Art of the Individual Contributor

There is so much focus on teamwork lately, that the art of individual efforts may have been overlooked. Teamwork, team building and go team have become the mantra for modern day work environments. However, the true art of individually developed projects still has some steam left in this world of the global group effort.

Individual contributors or "ICs" strive because their efforts incorporate a well-rounded knowledge of the organization. This is based on their ability to take on little known projects across a wide spectrum of organizations both inside and outside of the primary team.

Moreover, Individual Contributors are not bogged down by group dynamics that totally focus on "group cohesion" instead of progress. You know what I mean...group think. For example, a new team member creates an idea and because everyone is so concerned about being polite, the ability to innovate and collaborate is stifled. Yet an "IC" dares to ask the question of "why" before simply agreeing under the guise of achieving group harmony. No one ever made a difference in the world by waiting for acceptance from others who may not have the most altruistic means.

Also, teamwork has been bottle-necked into a vacuum where the focus is solely on your immediate team members instead of a more global verse. Those who create, innovate and design new methods, technologies, products and services seem to transcend barriers using political savvy and relational business acumen.

In addition, inspiration to do great things is generated from multiple sources. It can be an article, a colleague or a favorite thing from youth that will lead to the next big thing. An individual contributor readily can take their inspiration, think strategically by focusing on the big picture and become the change agent extraordinaire.

The irony is that an individual who can float between multiple teams can always create nuances that make a program or project flow as well as progress. Unbound by the typical group logic, an individual contributor makes an effort to seek progress and like minded souls to exceed organizational goals. 

Perception and Conflict Management

Imagine you are having a great day at work, where the ideas are flowing, the deadlines are being met and there is a serious up tick in your ability to do great things. You move forward in your work day basking in the glow of career utopia only to have your peer stop you with an “issue” about sharing office tasks. This is also referred to as “sharing the office spotlight.”

There are several paths to take when a peer comes to you with a work place conflict and ignoring their concerns is not an option. First, have an open dialogue with the person to determine if the issue is real or perception. According to Merriam-Webster, perception is the process of noticing or understanding something or someone based on a person’s senses. While it may be easy to dismiss someone’s concerns over a perceived workplace “wrong”, it helps to know if it is feelings of fact that is the root cause.

The “conflict-intervention” conversation is not an easy chat, as there may be moments when you will feel like you want to yell, defend and deflect blame. While all valid feelings, you are encouraged to approach a new perception-riddled conflict by suspending judgment that your accuser is “out to get you.” This process sounds easy, but in theory it only works over time via constant practice.

Moreover, a Harvard Business Review  work place conflict article by Jeffrey Pfeffer suggests that a prepared employee is one who realizes that despite your best intentions, work place conflicts will happen because of competing employee agendas. This type of reality check will help keep staff grounded in the fact that while conflict happens, it is the effective management of these issues that makes or breaks an office environment.

In addition, effective workplace conflict management includes taking the time to assess issues using an unfiltered lens to determine if it is a personality conflict, actual harassment or a simple misunderstanding. Then you can determine if the conflict merits a full on blitzkrieg because of a potential hostile work environment versus a conversation with a peer about their concerns. The ability to leverage emotional intelligence and honest dialogue may result in a teachable moment for both you and your colleague.  

Enhance Your Exit Strategy Blog

Check out my latest blog titled Enhance Your Exit Strategy on GovLoop.com.
Or click here: https://www.govloop.com/community/blog/enhance-exit-strategy/.

New Point of View

The Organizational Freelancer Blog has been on a brief hiatus to take the opportunity to explore a new point of view as well as take on various opportunities.

Currently, I am teaching a class in new media tech for grad students and their weekly projects are posted on my new blog.

Checkout the weekly updates here: http://com603newmediatechprojects.blogspot.com/.

Top 5 Tips to Avoid a WOTM

It’s Friday at work and there is calmness in the air until the bell on your Outlook email begins to ring sounding off the start of your marathon of all day meetings. Meetings can be a great way to share information, connect with colleagues and obtain insight on leadership views when managed effectively.

Yet, sometimes we may get engulfed in a deluge of meetings that may not meet our expectations of what we think is an ideal meeting. Lucy Murray, a professional communicator recently referred to this phenomenon as “Waste of Time Meetings” or “WOTMs”. You may have seen the signs of a WOTM on the horizon recently at work.

