How do you respectfully hold people accountable? We have clear standards for care, but some staff (and leaders) treat them as though they are optional. They aren’t! How do you hold someone accountable to the standard so they still feel capable, empowered, and motivated?

Signed,
Leader at a Loss

Dear Leader,

Your question holds the key to influencing your people. You asked, “How do you hold someone accountable to the standard so they still feel capable, empowered, and motivated?” People do things for two reasons, because they want to (motivation) and because they can (ability). To hold people accountable to the standards, target both their motivation and ability, but first get clear on exactly what you want them to do.

Clarify Vital Behaviors

Clarify and emphasize the behaviors that will bring about the desired outcomes of care. Make it clear to people not only what they need to do, but also when they need to do it. Clarity is the precursor of change. Also make sure the standards of behavior truly lead to the results you want. Ask yourself, “Have I seen others do this behavior, and have they achieved the results? Is there data to suggest this behavior will generate the results we want?”

Address Ability First

Not only is it ineffective to try to motivate people to do things they are unable to do, when you enable people first, motivation often follows.

Three questions to ask:

Do people lack the knowledge or skills to do the desired behaviors?

If the answer to that question is “Yes,” it is important to invest in their development. If their lack of skill is keeping you from results, then their lack of skill is your problem. Look for ways to model the behavior, hold short training sessions, or give them the opportunity to evaluate their own performance.

Are others keeping them from being able to perform the desired behavior?

If so, assign mentors, coaches, and peers to provide examples, training, and feedback.

Is the environment preventing people from doing the desired behavior?

In many cases, our ability is impacted by our environment. Consider arranging spaces by moving things closer or farther away. Adjust the flow of data, provide the right tools or technologies, streamline any processes, and implement cues or reminders in key moments and key places. The goal should be to create an environment where it’s easier to meet the standard of behavior.

Address Motivation Second

With strategies in place to improve ability, look at three ways to make it motivating.

Connect to Moral Values

When people see that the desired behavior relates to their values, it changes how they feel, which impacts how they act. In reality, we can’t motivate others. We can, however, foster motivation by helping people see the connections between what’s important to them and the behaviors we need them to do. A key strategy to help others experience the implications of the behavior is to take them on a field trip to see the behavior in action or to tell them stories that create a vicarious experience. In other words, demonstrate how the behaviors relate to their values. Highlight the human, moral, or ethical consequences of the behaviors in question.

Leverage Social Influence

“Who you’re with is how you act.” Look for ways to lean on those with social influence. You can’t lead alone. Partnering with employees who already have influence will increase your efforts to bring about the desired behaviors. Get them on board first, then enlist them in your cause. Because people tend to conform to what’s normal, find ways to make the standard behaviors “normal.” Pair people up to foster accountability.

Use Rewards Sparingly

Often when striving to change behavior, leaders lean too heavily on rewards, prizes, promotions, or raises. These efforts rarely produce lasting behavior change. The key is to use this approach sparingly and only after you have worked to connect to moral values and leveraged social influences. It’s also important to choose rewards that are rewarding. Are the chosen rewards something people value? Will they truly incentivize the behavior? Finally, connect rewards to the behaviors and not the results. Not doing so may lead to unwanted consequences.

To summarize, make sure the standards are clear, specific, and lead to your desired outcomes, and think abilty first and motivation second. True leadership is about empowering others to become leaders themselves. Holding others accountable is that kind of empowerment.

I’d love to hear from readers how you have helped people meet standards of behavior. Let us know in the comments.

Sincerely,
Scott

The post How to Hold Employees Accountable while Empowering Them appeared first on Crucial Learning.

I love the Crucial Influence® Model, and I’ve been able to apply it to overcome hurdles and help others that I mentor. However, I struggle to apply the framework when it comes to personality types. I have received feedback from my managers that I need to be more action-oriented, but numerous personality tests tell me I am more of a “think first” person rather than an “act first” person.

Here is my question: Does personality relate to ability or motivation? If my personality is more “think first” and my boss is asking me to be more “act first,” how do I change my behavior while still being true to who I am?

