Showing posts with label Growth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Growth. Show all posts

Saturday 4 November 2023

Power of Reflections

 Power of Reflections 

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)
 
As we discuss the importance of developing project management skills to get things done in addition to functional expertise as we move up the career ladder, 80 % of the tasks are non-repetitive or project nature, and we may need to deal with many stakeholders who may not be directly reporting to us.

We discussed the relevance of defining outcomes, reducing the complexity into simplicity, holistic planning, big picture orientation, insights on stakeholder outcomes, reducing changes and minimizing conflicts.

The next principle i personally learned from project management is “ Reflecting from experience.”
 
What does it mean to reflect?
 
Reflecting is taking time from regular activities and looking back at the experiences to learn what went right/wrong and the reason for right/ wrong.
This process is more powerful in deep learning as it improves the confidence and assurance of positive actions and helps to learn valuable lessons from failure.
One of the unique concepts of project management is that irrespective of the project's success or failure, once the project is completed, it suggests documenting the key learning from the project.
During the key learning session, the team discusses and documents the practices that helped or affected the projects, relooking at the assumptions, what went right and wrong, etc.
 
How this practice of reflecting will help any professional?

The reflection process helps any professional who, after completing the task, spends some time thinking about what worked well and what did not work.
 
One research reveals that the habit of reflection differentiates between extraordinary and mediocre performers, and a person with courage can only do the reflection process. Initially, it will be challenging to reflect on our own mistakes and admit them.
 
How do we develop the habit of reflection?
 
  1. Whenever you finish any major task or milestone, take some time and reflect on the experience. For example, after attending the interview or meeting the new client, think about what you have done well, what could have been done, how you could have responded to the query, etc
  2. Some people have the habit of writing a journal daily/weekly/monthly, which could help to reflect upon the general experience during the period.
  3. Along with the team, sharing the experiences will also help to reflect.
 
An important point is that learning from our own experiences will be powerful learning that can be developed with self-awareness and practice.
 
Let us summarise key learnings of project management in professional development next week.
 
Have a great week ahead!

Minimizing Conflicts

  Minimizing Conflicts

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)
 



As we discuss the importance of developing project management skills to get things done in addition to functional expertise as we move up the career ladder, 80 % of the tasks are non-repetitive or project nature, and we may need to deal with many stakeholders who may not be directly reporting to us.

We discussed the relevance of defining outcomes, simplifying the complexity, holistic planning, big-picture orientation, insights on stakeholder outcomes, and reducing changes.
 
The next principle we can learn from project management is
 “minimizing conflicts.”
 
In a project environment, there is always uncertainty, which leads to conflict in ensuring timeline commitment, operating within budget, and delivering service/ product as per expectation. Being aware of this, seasoned project managers always focus on estimating the time and budget with all contingencies, giving them more power and a stress-free mindset when things go wrong.

In my earlier project experience, many times i made the mistake of underestimating the time and budgeting and got into conflict and stressful moments. Essential learning is the ability to predict some changes in advance and add some buffer in time and cost instead of looking at a straight line.

Also, project management insists on role clarity for all team members, performance expectations, and setting the right communication forum to discuss the issues, which i see as the proactive conflict management practices.

One of the studies says that conflict happens 91% of the time due to internal organization issues like lack of communication, underestimation of time, and role clarity rather than external issues like change in customer specification, macroeconomics, etc.

Project management focuses on minimizing conflict with contingency planning and communication processes.
 
How can the functional head apply this insight?
 

  1. Whenever you initiate a new task, spend more time estimating time and budget estimates with all possible contingencies.
  2. Define the roles and responsibilities of each member and set the performance expectations right at the beginning.

For example, as Human Resources head, while planning manpower budgeting for the financial year, if you spend quality time on the estimation of new recruit numbers, existing cost of retaining talent, market expectation on remuneration on new talent and its effect on internal with contingency will help you to get the proper budgeting approval from management and avoid the conflict later.

We often fail to anticipate changes, think situations are always straight lines, and underestimate contingency planning.
 
The key is most of the conflict comes on cost and timeline, which can be managed with proactive contingency planning.

Have a great week ahead.

Being Proactive

  Being Proactive  

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)
 


As we discuss the importance of developing project management skills to get things done in addition to functional expertise as we move up the career ladder, 80 % of the tasks are non-repetitive or project nature, and we may need to deal with many stakeholders who may not be directly reporting to us.

We discussed the relevance of defining outcomes, reducing the complexity into simplicity, holistic planning, big-picture orientation, and insights on stakeholder management to get things done.
 
The next principle we can learn from project management is 
“proactiveness.”

