and products. Professionals also need it to project the right impression to colleagues, bosses and customers.
Wendy Lee, a professional image consultant and president of the Malaysian Association of Brand & Image Consultants (Mabic) answers some questions on personal branding.
What is personal branding?
Lee: Personal branding is the business of marketing the brand called YOU. Personal branding is a way of communicating what makes you different and special. It is about understanding your unique attributes — strengths, skills, values, and passions — and using them to separate yourself from your competitors or peers.
But, do bear in mind — your brand is not your logo. Your brand is not your company name. Your brand is not your product.
In reality, you do not own your brand. Your brand is owned by your customers, the people you work with, and anyone else who has an impression of you. Your brand is other people’s perception of what it’s like to do business with you, work with you, or be with you.
Your brand is really a collection of perceptions in the mind of others.
If a client wanted a full branding makeover, what are the steps you suggest he takes?
Lee: I would use a simple formula known as:
YOU = mpc2 (M = Mindset, P = Packaging, C2 = Consistency, Consistency)
Mindset: Having the right mindset to embrace change, to grow as an individual and to move forward is of utmost importance. Your thoughts are everything. They form your moods, attitudes and habits.
Packaging: Your packaging or Personal Branding Toolkit must convey the same message as your brand. This includes: Your wardrobe, business card, websites, Facebook, blogs, Twitter, email address, etc.
Consistency, consistency: Once you have established your own style and your brand, stick to it. Walk your talk. Make the effort to ensure you gain a reputation for saying what you mean and meaning what you say.
How does one know if he or she needs a professional image makeover?
Lee: There are a few ways to know if you need a makeover:
·You want to create YOU™ — Your own personal brand.
·You would like to create a great impression on everyone you meet.
·You are fresh out of school and would like to master the art of dressing for both business and leisure.
·You have not been working for years and do not know what is deemed suitable at an office environment.
·You have not been receiving positive comments on your dressing or on the way you look.
·You are stuck in a style rut.
·You feel you have nothing to wear although you have a closet full of clothes.
In my years of experience as an image consultant, I have had clients coming to me for various reasons — people who recently got promoted, who are now coming out to the workforce, who have not bought any clothes in ages, or who just simply want to learn something new.
How should someone present himself or herself when potential employers call or e-mail?
Lee: You must have your “elevator speech” ready. The term “elevator speech” was probably coined from the idea that we sometimes meet the important people in our lives in elevators. The odd situation we encounter in most elevators is that nobody speaks or looks at anyone else, and yet we have a captive audience for that short period of time.
Very few people are ready to interact in case someone does speak. The idea of an “elevator speech” is to have a prepared presentation that grabs attention and says a lot in a few words.
Who you are, what you do, who your clients are, and what happens as a result could be part of your “elevator speech.” For example, this is my elevator pitch:
“I’m Wendy, I’m an image consultant.
“I work with both companies and individuals to enhance their image for effective customer relations and sales.”
So, when your potential employers call or e-mail you, don’t say:
“I’m Jared, and I like to meet people and conduct sales calls.”
Say instead:
“I’m Jared. I like helping businesses improve the way they market their products, so that they find more clients and close more deals.”
It sounds more professional and makes you sound more interesting.
What are your five easy tips for a polished look?
Lee: 1. Your hair is your crowning glory.
Men — Billionaires don’t sport oily looking or long dishevelled hair. Think Simon Cowell.
Ladies — No grandma perms and keep your hair away from your face. Your style must say
current, healthy and professional.
2. Your face is your fortune.
Men – Keep your face clean without stubble.
Ladies — Light makeup is a must.
3. Your clothes show your style.
Men – You wear your clothes, not the other way around.
Ladies — Think feminine yet professional. Not loud and trashy. A suit is a foolproof way if you are unsure of what to wear.
4. Your posture shows your confidence. So, stand straight and smile, genuinely.
5. Your smell shows your personal hygiene. A light spray of eau de toilette will earn you extra brownie points.
The proverb goes “Do not judge a book by its cover,” but really, in this day and age, do we even have the time to delve deeply into a person’s psyche before making a decision? Your outward — physical as well as cyber — appearance can and will make an impact on how the world perceives you. With so much hinging on your ability to present yourself in the best and most appealing way, are you sure you can afford to take personal branding lightly?
Wendy Lee, a professional image consultant and president of the Malaysian Association of Brand & Image Consultants (Mabic) answers some questions on personal branding.
What is personal branding?
Lee: Personal branding is the business of marketing the brand called YOU. Personal branding is a way of communicating what makes you different and special. It is about understanding your unique attributes — strengths, skills, values, and passions — and using them to separate yourself from your competitors or peers.
But, do bear in mind — your brand is not your logo. Your brand is not your company name. Your brand is not your product.
In reality, you do not own your brand. Your brand is owned by your customers, the people you work with, and anyone else who has an impression of you. Your brand is other people’s perception of what it’s like to do business with you, work with you, or be with you.
Your brand is really a collection of perceptions in the mind of others.
If a client wanted a full branding makeover, what are the steps you suggest he takes?
Lee: I would use a simple formula known as:
YOU = mpc2 (M = Mindset, P = Packaging, C2 = Consistency, Consistency)
Mindset: Having the right mindset to embrace change, to grow as an individual and to move forward is of utmost importance. Your thoughts are everything. They form your moods, attitudes and habits.
Packaging: Your packaging or Personal Branding Toolkit must convey the same message as your brand. This includes: Your wardrobe, business card, websites, Facebook, blogs, Twitter, email address, etc.
