29 Sep
PeopleTek Coaching Change

Managing Change Effectively

Are You Equipped to Accept & Deal With Change?

The rate of change is not going to slow down anytime soon. If anything, competition in most industries will probably speed up even more in the next few decades.
–John P. Kotter

How do you feel when you are told that there will be changes in the workplace?  We’ve worked with a lot of individuals and teams and have been told that managing change is one of their biggest issues.

Matter of fact, in a recent survey we conducted, only 11% of the responders felt they managed change effectively.

Given the times, we need to expect that change will continue to occur at a rapid pace, and we should anticipate and prepare for discomfort and uncertainty.

So, how can we prepare and help ourselves and our teams adjust?

8 Thoughts For Managing Change Effectively

  1. We need to understand and clearly communicate all changes and associated impacts.
  2. We need to ensure team members are clear about any changes to their roles and responsibilities.
  3. We need to re-validate or perhaps update our vision, mission, and goals and communicate the changes.
  4. We must identify all challenges our teams are facing. Do you know? Have you asked? During uncertain times, we need to increase our level of awareness and communicate more than ever.
  5. We need to re-build team synergy, and invest in and re-skill our top performers.
  6. We also need to “sell” our teams by publicizing their successes and the value provided.
  7. We need to realize that change impacts us differently. Some may be energized and flourish while others become almost immobilized; try to have one on ones with individuals. They don’t need to be formal; engage team members around the coffee pot or in the break room. For offsite teams and team members, call them.  ASK how they are feeling!
  8. Watch for diminishing productivity levels and changes to morale.

Let us know your tips for effectively managing change!

Change is an Ongoing Process

Change is continual and requires us to be adaptable. We need to understand and identify our productive and nonproductive change behaviors, and commit to minimizing and even eliminating those behaviors that are not serving us well.

Most importantly, communication is key. As leaders we need to communicate more than ever; it’s critical we provide information and impacts, and it’s equally important that we listen and sense how others are feeling.

PeopleTek provides solutions for helping you better understand and embrace change, and will work with you to identify your change opportunities.

Check out our custom programs for more information or contact us.

22 Sep
PeopleTek Coaching Team

Required Roles For An Optimal Team

The strength of the team is each individual member…the strength of each member is the team.
—Coach Phil Jackson, Chicago Bulls

We know successful teams consist of team members that have a common purpose, shared goals and the desire for their team to flourish. They also need to trust one another, hold one another accountable, and maximize individual strengths to make the team even stronger.

Inscape Publishing believes that four critical roles must also be filled for a team to be highly successful. They expanded a study conducted by Fahden and Namakkal, which found that optimal teams are not only comprised of individuals with differing styles and behaviors but that key roles must be filled.

Four Roles Required For a Successful Team

CREATOR

Generates the concepts and ideas. Looks for solutions that may be unusual or unique; goes beyond the obvious. Creators generate fresh, creative and original ideas, recognizes alternatives and sees the “big picture”. Once the idea is generated it gets passed to an Advancer.

ADVANCER

Recognizes ideas and new directions early on and develops ways to promote them. Advancers plan based on past experiences and successful methods, prefer familiar ideas and but are open to new concepts and will not be discouraged by rules and boundaries. Once there is structure toward implementation the idea is passed to a Refiner.

REFINER

Concepts are challenged and a methodical process is used to analyze, apply order, and look for flaws or possible problems with the concept or idea. Refiners are good at reviewing ideas and implementation plans, at modifying and coming up with new ideas, and rationally reviewing them to ensure success. The final pass off is to the Executor. If the concept or idea is not ready for implementation, the Advancer and Creator may get re-engaged, execute their role and then re-pass it to the Refiner.

EXECUTOR

Team objectives are followed up on and ideas and solutions are implemented. The Executor focuses on ensuring the implementation plan is orderly and has been well thought out and strives for high-quality results. They enjoy their tasks and the responsibility of final implementation but prefer that others take the lead.

One other role is critical to the success of a team; the FLEXER. The Flexer objectively monitors the contributions of the team members, keeps them moving in the right direction, and steps in as needed.

The combination of these roles promotes innovation and teamwork and provides teams with a competitive edge.  Do you have the optimal team?

Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.
–Henry Ford

20 Sep
PeopleTek Coaching Blog

Maximize Your Team

When a team outgrows individual performance and learns team confidence, excellence becomes a reality.
—Joe Paterno

Maximize Your Team

True teams work together to maximize individual strengths, obtain buy-in, and inspire and motivate one another for the good of the team.

Team = Together Everyone Achieves More

PeopleTek provides comprehensive, interactive, team development programs that bring team members together. The programs focus on building trust, dealing with differences in healthy ways, and learning to hold one another accountable while improving results.

PeopleTek provides leadership solutions for building motivated teams, maximizing team synergy, and growing the bottom line.