Proactiveness is a behavior that involves acting in advance for future situations rather than reacting.
 
In project management, more emphasis is given to proactiveness. Since there is more uncertainty in   projects by nature, anything may happen, and things will not happen as planned. Project management insists on identifying possible failures or risks and possible solutions and options to overcome the failures. Project management is all about managing risk and people.

How can a functional manager use this insight?

Develop the habit of foreseeing the failure modes in any initiatives and to have plan B and move on. 

When we do not foresee the possible risk and mitigation plan, we either tend to worry or blame the circumstances when something goes wrong.

This thought process of anticipating failure and having a backup plan is always a proactive approach that each functional head can practice.
 
For example,

As Human resource head, you decide on a succession plan for a person with X; what will happen if X leaves the organization? Plan B helps.
As Planning Head, you are planning to produce X items; what will happen to plant utilization if the plan is disturbed due to a change in customer schedule? Plan B helps
As plant head, your plant capacity is X; what will happen if demand zooms to 2X? Plan B helps
You are presenting a business plan to your customer; what will happen if your system does not work? Can you manage? Plan B helps.

We need to foresee possible risks or failures in any functional event and think that plan B will help us psychologically when things go wrong. That is proactiveness.
 

Proactiveness is a habit, and it will come from awareness and practice.
 
Have a great week ahead!

Managing Stakeholders

 Managing Stakeholders  

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)
 

As we discuss the importance of developing project management skills to get things done in addition to functional expertise as we move up the career ladder, 80 % of the tasks are non-repetitive or project nature, and we may need to deal with many people who may not be directly reporting to us.

We discussed the relevance of project management principles in functional management, such as defining outcomes, reducing complexity into simplicity, holistic planning, and big-picture orientation.

The next principle we can learn from project management is “insights on managing stakeholders.”
 
What is managing stakeholders?

In any complex business task, many people will get involved directly or indirectly, and their influence will affect the outcome. Project management insists on stakeholder management as one of its components.

Stakeholder management is all about managing the people of varied interests/expectations who will affect the project outcome. It could be  involve them early, making them partners, communicating with them appropriately, and creating relationships. This management skill will help us to navigate the project successfully.

How can functional managers apply this insight?

Any initiative or task you do will need the support of others beyond your functions. The success or failure depends on the extent of collaboration we have with others. The others are stakeholders. They may have little interest in the initiative, or it may affect them or do not want it to be implemented.

Our management skill is to align all stakeholders to get things done.
 
For example,

Assume that you are the planning head and made a plan by coordinating sales and operations. In reality, things will go differently than planned, and you must change the plan frequently. When you change the plan frequently, it will affect the many stakeholders in the system, and they will get upset with the frequent changes.

In this situation, balancing the big picture of customer's order delivery and unexpected changes in a plan,  how you manage many stakeholders, and finally getting things done will be the testimonial of your stakeholder management skill.

Some of the tactics highly  effective people use to manage stakeholders, as i observed

1. Think and identify the people who will  benefit and be affected by the initiative
2. Approach and brief them in a personal and professional way about the purpose of the initiative and get their support
3. Make the stakeholders as team members ðŸ˜Š
4. Keep them communicated about the progress frequently so that they are not surprised and also feel included ðŸ˜Ž
 
 To summarise,
we must develop the ability to look at the stakeholders beyond our circle and make them inclusive by communicating with them appropriately and building relationships.
 
When we develop stakeholder management in any task, the likelihood of getting things done will be high.

Have a great week ahead!

Saturday 23 September 2023

Big picture orientation

  Big picture orientation

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)
 
As we discuss the importance of developing project management skills to get things done in addition to functional expertise as we move up the career ladder, 80 % of the tasks are non-repetitive or project nature, and we may need to deal with many stakeholders who may not be directly reporting to us.

We discussed the relevance of defining outcomes in the beginning, to get things done and reduce the complexity into simplicity and holistic planning.
 
The next principle we can learn from project management is “Big picture orientation” in any task.
 
What is meant by big-picture orientation?

Big-picture orientation is the ability to look at any task more broadly. When we look at things from a long-term perspective, looking at the purpose more profoundly, we tend to look at any ideas or crisis during execution with reference to the project's goal and complete the project successfully.

Most project managers or even experienced project team members are equipped with big-picture orientation; this ability helps them navigate any crisis with higher motivation and always look to meeting the project deliverables. That way, only the project manager stands out from the functional manager.
 
How can functional managers develop the big-picture orientations?

When a functional manager or team is getting into any functional activities, always look at how it affects the end customer or business at large rather than only from functional perspective.
 
