In part one

One of the points I mentioned before was that people want to know why a change is taking place. It’s easy to think about the more literal response to that question. “It will save money.” “It will help us respond faster.”  “It will open up a new market.” Or, in these tough times, the answer is often, “It’ll help us hang on until the economy turns around.” Those answers aren’t enough. They aren’t enough to qualm fears. They aren’t enough to build buy-in. They aren’t enough to inspire belief and action.

Getting to positive change requires communication skills, powered by leadership skills. Let me explain. All of us are rational and emotional beings – and we bring both those outlooks to the workplace. Transformational leadership requires us to connect with both. The rational mind responds to goals. The emotional mind responds to vision. The two must be interconnected and both must be communicated for successful change. Why?  

• Goals appeal to our intellect. Vision engages us. Goals tell us what we need to do, what the changes will require of us. But that’s just the beginning. Vision brings meaning to the change, captures our imagination for the good that could come from it. 
• Goals give us timeframes and results. Vision shows us our future. Always, the logical mind wants and needs the specifics of goals. Vision helps us soar above the everyday to see the big-picture possibilities.
• Goals drive performance. Vision inspires. We want to understand the standards by which we’ll be measured and rewarded. But vision asks us to think for ourselves and empowers us to find ways to expand upon it.
• Goals solve problems. Vision opens possibilities. For example, goals say, “Reduce customer wait time by 20%”.  Vision says, “Delight customers by easing the stress of their time-crunched days.” 
• Goals are concrete, written. Vision is a living story to be internalized. One you pull up and access on your computer. The other you carry in your mind.

Chances are, you already have skills and training in goal-setting. So, I want to focus on visioning here. Where do you start? You’ll need to do the same thing you’re going to be asking your team to do. Think beyond the current actions to the future.  What does “good” look like? What will a day be like when the change is in full force? What will be the response from customers? How will they write the article on your success in the Harvard Business Review? Gather those mental images for your vision story. Then think about how you want to characterize the vision. Are you on a mission? Is it a battle? A quest? Is it a marathon or a sprint? Is it art or science? Are you creating or conquering? Now build your thoughts into your story, filling it out with details that tie it to the everyday experience. 

Here’s a crucial reminder. Your goals – and especially your vision – may be most important when the changes you’re facing are triggered by “bad” news. Downsizing, financial reorganization or the departure of a key leader can scar a company’s performance for a very long time if not approached correctly. Without being a Pollyanna, you need to focus on the positive future. Not the pain, but the gain. Try to set goals within a positive framework. Define your vision, not in terms of loss, but of the open door. Once you have your messages in place, communicate them often, in as many ways as you can. Update the vision with success stories. Share goals reached. And, when necessary, recalibrate. 

Change is a reality in today’s world. To be a true leader you need to go beyond managing change to empowering it.

Image by David Reece

Be prepared with clear expectations.

Claire and I were in a boat called a shredder. It has two side tubes that you sit on, with your feet on the “floor” of the boat. With Claire on one side and me on the other, we paddled our way down the river. Claire has boated on the Gauley and New Rivers for 25 years. She guided rafting trips for many of those years, so she knows the twists and turns well. She also knows the power of the rapids—and the danger that goes with it. With that knowledge comes an intense respect for the river—and a lot of dread too.

Me? My boating has been filled with joy and excitement—and total ignorance. I had never been thrown out of a raft and forced to swim through a rapid. Until you do, you have not truly experienced the full impact of a white water river trip, so you might say my brain had only tapped into the positive side of rafting.

My cautious sister, on the other hand, has the negative side of rafting imbedded in her brain. She has swum most of the challenging rapids, and she knows what it’s like to get thrown out of a boat when you least expect it. Boulders and swirling eddies await the unwary swimmer. On that beautiful day, when I looked over at Claire, she would be staring downstream . . . holding her breath. When I looked downstream, it didn’t look all that dreadful to me.

