In some cases we don’t even realise that we have gone through the conscious process of making a decision, it just seems like the logical thing to do – a ‘no brainer’. In these cases it is more likely that we have had a longer period of time to internalise, research and assess options and then naturally gravitate down a certain path without realising we have consciously made a choice. Even though they may be big decisions they are easier because we have time to satisfy our quantitative and qualitative data requirements, seek inputs from others, and condition ourselves to be ready for the next ‘logical’ step.

What about those times that something presents itself to us when we are least expecting it, or when we are forced to make a choice in a very short space of time and we don’t have the luxury of time to do our homework? Often times we wish these options never existed because they throw our nice comfortable status quo out the window and force us into thinking about something different when we weren’t ready to. These decisions are probably the ones we struggle the most with, even though they may be small.

The good news is that we have an inbuilt guidance system, the bad news is that we don’t listen to or investigate what that guidance system is indicating. The Amygdala is a part of our brain that gives us the ‘fight, flee, freeze or appease’ response to stimulus. It’s what makes us feel fear and is an ‘always on’ threat detection system that operates exactly the same in a personal or business context as it did in our ancient predatory environment, where being eaten by something bigger than us was a daily potential threat. When something new is put in front of us – a new idea or option that we need to make a choice about, our Amygdala takes over and does an immediate threat assessment which in turn gives us an initial feeling, a gut reaction or an intuitive sense. At this stage we can’t explain why something feels right or wrong, but we just know it does.

In reflecting on the decisions I have made that I regretted, regardless of being big or small, I can unequivocally say that I went against or ignored my initial feeling about it, my gut reaction or my intuition. I have wondered why I chose to ignore and not investigate what my gut was telling me.

In the early years of my career I was more susceptible to being persuaded by the opinions of others, especially if I perceived them to be in a position of power or more experienced than I was. I was not as confident in my own perspectives, thoughts or beliefs, nor was I as confident in backing them up or debating with those I perceived to be more influential than I was. I didn’t spend much time thinking about my gut feeling not being quite right, because that became overridden by having to explain a rationale to others.

A range of learning experiences over time has changed that landscape however and I’ve become attuned to the initial feeling I have when I hear something or am presented with a choice I need to make a decision about. I’ve learned that my initial feeling is an early warning system and I have to investigate what doesn’t feel right and why. I recently was presented with a significant career decision that on the surface seemed like a ‘no brainer’ decision but didn’t feel right to me. After writing down the pro’s, con’s, facts and concerns I had I was able to make a decision that I felt wholly and completely comfortable with, I could explain the rationale to myself and other key stakeholders, it was not the ‘no brainer’ option but it was the right decision for me.

Key points:

• Be attuned to your initial feeling about options you have to make a decision about
• Act on that feeling, investigate it, don’t ignore it
• Write down how you feel about the options and ask yourself why you feel that way
• Ask yourself ‘why’, repeatedly until you can explain the initial feeling to yourself and others

These simple steps when practiced can help us to listen to and understand our early warning signals, translating a seemingly unfounded or irrational feeling into a meaningful way to make decisions you can understand, explain and stand by.

One of the biggest concerns that large/multinational sized companies identify, is the ability to stay connected with their customers and overcome an excessive internal focus that drives complexity. Having worked in a large multinational for many years I understand the tendency for employees in large organisations to be internally focussed. What can you expect when the largest part of the population, from middle management down, connect on a daily basis mainly with people from within the company – where generally, it is the senior/executive levels that connect externally more regularly?

The spirit of entrepreneurialism is seen as the lifeblood for growth in our economy, and when you examine the behaviours of entrepreneurs/innovators/business makers, it is that consistent external focus that makes them successful. This group of people network through every stage of their idea/business growth and this is a tendency borne out of necessity. They need to connect with potential investors, apply for grant aid/funding schemes, assess what competitors are out there, identify and connect with potential customers, look out for talent they may need to hire, satisfy existing customers. They are opened to a multitude of possibilities because the entire world is open to them to communicate with.

