What we think we know for sure becomes a blind spot because we stop examining it, and we all have these blind spots. Many of them.

One way to help uncover your blind spots is to ask others their opinion, especially others who you have difficulty communicating with or understanding. That difficulty is probably because they see the world a bit differently to you, and that means they have valuable information for you, if only you are prepared to really listen with the goal of understanding.

Value and use the diversity of thinking that is around you rather than simply dismiss others as people who simply can’t or won’t understand.

Ask yourself and them, “What are we each assuming/knowing about this issue that is different, so we get different answers?”

You may still disagree with them, but you do now have more insight. That will make you much more flexible in your ability to solve problems and then communicate those solutions to others.

The elephant and the giraffe story

My best wishes, Paul
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The more change is going on, the more senior people feel in need of information, and they ask for reports.

If they get a poorly structured and difficult to read report, what would they think of the person who wrote it?

On the other hand, when you write a good report, you stand out as a manager. You are seen as someone to be relied upon, someone who can get their thoughts in order; and by implication, someone who can therefore get things done.

It may sound odd, but trust me – the worst way to write a report is to sit down and start writing. Use this approach and you’ll almost certainly lose your thread, bring in irrelevancies and spend hours longer than you need.

Have a look at the link below and notice that writing isn’t mentioned until near the end. By using this step-by-step approach you’ll be able to put together an effective report, reasonably quickly.

The report writing process.

My best wishes, Paul
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For the most part, names are arbitrary. Because the information itself isn’t meaningful, you have to make a special effort to create meaningful connections in order for the memory to ’stick’.

Association is one easy way to make these connections and remember more names.

When you meet people, look for a connection to something that is bizarre yet memorable. It might be something they have done, or something about their appearance. For example, Helen is forever on top of a Tiger Moth as she once did a charity stunt; Charlie Smith is a picture of Charlie Chaplain with a sign saying SMITH!, while Sally has a tall black hat as she reminds me of a witch.

You have to be careful with this, of course, as you don’t want to let people know if you have an unflattering nickname for them!

Click here for more tips and tools to help you enhance your memory.

My best wishes, Paul
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When one element is weakened it affects both. When your self belief reduces, it will be clear to others that you are not fully confident, thus reducing their confidence in you. Equally, if you lose external support, it will have an effect on your inner confidence.

So in order to bolster your own inner confidence, do things that help others have confidence in you. Not only do them, but ensure that what you achieve is visible to others.

Think of someone who you have confidence in. Why them?

They will be visibly demonstrating that they are worthy of your trust and belief.

Remember, invisible miracles don’t impress anybody. Others think of you in terms of what they know or notice about you. This is your personal brand.

What do you want it to be?

Do you want others to be confident in you?

Factors contributing to your brand

My best wishes, Paul
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Who controls the conversation?

The one asking the questions!

That being so…If you are a manager who is answering your people’s questions all day long, then that means they are in control of every conversation with you.

As a manager, every time you provide your people an answer for which you could have asked a question, you have removed their need to think for themselves.

On the other hand, encouraging them to think helps them to grow. They will be better equipped for next time they have a question, and may not even need to ask it.

Now, you just can’t go through your day responding to every question with a question. However, getting a better balance of questions & answers will make you a better manager.

Choosing your question

My best wishes, Paul
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So look at something you want to do, a change you want to make. From the perspective of those who need to do it, is it simple?

Hint: you might need to ask them

If it does not look simple to those who must do it,
1. Re-define it so it seems simple
2. Or break it down into smaller simple pieces.

If you break it down, put up a wall chart so people can see how each simple piece is still relevant to the overall objective.

Encouraging engagement

Note: This idea is courtesy of a chat over coffee with Peter Honey at the BILD conference last week.

My best wishes, Paul
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So why would someone follow you?

Because…
> They think you know where you are going
> They think that where you are going is better than where they are
> They think you know how to get there
> They trust you not to lead them astray
> They fear the consequences of not following

Think about people around you who you would like to do something specific such as do a project task, stay late to do a report, buy something from you, stop teasing their little brother or eat their vegatables.

How can you lead them considering the bullet points above?

Note that an effective leader has followers who do so willingly and even with enthusiasm. Your leadership will founder if it is based on fear and compliance.

Notice also that your being a leader is entirely dependent on how people react to you, or think about you.

It is their perception that makes you a leader.

Excellence in Leadership

My best wishes, Paul
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Discussion is an activity, not an outcome; and this means that most people are framing their meetings with an activity focus versus an outcomes focus. Could this be why most meetings fail?

You really only have three outcomes for a meeting:

1. An agreed decision
2. An agreed action
3. Everyone with the same understanding to take consistent action

If more people framed their meetings with an outcomes focus (using one of the above outcomes), do you think we would have more productive & successful meetings?

This week, why not frame your meetings in an outcomes focus, and describe the purpose of your meetings in terms of what you want to ACHIEVE, versus what you want to discuss.
Wishing you all a week (a month, a year, a lifetime) of very successful meetings.

Preparing a good meeting

My best wishes, Paul
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The best managers understand that people issues only get worse if left alone, and address them early.

This is always a challenge, as you almost never hear a manager say that they moved too early on a people issue they encountered.

If you have any current people issues on your team, do something, but check out this topic in Alchemy first.

Click here for the difference between can’t and won’t (or capability and conduct)

My best wishes, Paul
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We should also judge ourselves too, and consider the questions we ask ourselves.

Every change we make in our lives was preceded by asking ourselves different questions than before.

The key word is different.

What different questions can you ask about a problem or situation at work, at home, or about yourself?

One way to come up with different questions is to think of someone you know who is very different to you, whether you like them or not, and then imagine what they would ask.

Some questions you can ask yourself

My best wishes, Paul
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