Passivity Kills Face-to-Face Meetings

Posted on 2013/03/052013/03/06 by Jason Hensel

I work in an industry that places a high value on face-to-face interactions, which made me more attuned to Amanda Palmer‘s recent TED talk, “The Art of Asking.” What struck me was the natural notion of making a human connection to receive and give.

“…through the very act of asking people, I’d connected with them, and when you connect with them, people want to help you” she said.

In the industry I’m in, this is most often accomplished through a format called an “un-conference.” Basically, people gather in small groups to discuss problems and search for solutions to challenges. As you can guess, it’s quite popular, primarily because it’s interactive and because of the face-to-face networking.

That networking is nothing, though, if you’re afraid to ask for help. I think that’s why smaller groups work so well. A large, lecture-style situation is intimidating, whereas, a small group gathering is comforting.

Technology is helping this process, Palmer says. Sure, we may be part of a large group, but the weird thing is that we can feel connected more than ever using the Internet. Maybe it’s just me; I feel like I have more of a chance of communication with a celebrity (use that term loosely) through social media than I do at a huge event.

“Celebrity is about a lot of people loving you from a distance, but the Internet and the content that we’re freely able to share on it are taking us back,” Palmer said. “It’s about a few people loving you up close and about those people being enough.”

Technology can only go so far. It’s a means to an end, and that destination is face-to-face interaction.

“Now, the online tools to make the exchange as easy and as instinctive as the street, they’re getting there,” Palmer said. “But the perfect tools aren’t going to help us if we can’t face each other and give and receive fearlessly, but more important, to ask without shame.”

This brings me to my main point: There’s no reason to meet face-to-face if we’re passive in our interactions. The days of lecture learning are waning. We’re not going to solve problems, find solutions, or change directions if we’re just sitting, nodding our heads and crossing our arms. To me, that’s Palmer’s main point. Even if she is focusing on music, the overall soul of her speech is about enacting change in giver and receiver. That can’t be accomplished by one party being passive. Both need to be active.

Please watch her TED talk, and let me know what you think about it in the comments below

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Do You Know What’s Expected of You at Work?

Posted on 2013/02/252013/02/26 by Jason Hensel

A new study from Florida State University shows that less than 20 percent of employees feel certain they know what is expected of them at work. The majority of respondents reported different levels of accountability, anywhere from “some” to “complete” ambiguity.

Assessing more than 750 blue- and white-collar workers in a variety of jobs, the researchers asked first how many employees don’t know what they’re accountable for, and second, what work was like for those who knew what was expected of them compared to those who didn’t. There were considerable differences between those who knew and those who didn’t.

For example, employees uncertain of work expectations reported:

60 percent higher levels of mistrust with leadership as it relates to communication.
50 percent higher levels of overall work frustration.
45 percent less control regarding the best way to complete their work.
40 percent higher levels of work overload.
35 percent fewer work accomplishments to the organization.
33 percent less social and resource support from one’s immediate supervisor.
33 percent greater likelihood of searching for a new job within the next year.
25 percent more job neglect (slacking off, slowing down).

“When employees aren’t sure what’s expected of them, the results simply just cannot be positive, especially when the complexity of work and the pace of change is taken into consideration,” said research associate Allison Batterton.

The reason workers don’t understand what’s expected of them is because of management’s failure to be forthcoming and proactive with communication, most employees say.

“It seems the more that communication is needed, the less likely it is provided — no wonder so many employees feel completely lost at work these days,” said Wayne Hochwarter, the Jim Moran Professor of Business Administration in Florida State University’s College of Business.

The researchers offered four tips to deal with accountability issues:

Set up a formal communication system using the most current and user-friendly technology, and make sure all employees are able to use it effectively.
Make employee accountability part of both the supervisor’s and employee’s performance evaluation.
Develop informal accountability networks (i.e., buddy system) that allow employees real-time access to information needed to effectively focus attention on tasks considered most important for that particular day (or hour).
Make accountability proactive rather than reactive.

“Most employees want to do a good job and contribute to their organization,” Hochwarter said. “Perhaps it’s overly simplistic, but this can only take place when employees know what’s expected. Sadly, many do not, and the situation appears to be getting worse rather than better.”

Do you know what’s expected of you at work?

(Story materials from Florida State University/Barbara Ash. Image via Flickr: DailyM/Creative Commons.)

