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January 20, 2019 By Lynda Foster

One bite at a time.

One bite at a time.

It has been said that the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.

Mendy Shaffer, Vice President of Accountingof ValleyStar Credit Union  shared a story with me that I asked her if I could pass on to you.  I found it to embody the work that we do in multiple ways and thought it could be helpful and some of you could perhaps borrow it to use with your own teams as you go through process changes.

ValleyStar has gone through a considerable amount of organizational change due to  multiple mergers and acquisitions in the last 5 years. The changes have caused significant adjustments in workflow and has required necessary upgrades to their systems of operation as people from different organizations find new ways to co-create the type of workplace everyone will want to experience.  Every department has been effected as their CEO, Delbert Lee Morgan, has lead their organization through this culture change. 

In the midst of these changes, their accounting department had a large process change that would take months to implement and work through.  An 18-year veteran of ValleyStar, formerly Martinsville DuPont Credit Union, Sharon Clark had an idea.  Why not take the concept that the best way to “eat an elephant” (implement a major change) is “one bite at a time” in small, incremental steps, and turn it into something tangible and fun that would track their progress as they took each step towards completion.

The department bought a puzzle of a huge elephant.  Each time they complete a step towards what “right will look like” when the project is fully complete, they put a piece of the elephant puzzled in place.

How can your team turn what seems like a monumental task into something that can track the small steps required to make progress, be inclusive and fun?  You and your team can turn something hard and intangible into something visual and tactile.

Please share your struggles and triumphs with me so we can co-create tangible, practical solutions and share them with others.

Delbert Lee Morgan, CEO of ValleyStar Credit Union will be one of the main speakers at the upcoming Cortex Leading a Winning Team graduation coming up on January 31st at the Shenandoah Club, along with Bob Cowell, Roanoke City Manager.  Find out more about attending with a graduate or Cortex Council member by sending an email to [email protected].  It is an interactive event that inspires graduates, alumni and their guests to continue to thrive at work and in life.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Cortex Leadership, Delbert Lee Morgan, Leadership Coaching, Leadership Training, Mendy Shaffer, Project Management, Project Managemet, ValleyStar Credit Union

October 7, 2018 By Lynda Foster

5 Ways to Be a Thermostat Instead of a Thermometer at Work This Week

by:  Lynda McNutt Foster

During a change management process at work, there tends to be two type of people.  The thermostats and the thermometers.  Knowing which one you are and how to handle the other can be helpful reaching the desired outcome you want to achieve.

Thermometers take the temperature at work and may be quick to give you their observations.  It doesn’t take much effort to tell others what you think.  Nope.  Thermometers are the type at work who are quick to tell you why what ever new idea or innovation won’t work.  Thermometers think they are helping by consistently pointing out the problems and rarely offering any solutions.  They react to what is happening outside of themselves.

Thermostats are different.  A thermostat sets the temperature of the room or building.  Being a thermostat that sets the focus and response at work to one of positive, forward motion isn’t easy.  It’s actually a pretty tough job.  Thermostats have to think ahead and the good ones are strategic.  Thermostats hold themselves accountable and in a leadership position, create a culture of accountability.  What they do doesn’t always happen immediately so they have to be a patient.  Sometimes the thermostat in the room heats things up to pull things out that need to be discussed or noticed in order to deal with the current reality of a situation and change course to a more prosperous outcome.

Thermostats don’t like sweaty conversations, they just know they are necessary.

Do you want to be a thermostat leader or a thermometer?

Here are 5 ways to be more like a thermostat:

  1. Have realistic expectations. You are not going to point things out that others don’t want to face, develop ideas that require your team or organization to change, or even suggest a sweaty conversation (the kind of conversation no one wants to have, is tough, but must happen to move forward) without causing some waves.  An experienced business colleague of mine told me once, “Lynda, if you aren’t leaving a wake, you’re not moving forward with a speed that leads to momentum.”
  2. Thermostats can bring thermometers value. It’s easy for the thermostat to think that the people pushing back are just lazy or ill-informed.  Perhaps.  It is more true, from my experience, that they might move at a different pace then you, be focused on something you aren’t, and may be reluctant to change.  Their point of view may be valuable if they feel safe enough with you to share it.  It is likely that the thermostat “naysayers” actually have valuable information that you need to know to create or implement that great idea or proceed with the next innovation that is necessary for the organization to stay alive and profitable.  Stop arguing and telling them and start being curious and asking open ended questions.  After all, your point of view is your point of view.  You have blind spots in your thinking.  We all do.  You need others with a completely different perspective to give you feedback so that you can execute effectively.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: 5 safety questions, conversational intelligence, Cortex Leadership Consulting, Leadership Coaching, Lynda McNutt Foster, Training

March 25, 2018 By Lynda Foster

Job or Client references – Make Sure They Help You Get the Gig

Did your references ruin your job offer?
By:  Courtland James, Executive Coach

During the job hunt you probably spent considerable time polishing your resume and rehearsing your interview skills, but you may have neglected to adequately develop a list of references for potential employers or clients to contact.  Sure, you have the phone number and email address of a couple of past supervisors that you can give out, so you’re all set, right?  I mean, do hiring managers even check references anymore?

