Blog - Margaret Meloni

One Small Change Equals One Big Deal

“How could changing a few words in one simple sentence lead to such an uproar?” June thought, incredulous at how upset some of her members were with her. All she had done was update a sentence or two in one of the high-level requirements. It had been a last minute change that she included just before she sent the document off for approval. Her only purpose in making the change was to improve the document. As the project manager, she did not think that she needed to run every single word she wrote by her team.

June had sent the final version of the document out last evening just before she went home. It was now barely 10 am the next day, and she had received negative feedback from more than half of her team members. It was not until Peter, her project sponsor stopped by that June began to understand that perhaps her improvements were not such a great idea.

“June, part of me wants to sign this charter. “ Peter said. “But I cannot sign it with a clear conscience because you and the team cannot deliver what you promised.”

“What do you mean?” asked June.

Peter outlined the problem for June:

“The draft that we agreed upon made this statement: The project team will answer business unit questions related to product enhancements and investigate potential issues reported to them by the business unit during the product roll out.

You changed that to say: The project team will answer all product-related questions and provide full support to the business unit during the product roll out. Do you understand the difference?”

June replied that she thought that the updated sentence was more concise and better-expressed support of the product and the business unit. Peter agreed that the updated sentence indicated better support of the business unit. In fact, it expressed support that June’s team would not customarily provide. The reason that June’s team was freaking out was that her updates placed them entirely into the product support role. The business unit owned support of the product; the team helped them with questions and issues as the business unit became comfortable with the enhancements.

It was then that June had an epiphany. In her attempt to put her stamp on the requirements, she had changed the meaning and the intention of those requirements. No wonder her team was so upset by her updates. If Peter had signed the document, her team would have been committed to providing services that they could not and should not provide.

June thanked Peter profusely and went off to call her team together to offer her apologies.

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Silence is NOT Always Golden

“Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone.” – G.B. Stern

Have you ever heard this from a leader?

“If I do not yell at you, it means you are doing a good job. Go about your business and be happy that I am not yelling at you.”

“You get paid for being here; I have not said you are doing a bad job; what do you want from me?”

What some people want is to know that their efforts are appreciated. This is not an unreasonable request.

This might be a good time to consider whether or not this individual is really a leader or are they simply someone with a title and a higher position on the organizational chart?

Less hostile, but still not exhibiting strong leadership is the person who simply assumes that you know that you are appreciated. They never express it, because you should just know. As-If you are capable of mind reading.

Some people are not just motivated by salary, advancement and challenging opportunities. Some people receive more value from positive reinforcement and recognition than they do from a monetary reward.

A sincere thank you goes a long way. Tell your team members and colleagues that you appreciate them. Be specific. To say, “I appreciate you,” is good. To say, “I appreciate the way in which you are able to redirect our executive team when they get off track,” is better. It is always good to take the opportunity in the moment to let someone know when he or she exhibit a skill or do something special that you appreciate.

Appreciation is an important part of your communication plan. Consider placing reminders in your communication plan to show appreciation to your team. This could be a special day when you bring in treats just because or you write them notes describing something that you appreciate about them. Maybe you have a surprise pizza party.

Whatever you decide to do, don’t keep your appreciation to yourself. This is not the time to be quiet!

By Margaret Meloni Leave a Comment

Are YOU a Yes Person or a NO Person?

It was almost comical to watch the debate rage on.

Ginny looked at Sal and said, “Your problem is that you think everything is possible. That anything can be done.”

Sal laughed and replied, “Well, your problem is that you think nothing can be done. Your first response to everything is no.”

Watching on the sidelines, Mary Carol began to see that both were making valid points. She also began to see that Ginny and Sal came from two very different perspectives.

When a new idea was presented to the team, Ginny immediately began to discuss why the idea was wrong or impossible or impractical. She looked for the flaws. Sometimes those flaws were actually due to her professional preferences or weaknesses. If she did not like the idea of doing something or she did not know how to do something, then she would state that it was a bad idea. Mary Carol thought of Ginny as a ‘no person’, someone who comes from a place of negative responses.

Sal responded to new ideas with brainstorming how those new ideas could become reality. He looked for ways to make things happen. He liked change and he liked to shake things up and he disliked the status quo. Sometimes this was a strength and other times it was a weakness. It could lead Sal to suggest change just for the sake of change. Mary Carol thought of Sal as a ‘yes person’, someone who comes from a place of positive responses.

Because Ginny tended to blurt things out in an unconstructive manner, she was often harder to listen to. Sal had a calmer and less abrasive way of making his point.

Listening to their debates was not always comfortable, or fun. Sometimes their back and forth devolved into unproductive arguing. Both of their opinions were important. Generally, they could be facilitated back to useful discussion.

And at the end, after the ‘no person’ had her say and the ‘yes person’ made his points, the team was usually able to come up with a working approach.

We need all types, the yes, the no and the maybe.

By Margaret Meloni Leave a Comment

Please Take a Break!

