A: The high price of stress includes errors in judgment, interpersonal conflicts, increased com-plaints and absenteeism.

Stress caused by organizational issues or poor leader-ship decisions can be mitigated by ensuring staff perceive their work as meaningful and valuable.

Managers may unknowingly contribute to employees’ stress by treating all assignments as urgent and pressure employees to meet unnecessary deadlines.

Recognize the volume and intensity of the work-loads. Multiple assignments increase stress. Set realistic expectations and deadlines. Prioritize and provide clear instructions so staff can make effective choices. Stream-line or eliminate extraneous steps.

Micromanaging also causes undue stress, as staff feels controlled and stifled. Develop employees’ skills and abilities so they work independently to achieve their own success. Assign tasks and responsibilities that play to employees’ strengths. Recognize their accomplishments.

Studies show that the leader’s energy is contagious. Humour and fun increase positivity. Managers who take their jobs and themselves too seriously risk depleting their workforce.

Encourage staff to take lunch and breaks to recharge and connect with colleagues. Flexible hours or telecom-muting gives employees autonomy. Time off enables them to return refreshed and more motivated. With-out any vacations, staff will begin performing worse and working more slowly.

Invite staff to face-to-face meetings to discuss and dif-fuse conflicts. Validating their viewpoints serves as a safety valve to vent their fear, frustration and concerns. Man-agers must also buffer their staff from the stress produced by those higher in the chain of command.

Managers who communicate with their staff fairly, openly and honestly can preserve a cohesive productive workplace.

Originally printed in The Province, May 13, 2012.

A: Even seasoned managers can cringe at that thought of confronting their loyal staff with bad news. It can be so anxiety provoking they procrastinate, deny, turn a blind eye, excuse, give in or give up. Unfortunately, poor performance doesn’t heal itself.

Shift your manager’s attitude. Remind him that since most people want to do well, they welcome feedback intended to support their development. Leadership’s commitment to preserving an employee’s job rather than setting him up for termination can deepen their relationship.

Your manager may be feeling responsible or guilty that this represents his own failure to support his staff. Consider having the employee’s performance review be reflected in his overall performance rating to hold him accountable. Without consequences, what motivates the manager to keep his team on track?

Enlist a coach or HR consultant to roleplay the conversation, anticipate reactions and ways to address them. Have the manager follow these simple steps:

? Write down the concern with specific examples.

? List the consequences and implication of the employee’s actions.

? Identify possible solutions and/or resources for the employee: i.e. coach, mentor, course

? Set uninterrupted time aside to meet with the employee. Have a clear desired outcome. Prepare mentally.

? During the meeting, be matter of fact, respectful and direct.

? Ask the employee for their perspective. Listen openly, offer support.

? Document next steps in a work plan. Hold employee accountable. Give specific feedback.

Your manager is also underperforming. In the bigger picture, what might this reveal about your organization’s culture?

Originally printed in The Province, April 8, 2012.

A: Years of acquiring technical expertise or knowledge makes you so reliable in your current role that there may be a reluctance to promote you. Who else could possibly replace you?

Up to this point you’ve received your satisfaction from accomplishing things, feeling productive. Now, delegation is a high priority. Make yourself obsolete rather than indispensable. Transfer your knowledge to your staff. Give them opportunities to learn and grow so they can take over your job.

Relinquishing control of the daily tactical issues will also showcase your ability to manage a team to successfully meet outcomes. Have them replace you at meetings you cannot attend so others can see how capable they are. It will also give you time out from doing so you can begin thinking strategically at a level above the tactical.

While you progress from being task to strategic focus, you will also need to shift other leaders’ perception of you as a big-picture thinker. Find every opportunity to get visibility at your manager’s level and above. Take on a high-visibility project which would require you to consult with them. Meet with them informally for coffee.

In presentations to leaders, demonstrate your ability to transfer tactical information to the audience at the appropriate level of strategy for their needs. Be clear and succinct when outlining the key critical priorities for success and how they tie back to the strategic objectives and corporate vision.

Make it easy for others to view you as a visionary leader.

Originally published in The Province, Feb 26, 2012.

