Five Ways To Deal With Laggards

Companies are increasingly becoming less tolerant towards underperformers. Leaders should take regular corrective measures on them as right mentoring can help in turning them around, says Mahima Puri

1 Give Regular Feedback “Give the employee constant and constructive feedback on his performance. However, this should be done in a non-threatening manner, says P Dwarakanath, director-group human capital, Max India. “Give the employee constant feedback on what he has done well and which areas need to be improved,” he adds. 

2 Guide and Counsel “Managers should be patient when dealing with underperformers as the factors affecting their performance could be varied, says Divakar Kaza, president-HR, Lupin. Dwarakanath adds: "It is important for a team leader to tell the employee how he can improve upon things. Doing a bit of hand holding and mentoring is crucial." 

3 Train to Enhance Skills An underperformer may lack certain skill sets for the job, and the organisation could look at job rotation and upgrading the skills of the employee. It could also look at giving the employee a lighter task if he feels pressurised in his current role. 

4 Set Time-frame Once the manger has identified the issue and has provided coaching and mentoring, the employee should be given a time-frame to improve his performance. The time-frame can vary from company to company, but 3-6 months is considered a preferable time period. 

5 Prepare Exit Strategy If nothing seems to yield results despite the coaching, and mentoring, then the employee will have to be asked to leave. "To avoid a sudden lay-off, managers should become more firm with regards to communicating the feedback," says Rajendra Ghag, HR head at HDFC Life. Their language should change to 'we cannot go on trying endlessly, we have to get results for our business’, he adds. At HDFC Life, underperformers are given the required hints a couple of months before their exit, which gives them time to look around.

(The Economic Times, Mumbai, 29-06-2012)

Five Ways To Agree to Disagree With Boss

HAVING DISAGREEMENTS with your boss is part and parcel of professional life. In an organisational culture which encourages differences rather than compliance, bosses welcome contrary views and are open to an alternative solution. But in organisations where you are confronting a not-so-openminded boss, you need be handle the situation with care to avoid an ugly outcome. Experts tell Sreeradha D Basu how to go about it. 

1 Don’t Do It Publicly Never disagree with your boss in a meeting or in front of others. “Request a private meet to discuss such issues," advises Vinay Grover, CEO of executive search firm Symbiosis Management Consultants. “Also, it’s much better to put across your differing views face-to-face, rather than over e-mail or phone," he says. 

2 Start on Positive Note Always start such a conversation with your boss on a positive tone. This helps reduce resistance, more so, if you are dealing with a boss with a delicate ego. "It’s much better to start out highlighting the positives or complimenting the boss on his/her analysis or opinion before politely trying to put your point across," says Grover. 

3 Do Your Homework "Have your facts and figures in place and make sure you have all the necessary data to back up your argument. The more organised you are, the better," says Arvind N Agarwal, president, corporate development and HR, RPG Enterprises. Try to put across the point that you are being helpful, rather than critical. 

4 Bide Your Time Sometimes, if you have that option, it is prudent to listen and then come back to the boss in a few days time instead of reacting right then. "Let that moment pass over. Come back in a few days saying ‘I have been thinking it over and there is another way you could look at’. That then, is your moment and there is a better chance of your boss listening to your views," says Agarwal. 

5 Know When to Quit At the end of the day, your boss gets the final vote, so notwithstanding the most logical arguments, you may still be required to implement decisions with which you disagree. Needlessly going on and on under such circumstances can be counterproductive and may prove to be damaging. In such a situation, it’s best to stop pushing and just let it go.

(The Economic Times, Mumbai, 26-06-2012)

Five Ways To Get Over a Bad Career Decision

A NEW job does not always mean moving ahead of the curve. There are times when a shift in loyalties can boomerang, but moving out again is not the only option, says Devina Sengupta.

1 Gain Clarity “A lot of people do not know what they are looking for—whether it is money or the thrills of a job. But once they get clarity about that, they should go for it,” says a Bangalorebased senior coach and consultant. Candidates should take a skill-gap analysis test to find out what drives them and the kind of roles that will further their ambitions. 

2 Meet the Manager The risk of losing credibility runs high, but if the job description explained is different from the work one ends up doing, a meeting with the manager to sort out the differences in perception should help. 

