Beta Companies Wanted
(Read: free RoundPegg use for your team)
RoundPegg is already providing value to over 30 companies. In fact, we have helped companies make a number of successful hires already, and there are more in the hopper all the time.
We are looking to add more to the list. If you are hiring in the next 6-months, and want to ensure that you are bringing people into your company who fit your company like a glove, then drop us a line.
What you get:
- free use of our software through the end of 2010
- unlimited support and our complete attention on your input and feedback
- an hour a month with Dr. Natalie Baumgartner, our Chief Psychologist
What we need:
- active use of the software in your hiring initiatives
- timely, candid feedback
- a quote and a case study once we make you wildly successful
So, let’s talk.
Please email beta@roundpegg.com with a little info about your team, your hiring plans and the issues you’re facing with which we can help.
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Fair warning: space in the Beta program is extremely limited.
Aligning teams and getting everyone engaged and pulling in the same direction is key to your business’ success. Engaged employees are 50% more productive than under or dis-engaged employees according to Gallup.
To pick up a few action items on how to re-engage your team, follow along with Natalie Baumgartner, RoundPegg’s Chief Psychologist as she outlines the most important things you can do.
photo by elevate printing
John Maeda’s recent post on the Harvard Business blogs discusses the value of being critiqued. Two things stood out to me. First, how the concept of feedback (aka crits) is entrenched in the supposedly emotionally-based art world and yet the supposedly emotionless, fact-based business world does everything possible to avoid annual reviews. Second, was the fact that the business world has no idea how to constructively give feedback. (The latter likely follows from the former, of course.)
So…a few thoughts on how to start turning that ship.
Feedback often fails to motivate because we unintentionally make the conversation human. Seriously. We make evaluative judgments about the other individual rather than framing the conversation around their goals. Though the content of the conversation is about the individual and their actions you want to be able to disassociate the individual from the process as much as possible. You also need to make it apparent that you’re working to the same end point without placating or making unproductive comments in order to ’soften the blow.’
It’s far easier to be critiqued by others when you know they have your interests in mind. This is the subtle difference between being a coach and being a manager.
Know what motivates (why one works). Know each individual’s goals (where they want to be). And know how to talk to them in a way that gets heard (what springs them to action).
Not knowing these will likely lead to a brilliant failure. It may not be immediately apparent, but the individual will likely shut down in the short-term and need time to bounce back. That process can be long and if not properly managed, irreparable. If you don’t already know the answers to the above a good starting point for giving feedback would be to start the conversation with the first two questions. If you know the answers, start by reiterating them.
Giving feedback is incredibly hard. Nobody wants to be the bearer of bad news. Yet, most people want to be able to take some credit for helping others succeed. Mentally shift how you think about this activity and it will get a little easier. And your team should become more productive.
Criticism is easy. Any knucklehead can do it.
Real genius is in seeing why something will work rather than the 100 reasons why it won’t.
photo by daftgirly
As the team leader you need solutions from your team. You need them to unabashedly throw out half-baked ideas because it’s only from those nascent thoughts that real change comes. Allowing criticism to creep into your work environment creates a competitive scenario where people are first looking to score points by killing the ideas of others rather than coming up with solutions of their own.
Instead focus on collaboration. People shouldn’t be made to feel stupid because there were a couple flaws in their idea. Focus on what works in the idea and follow those breadcrumbs.
It all begins with you. The team will follow your lead. With that, a few thoughts:
This is something I struggle with all the time in my internal voice. I’m my own greatest critic, but I’m changing. What else do you have? Any other ideas?
We’re all guilty of kissing ass at some point. We laugh at a boss’ joke that isn’t funny. We concede that an idea might work despite it’s obvious (to us) flaws. But what is that ingratiating behavior costing us?
Not much as it turns out. Despite the article being titled Workers “Sucking Up” Bad For Business: Experts the only evidence given shows what a boon it is to workers:
Forget for a moment, what that does to a business. What does that say about you and I that we are so easily fooled? We think we’re smart enough to evaluate people based on merit, but obviously we’re susceptible to a little ass kissing. This means in all of our evaluative efforts where our subjectivity comes into play (hiring, annual reviews, promotions and firing) we can’t be trusted.
photo by mallix
We need more rigorous and objective measures in terms of who to hire and who to promote. While it’s impossible and foolhardy to do away with human measure in these areas we too often think we’re God’s gift to intuition and therefore aren’t willing to allow another objective data source to interfere with our decision-making process.
So back to why this is bad for business. Sure, group think is a problem. Yep, it fails to reward good ideas.
But it’s also a vicious circle. When we promote the suck ups it’s because we don’t have the self-confidence to firmly stand behind our own decisions. Likewise, the people sucking up will be the ones who can’t get ahead on the quality of their own thoughts. This creates an organizational weak-mindedness that dumbs down innovation and work quality. And in a knowledge-based company that trades on its ideas that’s a deathblow. Inertia will carry you along for a while, but the friction of the marketplace and the internal competition to see who can suck up best will grind you to a halt soon enough.
For all the leaders out there, don’t succumb to the sycophants. If for no other reason than it points to your own obvious flaws and weaknesses. Have a little self respect and self confidence. You’re better than that.
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