A: Sometimes we need a change and a challenge. Here are some ideas to make 2012 a
motivating adventure.

- Take on something completely different at work. Step up for an acting role, a
secondment to a project, or an assignment in new department where you would be
shaken out of your com-fort zone, challenged and grow.

- Initiate a cause in your organization that’s meaningful to you. A client of
mine led a team to build a school in Kenya.

- Hire coach to give you a shot in the arm, a kick in the butt and explore more
of your potential!

- Mentor someone who you really want to see succeed at work or in your community.

- Take an intensive leadership pro-gram, get a degree, learn to conquer a fear.
Engage your mind in new ways.

- Set a lofty career aspiration with an unrealistic timeline and ask a mentor to
hold you to it.

- Take a sabbatical to work with a community that would benefit from your
expertise. Nothing is more humbling or rewarding than serving those who attempt
to do so much with so little.

- Transfer to another geographic region or business partner. Be bold. Go
somewhere you don’t speak the language.

- Write a professional bucket list and start tackling it NOW. If you only had one
year left at your company what would you want your legacy to be?

- Email me what you choose and in December let me know how it went. Make it a
breathtaking year!

Originally published in The Province, Jan. 15, 2012.

I discovered that being task focused makes people feel used and ignored. How
will I recover from this?

A: While the review may be negative, your attitude is positive and open. How
you handle the results is far more important than what you received. Absorb,
understand and act.

Take time to let the results sink in. Pay attention to good feedback, too.
Reflect on the information with curiosity and compassion rather than self
judgment.

Reduce the risk of appearing defensive. Don’t take any action until you are
unemotional.

Never seek more information or confront respondents. They already risked
giving you an honest assessment. Ask yourself: What are the common themes? How
are my good intentions being negatively perceived? What kind of leader do I want
to be?

?What three behaviours that would create the greatest positive impact and
reveal the leader you are aspiring to be?

? What small simple behavioural shifts would make a big difference?

? What manager, mentor, colleague or leadership coach would support your
development with ongoing feedback and holding you accountable to your
commitments.

Bring your staff onside by sharing with them how you intend to change. Invite
them to keep you on track by acknowledging you when you are successful and
calling you out when old behaviours creep in. Making changes based on their
feedback demonstrates you are a leader who values your staff enough to listen
and learn from them. That alone will positively alter their perception of
you.

Originally published in The Province, Dec. 4, 2011.

A: Since she interacts with others the same way, this reveals more about her than those she criticizes.

Life rarely measures up to a critic’s expectations, since they usually hold themselves to an even higher level of criticism than they do others. So don’t waste your energy taking it personally. Stress can make people curt or blunt. Maybe she is unaware of how her words come across or how her negativity siphons other’s energy.

If inviting input or opinions, you must to be willing to hear her feedback. Focus on ‘what’ she is saying rather than getting caught up in ‘how’ she’s saying it. Find the golden nugget being offered and acknowledge its value. Leave the rest. Critical people believe the validity of their viewpoint and want it to be heard.

If you’re not ready to hear her insight, do not solicit it. Keep your communications factual, business-like and brief. Stay away from minefields and limit interactions to essential items.

You can’t change others’ attitudes, but you can choose how you react. Why do her criticisms get under your skin? What meaning do you attribute to her comments? What is it that bothers you? Just as the critic’s comments reflect more about them, your reaction reveals more about you.

Ironically, she can be a great teacher. A self-critical person doesn’t have the capacity or ability to offer it to others. However, you will have developed increased self-awareness and self management when you are can respond to her with genuine compassion and understanding.

Originally published in The Province, Oct. 30, 2011.

A: Besides bringing in a neutral systems coach trained to resolve the team’s underlying conflict, role modelling by a leader is an effective way to achieve behavioural changes. The coaching skills of listening and asking curious questions would help break through the resistance.

Clear out your thoughts and agenda to focus attention on the speaker. If you are sorting and assessing the speaker’s message while they are speaking, you are NOT fully hearing them. You are filtering communication through assumptions and opinions. Listen beyond literal words, voice tone and their delivery. What is the underlying message they are trying to convey? What is their good intention beneath the words? What are they not saying?

