Jackie Cameron - Coaching and Communication

Working with some managers I split them into  two groups and set them a task. While they were working I noticed that one group was quickly organised and they had finished well before the others. We then adjourned for coffee but one of the second group was still working on something - and then he joined us. It was clear that he was finishing something for his group - though the rest of them were already drinking coffee.  Afterwards we talked about the task and I mentioned what I had noticed.

The first group said that they finished quickly because someone offered to lead and write up their responses right at the start….and the rest of the group were happy to let him.

The second group said that they worked together all the way through and the guy who joined us later than the rest had offered to double check the answers - because that is how he liked to work.

In both cases the team members generally and the guys who took on the specific roles were happy with the outcome.

A friend was telling me that everyone in her business had been  challenged to develop  client relationships and there were some tensions around the time it was taking up and the one size fits all methods that had been “rolled out”.  While I believe that every person in an organisation has the potential to impact on client/customer relationships there will always be  some who are naturally good at it, some who are keen and willing to learn how to do it, and others whose skills should be used in other areas! So I had some sympathy with her situation and as an illustration  I described little kids when they play football. Usually they all run after the ball and try to score a goal - which is easy because there is nobody left at the back defending!

Now we all know when somebody is taking liberties by not doing what they should in their role but there are times when the best decision is to let someone else get on with what they do well. The opportunity to do the same for them is bound to show itself at some point in the future.

As a final thought on this I now offer short one to one  coaching sessions on how to use Linkedin. This is in direct reponse to the comment ” I know I should be using social networks but I just don’t have the time to learn”. Over the past year or so I have been using the tools  and learning by doing. It suits my activist learning style.  Whilst I do not hold myself up as an expert I do have expertise that would help others to shorten the long learning period. Sounds like a good balance to me - and to my clients thankfully!

This post is part of the group writing project “What I learned from Colourful Characters”hosted by Robert Hruzek at Middle Zone Musings

If you are a manager think about the people in your team that get the most attention? On balance do you focus more on the the ones that don’t cause you any trouble?

I heard a young person being interviewed on TV about why he got into trouble and he said it was to get attention…and of course it worked! Luckily he had worked out that the kind of attention he got was not entirely positive and he was now making some different choices.

So when thinking about the “colourful characters” that I have encountered in my working life - and there have been many ( I am wondering what that says about me!) I started from the premise that colourful = badly behaved. And to be fair - that was often the case. But most for most of them the bad behaviour was accepted as part of their overall persona.

Sometimes they would challenge the norm - speak up and demand to be heard when they thought some rule or way of doing things was absurd

At others they would choose to dress in a way that stood out rather than fit with the unofficial business wear “uniform”

For others they would share information that they probably should not have…

For those of us who were more comfortable obeying the  rules - or need to enforce them -  their behaviour was uncomfortable  but not necessarily “bad”

The main redeeming feature that they all had was that they were very good at what they did - and what they did they did well. And that’s what made the difference.

It’s something to bear in mind as a manager. Maybe the person behaving badly really falls into the “colourful character” category  and though it makes your life difficult don’t let it make you lose sight of their strengths.

And in all of this - remember to give the quiet, unassuming, high performers some attention too!

Over the past few months when I have been talking about using social networking for business one of the most common comments I have had is along the lines of

“I was invited to join Linkedin by someone I know but I have no idea what to do with it”

or even

“I have been invited to join Linkedin by someone I know - but I don’t know why I should bother”

If you are that person here are some suggestions  which just might help.

Create a directory

If you do nothing else with it Linkedin is a great place to hold all of the  contact details of the people you are connected with - your “contacts” in Linkedin terms. Then instead of having to have their individual e-mail addresses to hand you can use the Linkedin “Send a Message” function in the top right hand of the page. Depending on how the recipient has it set up the  message will probably still end up in their regular e-mail inbox in any case.

And you can pretty much do away with using your business card box ( or scrabbling through your drawer/wallet/handbag if you are less organised) to find their details.

And when you are comfortable doing that you could consider…

Regular updates

The small box at the top of your “home” page is for updates.  Filling that in from time to time will mean that you appear in the  “status updates” list on your contacts’ own home pages. This is the perfect place to announce a new contract, promote a new service/product, tell your contacts something newsworthy…something that might give them a reason to be in touch ( especially useful if you would like to do business with them!)

