Cortex Leadership Consulting

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One Path to Solving Your Biggest Problems at Work

Try this Path to Problem Solving this week

Problem SolvingIt can be confusing.  One minute you need to smooth over an upset team member.  The next, you need to hit a deadline on a report that is due.  You need to jump on a conference call and send out an email to that customer that wants a quick response.  You get to Friday and it feels like nothing truly important got done.  A month can go by you’re still battling the same issues you did last quarter.  What are you supposed to focus on?  Is it what the customer wants?  Or is it what you promised your team member you would get done? Maybe the most important task is getting that report that was due last week finished and sent out?

It’s easy to say you need to focus on the intersection between what truly matters and that which you can control.  It is much harder to pinpoint exactly what those things are and most importantly, to execute them.

Start here.

Begin with the end in mind by filling in the blanks because it’s important to create clarity before trying to solve any problem you are facing:

  1. If we get to the end of the year and ________________ is not complete the consequences will be significant to our team or organization.
  2. If we don’t ____________________________, we will not complete that thing that has such high consequences.
  3. What we need to do is ___________________________, to make certain we complete that thing.

Try this if you are stuck.

  1. Am I or are we focusing on things that are not within our control right now and therefore wasting time and energy that could be better spent elsewhere? Do we know what right will look like December 31, 2018?
  2. What is within our control right now, that we can change, fix, or complete? Do those tasks or issues work towards our goal of what right looks like?
  3. Is there anything that can be removed from our task list so that we can fully focus on tackling the things that matter most to achieving what right looks like on December 31, 2018?

If all else fails, do this.

  1. Stop. Really.  Just stop.  You could be operating from a place of anxiety which will not result in the best outcomes or your highest-level thinking.  Take a day to observe what is really happening in yours or others work flow.  You could be dealing with a systems issue.  If you have time to redo things constantly and fix things that are messed up or done improperly you have time to observe and plan for better outcomes.
  2. Get a thinking pair. Find someone who will ask you great questions and be curious about what you are doing, how you are doing things, and why you are doing certain things at all.  Curiosity is key here.  Your thinking pair is not an “expert” but rather a specialist in asking great questions that bring out our highest-level thinking.  The answers are there, you may not be seeing them from the perspective you are at.
  3. Unplug and relax. Sometimes we’ve worn ourselves out trying to solve the same problems over and over again.  Our brain needs a break.  Take a drive.  Go for a walk or run.  Turn off your phone, don’t check your email for a few hours, take some nice deep breaths and allow your brain to do its best job possible to solve some of your toughest problems.

Finally, it’s important to remember that competence breeds confidence.  You got this!

 

 

 

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What People Said Would Make Work Fun Again

The Cortex Survey Results are in about what will make work fun again – the results may surprise you

The Cortex Survey Results are in for the question:  What types of conditions make work fun for you?
We asked our Lynda’s Launch List readers that question a few weeks ago and here are some of the answers we received from those leaders, executives, and professionals.  The results we collected were complete anonymity. Thank you to everyone who participated!

We posed this question because we are on a mission to provide team training that makes work fun again and the only way to be sure we are on track is to find out from our clients, readers, and followers what they think.

There are tons of gold nuggets in the feedback we received in the survey results for CEO’s, VPs, frontline managers and anyone who is in a position of authority for their team or even if you are leading or managing people through a project.  We didn’t have one answer that even mentioned receiving more money for what they currently do at work (although I am sure none of them would turn that away if offered to them).

The basic theme of the answers.
The conditions that make work fun are clear and defined outcomes that don’t frequently change in the middle of an assignment or task.  We have fun when we work hard to solve problems as a team, get time to play together, laugh, celebrate our wins, and feel appreciated, all while making our customers happy.

If you are familiar with DISC, it’s fun to read the list and see which types may find what fun at work.  Some are pretty easy preferences to spot.