Signed,
Just Who I Am

Dear Just Who I Am,

Many organizations have begun leveraging personality tests to get to know their employees and build thriving relationships in the workplace. Personality tests provide insight into communication styles, strengths, and areas for potential growth. Organizations use them to improve collaboration, understand team dynamics, strengthen individual and team performance, and even to reduce turnover.

There are however some potential cautions. Some personality tests may be simplistic, lead to biases, and limit employees’ beliefs about themselves.

Let me offer an additional perspective. Over the years, I have come to realize that these types of assessments do not define us, but rather refine us. They measure and bring to light our preferences, tendencies, and cognitive processes. They help us grasp and adapt to our environment. What they don’t do is determine who we are. American psychologist, Elias Porter, said, “The more a personality theory can be for a person, rather than about a person, the better it will serve a person.”

The Crucial Influence Model, on the other hand, helps us understand how our social world works and how to change our world. The model helps us identify how personal, social, and structural factors shape our choices and behavior, and how behavior contributes to results. It also helps us get better results by using six sources of influence to remove barriers to behavior change and increase both motivation and ability.

So, does personality relate to ability or motivation? The answer is yes.

Motivation

Two questions we ask to diagnose personal motivation barriers are “When left in a room by themselves, would people want to engage in the behavior?” and “Does it fit their sense of who they are or who they want to be?”

As mentioned above, we often embrace our personality assessment results as a measurement of our identity. The more we believe our results, the less motivated we are to engage in behaviors that appear to run contrary to that belief.

Your preference and tendency to “think first” before you act has become a personal value. Such values can run deep and keep us from being open to or desirous to change or adapt to a new behavior. In order for you to want to fulfil your boss’s request, you must first connect the new behavior to something that you value. Your motivation is tied to your motives, so ask yourself, “What do I really want? For myself? For my boss? For the team?” The answer to those questions can help you find the motivation to at least try the new behavior. Are there other values you hold that relate to meeting your boss’s request?

Ability

I often find I’m less motivated to do things that I find difficult to do. When diagnosing personal ability barriers, we ask questions like “Do they have the knowledge? Do they have the skills? Do they have the strength to do the behavior even when it’s difficult?” It could be that you lean towards a “think first” behavior because you find the expected behavior difficult to do.

To shift to an “act first” approach, ask yourself, “What skills, training, or information do I need to be more action-oriented?” Answers may include clearer details on what is being asked or better examples of what the behavior looks like. A better understanding of how the new request aligns with current projects may also be helpful.

With greater understanding of what’s influencing your motivation and ability, it’s time to have an open conversation with your boss. Express appreciation for the feedback and share why you tend to take a more thoughtful approach. Share your intentions with your boss. Discuss how you can align your style with their request in order to accomplish the desired outcomes. Remember, you don’t have to abandon your strength of thinking before acting in order to meet the demands of your role or the request of your boss. Work with your boss to identify tasks or situations where an “act first” approach is crucial and those where a “think first” strategy makes more sense. Don’t forget to establish regular check-ins to evaluate your progress with your boss.

Your personality assessment results combined with the Crucial Influence Model can help you find synergy between your tendencies and the requirements of your boss. Try to make small steps to build confidence. Finally, apply multiple sources of influence to your own behavior so you can adopt the new behavior without sacrificing your values.

I’d love to hear from others. How do you see the relationship between the Crucial Influence Model and personality assessments?

Sincerely,
Scott

The post My Boss Wants Me to “Act First,” But That’s Not My Personality appeared first on Crucial Learning.

I was not given the opportunity to lead a team because I am innately gifted at leadership. Leadership opportunities came my way because I did well as an individual contributor. I delivered consistently in my role as a marketer, so my leaders must’ve concluded if I could do the work well, maybe I could help others do it well, too.

Eager to live up to my reputation as a top performer, I accepted a leadership role. And frankly, I’ve learned many leadership lessons the hard way—through false starts, public flubs, and tough interactions. If you’ve yet to experience leadership, believe me when I say that leading other adults with unique personalities, qualities, and characteristics is HARD.

