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HRM. Personal development
An individual always needs change; the desire ‘to change something’ comes to many of us on a rather frequent basis. After a period of self-observation, I concluded that my yearning for change springs from the fact that either I don’t know what I want to do at a particular moment, or, should I be in a position to answer this question, I move consciously in that very direction which I have chosen for myself. This longing for change is one of the reasons why extremely capable employees leave their jobs. As a rule, the cause for their departure sounds like this: “I’m bored, something needs to change”. If you allow the situation to take its course, the person is likely to leave and the company loses an important intangible asset.
My method of working with members of staff in this situation is as follows: I simply ask them to have a think and then in the first instance answer for themselves the question “Why do I want to leave?”. People rarely ask themselves this question and try to find something deeper than this in their motives. Once this question has been answered, (in 90% of cases it transpires that the person is simply bored with their current role), I put forward several options and observe the person’s reaction; depending on this, I then propose a feasible alternative to their current position for the next few years. It is important to change a person’s routine rhythm and actions' procedure, so that they again feel that occasional twinge of something new even in old routine things; this can be new projects, or a change of business area within the company.
In itself, the answer to the question “What do I want to do now?” generates a lot of fresh energy and vigour, adding the self-confidence that an individual will stop “being bored”’ at work and that a field of them being able to realise their own potential has now opened up before them. If the employee is able to add their own personal ideas for development to this, a particular skillset, for example, as a result of working on a new business activity, then they will be able to carry on working in their old capacity for a considerable period to come.
If the atmosphere in the company is work-oriented and comfortable, the employee will focus on new things more readily, than going to a new unknown environment where prospects are uncertain. In this instance, staff training plays a significant role in the employment process and requires a sincere approach from both staff and managers alike. The company should take an active interest in the employee and in their personal development, so that the cooperation process is mutually beneficial. In this case, where the employee requires advice or assistance, then they should be provided, and for this it makes sense to heed the advice of any manager. In this regard there is no point in acting like a nanny: an individual must develop independently.
It is also important that the employee is aware of their objectives and how they correspond to the goals and objectives of the company or department, where they work. If there is no meeting of interests, then it would really be better to find another place to work. If there is sincere interest and motivation, however, then this can act as a tangible impetus to developing and achieving the desired goals and objectives. And there is not much sense in changing one place of work for another to achieve this.
Corporate culture. Communication
Communication
What we say and how we say it is a reflection of our thoughts and feelings. Often this is our reaction to what is happening to us expressed in the form of spoken or written words. Sometimes words fly out of our mouths unchecked and inflict unpleasant wounds on those with whom we are speaking.
I have always been interested in the issue of how to speak concisely and to the point and communicate just the right amount of emotion for a specific situation.
Through self-observation and an enormous number of bumps and bruises incurred in my ever-continuing quest, I have managed to formulate a few principles of communication. I purposefully avoid separating business communication from social/personal communication as I believe that ultimately they both come down to the same principles.
Should I react?
Opening one’s mouth and saying something is one of the most simple and widespread reactions in human communication. It is a means to express emotions such as excitement, happiness, annoyance, anger etc.
More often than not, a reaction occurs instantaneously. Slightly less often, people keep their impressions about an event to themselves and talk about it sometime later. Even less often, an event excites a person to such an extent that he/she continues to speak about it for several days, weeks or months.
In this regard, I find instantaneous reactions the most troubling. At times, we regret such reactions, and, afterwards, we realize that they were ineffectual, excessive, hasty, and influenced by our emotions.
I have formulated the following principle for myself: do not react right now.
This does not mean setting an issue aside and reacting later. Storing up emotions inside (especially negative ones) is a pointless and tiresome exercise. You simply have to give your brain an opportunity to
process new information. As a rule, people base their reactions on impressions formed through sensory information (sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste). It might also be noted that so-called “first impressions” sometimes differ greatly from second or third impressions. Moreover, they can contrast even more sharply with your intuitional perception of a situation by simply not giving it time to be “heard.”
A simple example of this is a situation in which someone steps on your toe. Reactions vary: some people become quite indignant knitting their brows in discontent. They try to smile graciously and say, “don’t worry about it,” but if you step on their toe a second time, every trace of their gracious smiles will disappear.
