Articles by Linda Finkle on ArticleSnatch.com

The Art of Selling a Deadline

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0400

The old adage is true, "Time is money, don't waste it." This particularly holds true in a business environment where the bottom line is either your shareholder's friend or foe. You've been given a project to pull together data from several departments within your organization. How can you convey the urgency and deadlines to someone in another department who isn't directly affected by this project? Managing this challenge will be half the battle for you. The key to this dilemma is communication. Given the deadlines that you have been given, the knee-jerk reaction is to bark orders at your co-workers. Resist the urge to order others around. Doing so will only creates resistance to the project. It's a natural reflex to show defiance when someone communicates in this manner. Remember the sage and ageless advice your grandmother gave you: "You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar." Communicate your project and what is needed from your co-workers. If your project is due on October 15th, ask your co-workers for the information a few days prior so that there is room for unexpected and last minute issues. **End Summary** Topics: business communication]]> conflict resolution]]> performance management]]> leadership]]> business communication]]> people development]]> team building]]> organizati]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Linda Finkle, CEO of INCEDO GROUP, works with innovative leaders around the world who understand that business needs a new organizational growth style. These innovative leaders know that powerful cross-functional communication is the highest priority and the strongest strategy for building organizational effectiveness. To find out more, visit: http://www.IncedoGroup.com

Keeping the Lines of Management Intact

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Cultivating a good manager takes finesse and experience. In fact, it is like creating a fine wine. You harvest the best grapes, so the desired ingredients will be present. You distil in order to increase the concentration and purity, and then it must age in order to reach its peak performance. The same can be said for a manager. Key ingredients such as reliability, ability to make competent decisions and possess innate leadership qualities must be present in order to become a successful manager. If any of those ingredients is missing or is skewed in relation to the other, the combination can be reckless and create undesirable consequences down the road. Let's say that one of your managers, showing the promise of an excellent senior level leader, begins making key decisions without going through the chain of command for final approval. It is crucial at this time that you are not correcting them by reacting in a negative manner by criticizing, blaming, or yelling at them for their lack of judgment. There is a fine line between helping a senior level leader clarify their role in decision making and quite another to squelch their creativity and leadership judgments and abilities. **End Summary** Topics: performance management]]> leadership]]> business communication]]> people development]]> team building]]> organizational effectiveness]]> work communication]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Linda Finkle, CEO of INCEDO GROUP, works with innovative leaders around the world who understand that business needs a new organizational growth style. These innovative leaders know that powerful cross-functional communication is the highest priority and the strongest strategy for building organizational effectiveness. To find out more, visit: http://www.IncedoGroup.com

Companies Want Results from Employees

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Jane and Bob have a problem. They want extraordinary results from their employees, but they also want to be seen as kind, caring managers. Sometimes they might actually ignore or water down negatives in performance discussions under the banner of concern and caring. The problem with this Pollyanna-ish thinking is that it creates the exact situation you are attempting to avoid. When people become more important than results, it opens the door to excuse making. How do Jane and Bob find the right balance between excuses and people, and still get results? We must be clear about employees' behavior, performance, and what we want changed. For example, Jane and Bob had one of their team members, Marcus, consistently sending e-mail after e-mail on the same subject. People in the department were confused, frustrated at new e-mail after new e-mail, and overwhelmed with all the information. It's not enough to say, "Marcus, don't send so many e-mails. It's confusing to others." Jane and Bob need to be much more specific: "Marcus, when you send so many e-mails, one after the other, people are confused and, frankly, don't read them. **End Summary** Topics: results]]> behavior]]> performance]]> opportunity]]> succed]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Linda Finkle, CEO of INCEDO GROUP, works with innovative leaders around the world who understand that business needs a new organizational growth style. These innovative leaders know that powerful cross-functional communication is the highest priority and the strongest strategy for building organizational effectiveness. To find out more, visit: http://www.IncedoGroup.com