In my ten years as a leader, I’ve committed the fundamental attribution error more times than I’d like to admit. I’ve jumped to conclusions about why people have dropped balls, shown up late, or dragged their feet. When we commit the fundamental attribution error, we assume people do bad things or perform poorly because they themselves are bad. We assume mistakes are due to total incompetence. We look at the person as the problem rather than examine the processes, peers, or environment surrounding that person that might be contributing to problems.

Here’s a tough example. Years ago, we were launching a new study at a large healthcare conference on the East Coast. While I was on site for the conference that would also be simulcasted to a virtual audience, my team was home in Utah waiting to launch the study online at exactly 10 a.m. Eastern time. Well, 10 a.m. came and went. And as our speakers announced that all our viewers could now access the study online, I began to get flooded with complaints that the study was not, in fact, there.

Flustered, I immediately assumed my team member dropped the ball. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” I thought in a state of complete panic. “We went over this plan dozens of times! How could they not get it right?”

It was not a good moment for me. Yes, I was under pressure answering to thousands of audience members, in person and online. But my ugly assumptions about what had gone wrong were sending fury and frustration pulsing through my veins.

I picked up the phone and called my team member, practically yelling into the line, “Why is the study not live? Get it up NOW!”

They immediately resolved the issue, giving our audience access to the study. It was an unfortunate mistake, but not a catastrophic one. And yet I had felt that all was lost and had acted in a way that let my team member know it.

Later that night I received an email from my team member letting me know what had happened. As it turns out, I had sent a last-minute communication the night before to “confirm” the launch times. In that email, I mixed up the time zones. I had said, please push the study live at 10 a.m. But our offices were in a different time zone. In reality, my team member needed to make the study live at 8 a.m. Mountain time to meet the 10 a.m. Eastern time deadline. They were simply doing as I had asked, which I should have known because this employee is exemplar and a team player.

I felt terrible and replied with an apology. But, in retrospect, I feel that the erroneous assumptions I made that day caused tension and strain in that relationship that took years to overcome.

Since that time, I certainly do not have a perfect track record as a leader. But I have learned a thing or two about how to approach leadership challenges with a new lens.

In 2007, our cofounders released a leadership book and course called Influencer. For the past 16 years, Influencer has taught a model for leading others and influencing behavior. Yesterday, we launched a completely updated and re-imagined version of this course, now called Crucial Influence®. The new course teaches the same model that is based on 50 years of social science and our work with leaders from around the world.

The course and model are built on the premise that any leadership challenge is a challenge of human behavior. Leaders are often asked to come up with strategy, lead with vision, or present innovative ideas. But that isn’t the hard work of leadership. The hard work of leadership is getting others to execute on the strategy, carry out the vision, and implement new ideas. The Crucial Influence Model teaches you how to do that. By first clarifying the results you want to achieve, identifying the vital behaviors that will generate those results, and then using the Six Sources of Influence to influence behavior, you can successfully lead others to achieve important results.

Over the last 16 years our clients have expertly demonstrated what can occur when leaders follow this model. Leaders have influenced entire healthcare organizations to adopt life-saving hand-hygiene initiatives. Mining and utility organizations have saved lives and prevented injury from workplace hazards. Retailers have influenced their teams to achieve unprecedented profits. The list goes on.

And while I have turned to the Crucial Influence Model to influence behavior, I’ve also found the model has shifted my perspective and changed the way I lead. I believe this shift is one of the more profound results of the Crucial Influence approach to leadership.

The Six Sources of Influence—which are central to the Crucial Influence Model—reveal that our world is perfectly organized to produce the results we are currently experiencing. Our behavior isn’t rooted in motivation or willpower alone. Rather, it’s the result of multiple personal, social, and environmental influences that affect our motivation and ability and shape our choices and behaviors. Why is this important?

The lightbulb moment for me occurred when I realized my team member’s performance gaps are rarely the result of incompetence, laziness, insubordination, or any other ugly assumption. There is more going on in their world contributing to their behavior. When mistakes occur, I can use the Six Sources of Influence to diagnose why that gap exists and avoid the fundamental attribution error. Do they not believe in the goal or see why it’s important (Source 1: Personal Motivation)? Do they not have the skills to do what’s required (Source 2: Personal Ability)? Are others encouraging or promoting ineffective behavior (Source 3: Social Motivation)? Have I, as their leader, removed barriers or provided support (Source 4: Social Ability)? Do rewards encourage or discourage the behavior (Source 5: Structural Motivation)? Or do they have access to the right systems and tools (Source 6: Structural Ability)?