When I asked what was up, she said, “Can’t you hear that?” The sound was the next rapid coming up. This seemed like more fun and excitement to me. For Claire, however, it signaled time to think about what was ahead and how to navigate a rapid that she knew well, but that might have a surprise or two in store. (This is what made my sister a sought-after rafting guide. She knew what she was doing and didn’t take unnecessary chances.)

Turn negatives into positives

On that glorious day of rafting, I did have my first rapid swim. I got thrown out of the boat so fast that I didn’t have time to worry about what might happen to me in the water. The worst part was the egg on my shin where my leg hit a boulder. But I didn’t die. I popped up downstream, got back into the boat and thought, Excellent, now I don’t need to worry about swimming again because I just did. If and when it happens again, I will handle it.

How do you want to move through your life? Check in and monitor your thoughts. Are they positive or negative? Do you want to avoid the experiences of life because of what might happen? Or do you want to enjoy the excitement of what’s coming around the bend? My choice is to deal with what is at hand, and deal with what might happen when it happens. If I spend my life in dread, and the dreadful things don’t happen, what an enormous waste of time. I would much rather be joyful.

Make your choice

How you move through your world can be joyous or full of dread. Experience and knowledge is powerful. It will make you a great boater, as long as it doesn’t paralyze you. My sister doesn’t stop boating because of what might happen. She has too much skill for that. She just needs a gentle reminder to keep breathing.

VoicePro has been called in by numerous clients to help manage change initiatives.  A mistake I see over and over again is that communication is an afterthought. 

Sometimes the call to VoicePro comes when there’s been a breakdown in the system – reduced productivity, high turnover or other problems.  In response to my question about a communications plan, I often hear, “We had a meeting and sent out a memo.”  That’s simply not enough.

People need more than that for change to be truly understood and accepted, and for the change to have the full positive force you intend.  It’s so important that I’m going to devote a couple of these posts to the issues you’ll face and how to prepare for them.

Let’s start with an example to illustrate my point. I participated in a training exercise a few years ago in which the participants were broken into one of two groups – the “employers” and the “employees.” I was an employee.  Unbeknownst to us employees, part of the exercise for the employers was to NOT communicate with us, but only to let us have access to their public news releases.  Even in a small group of pretend employees, complete strangers together for a 3-hour “game” on a Tuesday morning, we became suspicious and confrontational, doubting our employers wisdom and motives.  Amazing – and eye opening.  

Think of change management as facilitative leadership. How can you help assure the change you’re undertaking is going to achieve the hoped-for results?  Here are some things to keep in mind in your communications plan.

• Over-communicate.  Create a message calendar to cover 3-6 months of the change process.  Start early to let people know what’s coming.  Include a kick-off communication at the start of the change.  Then follow through with regular updates. 
• Explain why.  People respond more positively when they know why a change is happening.  Even if it’s bad news generated by difficulty, trust your team to take on a challenge when they know what the stakes are and how they can make a difference.  And don’t assume that the need for a “simple” or “good” change is obvious. Change always brings some discomfort or inconvenience. Help people understand how learning a new sales and marketing system will help them better serve customers and grow the business.
• Listen.  You can’t possibly predict all the questions and concerns your team will have – that’s the nature of the human spirit.  You need to offer frequent opportunities for people to ask questions.  Take those questions seriously and provide serious answers.  Be sure to plan for Q&A throughout the process; issues are certain to arise as you go along.
• Use different communication methods.  Kick-off meetings, newsletters, video, focus groups, training sessions.  Each one reaches people in different ways and invites different (and important) feedback opportunities.
• Reach out to key groups.  You know which groups are most affected and where the fulcrum points are.  Losing these key people can hobble your organization for months. Use change as a team building exercise.
• Involve the whole organization.  Even when a change targets a small group, you may want to widen the communications audience.  Why?  First, there’s a ripple effect to change.  Something new in the accounting department can cause headaches or concerns to anyone who interacts with them.  Plus, organization-wide communication can help control gossip and the fear that goes with it.