For example, a WOTM will omit a time managed agenda with tangible items. Instead, you will walk into a room filled with free flowing conversation that is not actually focused on the topic identified in the meeting invite. Any effort to redirect the conversation to the specific topic is met with denial and smirks from those enjoying the “time out.” By the time you look up, an hour has passed and nothing has been accomplished except an agreement to meet the same time next week to discuss the same topic covered in the original WOTM.

Another sign of an impending WOTM is the lack of an agenda. That’s right; the agenda serves as your “meeting guide” which is used to help everyone stay on track with the time. An effective agenda is supposed to spark ideas as well as ensure the dialogue makes progress. It is courteous to create a meeting agenda for your participants then share it before the actual meeting so they will know in advance how the session correlates to their work efforts. Otherwise, if a person gets a meeting invitation and it is not part of their “What’s In It For Me” (WIIFM) purview, then they will ignore your future meeting invitations. Also, remember not to ignore the “WIIFM Factor” when planning your next meeting. The sessions should be planned to meet their expectations.

Another culprit is the perception that a meeting is a WOTM although it may be useful for participants. A “perceived WOTM” may occur during weekly group meetings where the same people talk each week and a “cast of hundreds” stands around listening for an hour or more. They will have little to no opportunity to actively engage in the session which makes them wonder why they have to be in the room in the first place. There are only so many times you can say a meeting is for the edification of the listeners. Part of listening includes active engagement between all participants in a meeting.

A way to combat the potential WOTM is to take a step back and think about what you can possibly learn the next time you participate. Then if the signs of WOTM sneak up on you like a snow shower in D.C., take the time to talk to the organizer and tactfully share suggestions on how to improve the next meeting.

Top 5 Tips to Avoid a WOTM

1.      Create an agenda and stick to it (your colleagues’ time is a precious commodity)

2.      Target your agenda to the audience to meet the “WIIFM factor”

3.      Ask participants to share their thoughts on the topic

4.      Rotate the weekly meeting speakers to give others the opportunity to contribute to the process

5.      Donate the time back to staff if you genuinely do not have a good reason for the meeting. They will appreciate the extra time to focus on tasks.

Leadership Lessons

Lao Tzu once said “A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” Everyone defines leadership differently in this world. Some believe that a leader exudes charisma, offers a valid vision or inspires the staff to do above and beyond their daily routine. Yet, we’ve all experienced the “good, bad and ugly” in terms of leadership. Consequently, some may try to move forward in their careers by seeking leadership that reflects a balance between a “task manager” and a manager who inspires her team to be innovative every day. Some leaders can provide the right tempo by leveraging leadership lessons that may result in positive influences on their employees.
Effective leaders ensure their team has the tools to get the job done. For example, if you manage a team of web designers and they do not have the latest open source software to create interactive content, then the team will fail no questions asked. Part of the process includes staff asking for the resources they need to get the job done and managers to simply listen to how the latest and greatest tools will amplify effectiveness. Read more.

Amplify your Professional Writing Skills

Some people are natural born writers who can easily string together concise messages with little to no effort. The rest of us are “writers-in-progress” who know it takes time to craft an effective business message. The best approach to strong business writing is varied and based on the several things:

• Solid research
• Editing skills
• Turning critiques into coaching tips

Government communications continues to incorporate plain language, 508-compliant materials as well as solid research to create accurate messages. Consequently, your writing needs to be fact based and verifiable so that senior leaders can trust the messages they are about to convey are credible. It is important to conduct a thorough search regarding your writing topic by viewing diverse data sources to obtain the complete picture.
Moreover, the ability to generate good written products also relies on accepting feedback from multiple editors and then making the changes as necessary. Some of the feedback from editor’s including your boss may be hard to accept. Yet, there is always a lesson to learn from hearing the “hard stuff” at the office regarding one’s writing skills. In addition, sometimes speeches require writing from a team of communications professionals making one cohesive message from a diverse pool of resources. When they collaborate and develop a cohesive message it is the result of everyone agreeing that no one person “owns” the speech. It is a group effort.
Channel writing critiques into lessons learned:

• Listen to feedback and then walk away to absorb the critique
• Ask questions if you do not understand the suggested changes
• Be honest in your coaching
• Learn to be more receptive to input, the bad or otherwise scathing
• Avoid “group think” by using the “tenth man rule” so that you can openly object if everyone simply agrees to maintain harmony
• Cut yourself some slack on the self-criticism
• Try writing a variety of products to enhance your skills