If you are attentive and remain aware of what is happening with and around you:
a) you may avoid being bumped into.
b) you will know the reason why a person may have simply lost his/her balance and stepped on your toe without meaning to do so.
c) you will understand that you are the only person responsible for your reactions and the consequences that follow.
This principle works the same way in more complex situations such as problem resolution in the workplace, personnel management, or negotiations.
A response to an issue, emotion, or a particular objection, whether in regard to form or substance, may be substituted for a reaction. This will give your intellect, cognition and intuition an opportunity to coalesce and, only then, either verbalize a response or simply conclude that there is really no need to say anything in a given situation.
A response will be entirely different from an automatic reaction to an irritating factor.
Additionally, any reaction wastes time that could be better spent, in part, observing and collecting more information about a situation.
Remember your goal.
Any task that I undertake has an goal, and communication is only one of the tools I use to reach this goal. The goal always remains paramount and cannot be compromised because communication issues or reactions. Therefore, the next principle is understanding the goal. When we react, we often forget why we began a discussion on a project or problem in the first place. What value does this goal have if we forget it so easily? Isn’t there at least some small element of personal responsibility in this?
Hear and listen.
Hearing is simply a physiological function and capability, whereas the ability to listen is an important skill which is extraordinarily beneficial in communication. If you truly listen to your partner in conversation, in that moment, you will have no outside thoughts in your head as you are directing your attention to what that person is saying. Hearing is a momentary phenomenon whereas listening is a process involving your intellect, emotions and feelings. This is a different level of reading your interlocutor which allows you to gain much more information and give accurate responses. The inability to listen is a global communication problem. Listening becomes impossible, in part, because of split-second emotional or spoken reactions.
Simply try to differentiate between each sound a person is saying in conversation, and you will hear and remember many more important “trivial matters” which will, in turn, form your understanding of a situation.
Error Correction
If something goes wrong...
Everyone knows that mistakes occur during the execution phase of practically any project due to incorrect task descriptions, failure to understand the goal or desired outcomes, lack of attention to details etc.
It is all very well if errors are caught and corrected before project completion. However, in some cases, the product that clients receive is quite different than expected. They become angry, rightly so, and still want to receive the promised result.
How to remedy a situation by turning it in a positive direction?
Rule number one: do not make new mistakes.
Despite the fact that any overdue project is stressful for both the client and the service provider, you must try to say “Stop!” and evaluate the situation carefully.
There is no sense in wasting time on a detailed analysis of the project as a whole. If a deadline has been broken, the client is on edge and time is ticking.
- It is essential to identify the key points which require immediate action.
- Compile a short basic to-do list with a clear description of your objective and follow the steps identified.
- Do not jump from task to task. Divide the problem up into several parts and complete each task step-by-step. You may start a new step if the previous step requires time to process, but under no circumstances should you jumble everything together at one time. Time overlaps are permissible, but there should always be a clear delineation between tasks in your head.
- If a problem cannot be resolved immediately or within a day, be prepared to make adjustments and offer your client flexible solutions. A “flexible solution” is a solution designed to fit a situation at a particular moment in time. If changes arise in an emergency situation, the solution may change as well.
- If necessary, find an assistant to carry out simple tasks which do not require your personal involvement, but never give full responsibility for a project to your assistant. As a manager, you must be in charge of any emergency situation and rectifying any mistakes.
- Try to turn off all emotions. This may be difficult, but it is often the only way to overcome a situation in which a step-by-step process must be executed with precision and accuracy.
- Remember your intuition. The most correct and expeditious solution is almost always in plain sight. You can hear your intuition when you are level-headed and calm.
Rule number two: keep the client informed.
Uncertainty is more upsetting than anything else. If a mistake has been made which cannot be corrected within five minutes, call the client. Talk to him/her. Explain the situation and show him/her that you are not indifferent to what has happened.
What if you have absolutely no time to call? In this case, simply write a short email to show that you are working on the problem. It is important that your email reflect your personal attitude toward the problem and your personal interest in its resolution. Standard phrases such as, “Thank you, we have received your message and are working on the problem,” are nothing more than a formal and impersonal version of the run-around and can only reassure the client for a very short time, if at all.
