Onpoint Coaching

Going Slow To Go Fast

Sometimes a slow pace can be downright infuriating. In our instant-solution, instant-communication society, many love to drive fast, walk fast, talk fast, and act fast. But as a leader, taking the time to proceed more slowly can sometimes be the secret to being more effective.  In any leadership role, there's a choice to make: jump to the answer alone and save time (which may entail facing roadblocks in the future), or take the time and effort required to bring the team along, so that they are more efficient and can get the job completed. 

In order to build relationships, a leader must ensure that his/her people are on board. Leaders must get to know their team members and learn their motivations. An effective leader explains the vision, the reasons for action and their people’s roles in that plan or initiative. Great leaders seek to win the hearts and minds of their constituents; although this takes time and it does slow them down, paradoxically, without going slow, the team cannot execute fast.  

As an example, I am a member of our home owners association landscape committee. Last year the committee had great intentions, but then jumped in too quickly, without consulting any experts, had a short term approach, got mired in the details. They executed on a few things, but did not look at the bigger long term effects of their decisions.  They needed to slow down, gain consensus, and get necessary stakeholders on board with a master plan, all of which was necessary to go fast later.

Sometimes a 'going fast' approach will work, i.e. making a quick and dirty fix to a problem, or cutting corners when necessary. For example, sometimes a software patch is all that is needed vs. a complete rewrite, feeding the kids what's on hand vs. creating an entire meal from scratch, or charging ahead in an emergency situation with a less than elegant solution to plugging the hole. But when it comes to leadership, the speed of execution is about being effective, credible, patient and willing to listen to all the options, and helping each member of the team define his/her desired outcome in order to gain buy-in and commitment.

When starting a running regimen, you train your body at a slow pace in the beginning to prevent injuries, and then increase your distance gradually so that you can speed up the pace on a conditioned body that is injury-free. Similarly, taking a project in small steps will help the team get on board. This means getting their true commitment to the plan vs. simple compliance to your wishes.

Even though going slow can be infuriating at times, working effectively with others often requires 'going slow to go fast.'

Appreciation

After finishing the short book, “The Power of Acknowledgment” by Judith Umlas, I realized how simple yet profound her words are.

Most managers fail to show appreciation for the work their teams deliver out of fear that it will come across wrong, or that it is not necessary.

In a few chapters, Umlas shows how a heartfelt appeal really works to acknowledge others’ accomplishments, talents and wisdom continually, and how it  can transform lives and the workplace!

When we get busy and fail to show appreciation and gratitude for what our teams do, we miss an opportunity to motivate them for even better quality performance, inject energy, get great results and improved feelings. In these times of information overload, managers are searching for simple tools they can apply at work and in their social lives and at home.

The great thing about acknowledgment is that we can practice it everywhere, at the coffee shop, with customer service on the phone, with our families, neighbors and of course, at work. Check out her book and read it in a short sitting, you will be changed!

How are Your Communication Skills?

The teenager’s emergency surgery, A gut wrenching lawsuit, a life threatening disease?

 

How these real life stories are remembered:

 Communication and Service

 

 

There are plenty of great books, articles, blogs and consultancy practices built around the teachings of effective communication skills and how that leads to a better customer service experience.  What is amazing to me is how every day there are examples in front of us to learn from and apply to our leadership at work.

 

The other day, a friend’s teenage son came down with a very serious condition which required emergency treatment. His son had to have emergency surgery to stop a fast growing tumor. The boy had to withstand difficult testing procedures, surgery and recovery procedures, and what amazed me is the Dad’s glowing report in an email update to friends and family telling us about the excellent communication and service skills of the hospital staff and all the professionals his family came in contact with through the ordeal.  At the crux if it was how they communicated effectively and it was a first rate experience. He was truly appreciative of the professionalism and superb communication skills of those Doctors and staff who told them what was happening every step of the way.  All of that while he was witnessing his son’s critical condition get worse. He by the hospital professionals communication skills and great service they delivered.

 

Another gut wrencher is the client who had a huge legal battle which ran on for 2 years, and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The amount of legal bills she paid were horrendous, and while that sucked a lot of energy out of her, she kept talking about how professional her attorneys were, how smart and thorough they were, their professionalism and how they had superb communication skills when they interacted with her and during all the procedures.  This won the trust and respect of my client. She spoke so highly of them in the midst of a torturous litigation process.

 

A third example is the client who finally faced facts with her serious health issue, which could be controlled by exercise, eating better and medication. While finally facing the tough exercise and nutrition and lifestyle changes required, she said in an email to friends and supporters, the Doctors, Nurses, Dietician and Trainer at the gym are all so clear, and the experience with them so positive because they are giving me the information I need in a professional way so I can get healthy and strong again.

 

I am not saying the injury of a child or legal battle which wipes out your net worth is pleasant, but isn’t it interesting that in these examples, the professionalism and communication competence they experienced was superb. No question the technical skills of Doctors, Lawyers, Dieticians and Emergency Technicians are critical, but what these three people relate later to friends and family is how the soft skills of communications, emotional support and customer service are sustainable and memorable.

 

How can we apply that to every day at work? The soft skills of service and communication may be downplayed in times of economic downturn and cost cutting, yet that is what the customer/client/patient is remembering from the life threatening or gruesome experiences. What does that tell you about the criticality of working on these skills; rewarding great service examples at work, teaching and modeling solid effective communication skills, teaching ways that crucial conversations lead to successful outcomes, coaching employees on how they can take steps to make customer service and better communication skills second nature?

 

So lets think again about reinforcing these skills with your teams, give them the tools for effective communication, let them work with a coach or get training on these critical skills. The medical, legal and personal training staff mentioned above did and look what it did for their patient/client experience.

Crafting Your Elevator Pitch

Here is a great site and  and expert, Barbara Lopez, on creating your what is called your  elevator communications/networking commercials/elevator speech or elevator pitch:
http://www.brightfarm.com/Pat.htm