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Adaptability Linked to Staff Retention

Posted on 2013/02/222013/02/22 by Jason Hensel

Interests change over the course of a career. What you’re passionate about now, you may hate a year later. This change of focus shouldn’t be viewed negatively, though. It’s actually a sign of adaptability, and it should be considered in job evaluations, according to a study from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and published in Human Performance.

The study looked at statistics from professional basketball players for its data and conclusions.

Researchers assessed data on more than 700 members of the NBA to see how players shifted their focus on different on-court skills and tasks over several years. A player displaying high performance scoring baskets in one season might show a shift in focus towards rebounding missed shots in another season. That could be because they were responding to a shift in their team’s needs and/or a change in their coach’s instructions.

Researchers found that about 10 percent of players refocused their efforts over time and were more likely to play again for the league in the next season. The findings support the idea that refocusing among job tasks is an important component of employee adaptability and should be a part of overall performance assessments. As well, they suggest that adaptability is linked to staff retention.

“Our paper is drawing attention to the measurement of performance, that refocusing is something that’s important in the workplace, exists in the workplace, and for organizations to think about it as part of the job, ” said Maria Rotundo, a professor at the Rotman School.

Rotundo is aware of the differences between sports and workplaces.

But “there are parallels,” too, she says, including the fact that NBA athletes are focused on a goal and must work together as a team to achieve it as they confront the different opponents. In the same way, employees in a company must work together to face market competitors and achieve their company’s goals. And just like basketball players who go through changes in their team’s make-up, many workplace staff must adapt to changes brought on by restructuring or the adoption of new technologies, requiring a refocus in their job’s tasks.

How easily do you adapt to changes in the workplace? Does your focus change year over year?

(Story materials from University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. Image via Flickr: Keith Allison / Creative Commons.)

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Mediocre Managers Damage Staff Engagement

Posted on 2013/02/152013/02/16 by Jason Hensel

Imagine a Michael Scott (or if you like, David Brent) type of boss. Some of you may prefer him. Others may feel he’s a bit much. But would you rather work under his personality or a boss whose personality is mediocre?

According to new research from Kingston University in London, England, mediocre managers are just as bad as the Michael Scotts of the world.

A survey of 500 employees and 120 managers found that not owning up to mistakes, relaying stress, and telling rather than consulting with staff were some of the most harmful actions of mediocre managers. The researchers found that these types of behaviors eroded staff motivation and well-being.

“Many people will at some time in their working lives have been managed by someone whose over-the-top behavior [such as] telling offensive jokes and cultivating ‘teachers’ pets’ highlighted a lack of self-awareness and a major inability to manage people,” said Dr. Rachel Lewis, a lecturer at Kingston Business School. “However, our findings demonstrate that it’s actually the less obvious, mediocre managers who too often ‘fly under the radar’ in organizations, that may inadvertently cause stress and could actually be just as damaging to staff engagement over time.”

The research shows that, in order to get the best out of employees, managers should

Handle pressure with calmness
Take responsibility when things go wrong
Get to know staff as individuals
Be invested in an employee’s career development
Ask employees if they are OK

“The aim of this research is to support human resources departments, employers and managers by providing a behavioral framework that identifies what managers need to do in order to create long-lasting employee effectiveness,” Lewis said. “The framework can be used to support managers in developing the core people management skills to enable them to get their teams motivated and working at a consistently high level.”

(Story materials from Kingston University.)

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What It Takes to Persuade People

Posted on 2013/02/082013/02/08 by Jason Hensel

It’s Friday, and I feel like watching online videos. This is a really good one that explains, via Aristotle, what it takes to persuade people. I don’t want to give away the video’s content, but get ready to learn three means of persuasion. Don’t worry, it’s easy learning.

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The Real World Effects of Facebook Unfriending

Posted on 2013/02/072013/02/07 by Jason Hensel

I’ve never understood why people choose to crop their list of friends on Facebook. Sometimes, I’ll see statements like, “If you see this message, congratulations, you made the cut.” It makes me wonder if I really want to associate with someone who willy-nilly cuts friends out of his life.

Sure, I understand deleting friends because of personality issues. Deleting friends “just because”, though, is petty. It also can have real-world consequences.

A new study from the University of Colorado Denver shows that 40 percent of people surveyed would avoid anyone in real life that deleted them from a friends list on Facebook.

