There has been an increase of Companies and Managers wanting stronger connections of the ideas to the work.

This is a great thing.

We still need to understand the theory behind our actions, and the actions will reinforce the theory.

The challenge consistently arises when there is an expectation that what has to happen is major Organizational Change.

It is efficacious to

1. Determine the Goal – within the persons time-span of handling work.

2. Determine where they are right now, in reference to the goal.

3. Determine what they have already accomplished and how they got that done.

4. Ask, What is your next step? When can we go-and-see?

• What is your next step?
• If you were one step closer to the goal, how would you know?
• In the past with the success you have already had, what could you go-and-see that showed that you are progressing?

Try it and let me know your next steps.

michael cardus is create-learning

image by Stig Nygaard

When you are working and following the path to complete your task and an obstacle to your progress happens, how you navigate around that obstacle is what you are paid for.

You are not paid to follow a rote path, A machine can do that

At a coffee shop to meet a coaching client, arrived early to drink some coffee read some emails and prepare.

Order coffee & sesame bagel toasted with butter, sit to eat. Open my iPad and cannot get on the internet.

I’ve been to this coffee shop many time before and never had a problem. I try again nothing…

Walk up to the cashier (at this place they always act like they just woke up and your question is weird, and I kind of like that) and ask, “Is there some sort of trick to the wifi I cannot connect?”

She stares at me, vacantly…I ask again, “The internet I cannot connect, usually I have no problem, this morning it’s not working.”

Her, “Yeah we’re having problems with that.”

Me, “So, anything you can do?”

Her avoiding eye contact, “No”

Me, “Is there anyone here who can?”

Her, “We have been having problems and most people just wait and sometimes it fixes itself.”

Me, “Alright then, it will fix itself you say, thank you.” I walk away…

You might be thinking Mike it’s a coffee shop and you don’t need the internet. Yes, and this apathetic behavior is endemic of your work also.

Right now someone that you manage or your manager is telling someone “Yeah we’re having problems with that.”  NOT offering a solution, an alternative, an attempted solution.

You are paid to make decisions and solve problems

When you are working and following the path to complete your task and an obstacle to your progress happens, how you navigate around that obstacle is what you are paid for.

You are not paid to follow a rote path, A machine can do that

What do you think?

When does your accountability to solve problems stop and your managers begins? What about your work requires you to make decisions and solve problems, how do you measure that?

michael cardus is create-learning

image by LaPrimaDonna

All of us and our companies are in constant change, and we know this. Different people need different levels of information and motivation for the change to happen. As a manager YOU NEED the wisdom and ability to manage the process and add value to peoples decisions and work.

Contact Mike to make your Organization, Team and Leaders – plan for change better.

Planning a Change

When planning for a change you need reflective and purposeful steps. This change may be personal and or professional.

By setting a model for you to place objective thoughts into. As a leader you will be better equipped to determine areas of success and which areas to proceed into next with planning and decisions.

• I don’t know the original source of this model.

Below are questions (by no means comprehensive) that will serve you in thinking through, planning, and making successful action steps for a change.

Planning a Change Question Sheet

Vision

• What is the purpose?
• Who will it affect? How?
• Why is it important to your team? The organization/business/community?
• What made you decide that this is important?
• Did you ask your team for input? If so how and what was their input? If not, why not?
• How will this change affect the staff? Those you serve (clients, customers, vendors, suppliers, supervisor(s), etc…)? You as a leader?
• Describe the ideal state…Describe the current state…How will you achieve the ideal state?

Skills

• In what ways might the staff and your existing skill set be useful for the change?
• What new skills will be needed?
• How will you accomplish training these new skills?
• Explain, in detail the necessary skill set for completion of change (if multiple people have/need multiple skills, list the key responsibilities of the change and the necessary skill sets for success)
• What skills will you as leader(s) need for implementation of the vision?
• How can the Leadership team partner with you to enable completion?

Incentives

 Explain your plan to move your team and yourself towards completion of this change

• Why should we work towards this change?
• How is this change relevant? Now? In the future?
• Identify the resistors to the change.
• Identify the champions of the change. 
• What will keep you, as the leader motivated?
• How will you continue to keep the team focused?
• How will you measure success and failure?
• What steps will you take to reward success and re-direct unmotivated team members?

Resources

Explain what you have and what you need

• What kind of budget will be available?
• How much time is needed?
• Explain how this change will be delegated to staff members.
• What will be the steps for follow-up and accountability?
• What resource do you currently have available (list everything from paperwork to people to machines to policies – the more explicit you are in what you have the better your completion will be)
• What resources will you need (list everything from paperwork to people to machines to policies – the more explicit you are in what you need the better your completion will be)
• In what ways may you secure these needs?

Action Plan

Explain in detail what you are going to do and how it will get done

• Re-visit your Vision – and break the change into steps.
• What are the steps for completion?
• Goal (Quality, Quantity, Time Frame, Resources) – What is the 1^st step for completion?
• Strategy – In what ways might you implement a strategy for completion of the 1^st step?
• Objective – How will you know that you have completed the 1^st step?
• Responsibility – Who’s going to accomplish the objective?
• Timeline – When is the implementer going to accomplish that objective?
• Feedback and Evaluation – Who and how is the implementer going to know if they accomplished good or bad work on their objective?