3 Give Job Some Time A quick move is acceptable if the resume shows that the person has stayed on for four or more years in his previous companies. However, if there is a shift every two years, then chances of getting another job get jeopardized. “Companies are willing to accept bad choices but there should be stability in past records, says Kamal Karanth, MD, Kelly Services. He suggests giving the new job at least a year if possible as it could simply be a transition phase. 

4 Prepare for Next Job It will be a colossal mistake to jump into another job in haste just to get out of the current one. The candidate should take skill tests, and should map out all organizations to see if the role he wants is available and should do reference checks with peers. Karanth says there have been cases where the placed candidates could not adjust to the workplace and were on the lookout again, in which case the companies agreed to place them somewhere else. 

5 Do Not Complain There will always be companies that are willing to give a chance to professionals looking to move. But, a company invests time and money in sourcing and training employees, and no matter what the problems are in the current job, speaking ill of the firm and badmouthing them will rule out emerging opportunities.

(The Economic Times, Mumbai, 22-06-2012)

Five Ways To Get Honest Feedback as a Boss

It is hard to get honest feedback from your colleagues, especially when you happen to be the boss. The following steps could help in breaking the ice, says Anumeha Chaturvedi

1 Build a Culture of Trust Leaders need to build a culture of trust through innovative policies and measures that value employees. For instance, Manmohan Agarwal, CEO of Bigshoebazar.com and brand owner of Yebhi.com tries to ensure all his senior professionals work as entrepreneurs and not as managers. “All our managers take independent operating and strategic decisions and the company stands behind them. We allows all employees to share their grievances,” he says. 

2 Be a Good Listener 
“It is important to be a good listener to be able to draw out honest feedback from employees,” says VD Wadhwa, MD and CEO of Timex. “Leader should be impartial and should refrain from passing judgements. They cannot demand loyalty and honest feedback. It has to come through their behaviour,” he adds. 

3Encourage Ideation 
Yebhi.com has a programme called Idea Gine to encourage innovation among employees. “Employees are encouraged to share even the most random ideas with the management,” says Agarwal. 

4 Do What You Hear 
Taking feedback and not implementing it is futile. “It is important to take both formal and informal inputs from employees and to use them in any of the corrective measures,” says Wadhwa. 

5 Meet Them Individually 
As all employees do not open up in meetings, one-to-one sessions are critical to get to know them better. “Most managers only talk to direct reports, so I make it a point to meet two employees every week in the absence of their immediate supervisors,” says Wadhwa.

(The Economic Times, Mumbai, 19-06-2012)

Five Ways To Avoid Being the 'Bad Boss'

Being the boss isn’t easy, more so if you fall prey to tendencies that alienate you from the very people you manage. Knowing what these propensities are can help you create a better work environment. Sreeradha D Basu lists out the boss’ most common failings and the remedies.

1 Look Within A lot of bosses don’t even realise where they are going wrong. It could be wasting time, using company property for personal purposes or even having an exaggerated idea of one’s capabilities. “It’s important to realise where the gaps are. You need to get proper feedback and work on that. Unfortunately, a lot of times, realisation only comes when it hurts you,” says Sangeeta Lala, senior V-P, TeamLease Services.  

2 Keep Learning When bosses give up on continuously educating themselves, even subordinates become aware of this. “Bosses need to stay current and updated. Otherwise, they become inadequate. You can learn by reading, doing projects, even getting mentored,” says Yashwant Mahadik, VP HR, Indian subcontinent at Philips. 

3 Set Subordinates Free One of the major derailing factors is when managers become too possessive and don’t let go of their talent. Says Mahadik: “When you don’t get support from a manager, it usually ends up disengaging a very good employee. Instead, every manager should set himself a target for growing and exporting talent out of the team and measuring personal success on the basis of that. If an organisation starts measuring managers on successes like that, it leads to a lot of positive behavioural changes.” 

4 Be Sensitive Bosses who have crossed a certain stage of life often tend to become insensitive to the needs of those currently in that stage. Often, a boss doesn’t take it well when a younger person in the team has issues at home or has to leave at short notice for some reason like an unwell child. “Never forget there are life-cycle needs of people. Be sensitive, empathetic and don’t compare them to yours,” says Mahadik.

