Employee Effectiveness Archives

Jan 25 2023

Whats Grit Got to Do … Got to Do with It?

The word ‘GRIT’ and ‘GRITS>’ has been around for many years. Perhaps you first heard of it as a food of Native American origin, most commonly served in the Southern United States. Then ‘grit’ went Hollywood long ago in 1968. Then the book, True Grit, was made into an academy award winning movie starring John Wayne … a film that was re-made a dozen years ago in 2010. So, we know that ‘grit’ is something we can eat and watch. Yet is there more? Evidently so because now GRIT is studied and acknowledged as a very meaningful personality trait badly needed today.

What makes it meaningful these days is the work that many businesses are having to do to re-emerge. Working tirelessly to move on from COVID, it is grit that is being referred to and called upon. It is grit that can really make a defining difference in business, differentiating the successful and achievers from those who are less so. Actually, it’s exciting. Whereas IQ has often been considered a good measurement for how well one might do in a given field … or in life, grit seems to be giving that concept a run for its money.

A researcher, psychologist and educator Angela Lee Duckworth, identified six characteristics of GRIT several years ago.

having true passion and perseverance to drive to the long-term goal.
having the stamina to stay the course.
sticking with your future, not for the day, week or month. For a very long time.
working very hard to make the future happen.
viewing life … not as a sprint … rather a marathon.
is not IQ. In fact, it is seen as being inversely related to talent or capabilities.

Without question, businesses and those working as its employees or employers, have struggled for the recent 2-3 years in attempts to survive something with which they had no experience … COVID. And, it is possible that the individuals who have been most responsible for the survival of the organization at all levels possess the characteristics attributed to ones having grit! It appears that the individuals who have made the greatest contribution to survival are those who would be labeled as possessing the grit gene. It’s a gene that is available to leaders and employees alike

We have had the opportunity to witness leaders and employees as they navigate the rough waters of recent times. And do you know what? In most every case that we’ve witnessed or read about, each person possessed many of the six personality components above. Whereas those considered the brightest in terms of IQ offer a clear value to an organization, when push comes to shove it’s not the IQ about the industry or the product that saved the day. It’s about the survival of the ‘grittiest’.

To what extent do you have it and is it evident in your organization? Are you using it to your advantage and that of your company? Can you see ways to up your ‘gritty-ness’? Seems like a good topic to think about. Yet is there more? Evidently so because today GRIT is back at the forefront once again being researched, studied and acknowledged as a very meaningful personality trait. It’s a trait that is seen once again as one that can really make a defining difference in business. It has the ability to differentiate the successful and achievers from those who are less so.

Actually, it’s exciting. Whereas IQ has often been considered a good measurement for how well one might do in a given field today, once again and because of the challenges of these past few years, grit seems to be giving that concept a run for its money. If you’re curious to measure your own personal degree of GRIT, you might get a kick out of taking a short quiz here. To what extent do you have it and is it evident in your organization? Are you using it to your advantage and that of your company? Can you see ways to up your ‘gritty-ness’? Seems like a good topic to think about. Perhaps a good thing to be curious about?
Mike Dorman

Aug 17 2022

Emerging from the Intrusive EMAIL Nightmare at Work

One’s email inbox has been a source of great frustration and complaint at least for the past decade at work. This has evolved into a challenge that has served to impact one’s productivity and sense of control. The inbox has become something to be dreaded and for many, an obstacle to getting needed work done.

The problem is simple. One can’t avoid the inbox as that became and has remained the overwhelming leading communication method within organizations. And when we consider the past three+ years living under the COVID umbrella, the situation has become worse. Under COVID and the related remote working, what used to be walking up to another person in the office to get an answer or information we wanted became much more reliant on email to achieve the same purpose.

So, what’s the big deal? The big deal is that it interrupts our being in our ‘flow state’ … a term devised by positive psychologists Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Jeanne Nakamura. Flow state describes a feeling where, under the right conditions, you become fully immersed in whatever you are doing. This is when one’s body and mind are fluid and allows us to be totally absorbed by and deeply focused on something beyond the point of distraction. It feels like time has slowed. You are completely absorbed by the task at hand and with heightened senses this creates an effortless momentum. It’s what some refer to as being ‘in the zone’. When working on something of importance, the resulting focus brings about intensity toward the task. It leads to a sense of clarity, and one knows exactly what he/she wants to do from minute to minute.

