Are You Ready for What Is Coming in 2022?
As we approach the end of 2021 and the holiday season it is really important to take stock in your accomplishments for the year and give yourself some credit and celebration. Too often we attempt to measure our progress by examining where we fell short in the attainment of our goals for the year rather than actually recognizing the gains we have made towards our goals. This is a never-ending hamster wheel that will keep you discouraged and tempted to create lesser goals rather than continuing to strive for bigger break-throughs.
Try to spend some time this holiday season looking back through the last year and giving yourself credit for what you have done and use that energy to begin to create your big goals for 2022. Here are a few tips to consider when you have some quiet time to really focus on making your next year’s goals really powerful.
- Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude! I can’t stress this point enough. What you focus on in your life expands. If you continually focus on what you don’t have then that will be the theme that envelops your life. Being grateful for your current situation will allow you to more freely accept and appreciate opportunities that will come along that can increase your prosperity and happiness.
- Your only competition should be against your future self. It is pointless to try to measure your achievements based on what others have done, even if you may look up to them and want to accomplish what they have accomplished. Everyone has unique gifts and skills. Picture yourself in 2 to 3 years and what your future self has achieved and compete against that person. Strive to have what that person has.
- Visualize in detail what your future self will be like in the next 2 to 3 years to have an accurate set of goals. Create a complete vision of yourself in 2 to 3 years; where you would live, people you would hang out with, activities you would do, behaviors you would have or not have, even down to the clothes you would wear. What does your preferred daily schedule look like. What is your exercise routine, your sleep habits, the car you will drive, etc. Creating a complete picture will allow you to make a check with every action you take—is this action going to move me in the direction of the future self I have created in my mind? If not then you need to ask yourself why you are continuing to do it and focus on actions that will move you in that direction.
Hopefully these tips will be helpful in your planning and preparation for the coming year. Remember to be the change you seek in others.
Does Your Remote Policy Have These 3 Critical Components?
One of the first things to review when considering a remote office is having a strong work from home policy. This is what sets the tone for what you expect from your remote workers, what they can expect from you and how someone is considered for remote work. It also can protect you from unnecessary liability in certain circumstances. It is important to understand that this should be a living document. Changes should be made based on ideas or concepts that may not work in your current scenario and should incorporate feedback from your teams to make sure it works for everyone.
Here are three critical items that should be in every remote policy:
- Acceptable work hours
It is important that it is understood by your remote teams when you expect them to work. Traveling to an office helps in defining set schedules for individuals but when workers don’t leave their house it is important to define your expectations on when they should begin and end their work day. This serves two primary purposes:
- It defines hours where the remote worker is actually covered by workman’s comp. Injuries or accidents outside the work schedule are not considered under workman’s comp in most cases.
- It prevents remote workers from defining their own schedules which may conflict with the need for team participation. It is common to experience delays when a team has members that do not have enough overlapping work hours to work effectively on projects or work requiring input from other members of the team.
It is completely up to you how open ended this second item can be. The least restrictive scheduling that effectively allows your teams to work together cohesively is the best. It is very possible that you may want to support varied work hours for certain workers or teams that are more effective not being confined to a standard 9 to 5 regiment.
2. Eligibility
It goes without saying that not all jobs can be remote and not all employees are good candidates for remote work. These restrictions and requirements must be thoroughly documented in your remote policy to ensure that everyone understands what positions are eligible for remote work and what the expectations are of employees who work remotely. For positions that have physical requirements for a worker to be located at the office or work location (i.e. brick and mortar retail, restaurants, factory work, etc.) employees would not be eligible for remote work. Even though this seems straight forward, it must be documented so it is crystal clear to everyone. Second, you need to make sure that any performance requirements, productivity requirements and consequences are documented in the policy. This is important if you have trouble with remote workers not being productive or not producing quality work. It must be outlined how productivity and quality will be measured and what the consdquences will be if an employee falls below this measurement. In many cases an employee’s ability to work remotely can be revoked to allow for closer in office supervision.
3. Well defined job descriptions:
This may not sound like part of a remote policy, but having well-defined job descriptions for your remote workers helps to protect the company from unnecessary or unjustified workman’s comp claims. In my next article I will dive deeper into the topic of workman’s comp, for remote employees but for now we just need to consider that defining the tasks that an employee is responsible for during their work day can help to eliminate claims based on injuries an employee may suffer that is not work-related. For example, a remote customer support representative whose tasks revolve around their computer and phone would have a difficult time justifying an injury claim that occurred while away from their designated home office area where as a sales rep traveling to meet a client would not.