Examining performance problems through the lens of the six sources allows me to separate the person from the problem. I can avoid attributing fault, adding to insecurities, or attacking sincere effort. I can identify which sources of influence are contributing to the problem and address those so they work for my team member rather than against them. And often, when I diagnose challenges using this model, I see how I, as the leader, have played a part in the problem. I see areas where I can provide clearer direction and coaching or remove barriers. This shift in perspective makes all the difference in how I show up as a leader when problems arise.

Last year I hired a new employee. She’s the epitome of a top performer but was struggling to work well with another department. Week after week she shared frustrating interactions with the other department that started to impact our results. Shipments arrived late and orders were missing. It not only impacted our events, but also resulted in additional work for her.

To help her out, I turned to the six sources. She was committed to her role and how it benefited our team—she wasn’t struggling with personal motivation. She had the skills to place orders and manage vendors—personal ability wasn’t the issue. But when I looked at social motivation and ability, I realized I had not helped her make the social connections that would set her up for success.

I called a colleague from the other department—someone I had worked closely with for many years. I explained that I was her manager and wanted to facilitate a better working relationship. He was surprised to learn that I was her leader, he had wondered where she fit into the organization and where some of the requests were coming from. I apologized for not properly training her on the shipping processes or making the proper connections and introductions. That call seemed to make a difference. The relationship now had the necessary mutual purpose to succeed.

I am so glad I didn’t commit the fundamental attribution error. This is a star employee. She is key to our success. Learning to lead her—and all my team members—with grace and understanding ensures they have positive and fulfilling experiences and can grow through challenges. We want them to be around for a long time. To make that happen, it’s my job as a leader to influence success.

If you’d like to learn more about Crucial Influence, check out the new Crucial Influence Miniseries with Crucial Influence coauthor Joseph Grenny. It’s free and a great way to get familiar with the skills.

The post The Subtle Shift in Perspective that Changed How I Lead appeared first on Crucial Learning.

How do you address envy or jealousy in the workplace? To be specific, what can you do when a colleague reacts negatively to another colleague’s success? Or, even worse, what do you do when it progresses from the occasional nasty comment to outright sabotage?

Signed,
Green with Envy

Dear Green with Envy,

The ancient Greek tragedian and the father of tragedy Aeschylus once said, “It is in the character of very few men to honor without envy a friend who has prospered.”

Before addressing the specific questions at hand, let’s first explore a larger question: How do you create a competitive employee culture that also finds joy in the success of others? This is as important in the corporate world as it is in the world of sports, communities, and families. Great teams thrive when each member can rejoice when others succeed.

Too often, as individuals we translate praise of another as personal shame. We see a team member’s promotion as our demotion. Others’ victories become our failures. It’s been said that we don’t see the world as it is, we see the world as we are. Thus, the key is to help employees see their world differently. Create a new paradigm. Three areas of focus (Competition, Celebration, and Collaboration) will help you in these efforts.

Competition

Our new paradigm begins with of all places, competition. Competition can drive innovation, increase effort, and achieve results. It can also increase anxiety, promote silos, and undermine collaboration and teamwork. While employees undoubtedly compete for recognition, bonuses, and promotions, that doesn’t mean they are competing one with another.

Author and modern-day philosopher Matshona Dhiwayo said, “To be a champion, compete; to be a great champion, compete with the best; but to be the greatest champion, compete with yourself.” The only real person we should compete with is ourselves. Foster this paradigm by being clear with employees what they are competing against. During one-one-ones and performance reviews, discuss goals, aspirations, and measurements. Let their behavior and performance act as their baseline for improvement and recognition, not another’s.

Competition can also be centered on standards, competencies, or shared goals. This type of culture fosters multiple winners. It allows each employee to achieve success, rather than a winner-take-all approach. Strong organizations foster such competition allowing all to compete and all to win.