Consistency, consistency: Once you have established your own style and your brand, stick to it. Walk your talk. Make the effort to ensure you gain a reputation for saying what you mean and meaning what you say.
How does one know if he or she needs a professional image makeover?
Lee: There are a few ways to know if you need a makeover:
·You want to create YOU™ — Your own personal brand.
·You would like to create a great impression on everyone you meet.
·You are fresh out of school and would like to master the art of dressing for both business and leisure.
·You have not been working for years and do not know what is deemed suitable at an office environment.
·You have not been receiving positive comments on your dressing or on the way you look.
·You are stuck in a style rut.
·You feel you have nothing to wear although you have a closet full of clothes.
In my years of experience as an image consultant, I have had clients coming to me for various reasons — people who recently got promoted, who are now coming out to the workforce, who have not bought any clothes in ages, or who just simply want to learn something new.
How should someone present himself or herself when potential employers call or e-mail?
Lee: You must have your “elevator speech” ready. The term “elevator speech” was probably coined from the idea that we sometimes meet the important people in our lives in elevators. The odd situation we encounter in most elevators is that nobody speaks or looks at anyone else, and yet we have a captive audience for that short period of time.
Very few people are ready to interact in case someone does speak. The idea of an “elevator speech” is to have a prepared presentation that grabs attention and says a lot in a few words.
Who you are, what you do, who your clients are, and what happens as a result could be part of your “elevator speech.” For example, this is my elevator pitch:
“I’m Wendy, I’m an image consultant.
“I work with both companies and individuals to enhance their image for effective customer relations and sales.”
So, when your potential employers call or e-mail you, don’t say:
“I’m Jared, and I like to meet people and conduct sales calls.”
Say instead:
“I’m Jared. I like helping businesses improve the way they market their products, so that they find more clients and close more deals.”
It sounds more professional and makes you sound more interesting.
What are your five easy tips for a polished look?
Lee: 1. Your hair is your crowning glory.
Men — Billionaires don’t sport oily looking or long dishevelled hair. Think Simon Cowell.
Ladies — No grandma perms and keep your hair away from your face. Your style must say
current, healthy and professional.
2. Your face is your fortune.
Men – Keep your face clean without stubble.
Ladies — Light makeup is a must.
3. Your clothes show your style.
Men – You wear your clothes, not the other way around.
Ladies — Think feminine yet professional. Not loud and trashy. A suit is a foolproof way if you are unsure of what to wear.
4. Your posture shows your confidence. So, stand straight and smile, genuinely.
5. Your smell shows your personal hygiene. A light spray of eau de toilette will earn you extra brownie points.
The proverb goes “Do not judge a book by its cover,” but really, in this day and age, do we even have the time to delve deeply into a person’s psyche before making a decision? Your outward — physical as well as cyber — appearance can and will make an impact on how the world perceives you. With so much hinging on your ability to present yourself in the best and most appealing way, are you sure you can afford to take personal branding lightly?
Reduce staff turnover by increasing flexibility
Workplace flexibility is a term that has been around for a while now, but most organisations are not as flexible as they can be.
Sure, if you fit neatly into a category like “working mother”, they will be politically correct and offer you flexible hours, as long as you don’t mind feeling like you are on the career track to nowhere.
Senior management in many industries still believe that people who are serious about their careers do not take up workplace flexibility options, and there is certainly anecdotal evidence of this.
The real test of any flexibility programme is not how many people take it up, but how many senior people take it up and how they are viewed as a consequence.
Let me give you an example: I have a client who has invited me to facilitate their management conference for the last couple of years. Prior to the event, I met up with each division’s senior manager to go over their contribution and discuss the event.
Last year, one of our meetings ran over time and I was advised that my final appointment for the day would have to be rescheduled as the senior manager had to leave to see his child play a sport. This comment was made without any negative tone or eye rolling. This is a workplace that truly believes in work-life balance for all. Would it be the same in your workplace or would that manager be seen as less than committed to his role?
Perhaps your organisation is making attempts to be more flexible but doesn’t really understand what flexibility means.
I met a senior manager from an accounting firm recently who proudly told me his partners had introduced a workplace flexibility scheme, which involved everyone having the Friday afternoon off. He didn’t understand why staff were not that impressed with the new policy. They had missed the point.
The other growng phenomenon is that people who are younger, childless, or both, want flexibility.
Here’s another example I use in my programmes on engaging younger generations.
The human resource manager had a visit from a young male staff member wanting to renegotiate his working hours from five days a week to four days. He put forward a well thought out case for why the job could be done in four days without affecting customers. When the HR manager asked why, he responded “so I have time for my life”.
As there was no precedent for this type of request in the company policies, the HR manager referred to the chief executive officer. The response was a definite “no’’ and eventually, the young employee left the company, taking with him valuable skills and knowledge.
No singular solution
So why don’t more organisations do it properly? As far as I can see, it boils down to two issues: administration and fairness.
Creating a good flexibility programme will mean more administration but think of the up side. If you do it right, you should have less staff turnover, fewer performance management issues and less stressed managers.
This argument is like the disorganised person who doesn’t have time to attend a time management course. If he goes, then he would be more organised.
On the issue of fairness, a lot of people confuse “fairness” with “sameness”.
Ask yourself: “Would you buy all your children the same Christmas or birthday present?” The answer is no; you would tailor it to their needs. The same is true of workplace flexibility options. If you try to make a one-size-fits-all option, you will end up pleasing no one.