The problem arises when working in this ‘flow state’ and being productive as needed, along comes our email. Be it a ‘ding’ from our phone or computer or just conditioning that that has made us feel dependent on the need to check emails, our ability to focus and ‘flow’ is out the window. Therefore, the real question that must be asked is what one can do about this and regain more control over the things that must get done. Here are some ways to achieve this:

Allocate specific times on your calendar during each day for checking email.
Treating the email inbox like we treat an appointment or meeting brings the needed structure and related control. This will allow focus on key items that require our uninterrupted focus to complete. It also serves to set boundaries for oneself that, when adhered to will increase a person’s productivity.

With times scheduled on one’s calendar, turnoff notifications of incoming mail.
The dings on phone or computer are no longer needed once committed to a scheduled approach to checking emails. Leaving them in place only serves as a distraction and works against what one wants to accomplish.

View the email inbox as a place to receive and process messages … only.
As such there is a commitment to act in some way with each item present. Having several hundred emails in an inbox renders the inbox as useless. The impact on the individual that allows that to happen is a combination of overwhelm, frustration and anything but productive.

Create email folders that allow inbox emails to be moved to the appropriate file.
Sort inbox mail to the likes of ‘urgent response’ … ‘fyi’ … ‘industry info’ or any other category that is meaningful to the recipient. This will enable one to sort the inbox appropriately and reduce the emails requiring response or action that day to be receive the needed focus. This organized approach will provide a sense of control to the user.
Commit to touching an email ONLY once.
Making this commitment means that when an email is in our inbox, we will take some Thus, we deal with this just once rather than leaving it in the inbox to see repeatedly. We move it to another folder, or we immediately respond to it and it then moved. Too often it is read … and read … and read only to remain in that inbox.
Apply and follow a 1-minute rule.
Because you have allocated time on your calendar to this ‘email appointment’ when an email can be responded to and thus managed within one minute … do it. That email can then be moved to a client folder or any other one that is appropriate.

An email response is not always the most efficient response.
We have become so email prone that responding in the most efficient and effective way is overlooked. Differentiating as related to what the intention is can lead to communicating in the most effective manner. If the desire is simply to update a co-worker or customer on a situation, emails work well. If, however, you are looking to get or receive information that will enable you to proceed with your work at hand, a telephone call can prove to be faster and beneficial.

While email has become the glue that holds companies together, it also is one of our biggest distractions. The statics pertaining to the percentage of time that individuals spend dealing with daily emails is staggering. There is a clear value to any form of email-like communication that conveys needed information without the need to communicate in-person or via telephone. And yet, without self-control and management it can and does have a significant impact on the level of productivity experienced throughout the organization.

Sharing your personal plan with other co-workers might get their interest in taking this challenge for themselves. The issue is widespread throughout most organizations. If this were the beginning of the new year, taking steps as suggested above would make for a terrific resolution. Of course, there is nothing to prevent any of us from making a mid-year resolution. Why not? All will probably like it!
Mike Dorman

Nov 04 2021

Seeing the Equal Value of EVERY Person Involved In the Effort … An Even Bigger Challenge When Workers Are Remote

One question I often ask of a coaching client is how they see the job they do? What does it contribute to the team, department or organizational success? How do they see its’ importance in terms of what it contributes to the desired outcome and achievement of the intended goal? Finally, what is the value that they place on their contribution as well as the value that others place on it? Too often the answers I hear don’t make for a pretty picture. And they definitely don’t make for a cohesive group effort. That, in turn, can have very real and even detrimental impact on the success of an individual and an overall effort. Add to this challenge the fact that today and in the near future many will be working remotely thus creating actual distance that can make this reality and challenge even greater.

In an ideal environment from one’s very first day they learn to recognize that they and the work they do is a contributor to the overall success of project and/or the company. It may be related to sales, customer relations, operations, accounting, delivery, administrative or overall management. Yet the ultimate success of whatever the goal might be cannot and will not be achieved to the max unless all aspects of whatever the goal requires are handled to the same degree of successful completion. This would logically require that every person involved in the process understand and truly value the job they do at the same time it is valued by others.