“The cost of maintaining online relationships is really low, and in the real world, the costs are higher,” said study author Christopher Sibona, a doctoral student in the Computer Science and Information Systems program at the University of Colorado Denver Business School. “In the real world, you have to talk to people, go see them to maintain face-to-face relationships. That’s not the case in online relationships.”

Sibona says that when a friendship ends in real life, it usually just fades away. It’s more abrupt on Facebook.

“Since it’s done online there is an air of unreality to it but in fact there are real life consequences,” he said. “We are still trying to come to grips as a society on how to handle elements of social media. The etiquette is different and often quite stark.”

Sibona conducted a study in 2010 on why people delete friends. He found four main reasons.

Frequent, unimportant posts.
Polarizing posts usually about politics or religion.
Inappropriate posts involving sexist, racist remarks
Boring everyday life posts about children, food, spouses etc.

He says that when people are socially excluded in real life, they experience lower self-esteem, depressed moods, and loneliness.

“People who are unfriended may face similar psychological effects…because unfriending may be viewed as a form of social exclusion,” Sibona said. “The study makes clear that unfriending is meaningful and has important psychological consequences for those to whom it occurs.”

Remember that the next time you get a hankering to chop down your friends list. You’re doing more damage than you think.

(Story materials from the University of Colorado Denver / David Kelly. Image via Flickr: Gina Trapani / Creative Commons.)

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Sunny, Flirty Days

Posted on 2013/01/282013/01/30 by Jason Hensel

When single, I conducted most of my flirting late at night in dark bars after a few drinks to stimulate courage. Any other time and I was a complete mute.

Perhaps, though, I should have attempted to flirt in the daytime, specifically when it’s sunny. According to a new study, women are more receptive and offer their phone numbers more often when approached during a sunny day.

“In a field quasi-experiment, 18–25-year-old women walking alone in the street were approached by an attractive 20-year-old male confederate who solicited them for their phone numbers,” Nicolas Guéguen wrote in the study‘s abstract. “The women were solicited on days that were evaluated as being either sunny or cloudy but care was taken to control for temperature and not to solicit participants when it rained. It was found that women agreed more often to the confederate’s courtship solicitation on the sunny days.”

Caution, though. The sunny day may have put the women in a better mood or caused more confidence in the men. Seriously, who wants to flirt when it’s overcast and rainy outside? Just go to a bar (and flirt there!).

Guéguen also offers another caveat: France.

“In this study, we examined the receptivity of women to a courtship request by a man because it was conducted in France where men traditionally approach women in romantic relationships,” he wrote.

Wait. Is he suggesting that French women are more open to extracurricular activities outside a steady relationship?

(Image via Flickr: Andy Cross / Creative Commons)

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Exhausted Women are Hypersensitive to Sound

Posted on 2013/01/25 by Jason Hensel

FYI, guys, if an exhausted woman is stressed out, keep the noise level to a minimum.

According a study from Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University’s Stress Research Institute, women suffering from stress-related exhaustion show hypersensitivity to sounds.

The study exposed 208 women and 140 men, ages 23 to 71–all emotionally exhausted–to five minutes of physical stress, such as hands in ice, mental stress tests, and observational stress.

The researchers found that exhausted women found sounds–some as low as 60 decibel (level of normal conversation)–more uncomfortably loud than non-exhausted women. The same results were found in men, but the differences weren’t statistically significant. The researchers say that there was no difference in sensitivity to sounds between the groups before the stress exposure.

“When you are hypersensitive to sound, some normal sounds, such as the rattle of cutlery or the sound of a car engine, can feel ear-piercing,” said Dan Hasson, associate professor at Karolinska Institutet’s Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and affiliated with Stockholm University’s Stress Research Institute. “Given how common it is for people to work in environments with different kinds of disturbing sounds, this hypersensitivity can be really disabling for certain individuals.”

Do sounds disable you when you’re exhausted?

(Image via Flickr: Steve Hall / Creative Commons)

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Are You a But Leader?

Posted on 2013/01/212013/01/23 by Jason Hensel

The first rule of improv is “yes and.” There are other rules, or rather guidelines, however “yes and” is the one and only rule that truly matters. Without agreeing to the reality presented to you, progress trips over itself, and you and your co-performer are left staring at each other.

