How to Respond to Criticism

 

 The podcast episode of this post is available at Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts and Spotify.

 

So, what is the one thing I recommend to respond to criticism when you are managing change and short of time?

 

DO THIS

Compare facts.

 

By DOING THIS

• Listen patiently and attentively, searching for evidence that supports their criticism.

• If you disagree, share the facts—not opinions—that support your point of view.

• If you have the best information, move on; if not, adjust your presentation accordingly.

 

It makes sense that people have different views on what needs to be done, because major change initiatives are generally built on assumptions and incomplete knowledge. Expect criticism.

Try to make sure that your plans and recommendations are better researched than the ones from those who challenge them. The best response to critics is to ask for facts that support their view. Responding with “Tell me more” or “That’s interesting, based on what evidence?” will invite the person to share his or her rationale. If the rationale is not strong, you can present your justification and move on. If their idea is right, acknowledge the new information and say you’ll incorporate it into your work. In the long run, they’ve done you a favour.

Sometimes people make up information to support their concerns. Viewpoints can appear factual when said with authority and confidence. Asking critics to support their contentions with empirical evidence generally separates truth from fiction.

 

KNOWLEDGE BITES

 

PRESENTATION PREPARATION TOOL: What criticisms might someone raise about my work (presentation, progress made, etc.)?

 

SUCCESS TIP

Anticipating criticisms and rehearsing your responses to them will avoid emotional responses when you are asked to defend your views.

How to Measure Readiness for Change

 

 The podcast episode of this post is available at Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts and Spotify.

So, what is the one thing I recommend you do to measure readiness for change when you are short of time?

DO THIS:

Require leaders to confirm that their teams are prepared to take on the change.

BY DOING THIS:

– Define what people must know and be able to do at each checkpoint in the change plan

– Ask leaders to confirm that their teams have met these requirements

– Get leaders to sign off that their team members are ready to progress to the next phase

of preparation

The biggest question to answer before people take on a change is, “Are they prepared to do so?” You must confirm they have the required knowledge and skills for each phase of preparation because learning is cumulative: the preparation for one phase is a necessary foundation for the next.

The first step of measuring employees’ readiness for change is to define what people must know and do at each checkpoint in the project plan. Provide leaders with a list of questions that measures the criteria for each checkpoint. A simple traffic light rating system – green for “ready,” yellow for “needs some support” and red for “needs extensive support” – works well. Finally, requesting leaders’ sign off on their team’s readiness, either in writing or verbally at a checkpoint review meeting, lends credibility to the assessment and gives leaders ownership of the change and “skin-in-the-game.”

KNOWLEDGE BITES:

 

 

READINESS ASSESSMENT TOOL: Do people have the knowledge and skills required to pass the checkpoint?

 

SUCCESS TIP:

“Yes or no” assessment questions are the best because they remove the middling answers, e.g. Do employees know how to get help at go-live?

 

How to Influence Decisions

 

The podcast episode of this post is available on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts and Spotify.

 

So, what is the one thing I recommend you do to influence decisions when you are short of time?

DO THIS:

Link your preferred option to solve a particular problem to agreed business objectives.

BY DOING THIS:

–         Outline your option

–         Demonstrate how it will achieve the objectives of the change

–         State how other companies have achieved similar objectives from this option

The decisions that leaders make (in addition to their behaviour) often seal the fate of the project. Influencing these decisions is perhaps the biggest impact you can have on your project’s success.

Most leaders need solid rationales and hard data to support their decisions. Your best approach to influencing their decisions is to demonstrate how your preferred option contributes to achieving the objectives outlined in the business case for change (e.g. increased sales, decreased costs, higher customer satisfaction).

Clearly state your preferred option and how it will contribute to the desired results. Backing up your recommendation with examples of how other organizations, ideally similar to yours, have benefited from the approach will add credibility to your pitch.

KNOWLEDGE BITES:

 

DECISION-MAKING ASSESSMENT TOOL: How will I present my recommendation to leaders?

 

SUCCESS TIP:

Approaching leaders early in the decision-making process will position your option as the default choice that all others will be compared to.

 

How to Prepare Leaders to Lead Change

 

The podcast episode of this post is available on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts and Spotify

So, what is the one thing I recommend you do to prepare leaders to lead change if you were short of time?