For example,

as a planning functional head, you aim to reduce the inventory level of materials; that is typically your functional deliverables. Your decisions and focus most of the time are on reducing inventory. However, your actions to minimize inventory may affect the delivery or delay or affect the customer. In such circumstances, when you look at the customer’s demand during peak and lean periods, supplier capability, internal dynamics of reacting to sudden changes in demand, organization culture of responding to customers, and communication process, you tend to OPTIMIZE the inventory considering the service level rather than just mere reduction of stock. The approach towards optimizing rather than just reduction comes from a big-picture orientation.

In most organizations, functional silos or conflicts between functions arise because people with good intentions try to optimize at the functional level rather than looking at it from a business perspective.

Developing business perspective or big-picture orientation can be developed with awareness and practice. We discussed this in detail sometime back, and the link is below.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/developing-big-picture-thinking-professional-growth-s-ganesh-babu/

Have a great week ahead.

Sunday 17 September 2023

Holistic Planning before execution

  Holistic Planning before execution 

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)

 

As we discuss the importance of developing project management skills to get things done in addition to functional expertise as we move up, 80 % of the tasks are non-repetitive or project nature. We may need to deal with many stakeholders who may not directly report to us.

We discussed the relevance of defining outcomes in the beginning and reduce the complexity into simplicity to get things done in the workplace.
 
The next principle of project management is 
“Holistic Planning before execution.”

This principle says that before execution, we need to spend quality time on all aspects of planning. The mental visualization of possible risks will help us to solve the problem quickly as we already planned for it.
 
Generally, we do the planning before venturing into any event or task. However, we are primarily trained to plan typically on cost or budget, timeline or schedule aspects, and scope or deliverables aspects only.Having done reasonable planning on time, cost, and scope, we get into execution, and then we realize some changes in scope, and again, we get into managing the cost and timeline aspects. In the process, either we become poor in execution or the purpose is not met.

There only, project management suggests holistic planning beyond schedule, budget, and scope. The planning calls for a 360-degree approach to the event or task as much as possible. 
 
For example, when recruiting a senior person, you obviously go with the budget plan, timeline to close the recruitment process, job descriptions etc. Despite all the planning, the success of recruitment is not guaranteed. The reason is that we are not anticipating or visualizing other aspects related to recruitment beyond essential planning.
 
What are other factors to be planned before recruitment?

How are you going to search for the right people? (Procurement planning)
Who are all likely to get affected by the recruits, and what are their alternatives? (Stakeholder planning)
How do we communicate the new recruitments to all the employees? (Communication planning)
How does the organization structure change? (People planning)
What is the likely growth plan for the new recruit? (People planning)
How can we ensure the success of the new recruit in the first 100 days / one year in given organization dynamics? (Risk management planning)
What will happen if the new recruit fails or leaves the company quickly? (Risk mitigation planning)

 
You may note that this planning process goes beyond the budget/time/scope planning process, and this kind of visualization or planning process will likely lead to success…That is called holistic planning before the execution.
 
Holistic planning or visualization can be done for any simple daily task.

For example, you are making monthly presentation performance to your management team. In addition, with regular stuff or content, plan or think about who will be present in the meeting / what will be their likely questions / what may go wrong during presentations, and what is my plan B, etc.
 
Planning seems to be common sense; however, it needs to be holistic before execution, and looking at everything at 360 will give you an edge in getting things done.

This needs just awareness of our planning process before execution.

Have a great week ahead!

Complexity to Simplicity

 


 Complexity to Simplicity  
(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)
 
As we discuss the importance of developing project management skills to get things done in addition to functional expertise as we move up, 80 % of the tasks are non-repetitive or project nature, and we may need to deal with many stakeholders who may not be directly reporting to us.

Last week, we discussed the relevance of defining outcomes in the beginning to get things done.

The next principle of project management is to “ Reduce the complexity into simplicity.”

Principle 2:
Reduce the complexity into simplicity by breaking down the major tasks into milestone tasks and managing milestone tasks effectively
 
It is human nature that we are overwhelmed with any assignments/projects by considering the amount of multiple activities and the complexity involved in each activity. In the process, either we get cluttered with many thinking about activities and are unable to move beyond or skip any activities and face the consequences later. This principle helps to overcome the challenges.

For example,

“ Implementing an ERP system in your organization is given to you as a project."
 

The moment you think of the successful implementation of an ERP system, many thoughts will come to your mind, like identifying vendors, people's acceptance, awareness creation, choosing the right technology, the scope of the implementation, lack of prior experience, and so on. In this process, we never move confidently to the next step or somehow get into implementation, but projects struggle to serve the purpose or fail.
 