Courtland James, Cortex LeadershipTurns out they do.  In a 2016 study conducted by the Society for Human Resources (SHRM), they found that references were in the top 3 selection criteria used to assess potential candidates for most positions.  This isn’t surprising, considering hiring is one of the most important functions a company performs, and if done poorly can lead to some major financial consequences for the company.  Hiring managers, therefore, want every available piece of data to ensure they are making the best decision with a candidate, and recommendations from past professional colleagues and supervisors carry a lot of weight.

The same rules will apply when you want a potential client or customer wants to check your references for reassurance that they are making the best choice.  Just like a good recommendation from a reference can secure a job offer or land you that perfect client, so too can a poor or generic recommendation cost you the offer.  Below are five tips to help you curate a reference list that will help you shine in your job search.

Note that many times clients will need references to do business with you or with your firm.  You can apply these tips to that situation as well.

  1. Develop a list of 5-7 references minimum. If you are just graduating from school and looking for your first job then it can be understandable if you can only come up with 3 references.  After a few years in the workforce, however, you need to maintain a list of 5-7 strong references who can speak to your strengths and past accomplishments.  You don’t need to provide every reference to every employer, but having a longer list can help you pick references that highlight specific attributes that may be attractive to a particular company and avoid using the same reference over and over if the job search takes longer than expected.  Remember they aren’t spending their days waiting for hiring managers to call them on your behalf so don’t overburden a reference with too many requests.
  2. Maintain your reference list separate from your resume. Your resume is probably already too long and the one-page rule definitely applies since hiring managers are looking at sometimes hundreds of resumes at one time.  The good news is you shouldn’t be putting your recommendations on their anyway.  Potential employers aren’t likely to call references until after an initial interview, which is usually where they will ask for references.  This is the perfect opportunity to provide them with a well-formatted reference list that includes each reference’s full name, company and position, professional email and phone number.  It will help you further stand out if you briefly note what skill or accomplishment that reference can speak to from your resume.
  3. Choose your references wisely. References should always be someone you have had a professional relationship or interaction within the past.  It’s best not to include family or friends unless they can specifically speak firsthand to your professional achievements.  Past supervisors, project team peers, former or current clients, school faculty, or volunteer work associates.  The important trait of a good reference is that they have firsthand knowledge of your performance and accomplishments and are willing to speak to this in a positive and honest light to potential employers.  This goes without saying, but don’t list a reference who was in a subordinate role or a direct report to you.
  4. Maintain a relationship with your references and communicate with them before you give out their information. If you list a reference from 10 years ago, it’s reasonable to assume they may have forgotten some of the details about you and your accomplishments from that time.  Keep an active list of good references and make it a point to maintain contact with them as you progress in your career.  It’s not only a good way to ensure they will be a good reference, but you never know when they may introduce you to your next opportunity.  Also, give your references a heads up before recruiters and hiring managers reach out to them.  It looks just as bad to an employer when a reference you gave them ignores and won’t return their calls as it does if the reference gave you a poor recommendation.
  5. Do a background check on your references. Hiring managers and recruiters these days love to use LinkedIn and Facebook to conduct their own background checks of their candidates.  You better believe they are checking out your references online presence as well, so you should too.  Make sure your reference’s social profiles are credible and present your reference as someone the potential employer can trust.  Also, asking for a recommendation on LinkedIn from your reference can give you a good preview of their communication skills and their ability to speak about specific, positive accomplishments that paint you in an attractive light.

For a list of common questions hiring managers and recruiters ask job references check out this article.  You can use these to do a mini-interview of your references and also during employee reviews to get some candid feedback on your performance even if you aren’t actively job hunting.

Bonus Tip:  If you suspect you may have gotten a bad review from a reference there are resources to help you screen your references.  Consulting firms like Allison & Taylor conduct reference screening services to help you determine if your references are giving bad reviews and preventing you from getting that job offer.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Cortex Leadership, courtland james, job, Leadership Coaching, Leadership Training, references, roanoke va

January 21, 2018 By Lynda Foster

How to get a bad meeting back on track – the WAIT method

We’ve all attended bad meetings.  Meetings that take too long and that have one person monopolizing the conversation the whole time.  I posted this guide recently on LinkedIn that some people could utilize in a meeting to decide whether or not they should speak up and when. Some people loved it and others seemed angry.  I remember the moment Courtland James, one of our executive coaches at Cortex, gave it to me to review.  I said to him, “Wow, this could really help some of the meetings I have heard about that are kind of out of control.  One person can kind of take over the meeting and doesn’t allow others to share, much less invite them to share or contribute.  Boy, this could help those people have a guide to know when it is appropriate to speak up or stay silent.”  So I posted it.