The Power of Internal Buy-in

Thu, 10 May 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Jane's and Bob's department isn't the sales department of the company, but they frequently have to use sales skills. To get their department producing efficiently and effectively, they have to sell their ideas to create buy-in. What's important about buy-in? Everyone knows that projects fail or succeed depending on the buy-in from the other stakeholders in the department: employees, team members, and management. But buy-in isn't about getting everyone to say "Yes!" to your way or idea, but getting everyone to say "Yes!" to an idea or way of doing something. Getting buy-in from the stakeholders on a project is crucial for its success. Let's define what buy-in is before we try to create it. Buy-in is not your idea, your plan, or your way of doing things. It is not "I'm right!" and it's not your job to convince everyone else that you are, indeed, right. Buy-in is defined as a group of people who say yes to an idea, a plan, a step, a project. It's the agreement of everyone on one thing (or idea, plan, etc.), not just one person's particular thing, idea, plan, etc. We know what buy-in is. Now what? **End Summary** Topics: buy-in]]> values]]> ideas]]> plans]]> actions]]> stakeholders]]> ]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Linda Finkle, CEO of INCEDO GROUP, works with innovative leaders around the world who understand that business needs a new organizational growth style. These innovative leaders know that powerful cross-functional communication is the highest priority and the strongest strategy for building organizational effectiveness. To find out more, visit: http://www.IncedoGroup.com

Upselling Strategies: Don't Leave Money on the Table

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0400

"Would you like fries with that, sir?" Every single business can learn something from the phenomenal success of fast-food franchises over the past few decades. That's the power of upselling. What is upselling anyhow? Is it about selling more and more to a client? Is it about selling more of the same or simply different product or services? Is it about making them aware of other products or services your company has to offer, even if you don't personally sell them? Is it about making them aware of products or services your company doesn't sell but could be of benefit to them? It's all of the above and more, and you're leaving money on the table if you don't learn how to upsell, and do it with grace and ease. Sometimes the simplest methods are the best, and with sales, this is certainly true. The foundation of all effective sales is building a relationship. Without a strong relationship, your customer will not be inclined to buy a second time, or to think of your company as one to refer to friends and associates. **End Summary** Topics: sales]]> cross-selling]]> upselling]]> building client relationships]]> cross-sell]]> upsell]]> value-based sales]]> increase profits]]> sales training]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Linda Finkle, CEO of INCEDO GROUP, works with innovative business leaders around the world who understand that powerful upselling and cross-sellling methods are key to profit growth and sales effectiveness.

Reengineer Specific Jobs

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0400

We've talked before about how necessary it is to review the needs of the company and any changes it might have undergone, especially before interviewing to fill job positions. As your needs and the company's needs change over time, redefine your jobs and the behaviors needed for successful performance. I just want the same person I had before¦. Jane and Bob have found that too often when someone leaves their company, they "rehire" the same type of person with the same skills. How often have you heard "I need to find another Barbara" or "We need to hire an exact copy of Jamal"? Instead, Jane and Bob should be regularly examining all of the positions in the company. "Regularly" depends upon the company, size, growth, turnover, and many other factors. However, at a minimum, Jane and Bob should look at job function every two to three years. They may decide to make no changes, but it's the examination and assessment process that is helpful. Job function complacency As companies grow, we often become complacent about job functions. Here's something else you might have heard: "If it's not broke, why fix it? **End Summary** Topics: job function complaceny]]> rehire]]> change]]> ]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Linda Finkle, CEO of INCEDO GROUP, works with innovative leaders around the world who understand that business needs a new organizational growth style. These innovative leaders know that powerful cross-functional communication is the highest priority and the strongest strategy for building organizational effectiveness. To find out more, visit: http://www.IncedoGroup.com

