6-9-10 Shoulda Told Me #11

Practice makes perfect. Hmmm, I guess maybe that someone DID tell me. I can distinctly remember my mom telling me (relative to music) that practice makes perfect.

Unfortunately, just because Mom said so, didn’t necessarily mean that I easily translated that to my professional life. Duh.

In the past, I’ve talked about the communication skills that I defined in my model for executive skills and traits (1-4-10 Let’s Talk). And I’ve also talked about preparation, knowing/reading your audience, and how to seal the deal (3-12-10 Yea, There’s a Presentation for That). But today, I’m even more focused.

I still remember giving my very first presentation. No, I don’t remember the topic, but I do remember my physical reaction to the actual “giving of the presentation”. Frankly, it was horrible. Before I started and during the entire pitch, I had an awful case of the butterflies. I’m pretty sure that when I got up in the front of the room and looked out at the audience, all they saw was a terrified young woman with a bona fide deer-in-the-headlights look going on. My mouth was so dry you could’ve spun cotton in there. And my hands shook as I put up the first view foil. (For those of you under 40, we didn’t have Powerpoint back then. We had someone type up our presentation and then copy it to transparencies which were then shown on the screen. Heck, I’m guessing they don’t even make the transparencies or the display machines anymore!). And answering questions was excruciating as my brain seemed to have taken a vacation to less stressful climes.

That had to be the longest half hour of my life. But somehow I muddled through.
And I swore that it would never happen again.

So I did my research. I identified a couple of people that I thought were very good at giving presentations. And then I took the time to meet with them and ask a lot of questions.

The very best advice I got? Practice. If you want something bad enough, its worth some practice. And I decided that I wanted to be GOOD at giving presentations or talking in front of groups of people.

I finally realized that it really wasn’t so dumb to stand in front of the mirror and give my presentation to myself. Or it wasn’t so dumb to give the presentation in my car on the way to work. Or it wasn’t so dumb to ask a trusted colleague to listen to a dry run. All of these….. Over and over.

Did it help? Well, yes. I like to think that I ended up being pretty good at delivering pitches. At least others told me so. I will tell you that I never eliminated the butterflies (and that’s okay, because I felt that kept me on my toes). But I was able to minimize the nervous reactions during the pitch and I was able to rein my brain in so that it stayed in place during those q & a sessions.

So, I sure wish someone had told me sooner that practice makes perfect at work too!

Cheers!

6-7-10 Pomp and Circumstance

In the past, I’ve talked quite a bit about the need for the new executive to have outstanding communication skills. In fact, the Executive Skills and Traits Model has an entire section devoted to communication (12-30-09 Morphing to a Model and 1-4-10 Let's Talk ). If you are like me, you intuitively know how important those skills related to communication are. However, for me, reading some model or some dry explanation of a concept doesn’t really bring home the importance of it within the day-to-day business life of the executive.

One of my survey participants gave some feedback that gives an interesting view on the importance of the communication skill set -- a view that I hadn‘t considered in the past. This executive said, “I wish that I had known more about the amount of time required to be spent in ritual and ceremonial activities -- all employee meetings, service milestones, customer program visits, production milestone rollouts, community events, etc. The skill desired is to be able to speak extemporaneously in a variety of settings on a variety of topics in front of large crowds of stakeholders.”

Hmmmmm. Packed into those two simple sentences is an amazing amount of info for the new executive to consider.

First, of course, is the surprise that many executives experience when they realize how much time they will spend in activities that they perceive as having nothing to do with their job. Wrong! You are now a figurehead for your organization and for your company. That means you have to lead those ritual and ceremonial activities. That takes time -- a lot of time. You need to plan for it and you absolutely must make sure that you don’t short-change these activities.

Second, you may not like leading these type of activities, but you better learn to be good at it. For example, it is up to you to make the new product rollout celebration a happy and rewarding time for the employees that have worked so hard to make the new product happen. This is your chance to publicly say thank you to all those that have given so much of themselves.

Third, there are the large crowds that are usually associated with ceremonial activities. Ack! I know that there are some folks that truly enjoy speaking to large crowds of people. Not me, personally, of course. I was like most executives -- butterflies, dry mouth, etc. But I learned to do it. I had to. And as a new executive, so do you.