15 Sep
PeopleTek Coaching News

Leading With Laughter

“Funny as it may sound, humor is absolutely essential to the success of any organization.”
 Randall Munson (website 2004) 

Think about a team, a project, or an initiative you were part of that was successful and that you have fond memories of.  Do you recall if humor was experienced? Chances are, the answer is yes.

Studies have found that humor promotes teamwork, builds relationships, and improves results.

Humor has also been linked with our emotional intelligence competencies. According to Daniel Goleman,(EQ author/expert) “Research on humor at work reveals that a well-timed joke or playful laughter can stimulate creativity, open lines of communication, enhance a sense of connection and trust, and, of course make work more fun”.

Allan Filipowicz, Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior found that humor, used both proactively and reactively in small group situations, could greatly facilitate communication in what could be difficult interpersonal situations.

Bryan Lattimore states that humor can be used:

  • As a way to break the ice in stiff or uncomfortable business situations
  • As an effective bonding technique – a wonderful way to build common ground with other employees
  • As a way to break down resistance
  • As a much-needed way to improve the content, enjoyment, and ultimately the productivity of meetings
  • As a way to assign work when people can’t take any more
  • As a wonderful way to ease and control tension

Herb Kelleher, (former CEO of Southwest Airlines) wanted the company to focus on fun and profit. He encouraged a corporate culture where employees were serious about their jobs, but took themselves lightly and shared laughter with their customers. Coincidentally, Southwest Airlines is consistently ranked high in “Best Company To Work” and “Most Admired” company.

Laughter is an outlet, a stress reducer, is energizing, and builds morale. And, it’s been found that workers and leaders with a good sense of humor do a better job and are more successful than those that don’t.

Are you using humor and laughter to improve results?

12 Sep
PeopleTek Coaching Blog

Coaching For Excellence

“When it comes to providing the tools and coaching to improve one’s leadership skills, no one surpasses Michael Kublin and PeopleTek! Michael and his team will not only help you understand your current situation in a more meaningful way, they will help you develop strategies for taking your business where you want it to go.”
Brooks Hogg

CREATING LEADERSHIP EXCELLENCE . . .

Leadership Development

PeopleTek shows individuals and teams how to apply their skills in ways that leverage leadership strengths.  Through group Journey programs as well as one on one coaching, leaders are provided the tools and secrets required for becoming even more successful.

Understanding and appreciating the strengths that one has relied upon for success to date, as well as the competencies that haven’t yet been fully developed, and appreciating the differences and strengths that others provide, are some of the secrets explored.

Personal Excellence

PeopleTek helps individuals build critical competencies and raise their peak performance level. Individuals at any stage of their career learn how to overcome hurdles standing in the way of their progress and overcome new challenges they may be facing in a new role or with a new team or organization.

Team  Synergy

PeopleTek provides comprehensive, hands-on programs for teams that brings team members together and solves critical issues. Teams learn how to work together in a way that maximizes their individual strengths and heightens individual buy-in and motivation.

Let us help you enhance your leadership skills, obtain heightened levels of success, and grow your bottom line!

08 Sep
PeopleTek Coaching Leadership, Success

Passion Drives Results

Passionate People = a Profitable company.
—Ann Rhoades

Knowing what you’re passionate about and making the time to experience your passion is critical for success both personally and professionally. Even when well-intended, making the time, and having balance, can be difficult.

Doug Gray, coach, speaker, and author of Passionate Action – 5 Steps To Creating Extraordinary Success In Life and Work, created a balance wheel designed to achieve success.

He suggests our “wheel” consist of 8 parts:

  1. Personal Growth
  2. Significant Other
  3. Health
  4. Friends/Family
  5. Recreation
  6. Money
  7. Career
  8. Other (something critical and personal to you)

Using a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being extremely happy and satisfied with each category, how balanced are you? What categories are you satisfied with?  Are there any you’re dissatisfied with?

Your categories may not be balanced and don’t necessarily need to be.  What’s important is that you recognize all imbalances and decide if you’d like to change the balance.

Here are some questions which may help:

What will this cost me if I do not change?  Compared against:
If I make this change how might it improve my life?

What will I regret if I do not make a change?  Compared against:
How might this change make me feel?

How are my familiar habits limiting me physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually?  Compared against:
What else could I accomplish if I made this change?

What are my beliefs preventing me from doing physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually?   Compared against:
How will my family and friends (and co-workers) feel towards me if I make this change?

What is lost if I don’t make this change now?  Compared against:
What is gained if I don’t make this change now?

These questions are worth investing the time to realistically assess where you are now and where you want to be.   Re-visit your areas of dissatisfaction – were you just having a bad day when you rated each category or are there areas in your balance wheel you’d like to change?

You’re in control! What can YOU do to increase your passion, have a better-balanced wheel, and obtain desired results?