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Managing
Expectations
Rules of
Change
Work
Smarter, Not Harder
Management
By Walking Around (MBWA)
First
of Equals
STAR Path
7 Habits of Highly Effective People - (Powerpoint
Presentation prepared by Cpl Kirby Anderson, Port Alberni Detachment)
The Second Mouse Gets the Cheese!
This area is
constantly being updated with new tips.
Managing
Expectations
Have
you ever had a performance issue "bomb-shell" dropped on you by a
supervisor? Out of the blue, s/he starts telling you about something you
do, or don't do, that is not up to expectations. And you comment,
"that would have been nice to know 10 months ago...maybe I could have
started trying to correct it". Imagine if that supervisor would have
told you their expectations up front. What if every month they re-visited
these expectations with you. What if you knew of these performance
deficiencies and every month you were given an update on how you were
doing. In other words, you were coached and mentored on how to correct
these deficiencies. There is no way you could then say that you were
blind-sided. In fact, the supervisor would have documentation to outline
all the previous discussions and actions taken to resolve the
deficiency.
Managing expectations is all about laying out the rules, regulations, guidelines
and expectations up front. Some other forms of managing expectations
include "letters of understanding or agreement" and "performance
agreements".
This
is one of the most important things you can do as a leader. Lay out your
expectations up front - in writing, spoken word and deed. But also,
determine the expectations from your team (the personnel you serve). This
means excellent listening skills. We will get into this later when we
explore the core competency of interpersonal skills. Remember this...It is
a two-way street when it comes to managing expectations.
Let
me put it another way. They say....If you want to lose your best
friend..."move in with him or go into business with him". Why is
this so true? I suggest it is because expectations are not laid out up
front. I also suggest that as time goes on, expectations are not
re-visited, re-adjusted and re-understood. To prove my point, lets dwell
into the corporate - business world. Think about all the partnerships that
have collapsed and gone to law-suits. Why? I suggest in many cases
the partners did not lay out their expectations and for sure, they did not
re-visit them on a regular basis. I suggest many "assumptions"
were formed by each partner and these assumptions were not known or explained to
the other party.
I
have found that writing down and explaining these expectations is
important. But much more important are what I call "work-out"
sessions. This is where the expectations are flushed out and really
understood. Your "work-out" sessions can be daily, weekly or
monthly. Work-out sessions can be achieved through morning meetings,
briefing or debriefing sessions or even one-on-one informal discussions.
Rules of Change
Memorize these five rules of change. Know them inside out and
backwards.
Operationalize them during the moments of hard choice.
1)
Involve - You cannot be an autocrat (unless an emergency situation). You
must involve all stakeholders in the change process. Not just surface
involvement. Get them involved in every step of the way.
2)
Inform - Keep everybody informed. Communications, communications,
communications. But not just email. Real time, real person
communication is crucial.
3)
Listen - This is the most important! As Mr. Covey says " Seek
First To Understand, Then To Be Understood". This is much easier said
than done.
4)
Respect Customs - Respecting customs is different than "caving into"
customs. Every organization has customs. Some of these cannot moved
overnight...respect them
5)
Move Slowly - This is a double edged sword! If you move too slow, you may
be out of business. Each set of circumstances must be carefully weighed
individually.
Here are two somewhat related articles (investment articles)
that I wrote sometime ago regarding change and the change process...
Watching The Rule Breakers
Here is a simple rule to follow.
"Watch for people messing with our rules, because this is the sign of significant change."
You can ride the bus or you can drive it. "To stay ahead of the pack, you don't have to be the best, just the first." In other words, create your future, don't react to it with the rest of the pack.
Now you're saying.....that's easier said than done! Yes, you're absolutely right!
But, by being able to anticipate future trends, directions and paradigm shifts, that's moving forward or creating your future success.
Watching the rule breakers is something you can do right now. You have the advantage on the Sharks (Pro's) because they are so far removed from the grassroots game. Many of them have their institutional blinders on. They are not listening to their employees, their customers, who are really the front line future sensors on the shifts and changing trends.
Here is where you can make you move, slip right past them. Be the first, get ahead of them in a new trend or idea. Again, you don't have to be the best, just the first. Find those ideas and
challenges that are a first.
Work
Smarter, Not Harder
Apply
this principle to everything you do...work smarter - not harder!
STAR Path
A
comprehensive, yet easy to use Process that will help you chart your future.
It includes a step by step sensible path of actions you can take to create your
future.
Learn how to "walk the future talk".
Introducing the STAR Points that become the foundation for "Moving Forward" in
your business or personal life.
Helping you find your STAR from which to navigate into the future.