And finally, there is the whole idea of balancing planned comments vs. extemporaneous comments. When you lead one of the ceremonial events, you don’t want to stand up there and woodenly read a prepared speech. And on the other hand, you also don’t want to get up there and speak off-the-cuff. Why? Because, unless you are very good or very experienced at off-the-cuff speaking, you WILL screw it up. Trust me on this -- I’ve seen it happen many times.

So take the time, work with your support team, and script the event. Think about what makes the day special for everyone in attendance. Ponder who should be called out for special recognition. Determine the special effects needed to make the point. Write a speech. Read it aloud. Often. In other words, prepare! And then on the day of the event, you will be ready. Put the speech in your pocket and then tell people how special they are. If you have practiced, you have the words in your mind --- you don’t need to read them off of the sheet of paper. Yes, you will still have butterflies and yes, you will probably make a couple of mistakes. But that’s okay -- those butterflies and those unk-unks are what keep you sharp and on your toes.

Cheers!

6-4-10 Who Do You Admire?

I was reading an article yesterday where people commented on what woman they admired or were positively influenced by. Interesting reading…… Of course, it got me to thinking about what woman (or women, in my case) had a positive influence in my life. Four of them came immediately to mind.

My maternal grandmother was an amazing woman. While we aren’t Southerners, she always struck me as the quintessential Southern woman. Unfailingly polite and accommodating, but with a strength that was amazing. While she had definite ideas about what was “right and proper” (in the true Southern belle genre), she never imposed her views on us. And to hear her talk about the things she had done and seen -- which she thought was nothing special -- was always amazing to me.

And of course, there is my maternal aunt. She has learned, time and again, how to accept, deal with, and then live with serious diseases. I continue to be impressed and influenced by the strength she displays in dealing with the emotional and physical difficulties she faces. And her sense of humor --- well, let’s just say that when people finally look past her physical difficulties, they discover a hilarious woman.

There is my sister. An amazing woman that has, with her husband, raised three wonderful young adults. All while living abroad, working, and traveling. I can’t imagine the strength it takes to have the serenity that she always displays. She is the calming influence in today’s modern world.

And finally, there is my mom. Like her mother, she is a kind and amazing woman. She raised a family at a VERY young age. And I think we all turned out okay. She displays an amazing amount of strength when dealing with change (and she has seen a lot here lately). Her ability to adapt is an inspiration to me.

The common theme here? Strength. The women I admire have positively influenced me by teaching me about the strength required to not only get through the big bumps in life, but also just to get through the small bumps of day-to-day living. I admire and love them all.

Who has positively influenced your life? Who do you admire? It doesn’t have to be a family member. It might be someone at work, at church, or in the community. I (and my readers) would LOVE to hear your story.

Cheers!

6-3-10 Deadlines

So…. Did you ever miss a deadline? One that was either self-imposed or job-imposed? It feels awful to miss a deadline. I can attest to that --- since I missed my normal post yesterday. My sincere apologies to my regular readers. I hate it that you went out to look for the regular post and it never showed up.

Of course, there is a lesson (or two) for the aspiring executive in all of this….. What should I have done differently?

Well, one thing is to quit imposing deadlines on myself! But being the normal human being that I am, that isn’t likely to change anytime soon. Add to that the fact that many (most?) executives are really Type A people, where self-imposed deadlines are a way of life. For whatever reason, Type A people typically operate better under any type of deadline.

Or I could’ve actually planned ahead --- and had a couple of “pre-done” posts on the computer and ready to go. It is kind of interesting that when I was working, I was the “planner”. I arranged everything in my work life (and my personal life!) to mostly military precision. But since I’ve retired, the urge to have that streamlined arrangement isn’t so strong anymore. I’ve truly learned to say “there’s always tomorrow”. Good for the psyche, bad for my readers!

And finally, I could’ve actually alerted my readers that the post was delayed. In work life, it is imperative that when you are first aware that a deadline will be missed, you have to let your boss or whoever is in charge know. Never, NEVER surprise them with a missed deadline. They must always know what is going on -- good or bad.

Again, I apologize to my regular readers for my tardiness. I only hope that you, as a new or aspiring executive, can find some lesson that will help you in your journey.

Cheers!

5-31-10 Happy Memorial Day!

Courtesy of Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_day), we know that Memorial Day was formerly known as Decoration Day. It commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in the military service.

I would suggest to you that today is a good time to remember not only those that died in service of our country…… but it is also a good time to take a moment to thank our veterans and active service personnel.

Thank you…. Uncle Wes, Roy, Dave, Rob, Andy, Michael! We appreciate your service.

Cheers!