Error correction
Do not even attempt to address the issue of error correction if you do not care about applying it in the future. It would be better for you to look for a more interesting pursuit in life.
However, if you do find it interesting, then it would be a good idea to do the following after you have successfully corrected the errors in your current project:
- It is very useful to sit down and “rewind,” remembering the entire history of the project from the present back to the beginning. Ninety-nine percent of all errors are in plain sight and are caused by very simple factors.
- Play out a logical project development scenario along with possible risks and tentative solutions in your head or write them down on paper. This will give you a birds-eye view of the many possible alternatives for the progression of events and provide valuable experience for future projects.
- Speak with the vendors and service providers. Figure out what caused setbacks on their end. It is possible that these negotiations will lead you to understand that you need to replace a vendor. Do not be afraid to do this if you have no other option. Otherwise, you will face the problem again.
- Review the tasks that you complete during the course of a project. You might be able to free up some time for important matters by finding tasks that could be delegated to assistants without relinquishing supervisory control over the project.
- Use your mistakes for self-improvement. You should not linger in one place for long if your work becomes routine. This destroys your individuality and decreases opportunities for you to achieve your potential. Constantly search for new challenges. This will also provide a reprieve from the inherent routines of management.
Understanding of Goal
There are lots of varying definitions and perceptions about what is a Goal. I wanted to share my understanding not so much about the perception of the word itself, but of my feeling for it. Experience has demonstrated that this feeling has shaped my life a great deal.
A goal is a conscious definition of the subject or state that I’m striving to achieve. For me, the most useful example to draw is as the horizon (the border between earth and sky), to which you’re going along the road. It’s there constantly in the field of vision, distinct objects peel off it and constantly approach me. If I don’t see something beyond the horizon then the visualisation of this object or idea plays a major role here. In this manner the goal possesses properties that are defined and complemented by details by moving towards it. More often than not one goal creates another as a result of received experience or feelings.
In daily work the goal always determines the result. The quality of the result depends on how precisely I define the desired object or actions. Consequently the first question that I ask myself at the beginning of any new project is: “What do you think the result will look like?” or “What does my client expect?” Subsequently I started to delve more deeply in the details and visualise all the key process and points which await along the road. It has been known that I sometimes lose the thread. Completely “unforeseen” things then happen, the reason for which in actual fact can be attributed to a lack of understanding and visualisation at one stage or another. It is very similar to a dream state – when I’m asleep I am not aware of what is happening.
The understanding of goals is similar to creating a to-do list. It’s impossible to create something without a foundation, basis and starting point from which everything begins. This point is man himself, as the total sum of skills, knowledge and faculties. In order to formulate the goal correctly all one needs is to simply think about it. A person’s thoughts are extremely flighty and are easily replaced by others suddenly. This formulization also includes emotional sensations and visualisation. For example, you can think about a beautiful sunset – this is simply a thought, but you can really feel it and have a real impression.
If reaching a goal requires a significant amount of time it makes sense to record and utter it. Sound and vision provide the brain with a lot of useful information and is a very good form of support which is worth making use of.
Bearing the horizon in mind I always try to start acting on formulization, transforming it into a living process. Even results and their flavour that are insignificant in comparison with the goal as a whole are capable of really helping you to see the next steps.
Accordingly when understanding goals one should rely on real opportunities and features not restricted just to mental perceptions, including feelings, as well as not forgetting that formulization is like the goal itself a process in time, and not a statistical image in your head.
My Motivation
Things that give me strength and energy to work
- Process
- Impressions
- Goal
- Feedback
When I take up a new assignment, I have no idea what the outcome will be like – it is almost always a challenge. Some people can spend years upon years managing the same projects – something that would get me bored senseless. Nothing does more to kill my capacity for work than invariable routine operations. They are on the other extreme of what's interesting. When you have an interest in a job, the process never fails to give you pleasure and you find yourself living the process. While still not creativity in its pure form, it is no longer an exercise in routine milling of work time into a spate of products and services.