Much like improv performers, company leaders and managers should learn the “yes and” rule and stick it in their hearts. I’m flabbergasted at the number of times over the years I’ve experienced a “yes but” manager. Maybe there’s a “yes but” class at MBA schools, or maybe mentors train managers in the art of “yes but.”

Stop the “yes but” cycle of abuse, I say!

No one likes to have an idea agreed to with conditions. When you do that, you stop progress. The employee starts immediately placing restrictions on ideas. It’s more fruitful to agree and add to the proposal.

Of the following examples, tell me which is better:

Employee: “I plan to recycle all the aluminum cans in the break room.”
Manager: “Great, but that’s a lot of cans and you’ll have to do it all yourself.”

Employee: “I plan to recycle all the aluminum cans in the break room.”
Manager: “Great, and I know a place you can take them that offers the most money.”

If you’re truly a leader, or want to be one, you’ll see the benefit of contributing to an idea and moving forward rather than holding back and letting fear, doubt, or pessimism dictate your decisions.

The great improv teacher Del Close once said to “follow the fear.” What he meant by that is you should go toward what makes you uncomfortable, do things that scare you. For a lot of leaders, agreeing to an idea wholeheartedly scares the snot out of them. That’s exactly what they should do, though. Agreement isn’t the endgame, however. You have to add to the conversation, move it forward.

Do me a favor. This week, with everyone you interact with, make “yes and” a part of every conversation. It will seem uncomfortable and forced at first. Over time, though, it will become instinctual. After the week is over, reflect and let me know if you feel happier with your decisions and that life is moving forward.

If you’re creating an atmosphere of agreement, I can guarantee that your employees will agree to follow you. If you’re a but leader, though, employees will find any excuse to counter your decisions. Don’t be a “yes but” leader. Be a “yes and” leader.

(Image via Flickr: visualpun.ch / Creative Commons)

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Five Ways to Have Happy Employees

Posted on 2013/01/152013/01/15 by Jason Hensel

Fast Company recently published an article by Lydia Dishman titled “The Secrets of America’s Happiest Companies.” Dishman covers a lot of ground about the ways different companies keep employees happy. For those that like bullet lists, though, she broke it down to five good best practices.

Variety: Happy employees experience different roles within the company, which can create a feeling of improvement.
Meaning: Employees want to feel like they’re making a difference in the world, or at least for their company.
Praise: Employees like regular praise and public acknowledgement for a great job.
Individual: A people-first policy will go a long way in keeping employees happy. No more widget makers. They want recognition as humans.
Integration: The term “work-life balance” is no longer applicable in the 21st century. Focus on how to reasonably integrate work and life within an employee’s daily activities.

Check out the full article for more about how to keep employees happy, and let me know in the comments what makes you happy at work.

(Image via Flickr: Dice.com / Creative Commons)

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Review: How to Live: Or A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer

Posted on 2013/01/142013/01/14 by Jason Hensel

Navel-gazing, or the art of self-reflection, hit its high point on the Internet around the turn of the century. Then, every third blog you came across was an exploration of an individual’s daily habits and thoughts. Letting strangers have a glimpse of their lives didn’t bother the authors, because either they wanted the attention or they sincerely wanted to know themselves better. Both options played a role, I’m sure.

In the 16th century, Montaigne was the ultimate navel-gazer. His only aspiration was to learn how to live, the proper way to conduct one’s life. He set out to discover this by writing essays, pieces that are about one subject but would meander or jump to another thought. His goal wasn’t order, but to present life as it is so that he (and the reader) could learn from it. Many readers claim that when they read Montaigne, they feel that he’s writing about them on a personal level. It’s because he was honest with himself, and that we’re all connected, we all feel the same things, experience the same joys and griefs. Many, though, try to rein in their thoughts and feelings, creating a systemic narrative. That’s not life, which really can be compared to a game of Pong. Sometimes you move in a straight line, sometimes you move diagonally. A lot of the time you move back as far as you move forward, and the speed of it all is random. Montaigne knew this and embraced it.

In How to Live: Or A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer, Sarah Bakewell offers readers a portrait of a man clearly ahead of his time. Even now, Montaigne’s raw honesty would be frown upon or mocked. One only likes a mirror when it’s there to please.