DO THIS:

Be clear on what leaders need to do to support the change.

BY DOING THIS:

• Share three main activities  championing the vision, role modelling new behaviours, and removing roadblocks with leaders

• Give examples of what "good" looks like for each

• Provide ongoing feedback on the three activities

Leaders generally make or break the success of a large change initiative. Most surveys cite sponsor engagement as the number one success or failure factor of change. This is because people imitate their leaders. Everything a leader says and does is scrutinized by employees who watch for signs of commitment or resistance to change.

Often, leaders are unclear of their sponsorship role and therefore don’t fulfill it well. Make it simple for them to understand and perform their function by focusing on the three most important sponsorship activities – communicating the vision of where the organization needs to go, demonstrating the behaviours that enable the change, and removing obstacles to progress. Give them examples of what “good” looks like for all three so they have guidelines to follow. Providing immediate and candid feedback will help leaders lead by example through the transition to the desired future.

KNOWLEDGE BITES:

Leader Feedback Tool: What feedback do I need to give?

SUCCESS TIP:

Beginning with positive observations followed by corrective ones reduces resistance to improvement.

How to Help People Manage Change When They Are Short of Time

Two years ago, I began thinking of writing my next book. It was five years since the launch of my first, Change with Confidence, and I was itching to record my latest learnings on managing change.

My challenge was that people were reading fewer books or less of the books they bought. A recent survey by Michael Simmons estimated that people only read 20 to 40 percent of the books they purchase. Also, Jellybooks, an analytics company, reported that 60 percent of sample readers only finishing 25 to 50 percent of the e-books they started. I didn’t want to write a book that buyers wouldn’t read.

People’s lives were becoming busier, too. As the frequency and pace of change ramped up even higher, many spoke of having little time for learning after balancing work and personal commitments. As Christopher Shulgan summarized, “What they don’t have is the ability to disconnect from life.” LinkedIn’s 2018 Workplace Learning Report noted that not having time to learn is the number one reason people aren’t acquiring the skills they need. Josh Bersin, a learning and talent management consultant, estimated that “employees take less than 25 minutes of time per week to slow down and learn, one percent of their work time.” My informal polling revealed that many were relying on Google searches and scanning digital media to get the information they needed.

Business authors provided clues to my way forward. Daniel Pink shared that his newsletter subscribers “loved his Pinkcasts [short videos], but wanted the other material to be briefer and more focused.” Seth Godin said, “It’s not an accident that blog posts and tweets are getting shorter. We rarely stick around for the long version.” Chris Brogan framed my challenge with his question, “How much do you make people read?”

My goal was clear: to provide quick and easily digestible advice on overcoming change challenges for people short of time. I looked for examples of books that met this need. In the self-help category, Austin Kleon, Lilly Singh and Michael Bungay Stanier led the way in offering practical advice in simple, enjoyable and easy to read formats.

Kids’ books were another source of education. A Mentalfloss article on the theory behind the Little Golden Books series led me on a quest to learn and adapt attention-grabbing mechanisms used to engage and entice young readers for the harried business reader.

My research was complete. It was time to begin writing. My target readers were those involved in a significant workplace change looking for practical responses to address challenges. I created a topic list by recalling past change initiatives. For each, I dove into defining the “one thing” action I would take to give me 80 percent results in 20 percent of the time – there is no time for perfection. I experimented with content and format options to optimize speed of learning, and feedback from early readers made them more valuable.

This week, I finished Change on the Run: 44 Ways to Survive Workplace Uncertainty. Now, it’s in the hands of my publisher, Page Two. The “pub date” is scheduled for March 2021.

From now until the launch, I am hosting a Change on the Run podcast to share quick tips on how to manage uncertainty at work. Each episode, guests discuss their experiences on the chapter topic they choose and share the “one thing” they would do to address challenges if they were short of time. I also will post each of these chapters on my blog and LinkedIn. In times like these, most of us could use tips on how to manage uncertainty. I know I do. I hope our tips will help you, too.

Here is a link to Change on the Run Podcast: https://change-on-the-run.sounder.fm/. It's also available on Apple Podcasts and coming soon to Spotify and Google Podcasts.