I was recently at a number of events where there was a mix of large/small companies and start-ups in attendance. My conversations with some of the people from large organisations was vastly different from the smaller companies/start-ups. The people from large organisations all remarked on how good it was to see what is going on in the ‘real world’, they relished the opportunity to connect and share ideas with people from outside of their company. They talked about the ‘cocoon’ effect that there is from being in a large company, that they are insulated from what is going on around them. In some ways they felt that insulation was good in that there was a greater sense of security – they still need to perform a function despite the potential downturn in the broader business. On another hand the insulation added to a sense of them being out touch with reality, they were surprised with the disruptive innovations that smaller companies were making, how they were able to collaborate with others to solve problems quickly, and uncomfortable in networking/connecting with people outside of their company, as they didn’t have a purpose to connect, whereas people in smaller companies/start-ups clearly had an aim in their networking. Some admitted to feeling like a ‘fish out of water’.

Of course every large company had it’s origins as a start-up and all those externally focused behaviours existed – but there is a tipping point when internal vs. external focus becomes equal and another tipping point when internal outweighs external focus. This is a sign of success and growth, as internal processes and systems need to be developed in order to service customers efficiently with high quality products, but there clearly is a danger in balancing growth with continuing to connect effectively externally.  This danger is more prevalent in 2^nd or 3^rd generation companies, where the founders are no longer around, or where a small company is acquired by a large company because that ‘reason for being’ or ’mission’ is never translated as clearly throughout an organisation as by the person(s) who started it.

There is huge value to be gained by understanding and connecting across the environment outside a company; uncovering new/disruptive technologies and potential market opportunities, learning new ways of doing things, collaborating to innovate. Large companies generally gravitate towards in house development or acquire companies that complement their needs, as a result many employees have little need to ‘go outside’, to network or collaborate externally in order to achieve their objectives. I believe having an external viewpoint is imperative for success of the individual and the business. Large companies need to be internally disruptive in order to stay ahead of the game.

Now more than ever – companies need to encourage employees to be aware of new developments that can impact their work, develop networks and collaborations to drive new opportunities. Repeatedly, we’re seeing the ‘small guy’ overtaking the ‘big guy’ because they are in touch with what people want, need and can figure out a more effective way of delivering it.

Now more than ever – individuals need to take personal responsibility to make sure they are never ‘a fish out of water’ in the ‘real world’ because that real world moves on and you cannot rely on a company to tune you into each new reality as it develops.

You know that feeling, the pit in your stomach when you know that something is not going well and you have to intervene, and you hate the thought of ‘The Conversation’, so you postpone it, hoping it will go away. As we know, unfortunately, typically these problems do not go away. 9 times out of 10, your gut feeling that something isn’t going well, is correct, and if left unattended the issue will escalate and may eventually affect your business performance.

There are many fears that we have in addressing an issue with someone at work, most of them are based on our own personal discomfort in dealing with the situation, which may be due to a number of factors:- our own lack of experience/training, concern over legal implications, uncertainty on how to deal with personal issues that may be disclosed to you, uncertainty of how to manage the potential of emotional outbursts – anger or tears. If you know a person well, you may be concerned about the impact on your relationship, worried that you are impacting their career, life or family. All these things add a huge burden in terms of your ability to deal with an issue and manage a difficult conversation that needs to be held.

Whether you are addressing poor performance of an employee, making someone redundant, explaining there is a pay cut, dealing with an uncooperative co-worker or wanting to split ways with your business partner, they key to making these conversations productive is by developing open and honest relationships that inspire trust and create transparency