As with all matters regarding insurance it is best to seek the advice of a knowledgeable insurance provider before making any decisions. Laws regarding insurance vary from state to state.
With the changing remote landscape it is very likely that a lot of companies are re-evaluating their stance on remote office work. With any corporate initiative it is always a good idea to begin with a well-defined policy that outlines the purpose, processes and requirements that will make the policy successful. This is equally true for establishing a remote office. There are many other considerations aside from just creating a strong and flexible remote policy but that is a great starting point.
The Remote Shift Is Here…Are You In?
The concept of remote work has received a lot of attention over the last 9 months as we all try to figure out how to safely navigate the COVID19 pandemic. The recent lockdowns and social distancing restrictions have forced many employers overnight to convert their business model to incorporate remote teams. Even schools have been forced to figure out how to deliver meaningful content to highly distractible 5 and 6 year olds via Zoom or Microsoft Teams meetings. The question now is will this forced remote work norm change the overall societal perspective on the value of a remote workforce once COviD 19 is just a memory?
To really answer this question we need to understand how remote work and the societal perception of remote work has changed over the years. How did we view working from home before COVID19? How was it viewed 100 years ago? It might surprise you that the idea of centralized work offices and people going to an office every day is a fairly new idea. Prior to the industrial revolution people almost always were working from shops that were based out of their homes. It was not uncommon to have a small area in the back of your shop that your family would occupy. This eventually gave way to homes built above the actual shops that became very common architecturally prior to the beginning of the industrial revolution.
Once factories and large machinery became the norm it was necessary to have centralized locations as the machinery and assembly lines were too big to exist in individual homes. Factories were built in large populated areas and drew workers in to a shared workspace as part of their daily routine. In addition, the command and control philosophy of management which dominated the business world until recently required managers to have immediate and constant access to their direct reports and their bosses.
With the improvement in technology and the existence of the Internet the capability of remote work became a reality long before the idea was accepted in the mainstream. Some of the remote work pioneers like IBM and Yahoo embraced this work norm early on which paved the way for many start ups to consider remote work options as a way to attract more superstar talent to their businesses. Advancements in Internet technology in terms of speed and reliability along with the transition of analog phone line PBX systems to digital systems allowed for advanced phone call routing and robust features delivered over the Internet. This opened the door to widely dispursed call centers that had sophisticated capabilities with very little in terms of technology or resource investments needed to implement. Now call centers could route through a call center system on the Internet to individual home offices.
And then there was COVID…
Almost overnight the entire office world was thrust into some form of remote work team implementation which presented significant hardships for those businesses who had never faced the challenge of managing remote teams and resources. Without any time to prepare, suddenly a home-based work force emerged, with its kids, spouses and pets showing up in zoom board room meetings, its managers scrambling to ensure their direct reports were staying busy and many parents without day care and forced to split their attention between work and care giving.
IT teams were run ragged trying to ensure the transition from office to home happened with as little disruption as could be expected but once the physical office structure and technology are out of your direct control it is an entirely different set of complications. Many home networks were unreliable, slow and unsecured. Individual home offices did not have many of the peripherals of a typical office like scanners, quality printers, label makers,etc. Those who needed to participate in meetings often did not have the correct audio or video equipment to even use Zoom or Microsoft Teams and did not have a place to work in their home that was away from the distraction of family, pets and other home based diversions. Remote workers began to feel isolated and cut off from their teams and office relationships and some managers were finding it difficult to keep their teams motivated and focused.
It is important to take this brief stroll down memory lane because it is necessary to see how far we have come in a relatively short period of time and how much further we can go. Does it make sense to continue the trajectory to a more home-based working philosophy, or will we simply snap back after COVID is under control and return to our central offices?
A Gartner survey of company leaders found that 80% plan to allow employees to work remotely at least part of the time after the pandemic, and 47% will allow employees to work from home full-time. In a PwC survey of 669 CEOs, 78% agree that remote collaboration is here to stay for the long-term. This is a huge shift in the perception of the value of remote work from a business perspective. But how has the idea of working from home changed for the individual employee?
A survey from FlexJobs reported 65% of respondents want to be full-time remote employees post-pandemic, and 31% want a hybrid remote work environment—
27% of workers say that they would be willing to take a pay cut in order to work from home. And, 81% say they would be more loyal to their employer.