The reason is our inability to break the complex project into many micro milestones and define each milestone with the outcome, stakeholder management in each milestone, risk estimation, and countermeasures.

The principle says any complex project can be broken down into manageable milestones. One has to ensure that each milestone will succeed and, eventually, the overall project will also be successful.

Mainly, it focuses on the current task and clarity on what we want….That is what a functional manager has to learn in any complex project.

For example, as HR head, if you are given a task to recruit a " Quality Head" for your organization, you can divide the tasks into milestones as below and focus on one milestone at a time and ensure the success of one milestone. That will make you focus clearly and execute well rather than thinking of entire tasks.


 Once you practice breaking any complex into simple tasks, that will make you focus clearly and have the ability to manage the challenges in any complex situation

Let us discuss some other principles next week.

Have a great week ahead.
 

Define outcome

  Define outcome  

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)
 

As we discuss the importance of developing project management skills to get things done in addition to functional expertise as we move up, 80 % of the tasks are non-repetitive or project nature, and we may need to deal with many stakeholders who may not be directly reporting to us.

Let us understand the project management principles and how to apply them in day-to-day activities.

Principle 1:

In project management, one prime principle is that any project should have a defined outcome.

Indirectly, it means starting any task with the end objective in mind.
 
How any functional executive or manager can apply this principle in day-to-day activities?
 
In any task, mentally visualize what we look for at the end.
 
For example,
 
When writing a mail to customers or colleagues, what objective would you like to achieve in the communication?

When making a presentation to your team or management, think about the message you would like to convey at the end.

When meeting a new client, what would be the minimum success we expect at the end of the meeting?
 
When we start with the end objective as the focus, it helps us to think through using relevant words, slides, or content. When we do not have clarity of the end goal, we will be hovering around many sentences, slides, or conversations.
 
I use this principle in my consulting profession. Each client is unique, and priorities are different. When i visit them, my challenge is always time constraints and making an impact. I used to go with some mental agenda to be discussed with them and also sought their plan at the beginning of the day. That would help me determine what I need to accomplish at the end of the day and manage the time and people accordingly. If i do not have any agenda or objective, the proceedings would be more casual, as there are many stakeholders and high possibilities of sidetracking from the core.

 The point is that in either reviews/mail/presentations or any other dealings with others,
 if you mentally articulate what you want to accomplish at the end, that mindset will make you effective in getting things done.
 
Just relate your experience when dealing with any task before starting.

Let us discuss other project management principles that can be used for functional effectiveness next week.
 
Have a great week ahead!

Saturday 29 July 2023

Charisma Vs. Influence

 Charisma Vs. Influence 

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)

As we discussed the mindset and practices that highly influencing people demonstrate in the workplace to get things done, one of the queries asked by my friend related to influence.

"Some people are born with inherent charisma, and they influence people easily. Is it possible to develop charisma? 

i have also encountered this question myself at the beginning of my career. This question is relevant to the Influence topic and deserves the answer ... I've included my perspective below. 

First, we need clarity between charisma and charm as we interchangeably use both. My friend means that some people are charming by nature and use their charm to influence; Is it possible to develop charisma?
 
Charm is associated with surface-level traits like friendliness, appearance, and appealing first impressions. In contrast, charisma is related to deeper-level attributes like authenticity, quality to inspire others with conduct, trust, and admiration. It is associated with confidence and passion in what one does.

Generally, people with charm readily connect with people at first instance. They are outgoing, expressive, fun lovers, friendly nature, and attract others easily. (sometimes, too much of it lands them in trouble!
😢). 

Most of us believe that the person with the charm will have all the qualities to influence others and be good at getting things done. However, this belief is not true. It is just perception; anyone can become charismatic with effort and conduct.

For example, You are selling yourself in an interview and influence with your charm; you may be appealing instantly. But there is no guarantee that you will get the offer. However, you can get an offer if you influence with your charisma (as quality).

In a professional context, we must focus more on developing charisma to become influencers. When we concern too much about charm, it will affect our self-esteem.
 
The movie 
"M.S Dhoni's- untold story" beautifully depicts the perception of charm and its impact on others. In the early days of playing in Ranchi tournaments, on the first day of the test match, MSD did well. Then in the evening, MSD & the team met Yuvaraj Singh first time very closely on a basketball ground and internally felt inferior to Yuvaraj's charm or instantly appealing personality.

The next day, the MSD team played against Yuvaraj Singh and badly lost the match. While narrating the game to his friends, MSD said, "We did not get defeated in the cricket ground; we got defeated in the basketball ground itself." That is a very insightful observation by MSD. 