People often say to me that I always seem to be up to something new and interesting. That means a couple of things - that they notice that I update that box a couple of times a week - and that they read what I post!

In a way it is similar to bumping into someone in the street or at a conference - except there is less effort required. Really!

So after trying that you might want to look for people you would like to connect - or reconnect - with.

Find people and invite them to join your network

Linkedin tries to make this easy for you so gives you a number of ways to do this.

• Firstly you can do a search for people in the search box on the top right hand of the page
• When you join Linkedin offers to search your e-mail addess book for people who are already members
• In addition - as your community grows - Linkedin will make suggestions of people you might know based on your existing contacts
• When you click on any of your contacts ( or indeed when looking at pages for those not already on your list)  on the bottom right hand side of the page there is a “How you are connected to..” box - which tells you - well you get the picture

And when you know that…

Ask for introductions

Linkedin’s criteria for connecting with people is outlined each time you “Add xxx to your network” - using the link at the top right hand of your page which include having done business or working with that person ( which means you have to identify where that was from your profile), that you share a group, that you are a friend - in which case you are asked to put in their e-mail address ( which - though not foolproof - does mean that you have to do a bit of work to at least find it ). If  none of those apply then you should ask someone you do know that knows them to introduce you. Why would they do that?..well at some point in the future you might just be able to do them the favour back. Which brings me to …

Get recommended

Your profile should be full of details of your experience to allow a client to consider working with you, a potential employer to check you out or even a similar business to offer you a collaboration opportunity.   Linkedin allows you to enhance this with testimonials - or “recommendations “.  Try recommending someone yourself and see how that feels - and indeed see what response you get ! Of course you should focus on asking people who have had a good experience of working with you to give you a recommendation  - and you always have the chance to reject one if you don’t want/like it.

That should be enough to get most people started but if you are still stuck get in touch. I offer coaching for using linkedin.  With an hour of your time and a small investment - the possibilities are endless.

jackie@consultcameron.com

07775 823862

On Saturday Scotland will play Italy in the Six Nations Rugby tournament. In the previous game  a couple of  weeks ago they lost the game against Wales - which they had been leading right up to the last few minutes - because of a couple of bad decisions. There is a lot of  national pride invested in these rugby games and it has to be said that the comments about “snatching defeat from the jaws of victory” - a phrase often used about Scottish sporting outcomes - were understandable. So I was impressed by the reports of Scotland Captain Chris Cusiter’s comments on the defeat and what they learned.  On the official website he says

 ”In the debrief we looked at the decisions that were made. We have to learn from that, and become better players and better leaders because of that.”

Now let’s be clear here - decisions made in a game of rugby do not compare with decisions that some leaders have to make.

But I found it refreshing to hear Chris describe what he should have done .

And - as a couple of the players sustained what could have been serious injuries - how this had put things into perspective.

It  is rare for a leader in any area nowadays to hold up their hand and say “I got that wrong” - yet to me that is a real sign of strength. Leaders are human beings and - like it or not - they have capacity to make mistakes. 

And another strength of a good leader is their concern for others in their team.

I met Chris a few years ago when I won the chance to train with the Scotland rugby team at that time ( that’s another story which - if you have time - you can read here).  To be honest - I had been entered in the competition by my husband and although I watched rugby on TV I did not know many of the players. At that time Chris was injured and was at the sidelines. I “opted” not to go into tackle practice and joined him to stand and watch . He introduced himself as Chris - and I introduced myself back. It was clear I had no idea who he was - and you know something - to his credit he gave no indication that I should have.

Anybody over the age of - say - 40 should be able to remember a time before e-mail.

And indeed they may also remember the time when e-mail was introduced to their business.

If you are old enough cast your mind back. Did it run smoothly? Was it accepted universally immediately? Did you know what to do right away? What protocols did you have to develop - quickly?

There was a time when the question ” do you have  e-mail” was more often met with a “no” - but they did have a fax machine ( remember them?).

And people did say that it was just a fad and would not catch on

And they said that you would not find them using it ( being able to  type or use a keyboard actually being a barrier in itself way back then)

And they said that it was not appropriate for doing serious business together  - far too informal ( how many e-mails in those days started  and ended with Dear… yours faithfully….)?

Seems so long ago doesn’t it? But we are talking about the mid- 90s  ie only 15 years or so ago.

I wonder how long it will take for us to have embraced social media as just another business communication tool?

And I wonder what is being developed right now as the next new thing!