So what does this mean for you and your business?
It is very clear based on the above surveys and countless more statistics that working from home is a genie that is not going back into the bottle. Companies that want to attract the best talent, have the most produvtivity and compete in the new decade of technology innovation and a globally distributed work force should begin to embrace the concept openly and aggressively. It is clear that employees are now beginning to demand the ability to have some sort of flexible work schedule, wehther that is complete remote work or a partial hybrid approach. Employers are seeing the value in increased productivity, less distraction and more employee loyalty. Technology has become sophisticated enough that it is no longer a barrier, and with the proper planning and strategy, any office-based company can be successful in the transition to a remote work philosophy. The question now is are you prepared for this transition? How will your company address the growing demand for full or partial remote work?
Tell me what you think. How has your business been impacted by remote possibilities? Have you made the leap?
Are You Dealing With An Email Bully?
There are few things more annoying and productivity crushing than having the misfortune of receiving a hostile email from a co-worker or boss. Your blood boils, you stop what you were doing and prepare to craft the perfect torpedo email to completely sink all of their false accusations, mis-characterizations and even insults. You read it to yourself with a sly smile and click send.
Has this happened to you before? As you read this in a calm and collected moment you clearly say to yourself “I would not be that impulsive”, but in the anger of the moment when you are being accused or attacked sometimes good judgement goes out the window.
No matter what position you may hold and no matter what company you work for there is a likely chance at some point you will have to deal with hostile emails from customers, co-workers and sometimes even your own boss. In these scenarios it is sometimes a fine line to walk between attempting to address the issue yourself or escalating the issue if it moves into the realm of a hostile work environment.
What I say here may ruffle some feathers but I am of the frame of mind that once you are in an executive position the expectation you should have for yourself is that in most circumstances you have the capacity to solve your own problems. This doesn’t mean running off to HR every time another executive says something hyper-critical or abrasive. I am not advocating necessarily tolerating a blatantly hostile work environment, but as a leader you are supposed to solve problems and take ownership.
All that being said, here are some initial thoughts on how to address a hostile or toxic email:
- What is the sender trying to say?
It is really important to grow some thick skin in this situation and parse what is said in the email. Remove any personal attacks and simply look at the underlying point of the message. There may be legitimate areas of concern in the email buried in hostile language that you might not pick up on if you get too hung up on the surrounding language.
Focus on the point of the message. If there is none and this individual is just sending a message with nothing but personal attacks and hostility then you should confront this individual as to the point of the email and the personal attacks. There is nothing wrong with directly confronting a colleague or even your boss if they are personally attacking you with no other purpose than to be belligerent or condescending.
- Now on the more likely scenario that there is actually something productive to be pulled from the hostile email, write out each of those points to prepare your response. Do not write your response right away. You do not want to write this email in the heat of the moment when your emotions may be running high. Wait as long as you feel like you can get away with it before responding so you will be calm and collected.
- Your email should start with a conciliatory tone and statement. At this point it is not a matter of being right but of resolving a conflict. You need to attempt to be a peace maker here. A statement like “I can understand and appreciate your frustration regarding this/these issue(s).” or something similar should work well. It sets a tone that you are not intending to get into a mud-slinging match.
- Next it is a good idea to enumerate each of the issues you were able to pull from the original email to make sure you are clearly understanding the source of the frustration.
“I would like to restate each of the items you outlined in your previous email to make sure I have a clear understanding of and can fully address your concerns.”
You should then re-state in a non-provoking manner the items you pulled from the email but in your own words rather than a cut and paste to make sure you show understanding of what was said.
- You then need to address each item briefly and with facts or proof. You do not need to personally defend yourself at this point—let the facts and proof do that for you. It is important not to be combative here because your points and proof will get lost if you give the sender any additional fuel for their frustration. Also, be objective here. If there are areas where you may have made a mistake or overlooked certain details then come clean and acknowledge those items where you could have improved. Humility is not a bad word and good leaders accept accountability.
Example:
“You stated that you were not made aware of the customer’s issue prior to the meeting and felt blindsided by their complaints. After reviewing my email I have found a communication sent to you Tuesday at 3:45pm that outlines this customer’s frustration and several possible solutions. I apologize if you were not aware of this communication, but it was sent and I can resend you the email if you would like.”
Very matter of fact, no emotion or confrontation—just stating facts.