Later on, we all know how things turn around! That is, charisma wins over charm.
 
The key learning is that some people are gifted with charm, which does not mean they are successful influencers. Anyone can develop the skill of charisma with character building and consistent effort in delivering results, through which one can become a charismatic leader.

Charm is a subset of charisma. Natural charm is all about character, and it is all about how confident one is and how others feel good about their presence.

Anyone can develop Charisma regardless of their personality type.

You are highly influential and blessed if you are both charmed and equipped with charisma !!

Have a great week ahead.

Are we fixing processes or people?

  Are we fixing processes or people?

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)
 

We discussed some of the mindsets of highly influential people in the workplace to get things done. We mentioned win-winhow they look at work, and clarity of what they need.

Regarding practices, influential people work on themselves to build their credibility through relationships and expertise. The second practice is giving others their time, energy, and knowledge. The third practice is displaying respect by listening. The fourth practice is empowering others. The fifth practice is effective communication.

The next practice the people do is "Fixing processes than people." 

What is meant by Fixing processes than people?

It is all about continuously refining the process to avoid mistakes. Whenever a problem happens, look for the gap in the process than in the people.

It is more about process orientation.
 
People with process orientation have high likeability factor than the person who is finding fault with people and trying to fix some people responsible for the problem.

Influencing power or the ability to get things done is enhanced when a high likeability factor exists.

Generally, there are two types of people in the organization. One set of people (Type A), if any problem happens, the momentary reaction would be, "Who mistakes it is?". Their immediate intention would be first to fix the person, then find a solution for the problem.

For the other set of people ( Type B) (fewer in numbers!😊 ), if any problem happens, the momentary reaction would be, "Why this happened, and what needs to be done?". Their immediate intention would be to recognize the problem and look for a suitable process, eventually fixing the people.

As a human being, whom we would like more, Type A or Type B…?

Most of us like Type B people, and this likability factor enhances their influencing power.
 
When we look for the process solution to a problem without fixing people first, we develop compassion towards others, making us highly influential people in the workplace.

I work with one CEO who is soft-spoken and calm; whenever a problem happens, he never loses his temper, fixes the process, and educates the person with more compassion. People never complain about him and like to work with him. Works get done out of respect for him than his power.

Only a few people get this practice right, and they become influencing people.
 
It needs awareness of our reaction to problems and practice fixing the process.
 
Have a great week ahead.

Empowering others

  Empowering others  

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)
 


We discussed some of the mindsets of highly influential people in the workplace to get things done. We mentioned win-win, how they look at work, and clarity of what they need.

Regarding practices, influential people work on themselves to build their credibility through relationships and expertise. The second practice is giving others their time, energy, and knowledge. The third practice is displaying respect by listening.

The next practice the people do is 
Empowering others.
 
What is meant by Empowering Others?
 
Empowering is giving power to someone to do something, which makes them feel elated and confident once they have done it.

It consists of Giving macro level direction and guidance when required and backing up when in trouble.

Most of us do not like to be managed with micromanagement. When we experience micromanagement with anyone, we do not like that person much.

One of the surveys tries to discover the qualities of the best-ever bosses in the workplace. The findings reveal that people do not like micro-managing and rate the person as the best boss who empowers them with direction and guidance at an appropriate time.
 
For example, consider the situation. Your boss is asking to send a mail to a customer about recent development in a product.

He gives the overall purpose of email communication, outlines what needs to be included, allows you to draft the mail independently, and backs you on the consequences; then, it is empowerment. In this experience, you feel that you are learning something new and like your boss, and he will easily influence you.
 
Alternatively, if he asks you to send a mail, dictates what needs to be included, and spends time checking line by line, then it is not empowerment; it is just micro-management.In this experience, you may feel undervalued and not like your boss much; in turn, you may not be influenced by him so easily.
 
The point is, by nature, we all want freedom with boundary conditions. 
When we provide an empowering environment and experience to our people, they like us more, and as a reciprocation, they can be influenced relatively easily.
 
Sometimes, due to our anxiety about doing everything perfectly and of losing our reputation due to the mistakes of others, we tend to be more micro-managing, and, in this process, we lose the advantage of the influencing edge.
 
This needs awareness and practicing to balance micro-management and monitoring the progress at a high level. The art of delegation with empowerment is one of the skills every manager and leader has to learn.
 
Have a great week ahead!

Displaying Respect by listening

 Displaying Respect by listening

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)
 

We discussed some of the mindsets of highly influential people in the workplace to get things done. We mentioned win-win, how they look at work, and clarity of what they need.
Regarding practices, effective people work on themselves to build their credibility through relationships and expertise. The second practice is giving others their time, energy, and knowledge.
 
