Monday Mornings with Madison

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People skills

April 27, 2015

Cultivate Creativity for Business Success

Issue #375

Creativity is an invaluable skill… one that everyone wants to possess but not everyone has. It is a quality that companies desperately desire in its their employees, but one that has been nearly impossible to test for, spot or measure in any discernable way. From the smallest shops to the most successful Fortune 100 companies, everyone wants the most creative talent. Why is creativity so sought-after yet so elusive…. so needed and yet so scarce? It is because creativity makes people more effective and resourceful problem-solvers… and ultimately solving problems is what businesses do. That’s the crux of it. Solving problems is how companies make money.

In fact, whereas once upon a time, critical thinking – which is the ability to synthesize and evaluate information — was hailed as the essential process skill for success, today ‘creating’ is the most valued of all higher order thinking skills. In today’s fast-paced world, people need to be able to reframe challenges, extrapolate and transform information, and deal with uncertainty in order to spot opportunities and craft solutions. In fact, a 2010 IBM survey of 1500 CEOs in 33 different industries found that “creativity” was ranked as the most crucial factor for success. Given the increasing value of creativity, it is not surprising that more universities have added not only “Creative Studies” courses to their menu, but also full Creative Studies degree programs. That begs the question then, can creativity be taught, improved, and harnessed?
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April 20, 2015

Humor Me

Issue #374

There is nothing comical about the power of humor. Many of the greatest leaders in history are reported to have had a good sense of humor, even those that might have also had reportedly great flaws. For example, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, who was believed to suffer from clinical depression, was known to have a keen wit. Possibly using humor as an antidote to his melancholy, Lincoln had no qualm about using self-deprecating remarks to ease tension and bond with others. U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower also understood the power of humor. Of it he said, “A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.” The strong connection between humor and leadership was confirmed in a 2012 study by the Bell Leadership Institute in Chapel Hill, NC. The study found that when employees were asked to describe the strengths and weaknesses of senior leadership in their organizations, sense of humor and work ethic were mentioned twice as much as any other phrases. In the study, they surveyed approximately 2,700 employees in a variety of workplace settings over a two-year period. The obvious conclusion is that humor is a vital tool of leadership.

While it’s been said that laughter is the best medicine, it turns out that hilarity has not only real curative power, but also a number of other functions as well. It can be used for good. Humor can help a person bond with another person, release tension, set a person at ease, attract a mate or entertain a child. It can also be used to shed light on social issues in order to bring about change. But humor can also be used negatively to put a rival in his place, to camouflage outright aggression or to express an otherwise unacceptable thought. In the form of satire, humor can be used to mock and ridicule social and political institutions and individuals in the public eye. Indeed, humor has as many functions and styles as there are knock-knock jokes and variations on the “why did the chicken cross the road?” joke. So the key to using humor as a tool for success is knowing when and how to use it.
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April 13, 2015

Handling Difficult People – Part 2

Issue #373

In most companies, being a manager comes with certain perks. The manager may get a bigger or nicer office. The manager might have an assigned parking space. The manager is likely to make more money and earn more vacation time. However, being a manager is not a total cake walk. There’s a reason managers typically earn more and get more perks. The job can be tough. While a manager’s job primarily entails managing people, products and processes, make no mistake that dealing with challenging employees is probably the hardest part of the job. “Difficult employees” – which can be manifested in a myriad of ways – are time-consuming to manage. It is usually the most draining and thankless part of any management position.

Consider that the average workplace in the U.S. is hugely diverse in terms of the nationalities/ethnicities, job skills, personalities, attitudes towards work and life, individual quirks and personal preferences of its staff. It is a salad bowl of qualities, flaws and behaviors that, when mixed, may produce a qualified team and rich work environment. But it can also deliver some “difficult” employees whose personalities, attitudes, or approaches to work and life are so skewed that they create problems for colleagues and managers alike. What is a manager to do when faced with one of these exhausting employees? One thing is certain…. ignoring the problem is NOT the answer.
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March 16, 2015

Is Less More When It Comes to Office Space?