The local context
So, how do Singaporean organisations rate in terms of workplace flexibility? A report in late 2008 issued by the Manpower Ministry, which surveyed 2,940 companies employing over 840,000 workers, showed that only one in 10 employers are adopting flexible work arrangements.
On the upside, eight out of 10 employers granted more than the legal requirement of leave. Besides the legislated annual, sick and childcare leave, they also granted compassionate leave and many allowed wedding leave.
If you recognise that your organisation can be more flexible, you may start to think what you can do differently.
Here are some ideas:
Purchasing extra leave;
Grandparent leave;
Compressed work week;
Job sharing at a senior level;
Floating cultural day;
Birthday leave;
Community service leave;
Bringing pets to work;
Aged care centre;
Outcome-based employment contract; and
Extra leave to compensate for business travel.
To take action, there are two aspects of workplace flexibility issues to consider.
First, closely examine your workplace flexibility policies and procedures to see if they need upgrading to include the areas mentioned above.
Second, and most importantly, do an informal survey to find out if the policies and procedures are being used in practice.
In other words, how these policies are perceived by staff at all levels, including senior management. Only when these are actually being used can you say that your organisation is really flexible.
- Source: Singapore Straits Times/Asia News Network
Sure, if you fit neatly into a category like “working mother”, they will be politically correct and offer you flexible hours, as long as you don’t mind feeling like you are on the career track to nowhere.
Senior management in many industries still believe that people who are serious about their careers do not take up workplace flexibility options, and there is certainly anecdotal evidence of this.
The real test of any flexibility programme is not how many people take it up, but how many senior people take it up and how they are viewed as a consequence.
Let me give you an example: I have a client who has invited me to facilitate their management conference for the last couple of years. Prior to the event, I met up with each division’s senior manager to go over their contribution and discuss the event.
Last year, one of our meetings ran over time and I was advised that my final appointment for the day would have to be rescheduled as the senior manager had to leave to see his child play a sport. This comment was made without any negative tone or eye rolling. This is a workplace that truly believes in work-life balance for all. Would it be the same in your workplace or would that manager be seen as less than committed to his role?
Perhaps your organisation is making attempts to be more flexible but doesn’t really understand what flexibility means.
I met a senior manager from an accounting firm recently who proudly told me his partners had introduced a workplace flexibility scheme, which involved everyone having the Friday afternoon off. He didn’t understand why staff were not that impressed with the new policy. They had missed the point.
The other growng phenomenon is that people who are younger, childless, or both, want flexibility.
Here’s another example I use in my programmes on engaging younger generations.
The human resource manager had a visit from a young male staff member wanting to renegotiate his working hours from five days a week to four days. He put forward a well thought out case for why the job could be done in four days without affecting customers. When the HR manager asked why, he responded “so I have time for my life”.
As there was no precedent for this type of request in the company policies, the HR manager referred to the chief executive officer. The response was a definite “no’’ and eventually, the young employee left the company, taking with him valuable skills and knowledge.
No singular solution
So why don’t more organisations do it properly? As far as I can see, it boils down to two issues: administration and fairness.
Creating a good flexibility programme will mean more administration but think of the up side. If you do it right, you should have less staff turnover, fewer performance management issues and less stressed managers.
This argument is like the disorganised person who doesn’t have time to attend a time management course. If he goes, then he would be more organised.
On the issue of fairness, a lot of people confuse “fairness” with “sameness”.
Ask yourself: “Would you buy all your children the same Christmas or birthday present?” The answer is no; you would tailor it to their needs. The same is true of workplace flexibility options. If you try to make a one-size-fits-all option, you will end up pleasing no one.
The local context
So, how do Singaporean organisations rate in terms of workplace flexibility? A report in late 2008 issued by the Manpower Ministry, which surveyed 2,940 companies employing over 840,000 workers, showed that only one in 10 employers are adopting flexible work arrangements.
On the upside, eight out of 10 employers granted more than the legal requirement of leave. Besides the legislated annual, sick and childcare leave, they also granted compassionate leave and many allowed wedding leave.
If you recognise that your organisation can be more flexible, you may start to think what you can do differently.
Here are some ideas:
Purchasing extra leave;
Grandparent leave;
Compressed work week;
Job sharing at a senior level;
Floating cultural day;
Birthday leave;
Community service leave;
Bringing pets to work;
Aged care centre;
Outcome-based employment contract; and
Extra leave to compensate for business travel.
To take action, there are two aspects of workplace flexibility issues to consider.
First, closely examine your workplace flexibility policies and procedures to see if they need upgrading to include the areas mentioned above.
Second, and most importantly, do an informal survey to find out if the policies and procedures are being used in practice.
In other words, how these policies are perceived by staff at all levels, including senior management. Only when these are actually being used can you say that your organisation is really flexible.
- Source: Singapore Straits Times/Asia News Network
Unleash your Net Generation employees' FULL pontential!
Whether we like it or not, we are living in the digital age where new rules are made and changed by those who have grown up in this era.
Digital natives, otherwise known as the Net Generation (Net Gen), are no longer satisfied with the old human resource model of recruiting, training, supervising and retaining. Companies should adopt a new model in acquiring and retaining them, that is, initiate, engage, collaborate and evolve.
Net Gen employees are ideally suited for the current working conditions. They are savvy, confident, upbeat, open-minded, creative and independent. This can also make it a challenge to manage them.
To meet their demands for more learning opportunities and responsibilities, ownership, instant feedback, greater work-life balance and stronger workplace relationships, companies must alter their culture and management approaches.
Properly cultivated, this generation’s attributes will be a critical source of innovation and competitive advantage to the organisation.