The next practice the people do is consistently displaying Respect by listening.

Relevance of listening and Respect:

One of the basic longing needs of all human beings is: Being heard.

Listening is beyond hearing the words. It is all about  GIVING ATTENTION to others and being willing to listen to others. Attention can be demonstrated to someone when they speak through our body language, like posture, eye contact, and acknowledgment.

When someone spends time actively hearing, it conveys Respect to others; in turn, the other is obliged to give it back.
Conveying Respect is not about expressing salutations like Mr/ Mrs or Sir / Madam; it represents positional hierarchy and will not influence people.

Beyond positional power, displaying Respect through listening will impact influencing.

Listening is a sign of Respect. It shows that you value what the speaker has to say. If you take the time to listen to someone by focusing on the speaker, you are showing them that they are important to you.
 
How do highly influencing people demonstrate in the workplace?
 
Create more forums for dialogue and feedback. 

They create forums to meet people and share information. That could be structured review forums or mail communication encouraging others to voice their views.

One of my bosses shares some of his learnings /outcomes after he attends some programs and encourage others to voice their opinion. By the way, he conveys that he respects others by sharing and allowing them to talk.
 
Moving around beyond hierarchy:
One of the habits of highly influencing people is they move around in the office and are keen on approaching people easily.
 
In all the above demonstrations, the essential quality they display to others is 
"I respect you as a human being"… when that message is imbibed to others, others will reciprocate when they are influenced to get things done.

Let us discuss some other practices next week.
 
Have a great week ahead.

Giving before Getting

  Giving before Getting 

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)
 
We discussed some of the mindsets of highly influential people in the workplace to get things done. We mentioned win-win, how they look at work, and clarity of what they need.

Regarding practices, influential people work on themselves to build their credibility through relationships and expertise.
 
Another practice the people consistently do is giving to others before getting.
 
What does giving before getting mean?
 
It is all about giving our time and sharing our knowledge or experience with others without much expectation of returns instantly.
 
Why is this important?

The act of giving and its consequence is based on the law of reciprocation.

The law of reciprocating is explained as when someone does something to you; you feel obligated to reciprocate or do something in return for them.

We might have experience in our personal life as someone gifts us for our birthday, and we accept it. However, we feel obligated to return it to them and will do it on their birthday or some other occasion. That is the design of human emotions.
 
Influencing people use the same principle in the workplace by giving their time, energy, and knowledge to others without thinking of returning immediately. Still, by nature of law, others will return it later when they need it.
 
For example, a colleague comes to you for guidance on investment or debt prepayment, as you have experience in it. When you take your time and share your knowledge, practical experience on do's and don'ts, and the nitty-gritty of financial aspects, the other person leaves with respect for you. You will not get any immediate return except maybe your self-satisfaction.

At a later stage, when you need any help from the same colleague to get things done for your functional activities, relatively you will get things done quickly as the other person is obligated to give it back to you, and they use the opportunity to help you out in the situations.

How can you give to others?
 
  • You can give your time to others when they approach you.
  • Patiently listen to their concerns, even if you do not have any solutions
  • Sharing your knowledge and experience may open up new thought processes for them. People will never forget those who show new possibilities or approaches to their problems.
 
The point is world works based on the nature of law, and one of the laws is people are obliged to give back what they got. When we can give more to others, eventually, more people are obligated to give it back to us; by the way, you easily influence others to get things done when you want.

Just ask yourself how much time you are spending to give to others in a day.
 
Have a great week ahead!
 

Wednesday 26 July 2023

How to build credibility?

  How to build credibility? 

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)
 

Continuing last week's discussion on developing credibility at the workplace to influence others to get things done, let us understand how some effective people build their credibility.
 
Building credibility at the workplace happens at two levels

  1. Relationship building
  2. Expertise in functional / domain

 Relationship building:

People with high credibility consistently demonstrate that they are trusted people to listen, are not harmful to anyone, and work in the interest of others. They always show they are reliable to associate with.

How do they demonstrate they are reliable?

One holistic way of demonstrating this is through ease of approach.

Ease of approach is more than just physically or digitally approaching them quickly. It is all about how you feel after approaching them.

Some people are inconsistent in their mood, and we may need to know precisely their mood and whether we will get positive receptiveness when approaching them. Those people lose the trust of others as they are inconsistent in their mood and emotionally unstable.

For example, one of your colleagues swings his mood from extremely pleasant to angry at any moment during the conversation. Will you consider him/ her a reliable person to reach out to?
Certainly not.. because inconsistency in conduct will lead to a loss of trust.