Final Thoughts:

• How do you plan for a change?
• What existing processes do you / team / organization have in place for reflective thought?
• Would this system work for plans outside of change? what would be different?
• Describe how this applies to your current practice / life?

Having the Model is Easy, Making Change Happen is NOT…

I have successfully led change and solution focused efforts for organizations, teams and managers of all sizes and structures. To make change happen CLICK THE BOX below, and be the reason that change is successful and people love the work they do.

michael cardus is create-learning

Sitting in the office of the Dean of Students for a High School, talking about a Scholastic-Leadership program I am leading with the Administration, Faculty and students, he said “Mike we need to return, for lack of a better word, back to basics.” He said this almost apologetically.

That made me wonder –

What is so wrong with going back to basics?

People fear the that as they become managerial-leaders the idea of ‘The-Basics’ is something they should have already established.

But you see time and time again…that these basics are horribly described and defined within the organizational structure.

For example Goal-Setting, you cannot get more basic than that. Companies and individuals collectively spend millions of dollars a year on Goal-Setting tools, training, coaching, development, etc… Plus which basic Goal-Setting is the ‘basics’ of that organization? Perhaps your manager uses SMART while my manager uses QQT/R while the CEO was trained in some other method.  Just google goal setting method and you get over 13million results.

Like Elliot Jaques wrote in Requisite Organization

In this conceptual Babel, our field is like alchemy in the 15th and 16th centuries. Our gimmicks are like the search for the philosopher’s stone which would change dross to gold.

 What’s the point?

My point is that we need to focus on defining what the basics are. When we identify what they are, create a shared organizational knowledge base of training, coaching, and access to these basics. Then actually use these basics as they are intended to be used.

My argument is that instead of going ‘Back-to-Basics’ we need to ‘Define what the basics are’ then we can get back to them.

Most organizations, managers and employees don’t even know the basics you are talking about, so they have no idea how to get there.

What do you think?

How do you define ‘Basics’ of your organization, teams and management? When some-one says “We have to get back to basics here.” Do you know what that means? Really? How might you create solutions to the problem outlined above?

michael cardus is create-learning

image By JD Hancock

Working + Managing Across Generations:

From Traditionalist to Generation Y & Beyond…An Interactive Workshop

“I am finding it challenging aligning and getting the best out of my staff. My senior staff complains about these young kids not wanting to do anything, and the younger staff complains about how none on the senior staff want to hear their ideas.” 

Sound familiar? You are not alone, this is a direct quote from a CEO.
This workshop has been designed to STOP the nonsense and get people working.

Outcomes:

This session engages participants to:

• Enhance workplace productivity
• Develop Managerial Action plans to increase the Trust, Team-Work, Effectiveness and Productivity of Multi-Generational Work Teams
• Learn to recognize patterns that influence workplace attitudes and expectations
• Gain insight to understand and resolve generational misunderstandings in the workplace and avoid unnecessary conflict
• Explore generational diversity in the workplace today
• Identify and exchange perspectives and expectations informed by their generational identities
• To read more click here

Can be facilitated Anywhere;

• Face to Face with an audience of 5 – 5000
• Through a Webinar Format
• 1 on 1 in a Managerial-Coaching Process
• On Your Own – I send you the materials, power-point and Do-It-Yourself Activity + Facilitation Guide
• Contact Mike to discuss your team and options. 1-716-629-3678

CONTACT…

• mike@create-learning.com  1.716.629.3678

To have your team learn and apply the necessary skills and talents to

Work and Manage Across Generations: From Traditionalist to Generation Y and Beyond…

My job is to support you.
Please email me ( mike@create-learning.com ) share your ideas, questions and feedback.

• Click on the image to enlarge.

This image above explores the differences between an Organizational Structure that has NO managerial-leadership coaching and an Organizational Structure WITH managerial-leadership coaching.

The image on the right reflects the ‘Cascade-of-Planning’ model or in Lean Manufacturing the Hoshin Kanri used in the Toyota Production System. The difference is where the manager and subordinate interact.

WITH OUT Coaching

• Interaction happens in limited time-frames and generally only when something goes wrong.
• Accountability is forced down the hierarchy and the idea of failure, development and growth is often frowned upon.
• Management is quick to blame employees and see the ‘people as broken’.

With Coaching

• Interaction is regular and expected, once the manager is accountable for the output of the subordinate, then give-and-take must happen in task delegation and work being accomplished.
• Accountability is on the Manager to ensure that subordinates are working to their effectiveness. Improvement in decision making and problem solving leads to improved innovation and work of the team.
• Management is able to examine the process-system that the work is being done in and determine what is stopping this person from doing their best.

What do you think?

Is this point of interaction amongst management and employee important? Have you ever had a manager who was great at coaching you to add value to your work?

Interested in enhancing and developing a Managerial Coaching Process within your organization and team? Looking to improve your existing managers coaching skills? Click the Box Below.

michael cardus is create-learning

Inspired by Toyota Kata