A Simple Framework for Managing the Unknown

Leaders struggle the most when they are faced with the unknown because they can’t rely on their experience to make decisions. They lack a tested map to guide them through new and complex situations like the one we are facing now.

Some leaders default to quick responses, ignoring the measured decision-making process they use in more familiar situations. I knew a leader who provided assurances to employees without the data to support them. He jeopardized long-term credibility for the short-term appearance of control.  When this happens, speed of action trumps pragmatic assessment, encouraging “gut feel” intuition or wishful thinking to guide their actions. Both approaches are highly risky and dangerous.

Leaders who make the best decisions adopt a process to evaluate a new situation. Each step helps build a framework for information gathering, issue identification, alternative generation and selection. There are four actions I have seen leaders use the most.

Assess the level of importance

This consideration provides context to the situation by determining its relevance to organizational goals and the strategies to achieve them. How does this situation impact our ability to achieve our goals? Without answering this question, everything urgent appears to be important.

Define what information is required

Specifying what data is needed to make a decision helps define the situation. Determining what information exists and what needs sourcing is the first step to building a fact base to use in creating and testing options. It also demonstrates that leaders are taking concrete actions to move forward.

Identify sources of expertise (internal and external) 

Leaders who know people with insights and knowledge about similar situations is the next best thing to having it themselves. Identifying these resources and speaking with them builds understanding, identifies options and pros and cons for each. Often, people outside the industry hold the best information and experience.

Consider organizational implications of different courses of action

Capabilities and culture are important considerations when assessing options. What will work well in one organization may not work well in another. Considering options through these lenses can predict how successful they will be if implemented. 

Combining these actions creates a simple framework for managing unknown situations. It allows leaders to quickly determine the importance of the decision; the information required for making it; sources of experience to tap into; and internal considerations that will impact each option’s effectiveness.

Managing the unknown has become ‘business as usual’ for most leaders and is a must-have capability. Building a simple framework around a new situation is the best preparation to address it, one that will help leaders now and in the future.

Phil

What 3 words will help you achieve your goals in 2020?

You can learn a lot from taking stock of the past year and setting goals for the next one. Through retrospection, realization and aspiration, you can build the skill of goal achievement.

I have been using Chris Brogan's "My Three Words" approach to annual planning and evaluation for seven years. After choosing your goals for the year, you select three words that will guide your mindsets, actions and behaviour toward attaining them. At the end of the year, you assess how effective each word was in keeping you on track toward success.

My primary goal for 2019 was to finish the first draft of my second book. The words I choose to guide me were leap, space and determined.

Leap was my prompt to take risks and not play it safe. The premise and format of my book are nontraditional, and I didn't want to compromise on my concept. I would rather receive criticism for something true to my vision than praise for something ordinary. Leap helped me make decisions that aligned with my ambition, some that were out of my comfort zone.

Space was my guide for managing my calendar. I needed to balance work and writing. Every consulting assignment I committed to would mean less time to write, but each would provide new insights on how to lead change. The balance between writing and consulting felt right for 2019, although clients’ needs influenced my calendar more than the space I intended for them.
 

Determined was my trigger word to exhibit drive, perseverance and tenacity. When barriers appeared, I pushed through them. I also used this word as a mantra: “you are determined, do it.” Determined played a similar role to leap. In hindsight, a different word might have been more helpful.

When I moved to a new office in September, I neglected to transfer my three words Post-It note on my monitor. Without visual reminders, leap, space and determined lost a lot of their power. They became vague notions instead of concrete productivity tools. I won’t let this happen again.

My three words for 2019 helped me stay focussed on my goal when I used them. I will work on using my new words consistently this year.

My primary goal for 2020 is to finish my book. Once I have completed my first draft, I will progress to the editing and publishing phases. This is my launch year!

The three words to guide me to success are precision, forward and enjoy.

Precision will direct the quality of my writing. Given my chosen format, I must make every word count and delete the ones that don't. I will need to cull some chapters to reach my target length. Precision will be a factor in selecting the ones to be cut. It will also direct how I communicate about the book. I must be clear and concise to get noticed.

Forward is about making continual progress. There is no time to stall or rest if I am going to be successful. Regardless of setbacks and delays, I must keep moving forward. As long as I do so, I will achieve my goal.