5 Do a Reality Check No one ever wants to give bad news to the boss, which is how he or she ends up insulated from reality; unaware of what is going on. It’s important to create an open culture where employees can share even unpleasant information without fear.

(The Economic Times, Mumbai, 15-06-2012)

Thanks Again...5005 Hits and counting

That's all what I would like to say to all the readers,

visitors and followers of this blog. Today we cross the 5000 mark and still counting. 

It would not have been possible without your support.

And last but not the least my special thanks to

The Economic Times, Mumbai from where I got 

the idea to create this blog. As I have said before

I say it again, without all of you the milestone

would not have been possible and I never

thought I would have reached this far

But here am I indebted to all of

you. And I say it again

Thank You!!

Five Ways To Go Beyond a ‘Disaster’ at Work

To err is human...’ The famous words are easier said than applied in the corporate world, where a glaring error in a project or an assignment could bring all your plans to naught. Anumeha Chaturvedi explains what can put you back on track. 

1 Boost your Self-Image “Failure of any kind hurts us, creates defensiveness and often lowers our self-worth. We all have a self-identity, which if simple, gets threatened,” says Anil Sharma, founder, Leadedge. This could reflect in assumptions that one is competent or incompetent, or trustworthy or untrustworthy. “We need to understand our identity issue and build a stronger self-image,” says Sharma.

 2 Accept the Mistake While accepting an error is embarrassing, it is critical for gaining lost ground, says Mohinish Sinha, leadership & talent practice leader, Hay Group South & South East Asia, Pacific & Africa. “Some of the finest leaders I know admit to making stupid mistakes,” he says. 

3 Draw Lessons Bright minds turn a mistake into an opportunity. Sinha recalls an IT professional who miscalculated a significant projection that cost the company Rs 30 crore. But instead of continuing to feel guilty, he made a 30-minute presentation to his supervisors on what he learnt from it. 

4 Take Feedback “Communicating with your stakeholders who were impacted by your failure and taking feedback from them will help portray your sense of ownership, learning agenda and willingness to change,” says Sharma. 

5 Seek Inspiration Sinha suggests that seeking a mentor — a trustworthy superior — and engaging with him or her on a daily basis could prove to be useful for sharing honest feedback and thoughts. Finding a mentor who gives objective feedback will help in developing with day-to-day matters and prevent a flub.

(The Economic Times, Mumbai, 07-06-2012)

Five Ways To Work with Someone you Dislike

Disliking one or more of your co-workers is as human as it gets, but unfortunately, none of us has the luxury of working only with the people we like. So instead of harping on the negative and wasting precious time and energy, focus on having a productive working relationship with someone you dislike. Sreeradha D Basu shows you how.

 1 Understand Them Closely examine the person you don’t like and find ways of working with that person. “The key is to understand the styles of others as well as being aware of your own style. Such understanding lays a solid foundation to develop mutual understanding and improves working effectiveness,” says Makarand Khatavkar, MD & HR head for Deutsche Bank Group in India. 

2 Build Trust Try and be patient and tolerant. “While dealing with people you do not like, always start with trust. It should not be blind trust, but one that fosters a productive working relationship. Small demonstrations of trust established over a period of time eventually lead to business success and development of strong relations that build dependability,” says Khatavkar. 

3 Don’t Let Dislikes Rule In life, you keep facing such situations, so handle them with maturity. “You need to decide upfront whether it’s a personal or professional association. If it’s the latter, then you must be comfortable on the work front. So unlike in a personal relationship, a like or dislike shouldn’t be an important part of the equation," says Sunil Goel, director of executive search firm GlobalHunt. 

4 Embrace Diversity Working with people with different preferences, age groups, ethnic groups, personalities, working and communication styles is about embracing diversity. “Working successfully with a diverse set of people is an important factor in modern workplaces. You must be comfortable with that if you wish to succeed," says Khatavkar. 

5 Focus on Core Tasks Likes and dislikes are usually temporary and change depending on the action taken. “The focus should be on the core tasks and completing them within the timeline,” says GlobalHunt’s Goel.