Celebration

Often the root cause behind another’s inability to find joy in the success of others is that they themselves don’t feel recognized. While we may not be able to give everyone a promotion, there should be no limit to our celebration. Never has this been more important than with the rising generations in the workplace. It has been documented over the years that employer approval is one of the highest predictors of younger employee job satisfaction. It’s true that desired behavior, when reinforced, tends to be repeated. Look for and create opportunities to celebrate your employees. In doing so, make sure your celebrations are meaningful, specific, in the moment, and authentic.

Collaboration

Another way to foster a culture free of envy (or at least diminish it), is to create a culture of collaboration. Collaboration not only improves the way your team works together, leading to efficiency, communication, innovation, and success, it also builds team reward and recognition.

Working together on projects, plans, and initiatives allows others to see the contributions of others more clearly, as well as drives team connections and loyalties. Collaboration avoids individual praise and promotes team recognition and appreciation. It creates a “We” environment rather than a “Me” environment.

Working toward an environment with the right competition, celebration, and collaboration will take time. And it won’t be without challenges. There may be times when colleagues do react negatively to another’s success. Or as mentioned, occasional nasty comments may lead to outright sabotage. In those instances, it’s time for a Crucial Conversation. Hopefully, you can address the situation before it escalates.

When meeting with the individual begin by sharing your intent. Remind them of the goal to create a culture of support and where wins can be celebrated by all. Share with them the behavior you have noticed and ask them to share their thoughts. Listen intently to understand. Ask clarifying questions when needed and hear their meaning. In doing so the goal is to come to a mutual purpose—creating a win-win culture where all can be recognized, rewarded, and remembered for their contributions.

In William Shakespeare’s Othello, Lago declares, “Beware, my lord, of jealousy; it is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on.” I’d love to hear from you. What have you done to overcome envy and jealousy in the workplace? How have you worked to build a culture of celebration amidst competition?

Sincerely,
Scott

The post How to Create a Culture of Celebration amid Competition appeared first on Crucial Learning.

Sixteen years ago my colleagues and I published a book called Influencer. It represented our best answer to the two most important questions we’ve ever asked.

1. Why do people do what they do?
2. How can you help them change?

The most important problems you and I face—as leaders, as family members, as citizens and as human beings—are influence problems. They are problems that will never be solved until some human or humans behave differently. The problem we hoped to solve in publishing Influencer was to better equip everyone to do what only a few special people seemed to be able to do: influence rapid, profound, and sustainable behavior change to achieve important results.

The book was the result of three efforts:

1. Decades of research into the best of social science theory.
2. Millions of miles of travel to study the work of those who have accomplished large-scale behavioral changes that few of us think are possible.
3. Three decades of projects applying these insights in corporate settings.

We couldn’t be more gratified at the results. Since publishing Influencer, we’ve seen evidence that many of the hundreds of thousands of readers have achieved exactly what we hoped. For example:

• A PricewaterhouseCoopers executive increased retention and promotion of underrepresented groups in senior positions.
• The CEO of telecom giant MTN Group increased innovation in a workforce spanning Africa and the Middle East.
• Leaders at Fundación Paraguaya helped thousands in need increase their household income.
• VPs of HR and Learning at HCA Healthcare improved nursing retention during periods of high turnover.
• Newmont Mining site managers saved lives by increasing safety compliance.
• The Pakistani superintendent of police stemmed corruption and reduced traffic fatalities by 60%.
• Leaders at KIPP schools increased principal retention from 2.3 years to 4.7 years.

You might be tempted to ask, “After sixteen years and thousands of experiences like these, have you learned more about the crucial topic of influence?” I’m glad you asked!

We have. I’m pleased to announce that we have dramatically updated this seminal book under a new title: Crucial Influence: Leadership Skills to Create Lasting Behavior Change.

