How to Respond to Praise

 This post's podcast episode is available at Sounder, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify.

When you are short of time, here is the one action that will give you 80 percent results in 20 percent of the time.

DO THIS

Share the recognition with fellow contributors.

BY DOING THIS

– Thank the giver of the praise.

– Identify those who contributed.

– Specify the roles they played.

Change initiatives can be gruelling and can feel like a succession of uphill battles characterized by tight deadlines, difficult challenges, stretched capabilities, and long hours. Giving and receiving recognition energizes individuals and teams and builds momentum to tackle the next tasks and activities.

Acknowledgement for your hard work feels great. It’s tempting to accept it by saying, “Thank you, I have been working hard." The best response is to share praise with those who contributed to the success and detail how they contributed, which maximizes the distinction. Saying, “Thank you, we all worked hard to hit this deadline, and Tim and Sandeep created a focused plan to get us there,” broadens the recognition and signals that you are a humble leader. People will notice your thoughtfulness.

Round off your acceptance by connecting the team’s capabilities with future achievements. By saying something like, “We’re on a roll,” or “We’re ready for the next challenge,” you encourage the behaviours that got the results and create the momentum for success to become a habit.

KNOWLEDGE BITES

RECOGNITION PLANNER TOOL: How will I respond to praise?

Express gratitude:

_________________________________________________________________________

Who else contributed?

_________________________________________________________________________

What did they do?

_________________________________________________________________________

SUCCESS TIP

Keep a list of acknowledgements to motivate yourself and the team in challenging times and to create a project summary at the project’s end.

For more stories, insights and advice, listen to the Responding to Praise podcast episode with communication and corporate affairs leader Saira Absar.

Phil Buckley is the author of Change on the Run and  Change with Confidence, host of the  Change on the Run Podcast, and co-creator of the  Sharing Change with Confidence Newsletter.

#change #changemanagement #businesstransformation #leadership #projectmanagement #praise #recognition #podcasts 

How to Compete for Resources

 

This post's podcast episode is available at Sounder, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify.

When you are short of time, here is the one action that will give you 80 percent results in 20 percent of the time.

DO THIS

Provide greater detail on the benefits of your project.

BY DOING THIS

–  Map each stakeholder’s benefits (internal and external).

–  Meet with each stakeholder to get examples.

–  Use quotes to build credibility for your pitch.

 

Most organizations take on change agendas that are larger than the resources available to implement them. Leaders struggle to prioritize multiple change initiatives because they all provide benefits, and generally there are differing views on which ones will deliver the most value. 

Most people starting a change project jump into planning without stepping back to assess the environment in which the change will take place. For example, if your change is launching at the same time as three other initiatives, odds are that the people you’re impacting will not have the capacity (time, skill and resources) to implement the plan as well as you’d like. Securing adequate resources to implement your plan is one of the most important negotiations you’ll have. 

Meet with each stakeholder to better understand the benefits they’ll get from your change. Greater detail backed by credible endorsements will make them more tangible and perhaps more valuable when compared to other projects, securing the resources you need.

KNOWLEDGE BITES

RESOURCE BUSINESS CASE BUILDER TOOL: Why should my project receive resources over others?

SUCCESS TIP

Quotes from people who have a stake in the change are personal and emotional—they are more convincing than the numbers.

For more stories, insights and advice, listen to the Competing for Resources podcast episode with executive and change leader Denis Kelly.

Phil Buckley is the author of Change on the Run and  Change with Confidence, host of the  Change on the Run Podcast, and co-creator of the  Sharing Change with Confidence Newsletter.

#change #changemanagement #transformation #leadership #projectmanagement #changesupport #podcasts 

How to Identify Your Lessons Learned

 

This post's podcast episode is available at Sounder, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify.

When you are short of time, here is the one action that will give you 80 percent results in 20 percent of the time.

DO THIS

Keep a daily project journal.

BY DOING THIS

–        Start a journal on day one of your role in the change initiative.

–       Note everything—both positive and negative—as events occur.

–       Review highlights when the project is complete.

Experience is the best teacher, which enables us to repeat success patterns and eliminate future roadblocks to achieve our goals. Understanding how experiences impact outcomes helps build change capacity and skill and dramatically improves organizational knowledge on how projects work within our cultures.

Learning occurs in the moment—something worked or didn’t work because of specific factors, and we often lose the learnings we don’t record quickly. This is especially true in the middle of projects because we tend to remember only beginnings and endings, leaving the key middle ground foggy. Documenting the context and details of your observations while they are fresh in your mind gives you the best learning. Keeping a daily log, either paper or electronic, enables you to create an accurate and fulsome learning summary at the end of the project. The details you record daily will enhance the stories you tell about what you did, how you did it and what you learned from the results.

KNOWLEDGE BITES

LESSONS LEARNED JOURNALING TOOL: What have I learned from my role on this change project?

What worked well that I would want to repeat?

____________________________________________________________________

What didn’t work well that I wouldn’t?

____________________________________________________________________

What surprised me?

______________________________________________________________

SUCCESS TIP

Lessons are best communicated when you illustrate them with stories.

For more stories, insights and advice, listen to the  Identifying Your Lessons Learned podcast episode with HR and change management expert Kathy Repa.