1. Build the relationship: As soon as you start to work with someone, be it a new employee or co-worker, spending time getting to know the person individually is key. How they work, what’s important to them, what are their ‘hot buttons’, how you can help each other. Time spent building a relationship enables trust. When you have trust you gain mutual respect, and when you have to deal with an issue, both trust and respect are vital to having a successful outcome.
2. Don’t surprise people – Become known for transparency: People are suspicious if they perceive information is not being shared with them, suspicion leads to mistrust. Trust is a pre-requisite for successful outcomes so the more you become known for being transparent with both ‘good and bad’ news, people will always know they can trust you to tell them the truth about things that can impact them.
3. Having the difficult conversation is showing respect for the individual: No matter how bad you feel about having the difficult conversation, you have to look at it from a different angle. If it’s likely that someone will lose their job, they need to know as soon as possible so they understand the implications for their own circumstances and start to plan for that. If someone’s performance is deteriorating, then giving them a heads up that they need to get back on track is showing them respect and gives you an opportunity to help them before it starts to impact the business. If there may be layoffs, then sharing that, gives people time to plan. It is true that people may not like what you are telling them and will react to that, but you should be really clear – you are helping them by having the conversation openly and honestly, and even though it’s hard at the time, people will respect you afterwards for being candid.
4. Highlight Choices and how you can help: People develop a victim mentality when they are forced into something they don’t want and feel they have no control over. Introducing the choices that people have in any circumstance gives them some sense of control over what is happening. For example in the case of a forced redundancy due to business closure:- yes it’s true, the fact that the company is closing is not in the control of the individual, but helping them to see beyond the redundancy; into what their skills could be best used for; to where there may be other job openings; by introducing them to someone that may need their skillset,  highlights that although big changes are about to happen, they do have options that they can pursue and you will help where you can.
5. Be clear on expectations and consequences: Many times managers become frustrated because they believe they have already addressed a particular issue with an employee, and there is no improvement. Maybe several conversations actually have occurred where a manager brings up performance deficiencies. However unless there is clarity on exactly what is expected, and the consequences of not meeting those expectations, people don’t fully understand the urgency of the need to make a change. Being clear on expectations and consequences goes hand in hand with highlighting choices and offering help; – if performance is diminishing, explaining the impact of poor performance in business terms, sharing the urgency of the need for a change in performance and the likely outcomes for both the business and individual if something does not change, is key in helping people understand the seriousness of the situation. Discussing potential causes of diminishing performance and offering people choices so that they have ownership and control is empowering, even in a tough situation – appropriate choices may be a rotation to a role more suited to their skills, maybe their personal circumstances have changed and they would prefer a less stressful/demanding role, helping them work through a detailed performance improvement plan over a specific period time and outlining what will happen if they do not meet the goals within the timeframe of the improvement plan. Drive for specificity and clarity in all your conversations, everyone then knows exactly where they stand and misunderstandings are minimised.

Given what we know about ourselves, there will always be situations that we feel uncomfortable about, conversations we wish we didn’t need to have. However we can minimise these fears if we proactively work towards developing relationships based on trust, creating clear expectations and consequences, highlighting the choices and showing the right balance of empathy in helping people make the most of the choices they make.

We need to expect change – not be surprised by it. We don’t know what form changes will come to us in, but let’s be clear; exactly what is now, will not be in the future.

We must accept change as a natural course of life. It’s not new or exclusive to you. We are born, we grow, we age, we die. Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring. We are unconsciously in a constant cycle of change and we accept that we have no control over ageing/death, the seasons/weather. We prepare as a matter of course: pension plans, warm clothes, heat. We should reflect inwardly as a way to prepare as well as we can for whatever will come our way. You can never truly imagine what life will be like after something big changes, but you can be aware that you will somehow be different than you are now. Given your personality, what you know about yourself and how you typically deal with things, you’ll have an idea of how you may react to a certain set of circumstances, a death, job loss, new project, new boss, new baby, a location move. Reflect on how you think you’ll feel and how to make it the best it can be.

Depending on your perspective, things are perceived as good or bad.  Sometimes ’good’ things we have wished for may happen and we may then wish they never happened because we never anticipated the ‘bad’ consequences (e.g. The Lottery winner that couldn’t deal with the fame and constant letters). Sometimes ‘bad’ things happen and a new exciting ‘good’ thing is the silver lining to the cloud. Think about things that could happen and pose the question “what would I do?” You don’t have to be excessive in this but it’s not a bad idea to know where you’d start if x,y,z happened.

At the end of the day, adaptability is core. Our ability to quickly adapt and pick a direction to take, in the midst of the constant flow of choices that are presented to us in constantly changing circumstances will be the difference to us thriving in, or being a victim of change.