Change isn’t just about systems or organization charts, payroll numbers or business plans.  It’s about the people who will implement it, live with it, work with it.  If your want your change to be a positive one, remember make people a part of it.  And communication is the key.

Image by Veri’s kleiner Winkel

You have just witnessed big-time small talk.  And that same scenario is true for all of us. A presentation starts long before people sit down at the conference room table.  The small talk at the beginning of a meeting – and for the weeks and months before that –establishes your personal and professional presence.  Your self-confidence shows and conveys that you’re comfortable, approachable and self-aware.  So in a way, small talk is one of the most important communications skills and sales presentation skills.   Certainly, it’s one of the defining characteristics of executive presence.

Even if you’re not making a major presentation, the ability to comfortably handle coffee-room small talk with your managers, peers and reports builds your credibility. It’s one of the leadership skills that builds trust in you and your abilities to connect, adapt and meet the world with confidence.

While some people seem to be natural at small talk, most of us need a little coaching and practice.  Even the people on TV have handlers who prep them and help them develop talking points.  Here’s a little small talk primer for all of us.

Prepare before you go. 

Brush up on local happenings or light news.  I know one woman who always skims the sports pages so she’s able to make small talk with her male clients. Read through a popular culture magazine for some timely topics. What are the reviews of a recent movie?  Check the New York Times best-seller list.  Restaurant reviews.  Even a recent news story – just avoid controversial topics or politics. 

Make business meetings work. 

 The small-talk time should be brief. Your goal is to establish rapport before getting started, priming everyone for a positive meeting. You might want to comment on the building or ask about the facility.  Notice an award or trophy.  You may also want to mention a colleague you have in common through work or your extracurricular life, if appropriate.

Networking events: relationships that get down to business.

All the topics for a business meeting are appropriate for networking events.  In addition, you may be able to chat about the purpose of the event.  Is it a fundraiser?  Talk about your and your conversation mate’s connection to the event.  You can share professional information (“What do you do when you’re not raising funds for the Cancer Society?”).   And, believe it or not, the weather is almost always a good place to start.

By the way, the goal of a networking event isn’t to build the fattest stack of business cards.  It’s about starting a relationship, so less may be more.  Make a genuine connection with someone, then exchange business cards as appropriate.

Ask a question.  Then really listen.

It’s what the teen magazines said about meeting people at your first high school dance.  And it’s still true today. Ask a question and you make a connection. Plus, you’re likely to uncover topics to keep the conversation going. 

Be sure you’re really listening, too.  Others sense whether you’re being genuine or just going through the motions.  You know the people who ask a question, then look past your left ear for their next target? Don’t be one of them.  Really listening means responding and having a dialog. It conveys authenticity and gives you a basis for future conversations. 

Feeling shy?  Breathe.  And smile.

Stand with an open posture and breathe deeply. A deep breath helps you relax, focus and smile.  If meeting people makes you nervous maybe the meeting organizer or the event host can introduce you to a few people to help break the ice. If you’re the person in charge, make that effort for others.  Some people get over their butterflies by setting a goal for the number of new contacts to make, and then make a game out of achieving it. Sounds less intimidating, doesn’t it?

Image by Pogorita

Wow! I am completely elated.  I need to pinch myself. My dream has become a reality. Me–enrolled in a premiere coaching school, internationally acclaimed and accredited by the International Coach Federation. Yes!!!!!

What was I thinking an hour later (better yet 24 hours later, when the thoughts had become pervasive)?

How in h*** am I going to accomplish this? What was I thinking? And even more importantly, how am I going to do it to perfection?

What was I thinking after I had a chance to decompress, get a little bit (ok, a lot) of sleep, and sort through my assignments and commitments?

Knock it off, Luanne. This is your biggest enemy to learning – the need to get it right. If you don’t begin to look at learning as an opportunity to make mistakes–get it all wrong–you won’t learn what you need to. Always cautious and careful – never daring to take a risk.

What am I thinking now?