“Sometimes it is important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it’s essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow.”
– Douglas Pagels

If taking time away from work and errands and being productive and busy is not something you do on a regular basis, please reconsider! In today’s world, many of us consider taking time to do nothing as the ultimate luxury. Who can afford to talk a walk in the middle of the workday? Who has time to sit and just breathe? You do!

The challenge for many of us is nagging feelings of guilt. You have so much to do and you cannot figure out the solution to this one specific problem. You do not deserve a break until you know how to resolve the problem and you know that you are going to make your deadline. This is the exact time when you should take a break. Don’t feel guilty if you look at pictures and videos of puppies and kittens. Research has shown that participants performed tasks better AFTER looking at pictures of baby animals.

Don’t trust me trust science. Taking a break will actually help to ensure that you are working on the right priorities. Taking a break does not take you off course it actually keeps you on track.

University of Illinois psychology professor Alejandro Lleras explains:

“…Deactivating and reactivating your goals allows you to stay focused,” he said. “From a practical standpoint, our research suggests that, when faced with long tasks (such as studying before a final exam or doing your taxes), it is best to impose brief breaks on yourself. Brief mental breaks will actually help you stay focused on your task!” (www.open.buffer.com/science-taking-breaks-at-work)

When you take a break, your mind is not totally idle. So if you are still worried that taking a break is preventing you from problem solving, it is in fact the opposite. Taking breaks helps with problem solving. Some of your brain activity increases when you daydream and when you let your mind wander. Engineering professor Barbara Oakley states that while we do need to focus, we also need to enter a state called the diffuse mode. Focusing blocks us from this mode. Relaxing allows us to enter this mode and it is while in the diffuse mode your subconscious mind chips away at the problem that you are trying to solve. (www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/08/inquiring-minds-barbara-oakley-learning-neuroscience)

At a higher level consider more than breaks during the workday. Consider taking an entire day off. No housework, errands, homework or work. And as an added bonus, perhaps even take a break away from all of your devices. Or at least stop checking your work messages!

So please, take a break and definitely take a day off. It’s good for you – personally and professionally.

By Margaret Meloni Leave a Comment

One Bad Habit Away from Performing

“The only proper way to eliminate bad habits is to replace them with good ones.” – Jerome Hines

Joan was shocked. It was her first morning back from vacation and she returned to discover a note from her project manager, Mary Carol. The note said, “Before you do ANYTHING, come see me. Seriously, do not get coffee, do not open up your laptop and check emails, just come to my office.”

Joan could not imagine how she could have gotten into trouble. She had been out of the office on a scheduled vacation for the past two weeks. What could be so important that Mary Carol needed to see her before she jumped back into her work routine?

Little did Joan know that while she was away Mary Carol had been thinking about Joan and her work habits and how to change them. Joan was basically a good team member. Each morning Joan started out by walking to the break room for coffee. That was not an unreasonable routine. MOST of the team started off with coffee. Some walked in the door with coffee in their hands. The problem with Joan’s habit was that it also involved her starting conversations with just about everyone she met along the way. Joan’s morning cup of coffee was the equivalent of lunchtime for others. It took a big chunk out of Joan’s day and it was disruptive to those who crossed her path. Mary Carol had pointed this out to Joan on more than one occasion. Yet Joan failed to change her habit of chatting away her morning.

Mary Carol hatched a plan. Every morning she would make sure that Joan had an assignment that was due within the first ninety minutes of the day. She knew Joan well enough to know that she was excellent at meeting deadlines. If she could focus her attention on work BEFORE the extended coffee break began, she just might be able to get Joan to break her habit.

The first thing that Joan said to Mary Carol was, “I will get started as soon as I get a cup of coffee.” Mary Carol quickly replied, “You don’t have time for that now, let me bring you a cup of coffee.” For several days Mary Carol kept Joan on the same schedule. As soon as she arrived she was given an assignment and a tight deadline. After a couple of days, Mary Carol stopped bringing Joan a cup of coffee. Instead she walked with her to pick up the coffee while discussing the pending assignment. After a few more days she encouraged Joan to get cup a coffee and advised her that she would in fact be waiting for her at her desk. After ten days of no extended coffee breaks and on time assignments, Mary Carol presented Joan with a gift card for coffee. Out of habit on the eleventh day, Joan stopped by Mary Carol’s office first thing, without even being asked. On the twelfth day, Mary Carol left Joan a note about her assignment, but did not require her to come to her office. This new approach really helped Joan to get back on track with her work habits. She came in and got right to work. She did have a day or two where she fell back into her old habit, but when her colleagues asked her what she was working on that day, she remembered that she needed to get back to her desk and back to work.

You might wonder why Mary Carol went to all of this trouble for Joan. Why didn’t Mary Carol simply chastise her or threaten her with a poor performance review? Joan was an otherwise strong team member with a bad habit. She was worthy of the effort and investing time in her was well worth it. She simply needed help replacing her bad habit with a good one.

One Small Change Equals One Big Deal

Silence is NOT Always Golden

Are YOU a Yes Person or a NO Person?

Please Take a Break!

One Bad Habit Away from Performing

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