(The Economics, Mumbai, 05-06-2012)

Five Ways To Juggle Studies and a Job

CONTINUING TO study while working is fairly acceptable these days, and is often a ticket to professional progress . Shreya Biswas suggests how you can balance studies with your professional commitments.

1 Pick the Right Course Make sure your course adds to your current profile, and watch out for the travel time involved. Online courses are the best option if you just can’t afford to travel to study centres. “It is possible to get a high-quality learning experience though online learning, which costs much less than classroom learning,” says Shailesh Mehta, CEO, GurukulOnline Learning Solutions. 

2 Start Early Start the day a few hours before you generally would. This will give you the cushion to utilise your evenings
for studies. 

3 Take a Colleague Along It always helps if you have some one to prod you on, and enrolling with a colleague might help. “Studying together gives you the pace to study as it did in college, as one tends to be lethargic after a hard day’s work,” says Manish Sabharwal, CEO, TeamLease. 

4 Let the Boss Know Prepare a calendar for your studies, and mark the important dates. You will know when you require leave for your course preparations or exams. Keep your boss and team informed. This will also allow for a back-up. 

5 Be Sensitive A sensitive management will accommodate employee needs. You too can show some sensitivity by attending to emergency calls . “My recruitment head has taken up a course and he needs to leave early. He compensates by keeping himself free during late evenings as he has to take care of international appointments,” says Divakar Kaza, president, HR, Lupin.

(The Economic Times, Mumbai, 28-05-2012)

Five Ways To Deal With Employees' Mistakes

If there is one problem managers would love to avoid, it is dealing with employee mistakes. In an ideal world, everybody would do their work flawlessly and everything would proceed without a hitch. 

But sine it isn't a perfect world, managers may as well gear up for the challenge. 

The idea is not to demoralize the employee, but to help the person use the situation as a learning opportunity. Here are some tips on how to get it right.

Don't Make it Public 

"The adage, 'Praise in public, reprimand in private' holds true," says Meenakshi Roy, senior vice-president, HR, Reliance Broadcast Network. Never criticize in front of others. 

If you want employees to be open to criticism, don't alienate them by embarrassing them. "You would do well to respond with this in mind," she says. 

Keep an Open Mind 

There are always different sides to every story. Keep that in mind and get a 360-degree perspective of the situation. It may happen that extenuating circumstances have a role to play in the mistake. 

"Once while confronting a junior about a mistake, it came to light that there were certain issues beyond his control. And others were affected as well. We fixed the loopholes, and that mistake was never repeated," says Salil Seth, senior sales manager in an FMCG firm. 

Don't Lose your Cool 

There may be times when the employee's mistake is big or serious enough to make you want to blow your top. 

Wait till you've calmed down enough to tackle the situation in a professional way, without losing your cool. Yelling and screaming is definitely not the way to go. 

Look for the Solution 

Get to the root of the problem, and do whatever is necessary to fix it. Sometimes, an employee who is otherwise efficient and enthusiastic may lack knowledge or skills. 

Provide the person with training. "Respond with an attitude of eliciting learning from the situation and course correction, rather than who, what, why etc," says Roy. 

Drive Home the Lesson 

If you come down too hard on a person for the first mistake, it puts others in risk-averse mode, says Ma Foi Randstad MD & CEO E Balaji. 

That way, people become very cautious and are loath to try something new. "A good organisation allows a mistake once. 

But no manager should allow the same mistake the second time," adds Balaji. "The manager needs to sit down with the individual and discuss the problems and its learnings. 

It's important that the lessons are learnt and communicated down the line, so the same mistake is not repeated."




(The Economic Times) / http://mailer.timesjobs.com/tech01/Mailers/HRDialogue/may12/landing/in_focus.html 

Five Ways to Resolve Conflict

The other day I was in the library and I saw someone. Someone I really didn’t want to talk to. So, I slid behind the nearest bookshelf and quickly exited the building. Not the most mature or neighborly behavior. But, I really wanted to avoid this person.

Most people do the same thing when it comes to conflict.

They avoid it. Hide from it. Duck behind a bookshelf, a computer, a cell phone, a deadline – anything to avoid the conflict.