With this new awareness, I can make some better choices. First, I can reframe what it means to learn something. Maybe I need to frame learning as knowing something in my heart and soul. Knowing something isn’t getting others to say, “Wow! Look at how well you did.” Or getting universal approval. Knowing something is about experiencing it, feeling it in my body and emotionally connecting with it. It’s also about being able to apply what I have learned to make a difference in the world. I may be able to make a bigger difference by having experienced it “wrong” once or twice.

And finally, learning is really about the joy of getting curious – discovering something new – rather than the emotional pain that comes with having to be perfect. It’s about exploring the unknown and the undiscovered – in others and in myself.

What are your enemies of learning? What is keeping you from knowing? Consider the following possibilities as presented by Chalmers Brothers, author of Language and the Pursuit of Happiness. Is it:

• Your inability to admit, “I don’t know”?
• Your belief that you should already know?
• Your distrust of the person teaching you?
• Your making everything overly significant?
• Your forgetting that your body is a domain of learning? Practice is putting your body into it. When you don’t practice, you don’t get results. The capacity for new action is about doing. It’s not head learning or memorization.

Choose to “befriend” the following, as suggested by Chalmers:

• Willingness to declare “I don’t know”
• Listening
• Openness
• Respect and admiration for your “teacher”
• Willingness to question your own questions
• A mood of perplexity and curiosity

Who knows what you might learn and what you might accomplish as a result? Vanquish your own enemies to learning and a universe of knowledge can be yours.

Image by NASA

How can we use this knowledge to be more effective leaders? One way is to learn from the world of sports. Dr. Judd Blaslotto at the University of Chicago compared mental visualization with actual physical practice of basketball free throws. His amazing discovery: Those who visualized but did not physically make a single free throw improved their percentages almost as much as those who physically practiced everyday for an hour. Top athletes now include visualization (or mental rehearsal) as part of their normal routine.

In the same way, you can be more intentional about what you think and what you visualize. Visualization is the process of creating a mental image (or intention) of what you want to feel or have happen. Managing what and how you think can be tricky, but a few key principles can help.

• First, visualize what you want, not what you don’t want. Remember, movement goes in the direction of the image. So if you’re riding a bicycle, look in the direction you want to go, not at the ditch at the side of the road, or you’re likely to steer involuntarily toward the ditch. Likewise, when you walk into a high-stakes meeting, instead of concentrating on not being nervous, visualize yourself projecting composed confidence.
• Second, listen to your “inner monologue.” Your inner monologue functions as guiding imagery for you and molds your behavior and performance. So if you realize you’re thinking things like: “I’m over my head” or “I’m blowing it,” make a choice to replace that self-talk with something more helpful, such as: “This is a problem to solve and I can figure it out”  or “I am handling this.”
• Finally, when communicating with others, rather than focusing on the removal of something negative, focus on the presence of something positive. Rather than ask, “Why didn’t someone catch this error?” ask instead, “What can we do to ensure fewer errors in the future?” This may seem like a minor shift, but the effect on your communication, influence, and results can be profound.  Remember, you will move in the direction of your mental images, so if you anticipate positive results, you’re more likely to achieve them.

We face challenging situations everyday. Much is out of our control; for instance, what people’s predisposition might be, what could get pitched our way and blindside us, or even what might happen when we’re looking the other way. So when something solidly within our control is actually within our grasp, we must seize on it. Our thoughts are well within our control, and if visualizing a successful outcome will hedge our bets, then our course is clear.

Image by qthomasbower

Not so fast.  No presentation is complete until you’ve considered your audience.  Why?  The person who’s hearing your message brings his or her own way of interpreting the world to the conference room table.  To communicate successfully, you need to take that into account.  Every conversation is a collaboration.  You need to send messages in a way that the listener is truly able to receive them.  Think of it this way: if you’re throwing a football and your listener is holding a tennis racket, there’s no way to score.  Better communication skills can help you convey information in a way that makes you more persuasive, a better negotiator, a stronger leader.