Interviewing Doesn't Have To Be Difficult

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Jane and Bob have been interviewing to add more members to their team. They've already looked at the characteristics of the best and brightest and how to determine if a candidate has those characteristics (and if they even need the best and the brightest). They've also spent some time evaluating the organization's current needs and what kind of employee fits in best with those needs. Jane and Bob are ready to interview! They take a deep breath and jump in. What they sometimes forget is that interviewing doesn't have to be difficult. They just need to simplify and improve their interviewing techniques. Interviewing made simple First, Jane and Bob can't just interview for the technical skills they need. Interpersonal skills are the key to successful hires. An employee with no interpersonal skills won't be an asset to the company. Instead, he will be a drain to the rest of the team, and other problems will arise, beyond his abilities to perform the tasks at hand. In the interview... Jane and Bob don't use a standard list of interview questions. **End Summary** Topics: interviewing]]> candidate]]> organizational needs]]> interpersonal skills]]> interviewing techniques]]> ]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Linda Finkle, CEO of INCEDO GROUP, works with innovative leaders around the world who understand that business needs a new organizational growth style. These innovative leaders know that powerful cross-functional communication is the highest priority and the strongest strategy for building organizational effectiveness. To find out more, visit: http://www.IncedoGroup.com

Establishing Meaningful and Objective Performance Criteria

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Jane and Bob understand that establishing criteria for successful performance is key to ensure that they get the performance they want. Yet they've found that their colleagues in other departments don't set up criteria from the get-go. Why? Managers often do not know how to establish meaningful criteria for job performance, let alone extras like training and development. To establish performance criteria, Jane and Bob ask themselves, "What are the conditions for satisfaction? How will we know the project, task, training, development was successful? How will we know the work has been completed and done satisfactorily?Â¨ For example, when Jane and Bob send Roy for training, how will they know if Roy's training gives them a good ROI? What do they need Roy to learn, absorb, or implement because of the training he took? (And Jane and Bob know that if they can't determine what the outcome should be, they shouldn't send Roy to this training.) What factors do we include in objective criteria? You've seen these before, and they should start becoming second nature: 1. Time line - all objectives must include a by-when date 2. **End Summary** Topics: meaningful criteria]]> job performance]]> establish performance criteria]]> objective criteria]]> ]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Linda Finkle, CEO of INCEDO GROUP, works with innovative leaders around the world who understand that business needs a new organizational growth style. These innovative leaders know that powerful cross-functional communication is the highest priority and the strongest strategy for building organizational effectiveness. To find out more, visit: http://www.IncedoGroup.com

Life Management Skills is it possible to have a life and be a leader?

Tue, 20 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0400

You know, Jane and Bob work so hard that they wonder sometimes if they even have a life, if their life is in balance. Maybe there is no such thing as balance (and Jane and Bob heave a big sigh of relief one less thing to strive for). If there is balance, it's right there in the moment because life changes in the next nanosecond, and everything gets all out of whack again. Balance is more of a way of life, not a result one tries to achieve. Balance means whatever feels right to us in the moment. If we listen to ourselves (and our bodies), we know when things are "off." This "off" feeling is the clue that something is out of balance, out of whack, for us right then. It doesn't mean that two months from now a similar situation would make us feel the same way. What causes us to be "off"? Often not being clear about our priorities and values is the root cause of being out of balance. If Jane and Bob have a bunch of shoulds in their life ("I should get home to have dinner with my family. **End Summary** Topics: life management]]> balance]]> priorities]]> values and priorities]]> believing in yourself]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Linda Finkle, CEO of INCEDO GROUP, works with innovative leaders around the world who understand that business needs a new organizational growth style. These innovative leaders know that powerful cross-functional communication is the highest priority and the strongest strategy for building organizational effectiveness. To find out more, visit: http://www.IncedoGroup.com

Developing Direct Reports - what's the point?

Thu, 15 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0400

While Jane and Bob can get caught up in the everyday job of running their department and making sure their team is suited for the tasks they've been assigned, they also have to make sure they are developing those people who work under them to be the best employees they can be. Jane and Bob's work doesn't just stop with getting a project completed on time and under budget; they're also responsible for the well-being of their direct reports. Developing direct reports is more than simply creating performance objectives; it's about creating development objectives for each employee. Performance objectives simply describe what an employee must achieve or deliver for the company. Development objectives for an employee describe what an employee should learn to help them achieve their performance objectives and other objectives such as career growth and team productivity. It's about learning to coach your subordinates. Okay, now I understand what development objectives are. Now what? First, Jane and Bob must understand the difference between what they expect from an employee and this employee is currently delivering. These differences, what's expected versus what's actually delivered, will most definitely impact the development objectives they create. **End Summary** Topics: developing direct reports]]> performance objectives]]> development objectives]]> career growth]]> productivity]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Linda Finkle, CEO of INCEDO GROUP, works with innovative leaders around the world who understand that business needs a new organizational growth style. These innovative leaders know that powerful cross-functional communication is the highest priority and the strongest strategy for building organizational effectiveness. To find out more, visit: http://www.IncedoGroup.com