They just don’t want to go through the upheaval, drama, blood and guts. Better to side step the issue. Make nice. Or covertly get what you want anyway by working around, instead of confronting, the other person.

What’s so unpleasant about conflict?

It tends to bring out the worst aspects of our personalities and our most sniveling, conniving, or violent behaviors. We fear the consequences – to our work, our relationships, our reputation, our selves.

Of course, some people leap into the fray with sword swinging.

But, they too are driven by fear. And their aggressive strategy reduces the possibility of creatively arriving at a shared agreement.

Conflicts of opinion, needs, and goals are inevitable when you work in highly interdependent and complex organization (world). The question becomes how can you enter into the conflict in ways that will increase trust, upgrade the final decision, and improve the clarity of communication.

Here are five ways:

(As you read these think about a specific conflict your facing).

1) Expand the Frame.

Your conflict is about some specific issue, project, decision, or action. But, when you’re deep in the conflict it can seem HUGE. It’s huge because you’ve narrowed your perspective; you’ve shrunk the frame until the only thing in the picture is the conflict.

When the frame of your vision is small, the conflict looms large. It’s as if your whole career, future, being is riding on the resolution of this conflict.

But, if expand the frame, pull back, and include it as one element in the larger picture of your life – it takes on more manageable proportions.

As you look back over your life, you’ll see that many of the HUGE issues, conflicts, and emergencies that overwhelmed you in the past simply . . . evaporated. What consumed all of your attention and energy at one time, is now just a memory or even an amusing anecdote.

The conflict you’re in now is the same.

It will, in the not too distant future, be consigned to a dusty back shelf in your memory closet. If you bother to hold onto it at all.

So, take a breath. Take a mental step back and expand your frame.

2) Turn down your amplifier.

In the movie Spinal Tap, the band’s amplifiers could be turned all the way up to “11”. Beyond the traditional “10” to really loud. When, you’re in conflict, your emotional amplifier gets dialed up. Maybe not to 11. But, up there.

Even if you carefully control the volume, tone, and tempo of your voice and the muscles in your face – people feel your emotional intensity. To them, you’re at 11.

Humans are wired to receive emotional messages. And if your emotions are yelling – it doesn’t matter if your voice is whispering.

Turn your emotional amplifier down by focusing directly on your body. Notice where the tensions are and consciously relax those parts of your body. Breathe deeply, slowly, mindfully. Just two or three mindful breaths can immediately reset your parasympathetic nervous system, and dial your amplifier back to easy listening mode.

3) Shift the focus from “it” to “us”.

It’s easy in conflict to focus on the technical details – the issue, the stuff. You wantblue carpet. They want brown.

You prefer one vendor. They prefer another.

But, the deeper you dig into the details, the deeper the conflict grows.

Another place to focus is on your relationship. On the way you’re relating to each other. Drop the issue. Deal with what’s happening between you.

Consider whether the quality, tone, and direction of the conversation reflect the kind of relationship you want to build? Reflect on what would make the interaction more positive, useful, and enriching?

Raise these questions. Answer them for yourself. And explore them with the other person.

Talk about how you want to engage with each other when you’re in conflict. Don’t deny that conflicts exist or pretend that they won’t ever come back in the future. Rather, explore how you can use conflicts to strengthen trust, increase creativity, and enhance the quality of the final decision.

4) Find a toehold.

My brother took me rock climbing a few years ago. I only made it a few feet up the face of the rock. Why?

I couldn’t find the toeholds. Yet, my brother was able to ascend the face of the rock using just the tiniest toe and finger holds.

It’s the same when dealing with conflicts. You can move the conversation in a positive direction if you look for a tiny toehold. Just a tiny place of alignment or agreement.

Don’t rush the process. Don’t lunge for conclusion. Just get a toehold.

You’ll need to look for it. And even if it seems too small to matter, remember that resolving conflicts is like rock climbing. You don’t need a big wide ledge of agreement. Just a toehold will do. You can leverage that toehold agreement to move the conversation forward.

5) Raise a flag.

When the flag goes up, everyone salutes. When the anthem is played, everyone stands and sings. Flags and anthems move us and bind us together.