Along with interest come impressions created by the results of work. This is a very powerful element of self-motivation. If you invest your energy, it will eventually come back to you. The greater your understanding and personal contribution to the process, the greater the payback.
The goal is constantly in motion, like the horizon that you are moving toward. I dislike static goals that get closer with each passing day. What I see as a goal at the outset becomes merely a stage when I am halfway through; once this stage has been completed, it reveals the next goal. This constant motion is very motivational; otherwise, if I stop I get bored.
Life is a constant flow and an evolutionary process that does not tolerate long stopovers. I find it extremely difficult to be self-sufficient in all respects; nor do I consider such all-encompassing self-sufficiency to be necessary. The herartfelt interest that I take in the results of my work never fails to earn feedback from people for whom I do this work. If a job evokes no interest in me, I prefer not to take it. There are too many interesting things in this life to sell oneself short by doing something that gives no pleasure. Having the possibility to choose is very important.
Corporate culture. Training
Training as part of work
I accept working in an office as an intrinsic part of life. The more time it takes during the course of a day, month, year, then the more use should be drawn from this process. In the other case this is an empty waste of time.
In my first post dedicated to corporate culture I mention the necessity for comfortable personal space to become oneself. Today I want to write about training, i.e. to go further and expand my principle and understanding of the working process as it is for me and others who set themselves the aim of a conscious approach to one’s activities in life.
According to the principle of development, people gain experience from any activity and each of us can make this process more active and dynamic if there is an aim – to seek something new.
I have often noticed the peculiarity in myself that if I don’t apply effort in the completion of some task or other I often get bored of it and want to switch over to something “more interesting.” In a certain sense this trick is my own laziness and unwillingness to develop what had already been begun. It can be explained very simply: until that point when I reached my imaginary ‘ceiling’ – my knowledge, capabilities and skills were adequate for the job – everything was going swimmingly. But at the moment I hit ‘the wall’ I needed to initiate something. In this case the way to make a step forward would be to do something (every task has its own precise step at this moment) that would lead me to a new level of understanding and open new possibilities.
It is amusing that this principle of development is reflected most widely in computer games, but most people prefer to keep on playing.
In this way I can glance through the ‘wall’ and surmount it. If you don’t do this, then it is pointless completing the job and activity will naturally grind to a halt. The sense of this same aim to seek for something new in whatever you are engaged in comes down to searching inside, within the borders of your current activity, and even afterwards, if the quest has dried up, to start looking from the outside selecting a new or accompanying direction.
In my work under a pseudonym I apply the word training as the most understood and illustrative description of the search process. If you need to climb over ‘the wall’ and learn, if you choose that activity or direction, where you really don’t want to go but you know deep down inside yourself that it’s useful. This state of mind is a true sign of which point you need to apply your effort.
I use a similar principle when working with colleagues – some of them often get those tasks which enable them to spend their working time usefully, some should test to their heart’s content the fullness of their current activity in order to understand where they want to go next, while some can simply carry out a clearly defined set of tasks well – these are all important stages of individual training for each of them.
Mistakes in Management
If you want something done the way it was thought up – participate in all its stages.
Today I would like to refer to widespread mistakes in managing projects. I don’t want to focus my attention on precise methodologies, rules and procedures that have been elaborated in hundreds of books. These is all instrumentation, but the key factor in management is not the instrument, but in the person who is holding it in their hands. So, for example, you can learn to say the right thing or smile nicely in conversation, train yourself psychologically, have a to-do list, study how to do something in a certain scenario... the human brain is capable of learning or copying these simple tools very quickly, without requiring much input from your personality.
What’s more important is that which lies deeper than learnt knowledge. It is your own participation and experience of a situation on an emotional level and the sensations in your body, your direct engagement with the process.
90% of the successes of those things I take on and complete depend solely on my approach and relation to it, my understanding and feeling of the aim, time and place. The remaining 10% is my inattention, fear, over-evaluation of my strengths and capabilities... So, I come to the main mistakes:
Lack of a manager
‘The Manager’ is the most important, who’s always in fashion, to whom the ‘ends’ of any project are attached, on whom lies the whole responsibility for the company’s outcome. In most cases he’s just absent because very few people understand what personal responsibility is and where its borders are. So, for example, to formulate the mission, issue it to an executive and to then simply wait for the result is not the role of a manager or project manager – this is the role of a ‘porter’ who carries boxes from one place to another. In this instance the technical design of a project, your idea or an assignment act as boxes...