Improving employee retention

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Last month, we followed along as Jane and Bob examined motivation and how each team member is motivated differently. Now, Jane and Bob are looking at how to improve employee retention by creating an environment that reduces stress while improving energy and morale. Statistics consistently show that employees leave companies more often because of unhappiness with their role or environmental conditions rather than compensation. What kind of environmental conditions? Environmental stressors include change (especially big changes), which can include: ¢ new department head ¢ downsizing ¢ merger or acquisition ¢ team member challenges ¢ new job responsibilities or project Jane and Bob need to be aware that these issues cause stress. While there isn't anything they can do about these conditions (when you need a new department head, you need one!), they can be aware that they are stressful. Then, there are home stressors. Sometimes stressors are from employees' home life. For example, someone gets a promotion and all the sudden, he is working very long hours. Maybe it's not a problem with his home life, or maybe it is. It's important to be aware of the possible problems that might arise that could cause stress. **End Summary** Topics: employee retention]]> energy]]> morale]]> improving energy and morale]]> fight or flight]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Linda Finkle, CEO of INCEDO GROUP, works with innovative leaders around the world who understand that business needs a new organizational growth style. These innovative leaders know that powerful cross-functional communication is the highest priority and the strongest strategy for building organizational effectiveness. To find out more, visit: http://www.IncedoGroup.com

Managing change - focusing your attention on motivation

Sun, 11 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Jane and Bob want their employees and team members to be motivated at all times. However, we often believe the time to motivate is when there is a lack of motivation in an employee or team members. Not so! Jane and Bob need to focus their attention on motivating their team members when they need it most, usually when change is happening. It's much easier and takes less effort to sustain the desired behavior and performance than to try to create it from the ground up. Intermittent reinforcement is the key for maintaining desired behaviors. Knowing what motivates someone can help Jane and Bob reinforce those behaviors effectively. Conversely, it takes less time to sustain the desired behavior than to deal with a problem. So, when we say that we "don't have the time" because we're so busy that we're barely treading water, we need to understand that we'll be spending a heck of a lot more time dealing with the problem instead of motivating people to continue to do what you want them to do. WHAT DOES MOTIVATE YOU, SALLY? It's important to understand that different factors motivate different people. **End Summary** Topics: motivation]]> different factors that motivate people]]> behaviors]]> motivation programs]]> changes]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Linda Finkle, CEO of INCEDO GROUP, works with innovative leaders around the world who understand that business needs a new organizational growth style. These innovative leaders know that powerful cross-functional communication is the highest priority and the strongest strategy for building organizational effectiveness. To find out more, visit: http://www.IncedoGroup.com

Why we don't hire effectively

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Last time we talked about how Jane and Bob interview, whether they're interviewing for rising stars in the company or just good, solid citizens for particular positions. However, it's not as simple as just knowing what you're looking for. You also have to be able to hire effectively; that means to know what you're looking for and how to find it. Wouldn't it be nice if it were easy? If everyone could hire effectively and had perfect hiring matches? Company and new hire living happily ever after? WE KNOW WHAT TO DO IN AN INTERVIEW, BUT WE DON'T DO IT. We've read the books and the articles on hiring, and maybe we've even been through some training on how to hire effectively, how to interview, and how to select candidates. Yet we continue to make blunders, some minor, and some affecting the company significantly. WHY? For some reason, we believe there is some magic formula for taking an artistic work and making it a scientific assessment. While there are tools that help us hire effectively and help us understand the characteristics of the position for which we're hiring (just ask me about them), there really is no magic formula. **End Summary** Topics: hiring effectively]]> best hiring practices]]> talent recruiting]]> performance management]]> leadership]]> business communication]]> people development]]> team bui]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Linda Finkle, founder and CEO of IncedoGroup.com , works with innovative leaders around the world who understand that powerful cross-functional communication is the strongest strategy for building organizational effectiveness. There is no such things as only a communications issue"Â. Communication IS the issue. To find out more, visit: http://www.IncedoGroup.com