Enjoy is a new type of word for me. It’s a reminder that your path can be as fulfilling and pleasurable as your destination. Achieving a goal without being conscious of how you did it loses part of its value. Self-awareness leads to improvement.

I feel inspired by my new three words posted on my monitor. Now it’s time to put them to work. What three words will guide you to achieve your 2020 goals? There is no time to waste. 

Phil

3 Words Can Guide You to Success in 2019. What are yours?

How will you stay on track to achieve your goals next year? This is a question I ask myself every December. Defining my goals isn’t a challenge; avoiding distraction so I can accomplish my goals is. 

This will be my sixth year using Chris Brogan's "My Three Words" exercise to think, act, and behave in ways aligned with achieving my goals.

Here is how Chris’ technique works: After setting your goals for the year, select three words that will act as prompts to guide you through the decisions and tasks required to achieve them. For example, in 2017, one of my goals was always to speak the truth to clients because that is how I could provide the best value to them – especially when they didn’t want to hear it. The word permission was my trigger to communicate my insights, observations and risks directly.

Your three words act as guardrails for your mindsets, actions, and behaviours. Keeping them visible and front of mind informs the choices you make as you complete your tasks. You are conscious of your words, and the price you will pay by not following them.

My 2018 words were courage, discerning and moment. Here’s how they guided me to success:

Courage represented my desire to make big moves in 2018. I was beginning to write my second book and didn’t want to compromise the picture in my head of what it could be. On the book front, it worked. I pushed myself to break standard formats and approaches. It also supported my goal of changing my presentation style at conferences, trusting the audience to customize the content live instead of me assuming what would be most useful. Courage motivated me to take risks at each session. What I still need to work on is the courage to say no more when faced with requests for my time.

Discerning is how I wanted to make decisions. This one worked well too. It helped me test my decision process: was I considering all options, what were the pros and cons of each one, and who had experience I could learn from? It also helped me resist giving a quick answer that was not aligned with my goals.

Moment is about focusing on the present instead of thinking about the past or guessing about the future. The more I could stay in the present, the higher my productivity. This word was effective in keeping me present when speaking with others but didn’t help to avoid distractions when I was by myself.
 
Overall, my 2018 words did their job of helping me achieve my annual goals.
 
My number one goal for 2019 is to finish writing my next book. All three of my new words need to guide me to this goal. Here they are:
 
Leap is about jumping into new and unknown territory. I must be fearless to create the book I must make, which is very different from my first. This will require taking risks and making mistakes; if I play it safe, I will fail. This is not an option.
 
Space refers to room within my calendar to seize opportunities or solve problems. I can’t fill my days at the expense of flexibility. This has always been a challenge for me: Defaulting to saying yes without weighing the consequences. I know I will be tested throughout the year and space needs to guide my behaviour.
 
Determined signifies the spirit behind never giving up. It’s about drive, tenacity and perseverance. Passion is the emotion that underscores these traits. I will achieve my goals this year and passion will fuel my progress.

Choosing my 2019 words builds anticipation and excitement for the new year to begin. My goals and word guides are set. It’s time to perform. Posting my three words on my monitor and reviewing them every morning will keep me on track. All I need to do is follow them.

What three words will guide you to success in 2019?

Phil

What would you do with a small change budget?

What would you do if your business needed extensive change support but didn't have a budget to fund it? Someone asked me this question at a networking event. Her company was about to embark on a digital transformation with only a small budget to support the people side of change.

Unfunded change needs is a common predicament. Many leadership teams are aware that people need support to adopt change, but don’t allocate the necessary resources to meet them. Sometimes, there are no resources to allocate.

Part of a change sponsor’s role is to make a business case for required resources, highlighting the benefits of appropriate support (faster adoption, higher utilization of new practices, better performance) and risks (slow or no adoption, service disruptions, increased costs) of not making this investment.

If the budget for change support is less than needed, the sponsor and project team must decide how best to use it; what will contribute the most to successful adoption of the change.