A good manager in the literal sense takes on the project from the ideas stage to the stage of its full completion in the form of definite goods or services provided, every detail should interest them, including the client’s reaction when the project is completed. The Manager is like the conductor of an orchestra. The conductor’s baton is his precise intent, aimed accurately at a definite executive at the required moment in time. And also, until that time that the concert is over and the satisfied public head for home. In order to understand this you have to feel yourself like a conductor of a simple matter like tidying a flat...you have to know how to ‘conduct’ yourself.
Therefore when choosing project participants it is essential from the beginning you should have a clear understanding for yourself of their roles and areas of responsibility, and then enter the roles of the proposed pretenders and look to see if they are suitable. It’s not worth giving client correspondence to a creative designer, it’s senseless to ask the secretary to keep track on project progress etc. The role should match the executive’s skills.
Don’t be afraid to say ‘no’ and replace a worker if it’s clearly now working out – this provides a chance to avoid additional expenses at later stages of the project. But if you see that someone can learn and develop, then you should give them that chance. The best employees are those who have learnt from the very start.
A genuine result is only possible with genuine engagement of all its participants.
Information, like a structure, is not something static, it changes constantly throughout the process. Therefore I am opposed to the thoughtless use of tables dictating certain actions. The choice of what action to take depends on the current moment and place, it is not a table, it is an adequate reaction to what is happening at a certain moment in time. Knowledge can help when taking a decision, but responsibility for the decision belongs above all to the person making it, not to a prescribed table.
A good manager in the literal sense takes on the project from the ideas stage to the stage of its full completion in the form of definite goods or services provided, every detail should interest them, including the client’s reaction when the project is completed. The Manager is like the conductor of an orchestra. The conductor’s baton is his precise intent, aimed accurately at a definite executive at the required moment in time. And also, until that time that the concert is over and the satisfied public head for home. In order to understand this you have to feel yourself like a conductor of a simple matter like tidying a flat...you have to know how to ‘conduct’ yourself.
Lack of the executives necessary
If you don’t have a manager or you have trust in the people chosen for your project by people who don't understand its aims and objectives, then you won’t have good executives capable of carrying out the task assigned to them adequately. If this somehow happens, then this is the Will of Fate. Every employee should work in their place, otherwise it is a useless waste of time, effort and your money. In addition this does not add to the respect for you, or for the manager, from those who sit waiting for work or carry out their work without experiencing interest in it.Therefore when choosing project participants it is essential from the beginning you should have a clear understanding for yourself of their roles and areas of responsibility, and then enter the roles of the proposed pretenders and look to see if they are suitable. It’s not worth giving client correspondence to a creative designer, it’s senseless to ask the secretary to keep track on project progress etc. The role should match the executive’s skills.
Don’t be afraid to say ‘no’ and replace a worker if it’s clearly now working out – this provides a chance to avoid additional expenses at later stages of the project. But if you see that someone can learn and develop, then you should give them that chance. The best employees are those who have learnt from the very start.
A genuine result is only possible with genuine engagement of all its participants.
Lack of information and the correct approach to it
This widespread mistake is about instrumentation – those instructions, methodologies and documents that are called for to help workers answer simple questions connected with managing a project. Ease and simplicity is the key to the understanding of and optimum access to the information you want to communicate. Once in possession of an understanding you can communicate the information further, because it’s important to try as best as possible to understand the basics, share and clearly document the essential details, appoint those who can share the information best, be in the loop of what’s going on, constantly collecting and processing new data.Information, like a structure, is not something static, it changes constantly throughout the process. Therefore I am opposed to the thoughtless use of tables dictating certain actions. The choice of what action to take depends on the current moment and place, it is not a table, it is an adequate reaction to what is happening at a certain moment in time. Knowledge can help when taking a decision, but responsibility for the decision belongs above all to the person making it, not to a prescribed table.