Characteristics of the Best and Brightest

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0500

We've been talking recently about how Jane and Bob manage teams. They've been managing so well that now it's time to hire more people. Jane and Bob need to think about how to hire to ensure the success of the company. LOOK AT THE CURRENT EMPLOYEES A big step in hiring successfully is to assess your current staff. Who are your rising stars who are already working for you? What common characteristics do they share? What makes them the best and the brightest? Find out the answers to these questions, and you have a starting point for interviewing. LOOK AT WHO HAS LEFT As you assess your current best and brightest, think about the people who have left. Did they share some of the same characteristics as your current staff? WHAT ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION? Have the needs of the company or organization changed over time? Are the characteristics of your rising stars the same as five or ten years ago? Sometimes we continue to hire based on old data or an old model, and that model may no longer serve us. **End Summary** Topics: work communication]]> human capital management]]> talent development]]> performance management]]> leadership]]> business communication]]> people development]]> team]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Linda Finkle, CEO of INCEDO GROUP, works with innovative leaders around the world who understand that business needs a new organizational growth style. These innovative leaders know that powerful cross-functional communication is the highest priority and the strongest strategy for building organizational effectiveness. To find out more, visit: http://www.IncedoGroup.com

Motivating Others

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Last time we saw how Jane and Bob work on communication, especially around problems, and that they are very clear when asking for what they need. Sometimes, they find that asking isn't enough; they have to motivate their staff and team members. LET'S TALK ABOUT YOUR STRENGTHS, JIM¦. Jane and Bob motivate their direct reports by focusing on their strengths, rather than weaknesses. People succeed when their tasks and goals build on their strengths, and they want to be and feel successful. Jane and Bob work around their direct reports' weaknesses by providing peer coaching and pairing with other people who are strong in their weak areas. MATCHING, NOT MIXING Match the right job to the right person first, and then help him grow into his role. A manager's primary job is not to help every individual grow; it's to improve performance. To do this, you have to identify whether each person is in the right role. Once everyone is where he or she is supposed to be, then you can help him or her grow. MAKE THEM FEEL WHOLE Help direct reports establish their own goals that are aligned with the organization. **End Summary** Topics: motivation]]> motivating others]]> performance management]]> leadership]]> business communication]]> people development]]> team building]]> organizational effective]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Linda Finkle, founder and CEO of IncedoGroup.com , works with innovative leaders around the world who understand that powerful cross-functional communication is the strongest strategy for building organizational effectiveness. There is no such things as only a communications issue"Â. Communication IS the issue. To find out more, visit: http://www.IncedoGroup.com

Make communication work for you

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Jane and Bob have been working with their teams for a couple of months, and they've really paid attention to putting the right people in the right roles. However, other problems can arise that don't have anything to do with teams, leaders, and workstyles. Differences in communication styles or the communication styles themselves are often the cause of problems, rather than the content that's being communicated. Often we see these problems occur when the topic is difficult; no one has trouble communicating around the success of the project, the awards ceremony for the team, and the overall good health of the company! What if the topic is difficult? When Jane and Bob need to discuss a problem, a broken commitment, or a difficult situation, they use the following formula. CPR * Content * Pattern * Relationship Content The first time a problem occurs, talk about the content what happened. Usually it's a single event, and it only involves the here and now. Pattern The next time the problem occurs, talk about the pattern what has been happening over time. Patterns acknowledge that problems have histories, and histories make a difference. **End Summary** Topics: work communication]]> conflict communication]]> conflict resolution]]> organizational effectiveness]]> improved productivity]]> executive coaching]]> management c]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Linda Finkle, founder and CEO of IncedoGroup.com , works with innovative leaders around the world who understand that powerful cross-functional communication is the strongest strategy for building organizational effectiveness. There is no such things as only a communications issue"Â. Communication IS the issue. To find out more, visit: http://www.IncedoGroup.com