Issue #370

There has been a growing trend of businesses cutting back on the amount of work space allocated per person. Sharing offices has become more common. Cubicles are getting tinier. And open shared space with a number of desks or work stations in one open area – once considered so cutting-edge — has become ubiquitous. Employees are being packed into ever-smaller spaces. There have been a few tech firms in the San Francisco Bay Area that have gotten to worker densities of up to seven workers per 1,000 square feet of space or 142 SF per employee. The average just a decade ago was four workers per 1,000 square feet. As the Russian adage says, they are packed so tight that there is no room for an apple to fall.

Last week, we looked at how smaller work spaces are impacting employee productivity. The evidence — at least in some occupations such as computer programming (which, like many jobs, benefits from quiet and concentration) — shows that cramped, busy, noisy offices can have a negative impact on productivity. In one study, programmers working in quiet, private offices were up to 10 times more productive than equally talented programmers in office environments that were busy, crowded and noisy. If small work spaces can affect productivity, what impact might smaller work spaces have on creativity and innovation. Whereas once upon a time, open shared office space was heralded as a springboard for collaboration, managers are reconsidering the evidence. Continue reading →

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March 9, 2015

Is Less More When It Comes to Office Space?

Issue #369

Office design has been evolving over the last few years. Once upon a time, all managers and executives had offices with walls, doors, desks and furniture. Space was abundant and a deluxe office was a standard perk of working at most any successful company. Clerical, secretarial and support staff also had individual work areas such as cubicles or separated from other desks by partitions, cabinets and space.

However, with the advent of technology coupled with the increase in population density and the skyrocketing cost of office space, business owners have been increasingly forced to make more of every bit of space. Architects are tasked with being ever more creative in the use of space. According to Corenet Global, a commercial real estate association, the average amount of space per office worker in North America dropped to 176 square feet in 2012, from 225 in 2010; a decrease of over 20%. Employees are being packed into increasingly smaller work areas. The question is how these smaller office environments are impacting productivity. Does this trend in design work? Continue reading →

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March 2, 2015

Do We Still Need To Dress For Success?

Issue #367

Past studies have repeatedly shown that people judge companies, in part, by the outward appearance of its employees. Likewise, employers evaluate employees, in part, on their ‘professionalism’ which includes appearance. Over the years, research has validated that there is a bias in favor of well-dressed, well-groomed, good-looking people. Indeed, for decades if not centuries, it has been widely understood that the visual aesthetic presented to others through appearance and apparel matters.

However, while business attire has been the de facto norm in corporate America for centuries, the hard-and-fast rules about corporate dress seem to be shifting. Younger generations now feel that a person should only be judged by their inner qualities, not their outward appearance. They argue that such things as casual clothing, tattoos, piercings, and unusual hair color don’t matter as long as an employee is intelligent, talented, skilled, and hard-working. They also think that how a person looks on the outside (hygiene, attire, appearance) won’t influence how that person is perceived by others. They ascribe to the wisdom that one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover and that one cannot tell a person’s character by his appearance.

That raises many questions about whether appearance still matters. Does employee business attire really matter for a company’s success? And does attire impact an individual’s success? In today’s changing work landscape, what constitutes professional versus unprofessional attire and appearance? Is there still a clear line between what is and isn’t deemed ‘professional appearance’? In today’s individualistic, casual culture, does the phrase ‘dress for success’ still have meaning?
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February 23, 2015

Avoiding Email Blunders

Issue #367

Email is a key tool that allows business professionals to communicate very quickly in writing in great detail. It has replaced traditional phone calls and long-winded memos. Emails have also greatly reduced the need for group meetings just to share information. Emails also serve as written proof or validation of past requests, instructions and discussions. Practically no business today operates without email.

However, like any tool — when not used properly — email can be detrimental. Even old emails and ones that are thought to have been deleted can still be resurrected from computer memory and used in legal proceedings. Email mistakes can (and have) cost companies both business and money. That is why it is imperative that business emails be thoughtfully composed and vetted before sent. While that may seem obvious, companies continue to deal with email blunders by staff at every level. Given the increased demand for privacy and security of information in many industries and the major financial consequences that can be on the line when emails go awry – think of the embarrassing emails that surfaced when Sony Pictures’ computers were hacked — email best practices are vital for every organization’s survival and success. Here are eleven of the most common blunders and how best to avoid them. Continue reading →

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February 16, 2015

Benefits Employees Want Most – Part 2

Issue #366

Although the most headline-grabbing economic issue in the U.S. during the last decade was the ballooning unemployment rate, this particular woe has been decidedly declining in direct proportion to the rise in jobs. With the Department of Labor Statistic reporting unemployment holding at about 5.6% – 5.7% since October 2014, job gains are still being reported in retail trade, construction, health care, financial activities, and manufacturing in January 2015. Ironically, though, a decline in unemployment is now accentuating a different concern for U.S. businesses; namely, the need for more highly-skilled employees. U.S. companies report wanting to only hire people who are “job ready.” But such skilled workers are increasingly harder to find.