Bakewell organizes the book in 20 chapters, each with such headings as “Q: How to live? Question everything” and “Q: How to live? Give up control.” Each chapter covers a period of Montaigne’s life while at the same time exploring the topic at hand. It’s a clever progression. Throughout the book, you learn a lot about French history, nobility, and philosophy, both Montaigne’s accidental attempts at it and Greek and Roman thoughts.

It’s clear that Bakewell loves Montaigne. The writing is at times energetic, humorous, and balanced, much like her subject’s essays. If you’ve never read any Montaigne, you’ll be inspired to after finishing this book. You may even be inspired to contemplate your own existence, perhaps begin a journal or create a blog. If anything, you’ll definitely think about not only how to live, but what it means to live.

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The Rewind Button: Seven Album Wrap-up

Posted on 2013/01/122013/01/12 by Jason Hensel

The Rewind Button is a group blogging project that I’m participating in. We’re taking on Rolling Stone‘s Top 40 albums of all time and writing our own reviews of them.

I tried for many months to avoid writing a multi-album post. I wanted to focus each entry on an individual artist or band. However, I’ve learned a lot about myself and music during this project. Primarily, I don’t enjoy writing about music that much. I mentioned that in a previous Rewind Button entry, and here at the end, upon reflection, my feeling still holds true. That means for a lot of these albums, I struggled to write about them. Perhaps I tried to make the reviews harder than they needed to be. The reviews I enjoyed writing the most were the ones that I let the words tumble out of my head, unconscious of where my thoughts were going.

Maybe I do, then, enjoy writing about music if I can do it the same way I listen to albums. That is, totally immersed in feeling. In the end, I’m happy that I took part in this project, and I’m grateful for the invitation to do so. I’ve discovered other blogs and writers that are now saved in my bookmarks, and I’ve listened to some albums that I had never heard before that I now love (Stevie Wonder) and ones that I can’t stand (Joni Mitchell). It’s been a fun project, and I’m finishing it with these final seven albums.

The Band — Music From Big Pink

The song “The Weight” is a staple at karaoke spots in these parts. It’s an okay song, and it’s the only original song on this album that I liked. The other song, “Long Black Veil” is a cover song, and The Band does a good version of it. Overall, though, I found this album uninspiring. It’s not one that I will listen to again.

David Bowie — The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars

Bowie rarely fails me. I appreciate that he pushes himself and the art of music, and Ziggy Stardust is a winner for me. In our current age of singles and quick hits, it’s refreshing to go back in time and listen to an album that told a story, that provided a narrative to the music, that tried to show there was more you could do with rock music. This a top 20 album for me.

Carole King — Tapestry

Carole King is one of the world’s greatest songwriters. Tapestry, though, was just an okay album for me. I had never heard it before, and I kept seeing it on best-albums-of-all-time lists, so I was curious about what made it so great. And as with several albums on this list, I found it not that great. Perhaps at the time it was groundbreaking or inspiring or something. Now, however, I find it pedestrian.

The Eagles — Hotel California

The Eagles are my dad’s favorite band, so I grew up listening to their albums. Hearing this one again took me back to the late 1970s, sitting in my dad’s apartment patiently waiting for this album to finish so I could listen to KISS. Today, I notice The Eagles’ influence in my music, and that’s a good thing, because the band were solid songwriters in both lyrics and hooks. That’s something I work on emulating in my writing.

Muddy Waters — The Anthology

Muddy Waters is a great blues artist, and I found myself liking this album more than I imagined I would. For those who write or edit for a living, The Anthology is great background music for working. The blues’ rhythm and repeating of lines lulls one into a calm state where focus and imagination reside side by side.

The Beatles — Please Please Me

It’s no secret that I love The Beatles. Please Please Me, while not my favorite, still stands far and above many of the other albums on this list. Please please let me listen to it over anything that Van Morrison or Joni Mitchell ever puts out. How this album arrived at No. 39 and not higher is a mystery to me. It deserves higher, and in my personal list, it is.

Love — Forever Changes

This is a great, strong finish for the top 40 list. I had forgotten how much I enjoy this album. You can definitely hear the late 1960s vibe, but I also detect elements of punk, post-punk, and balls-out rock. I’ll have to remember to listen to this album more often, because it’s inspiring and a good-time experience, which is exactly what music should be.

Please visit these other blogs participating in The Rewind Button project:

Betty Livin

Musicqwest

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