THE THINGS THAT INFLUENCE SEEING A PERSON AS DOING MORE OR LESS IMPORTANT WORK

Unfortunately, and especially today, I don’t believe that such a business culture is the norm. Rather, individuals either see themselves and their work as more or less important than another’s. This is especially heightened when we can’t see others on the team as we’re not always in the office or at least at the same time. When this happens it takes the wind and needed energy out of the sails of some while inflating that of others. The result? Divisiveness among the very people who are relied upon to make it happen in a successful way.

Here are some of the things that contribute to differences in the ways that one’s particular job contribution is seen as less than by others. There were well identified by Glenn Llopis in his contribution to Forbes on writing about different ways the contribution by some is undervalued. I believe this applies to ways that others on the team devalue another’s work and present it as such to some of his points. Consider these in today’s remote work environment:

Unaware of Their Strengths
Some people involved do not see the importance of the work being done by others. They often see what they do as the most important. As such, they might not take the time to truly understand the abilities and strengths of what that person is capable of providing. When those working together can’t see beyond the obvious, they are doing themselves, their co-workers or employees and their organization a big disservice. They are unknowingly undervaluing their contributions and the opportunities before them. The remote work environment only magnifies this.
1. Refuse to Seek Their Counsel

Too often one does not see the true value of another’s job, see the person doing it and the related contribution. They may be inclined to look over them when seeking input that could improve the task, method and the outcome. This contributes to someone feeling undervalued and disrespected and thus a poor sense of their work and their desire to genuinely care.
Make No Effort to Invest in the Relationship
When any one position on a team is seen as less important than another, it delivers the message that they are less important as a person and as an important link to the desired outcome. Thus, the person feels taken for granted and down goes their interest or investment in a most successful outcome.
Provide Little if Any Feedback
If one doesn’t value the work or another the tendency is to not waste the time of providing input. Such input could alter and improve the work that person is doing. Of course, this easily can lead to that person feeling underappreciated and with that, the importance of caring and effort go south.

HOW DOES A PERSON MOVE FROM FEELING LESS THAN TO SEEING THEIR CONTRIBUTION AS IMPORTANT

This is all interesting, however, what is especially important to the person feeling this lack of appreciation and love is what they can do about it. The good news? There are steps you can take that will have a most positive impact on the person (is that you?) and the ultimate success that is the overall goal as follows:

Take stock of just how real and prominent this situation is
Do you believe that the feeling you have and your related sensitivity to it is widespread coming from many or different directions? Or is it primarily from a sole source? Are you more aware of these feelings over the past 19 months? Regardless, it is unpleasant and uncomfortable however one’s reaction and actions tend to be different given the actual situation.
Have a conversation with the person(s) who you feel doesn’t appreciate your work
Perhaps they emit the impression they do because they really don’t understand what you are doing and the related skill and challenges that it represents. Why should they? Their focus is on what they contribute and thus to some extent they take your abilities and results for granted.
Be more visible to the others
Feeling unappreciated can make us withdraw from attention and notice and that only furthers the reactions of another and our own isolation. If you are proud of what you do and the level of skill you have, let that allow you to be an active part of the group effort. After all, others don’t really understand all that is involved. Let your sense of pride allow you to have a presence to the other(s).
Be open in your recognition and praise of others and their contributions
Demonstrating your willingness to acknowledge others and their part in creating the desired success provides the example of others returning the same to you. It’s a win-win.
You don’t need permission from another to feel satisfaction and pride in the work you do and what you provide to the overall, successful effort
Being able to view what you do and the contribution it makes to the goal as being an important is key. Realizing you are a needed part of the overall effort makes you are less reliant on any other person’s view to define your real value. This enables you to move forward positively and confidently.

Amy Rees Anderson is a founder and Managing Partner of REES Capital, an angel investment firm. She focuses on helping other succeed in their entrepreneurial ventures. In her article for Forbes entitled “Every Person Matters in a Company, and There is No Such Thing as an Insignificant Position” she expressed this:

“Every single person in a company is a valuable piece of the chain. If they do their part wrong, the entire chain feels the effect. That chain is in a circle that goes round and round, with no beginning and no end. Every person matters and is equally important to the overall functions done in a company. No one person is insignificant or small in the process. Everyone needs each other” for the job they do and role they play in an effort. Did I just heard a mic drop?