Thus, employers have two options. They can refuse to adapt to this group, stick to their old hierarchies, and reinforce the generational firewall that separates the managers from the newly hired. But if they do, they will forfeit the chance to learn from the Net Gen employees — to absorb both their mindset and their tools of collaboration.
Companies in the corporate world that choose to embrace the Net Gen employees’ collaborative ways will emerge winners.
Research shows that companies that selectively and effectively embrace Net Gen norms perform better than those who don’t.
There is a difference between those who have grown up digital and those who are introduced to technologies in later stages of life. While these digital immigrants (those over 30) can become very good at using technology, few achieve the ease and comfort of a member of the Net Gen, to whom technology is as natural as breathing.
How then can employers on these two generations to produce a more productive organisation?
Learn to adapt
For a start, design work systems according to the Net Gen norms. Look to the Net Gen culture and behaviour as the new culture of work and the new enterprise.
Re-think authority
Be a good leader, coach, mentor, facilitator or enabler, but understand that in some areas, you will be the student and the Net Gen employee will be the teacher. Net Geners need plenty of feedback, but recognition must be authentic. False praise doesn’t work.
Lifelong learning
Rethink training and engage them for lifelong learning. Rather than traditional training programmes that are separate from work, look to strengthen the learning component of all jobs. To achieve this, encourage employees to blog.
Harness social networks
Don’t ban Facebook or other social networks. Figure out how to harness them. New tools like wikis, blogs, social networks, jams, telepresence, tags, collaborative filtering and RSS feeds can be the heart of the new high performance workplace.
Encourage collaboration
Rethink management processes and design jobs and work for collaboration. Give the Net Gen staff a chance to put collaborative tools to good use — for example, by joining one of the company’s volunteering efforts.
Listen to them
Unleash the power of Net Gen capital in your organisation. Listen to the young people. Put them in the driver’s seat alongside you when designing work spaces, processes, management systems and collaborative working models.
The Net Gen youngsters should also do their bit. They should:
Go to college
It’s more interesting than high school and you will need more than a high school diploma to succeed in a knowledge economy.
Be patient
Keep calm, especially when you see old, outdated technology and bureaucratic ways of doing things. Your knowledge about collaboration will drive innovation and success this century. Boomers might be your best allies. They have kids like you and are more likely to understand you and your use of technologies.
Value experience
You are an authority on something important — but you are not an authority on everything. As you enter adult institutions, you have much to teach, but you also have much to learn. If it doesn’t work out, your experience will make you a better entrepreneur, activist, teacher or whatever you choose.
Don’t give up
When adults criticise your generation, don’t take it personally. You are the smartest generation — really. You are the first global generation. You have a better world within your grasp. Reach out, hold on and make it happen. – Singapore Straits Times/ Asia News Network
Article by Dr Don Tapscott, the author of Grown Up Digital: How The Net Generation Is Changing Your World, and the founder and chairman of nGenera Insight.
Digital natives, otherwise known as the Net Generation (Net Gen), are no longer satisfied with the old human resource model of recruiting, training, supervising and retaining. Companies should adopt a new model in acquiring and retaining them, that is, initiate, engage, collaborate and evolve.
Net Gen employees are ideally suited for the current working conditions. They are savvy, confident, upbeat, open-minded, creative and independent. This can also make it a challenge to manage them.
To meet their demands for more learning opportunities and responsibilities, ownership, instant feedback, greater work-life balance and stronger workplace relationships, companies must alter their culture and management approaches.
Properly cultivated, this generation’s attributes will be a critical source of innovation and competitive advantage to the organisation.
Thus, employers have two options. They can refuse to adapt to this group, stick to their old hierarchies, and reinforce the generational firewall that separates the managers from the newly hired. But if they do, they will forfeit the chance to learn from the Net Gen employees — to absorb both their mindset and their tools of collaboration.
Companies in the corporate world that choose to embrace the Net Gen employees’ collaborative ways will emerge winners.
Research shows that companies that selectively and effectively embrace Net Gen norms perform better than those who don’t.
There is a difference between those who have grown up digital and those who are introduced to technologies in later stages of life. While these digital immigrants (those over 30) can become very good at using technology, few achieve the ease and comfort of a member of the Net Gen, to whom technology is as natural as breathing.
How then can employers on these two generations to produce a more productive organisation?
Learn to adapt
For a start, design work systems according to the Net Gen norms. Look to the Net Gen culture and behaviour as the new culture of work and the new enterprise.
Re-think authority
Be a good leader, coach, mentor, facilitator or enabler, but understand that in some areas, you will be the student and the Net Gen employee will be the teacher. Net Geners need plenty of feedback, but recognition must be authentic. False praise doesn’t work.
Lifelong learning
Rethink training and engage them for lifelong learning. Rather than traditional training programmes that are separate from work, look to strengthen the learning component of all jobs. To achieve this, encourage employees to blog.
Harness social networks
Don’t ban Facebook or other social networks. Figure out how to harness them. New tools like wikis, blogs, social networks, jams, telepresence, tags, collaborative filtering and RSS feeds can be the heart of the new high performance workplace.
Encourage collaboration
Rethink management processes and design jobs and work for collaboration. Give the Net Gen staff a chance to put collaborative tools to good use — for example, by joining one of the company’s volunteering efforts.
Listen to them
Unleash the power of Net Gen capital in your organisation. Listen to the young people. Put them in the driver’s seat alongside you when designing work spaces, processes, management systems and collaborative working models.