Sixteen years of additional living and learning have helped us make Crucial Influence a superior successor to the original book. Here’s what you’ll notice about the new edition:

• Streamlined. Years ago Kerry Patterson told me that a three-hour speech is what you give when you lack the skill to give a one-hour speech. There’s truth in that. Sixteen years of teaching and applying the model have helped us learn to communicate the most potent ideas far more effectively and efficiently.
• More immediately practical. We were so overcome at insights we gained from those who have influenced remarkable behavior change across massive populations that we focused much of the previous editions on these-large scale efforts. In this edition we add tactics that will help leaders address day-to-day challenges. Our goal was for every page to offer new ideas for solving immediate influence problems.
• For leaders at all levels. Crucial Influence will better serve the needs of leaders at all levels. Frontline leaders who are struggling to get people to retain and engage employees will find as much value as executives who need to pivot an entire organization.
• New stories. Finally, we’ve carefully selected stories from the shoeboxes we had filled with fun, riveting, and inspiring examples of influence in action.

Our deepest hope is to help make the world a better place by enabling people everywhere to think more effectively about the central work of leadership. We dare to hope that millions be more capable of making the world a better place as they increase their capacity to create rapid, profound, and sustainable behavior change.

We are grateful to the thousands who have allowed us to learn with them. And we are hopeful we have done justice to their remarkable contributions in this new edition.

You can pick up a copy at Amazon or wherever you buy books.

Warmly,
Joseph Grenny

The post Want More Influence? Here’s How to Get It appeared first on Crucial Learning.

Callie’s is principally a hideaway for men between the age of 40 and 75 who have weathered in life a few more storms than the average person. The patrons are honest and strong. A perfect environment for my fourteen-year-old socialite who is, understandably, preoccupied with developing her own style, having friends to hang with on Friday night, and succeeding at school and track—with finding her place in the world. All of this, it seemed to me, was weighing on her heavily.

It was Saturday around 10 a.m., which meant the tables were full, so we took a seat at the counter overlooking the kitchen. A waitress brought us coffee and water. The clanking of plates and forks combined with the crowded chatter produced a din that gave me a sense of anonymity despite our proximity to complete strangers. I felt free to talk freely.

As we began eating our bacon and eggs, I broached the subject: “There’s something I want to tell you.” Then I pulled my pen and notepad from my pocket and set them on the counter, because a good explanation is made better by visual representation.

Waves of regret for having accompanied me to breakfast rolled over my daughter’s face. “Oh great. Here comes a lecture,” her body language conveyed.

“Now hold on,” I responded. “Imagine you’re a manager, and there’s a guy on your team who always shows up late to your meetings. When he arrives, he cracks jokes and distracts everybody else. You’ve asked him to stop and to arrive on time, but he doesn’t. Why do you think he continues?”

My goal was to teach my daughter the Six Sources of Influence—at least, that was partly my goal. But I knew she’d have more interest in cutting coupons than in learning a theory of social psychology. I also know that the trick to teaching someone the Six Sources of Influence is to catch them making the fundamental attribution error, and then reveal to them their error.

If you ask someone what they think influences behavior, they are likely to wax philosophically about nature and nurture. But if you invite them to imagine a scenario in which they are frustrated or annoyed with the behavior of someone else, they invariably attribute behavior to one thing: personal motivation.

“He’s selfish,” she said. “Or disrespectful. Or he doesn’t care.”

Bingo. I opened my notebook and drew a matrix. Then I gave my daughter an abbreviated presentation of the six sources.

As we reviewed each source, we imagined what else might possibly be influencing the man on her team to arrive late and crack jokes. We didn’t have to imagine for long. Within a minute or two, our conversation drifted from imaginary scenarios to the real scenarios we face at home: the problem of the dishes and how her mom and I respond; why her sister “borrows” clothing without permission and what she could do about it. And on and on.

This was good fun, and we had some good laughs. My reluctant teenager became interested and engaged. But the real insight came when we discussed how we might respond to others’ troubling behavior if we considered all the sources that might be influencing it. It wasn’t hard for her to see that instead of blaming and accusing, equipped with this new knowledge she’d be more likely to be generous and curious, helpful and patient.

That’s when I expressed my ultimate purpose. “I share this with you because it seems to me that you’ve been making the fundamental attribution error with regard to your own behavior. You’re holding yourself morally blameworthy and believing you lack the discipline to read, to do your stretches, to put down your phone, when what you really lack is ability and a more complete picture of how your behavior is influenced. You’re the subject of your life, but you can also be the scientist of it.”

