Cortex Leadership Consulting

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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.

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Questions.

If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask… for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.  Albert Einstein


Asking quality questions takes practice.

It is a learned skill that takes effort. To get really good at it requires intellectual humility and curiosity.  

Warren Berger’s book, A Book of Beautiful Questions is a handbook of quality, open-ended questions.  Berger states, “I am suggesting that we must figure out our own solutions and answers to the complex, individualized challenges we face, in work and in our personal lives. And that we have at our disposal a natural tool to help us think and “hack” our way to more successful outcomes. That tool is the humble question.”  He goes on to say that, that the best leaders are those with the confidence and humility to ask the ambitious, unexpected questions that no one else is asking.

In your quest for better leadership try this set of questions to start your week.  Berger labels these as “all purpose” questions.

  • How can I see this with fresh eyes? 
  • What might I be assuming? 
  • Am I rushing to judgment? 
  • What am I missing? 

Or how about these for overcoming confirmation bias…

  • Why do I believe what I believe?
  • What am I inclined to believe about this situation?
  • What if the opposite were true? 
  • What did I once believe that is no longer true?

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One Thing That Could Matter Most in Resolving Conflicts at Work

One Thing That Could Matter Most in Resolving Conflicts at Work
by:  Lynda McNutt Foster

If you think that you aren’t supposed to experience conflict at work or there is a way to completely avoid it, you’re probably not going to get very good at resolving it when it arises.  Good people, with great intentions can have misunderstandings, let one another down, breach trust at some level, or just get pretty annoyed at the other person just because they spend so much time together at work.  It’s common to look at another person and think that what they did was just “weird” and can I just say it because so many people think it, “stupid”.

To get better at being a leader you’ll need to practice navigating conflicts and many of those conflicts come from people not seeing the other person’s perspective or point of view.  Conflicts become worse when people think that their point of view is the “right” one and that the other person “should” have done something different than they did.

A recent Fast Company article entitled, All Your CoWorkers Behaviors, Explained stood out to me.  Two out of three of the ways to explain “weird” behavior are things we talk about in our training frequently which are traits (different behavioral types as described in DISC assessments) and goals (which align with the Motivators or Driving Forces assessments).  It can help to resolve a conflict, or even avoid one, by understanding which behavioral types you are dealing with and what is going to motivate them to reach their goals.  If you know what someone’s goals are it helps in understanding what they are focused on.

The situation matters.

The third explanation of why a coworker may behave a certain way was one that comes up during one-on-one coaching sessions.  It is about discovering the situation or context of the behavior you are observing.  The situation someone finds themselves is can have a significant effect on what decisions they make.  It takes time to listen for the facts of a situation.  Some people aren’t that good at explaining their situation or don’t have a great memory to communicate the facts well.  Others give TOO many facts and data about their situation which requires patience and concentration to decipher.

It can be quite the slippery slope of a time trap to even ask about the details of a situation, so you want to make sure they matter.  They usually don’t if the conflict is of a minor nature or the problem seems based in drama.  It’s a good rule of thumb to dig into the situation if you see a consistent pattern or patterns of behavior occurring.  There could be a very good reason why one of the people is acting the way that they are.

For instance, people can get pretty upset when they perceive that one of their teammates isn’t pulling their weight.   They may feel that they have to make up for the lack of work by the other team member and they can perceive that as unfair.  Whether it is or it isn’t you are probably going to be navigating a conflict, whether someone has voiced it or not.  Perhaps there isn’t clarity around what the roles, responsibilities, and expectations are for each member of the team.  Maybe, the expectations of the team member that is upset are not reasonable for the project or circumstance.  It could also be true that the team member that is being seen as not pulling their weight is dealing with a situation that others are not aware of and that has not been communicated, or perhaps cannot be.

I coached a leader once, let’s call him “Joe”, that took over a department in which 3 of the 5 members he inherited in his new position were unable to do their job.  One was very ill and had to frequently call out sick, another was dealing with an emotional issue that caused them to be withdrawn and extremely limited in their ability to complete tasks.  Still the other one was simply someone that was close to retirement and believed they could “coast” through the last few years of their employment with the organization.

