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“Creating Successful Leaders”

Category Archives: Better Business

September 30, 2015 When Your Team is TOO Similar

In a recent newsletter, I discussed the steps to take when your team is clashing. This week I’ll address a different problem: What do you do when your team is too similar?

On the surface, this doesn’t seem like much of a problem. You all get along, the work feels easy and natural, etc. But too-similar teams can be just as ineffective as clashing teams. Why?

  • You might lack inspiration
  • Your team might get distracted with friendly chatting or gossip
  • You miss out on a variety of perspectives
  • The end product might be geared toward only one specific type of person

But how do you add a little spice to your team? This may be more complicated than fixing a team that is clashing. The first step to diversify and brighten-up your team is to bring the problem to the forefront. If people aren’t aware there’s an issue (or they know something isn’t working, but can’t figure out why), then they can’t work to solve it.

Secondly, ask for diversity. Reach out to others who you think have a different perspective than your current team’s perspective. Go beyond gender and ethnicity. If your group is quiet and reserved, consider a more outgoing, energetic type. If your group is great at generating ideas, but lacks practical application skills, recruit someone you know who is analytic and process-oriented.

Third, gain inspiration! If adding new and different people to your team isn’t an option, there are a few ways your team can gain inspiration:

  • Create a mind map (If you don’t know the basics, here’s a blog post explaining how mind-mapping works)
  • Conduct surveys and market research (gather outside opinions to bring in new perspectives)
  • Research similar projects and find out how those teams came up with a solution
  • Turn to social media (Post about what your team is working on and ask for feedback)

Fourth: If your team is just a little too friendly, impose restrictions. You might decide to split up the group and work in pairs for a while. Or you might set aside chat time at the beginning of the day (say, half an hour to catch up with everyone), then buckle down and get to work. Sometimes it helps to have a supervisor check on your team from time-to-time in order to motivate everyone to make progress.

If you’re still struggling with how to make your too-similar team click, feel free to contact me for more ideas. Best of luck!

MARGARET SMITH IS A CAREER COACH, LICENSED INSIGHTS DISCOVERY PRACTITIONER, FOUNDER OF UXL, AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE TAG TEAM. YOU CAN VISIT HER WEBSITE AT WWW.YOUEXCELNOW.COM

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September 2, 2015 Back to Business

Summer is winding to a close. Kids are heading back to school; vacation time is over. For many businesses, this is the time to buckle down and start ramping up for a strong fourth quarter. But sometimes it’s just plain difficult to switch back into work mode. What can you do when your head says, “You should work now,” but your heart is still enjoying lazy afternoons in the sun? Not toe mention, if you have children you have to completely revamp your evenings (from relaxed family dinners to homework/sports/after-schools activities time). How can you effectively deal with the dramatic shift? Here is a list of four suggestions to get Back to Business:

Set goals and make a plan to achieve them.

I’m all about goal-setting. Goals give you a concrete objective to work toward, rather than just “showing up” and expecting you’ll do something in the office today. When you set a goal, make sure you also set a deadline. Then, outline the steps you’ll need to take in order to achieve the goal on time. When you step into the office every day, ask yourself, “What do I need to do today to reach my goals?”

Visualize yourself working.

Seriously! This is a technique athletes use all the time: They close their eyes and picture themselves running down the field, breaking open, taking that game-winning shot. Visualization is a proven tool that helps bolster concentration and motivation. You can use the same technique! Just find a quiet space and spend five to ten minutes thinking about your day and what you’re going to do to make it successful.

Make a list.

Similar to goal-setting, a daily list will give you a set of tangible objectives that you can accomplish. Write down even the small stuff—it feels good to cross them off!

Use your summertime joy as fuel.

Even though you might be disappointed that summer is winding down, you can still hang onto the summer sunshine! Your summer BBQs, vacations, and walks in the sun hopefully helped you feel rejuvenated and relaxed. Use that extra bit of rejuvenation as fuel in the coming months. One thing you can do: Post a picture on your desk of a favorite summer memory and glance at it whenever you need to “find your calm.”

Don’t be sad that summer is over; celebrate the fact that it happened! And, if working is ramping up, don’t forget to appreciate the fact that you have a job and that you are a much-needed piece of the company puzzle.

Good luck this fall and please, reach out to me if you’re struggling to find your feet at work.

-Margaret

MARGARET SMITH IS A CAREER COACH, LICENSED INSIGHTS DISCOVERY PRACTITIONER, FOUNDER OF UXL, AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE TAG TEAM. YOU CAN VISIT HER WEBSITE AT WWW.YOUEXCELNOW.COM

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August 5, 2015 Tapped out? Nap it out!

The evidence is building. Taking a nap in the middle of the day can help you rejuvenate, concentrate, be more productive, and boost your creativity. Furthermore, we need it! According to Salary.com, “Americans have the longest working hours in the industrial world. Twenty percent of adults say they are so sleepy that it interferes with their daily activities. Eighty five percent of 30-something women report feeling tired on a regular basis.”

On the economic side, tired employees are a drain on the economy. One study found that sleepy employees constitute a $150 billion-a-year drain on American businesses in the form of lost productivity, health care costs, and employee absences.

But will naps really solve our chronic exhaustion? According to several scientific studies, yes!

NASA recently determined that “a 26-minute nap can boost workplace performance by 34 percent.” Also, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies found that “with a nap, brain activity stays high throughout the day; but without a nap, brain activity declines over the course of a day.”

Of course there are alternatives to taking naps. You could load up on sugar or caffeine, but you’ll need to sustain the high level of stimulants in your body in order to keep alert. And they might not even work all that well in the first place. According to WIRED magazine, “sometimes caffeine actually makes you perform worse.”

Although several progressive companies have embraced a “nap culture,” napping is still frowned upon in many traditional workplaces. If that’s the case for you, try bringing to light the benefits of power naps to your co-workers or boss. Ask your superior if s/he would mind if you took a twenty minute nap in the afternoon to power up.

Of course, if you have a private office, you could simply shut the door and catch a few Z’s. Just make sure you’re doing it responsibly and that you don’t oversleep. The typical recommendation is 10-30 minutes, otherwise you’ll wake up groggy (and anything beyond half an hour is frankly overkill).

What if you can’t seem to find a good way to catch a power nap in the workplace? Focus instead on getting a good night’s sleep. Cut the caffeine after noon, invest in light-blocking window shades, and try to get eight hours of undisturbed rest.

Happy napping!

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