This says it well and in today’s working world, finding ways to make connections with others on the team can lessen the impact of the changes that COVID brought with it. It can also minimize the tendency to value one’s contribution to the team effort as more or less than another’s. Characteristics of a successful team include … members who fulfill their own tasks and help one another. They communicate openly with the team and resolve conflict constructively. Finally, they know they directly contribute to the company’s success. Now all we need to do is to commit to making this happen.
Mike Dorman

Jun 16 2020

Other Than Protection … What Does Our Mask Provide Us?

Until recently we easily associated the use of a mask with a couple of areas. One was something we all associated with Halloween for whether worn a child or an adult. it was a part of a costume that allowed us to assume another identity … to pretend and be seen as someone other than the person we actually were. Another common and expected use was in a hospital-like setting wherein masks contributed to maintaining a needed sterile environment. And then, rather suddenly, the mask became a mandatory part or our everyday wear as a critical means of the prevention of getting or spreading a deadly virus.

Several months later the masks we wear or, at least, are supposed to wear, have become much a part of our daily existence. And as much as we want COVID-19 to be history along with all that it has come to represent in terms of impact on our lives, there is absolutely no evidence that it or the protective masks are soon to be gone … only wishful thinking. However, I’ve come to be sensitized to some who have actually begun to tolerate the wearing of their masks for what they interpret as other personal benefits.

This made me curious to gain a better understanding of what motivates some to historically wear some form of mask … what they provide to the wearer and what they help avoid or accomplish that would be a bigger challenge without it? What I’ve come to realize is that mask wearing is not new for many. This being the case, I wanted to gain an understanding of the value that a mask provides. Here is some of what I learned. Wearing a mask …

allows us to project ourselves differently than we perceive us
- Do we tend to be shy and withdrawn? Our mask allows us to be bold and confident.
allows us to project agreement when it might be the right thing to do
- Do we have trouble hiding our feelings? Our masks prevent others from seeing our true reactions.

allows us to play our role as we think others expect of us
- Showing support to ‘the team’ when we really disagree with a decision made
allows us to live our lives as we really want to live them
- Is playing our role behind the mask allowing us to be the person we want however are held back by our own perception of self?

In today’s COVID-19 world we are all experiencing the physical act of donning our masks with consistency. In some ways it has made carrying on with our lives easier in that we don’t have to be as conscious of the hiding, protecting, faking and playing an expected or desired role. Thus, some describe this as a side benefit of living as we are today. And yet, we are all hopeful that there will be a preventative treatment for COVID-19 that will allow us to move freely throughout out lives confident in remaining healthy and the sooner the better.

When this day comes it also comes with an opportunity to those of us who have been wearing masks as an ongoing part of our existence. Sure, we can resume life as we know it however, we also will be faced with the opportunity to emerge from this health threat and emerge into a life that reflects our true selves. We will have the opportunity to truly be seen … as we are. Consider these points:

Become aware of when and under what circumstances you tend to don your mask
- When do we say something or act in a certain way wherein, we know we are not being authentic?
- Consider what we are trying to achieve in wearing our mask

Recognize that the mask you wear really isn’t who you are or want to be
- Often, we begin wearing a mask many years prior and have really outgrown the need to wearit. Habit allows us to continue … until we question ourselves
- Although seeing some benefits, how does it keep us from being who we want to be?
- Playing a role takes work which adds to rather than diminishes stress

Commit to being your true self and making that happen
- Review your actions after a meeting or at the end of the day intent on identifying where you realize you were ‘playing the role’ perhaps expected
- Become curious as to how your mask appears to others
- Identify the ways in which being your true self will make your life easier and more enjoyable

Let me summarize my learning. There are 3 very practical reasons to encourage and justify us to shed our non-COVID-19 masks. The first is because it enables us to live to our full potential. The second reason is simply to bring us relief as playing a role that is inauthentic is exhausting. The third reason is the healing it allows us to do because wearing our masks withholds some part of ourselves that we perhaps deem unworthy.

Hopefully and sooner than later, we are going to be able to step outside and interface with others and our world in general without the masks we are wearing today. It seems like an ideal time to do some personal self-evaluation that makes certain that we also remove all the masks we might be wearing. As Oscar Wilde said, “Be yourself; everyone else is taken.” We weren’t born with masks. We put them on, so we can take them off. Sounds like a plan, goal and opportunity to me. Perhaps there is value to COVID-19 afterall.

Mike Dorman

Apr 08 2020

The Need for Flexibility Imposed on Us by COVID-19. Is There Some Good?

So here we are … most all of us … working to accept and then adapt to the havoc that the Coronavirus has brought to our doorsteps. Of course, we didn’t order this and yet the delivery has tested us all in many, many ways. We transitioned from this is happening elsewhere …

to … could it be happening here?
to … it’s real and here
to … it won’t last long and changes I need to make will be short-lived
to … are they serious … that this can really go on for weeks or months?
to … how do I do my job from home while surrounded by my family 24/7?

In the overall, we’ve all been forced to alter and vary the ways in which we live our lives to methods that enable us to be effective in all aspects of them. Perhaps the biggest issue that I hear as it pertains to work and business is “how I can be expected to do excellent work when I am confined to my residence and its’ distractions without the tools and camaraderie that working in the office environment provides? I mean, come on and get real.”

Today, well into April 2020 we have had to get real and all that this means. Given that we are in the midst of a critical and threatening situation that has no end in sight, it seems that each day and certainly each week brings with it the need to develop both creative and innovative ways as we discover how to operate. I know that many of us are looking for ways to feel and be productive. I want to pass along some practices for working at home that make sense today and may even make sense when we are able to make COVID-19 a part of our history.

Create a specific workspace. Having an area within your residence that you can dedicate to ‘the office’ area is a true value. It provides you with the place to which you go when in the office. If it’s not in a separate room it’s pretty easy to create your home office using a screen that keeps the kitchen, the TV or even the kids out of sight and allows you to be more focused as you are when you go to your regular office. Creating a workspace also means making it appear as your office. Maybe it means using a real desk-like piece of furniture. Maybe it means having the stapler and paper clips and pens you may need. The more you can provide yourself with the look and feel of your office the easier it will be to treat it as such.
Create a specific daily plan. When we work in our regular office we arise, get dressed for work, have breakfast and arrive at a certain time. We do our work, take breaks, we go to lunch and at day’s end go home. Taking this same structured approach in a home office is especially important as there are many things that can be distractions and impact the productivity we are expected to achieve. The leaders of our organization, team or department are not inclined to lower their expectations of us because we are working from home.
Create and maintain a schedule with others at home
Having a Monday thru Friday work schedule that is communicated to all others who may be in your residence is especially important. Then, you and others know when you are at work and not to be disturbed … something that isn’t possible when you go to the actual office every day. Even putting a sign on the door or partition to your work area saying ‘in meeting’ or ‘off limits’ helps to remind others that someone is at their job and can’t be disturbed. If communicating with the person ‘at work’ is important there is always email or texting.
Maintain a routine with co-workers as if in the real office
Have conversations as you normally would. Schedule meetings using technology that allows all to come together as if sitting in a regular conference room. The more of your normal routine you can adapt to working from home the more normal working from home will seem.
Obtain and create ways to gain access to technology and documents that you need to do your job
In some situations I’m aware that this has been easy as some already have access to all company tools via their own laptops or computers. However, if this is not the case for you, you need to count on your organization to work quickly to make needed tools available asap. Their motivation is wanting to equip you with everything you need to maintain productivity that is expected. Ask for what you need. Be it a laptop stand, a great webcam or noise cancelling headphones, these things can contribute positively to your experience and productivity of working at home.
Set limits to your workday When we leave the office we go home or to dinner or something that represents a true break between work and personal time. When at home this is a bigger challenge just because getting out one more memo or having one more conversation is ‘there’ so why not. Why not is because it is important that we discipline ourselves to separate our work time from other time. It’s important for our own effectiveness in the overall … as worker, family member or friend.

Running your job from home is the ultimate in taking control of your career, time and life. And remembering that you do work for another person and an organization, it can be a challenge to make the adjustment from a job to also becoming your own boss in one sense. Certainly exercising your ability to truly set your own schedule and approach as you deliver what is expected of you are on the plus side. Still, working from home can get tedious and more of a challenge when there are others under the same roof … all day. It isn’t until you recall what the likes of having to commute and deal with difficult colleagues that you realize how nice this could be. Creating the ‘office’ setup and having the access and tools you need to succeed, as long as you get your work done, you can enjoy the freedom and perks that working from home offers.

I expect and frankly hope that some of the ways we are learning to function in our lives under these COVID-19 conditions will, in fact remain when this has passed. Some of our changes we’re learning and being forced to make might actually be good.
Mike Dorman

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