 

Cortex Survey Results

  • When we are selling business regularly and the team is excited about how to deliver it to wow our clients.
  • Working together as a team, attaining goals, supporting each other, staying busy, profitable.
  • Challenges but not micro-management to get them accomplished; challenges that DO NOT WASTE MY TIME – I dread the question that starts with, “Wouldn’t it be nice if…” because it usually generates something that will waste most people’s time; free-wheeling discussions where no idea is wasted; keeping my time my time
  • Collaborative/Communicative Work Environment
    The ability to share best practices
    Teamwork: Sales Summits
    Fun/Energetic Environment
    Team Spirit/Winning Attitude
    Everyone Wins
    Recognition
  • Opportunities to collectively problem-solve.
  • Getting to focus on a task and not getting changed halfway. Doing it successfully and celebrating success after.
  • I am very appreciative of a work environment with a staff that wants to win. I’ve found that regular staff get-togethers or very loose staff meetings, as well as communication, are the keys to a happy, fun work environment. When the staff is happy, we win.
  • A team that is excited to work. Our department is different from any other because we personalize items. Everything is different; everything is unique. When we have a team that everyone is involved in making it go timely and best quality we can do it is fun to plan it out and watch it take place. A team that likes a little healthy competition makes it fun, too.
  • Energetic staff. A buzz within the office of good energy. Engaging in meaningful tasks and activities.
  • When we function as a team, the more ideas the better, and the more ideas the better opportunity in the planning stage.
  • Being able to smile and have a pleasant conversation with co-workers without fear of reprisal.
  • Being human and interacting with people on a more personal level and not so rushed to continuously not waste time by asking co-workers if they are ok.
  • Group collaborations. Outside community activities.
  • It’s pizza for breakfast day! Underlying well-baked crust of mutual respect, openness, curiosity and optimism (optimism is the yeast). Variety of toppings: humor, time flexibility, inspiration, deadlines and new problems to solve. Cheese (always): Rhythm (keeps things in a loose but continuous order so we can innovate within the structure of our vision). Bake it in the light of people we love – clients, friends, advisors and family. Shake a little profit and continuous learning over the whole thing. Delicious!
  • Responsible, Intelligent, Cooperative and Kind (RICK) individuals that systematically completes work in the most efficient process which allows more personal network and teambuilding time to Make Work Fun Again (MWFA). I often think of work as a machine that is designed, run and maintained to perform a desired outcome with precision and efficiency. Such a machine can be fun by having a pleasant or interesting appearance.
    Work is a four letter word, along with Dumb. One of the definitions of dumb is to “have no power of speech; mute. ” The problem, as I see it, is the fact that many organizations do not allow a constructive two-way conversation leading towards an inefficient workplace along with employees not suitable for their assigned tasks. The organization that is wise and forward thinking and within a profit motivated platform will always outpace the “plodders, those companies that the employees just show up to get a paycheck”. Where is the fun in that?
    Fun at work is having the ability to make wise and efficient choices and just enjoy the day.
  • Honest collaboration. A willingness to suspend roles to seek equality of input from all. The ability to see how the jobs that we do positively affect others. Time to interact informally.
  • Flexible work schedule
    Small breaks or activities (corn hole game or table tennis)
    Set clear goals
    Incentives, rewards & recognition
  • The Environment- conducive to work and enjoy my time here. Get to work within my passion and inspire others around me. We work hard, but carve out time for fun events.
  • I like a relaxed but detail focused environment. One in which we have a balance of sharing details and new ideas, but once we decide on the plan, we stay on track with minimal distractions and execute.
  • Clear procedures with room to do it your own way. Happy coworkers. Nice clients. good smells. Lunch together.
  • Being part of a team that works hard and plays hard all while being committed to making daily progress toward the BHAG that we have all agreed upon.
  • Having a good sense of humor. Kindness. Celebrating milestones, like birthday’s and work anniversary’s. Good communication among team members. An attitude of servitude towards team members.
  • 1. The atmosphere of the job. Meaning how the higher management makes the worker place feel on a daily bases once the employees walk into the building. Example: Relaxed atmosphere not a tense or walking on egg shell filling.
    2. Have different at work function for the employees to keep up the morale in the job place and to let the employees know they are appreciated. Which by the way, our organization, has been doing really great with showing us we are appreciated.
    3. Just having your supervisor and manager talk to you as a person and not just as an employee. Makes any workplace conditions a little fun. Knowing you can joke and laugh and still get the job done and not cross the line of whose over who.
  • Conditions or an atmosphere with a positive environment. Also, although not always possible, if one has a natural interest in what they are doing it usually lends itself to being fun. Along the lines of  “do what you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.”