An emotionally balanced person is always considered a trustworthy person as far as relationship building is concerned. That is the base for relationship building.

Expertise in functional or domain:

We cannot build credibility even if we are good in relationships but lack expertise in our function or domain.

Highly credible people are not just available for access but also share their knowledge and wisdom from their functional expertise whenever an opportunity arises. They will demonstrate their thought leadership by sharing their perspectives, ideas, and references whenever others need them.

They will consciously develop or polish their competency in their functional expertise.

Building credibility is a long-term, time-consuming process primarily around relationships and expertise in functional areas.

It is about character building, staying relevant in functional expertise, and sharing with others. 
 
There is no shortcut to building credibility…
 
 Have a great week ahead.

Building Credibility to influence

  Building Credibility to influence

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)
 


We discussed some of the mindsets of highly influential people in the workplace to get things done. We mentioned win-winhow they look at work, and clarity of what they need.

One of the practices or efforts put by highly influencing people is developing Credibility at the workplace among peers, colleagues, junior colleagues, and customers.

What is meant by Credibility?

Credibility is all about the believable or trustworthiness of 
someone in some aspects.
 
For example,

You may have some clarification in tax filing. Whom do you approach or consult?

A well-known practicing chartered accountant/auditor only.

Because we firmly believe or trust them as they have proven qualifications and practices. That is the Credibility they earn or possess.

Credibility comes from consistent action or behavior on character or demonstrating domain expertise.

How Credibility has an impact on influencing?

Any transaction in a professional environment happens through TRUST. The Trust will come from repetitive behavior or demonstrating expertise consistently. When we earn the Trust, others will respect our ideas or plan and be ready to follow us. In that way, we can get things done at the workplace.

Relatively we have an edge to influence or sell our ideas to others over those who do not build Credibility.

Recently one of the retired CEO from corporate published his book on career planning and became a GENUINE best seller in the market. He had not spent any money on advertising. He has only built Credibility for the last 20 years as a leadership and management expert. People believed that he might also have some message on career planning and make it a big success. That is the power of Credibility in influencing.

When we have some technical or business challenges, we approach some people for solutions because they establish Credibility as thought leaders in respective technical or business aspects. We readily accept them as they earn our Trust and respect.

Building Credibility is one of the traits of every professional at any level and requires consistency and time to build. Once we make Credibility, it will have a compounding effect on the influencing power.
 
Let us discuss the various methodologies to build Credibility next week.
 
Have a great week ahead!
 

What do you want?

  What do you want? 

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)
 


As we discuss the mindset and practices used by highly influencing people to get things done, we have highlighted the two mindsets like, 
"Win-Win Mindset" and "How do you see yourself? ".
 
The third practice is "Outcome based thinking," which is a powerful practice by all effective people.
 
Outcome-based thinking :

It is all about starting any interaction or business deal with the objective.
 
It is all about clarifying what we want to achieve in the end.

It is beyond visualization. 
 
Why is this important?

  • When you start with the end objective, it brings focus within you.
  • Half the battle is won when you start with the end objective and express yourself to others about your expectation.
  • It connects with others as they are in a position to listen 
  • When you start with the end objective, you likely think about what may go wrong and proactively prepare for it.

 
When starting any conversation or deal, the thought process of highly influencing people is as follows.

What do i want at the end?
What do others want, and what may be their objection?
If there is an objection, what would be my counteroffer? 
How will i bring to a conclusion with a win-win mindset?


In project management, one of the traits expected from a successful project manager is OUTCOME BASED Thinking and STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT and Having Plan B if something goes against the plan.
 
Anyone can develop outcome-based thinking with practice.

For example, when proposing a new idea to colleagues and management/clients, you can always apply outcome-based thinking and likely win the proposal.

What do I want at the end?
My idea has to be acceptable by others as such, or with minor modification
What is others' need, and what may be their objection?
How the new idea may affect others and what could be their views
 
If there is an objection, what is my counter-deal to be a win-win?
If my idea is not acceptable as such, what could be my other alternative which is fine for  others ( Proactiveness)
How I will bring it to a conclusion?
Either i withdraw my idea( loss-win)  or accept another's suggestion to modify my idea (win-win)
 
We positively influence others when we think about the outcome before the start.

The mindset is straightforward. In reality, except few, most of us are not proactively prepared for 360 views when we start, which causes us to be poor in influencing.

It just needs awareness and preparation with practice before getting into any conversation or business deal.
 
Have a great week ahead.

How do you see yourself?