Phil Buckley is the author of  Change on the Run and  Change with Confidence, host of the Change on the Run Podcast, and co-creator of the  Sharing Change with Confidence Newsletter.

#change #changemanagement #transformation #leadership #projectmanagement #lessonslearned #podcasts            

How to Reward Team Members

 

This post's podcast episode is available at Sounder, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify.

When you are short of time, here is the one action that will give you 80 percent results in 20 percent of the time.

DO THIS

Recognize people’s efforts through small gifts.

BY DOING THIS

–        Identify milestones to recognize with gifts

–        Ask leaders to present the gifts at team meetings, highlighting the efforts that led to the achievements

–         Profile the next milestone’s tasks and express confidence they’ll be achieved

People have a need to be recognized for work that is meaningful and necessary for success. From recognition to gifts, rewards play an important role in maintaining morale, focus, and performance. They acknowledge people’s hard work and give them confidence in their future contributions.

Celebrating accomplishments with peers is especially effective because everyone knows how difficult the tasks were to achieve. Small gifts have symbolic value because they’re tangible reminders of the achievement and the organization’s appreciation for it. They also help the leader write a narrative about people’s efforts and their impact on success, positioning team members as protagonists rising to the challenge who will do so again in the future.

Being specific about how a person or team accomplished the task personalizes the recognition, making it more meaningful, especially when shared with friends and family (“My boss said that I saved the day.”)

Rewards that can be shared and enjoyed outside of work, like movie tickets or leaving early on a Friday, have the greatest impact. They communicate that people’s personal lives are important and haven't been forgotten by leaders.  

KNOWLEDGE BITES

REWARDS PLANNING TOOL: What rewards will I give my project team?

SUCCESS TIP

Taking photos of the recognition ceremonies and sharing them broadly and visibly supercharge their meaning and impact.

For more stories, insights and advice, listen to the Rewarding Team Members podcast episode with CFO/COO and change leader Matt Lloyd.

Phil Buckley is the author of Change on the Run and Change with Confidence, host of the Change on the Run Podcast, and co-creator of the Sharing Change with Confidence Newsletter.

#change #changemanagement #transformation #leadership #projectmanagement #culture #podcasts

How to Identify Project Lessons Learned

This post's podcast episode is available at Sounder, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify.

When you are short of time, here is the one action that will give you 80 percent results in 20 percent of the time.

DO THIS

Ask people to tell stories about what worked well and what could be improved.

BY DOING THIS

–        Select a few people from across all stakeholder groups.

–        Ask them to identify three things that worked well and three that could be improved (and why).

–        Share key themes and associated quotes at leadership and project closure meetings.

Managing the closing of a change project is hard because most leaders and project team members have mentally moved on to their next roles and challenges.

A lessons-learned exercise at the end of a change project is essential for building change capability in your organization. It documents which activities worked and should be repeated by other project teams, and which didn’t and shouldn’t.

The best lessons-learned reviews include members of all stakeholder groups, including leaders, project team members and those going through the change. Ask representatives of each group to write down three things that worked and three that didn’t—and ask them to detail why. Themes will emerge that are best explained by verbatim quotes from the feedback providers.

Scheduling a leader review meeting at the beginning of the project creates an expectation of measurement and a commitment to learning. Booking this meeting into calendars months in advance will increase the likelihood it will happen.

KNOWLEDGE BITES

LESSONS-LEARNED SUMMARY TOOL: What lessons can I learn from this project?

SUCCESS TIP

Holding brief lessons learned session weekly is the best way to maximize benefits and integrate learning into your culture.

The Identifying Project Lessons Learned podcast episode with change management expert Brendon Baker.

Phil Buckley is the author of Change on the Run and Change with Confidence, host of the Change on the Run Podcast, and co-creator of the Sharing Change with Confidence Newsletter.

#change #changemanagement #projectmanagement #transformation #leadership #lessonslearned #podcasts

How to Optimize Your Limited Time

 

This post's podcast episode is available at Sounder, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify.

When you are short of time, here is the one action that will give you 80 percent results in 20 percent of the time.

DO THIS

Support leaders when they’re making decisions.

BY DOING THIS

–      Know what decisions they’re making and when.

–      Ensure that leaders have accurate information on options.

–     Try to attend these meetings or follow up afterward.

Most people have fewer resources to fulfill their change role than they need, and so must choose which activities are most important. Of all the tasks you need to perform, I suggest prioritizing spending time with leaders as they are making decisions. These moments will determine the success of your project and will define where your knowledge and experience are needed most.

Status meetings are crucial to the success of change initiatives because this is where leaders review progress, evaluate risks and make decisions, including on the allocation of resources. If you know what’s being decided at these meetings, you can influence what data is presented and what questions get asked. The better briefed leaders are, the better they will be at making the right decisions.

KNOWLEDGE BITES

DECISION PLANNING TOOL: What decisions are project leaders making that will impact the success of the change?

SUCCESS TIP

If you don’t have access to the leader, give the information to someone they rely on for guidance.

The Optimizing Your Limited Time podcast episode with change management expert Yvonne Thevenot.

Phil Buckley is the author of Change on the Run and Change with Confidence, host of the Change on the Run podcast, and co-creator of the Sharing Change with Confidence Newsletter.

#change #changemanagement #transformation #business #timemanagement #leadership #management #podcasts