A wave rolled over my daughter’s face again, but not one of regret. It was a picture of gratitude and insight.

We finished our meal, and I took our bill to the register to settle up. As I was doing so, I heard a voice in my ear: “That was epic.”

I turned around and was greeted by a man who appeared to be about sixty, resembled Ed Harris, wore well-used boots. He was smiling ear to ear.

“Yeah, it was,” I said. “You mean the food?”

“That was epic,” he repeated. “That conversation with your daughter. I hope you don’t mind my eavesdropping. I watched the whole thing. You don’t see that anymore these days. That was epic.”

I thanked him, and my daughter and I headed for the café exit. As I stepped out into the sunlight, I had to choke back a tear, for now the insights were coming to me. That man helped me realize that, without planning to, without practice, in teaching my daughter a valuable interpersonal model, I demonstrated it, novice though I be. I gained, in that brief exchange, this insight: It is impossible to share the skills of Crucial Conversations etc. without also demonstrating how impactful they can be, for teaching targets ability, is born of good intent, advances via respect, and feels and looks like social support.

So often in our struggles with others we struggle to use the skills we’ve learned in Crucial Conversations or Crucial Accountability or Influencer, and it doesn’t occur to us to teach them. We speak of “crucial moments” as though they are single interactions of conflict or weight, forgetting that life is a compendium of moments that unfolds in chapters—childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, working life, parenthood, retirement—each with so much at stake.

Of course, there’s still much I must do to support my daughter. But the fact remains: you don’t have to wait for a crucial moment to put your crucial skills to use. The skills are such that when you teach them, you demonstrate them.

That is epic, indeed.

The post Crucial Moments at Callie’s Café appeared first on Crucial Learning.

How can I use the Six Sources of Influence to improve patient satisfaction scores at our hospital? Our scores average in the 70s, but when I talk to patients they tell us we are wonderful. I’d like patients to put that on the survey. We often see scores of 8 but get comments that suggest they think we deserve a 10. Any ideas?

Signed,
Seeking a Source

Dear Seeking a Source,

If it’s alright with you, I’d like to think through this together, and I invite our readers to think through it with us in the comments.

First, let’s consider the survey. I’m going to assume that the purpose of your survey is to gather reliable data. Reliable data is uncorrupted, which means it’s free of errors and bias.

Second, let’s consider the Six Sources of Influence. They are personal, social, and structural levers that can be used to affect motivation and ability.

So, there’s a bit of irony in your question. In essence you’re asking how you can influence people in a situation where, if you want reliable data, they shouldn’t be influenced at all—unless it is to tell the truth as they see it.

And that is what I hear you asking—how can I get patients to report their feedback honestly? But you also said you want to “improve patient satisfaction scores” using influence, if possible.

Do you see the difference? I’m not accusing you of wrongdoing. I’m simply trying to think through this with you.

And here’s what I’m thinking.

Check Your Assumptions

There’s nothing wrong with having an assumption—that’s your hypothesis. But remember it’s a hypothesis only.

You hypothesize that patients are more satisfied with treatment than they’re reporting. You have two data sources: the verbal feedback, and the numerical feedback.

Given that they don’t match, it’s natural to conclude one source doesn’t accurately reflect patient perspectives. You assume the faulty data is the numerical feedback, and it may be. But I encourage you to consider the possibility that the faulty data is the verbal feedback.

Do you see how that’s possible? Why might a patient tell a nice healthcare professional his or her staff is wonderful and then mark up an anonymous survey with 7s?

Seek Better Data, Not Better Scores

Given the wording of your question, it sounds like you want both reliable data and better scores—who doesn’t! But when it comes to your survey, make only reliable data your goal.

The cardinal sin of any survey is bias. And while that’s obvious on paper, it’s not always clear in practice. Surveys should be used to gather data that allow us to make a reasonable inference about a population, but frequently they are used to gather data to support a belief or proposition, which results in bias.

So, commit to improving the survey, not the survey results. Truth in the data makes it possible to do the work of improving results.