  How do you see yourself?  

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)
 
Last week, we discussed the mindset of win-win in every interaction and business dealing to enhance influencing skills in the workplace.
 
Enhancing influencing skills is one of the primary skill sets everyone should develop, and it is not a quick fix or set of techniques.
 
Developing the influencing skill is a combination of mindset, behavior, practices, and more you are aware of, and applying it will make you a better influencer at the workplace.
 
From that perspective, we will discuss a set of mindsets and practices which we can observe and relate with the most influencing personalities.
 
One such mindset is a win-win mindset.

The second mindset or belief is how you see yourself. 
 
What is meant by "seeing yourself"?

It is all about how you perceive/look at your position and yourself in the professional setup.

It is not the position title or how others see you.
 
For example, the organization gives you the title of Quality Head. It is provided by others or perceived by others. That is ok, but how you see yourself determines your influencing power.
 
Are you feeling like an empowered quality head, or are you one among the functional head? The honest reflection will bring a new perspective to you about yourself.
 
Why is this reflection important?
 
How you see yourself and your feelings will enhance your self-esteem. It will change your outlook, body language, tone, ownership feeling, or responsibility.
 
I came across many people who own their functional responsibility beyond their title, and eventually, people respect them, even though, in the beginning, they were misunderstood.

You can also relate to some people who use the following phrase, who will go beyond their boundaries to make it happen.
 
My production speed or output  will go down
My quality will affect…
My inventory will go up …

 
That verbal language reflects their ownership, and they will be influencers relatively compared to others.
 
In one of my client organizations, management recruited a junior storekeeper who had core experience in that function. The organization has an open store concept in which anyone can pick the material with verbal approval from the plant head, and anytime they update the records. After the new storekeeper took charge of the role, he refused to issue the material on an ad-hoc basis even though he was directed by the plant head to do so.
He firmly stated that he was the custodian of materials, was accountable for inventory value, and could not accept or issue material without proper documentation, even if directed by the plant head. Initially, people did not accept him; later on, they respected him as he influenced them to bring the right way of working.


My key learning is that he looks at his position as more powerful, and that feeling makes him more commanding and influencing people to do the right things.
 
The point is how you look at your position, and yourself will enhance your feel about yourself. When you strengthen your self-image, you get the power to influence others. It is one of the mindsets of highly influencing people.

 Let us discuss other practices and mindsets next week.

Have a great week ahead.

Thursday 11 May 2023

Win -Win Mindset

 Win -Win Mindset 

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)
 
As we have discussed the influencing framework/process, we highlighted the importance of being aware of the context/situation. Also, being flexible in the influence style will help to get things done.
 
Now, let us understand more about the mindset, behaviors, and practices that highly influence people to apply when dealing with people and situations. They have never been perceived as commanding, misusing power, or rude, and people love to work with them. They easily get things done in the workplace despite the challenges.

Understanding and practicing those mindsets, behavior, and practices will help you become a high-influencing person in the workplace.
 
One such primary mindset that influences people to operate is a Win-Win mindset.
 
What is a Win-Win mindset?

Win-Win is a state of mind in which we look for mutual benefit in any interaction or business deal.
It is more about being empathetic about another person while focusing on your objective, fair, and flexible in finding a solution that meets both requirements.
 
Influential people ensure that the other person's needs are met in any interaction with others, either a small conversion or significant business deal sign-off.

For example,

You are spending time with one of your colleagues, and after the conversation, if both of them feel good about the interaction, get some value or solution or agreed upon mutual agreement. It is a win-win situation, and both of them win together.

If any of you leaves with an upset mood or gets humiliated or unheard, then there is a possibility of both of you being in a situation of lose-lose or lose-win, and either way, that will not be helpful.
 
In the same way, any business partnership works on a win-win basis only.
 
For example, one product organization signs a partnership agreement with the distributor. The organization has products but needs more marketing and distribution reach to customers. The distributor has access to customers but needs more products. When both sign the deal, they share the mutual value and gain revenue together. That is a win-win.

If anyone feels that the other person is exploiting others, it becomes a win-lose, and the partnership eventually breaks.
 
There is always an argument that it is not possible to have a win-win situation and mindset all the time. If both do not realize a win-win in the long run, the association or deal is not sustainable. In the short term only it works.

We can be in a win-win mindset only when we feel good about ourselves and are optimistic about our outlook. That needs awareness and practice.
 
This win-win concept is underrated, and if we apply it in all interactions and dealings, the ability to get things done will improve.

Based on this fundamental win-win mindset, some behaviors and practices are built upon, and let us discuss them further.
 
Have a great week ahead!