When you’re in conflict, you need to raise a flag. Not a white flag of defeat. But, the flag of higher purpose and mission.

You need to raise – into awareness – the purpose that binds you and the person you’re in conflict with together.

Two people who share a common purpose can still be in conflict. They can still deeply disagree about how to best serve their shared purpose. But, when the flag goes up, they let go of the conflict, to join together in saluting, and honoring something that they both love and serve.

It’s important to raise the flag that binds you together. And to recognize that beneath the conflict there is a shared mission that you both serve.

Questions for Action & Reflection:

Expand the frame.

What shifts when you consider this problem in the larger context of your life?

Turn down your amp.

How can you turn down your emotional amplifier to at least 4?

Shift from “it” to “us”.

What would you do differently if you were as focused on strengthening the relationship as you’re focused on the issue?

Find a toehold.

Where are you and the other person already in alignment and agreement?

Raise a flag.

What’s the mission you both serve? How can that help you through the conflict?

About the Author: Eric Klein (http://dharmaconsulting.com/about-us/about-eric-klein/)

Original Link: http://dharmaconsulting.com/2010/five-ways-to-resolve-conflict/

Five Ways For Managers to Resolve Conflict

Today another blogger and I mixed it up. Our editor loved it. Wonderful.

As conflict goes, it was pretty lightweight stuff. I said one thing, he said another; so what? We never have to see each other or sit in the same room together. For all I know we're not even on the same continent.

It got me thinking. Bloggers can agree to disagree and readers can decide what resonates with them. But it's different in the corporate world. You have to work, travel, and sit in endless meetings together. And sometimes you even have to come to ... consensus. Sends a shiver down your spine, doesn't it?

It's tough for management teams. Sooner or later they have to agree on stuff, important stuff like operating plans, strategic goals, customer requirements, product specifications, marketing plans, budgets, channel strategy, hiring plans, layoff plans, it goes on and on.

I've worked with management teams that bickered about everything and couldn't agree on anything. I've worked with CEOs who acted out their childhood dramas on everybody, passive aggressive managers who said one thing and did exactly the opposite, and back-stabbers who had it in for me since day one. And I was no angel either, that's for sure. 

Management teams are a veritable Petri dish for conflict. It makes you wonder how anything gets done at all. Really.

But guess what? After decades of pain and agony, I've actually learned a few effective ways of resolving conflict. They're guaranteed to work. No kidding.

Five ways for managers to resolve conflict

1. Embrace conflict. Conflict isn't necessarily a bad thing. If it's open and direct, it helps in dealing with issues and building consensus. Intel's famous for having a culture that embraces conflict called "constructive confrontation" and a useful tool called "disagree and commit."
2. 
   
3. Challenge your own assumptions. I had a CEO who used to say that conflict is the result of people making different assumptions. Ask yourself what assumptions your position is based on, then do the same with the other person. Perhaps she has experience different from yours that might change your perspective.
4. 
   
5. Focus on the issues, not the person. When you criticize or attack someone personally you burn bridges you may never be able to repair. Stop whining and get over yourself. Focus on the real issues - technology, products, customers - you know, what the company's actually paying you to do.
6. 
   
7. Put yourself in the other person's shoes. Remember, he's human too. Ask for his viewpoint and test your listening skills by articulating it back to him. Then try to get him to do the same in reverse. It's an age-old technique that works in negotiations, too.
8. 
   
9. Be open and honest. I can't overstate this point. Much conflict comes from long-standing issues that build up over time. Since they're never brought to the fore, they never heal and leak out in all your interactions with that person. Meet one-on-one and air it out. She probably feels the same way you do.

Last Word 
The ability to drive consensus among diverse executives with unique perspectives and opinions is a serious leadership skill that'll facilitate your climb up the corporate ladder, assuming that's where you want to go. Happy climbing.




About the Author
Steve Tobak is a consultant and former high-tech senior executive. He's managing partner ofInvisor Consulting, a management consulting and business strategy firm. Contact Steve, follow him on Facebook, or connect on LinkedIn.


Original Link: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-28241434/five-ways-for-managers-to-resolve-conflict/