Indeed, recent surveys of business executives indicate that finding appropriately skilled workers is their biggest worry, and they foresee it getting worse. In 2015, businesses are facing the reality that, with little slack in the U.S. labor market plus a global skills-job disconnect, efforts to attract enough employees to fill high-skill jobs is becoming increasingly difficult. If skills shortages do increase in 2015, as expected, businesses will need to get more creative in how they attract and keep top talent long-term. In addition to increasing wages, which have been stagnant, employers will need to offer benefits that are most valued by employees. According to the late Steve Jobs, “I noticed that the dynamic range between what an average person could accomplish and what the best person could accomplish was 50 or 100 to 1. Given that, you’re well advised to go after the cream of the cream. A small team of A+ players can run circles around a giant team of B and C players.” Indeed, in the long run, companies with the best benefits will be the most successful simply by attracting and retaining the most innovative and productive staff.
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February 9, 2015

Benefits Employees Want Most – Part 1

Issue #365

Salary is not the only variable that employees factor when considering a company to work for or job to keep or leave. While pay is obviously a primary concern – after all, the reason people work is to earn a living – there are a number of other variables employees consider when deciding where to work. An employee’s benefits package is often just as important. However, which benefits are valued most by employees depends on the employees and their particular circumstances. A woman with small children might value flexible work hours and a Flexible Spending Account for child care while a man nearing retirement might value a company’s 401K plan and more vacation time. One might say that the benefit of a benefit is in the eye of the beholder.

That hasn’t stopped government from weighing in on the matter. In the recent State of the Union address, for example, one employee benefit that was given the spotlight was paid sick leave. Touting it as ‘middle-class economics’, President Obama challenged Congress to pass a federal mandate that provides paid sick leave for all employees, saying “Send me a bill that gives every worker in America the opportunity to earn seven days of paid sick leave.” In fact, three states and 15 cities have already passed measures requiring employers to provide paid sick leave to all full-time employees. Under current U.S. labor law, employers are not required to provide short-term paid sick days or longer-term paid sick leave. As companies and government weigh the pros and cons of what types of employee benefits to support, it might be useful to consider what benefits are needed and wanted most by employees. Companies that want to be top in their industry and want to attract the best talent must go beyond salary to offer benefits that employees want most. Continue reading →

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January 19, 2015

To Change a Behavior, Change the Environment

Issue #362

At the beginning of a year, many people make resolutions to change. They want to break a bad habit or start a good habit. Or they want to improve or reduce how or how much they do something. For some, the change is personal. Lose weight. Eat healthy. Exercise. Stop smoking. For others, the change is professional. Stay organized. Find greater work/life balance. Be on time to work. Have more patience. Be more pleasant to customers. For each person, it is a different resolution. Yet, everyone basically wants to do the same thing: change a difficult-to-change behavior. (After all, if it was easy to change the behavior, there’d be no need for a resolution!)

Indeed, changing a behavior is not easy. Even when a person really, really wants to change their own personal conduct, behaviors persist. Eating the wrong foods. Drinking too much. Smoking. Being tardy. Why is that? In part, it is because humans are creatures of habit. Habits — which live in a specific part of the brain (interestingly independent from the part of the brain that houses memory) — control of much of the automatic behavior we perform each day… often mindlessly. Many behaviors are done on auto-pilot with very little thought. If so much behavior is done on auto-pilot, how does a person break a bad habit or start a new behavior? For decades psychologists suggested that to change a behavior, one simply had to first change one’s attitude. But, it turns out that that is not really true. To change a behavior within, start by changing the environment outside. How so? And is there a way a manager or employee can use this to improve productivity, short-circuit undesirable work behaviors and increase profits? Continue reading →

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