The options include:

• Complete a diagnostic on the organization’s readiness for the change and define what is required to implement it
• Build awareness of the change, why it’s important, and what people need to do to make it successful
• Coach project team members on planning for and implementing the change
• Coach leaders on their role as sponsors of the change
• Support leadership steering meetings where members make decisions on the project
• Review the internally-created change plan and provide recommendations
• Oversee the most critical element of the change

If you could only afford one type of change support, which one would create the most value? What would you choose?

Each option has pros and cons. For example, completing a diagnostic would identify current perceptions of the change, risks to be managed, and support requirements to do so. But without ongoing influence, the project team might ignore these recommendations in favour of a faster start-up.

I would invest the small budget in supporting leadership steering meetings where members make decisions on the project. These status meetings are crucial to the success of the initiative because this is where leaders review progress, evaluate risks and make decisions including allocating resources.

Decisions are made based on the information and experience available. Leaders don’t always ask the questions necessary to validate the data and recommendations they receive. They accept project assessments like “we are all green” or “there are no significant risks” without sufficiently testing them. As one leader explained, “You need to trust, but verify.”

A neutral party with extensive change experience would ask the right questions to ensure leaders have accurate and sufficient information before making decisions. Their role would include being a “devil’s advocate” to identify risks. They also would add perspectives and options that might not be known to the internal team, broadening leaders' perspectives and options to consider.

Although a small budget for a change initiative is never ideal, it can be optimized through targeted support. Providing leaders with in-depth change experience when they need it most ensures their decisions are based on accurate data, multiple options, and knowledge.  It also builds their capabilities, including an appreciation for required change support.

Phil

What 3 words will guide you to success in 2018?

This is my fifth year of using Chris Brogan's "My Three Words" exercise to fine-tune my annual goals and define what I need to do to accomplish them.

Here is how it works: After setting your goals for the year, select three words to guide your actions and behaviours to achieve them. Keep these words visible and refer to them often, especially when making decisions on how you spend your time.

It's easy to get distracted or invest time in low priority activities; immediacy often trumps importance. "My Three Words" keeps you on track by making your goals and planned actions top-of-mind. Stating them as questions provides you with quick check-ins to ensure you are following your plan -- is my schedule flexible so I have room for unanticipated requirements or opportunities? A year-end review sharpens your ability to plan for success in the following year.

Picking effective words is harder than it seems. From experience, vague goals lead to low-power words. You need to be clear on what you want and what you need to do to achieve it. Like most things in life, the amount of effort you put in determines the benefits you receive. The first three words I think of are rarely the ones I select. 

My 2017 words were Aspire, Prioritize and Permission. 

Aspire described my desire to aim higher, to move beyond what I had accomplished before. It acknowledged that I am best when out of my comfort zone. This word was an excellent guide. Last year, I worked in new industries, presented to new groups and adopted a new approach to writing and formatting my next book.

Prioritize is a theme that spans across the last five years. I wanted to prioritize my time and activities and avoid distractions and detours. 

I struggled daily with following this guide. Every potential opportunity was explored to the fullest without assessing whether it warranted the time investment. I failed to apply selection criteria including whether the initiatives were set up for success, if my skills and experience would make a difference, and if my time could be better spent. The cost of my conduct was lost time on my priorities. In August, I wrote "no" over my list of 3 words taped to my monitor. It was a more powerful word.

Permission was about speaking the truth as I see it to provide the best value to my clients and readers. This word guided me through difficult client conversations and edits of presentation notes and articles. Speaking honestly led to better dialogues and learning for everyone, including me.

My assessment of 2017's words has been a valuable input into choosing the ones that will guide me in 2018. It has toughened up my selection process and replaced what initially seemed like good words with better ones. 

My three words for 2018 are: Courage, Discerning and Moment. 

Courage is what I will need to make big moves in 2018. It will affect the content of my next book and how I get it seen in a busy world. 2018 is the year of "going for it," and I will. 

Discerning refers to the decisions I will make. My choices will determine my ability to achieve my goals, especially preserving the time and maintaining the focus I will need. Consistently, I will ask "which option will best contribute to achieving my goals?"

Moment is about being fully present and making my time matter.  Being present and productive is the foundation of achievement, not dwelling in the past or future. It's the only way to be my best.

I have printed out my 2018 words and taped them to my monitor. Each day will begin by reviewing them. I plan to use them often on my path to success.

What three words would help you achieve your goals?

Phil