The Net Gen youngsters should also do their bit. They should:
Go to college
It’s more interesting than high school and you will need more than a high school diploma to succeed in a knowledge economy.
Be patient
Keep calm, especially when you see old, outdated technology and bureaucratic ways of doing things. Your knowledge about collaboration will drive innovation and success this century. Boomers might be your best allies. They have kids like you and are more likely to understand you and your use of technologies.
Value experience
You are an authority on something important — but you are not an authority on everything. As you enter adult institutions, you have much to teach, but you also have much to learn. If it doesn’t work out, your experience will make you a better entrepreneur, activist, teacher or whatever you choose.
Don’t give up
When adults criticise your generation, don’t take it personally. You are the smartest generation — really. You are the first global generation. You have a better world within your grasp. Reach out, hold on and make it happen. – Singapore Straits Times/ Asia News Network
Article by Dr Don Tapscott, the author of Grown Up Digital: How The Net Generation Is Changing Your World, and the founder and chairman of nGenera Insight.
The eureka moment
This article is about innovation or creativity in business. The “Eureka” moment refers to that blissful moment which signals the solution to a challenge.
But isn’t innovation or creativity the reserve of poets, artists, musicians, inventors and scientists, brilliant people working on their own and having fantastic ideas?
Sure, these people represent the popular stereotypical “creative genius” but innovation or creativity is fundamental to all business and organisational success.
Without creativity, stagnation, decline and demise are ever more quickly inevitable in a frighteningly competitive globalised marketplace.
I rather like the quote by John Sculley, a former boss of Pepsi and Apple, who quipped: “The future belongs to those who see possibilities before they become obvious”. According to Steve Jobs, late iconic guru of innovation at Apple, IBM were spending huge sums more than Apple on R&D but it is Apple’s white earphones you see everywhere connecting bobbing heads to an IPod!
Let’s have one more quote to free up what we mean by innovation. This time it’s by Einstein, the legendary physicist: “Imagination is more important that knowledge. For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create”.
Innovation in business – and that includes any private or public organisation - is not easy. Famous names from finance, manufacturing, retail and the public sector are now memories in the business graveyard. They got stuck in the rut of “it worked in the past so it’ll work in the future”.
Of course creativity in business isn’t just about product innovation, important as this is. It’s also about staff morale, customer and supplier relations, finance, HR and manufacturing processes, shareholder relations, marketing and PR, including social media profile, and government and professional body relations.
This means innovation/creativity has to be part of the leadership “vision” and given the enablers like support, encouragement, incentive, time and opportunity to make creativity part of the organisational culture, part of corporate life, year in and out.
Innovation is essentially an exercise in collective wisdom tackling - in creative ways - a realistically defined problem which has eluded solution by conventional means but which, intuition and experience suggest, should be capable of cost-effective solution in the marketplace.
The failure of the conventional solution process is essentially a failure of the traditional analytical or “convergent” thinking which successfully drives the day-to-day functioning of the processes of any organisation.
What is required is the play of creativity or “divergent thinking”. This doesn’t proceed from a fixed point in a logical, linear way, dissecting, comparing, evaluating, selecting; rather it jumps, expands, is naïve, silly, outlandish, futuristic, rule breaking, fun, provocative, intuitive, new, wise, clever, imaginative, challenging, shocking, different – AND provides the solution. Phew!
There are many pitfalls on the road to creative solutions. The biggest is not having the commitment of top leadership to the creative process of problem or opportunity solution.
So it is essential that any group hoping to solve a problem creatively has the support of the problem’s owner who should also have the skill to recognise the solution and the authority to validate and then implement it.
Probably the next biggest obstacle is getting the wrong group of people together. Eight to 10 people should be enough. Diversity is the key. Yes, expertise is essential; but the experts have been looking at the problem and not come up with a solution. So include a majority of non-experts. Mix the ages and the sexes and the status levels. The 16-year-old junior may have just the fresh take that is required. So may the 60-year-old customer service manager. Within the creative group, rank consciousness should disappear when in session.
The facilitator will need to spend time breaking down age, gender and status barriers, establishing an atmosphere of trust and confidence and supporting an informal style symbolised by casual clothes wearing (whatever the usual dress code) and the use of personal names. For these reasons, creative groups tend to work better when working on neutral ground, perhaps a hotel.
Warm up, barrier breaking games such as standing in a circle and keeping a balloon in motion round the circle, or keeping a paper ball airborne, followed by tasks such as asking each group member to nominate 10 ways humans could fly (without aircraft), collectively agree the best three options and/or then nominate 10 ways a stuck lid could be removed from jam jar without the contents being spoiled and agree the best three solutions should help the group into the right frame of mind.
Suitably warmed up, the group needs to focus on preparing a “challenge statement”. This is a way of clarifying the real problem or challenge, not just symptoms, and how it relates to the future. The challenge statement always takes the form “We must…So that...” The statement should contain only one challenge; and the “So that” part no hint of the solution (often suggested with the word “by”).
A bad challenge statement might therefore be: “We must increase our market share of hard wood flooring by reducing supplier costs so that our prices will be more competitive and our profit margin maximised”. Better worded it might simply read: “We must become more competitive so that our profit margins are maximised”.
With a challenge statement in place it is helpful to submit the “We must” section to some “Wouldn’t it be Wonderful If (WIBWI)” thinking. These WIBWI suggestions can be collected into categories (manufacturing, sales, marketing, costs, customer care etc) and than translated into “Opportunity Statements”.
For example, in a “reduced costs” category we might find “overheads could be shared by more businesses or people” and in a “customer care” category we might put “customers could have a named contact for ongoing support”.