- The last step is to close the email with an invitation to get on a phone call if there are any additional questions. Email is never a good medium to discuss issues like this and often people who would write toxic emails are “email tough guys”. If you get them on the phone many times it is easier to diffuse potential hostility by talking through a situation. It is usually not a good idea to send any additional emails. If they do not contact you via phone and continue to send you emails then you should pick up the phone and call them. Explain that you would prefer to work through this issue without the back and forth of emails.
The CC Dynamic
A critical piece to consider when dealing with a toxic email is who is seeing the email. If it is directed solely to you then this next section is not relevant. If it is to a group of people you need to examine who is included in the email. ALWAYS remove any third party vendors, clients and others outside of your company. Internal fighting does not look good to outside individuals and can impact the company’s reputation. After you have removed these individuals, make sure everyone else in the list of recipients has some involvement or interest in the discussion items of the email. Sometimes people who write hostile emails like to include other individuals just for the sake of complaining to as many people as possible in an attempt to make you look bad. Don’t continue including them if they are not part of the actual issue.
The reason you want to include the remaining recipients is for your own reputation. When someone sends an email to a group of people about you being incompetent and there is no response to refute those accusations then the idea of your incompetence goes unchallenged and could hurt your reputation moving forward. People need to see that you can handle yourself in situations like this and respond professionally and factually. Doing this often will make the person who sent the email look petty.
I have used this strategy frequently in the past with success. Often times it can assist in strengthening relationships with colleagues as it demonstrates you have a level head and can help to diffuse stressful situations. Remember that most people are not monsters and may be having a bad day, may be under extreme pressure from elsewhere in the company or may have other issues that drove them to the point of sending a nasty email. Is it right? Of course not. But looking into things more deeply and attempting to understand your environment and the people you work with ultimately demonstrates your leadership skills, critical thinking and emotional awareness. In the end you will almost always come out on top with these things in mind.
What are your thoughts? Do you think this strategy is too conciliatory? How have you handled hostile or toxic emails in your own company. Leave a reply in the comments and keep the discussion going.
5 Ways to Crush Your Next Meeting
There are around 55 million meetings happening today. Of those more than a third are wasting time and resources because they do not accomplish their goal. Does this sound like your last meeting? Here are some suggestions to crush your next meeting and get the most from your time.
- Be sure you even need a meeting. Maybe the presented material lends itself better to a simple email distribution. Maybe a post in Teams or Slack would be more effective. Sometimes the asynchronous nature of these mediums is better not only for you but for all those who do not have to gather and waste time when they could simply read the contents at a time of their convenience.
- Make sure everyone you invite to a meeting really has a need to be there. When helping executives with effective time management, one of the first things we do is go through their calendar and assume all meetings are canceled. They then have to come up with the consequence for each cancelation to see if it is really something they need to attend. Most of the time they attend only because they were invited, not because there was any value in them being in the meeting. Instead of making all the invitees of your next meeting go through this exercise, why not save them the trouble by making sure them being in the meeting adds value to the overall goal. If it does not, don’t invite them.
- Have an agenda that is provided ahead of the actual meeting. This gives people the ability to come prepared and know what to expect in the meeting. This agenda should have timeboxed items so that you can keep everyone on track by referring back to the agenda schedule. Allow time in the beginning for typical greeting and pleasantries and always recap or debrief at the end of the meeting. Set clear next actions to all in attendance.
- Don’t let the default time period in your meeting scheduler decide the length of your meetings. When you create a meeting really think about how long you need in order for the meeting to be productive. Don’t just go with 30 minutes because that is what Outlook defaults to. It is inconsiderate of other people’s time when you schedule 30 minutes of time for something that could be accomplished in 15 minutes. But based on Parkinson’s law, the meeting will still manage to expand to fit the time it is given.
- The last and probably most important way to crush your meetings is to always start them on time and do not wait for stragglers. Do not fill in or summarize for anyone who shows up late. There is nothing more annoying then someone committing to a meeting that starts 5 to 10 minutes late and goes over the intended time period to throw off the rest of their day because every other meeting they have will have this same unorganized start. Don’t do this to your team! It only takes a few times for someone to miss important content because they were late for them to start making more of an effort to get to your meetings on time. If those people are consistently late to your meetings then they probably do not add value to the meetings and should not be invited.
Hopefully this will give you some things to think about when you create your next meeting. Here’s hoping you crush it! What do you think? Have you used any of these strategies before? How have you kept your meetings organized. Leave a comment if you agree or disagree with any of these methods.