Well, most of us know the reality is not quite as funtastic as it sounds. Technology has provided us with some absolutely outstanding tools but unfortunately many people still are stressed, tired, working night and day, and can’t see any light at the end of the tunnel with all the things mounting up on their list of things to do. Why, then are we at this crossroads? All these tools should make things easier but why do we still struggle to make impacts where we want to in our life, business and career?

Why? – Because of the basic’s. We are so caught up on the latest tool that we don’t think about what we really need to do – we don’t know how to plan. In working with clients, the most common need for help is in the area of planning – large organisations needing a Strategic Business plan and implementation plan, or a plan to manage a big change in direction, – an entrepreneur/start-up needing a plan to develop their business, – individuals needing a plan to advance their career or gain a sense of achievement and satisfaction from what they do.

In all these situations everyone has a long list of things they have to do. We all have some form of a ‘To Do list’ filled with all sorts of actions, and we like to think we are productive and achieving something if we can cross a few of those things off the list every day. In general though, we end up working on ‘Stuff’.  ‘Stuff’ is the biggest sucker of time in the world, and ‘Stuff’ typically does not help you achieve your biggest hopes and dreams. We end up working on ‘Stuff’ because we don’t have a plan and don’t know how to prioritise what is important and what is not.

In order to have a plan though, it’s important to have a direction first, – a big goal, an aim, a vision. With a direction/goal/aim/vision you can figure out the steps to take to get there and the actions you need to take. You can figure out how long you think it will take to reach your goal and you can determine the most important actions. There are always unforeseen events that impact what you set out to do, but when you have a clear goal/aim, you can navigate around those to get back on course.

Think about a sailing boat on the sea. The captain doesn’t randomly take the boat out without thinking about where they are going to go. They pick a destination and plot a course to get there. They use navigational tools to help them along the way. A storm may come out of the blue so they alter the course slightly but they are still heading in the direction of their destination. They have a plan and they use the tools available to them to figure out the way and adjust as they need to when faced with external influences they have no control over.

Transform ‘Stuff’ into something that matters – 10 basic planning steps

1. Decide what you want to achieve – what is your goal, your vision, your passion? This is your destination. Imagine what success looks like when you have achieved that.
2. Determine the things that are in your favour that will help you reach that goal. What things about you, your surroundings, your background, experiences and influences that will help you reach that goal? These are strengths, so use them.
3. Determine the things that are not in your favour that could get in the way of reaching that goal. What things about you, your surroundings, your background, experiences and influences that may limit you in reaching that goal?
4. Look for common themes in all the things you identify, that are, and are not, in your favour – put an action statement around those themes. These action statements for common themes are your objectives – create SMART objectives (Specific, Measured, Attainable, Relevant, Time bound) If you are contemplating a new business start-up, many  items may come up around funding, your objective statement could look like – ‘Attain €20k for funding start-up costs by Dec 2013’
5.  Break down each of your objectives into actions that will help you reach the intent of the objective. If lack of experience or training was a common theme/objective – Is there training you need to do? Do you need to partner with someone who has experience you are lacking? Again make these actions SMART. ‘Develop partnership with software programmer for app development by Jan 2014’.
6. You can break down each action into smaller tasks as much as you like, you will get to a very detailed tactical set of actions that will become your day to day To Do list – BUT – the beauty of this  To Do list, is that every single tactical thing you do every day is tied to a bigger action, which is tied to your broader objectives which will help you to reach your overall goal/aim/vision. Your To Do list is no longer a bunch of ‘Stuff’, it is made up of a list of tactical actions that enable you to meet your objectives in order to reach your overall goal. I call this a ‘Cascading Plan’ because it starts high level and you keep breaking down the higher level all-encompassing pieces into smaller more manageable pieces.
7. Make time with yourself at the beginning of each month to assess your progress on your SMART objectives and prioritise what you want to achieve at the end of the month. This is the time to check and see if you are on track, and ‘adjust the course’ if you are trending off track for some reason.
8. Make time with yourself at the beginning of each week to plan out the tactical actions you will take to meet your monthly goals. Plan that phone call; write the email; set up the meeting with the potential investor. Put all of these actions into your daily calendar so you know how much time you intend to spend on each action and don’t get side-tracked.
9. Be cognisant of prioritisation and the need to change priorities due to unforeseen circumstances. If something new comes up, assess the priority of it against other actions. Using the simple 4 quadrant urgency/importance tool works well. Re-prioritise based on that assessment – reschedule your de-prioritised actions on your calendar for a later time/date.