Group members can either write their suggestions on postnotes or call them out to be scribed onto a chart. The writing option helps counteract shyness and gives the introvert the same opportunity as the extrovert.
It is vital to kill negative comments: “That would never work….that’s stupid….we tried that five years ago…the CEO would never agree etc”. These are the invisible chains or rules that don’t exist in the creative group. The facilitator should spell out they are unacceptable at the outset.
The group has identified the core problem after subjecting the challenge statement to WIBWI interrogation. Next follows brainstorming possible solutions to the problem. Each group member is asked to write down 10 solutions. These are passed to the person on his/her right. The new group of two (or three, depending on numbers) must then produce five new ideas based on the original 20 or 30.
The ideas generated can be grouped by the facilitator into categories and shortlisted by discussion and agreement on stated criteria of practicability – things like company competence, cost, timescale, supply, distribution, negative/positive PR etc. It is important to avoid a single “eureka” solution. Have at least three, preferably five. List them in random order to help keep the mind free.
The group now needs a break for the ideas generated to incubate. Twenty four hours are best.
Gathered the next day the group could try “pattern breaking”, subjecting the previously agreed shortlisted ideas to attack in a final effort to break out of the box of company thinking as a way to unleash real “blue sky” creativity.
The facilitator can try “reversing” – taking the opposite – of the good idea: rather than extend customer contact hours what if we stopped them altogether? What if we had customer service provided from Manila or Mumbai or by online Qs and As?
“Free association” can work very well. The facilitator might use toys, random words or magazine pictures. A rubber snake, for example, might get someone to say that snakes shed their skin…they get a new start….so how about a complete repackaging and rebranding of the problem product under discussion? A picture of an old woman might get the response old people don’t buy our service…they might if we advertised it on daytime television.
“Comparison” or metaphoric thinking can be another good unblocker. Take something the group knows well: a paddy field, say. For each of the key components, farmer, earth, seed, water, sun, weeds, fertiliser, scarecrow, pests, harvest add a company equivalent. The harvest would be profits; pests might be competition or weeds inefficient processes etc. What about the scarecrow? Is there an equivalent, especially one that relates to our problem and solution ideas? If not, why not?
“Other perspectives” can also be fruitful. How would a named celebrity, scientist, artist/filmmaker or sportsman/woman, past or present, think about our problem/opportunity and our solutions? The celebrity always cultivates fans, for example. How could we cultivate our customers better? What use are we making of social media marketing opportunities?
Finally, the “outrageous idea”: what if we halved all our prices for a month? Or used a pink python as our advertising big idea? Or only traded online?
The pattern breaking may or may not have introduced a brilliant new idea among the previous day’s shortlist. At very least it will have shown them as robust.
The remaining task is for the group to agree the best solution generated and, for the problem’s owner who has been present and participated throughout, ideally, to undertake the process of validation and, hopefully, implementation.
Have fun being creative. It’s the magic ingredient.
Article extracted from LET'S COMMUNIC8 by Alex Cummins, Star Education.
But isn’t innovation or creativity the reserve of poets, artists, musicians, inventors and scientists, brilliant people working on their own and having fantastic ideas?
Sure, these people represent the popular stereotypical “creative genius” but innovation or creativity is fundamental to all business and organisational success.
Without creativity, stagnation, decline and demise are ever more quickly inevitable in a frighteningly competitive globalised marketplace.
I rather like the quote by John Sculley, a former boss of Pepsi and Apple, who quipped: “The future belongs to those who see possibilities before they become obvious”. According to Steve Jobs, late iconic guru of innovation at Apple, IBM were spending huge sums more than Apple on R&D but it is Apple’s white earphones you see everywhere connecting bobbing heads to an IPod!
Let’s have one more quote to free up what we mean by innovation. This time it’s by Einstein, the legendary physicist: “Imagination is more important that knowledge. For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create”.
Innovation in business – and that includes any private or public organisation - is not easy. Famous names from finance, manufacturing, retail and the public sector are now memories in the business graveyard. They got stuck in the rut of “it worked in the past so it’ll work in the future”.
Of course creativity in business isn’t just about product innovation, important as this is. It’s also about staff morale, customer and supplier relations, finance, HR and manufacturing processes, shareholder relations, marketing and PR, including social media profile, and government and professional body relations.
This means innovation/creativity has to be part of the leadership “vision” and given the enablers like support, encouragement, incentive, time and opportunity to make creativity part of the organisational culture, part of corporate life, year in and out.
Innovation is essentially an exercise in collective wisdom tackling - in creative ways - a realistically defined problem which has eluded solution by conventional means but which, intuition and experience suggest, should be capable of cost-effective solution in the marketplace.
The failure of the conventional solution process is essentially a failure of the traditional analytical or “convergent” thinking which successfully drives the day-to-day functioning of the processes of any organisation.
What is required is the play of creativity or “divergent thinking”. This doesn’t proceed from a fixed point in a logical, linear way, dissecting, comparing, evaluating, selecting; rather it jumps, expands, is naïve, silly, outlandish, futuristic, rule breaking, fun, provocative, intuitive, new, wise, clever, imaginative, challenging, shocking, different – AND provides the solution. Phew!
There are many pitfalls on the road to creative solutions. The biggest is not having the commitment of top leadership to the creative process of problem or opportunity solution.
So it is essential that any group hoping to solve a problem creatively has the support of the problem’s owner who should also have the skill to recognise the solution and the authority to validate and then implement it.
