The PMA Blog

It happens all the time.  Two people are using a word and believe they are aligned on its definition, but their different interpretations lead to big misses in execution.  When this happens with a common word like coaching, the results fall short and leave people scratching their head.  I was recently in New York teaching a Coaching for Peak Performance class with a group of front-line managers.

Automate your repetitive processes.

Identifying all repetitive tasks in a process is a great way to quickly surface opportunities for automation.

Consider templates, checklists and rules in Outlook, Gmail, OneNote, Keep and other applications as a non-programmers option for automating. With increases in communications, an automated process for client contacts can save a team a bunch of time. Scheduling applications like Fullslate, AppointmentPlus, Acuity, TimeTap and Bookings (free in MS 365) can save everyone on the team countless hours playing phone tag and emailing people with new appointment options when you work with external clients or vendors whose schedules you can't see.

It's in my blood!  I grew up in a family that rewarded it.  For many years I believed it was responsible for everything good in my life.  I have always put it in my top 3 values and traits.  And, I now believe (and it kills me to say so) that I was wrong.  In fact, it may be my biggest limitation in achieving both my professional and personal goals.  While I have spent years jumping in and working more and harder when things get dicey, I realized now that this hard work ethic has, at times, caused me to:

• Make the wrong prioritizing decisions at times when my health, my family life and my spiritual needs were on the line.
• Become judgmental when others chose differently.
• Measure "hours in play" instead of results.

I was coaching a client last week and asked about his progress since he went to our WorkingSm@rt class.   He said, "Well, I'm more organized and more focused but I haven't solved the one issue that takes up more time than almost anything else -- the people stuff!”.

I knew he was saying it tongue in cheek, but he winced a little as he said it and I knew there was more truth there than he was comfortable with.  I wish I could say it was the first time I've heard this complaint, but it's not.  It's impossible to focus on people's productivity without consistently running into the challenging people issues that can take up significant chunks of our day.

 So, without ado, I thought I’d outline three people areas that waste significant time in our workplaces with a few solutions that can make a significant impact:

Last week, as I plugged into my computer and logged into my video conferencing software, I found myself asking this exact question. It was the end of a long week, and I was meeting with some industry colleagues to discuss a potential upcoming project. While the work was exciting and I was happy to connect with my colleagues, I found myself dreading this particular phone meeting.  Why, you ask?

In LEAN Six Sigma, there is an acronym for 8 different forms of operational waste called DOWNTIME (defects, overproduction, waiting, not utilizing staff talent, travel, inventory, motion, excess processing). This has me thinking about my own time this month as we head into the new year with big audacious (maybe not hairy) goals.  Where will the time to make these things happen actually come from?

There is no Q5!  I saw this headline on something this morning and I almost spit out my coffee.  It's obviously true but I know many people who keep waiting for that magical time.  You know the time that they finally jump on the work necessary to achieve their 2018 goals.  And the thought of this year quickly fading into the past will come as a real surprise and painful reality.  So, if this rings true, don't let the last 3 weeks slip away on you.  Here are 5 ways you can not only end 2018 on a high note, but also start 2019 with some amazing momentum:

It's not always easy for managers to know what their role is during changes.  Here are two big ones.

Raise your hand if this scenario sounds familiar: you’re 55 minutes into your one-hour team meeting to introduce a new change, you wanted your team to weigh in, and now you’re heading down a rabbit hole that you don’t think you can get out of.  You know that one of two scenarios are inevitable: you risk running over and making people late for their next appointments, or someone is bound to leave feeling thoroughly unsatisfied. As managers, how do we get in front of this phenomenon while still giving people a voice?

Think back to the last time you suggested a new idea to someone else. It could have been as simple as a new recipe for dinner at home, or as involved as suggesting a new way to solve a complex problem at work. How was that information received? Did people go along with your suggestion, or were you met with resistance that surprised you?

In our Change Leadership and Change Readiness workshops, we often begin by polling the room and asking who thinks that they respond well to change. Here is what normally happens: a handful of hands go up immediately (maybe 1/3 of the room), some people admit that they’re not too fond of change, and most people will say that it depends.  People are open to change when it directly benefits them, or better yet, when it was their suggestion.  So what is a leader to do when a change coming from the organizational leadership is met with resistance?