     10. Track progress over time and Celebrate achievements!!

Planning is not rocket science, it makes sense to do, and most people yearn to be more organised.  Many of us are more biased to immediate action and plunge in at the deep end resulting in the downward spiral of a To Do list full of ‘Stuff’.

We are probably always going to have a To Do list – but let’s make it matter!!

Succession planning is a hugely important aspect to consider for any organisation, not just for the top job, but for all the key roles. Thinking about where the organisation is, in its development and what needs to be done in the organisation. Determining what are the important skillsets to bring the organisation through the next set of challenges and opportunities. Examining whether you can grow that talent internally or whether an infusion of new talent is needed. These are all things that need to be deliberate and take time.

In parallel with being prepared for leadership change, it’s important not to let uncertainty rule in an organisation, this can paralyse progress and productivity. Of course there is uncertainty in business every day, but the trick is in managing that uncertainty so that the broader organisation can focus on executing without getting caught up in the speculation, and creating unnecessary concern.

A few things about this transition process standout:

• Committed leadership right up until the end – The potential of a leadership change was likely at some point in the near future given the existing manager was 71 years old. This fact had, over the past 5 years provided some level of public speculation, however it did not create a disruptive level of uncertainty, nor did it inhibit focus or progress in the organisation. The leader was fully committed to the organisation and provided the direction, focus and stability needed right through to the end.
• Succession planning in action – Understanding what an organisation needs, what leadership style and skills are necessary to replace a key player, are critical in determining who the right people are for key roles. This takes time. It is obvious that lots of conversations were going on in the background over a significant period of time, to determine Alex Fergusons successor, potentially several credible and respected candidates were identified, assessed and interviewed. Ironing out the terms of the contract when the right person was identified, all takes time.
• Communications strategy in place and not infringed upon – Clearly Alex Ferguson privately declared his intention to retire quite some time in advance of the announcement, this information needed to be managed closely. The process of identifying and agreeing terms with the incoming manager also required a level of close communication management. This was critical information for the organisation, managed in a very tight circle, it was not leaked, it was not ‘THE’ topic for public debate in the press, radio or TV prior to the announcement, so therefore there was little energy expended upon speculation of what would happen, who would get the job, what the fallout of that would be. The communication of retirement, new manager and the date by which the transition would occur were all part of one well managed and executed communication plan  which did not allow the organisation to become defocused due to public speculation.

This was a big change and for such a globally high profile sporting organisation, this would have been media heaven in terms of public speculation for weeks or even months if it had leaked out, it could have derailed the organisation due to the speculation and prolonged uncertainty. Managing the entire process of succession planning and communication planning was no mean feat and many global business organisations can learn a lot from it.

Our world has become smaller in the past 20 years. Think about how we used to conduct business back then: you called people or dropped over to their desk to coordinate and schedule meetings, people you worked with on a daily basis were in the same building you worked in, team meetings were in a room down the hall, meeting people face to face on business trips was how you connected with clients and made important plans with other departments. We all know that has changed dramatically and a by-product of that transformation has been the need to develop new skills in communicating effectively on a daily basis with people you don’t know and may never even meet.

Some people reading this may think ‘yeah this is old news and we know how to deal with that now’. That’s somewhat true in a large multinational context, but in this economic environment and the focus on encouraging  entrepreneurial ventures, there are a growing number of start-ups and SME’s, and they are struggling with the question of how to grow and do business in this virtual and global world. Even in the multinational context where working globally is a given, through my experience, I would also say that people are not well prepared for connecting with or developing strong global teams that can deliver big goals.

My own experience in this area is as follows:

*I managed global teams in HP for 10 years across a wide range of countries and time zones, my bosses during  that timespan were all in different locations/countries to where I was based.

*For 7 of those years none of the people in the teams I managed were in the same country I was based in.