Probably the next biggest obstacle is getting the wrong group of people together. Eight to 10 people should be enough. Diversity is the key. Yes, expertise is essential; but the experts have been looking at the problem and not come up with a solution. So include a majority of non-experts. Mix the ages and the sexes and the status levels. The 16-year-old junior may have just the fresh take that is required. So may the 60-year-old customer service manager. Within the creative group, rank consciousness should disappear when in session.
The facilitator will need to spend time breaking down age, gender and status barriers, establishing an atmosphere of trust and confidence and supporting an informal style symbolised by casual clothes wearing (whatever the usual dress code) and the use of personal names. For these reasons, creative groups tend to work better when working on neutral ground, perhaps a hotel.
Warm up, barrier breaking games such as standing in a circle and keeping a balloon in motion round the circle, or keeping a paper ball airborne, followed by tasks such as asking each group member to nominate 10 ways humans could fly (without aircraft), collectively agree the best three options and/or then nominate 10 ways a stuck lid could be removed from jam jar without the contents being spoiled and agree the best three solutions should help the group into the right frame of mind.
Suitably warmed up, the group needs to focus on preparing a “challenge statement”. This is a way of clarifying the real problem or challenge, not just symptoms, and how it relates to the future. The challenge statement always takes the form “We must…So that...” The statement should contain only one challenge; and the “So that” part no hint of the solution (often suggested with the word “by”).
A bad challenge statement might therefore be: “We must increase our market share of hard wood flooring by reducing supplier costs so that our prices will be more competitive and our profit margin maximised”. Better worded it might simply read: “We must become more competitive so that our profit margins are maximised”.
With a challenge statement in place it is helpful to submit the “We must” section to some “Wouldn’t it be Wonderful If (WIBWI)” thinking. These WIBWI suggestions can be collected into categories (manufacturing, sales, marketing, costs, customer care etc) and than translated into “Opportunity Statements”.
For example, in a “reduced costs” category we might find “overheads could be shared by more businesses or people” and in a “customer care” category we might put “customers could have a named contact for ongoing support”.
Group members can either write their suggestions on postnotes or call them out to be scribed onto a chart. The writing option helps counteract shyness and gives the introvert the same opportunity as the extrovert.
It is vital to kill negative comments: “That would never work….that’s stupid….we tried that five years ago…the CEO would never agree etc”. These are the invisible chains or rules that don’t exist in the creative group. The facilitator should spell out they are unacceptable at the outset.
The group has identified the core problem after subjecting the challenge statement to WIBWI interrogation. Next follows brainstorming possible solutions to the problem. Each group member is asked to write down 10 solutions. These are passed to the person on his/her right. The new group of two (or three, depending on numbers) must then produce five new ideas based on the original 20 or 30.
The ideas generated can be grouped by the facilitator into categories and shortlisted by discussion and agreement on stated criteria of practicability – things like company competence, cost, timescale, supply, distribution, negative/positive PR etc. It is important to avoid a single “eureka” solution. Have at least three, preferably five. List them in random order to help keep the mind free.
The group now needs a break for the ideas generated to incubate. Twenty four hours are best.
Gathered the next day the group could try “pattern breaking”, subjecting the previously agreed shortlisted ideas to attack in a final effort to break out of the box of company thinking as a way to unleash real “blue sky” creativity.
The facilitator can try “reversing” – taking the opposite – of the good idea: rather than extend customer contact hours what if we stopped them altogether? What if we had customer service provided from Manila or Mumbai or by online Qs and As?
“Free association” can work very well. The facilitator might use toys, random words or magazine pictures. A rubber snake, for example, might get someone to say that snakes shed their skin…they get a new start….so how about a complete repackaging and rebranding of the problem product under discussion? A picture of an old woman might get the response old people don’t buy our service…they might if we advertised it on daytime television.
“Comparison” or metaphoric thinking can be another good unblocker. Take something the group knows well: a paddy field, say. For each of the key components, farmer, earth, seed, water, sun, weeds, fertiliser, scarecrow, pests, harvest add a company equivalent. The harvest would be profits; pests might be competition or weeds inefficient processes etc. What about the scarecrow? Is there an equivalent, especially one that relates to our problem and solution ideas? If not, why not?
“Other perspectives” can also be fruitful. How would a named celebrity, scientist, artist/filmmaker or sportsman/woman, past or present, think about our problem/opportunity and our solutions? The celebrity always cultivates fans, for example. How could we cultivate our customers better? What use are we making of social media marketing opportunities?
Finally, the “outrageous idea”: what if we halved all our prices for a month? Or used a pink python as our advertising big idea? Or only traded online?
The pattern breaking may or may not have introduced a brilliant new idea among the previous day’s shortlist. At very least it will have shown them as robust.
The remaining task is for the group to agree the best solution generated and, for the problem’s owner who has been present and participated throughout, ideally, to undertake the process of validation and, hopefully, implementation.
Have fun being creative. It’s the magic ingredient.
Article extracted from LET'S COMMUNIC8 by Alex Cummins, Star Education.
How to say 'NO!' to a heavier workload
Deadlines are looming - you have more caffeine than blood running in your veins, and you are seriously contemplating taking your laptop into the toilet with you to maximise the time left before D-Day … and your boss asks if you could put together a 10-minute presentation by tomorrow.
Was that a howl of despair we just heard echoing off the walls?
Take a deep breath. Did you know that you can actually say “No” to tasks? Of course, it’s how you say “No” that matters. Doesn’t the mere idea of being free to make a decision make you feel better already? We share some helpful tips that may allow you to actually go home at a decent hour:
Tip #1: Say ‘Yes!’