Psychological research suggests a person tends to respond to communication in one of four styles:  dominance, influence, steadiness or compliance. The styles aren’t good or bad – just different.  When you learn to “speak the language” of others, you’re likely to make the most progress.  And remember, it’s not just what you say that counts — how you say something is just as important.  Human beings are wired to respond to the expressive quality of our communication.  So our speaking style and body language are all part of the message.

Let’s look at the four communication styles and ways to address them.

1.  Dominance.  Think of the dominant person as a “bottom-line” type – direct, active, competitive, results-oriented. She is focused on speed,  flexibility, and achieving results.

Approach: “Cut to the chase.”  Be crisp and to the point.  How are you solving a problem? Moving the organization ahead? If you’re naturally gregarious, you’ll want to tone it down for the bottom-line personality.  Quiet hands, serious demeanor, limited small talk are all effective.

2.  Influence. This person is characterized as expressive, fun, creative, friendly, adventuresome, spontaneous. He is people-oriented, values recognition for himself and others, and focuses on  challenges and action.

Approach: Address people issues with an influencer.  Keep in mind that your spontaneity and passion – in word and body language – will help him respond to your proposal.  A stolid, grim delivery will interfere with message transmission.

3.  Steadiness.  This is someone who values concern, dependability, consideration and cooperation. Appreciation is good, conflict brings discomfort. Feelings and relationships are important.

Approach: How ideas are implemented is important to him.  Will it disrupt good systems? Have you thought through how to eliminate snafus to help keep people in their comfort zones?  Be sure not to rush through or brush off his concerns, either in words or manner. 

4.  Compliance.  Solutions that are safe and proven rank high with this analytical type.  She looks for logic, accuracy, precision, efficiency.  The wise course means proceeding with caution to ensure quality and no mistakes.

Approach: Understand that this person will want to know that you’ve thought through the details. You’ve planned for disruptions so nobody drops the ball.  Even if you’re in the early stages of a project, you may want to outline the steps to assure her of a careful process.  Close attention to details will win the day when your personal excitement or anticipation of potential of results will make no difference at all.

 But, what if you’re talking to someone you don’t know?  A sales prospect?  A new team member?  A consultant?  That’s when you use what may be the most powerful communication skill of all: listening.  Put your script aside.  Look the person in the eye.  Ask questions.  Watch for signs that reveal his or her communication style.  As you’re watching and listening, you’ll be able to adapt your message accordingly. 

Want to know more about motivating and persuading others? Click here.

Image By Meltin Mudd Studio

This is the question that causes sleepless nights, and the angst felt at the top trickles down through the entire organization. That, combined with incessant media hyperbole, creates a culture of tension and fear, leaving everyone with the deep, disquieting, single most important question: What about me?

Yet, from the executive suite to the plant floor, everyone is expected to show up day after day and do the job without complaining. It’s incredibly hard to remain emotionally intact in such circumstances.

At VoicePro^®, we are toughing out these difficult times along with everyone else. And while we can’t give you strategic solutions to the monumental problems of the present economy, we can, from our own experience, offer suggestions for maintaining a sense of emotional equilibrium during these tough times. They include acknowledging your feelings and surrounding them with a healthy and positive framework.

Change Your Story

Your story is the internal narrative you have created about yourself. It’s the ongoing dialogue you have with yourself that defines you and controls how you handle triumph and how you face up to adversity. Just by changing your story you can impact what you feel—and in turn what you do.

According to Deepak Chopra, whenever you think, you are altering your brain chemistry. This means that your story, the story you tell yourself, creates neural patterns in your brain that become your reality. Negative thoughts over time turn into negative behaviors, and you become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Just as an athlete learns to perform physical feats through mental practicing, you can change your story by changing your thoughts and giving yourself new, more positive metal images.

Don’t Let Yourself Go Negative

Negativism will drain your energy. So when you catch yourself with depressing thoughts about yourself or your situation, stop. Go back and rephrase, removing the negative tone and replacing it with something more constructive. Keep it upbeat and in the present tense: I am managing my situation very well, right now, rather than, I will be able to handle it (in the future).