Bad meeting buster - Try thisI checked at the end of the day to see if anyone found it helpful.  Boy, did I get an earful.  There were comments like:

“I think we have to be careful with pieces like this. I agree with what it’s trying to say but it only applies to a specific personality type. I often see the opposite happening. The quiet person in the corner coaching themselves out of talking when actually they have the most important input out of everyone.“

And more that sounded like:

“R.I.P. Collaboration and innovation… do you think the greatest inventions came out right first time? Some of the best ideas I’ve ever heard have came from some of the most unlikely sources.”

So I would respond with something like:

“Thanks for your comments.  My experience as a coach is that many times the quiet person in the corner of the room is not speaking up because the person who should be using this model is constantly interrupting them and not stopping talking long enough to ask that quiet person what they think about an issue”.

It didn’t matter how I responded to comments or how much effort I took to explain, some new folks to seeing the post got clearly upset.  They really thought I would want to silence people in meetings and stop the flow of ideation and innovation that needs to happen.  Made me kind of laugh!  Anyone who knows me has experienced me displaying one of the highest ideation scores we’ve tested and that rounding, where you give each person a chance to share in a meeting or session, is a basic principle and encouraged practice that we teach at Cortex.

I changed the post.

I kept the model up but added this:

“Explanation of this model: There are people in meetings that do not listen to others. They interrupt the ideation and innovation process by talking over people and not being the least bit curious about what anyone other then themselves have to say. If that person has authority you end up with a meeting where no one feels safe to talk and they become completely disengaged in the process.  THIS MODEL IS FOR THAT PERSON ONLY!”

That seemed to help, although, a few folks commented without reading the new header.  I had definitely touched a nerve.  After 48 likes, 18 comments and more than 3,000 views, in a few days, I realized that people felt strongly on both sides of this issue.

One side seemed to be applauding the model that would allow those that didn’t let others speak find a method that they could use to know when to speak or stay silent.  Others seemed to be on the side of letting anyone speak, anytime, for as long as they need or want to, although I am sure that wasn’t their point.  I think they were just trying to stand up for the shy types in a meeting that upon seeing this model may get even more anxious about speaking up in a group.

My thought is that the model is a solid one for keeping us all in check to be sure that what we are saying in a meeting is relevant and at the appropriate times.  This is a general model used at an agenda driven meeting to keep the meeting on track and on time.

WARNING:  This is NOT for ideation sessions where you are working to innovate through an issue.  Being too careful about speaking up in those will kill the creative in everyone – especially yourself.

The rules of engagement we encourage all teams to use in meetings, are ideal for creating a trust-building environment where all people feel heard at appropriate times and in appropriate ways.

Let me know what you think since many of you have been through the Cortex Leading a Winning program.  Does this model do more harm than good to the team environment or does it help keep certain people in “check” during meetings?  I’d love to hear your feedback.  Send me a note or go to my LinkedIn page and join in the conversation.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: bad meetings, Cortex Leadership Consulting, Leadership Coaching, Leadership Training, Meeting, Rules of Engagement, virginia at work, WAIT, when to speak at meetings

January 7, 2018 By Lynda Foster

20 ways to make your meetings at work more productive

so you can stop wasting so much time in them

By:  Lynda McNutt Foster

In a study by Atlassian they found:

  • Only 53% of scheduled meeting time is actually spent on agenda items
  • 73% did other work (like returning emails) during meetings
  • 47% asserted meetings were the #1 time waster at the office
  • $37 billion is the salary cost of unnecessary meetings for US business

Better meetings at work - Cortex LeadershipYep, meetings alone can waste a lot of time that you could be spending more productively at work.  Think about it, removing just 1, one-hour meeting a week, could save you 50 hours in a year!  That’s a whole work week and that is only removing one meeting that doesn’t move the ball down the field.

The University of Minnesota conducted research by psychologist Kathleen Vohs found that we have a finite amount of “executive” resources, or cognitive ability, to process information and decisions. Vohs found that those are rapidly depleted in meetings. Too many meetings literally drain our brain.

CEO’s are the hardest hit with almost 40% of their workweek in meetings.

CLICK HERE to CALCULATE the cost of your meetings.

ASK YOURSELF these 7 questions before scheduling a meeting: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: bad meetings, Cortex Leadership, Leadership Coaching, Leadership Training, Meetings, waste of time, workplace

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