Okay, we can hear you saying “What?!” but this is really not just a big contradictory statement! Saying no doesn’t mean that you immediately say “NO!” and slam the door in your boss’ face (besides being rude, this is extremely incapacitating to your career progression). Someone adds an item to your towering “To-Do” pile? Say “Okay,” but add a “…But I’m really tied up at the moment with XYZ, so I will not be able to get to this immediately. Can I get this back to you on *insert a deadline that gives you time to breathe here*?” This indicates that you are not refusing the task like a surly non team-player, but that you are instead a person with good time management! And, if they can’t wait until your suggested date, they are welcome to get someone else to do the job. This applies to those working on their own as well.
Tip #2: Suggest an alternative
Career tips always have this piece of advice in common: Don’t give your boss a problem without a solution. So, you can’t do the job. All right, fine. But if you just stop at “Sorry; can’t do it,” people are going to leave feeling distinctively disgruntled. How about suggesting an alternative? You don’t have to shoot a colleague down by suggesting “What about Ted? He seems pretty free.” You could suggest other methods of getting work done without needing so much manpower. Be diplomatic; you could also suggest another avenue in which you could be of help. How about: “Sorry, I really can’t help you do this … but, maybe I could help with another aspect of the project, after I’ve submitted this proposal?”
Tip #3: Stand firm
Nobody is going to take “No” for an answer just like that! They will, understandably, try to change your mind. Beware, though! Being wishy-washy at this point will result in you spending your lunch, dinner and sleep time sobbing over your laptop; so stand firm! Of course, you need concrete reasons to say no; “Um … I need to … feed my cat” is not acceptable. Instead, try “Look, I’d really like to help you out, but my schedule is really full. My deadline is on Thursday and I’m swamped.”
Tip #4: Say it in person
Work relationships are important, and like many important things, they are also fragile. Misconstrued email messages can cause ruptured relationships between co-workers as well as between you and your boss or clients. While you may feel perfectly fine, sometimes email comes off as curt or even rude, so if possible, it’s best to do your naysaying in person! At least that way, others can read your face, tone and body language more accurately.
Tip #5: Put them in your shoes
If the one asking you to do the job is being extremely insistent, lay out the tasks you have to accomplish. Ask them for suggestions as to how you could fit an extra task into your workload. If they can, well then, maybe you’ve been underestimating your juggling abilities …. And, if they can’t, they really have no other recourse than to move on to another person.
Bonus hint: Practise saying “No” in front of the mirror! Learn to say it confidently and yet politely, and not shrink away apologetically, which is what most people do. Good luck!
by
Was that a howl of despair we just heard echoing off the walls?
Take a deep breath. Did you know that you can actually say “No” to tasks? Of course, it’s how you say “No” that matters. Doesn’t the mere idea of being free to make a decision make you feel better already? We share some helpful tips that may allow you to actually go home at a decent hour:
Tip #1: Say ‘Yes!’
Okay, we can hear you saying “What?!” but this is really not just a big contradictory statement! Saying no doesn’t mean that you immediately say “NO!” and slam the door in your boss’ face (besides being rude, this is extremely incapacitating to your career progression). Someone adds an item to your towering “To-Do” pile? Say “Okay,” but add a “…But I’m really tied up at the moment with XYZ, so I will not be able to get to this immediately. Can I get this back to you on *insert a deadline that gives you time to breathe here*?” This indicates that you are not refusing the task like a surly non team-player, but that you are instead a person with good time management! And, if they can’t wait until your suggested date, they are welcome to get someone else to do the job. This applies to those working on their own as well.
Tip #2: Suggest an alternative
Career tips always have this piece of advice in common: Don’t give your boss a problem without a solution. So, you can’t do the job. All right, fine. But if you just stop at “Sorry; can’t do it,” people are going to leave feeling distinctively disgruntled. How about suggesting an alternative? You don’t have to shoot a colleague down by suggesting “What about Ted? He seems pretty free.” You could suggest other methods of getting work done without needing so much manpower. Be diplomatic; you could also suggest another avenue in which you could be of help. How about: “Sorry, I really can’t help you do this … but, maybe I could help with another aspect of the project, after I’ve submitted this proposal?”
Tip #3: Stand firm
Nobody is going to take “No” for an answer just like that! They will, understandably, try to change your mind. Beware, though! Being wishy-washy at this point will result in you spending your lunch, dinner and sleep time sobbing over your laptop; so stand firm! Of course, you need concrete reasons to say no; “Um … I need to … feed my cat” is not acceptable. Instead, try “Look, I’d really like to help you out, but my schedule is really full. My deadline is on Thursday and I’m swamped.”
Tip #4: Say it in person
Work relationships are important, and like many important things, they are also fragile. Misconstrued email messages can cause ruptured relationships between co-workers as well as between you and your boss or clients. While you may feel perfectly fine, sometimes email comes off as curt or even rude, so if possible, it’s best to do your naysaying in person! At least that way, others can read your face, tone and body language more accurately.
Tip #5: Put them in your shoes
If the one asking you to do the job is being extremely insistent, lay out the tasks you have to accomplish. Ask them for suggestions as to how you could fit an extra task into your workload. If they can, well then, maybe you’ve been underestimating your juggling abilities …. And, if they can’t, they really have no other recourse than to move on to another person.
Bonus hint: Practise saying “No” in front of the mirror! Learn to say it confidently and yet politely, and not shrink away apologetically, which is what most people do. Good luck!
by
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