Surround yourself with positive people. Avoid the gloom-and-doom conversations at the coffee machine or in the lunch room. The moment people start talking about how helpless they are and how the deck is stacked against them, get up and go somewhere else.

Take the Time to Quiet Your Mind

It’s so easy to go into drive mode when you’re under pressure. In tough economic times, every sales pitch counts. Personnel issues take on an added dimension, because the lives of families are on the line. Even small changes in the bottom line are momentous. It’s tempting to give in to anxious thoughts and try harder and harder and harder, spinning your wheels until you’re emotionally exhausted.

Just as a parent does with a child, you need to give yourself a timeout. Take five minutes to sit quietly with your feet on the floor and your eyes closed. Relax the tension in your face, your shoulders, and your hands. Now, listen to your breathing. Breathe out, breathe in. Breathe out, breathe in. That’s all there is to it, just five minutes a day.

When we do this exercise at VoicePro^® with workshop participants, the change in atmosphere is almost instantaneous. A calm settles over the room, and when the moment is over, everyone is focused and ready to concentrate on what’s coming next.

Act As If It Were True

In 12-step programs, it’s called “fake it till you make it.” The idea is that if you behave in a certain way, even if initially it feels forced, you will come to feel that way. Studies have shown that “faking it till you make it” can have an immediate—and surprisingly strong—impact on your emotions. So If you act calm, confident and assertive, you will eventually feel calm, confident and assertive. The altered neural patterns in your brain will have given you a new reality.

So straighten up, square your shoulders, and stand tall. Move with purpose, and smile as if you mean it.

Yes, the reality is, times are tough. But we don’t have to give in to anxiety or sink into despair. At VoicePro^®, we’re writing our own story. You too can write yours, however you see it, however you want.

 Image by Piez

Every day I am more aware of the pressure to improve the economies of scale within our firms, divisions, or departments, leading us to think of more creative ways of doing “more with less.” However, simply asking our people to do more is becoming less and less of an option, in light of the already seam-bursting workloads that most are carrying.

One area that surfaces as a treasure-trove of possibilities is our technical staffs. Technical experts, be they IT, financial or engineering, must now be in direct contact with clients and customers, often at the client site. Having worked in the IT industry for 15 years, I am aware that these interactions can be challenging – left-brainers are great at solving technical problems but may not be so great at communicating. I can only begin to imagine what might be possible if these technical experts were also capable communicators, acting as pre-sales agents, sales scouts, or as a sales triage.

From where I sit, the value added to our organizations would be tremendous, if the technical experts had the confidence and skill to engage with department managers, directors, or even VP level management. I picture technical staffs engaging with senior level managers as trusted advisers, able to describe unrealized issues or opportunities, and propose possible solutions. Or acting as a catalyst to bring the right people within our organizations together to discuss and resolve the issues that only they are aware of. By expanding the skill sets of our technical staffs, our organizations can expand their sales footprint without adding to the headcount of the organization.

Some areas of focus for our technical experts could be:

1. Be aware of the audience’s level of expertise. Not everyone knows what you know. So, guide the rest of us to your level of knowledge.
2. Use language that your audience understands and can relate to instead of technical jargon that causes people to tune out.
3. Recognize that your audience might have discomfort with your knowledge/expertise, and therefore hesitate to approach you with questions. So, smile, be freindly and approachable.
4. Relate your information to your audience’s world using examples and stories, don’t drone on and on with facts and statistics.
5. Accept that questions don’t mean challenges – the audience is just trying to understand your message.

I am not suggesting that our technical experts fill the role of sales people. However, I am suggesting that with increased communication skills and confidence they could help our clients identify and solve problems. They would be highly valued by the client, and broaden the reach of our organization’s sales presence through effective communication – identifying and facilitating opportunities for the sales team. 

Image by :: Adek ::