Tag Archives: change

The Innovator’s DNA: Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators

The Innovator’s DNA: Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators, by Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen & Clayton M. Christensen, Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA, 2011.

How do innovative entrepreneurs learn to be so creative? It’s really not such a mystery after hearing co-author Jeff Dyer speak at the recent ASTD Technology conference and reading this insightful book.

All of us can increase our creative mind set by practicing Dyer’s five “discovery skills” regularly. We may not become the next Steve Jobs but all of us can become far better in bringing insight and innovation into our business practices. And it’s good for our business bottom line as well.

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Practice Flexing Your Communication Style

How flexible are you . . . really?  It’s easy to get along with people who think and act the way we do but about 75% of people behave quite differently than us.  The ability to positively relate to different people styles is critical to your career success especially the higher you go in your company.  Because people problems are so prevalent in the workplace, you have the opportunity to establish a reputation that is highly valued – you can get along with people.  You take the initiative to make it easier for others to connect, communicate and cooperate with you.  And you do it by practicing flexing your own personality style.  Here’s how to start . . .

  • First, practice the “basic flex” which is treating others the way we all want to be treated – with kindness and respect.  This is basic to all personal interactions and essential for communicating with anyone.
  • Second, practice “style flex” which is adjusting your own behavior style to create a rapport and to open up communication with another person.  This requires you to know your own style well and to be willing to temporarily flex it to make the interaction more comfortable for the other person. The ability to do this consistently requires a high degree of self-awareness and empathy –  key social & emotional intelligence competencies.

Now, I can hear you protesting a bit . . . “why should I have to be the one who changes?” I would suggest that it is simply easier.  We all know that we really can’t change other people significantly and we just get frustrated and angry waiting for them to change on their own.  But with some agility on our part and an authentic willingness to work with others, we can and will bring great value to our employers and to our own professional well-being as well.  Try it!

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A Simple Smile Shifts Energy

I’ve been experimenting with this idea for several months now . . . does the simple act of smiling to yourself shift your own energy?

This experiment came about quite innocently when I would be feeling a bit frustrated (like lots of us) when trying to take care of household business calls that seem to have no end.  It’s not the fault of the person on the other end of the phone (when I actually am able to talk with someone) but it seems like nothing is simple and almost always one call necessitates another two or three calls.  I’m thinking of calls like scheduling medical appointments for family members; sorting out errors on bills, arranging for car/dog/house maintenance etc. etc. You know what I mean.

So I tried experimenting with putting a smile on my face (none can see me) to observe what would happen. Interesting, several things would almost always occur quite quickly. First, I noticed that my voice would soften and become a little lighter. It also had a warmer quality to it.  My shoulders relaxed a bit and I sat back slightly in my chair.  I also was more attuned to the conversation and was listening a bit closer.  And if I really wanted to test the waters, I would find a moment to just laugh slightly to see if that created a nice connection with the other person.

I was pleasantly surprised at the result of my experiment.  Each time I coached myself to smile, my energy had clearly shifted in a very subtle way.  It was not dramatic – I hadn’t done anything extraordinary but my energy had simply shifted to a more positive and collaborative posture.

Did the smile get business done any faster or better?  Maybe not or maybe so.  But it does make it easier on me.  I’m being a bit kinder and gentler on myself.  Now on to more phone calls . . .

 

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Don’t Wait to Learn From Each Other

It’s the end of June and retirement parties are happening all over town. They are festive events for the pending “retiree” (who can’t stop smiling) but not everyone feels the same way. Often, the managers, department heads and team leaders are suddenly realizing that a wealth of expertise, experience and history is walking right out their door. As leaders tell me, “it’s a tsunami” of baby boomers retiring and for the most part the remaining leadership is totally unprepared to fill these gaps in the short or long run.

So what can you as a leader do? Build relationships now! Don’t wait. The single most effective initiative you can take in your organization is to ensure that the four generations (Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials) have regular opportunities to connect with one another, to collaborate on projects and therefore to learn “up & down” the generations. Challenge your employees/colleagues to tap into each other’s wisdom, knowing that each generation is bringing different strengths and gifts to the workplace and ultimately for the benefit of your company. After all, they were hired by your company to do just that.

It’s tempting to stay with what we are most comfortable with – to work in silos. You as a leader have the responsibility and opportunity to create a “multi-generational learning environment” for the benefit of all. Give them an opportunity to work and learn from each other. Try it!

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Tips for Team Coaching

As a leader in your organization, you are tasked with bringing out the best of your employees for the productivity of your company. Sounds easy but it’s tougher than it looks especially in these economic times when everyone feels stretched. But it can be done both with your direct individual reports but also your project teams or department staff.

Lifting Together Makes the Difference 

Here’s how . . . use a strengths based coaching approach with powerful questions. One piece of the executive coaching program that I offer is an intensive hands-on training and practice on how to use basic coaching skills to engage and motivate employees.  We start with individual one-on-one practice with employees doing their annual reviews or wanting to take their careers to that next level within the company.  Coaching may also be appropriate for employees struggling with performance expectations, communication problems or interpersonal conflicts with their colleagues.

With this practice behind them, leaders move to a more complicated coaching challenge – working with their designated teams around specific outcomes.  There are more moving parts including difference in personalities and communication styles that can make leading a team successfully much more challenging.

You Don’t Have to Do All the Work 

But here’s the trick . . . know and use the same coaching philosophy, collaborative approach and basic powerful questions that work so well with individuals and just expand them for the larger group.  Listen closely and concentrate on giving your team the space and support to contribute their ideas and strengths.

You don’t have to say much in the beginning – just get out of their way and let them do what you hired them to do.  Acknowledge their wisdom with the result that you may be pleasantly surprised that with a coaching approach you’ve opened up a wealth of possibilities, creative thinking and some excellent options. And you didn’t have to do all the work!

It’s a very fast paced competitive work world. Just like this great picture of the Army moving the Red Cross tent in the pouring rain.  Everyone needs to contribute their best strength, lift together and move forward to the designated goal or vision. It can work really well with the right kind of leadership – do you have what it takes?

 

Posted in Career Tips & Strategies, Communication Tips, Emotional Intelligence, Inspirational Leadership, Navigating Change | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment