the discretionary effort leader aura and mystique€¦ · synergistic team work and expanding your...

Discretionary Effort Leadership

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The Discretionary Effort Leader Aura and Mystique

Articles to help you become the leader people CHOOSE to follow, not HAVE to follow because of your place on the

organizational chart.

By Karla Brandau, CEO, Workplace Power Institute

Co-Founder of the World-Wide Discretionary Effort Leadership Initiative

770-923-0883 | www.EarnTheGift.com | [email protected]

http://www.earnthegift.com/

mailto:[email protected]


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Authentic Contribution

Three Key Drivers for Retaining the "Best of the Best" in Your Organization

By Karla Brandau

Co-founder of the world-wide discretionary effort leadership initiative

Executives whose daily challenges in the 21st century global environment are how to work with China and India, understand the Instagram Generation and get more free publicity while paying for less advertising, are familiar with initiatives to increase innovation, streamline business processes and motivate for higher individual productivity. However, these executives are now looking at the work of their organization through another dimension: leadership and the retention of employees.

According to the Harvard Business Review, not paying attention to the retention of employees puts the company in a position to lose people with talents they need, often inadvertently retaining people with outdated or ordinary skills.

These three critical Discretionary Effort Leadership drivers bring high retention results:

Driver One: Connect on a Human Level


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Dealing with data, bytes, and scientific thinking in a high tech environment can obscure the fact that you are working with human beings with emotions and mortal needs. A good retention program starts with managers who know how to connect on a human level, not just be someone whose position on the organizational chart makes it possible for him/her to force compliance to rules and policies.

These three things will make your formal title jump off the org chart, creating synergistic team work and expanding your influence:

Check the Ego. Never let your ego get so close to your position that it defines your position and eclipses everyone else in the department or on the team. In well-run organizations, titles are also pretty meaningless. At best, they advertise some authority, an official status conferring the ability to give orders and induce obedience. But titles mean little in terms of real power, which is the capacity to influence and inspire.

Flex your style. Blindly following strict managerial guidelines or the current management fad generates rigidity in thought and action and reduces your credibility. Learn to flex your style: Sometimes speed to market is more important than total quality. Sometimes an unapologetic directive is more appropriate than participatory discussion. Some situations require the leader to hover closely; others require long, loose leashes. The best leaders honor their core values, but are flexible in how they execute them. They understand that management techniques are not magic mantras but simply tools to be reached for at the right times.

Exhibit optimism. In a recent seminar, I met Bernard "Butch" Deuto who was a young man at NASA working on the ground crew during the Apollo 13 crises. He said that during the crisis, there was no doubt, no negativism, no whining, no pointing of fingers. There was only an optimistic attitude and a determination to succeed. Failure truly was not an option. Failure never entered their minds. In a similar fashion, when faced with tough competition, cost overruns, product defects and a myriad of other problems, a leader with determination and optimism focuses workers on solutions, not problems. Morale improves.

Driver Two: Offer Leadership Training that Focuses on the Growth of the

Employee

Studies document that an employee’s level of satisfaction with their direct manager's leadership style is critical to a satisfactory work environment and to retention. Researchers find that the relationship with the employee's immediate supervisor carried more impact on the employee than overall company policies or procedures. This relationship also determines productivity levels.

To keep bright employees engaged in their jobs and performing at high levels, managers should provide:


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Information. Information is a source of power. Unskilled managers keep it close to the vest and stingily dole it out in snippets of information on a “need to know” basis as if the employee was on a top secret mission. Without a big picture of the project, it is easy for employees to stray from the vision or end-goal of the product or service.

Support. Mental and emotional support takes many forms. Setting clear goals, accepting ideas, affirming suggestions, making recommendations when stuck on a particular point are all ways to support. Perhaps the best support for the retention of entrepreneurial-minded, innovative employees is to give them the room to try innovative ideas and take calculated risks without the fear of failure, retaliation or a pink slip.

Resources. Resources are not just pencils, printers and up-to-date software but also involve access to other people in the organization. Providing the appropriate resources may involve putting together special teams to tackle tough problems and stimulate creative ideas.

Opportunities. Employees need the opportunity to improve their own status within the organization and to invest in themselves in the form of personal development. People will jump ship not just for more pay, but for better opportunities to learn and grow. Retention leadership encourages everyone's evolution.


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Driver Three: Insist on ethical conduct

The fastest way to alienate the best and the brightest of your workforce and send them networking for another job is to destroy trust by unethical behaviors. Since the Enron debacle, Forbes.com (http://www.forbes.com/2002/07/25/accountingtracker.html [2])

maintains a list of corporate accounting scandals with tainted companies ranging from Bristol-Myers Squibb to AOL Time-Warner and industry giant, Hewlett Packard.

Unethical behavior is a precarious precipice with resulting chaos in employee ranks. Successful organizations have a leadership team that insists on honesty and ethical conduct at every level in the organization. In essence, the excellent leadership team creates an organizational culture of integrity.

Culture integrity, however, is more than insisting on ethical behavior. It is more than requiring ethics training for all employees.

On a deeper level, it is:

Living and validating organizational mission and vision. Leading by example in matters of honesty and trustworthiness

Aligning employees with organizational values Encouraging candid conversations Insuring that deadlines are met Demanding high product standards

http://www.forbes.com/2002/07/25/accountingtracker.html


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Replacing blame with problem analysis Rewarding employees appropriately

Implementing these principles involves attention to employee accountability as well as managerial abilities. For instance, leadership integrity involves managers providing clear instructions for the parameters of the project while permitting the employee to retain responsibility for clarifying instructions and meeting deadlines.

Good employees respond to standards and to leaders who convey an unwavering firmness and consistency in their actions while exhibiting clarity of purpose.

Conclusion

These three leadership retention drivers will retain your best and brightest employees and contribute to the forward movement of your company in the chaotic 21st century global workplace.

Content copyright by Karla Brandau


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Rational Alignment

Driving Higher Levels of Discretionary Effort Performance on the Corporate Racetrack:

Finish First

By Karla Brandau Co-founder of the world-wide discretionary effort leadership initiative

Ever since November of 1895 when the first U.S. auto race took place in Evanston, Illinois, being the first to cross the finish line and receive the checkered flag has indicated the ultimate success. The drive to finish first causes heated competition in the racing world. Do you want to distinguish yourself as a discretionary effort leader in your organization? Reach higher levels of success? Get promoted? Then get your team to FINISH FIRST by implementing discretionary effort leadership principles. Your organizational success as a leader is built on your ability to get your team to produce and to meet deadlines…to be finishers. Finishing is a fine art made possible by the implementation of fundamental success principles. To rev up team’s internal motivation and fill up their

mental gas tank with energy, turn into a coach and use the following principles to get them to finish first: Principle #1: Have passion for their work. Professional performers are driven by their personal passion to achieve excellence, to be the best. Are you, as a professional corporate coach and leader, giving your team members reason to be motivated by a passion for the work? Do you give them a vision of excellence to strive for? Is part of your motivation offering workers the excitement of learning, measuring up to a challenge, adding value to the process or showing high levels of competence and skills? Principle #2: Construct a clear picture of the finish line. Having a clear picture of the finished product, the end, is critical to finishing first. The knowledge of how many laps in the race or where the race will end is essential to pacing workers energy and resources. Not only can a clear picture of the finish line help pace physical constraints, but workers


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with a lucid, mental picture in their minds have a psychological edge in finishing first. As humans, we are goal seeking individuals, so the picture of the finished product in the brain moves you into action. Principle #3: Tie production to definite time frames. Ambiguous time frames lead to lethargic behavior and the inability to innovate and solve problems. Adding exact time frames to the clear picture of the end product is a powerful way to push productivity and destroy the lazy behavior caused by ambiguity. After setting the deadline date to permit you to finish first, then decide and set your midpoints. Ensure that each team member knows where they have to be at certain times in the race to enable them to finish first with ease. Keep track of the deadline and midpoint dates by putting them on every team member’s calendar and reap the benefit of letting time frames drive productivity. Principle #4: Focus on the stimulating part of work. The human psyche craves learning and intellectual stimulation but no project is free from some aspect of rote, routine work. Focusing on the stimulating part of the project helps workers feel connection to the highest level of Maslow's pyramid: Self-actualization. Self-actualization, or creating the euphoric feeling of achievement, comes from developing innovative products and services forced by new thought processes and associations. As you generate original ideas and bring thought-provoking proposals for the team to consider, they will breeze through routine work and find exhilaration in exceptional production. Principle #5: Form a pit crew. Don't let an individual go it alone. It is inevitable that an Individual will get stuck and stymied. Team them to think of themselves as part of a pit crew and that it is okay to ask other team members for help. In my personal experience, team members, colleagues, and managers are genuinely interested in helping you. In fact, most people are flattered that you trust them enough to ask their advice. Just running ideas by a friend or verbalizing thoughts with a team member is often the catalyst to discovery and leads to answers and closure on nagging problems. Principle #6: Wave the checkered flag. A frequent question I ask my audiences is, "Do you ever get enough praise?" This question usually brings blank stares as brains begin to rapidly file through their inner litany of past experiences. Then, of course, heads begin to shake as they realize the sad truth that most organizations are stingy with rewards. I recommend you learn mentally and emotionally pat your team members on the back. The compensation for completing a project could be as big as a trip to a sporting event or as small as a Ben & Jerry's ice cream cone. Or perhaps a combination of the two!


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Follow these tips and your team will give discretionary effort. You will be able to wave a checkered flag as they FINISH FIRST!



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Answers and Solutions, Not Excuses

By Karla Brandau


Discretionary effort leaders teach their employees to bring answers and solutions, not excuses, bad attitudes or BS.

Douglas Ivester, former CEO of Coca-Cola taught me this powerful lesson as he stood in front of a group of executives and said, “Bring me solutions, not excuses.”

Mr. Ivester, a formidable opponent who admittedly loves hand-to-hand combat, had

stimulated the engineers at Coca-Cola to produce the first bottle that had curves melted in the shape. The problem came in the Birmingham plant when the very appealing, snazzy new bottle would not flow down the production line.

A direct report who was over the production in Birmingham called Mr. Ivester with a familiar line, “We have a problem.”

“Where are you?” Doug barked.

“Why I’m right here in my office next to yours.”

“I can’t believe you would call me from your office. I would expect you to call me from the Georgia Alabama line.” Ivester slammed the phone down.

One hour later he got a call from the same person who said, “I’m at the Georgia-Alabama line. Can we talk?” and Doug replied, “I have all afternoon to talk about the solution with you.”

What a valuable lesson from a successful and savvy leader.


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Why spend hours talking about the problem. Take two minutes and identify the problem and then two hours finding a solution. Your time will be well spent and you’ll be seen as a competent, contributing member of the organization.

Problems are of no consequence when excuses are replaced with solutions that are tenaciously pursued.

Tactical Tips for the Discretionary Effort Leader

When a problem is discovered, the mind will dwell on that problem and try to find people to validate the problem and commiserate on the lack of solution. Don’t let your team fall into this trap. Turn this tendency around with this mantra: BRING SOLUTIONS. BRING ANSWERS.

On the Personal Level

As you develop in to a more charismatic and confident discretionary effort leader, identify a problem and then:

1. Think critically. Find out what caused the problem or why the problem occurred. 2. After you have critically analyzed the situation, make a conscious effort to move

your mental mindset to solutions. 3. Avoid the “Everything always turns out wrong for me” pity party. 4. Ask team members and colleagues advice. 5. Try creativity principles to look at the problem in new ways.



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Discretionary Effort Leaders and Rock Solid, Diamond Performance

By Karla Brandau


High heat plus intense pressure turns carbon into diamond. I know, you thought diamonds were rocks you wear on your fingers. However, I'm sure God put diamonds on the earth to do work -- not just to cement relationships -- because diamond is the hardest material on the earth. Diamond is 4 times harder than the next hardest substance, corundum from which rubies and sapphires are mined. On the Knoop hardness scale for minerals, corundum rates 400 and diamond a whopping 1600! Diamond tip saw blades can cut through almost anything.

Diamond is a derivative of the element carbon, as is graphite, but diamond and graphite have very opposite properties. Even though they share the same chemistry, graphite is soft (the "lead" of a pencil), and diamond is hard. Unfortunately, the "high heat" to perform plus the "intense pressure" of deadlines usually turns employees into graphite instead of diamond. Why? Because of poor focus, emotional intelligence, and stress skills. What if you could take the intense pressure and the high heat of our economic environment and mold a resilient diamond team instead of letting stress turn your employees into soft graphite? What we are looking for is rock solid performance amid cutthroat competition. Competition used to be relatively friendly, but in today's world, competition is aggressive. Let's look at some of the physical properties of diamond that can help your employees withstand the pressures of the cutthroat world economy while giving rock solid work performances. The physical properties that made diamond the ultimate example of rock solid work performance are:


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Hardness: As mentioned above, diamond is a perfect "10" in hardness, defining the top of the hardness scale.

Your employees need "hardness" in order not to fracture and break from the economic pressures faced in most organizations worldwide. This hardness or hardiness comes from a belief in their inner powers to triumph in hard times. It comes from a determination to succeed and a commitment to find new, innovative answers to nagging problems and stumbling blocks. By valuing and respecting each employee you can increase their self-esteem and their "hardness" in the face of adversity.

Clarity: Diamond is more transparent than any other solid or liquid substance - nothing else even comes close.

The current economic times demand transparency in leadership with clarity on what the organization stands for, where the organization is going, and whether or not the organization is keeping its commitments. Translated to you as a leader, transparency enhances the credibility and trustworthiness of your team, unit, department, or division, thus providing stability in the organization and integrity with your customers. As you become more transparent, transparency will steadily permeate throughout the employees you manage. Honest dialog that clarifies questions and gives straightforward answers in non-combative ways will become the norm, thus facilitating productivity and thrusting you and your people forward.

Thermal Conductivity: Diamond conducts heat better than anything - five times better than the second best element, Silver!

In physics, thermal conductivity is the property of a material that indicates its ability to conduct heat. For this article, the "heat" that we want to conduct is positive energy and belief in the future. As your employees become "harder" or "hardy" and as transparency seeps through the ranks, I challenge you to add "thermal conductivity" to your arsenal of leadership tools. Become a conductor of positive energy, transferring optimism and encouragement to everyone you interface with in any given day. You'll witness doom and gloom transforming into solid growth strategies. Melting Point: Diamond has the highest melting point at 6416 degrees Fahrenheit. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone in your organization had as high a melting point as a diamond? If it were so, employees would maintain their cool and composure in tough discussions. "Meltdowns" would be few and far between, reserved for extremely important issues. During any given day, most meltdowns between employees are over somewhat trivial matters.


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By teaching emotional intelligence, stress principles, and communication techniques, you can help your employees replace "meltdowns" with dialog. Conflict becomes a catalyst for change as differences in opinion are explored with an eye toward making organizational products and services better. Summary: Apply these diamond properties to your work environment and employees who may be diamonds in the rough will be cut to shine with exquisite brilliance giving you an edge in global cutthroat competition.

The Discretionary Effort Leader Gives Individual Rock Solid Performance

Rock solid performances in organizations by individuals take concentrated effort and the ability to remain focused in a disruptive workplace. Some of the elements that disrupt the workplace are: 1. Ambiguity. Often as a worker, you may see an uncertain future. 2. Loss of face-to-face contact. Thanks to the Internet, you interface more and more with people you have not met and may never meet. In a strange way, this loss of face-to-face time brings alienation and a feeling of being alone. 3. Unfamiliar territory. Because of the Internet and unprecedented globalization, you are often in unfamiliar terrain as you work with a melting pot of lifestyles. You encounter unfamiliar cultures, races, and religions and which causes you to question how to proceed. 4. Stretched every day. Not only do you have to stretch to understand new cultures, but you have to stretch you mind with new concepts, new software packages, new marketing techniques, and new ways to stay competitive every day. In today's world little stays the same week in and week out. 5. New coworkers. In all of the reorganizations taking place in corporate America, you will undoubtedly have new coworkers. Some may be less capable or less cooperative. Others may be a welcome change and a breath of fresh air. In addition to the above factors that cause disruption in your work environment, you may feel you are being squeezed by work demands and the need to maintain a semblance of a personal life.

Here are 10 tips to help you be resilient and deliver rock solid performances every day:

Overcome bitterness Refuse to act like a victim Control what can be controlled Let go of what cannot be controlled Look for the challenge


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Learn from the process Turn conflicts into growth opportunities Turn disruptive changes into new directions Recommit to the end results Be resilient and diamond tough



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Discretionary Effort Leadership Qualities

Six Quick Tips to Build Charisma

By Karla Brandau


"Charisma is the intangible that makes people want to follow you, to be around you, to be influenced by you." -- Roger Dawson

Each person is born ethnocentric, or believing that other people and events revolve around them which is generally true for the first few years of a child's life. The focus of activity for a growing child is inward. Some people carry this inward, self-focus into adulthood. These people, so overly concerned with their own well being in a self-centered way, never learn the secrets of influence. Successful people, who want to have the power of persuasion, turn their circle of activity and interest outward.

They expand their centers to be as conscious of the world around them as they are of themselves. They develop what we call, charisma.


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Charisma means you have learned to:

1. Act with credibility. Those who are inconsistent in their behavior repel people while those who are consistent in their behavior draw people to them. To be influential, have integrity. Speak up for what you believe, then act accordingly.

Gerry Spence, one of America's greatest trial lawyers, said, "One can stand as the greatest orator the world has known, possess the quickest mind, employ the cleverest psychology, and have mastered all the technical devices of argument, but if one is not credible one might just as well preach to the pelicans."

2. Be interested. Be truly interested in the other person. Treat him or her as the most important person you'll interact with that day - a VIP, Very Important Person. Smile at them, not just for a brief, dutiful second, but for a magical two or three seconds.

When you smile, lean toward the person a little, and think in your mind, "I like you. You are a great individual. I want to get to know you better." You'll be amazed at the connection and trust that will occur.

3. Extend respect. A few interaction skills that make a big difference to a respectful atmosphere in your organization include not interrupting conversations, asking if the person has time to talk, and listening to ideas.

Remember not to be in such a know-it-all position or in such a hurry that you finish other people's sentences. Be sure to comment on their ideas to let them know you have really been listening, not just waiting for them to take a breath so you can jump in with your agenda.

4. Deliver sincere compliments. People you work with do care what you think about them. They appreciate your mentioning their good work. When you do recognize them, be specific in your compliments.

Refrain from saying in an off-handed manner, "Oh, great work, Donna." Make it more personal: "Donna that is the best research that has come across my desk in the last six months. Excellent work."

5. Accept sincere compliments. If a colleague comments, "Good presentation." Refrain from saying, "Oh, it was nothing." If a friend says, "Nice suit," don't reply, "This old thing? I've had it for years."

Deflecting a compliment often draws unwanted attention and belittles both you and the person offering the compliment. Just say “Thank you." You'll be pleased with how gracious you become.

6. State what you are FOR, not AGAINST. People don't like nor do they cooperate with people who they think are against them. When you are against something, the person thinks you are against them personally. Once you voice your opposition to


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another person's idea, you become part of the problem. It's as if a war has started with each of you fighting to be right.

When you are for something, you begin focusing on the potential for positive change. You start the process of collaboration. You become a powerful person.

Try it. Next time a colleague brings you an idea for improving the department or a process, find something about the idea you can be for. You may find that you never have to state what you were against in her ideas because the synergy and creativity has taken a positive turn to solving the problem.

Use these ideas to become a more charismatic discretionary effort leader and you’ll discover people follow you because they want to follow you, not because they have to follow you.



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Social Acceptance and Emotional Commitment

Catapult Your Discretionary Effort Leadership Career

By Karla Brandau


Catapult Your Career...with Silence! The Silence of Listening

If you want to catapult ahead of others on the treadmill of success and become a discretionary effort leader, try silence - the silence of listening. Zip your mouth and refuse to interrupt or break into the other person's thoughts. This takes a high degree of discipline, especially if you have an outgoing, social personality, but it is definitely worth the effort. It is okay to briefly interject an occasional "Hmmm," "Ah," or "I see," but no more. True listening is silent flattery! Plus, it builds teamwork, trust, and a sense of belonging to a group. It earns you respect and, perhaps most importantly, cooperation. In addition it will:

1. Cut down problem-solving time as issues surface more quickly.


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2. Smooth out relationships, since candid conversations are allowed to occur.

3. Elicit positive responses in difficult situations because participants do not fear retaliation for their divergent viewpoints.

4. Gather an infinite amount of information for you, once people feel safe to speak the truth from their individual perspectives.

Acknowledgement is a basic, universal, human need. Consequently, when you listen attentively to another human, you fill their need to be acknowledged, so they are more likely to respond positively to you. A positive response means that they are more likely to receive and embrace your ideas more quickly. Proper listening also includes avoiding body language signals or facial expressions that say, "I'm okay but you're definitely questionable!" Appropriate listening should instead communicate, "You are important and I'm not judging you." When people feel safe with you, they will speak to you as they would a trusted counsellor or skilled psychologist. They will become comfortable relaying things to you that they would never reveal in an antagonistic environment. Only by appropriately listening can you allow others to be authentic, transparent, and learn what they truly know and think about a difficult choice. By gathering different insights and outlooks, you will be armed with information that will help you make better decisions. At some point during the listening process, you undoubtedly will be exposed to bizarre opinions and bad ideas. It is important to restrain your initial human impulse to say, "That's the stupidest thing I've heard this century!" Comments like this will ultimately turn the now-embarrassed speaker into nothing more than a robot that functions according to what they perceive as your views. In the future they will not share their genuine thoughts and feelings for fear of additional embarrassment and rejection. This leads inevitably to depriving YOU of critical input you need to develop additional innovations. To refresh your memory on this forgotten skill of listening, here is what it looks like:

1. Listen in a nonjudgmental way - only then will people openly suggest ideas

and share thoughts.

2. Note their body language - read their emotions and feelings to perceive their complete message.

3. Be empathetic - and you will create an environment of security and trust, thus encouraging honesty.

4. Acknowledge - accept the speaker and build their self-confidence, and you will get a surplus of information filled with honest, candid reactions.


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5. Provide limited (but encouraging) input - their spirits will expand as they are encouraged to express their views in a respectful atmosphere.

6. Rephrase and expand their ideas - carry their thoughts one step forward. Help their ideas to unfold and expand in front of their eyes.

7. Express what you are FOR, not what you are AGAINST - giving them positive feedback on their thoughts can open true dialog and release a stimulating interchange of ideas.

Listening is a strange, magnetic, and creative force. American author, Breda Ueland says that "When we really listen to people there is an alternating current, and this recharges us so that we are constantly being re-created." The discretionary effort leader understands that the pace of the 21st century demands almost daily re-creation. Mastering the art of listening provides you with information to re-create yourself and recharge your organization. Give meaningful conversations your full attention and you will catapult your career to the top with the information you gain from colleagues, team members, and friends just through the silence of listening. "It is the province of knowledge to speak, and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen."

~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, American writer and poet



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Emotional Commitment and People Skills

The Discretionary Effort Leader Develops Human Sonar

By Karla Brandau


Emerson said: "Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel."

If you want your words to have the power to persuade and compel you must first understand the person's mental and emotional state.

Our ability to read emotional states is similar to sonar which is used to see what lies beneath the waves. Today’s high tech sonar systems send out rapid sound pulses that bounce off the ocean floor and back to the ship, enabling sonar data to produce nautical graphics and charts. These sounds produce amazingly accurate pictures of the unseen sea floor sailors can’t physically see.

Movies make use of the “ping” of sonar on submarines that permit sailors to “see” other submarines, whales, and obstructions in the ocean.


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In a similar fashion, your personal sonar of attentiveness can also "see" more than just the words in conversations. You can perceive internal emotions that must be dealt with or observe that some point in the conversation is obstructing understanding and collaboration.

If you can "see" the nonverbal clues to behavior that are hidden to an insensitive person, you will create more rapport and become a powerful influencer.

A discretionary effort leader will look for these clues:

The Spine. If the person you are speaking with suddenly stands up straighter, moves their head into a more upright position and firmly plants their feet on the floor, your sonar may tell you they are ready to fight for the position they have been advocating.

The Blush. Next, observe the skin colorations in the person's face. A person who is getting angry or embarrassed will typically blush. The blush may not be just on the cheeks - check the tips of the ears, the forehead and the jaw line. These blushes are easy to detect and need to be taken into account as you construct your next response to them.

The Tightness. Small muscle changes will vary widely, but look for muscle tightness near the edges of the mouth, squinting of the eyes, and tightness in the jaw, creases on the forehead or between the eyes. These changes usually signal that the person has great concern or resistance to your ideas.

The Lower Lip. This is one of the most common small muscle changes. A person who is experiencing stress will tense their lower lip, hence the saying, "tight-lipped." Others may bite their lip or experience severe dryness or increased wetness. Extreme emotions will cause a person's lip to tremble.

Here is a rule of thumb: if the lip is trembling, stop, look and listen before you proceed with your next comment. The other person may be too emotional to continue the conversation.

The Breathing. Another barometer you use are changes in breathing. A person whose internal state is changing will start breathing faster and the breaths will be shallow, not deep. Watch for faster up-and-down movements of their chest.

The Voice. Many characteristics can change about the voice, but you want to be sensitive to the pitch, the volume, and the speed. These changes are easy to detect. A person who is getting upset will raise the pitch of their voice as they speak louder and faster.

By using your personal sonar to observe subtle changes in another person's internal emotions and state of mind, you can modify or change your responses to that person as needed to maintain the conversation and build rapport, not animosity. This gives you the ability to flex your responses until you get the results you want from the conversation.


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Use these tips and watch your influence and personal power grow as you become the discretionary effort leader who earns the gift of discretionary effort on a regular basis from each employee.



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Rational Alignment

Help Your Employees “Make” Time

By Karla Brandau


Because of thunder storms in Atlanta, the flight from Dallas to Atlanta had been delayed twice. On the third attempt, we were boarding and I felt hopeful of actually getting off the ground. My hopes faded fast when the tired-looking flight attendant came down the aisle quietly announcing that if we were not permitted to take off in the next 15 minutes, the crew would have exceeded their 16-hour work day and we would have to taxi back to the terminal and await another flight.

We were not given permission to take off, the crew’s time expired and as we taxied back to the terminal I felt mixed emotions. I kept thinking, “But we were right there…ready to take off. How could 1-1/2 more hours matter?”

Just as airlines are concerned about overworked pilots and flight attendants, employers should be concerned about overworked employees. Why? Errors, accidents, and low productivity for a start.

My mixed emotions as we taxied back to the terminal are similar to the signals our culture sends today about long work hours. In one breath we agree with employees having a pity party about how hard they work and with the other breath, we award employees a “red badge of courage” for having the guts to go the extra mile.

A study by the Families and Work Institute concludes that overworked employees should be taken seriously. Employees who are overworked are more likely to exhibit anxiety, make mistakes at work, harbor angry feelings about their employer for expecting them to be on the job for long hours and resent coworkers who don’t pull their


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share of the load. The study documents that nearly half of employees who feel overworked report that their health is poor and 8 percent of employees who are not overworked experience symptoms of clinical depression compared with 21 percent of those who are highly overworked.

What can the organization do to help employees feel less overworked and leave work on time to pursue their personal lives? Train employees in time management and goal setting principles. Make a concerted effort to grease the wheels of productivity, and not be the stick that gets caught in the tire spokes, catapulting the rider from the trail.

Using time efficiently at work is an individual and an organizational issue. On the organizational side, managers can reduce the feeling of being overworked by:

Discouraging the practice of eating at the desk and working through lunch

Insisting on employees taking appropriate vacation time

Permitting flexible work hours as needed Encouraging non-interrupt zones in the day when workers can focus

To encourage efficiency, managers can:

Have clearly stated goals with built in and mutually understood deadlines

Insist on employees making a daily “to do” list and closing out every day before they leave work, effectively planning the next day

Make sure equipment works properly

Ensure proper supplies are available

Train employees on software packages that assist workflow

A less stressed worker is a better worker. Making sure the above items are taken care of is essential to help employees leverage their time in the office to be more efficient, effective and less-stressed.

Even though employees can’t actually manufacture an extra hour every day, attending to these issues will help employees will feel as if you helped them “make” at least an additional hour a day.



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Social Acceptance

The Other ".1%"

By Karla Brandau


A Ziggy cartoon in the Sunday paper read: "Human beings are almost all exactly the same. 99.9% of our DNA is identical. Boy, that OTHER 0.1% really drives me crazy!

So I wasn't the only one bothered by "others." At this time, I was working on a team assigned the redesign of departmental workflow. My teammates were irritating me and I pecided to chat with my manager about our problems.

After I explained the dynamics in the group, he looked over his glasses at me and said, "After employees have basic organizational training, have updated technical skills, and are supplied adequate equipment, money should be spent on people skills."

He canceled the order for new laptops, which we all desperately wanted, and sent my team to a communication class.

Big lesson. Don't get your order for new laptops cancelled. Instead, brush up your people skills. People skills are more important to your job than IQ, and the good news is – they can be learned and they can grow, unlike IQ.


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John Andrew Holmes made the observation that "It is well to remember the entire universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others."

The actor, Alan Alda, has given us this advice on getting along with "others." He said, "Your assumptions are your windows to the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in."

One people skill that helps you scrub off your windows and give social acceptance to other team members is to understand that there are two types of thinkers in the world, vertical thinkers, more associated with logic and analytics, and horizontal thinkers, usually more creative and out-of-the-box thinkers.

Vertical thinkers dive right into decisions, wanting to get the task done in the fastest way possible. Their logic breaks ideas and concepts down into neat little boxes of information and puts them in order, much like a row of Dominoes. Rationally they eliminate all the obstacles on the way to completion.

Horizontal thinkers gather information, evaluate angles, and contemplate possibilities, similar to a game of pool. Then their thinking finds the common thread and ZAP, the put the 8 ball in the hole and they are done.

One thinking style is not right and the other wrong. They are just different. The problem comes in perceived efficiency. At the beginning of a project, the vertical thinker is already finding the fastest way to completion and believes the creative, horizontal thinker is ruminating, munching and

chewing things up much too long.

In reality, greater effectiveness would result if the thinking patterns were combined. For instance, an organization I consulted with needed a new marketing manager. The vertical thinkers on the team wanted to call an executive search firm, get resumes sent over and start interviewing-today. The horizontal thinkers were highly disturbed because they wanted to evaluate the direction of the company, the duties of the new position, and what qualities they wanted in a marketing manager. At the point of absolute stalemate, I got the call.

I pointed out that while the vertical thinkers might get things going with a bang, their fast pace would come to an abrupt halt at the end of the project, when they had to evaluate all of the points the horizontal thinkers wanted to make up front. I helped the horizontal thinkers realize the need for efficiency and deadlines and that their contemplations needed to have the edge of urgency.


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So while the horizontal thinkers thought through the guidelines, the vertical thinkers rounded up a few resumes, just to see what was available and to evaluate the various skill sets listed on the resumes. It worked! In two weeks they had a new marketing manager in place.

Discretionary effort leaders know that the other “.1%” isn’t just about thinking styles, but includes many human idiosyncrasies. Through the DISC model personality assessment, you can help employees understand the strengths and limitations of others and move them toward social acceptance.

Teach them to scrub off their windows when they are irritated by that other “.1” in the human being in the next cubicle.



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Rational Alignment and Authentic Contribution

The Discretionary Effort Leader Evaluates the Words, “Let’s Nail This Down”

By Karla Brandau Co-founder of the Discretionary Effort Leadership Initiative

“Let’s nail this down!” Sounds like a productive thing to do when there is ambiguity and a decision needs to be made, right? You are getting to the point, ruling out bad options and moving forward.

Not so fast! It could be the wrong choice. If you make a decision based on what you know right now, the ambiguity in the situation is not considered. Ambiguity could be the component that makes you figure out what is right for the marketplace or for your customer.

A word or phrase is said to be ambiguous if it has at least two specific meanings that make sense in context.

Example: "I'll give you a ring tomorrow" could signify either the promise of a gift of jewelry or merely an

intention to telephone. The words in this sentence are not exact, perhaps arbitrary, and must be understood in the context of assumptions.

A product or project has a component of ambiguity if two or more final versions could make sense. Ambiguity increases the range of possible interpretations and outcomes. Most often, we look at our product for our potential marketplace or the product the customer has requested and try to envision how that product or project will look in the final form. This final form could hold two or more specific outcomes, all good, but not necessarily the best for you or your organization, or not the best for your customer.

Making a decision without working thorough the ambiguity inherent in critical projects decreases the potential of exploring alternate answers that may be better than the first answer most of the team members wanted to nail down.

Ambiguity is good because it makes you think on new levels, analyze overlooked points, use critical thinking, conduct market research, do interviews of key people, configure “what if” scenarios about the possible outcomes. When this happens, you make your finished product better.


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The final version of the product or project is often ambiguous and unclear, much like this famous picture of an old woman and a young woman. Can you make out the two different people? If you can see two different people, it is because you focused on the figure, studied it, looked at it from different angles, and then you were illuminated with two different figures in your mind. Similarly, your “right” answer to a new product or a solution to a project that is stymied, may lay in focusing on it and the ambiguity surrounding it: the foggy, fuzzy forms it could take as it unfolds.

The key to success, however, is not letting the ambiguity and the uncertainty of the final product stop productivity. Ambiguity can cause confusion and shutdown if your organization or individuals in your organization demand absolute clarity before they proceed.

Some people inherently don't like situations where new variables can emerge and influence the finished product. They prefer to follow project plans that are well designed from start to finish with no variation. They are impatient with new data and continually assert that we “have to nail this down.” They want a decision on “which way” and they want it NOW. They are nervous in the face of the unknown and unproductive until decisions are made.

We're all being asked to tolerate more ambiguity these days. If you're in a role of leadership or responsibility, you must make room for surprises and uncertain outcomes. If you catch a vision of the benefit of ambiguity, you will teach the people who work with you to recognize the value of ambiguity.

Encourage them to leave their comfort zone and focus on the ambiguity. Help them see there's more than one way to accomplish a task, more than one shape the final product can take.

Take advantage of ambiguity. Use it to help you and your organization stay on the cutting edge and competitive in the marketplace.


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Tips:

Act on parts of the project that are the most certain, leaving those with the greatest ambiguity to “settle” or “cook” on the back burner. They will become clearer.

Move forward with faith. Take the positive, not the pessimistic attitude that you will make everything work. You will get it right regardless of the twists and turns the project takes.

Permit the project to be flexible. Allow time to make adjustments that allow for new information.

Increase your tolerance for ambiguity by frequently leaving your comfort zone and trying new things.



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Emotional Commitment

Discretionary Effort Leaders Use Two Ears and One Mouth

By Karla Brandau Co-founder of the Discretionary Effort Leadership Initiative

When managing your employees and creating an environment where they can give discretionary effort, you were given you two ears and one mouth for a good reason. As you conduct performance reviews, solicit feedback, or look for creative ideas from employees, use your two ears. Let the employees do 80% of the talking and you will learn not only what needs improving and what they don’t know or understand but more

importantly, you’ll get fresh ideas on ‘why’ and ‘how’.

Particularly in performance feedback sessions, instead of using your mouth and offering solutions, use your mouth to ask the employee what they think ought to be done or what you can do to help them with a particular challenge. Then let them talk. Let there be silence until they speak.

One manager I coached practiced this technique and found out after a few seconds of dead silence in the room, that the employee was off target because a particular machine


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used in his work was not working properly and the employee had to spend extra time making repairs. Further listening revealed the employee’s ideas on how to reconfigure the machine for better performance and less maintenance

Another manager I worked with was trying to figure out why their new product project had missed the deadline. He was angry and ready to give the team the proverbial ‘piece of my mind.’ However, using the two ears and one mouth principle, he called the project team into his office. In talking with the team members about the missed deadline, the team revealed that the delays were caused by the new software package that the manager had insisted they use. It was being adapted to their specific project and even though the new software was touted as the best, it had incompatibilities integrating with their previous project management software. The team, reticent to complain and anxious to be problem solvers, kept working around the difficulties. The manager listened, contacted the maker of the software who made a few critical updates enabling the software packages to be more compatible. From this point on, the project ran smoothly and was completed in record time.

Both of these managers were building bridges with the employees as they helped solve problems. They were using two ears and one mouth.

In discretionary effort leadership terms, they were creating a safe environment where their team members could surface the truth. They were improving the emotional commitment the employees had to the organization and to them personally as they helped remove blocks to action.


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