*For 7 years I was a ‘remote worker’ working from my home office full time, I didn’t have daily face to face interaction with anyone from the same company.

*Some of the people I managed for 5 years, I had only met 3 times face to face.

Essentially my day consisted of talking on the phone or over the computer, all of the hours I was working, with no face to face work interaction. Over this 10 year period I learned a lot about human behaviour, needs and wants. I developed a few basic rules that make a difference, both in terms of how to manage the personal challenges of working virtually and globally as well as how to build, lead and develop a team successfully, in a virtual and global environment.

In this article I’ll address some of the issues we personally face when the job changes and you start to work virtually and globally, it’s a pretty big change and many of the things you did to make you good at your job are thrown upside down. It can be hard to figure out how to be successful

•  All the secondary or subconscious communication pointers you have relied upon are gone. You can’t see facial expressions or gestures. It’s harder to tell if someone is agreeing, angry, disinterested.  Getting alignment on a decision is harder.
  • To combat this you need to spend a lot more time building up a 1 to 1 relationship with the people you interact with.
  • Frequent scheduled calls even if there are no urgent topics – building rapport, trust, credibility, understanding how the person likes to work, what is important to them, getting to know interests outside of work. The time and money you save when a big issue comes up is well worth the time invested in relationship building. I have built some wonderful and lasting relationships with people I’ve met only once through doing this.
  • You need to learn to ‘read’ people differently, through their tone of voice, the language they use, when they are silent. You need to ask different kinds of questions to learn what they are thinking and feeling. You may need to follow up with them if you perceive something is out of the norm. Sometimes I have thought about a conversation I just had that didn’t feel right to me, and contacted the person afterwards either through email or voice message pinpointing what didn’t sit well with me e.g. ‘I got the impression you were down today/ I’m not sure I understood a specific point you were trying to make/ I’m sorry I cut across you/sorry I didn’t seem supportive of xyz however this is why.’ This follow up helps to clear up what you are uncomfortable about but also shows you are cognisant and care about the thoughts and feelings of others – again it helps to build that relationship.

• You feel like you are working all the time because you are up at all hours of morning and night to cover all time zones.Generally we are conditioned to work during the day and it’s hard to make the switch of taking some time out of a ‘normal’ working day even if you’ve been up till 3am on a conference call. We feel guilty even though we are probably working longer/harder than ever.
  • To combat this you need to put boundaries around your time so that you have a life!
  • Agree those acceptable boundaries with your boss, but more importantly– stick to the boundaries, so many times I have seen people sending messages or attending calls outside times we have agreed they will work. We are our own worst enemy in terms of making ourselves feel guilty.
  • At first it may be hard to see a pattern in your scheduled meetings and that first few months is hard, but over time you will see a pattern and you can adjust your work schedule accordingly to what works best for both your life and work. In one role, I shifted my normal working day to start at 2pm because the majority of my interactions were West Coast US with just a few in Asia. I worked like that for 2 full years and it worked well for me at that time. Other times I have finished early or started late on a particular day a week.
  • It requires you to be rigorous in managing your own time, it also requires you to realise that working longer or harder is not working better!

• Working virtually from a remote/home office when you have no face to face interaction with workmates is a big change. Some people thrive in this environment but for a lot of people this is one of the biggest challenges as they find it isolating.
  • It’s good to list down the pro’s and con’s that you as an individual perceive in this working arrangement and determine plans for how you’ll overcome the con’s. Some find they are more productive as there are fewer distractions in terms of phone calls, people popping up at your desk, 10 minute walks to a meeting room. Others find more distractions in household chores, proximity to children etc.
  • In this working arrangement, having a designated work space where you can close the door to home/family based distractions is imperative.
  • Having the support of your partner and family in understanding that although you are at home, you are working, is also important.  Being disciplined in both planning and sticking to your work schedule is key.
  • In terms of potential feelings of isolation, it is important that you determine new ways of having the informal conversations that are part of having fun at work. I have found ‘Instant Messaging’ to be invaluable for this as you can discuss pertinent topics real time, also it is easy to indicate to people when you do not wish to be disturbed.
  • Of course there is nothing like chatting to someone and skype/facetime or other video conferencing tools are invaluable for being able to catch up with someone for a ‘virtual’ coffee break.