Asking simple curious questions in a matter of fact manner will flush out their point of view. Seemingly obvious or dumb questions posed with sincere curiosity will encourage the speaker to disclose even more. Open ended questions that steer toward the positive in their viewpoint and begin with “what” will expand the conversation. For example: What is superior about this solution? What is the benefit? What would this afford us?

Avoid “why” questions that may make the speaker inadvertently feel interrogated or defensive. If the meeting becomes heated, neutralize it by curiously questioning the conflict – ensuring you are exhibiting judgment-free listening and dispassionate questioning. Your consistent follow through will demonstrate new meeting expectations promoting trust and safety so staff are motivated to contribute their ideas.

Originally published in The Province, Sept. 25, 2011.

A: Values conflicts can be more challenging to work through since they are emotionally charged. People tend to feel judged, threatened or personally attacked because their values reflect deeply held beliefs. This takes a more delicate mediation.

Start by facilitating an honest dialogue where both parties can explain their value freely and fully without being interrogated or criticized. The first step is to break through possible misconceptions or stereotyping by ensuring both parties feel heard.

Build trust and safety by keeping the conversational tone neutral. Ask each party: What does this value mean to you? What’s important to you about this value? Have the other party repeat what they heard and articulate how this complementary viewpoint strengthens the department.

The outcome of this meeting is to open up understanding and mutual respect for each other’s viewpoint. The intention is not for both parties to come to an agreement or to change either party’s values. You will need to remind them of this often throughout the process.

Establish common ground by finding a larger universal value that they can both support. For example: the company’s mission. If the conversation circles back to their differences in belief, keep reinforcing their commitment to the larger shared value.

Operationalize the new mutually held belief by formalizing an agreement on how they will work toward it in their own way. Include concrete action steps that they will be held accountable to attain. Finally, affirm their commitment and mutual respect.

 Originally published in The Province, Aug. 21, 2011.

A: Others won’t respect your time off until you do. You’ve trained people that you are available even when absent.

This time give people two week’s notice of your upcoming vacation. At the same time block time to wrap up, tidy up or delegate your current responsibilities to others you trust. Introduce your replacements to the key issues and provide clear written instructions on how to handle specific situations so you can relax knowing business is taken care of.

Turn on your “out of office” e-mail manager informing people you are unavailable and who to contact regarding urgent issues. Create an outgoing voice message with the same information. Then unplug. Don’t answer your phone! Seriously, once you respond from your BlackBerry it is game over.

Doing even a little bit of work while away will continue a slow drain on your mental and emotional batteries. You will end up coming back just as tired. Ride the relaxed holiday momentum by easing back into work. Block the first day or two to get organized and reoriented.

Rather than answer each email, sort by subject, scan, prioritize and act on the most pressing issues. Delegate what you can immediately, then file or dump messages you were cc’d on for reference. This reduces the sense of overwhelming.

Remember. Vacations have enormous health benefits.

Originally published in The Province, July 18, 2011.

A: Generation Y are whiz kids raised on instant gratification where a click of a button gave them access to everything. They have short attention spans, which makes them excellent multi-taskers.

If you want to reach them, meet them on their turf. They respond better to an instant message or text than a phone or face-to-face meeting. Be brief. They speak in shorthand, processing information quickly. What you may be interpreting as disrespect is their chomping at the bit to take action.

They work best in an open, energetic atmosphere. They love to participate, not wanting to miss out on anything. They thrive in an entrepreneurial environment where they are empowered and rewarded for their individualism.

Salary is less important than meaningful work where they’re recognized for the difference they make. They are motivated by a management style that mentors and develops them professionally. Inspiring leadership can unleash tremendous productivity. When they’re engaged, they willingly work after hours as long as they can check their Facebook status at work.

Sharp, highly creative and ambitious, they crave variety and challenge. If they aren’t given the chance to advance they’ll be out the door. They know they don’t have to go far to replace an aging boomer. With 1,000 retiring each day in Canada, you’ll need to continue meeting the key retention question: “What’s in it for me?”

Originally printed in The Province, June 12, 2011