Teaching you how to Star Gaze and watch for Falling Stars.
The STAR Path is a practical framework for anyone, any business to use. Inspired
from the success and direction of leading Businesses and Institutions.
Based
on the the four letters of the word STAR, the principle sets out your Future
Path.
Strategic
Tactical
Anticipating
Risk sensible
Strategic - Focusing on the long term.
Tactical - Action you can take now and in the near future.
Anticipating - Sensing the future trends and shifts. We call this STAR Gazing.
Risk Sensible - Risk management. So you don't become a Falling STAR.
The STAR Path Explained
1) Strategic
2) Tactical
3) Anticipating
4) Risk sensible
So what does this all mean?
Firstly, you need to be "Strategic.". In other words, you need to be looking at
the "big picture", at the long term of what you do ( also called your vision or
mission).
It is suggested you need to be planning your future now. It is believed that you
must declare where you are going and focus your energies in that path.
However, you must understand that you can not just live for tomorrow. You must
also be "tactical." That is taking action today in addition to planning. Tactics
are the short and medium term actions that include first response, setting up
inner and outer perimeters, prevention, problem solving and your process.
At the same time, you must be "anticipating" the future trends, directions and
paradigm shifts. In other words, you must be future sensing right now. Some
people also call this continuous "assessing" and adjusting.
Finally, without taking risk, you will get nowhere in the future. But, you must
be "risk sensible", risk smart, when you do move forward. We are talking about a
risk path that has explored all the known "alligators" our there in the big pond
of life.
Introduction to the STAR Points.
The STAR Points have five principles and they follow the five points of a star
in a clockwise direction.
STAR Points are a simple, practical, action orientated path of actions you can
take.
Here is a quick overview of the STAR Points
1) Path
2) Process
3) Prevention
4) Proactive
5) People
STAR Points
First of all, TODAY, business or personal......
Path - What is your current business/direction/route?
Process - How are you getting there right now? Your systems and structures?
Prevention - What are you doing to prevent problems and lessen your risk
exposure?
Proactive - What are you doing right now in addition to the basics?
People - What are you doing to motivate, coach, mentor, develop and lead your
people?
TOMORROW for the future:
Path - Are you constantly stargazing for future trends/directions?
Process - Are you focusing on the means of getting you there?
Prevention - Are you anticipating tomorrow’s GAPS today, risk assessing smartly?
Proactive - Don’t wait for change; are you making change? You drive the bus!
People - Customer service will make or break you. You are only as good as the
people around you.
Are you building a team of "Future Sensors", both internally (your employees)
and externally (your clients)?
A Couple of Reasons Why the STAR Path Makes Sense.
Star Gazing
The words alone gets you to think out of your box
In addition to focused, you must always be "Star Gazing". In other words, always
searching for potential paradigm shifts, future trends or directions you may
want to go.
When you Star Gaze, you basically " let go". You search, you wander, you dream
and you
Look Up - Look Forward!.
STAR Path is a model, a framework, a tool kit that provides you with the tools
to Star Gaze. And as you begin looking, you will begin to recognize
opportunities. Opportunities that may be the beginning of your future path.
Falling STARS
Watching for "Falling STARS."
These are people, businesses and National icons that missed the paradigm shifts.
The rules of the game changed, but they didn't.
And when the rules of the game change, everybody starts back at the beginning (
the starting line).
The leadership principle of "Catching a Falling Star" is something very
important.
This is salvaging, motivating or revitalizing that Star employee that has lost
interest and you may lose to the competition or something else.
My Final
Thoughts...
When the rules of the game change (and they will), everyone starts back at zero.
This is called the back to zero rule.
Your past means nothing and you better be on the new leading edge. The key
to success is developing new tools" so you can anticipate changing conditions.
Tools that will help you make quick, smart interpretations of where the world is
at today and where it’s headed.
Copyright 1999 Ward Clapham
The Second Mouse Gets the Cheese
It's
All About Timing
The Second Mouse Gets the Cheese
It's all about timing! Learn from others.
In other words, don't be too quick to bite at the cheese.
You can apply this word of advice to all aspects of your personal and
professional life.
What is meant by all this? Well, in the sea of change, the question of timing is
crucial.
Being the first may have it's disadvantages.
Think about all those businesses that rushed to be first to market and are now
Out of Business.
This is not to say, quick to market is not important. But, watch your
competition. Learn from their successes and their mistakes. Let them make the
costly mistakes and ride on their coat tails. No different than tucking in
behind a big truck when you are riding a motorcycle. Let them blaze the trail,
just keep your head up and watch out for the road kill.
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