• Cultural and language differences are not to be underestimated and when you add to the fact you may never meet the person face to face it makes it all the more important to be aware of the impact of culture and language in communication.
  • There are many books and articles on cultural norms and it is good to read those and be familiar with what are acceptable/unacceptable behaviours for cultures you interact with.
  • Having said that it’s important to get to know the person, their sense of humour, their background and influences because they may be a very different individual to their cultural norm. I worked with a German man who had a Colombian mother and he had a very different background, influences and perspective than other Germans with German parents that I worked with.
  • We shouldn’t mistake silence for agreement when in a group setting in a teleconference. Due to a cultural difference or a language barrier people may have difficulty in or be embarrassed to speak in a public setting with people they don’t know, so you need to be more conscious of creating the right atmosphere and being inclusive by asking for input from team members you have not heard voice their opinion. You may also need to do 1 to 1 follow up with them. This all relates back to spending time building relationships and getting to know people.

Working virtually and globally is not a new phenomenon but more and more people are now working in this environment. It’s a change that we should not minimise or underestimate. It requires us to think differently about how we communicate to ensure success. Building relationships is a key facet to this success, so as technology develops and ways of doing business transform, we need to constantly reinvent our ‘normal’ human behaviours to adapt to these changing environments.

I started thinking about the implications of the use of ‘formal’ written communication in business. In the case above, there were some very simple questions that could have been asked that would have made such an inflammatory formal letter unnecessary…the 2 lawyers work in the same town, a 5 minute walk from each other. A phone call or quick meeting to clear up any questions/misunderstandings would make sense, it would save much time in getting the business objective accomplished, clients would happy, and the lawyers relationship with each other would be strengthened.

In business we are presented with a multitude of communication methods and we have to determine the most appropriate method of communication for each topic. Added to that is our increasingly litigious society where we feel the need to formally document things for fear of repercussion. While I agree that documenting actions and agreements is important, as it creates clarity in expectations and helps to minimise misinterpretation, I do think we need to hold ourselves to some basic common sense rules of communication. This is especially important when we are at the early stages of a new business relationship or business transaction. Formality is probably not the most effective method of communication at this point as there are more questions than answers, it’s a time for clarification and building trust, ‘over formality’ at this point can have a negative impact.

• Making communication effective is the real aim. We need to be clear on what our objective is and make sure our communication method and style helps us meet that objective. In the case above, the business objective is to deliver the sale of the property. One party has agreed to sell and another has agreed to buy, at a price they are both happy with. Now they both want to get this done as smoothly and quickly as possible, so using a communication method that can clear up any questions promptly is most appropriate.
• Putting customer needs 1^st is an imperative that should drive our communication method choices. In the case above, do the clients want to fight, is creating an inflammatory situation that prolongs the sale in their best interest? They don’t know each other, they are all aged over 70 – they just want to get the sale done so they can all move on with their lives.
• Be conscious of how you are feeling. Do you feel that you are communicating in the most appropriate way to efficiently and effectively meet the objective or do you feel like you just want to get your point across? If you feel you are having a bio-reaction to something – don’t react right now. Wait till you calm down, when you are thinking more objectively then pick up the phone, have the meeting or write the email/letter.
• Don’t overcomplicate communication – keep the main points clear and simple. Is there really a need to add comments that may potentially muddy the water, create animosity and inhibit progress?

When you think of it, communicating is what we do the most of in our lives. Let’s make sure that the thing we spend the most time actively doing is something that enables, not inhibits progress!

As a mediator I have been examining the impact that communication and collaboration has in our daily lives and the broader implications for business. In thinking of mediation I see it as  the last step in trying to deal with a problem before it is taken out of your hands (in courts) and you no longer have control of it. Similarly with Quality, a problem can be contained within a factory before it gets delivered into a customer’s hands.  As I think about how a quality issue can be prevented by working proactively to ‘build quality in’ early in the product lifecycle, I am looking at how mediation and legal proceedings can be prevented by working proactively to build relationships, strengthen communication and minimise the potential of moving through the conflict escalation lifecycle. Reflecting on the ‘Cost of Quality’ model  has enabled me to develop a correlating ‘Cost of Communication’ model in tandem with the conflict escalation lifecycle.