5-28-10 Never Enough Time

No, I’m not going to give you yet another time management model to follow. There are plenty of good ones (and some not so good) available in the market and on the web today. I do, however, have an observation about time management to share.

While time management isn’t listed explicitly in the Executive Skills and Traits model (12-30-09 Morphing to a Model), it is implicit in several of the skills listed in the Execution Skills portion of the model (1-13-10 Execution Skills -- Now go DO something!). For example, it is implied in the Manage Change and Ambiguity; Manage Fragmentation and Rapid Pace skills.

One of my research participants had a very astute observation about the need for time management. He said, “spending the appropriate time and energy on the ‘right’ tasks is very difficult for a new executive. Some of these critical tasks for a program success will not be within his/her comfort zone. It is extremely easy to be busy on the wrong tasks at the exec level”.

Of course, a very basic step in effective time management is for the executive to determine the “right tasks” that he/she should be working on. Human nature is such that we all want to work on something that we are familiar or comfortable with. That makes it entirely likely that the new executive will tend towards those tasks -- rather than the ones he/she should be doing.

So let’s say that you are an accounting executive. The temptation would, of course, be for you to delve into the details and numbers of a balance sheet or its associated subsidiary ledgers -- checking and cross-footing like any good accountant would. But you have to ask yourself, is this really the best use of my time? Or would my time be better spent on strategic issues around the balance sheet? For example, wouldn’t it be better for you to spend some time on the more strategic thinking around how much leverage your company should be carrying on the balance sheet?

Or let’s say that you are a manufacturing executive, having come up through the ranks as a mechanic. The temptation would be for you to spend time pulling drawings and understanding the details of the parts your organization is producing. And while it IS important for you to understand your product, wouldn’t a better use of your time be strategic? For example, once you have a grasp of your product, wouldn’t your time be better spent in strategic thinking about what other products you could be producing and offering?

The time management point here is ---- spend your time on those tasks that are appropriate to your position. Sure, you oversee the details. But you are overseeing those that you have delegated to -- NOT doing the detail work yourself. Figure out the critical tasks that you should be doing for the success of your project, program, or company --- then get to it!

Cheers!

5-26-10 Over-Communication

In developing the model for executive skills and traits, it was clear that Communication Skills were going to a critical part of the model (12-30-09 Morphing to a Model and 1-4-10 Let's Talk ). My research certainly confirmed this.

In past postings, I’ve shared some of the responses made by my survey participants. I asked them what one thing they wished that they had known when they became an executive. One participant really nailed some of the communication skills with his comments:

“Over-communicate. Ask more questions that you think you need to -- especially during times of change.”

This really has two separate but related ideas. First, the over-communicate idea. Let’s say you have developed a new strategy for your organization. (And it goes without saying, that you have developed it in conjunction with the people that will actually be implementing it, right?) Anyway, for this one topic, it is critical that you personally tell every member of your organization, which is say, 100 people. Now I understand that you won’t be talking to each of them individually. So, let’s say that you have small groups of 10 people for each meeting.

And you know that studies have shown that the average adult has to hear something at least 7 times before they truly retain and internalize the information. Okay, now do the math. That means you will be telling your new strategy message at least 70 times. And of course, that doesn’t include all the presentations you had to do with your bosses to get the approvals to even proceed, right? Ever thought about communication that way? Most likely not.

We get tired of repeating ourselves -- of hearing the same thing coming out of our mouths over and over. By the time you’ve created the strategy, you have put in your hard work and are ready to move on to something else. But you can’t. You have to tell people, and do it again, and again, and again…… How long? Well, frankly, as long as it takes for it to become part of your organization’s culture.

The other idea in the survey comment is related to listening. Ask more questions than you think you need to. First of all, you have to be really listening to the answer when you ask a question. Too often, I’ve seen that someone will ask me a question and then I can tell that they aren’t really listening to my answer. They think they know what I’m going to say and have moved on to formulate their response. And second, you have to ask yourself does this answer get us to where we need to be? If not, you move on to the next question. One tool for doing this is what we used to call the “7 Whys”. It originated back when we first started quality circles (yeah, I know, the Stone Ages!). And while asking “Why?” seven times might not be the most appropriate question for you to ask in every situation, it can remind you that asking questions is as important as anything else you will do in your executive career.

So, yes, you have to talk, talk, talk -- until you are sick of hearing yourself say something -- then say it again. And you have to tie this closely with active questions and participatory listening

Cheers!