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11 Things Every Business Traveler Should Know Before Going to England

11 Things Every Business Traveler Should Know Before Going to England
By:  Lynda McNutt Foster, CEO, Cortex Leadership Consulting

Allen and I took a holiday (that’s what the Brits call vacation) for a week in London, then York, England.  This week we’ll be facilitating some leadership training in a town called Andover which is about an hour from London.

Lynda McNutt Foster Allen Foster York England, Cortex Leadership, Leadership TrainingIf you plan on traveling to England one day or have plans to do business there, this list of word swaps might be helpful.

Fries are Chips
In England, chips are fries.  That’s where the term “fish and chips” comes from.  What we call chips, they call crisps.  No problem, when you say something incorrectly, they will quickly correct you.

Cents are pence. 
It cost to pee. No really. Twice we had to pee and we were out of luck because we had pounds not pence. When we did have pence we did not have the right amount of pence to get in. Ended up eating somewhere for 20 pounds because we didn’t have 40 pence to pee.

Dollars are pounds.
Important to note that there is a significant exchange rate. 1.37 dollars equal a pound. That meal we signed for 20 on our credit card for was actually almost 28 bucks.  Not looking forward to getting the full statement next month.  Ouch!

Restrooms are toilets. 
Yes, the restrooms have toilets, but they call the restrooms toilets so don’t look for signs to point you to a restroom, the signs say TOILETS. And remember, bring your pence if you are in a train station or public area like a park.

You’ll need a converter or two. 
You’ll be quite surprised after your overnight flight and train ride to London when you plop down in your hotel room and want to charge up your phone, iPad and Computer. Oh, yeah, there are ample outlets none of which will work unless you have a converter for each one.

Your blow dryer can kill you.
Really. Plug that puppy into a converter and it immediately gets hot as hell. It is like a Camero engine at 150 miles an hour. The end of it gets red as fire. Turns out your blow dryer in the states is designed for 110 watts and they run on 220. Clearly a big difference that other appliances like your phone is okay with. Your blow dryer is not. Leave that at home.

Pants are Trousers.
This one is important because pants mean underwear. You could see how that could lead to some embarrassment or confusion at a closing store or in a casual conversation after work.

Your check is a bill.

Ask for your bill at the end of your meal, not your check and stay as long as you like without tipping.

They call your check a bill and don’t rush you if there are only 4 others in the stamp size restaurant you are in. They think it’s rude to bring you your bill. Same thing in Puerto Rico. Relax, enjoy your meal and your company. They are not in any hurry to turn your table.

Their taxis are cute.

Uber is cheaper but the taxis are just so convenient and cute! The little black rides are adorable which makes it seem like a treat to ride in one of them. The British accents are charming and they zip you through London in no time flat.

Breaks are Tea Times.

They really do break for tea at about 10:30am and 3:00pm.  The first time we taught here the nice lady from the hotel came in to our training and announced “tea time”.  I said thank you and kept going as we were right in the middle of something.  I quickly came to the understanding that tea time is not optional, so plan around it.

Your phone might be useless.  Try WhatsApp.

I’ve had US Cellular for about 20 years now.  I love them when we’re traveling in the US.  They suck overseas.  When I called them to find out what I needed to do the very nice man on the other end suggested that I get a track phone once I got to my destination.  We chose instead to try a free service that you can download known as WhatsApp.  It’s an app.  You can use it for free when you are connected to the internet.  That’s the trick, right.  “Hooked to the internet” are the key words.  It’s fantastic if the other person you want to talk to uses WhatsApp, too (like FB, it’s impossible to talk to someone on FB who doesn’t have an account).  Free text, you can send all the pictures and videos you want, and you can even make a call on video on WhatsApp. If, you have a WiFi connection.  Imagine splitting up to go to different stores for a period of time.  Nope, can’t just expect to send a text because the other person may not have signed on to the internet where they are at or the place may not have WiFi at all, like in the small shops, or in the museums, etc.

I will apologize now for anyone who was traveling overseas, got a Monti text and was dying to answer it, except they couldn’t or it would cost them 40-80 cents to do so.  I got one and told Monti to go fly a kite while I am away.

We have another week here so I am sure that I will be able to add to this list at some point down the road.  It’s been an amazing, wonderful, romantic, magical week that we won’t soon forget.  Now… back to work tomorrow to make work fun again for a group of talent leaders.

I love my J.O.B.

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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.