Because ‘lack of quality’ costs money, in terms of customer dissatisfaction, lost sales, repairs, warranty etc, it’s very easy for us to see that it’s something we need to fix. Businesses think about their customers and the quality of the product or service they offer, they know that poor quality will affect their bottom line and so quality becomes a very tangible thing to look at in monetary terms. The ‘Cost of quality model’ is where we try to quantify how much money is spent reactively managing quality issues that have escaped out into the field and also how much is spent proactively ensuring quality issues do not occur. Intuitively we know that it costs much less to put all the right processes in place to proactively assure product quality early on in the product development lifecycle, rather than trying to manage customer dissatisfaction, brand damage and underlying monetary impact of a product recall due to a quality issue in the field.

I believe the same principal holds true for communication and collaboration in business, although lack of it is not nearly as easy to measure as lack of quality. I think communication and collaboration are as much of a success factor for a business, as having a high quality product or service. The alignment, creativity and speed of progress that comes from communicating and collaborating with people you have a good relationship with is priceless.

Time spent upfront to build solid relationships and develop trust is time well spent for a lifetime. Standing back and taking the time to clarify misperceptions and misunderstandings proactively, trying to see things from another perspective as soon as there is a hint of something not feeling right, intuitively costs less both emotionally and monetarily (in terms of disruption to the business as well as potential legal costs).

As with solving quality issues, the same is true for solving communication issues – the key is to ‘nip it in the bud’ – recognise the potential sources of an issue and spend the effort and time to proactively put prevention processes in the right places as early in the lifecycle as possible.

We have all been there. A new person joins the team or organisation you are in and is asking lots of questions, suggesting ideas and giving inputs you feel you have all heard before or tried before. You think – ‘here we go again down the same path’.

When faced with a new person sharing ideas, our natural reaction is to defend our actions up to that point, we do this by trying to ‘assimilate and normalise’ new input. We are the ones who have lived through many experiences in this team, we know how it works, we understand the political climate and know the ways in which to get things done – someone new cannot have the experiences we have had and can’t know how to get things done in our environment.

When I say assimilate and normalise, what I mean is that we impart our experiences and knowledge to the newcomer, along with our own baggage of why certain things will or won’t work, what has been tried before and failed. Over time this person becomes assimilated into the way things are done because we have unconsciously given them the lens through which they should now view things. Their inputs become normalised to what is standard and accepted from the team, and the result is that enthusiasm and spark, that creative idea that could be the dawn of something new and exciting, gets lost!

In leading teams it is key that we manage this dynamic. Leaders must harness that spark, foster that enthusiasm, and provide the space for creativity and testing new ideas. The successful leader encourages the different approaches that individuals bring. They will act as a coach, posing pertinent questions that make people think that little bit harder, enabling team members to understand the external environment, inner politics or history for themselves while utilising the value that experience that existing team members bring.

Allowing people to develop their own lens of viewing reality and not have one pushed on them, is important in making sure we get the full potential of what we hired the people in our team for. Harnessing that enthusiasm and creativity is what keeps a team dynamic; allowing them to solve a yet unsolved problem, fill a customer need, create the next big thing!

Some thoughts for leaders

• Keep asking thought provoking questions – not that leaders know all the answers, mostly they don’t, but questions are a way to level a playing field and pull on everyone’s experience
• Cut people slack – give people the space to develop out a wacky thought or idea. Don’t crush it just because it’s not yet well developed with a clear ROI. Allow time for them to test their thinking and hypothesis.
• Pilot ideas – some potentially great ideas may need to be tested in the field. Allow people to take a calculated or constrained risk that will not break the business but will allow valuable information to be gathered.
• Learn to see the specific strength each person brings and recognise that by showing the positive impact that strength has on the team and the results of the work you do.

Enthusiasm and creativity is the essence of a new thought or idea that could be revolutionary. It needs to be nurtured in order to avoid a jaded and stifled future where we can’t see a new way to do something, or create a new something to do.