Define Your Terms (Source 6: Structural Ability)

One of the first things I learned as a philosophy undergraduate was “define your terms.” The point of all communication is to convey meaning. We only confirm whether or not meaning is accurately conveyed through feedback. And, when it isn’t, that feedback can be anything from a scrunched eyebrow to a survey anomaly.

The fact that you’re encountering discrepancies between verbal and numerical feedback could mean your survey questions are unclear. For you, a 10 may mean “medical care provided without error by qualified healthcare professionals.” For some of your patients, a 10 may mean “attractive nurses, plenty of morphine, and 200 cable channels on a big-screen TV.”

So, define your terms. This is particularly important with ratings. Make it clear what you mean by an 8 or a 10 or a 5 by providing examples of the care those ratings represent. In your definitions, avoid interpretations like “timely care” and provide factual examples like “nurses responded to calls within 10 minutes on average.”

In short, your respondents should never feel confused. You might add a question to your survey: “Did you find any questions in this survey confusing or difficult to answer? If so, please explain.” Use that feedback to continually improve the clarity of your survey and your respondents’ ability to answer accurately.

Remind Respondents of the Impact (Sources 1 and 3)

While I’m inclined to think that the discrepancies you cite have to do with ability and not motivation, here’s an idea just in case.

Remind patients of the personal and social value of complete and reliable data. You might do so on the survey itself and verbally when administering it.

“While this survey is optional, your honest and anonymous feedback help us provide quality care for the community. When you take the time to answer objectively, you help us provide better care for you and other patients.”

Hire An Agency (Source 6: Structural Ability)

Finally, consider hiring an agency. We sometimes do so with our own surveys. Professionals in survey design and analysis understand how various factors can contribute to discrepancies or bias, from wording to question types to the order of the questions themselves.

I hope this has sparked a few ideas. Certainly there are other ways you could apply the Influencer Model to your situation, and I invite readers to share their ideas.

Good luck,
Ryan

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For years I have used Lean to improve the work my healthcare lab does. Before anyone is hired, I explain this and tell them that they will hear about every error, no matter how small, every day, so we can continually improve processes and prevent errors.

As a result, we have come a long way and I am proud of the work we do for employees and patients. But I still have people who respond poorly to feedback and who only want to hear about chronic or dire issues.

I sympathize and try to be as gentle as I can, and I share reasons why catching and correcting even small errors is important. And yet I’m often met with a sullen “I’m only human.”

How can I hold my team members to high standards and validate them so they don’t become disgruntled? Do you have any advice?

Signed,
Feedback Fatigue

Dear Feedback Fatigue,

Thank you for your question. It’s great that you have seen success as you have applied Lean principles in your healthcare lab work. And even more impressive is the fact that you too are following the fundamental principle of Lean by trying to continuously improve.

To borrow a phrase popularized by Sheryl Sandberg in her bestselling book, I’d like to share a few ideas to help you “lean in” to accountability. These ideas aren’t necessarily new or groundbreaking, but they’re reminders of simple leadership practices that will increase your influence if followed. After all, isn’t influence what leadership is all about?

Inspire Action

For those who know me, it is no secret that I am a huge fan of Simon Sinek. One of my favorite books of his is often referenced by its title: Start with Why. But people rarely reference the subtitle: “How Great Leaders Inspire People to Take Action.” The subtitle gives us the why behind starting with why. One way to influence others is to inspire them. Inspire means to fill someone with the urge to do something or help them “see” an important truth or idea.

So, how can you inspire your team?

Establishing expectations is a key ingredient to leadership. And it’s important that you inform your new hires of your focus on continuous improvement and your commitment to feedback. However, it’s equally important that you share why you are doing so. One of my favorite quotes from Sinek’s book is “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe.”

Your people won’t “buy” the process of continuous improvement or feedback unless they know why you are doing it. If they’re aware of your why, your feedback becomes proof of what you believe. One way to express your why is to share stories that illustrate the value and importance of the behaviors. As highlighted in our Influencer Assessment, storytelling is a powerful way to emphasize your why and engage people in the desired behavior.

A story is essentially this: a character pursues a goal, encounters obstacles or challenges along the way, and, in facing those challenges, learns an important lesson. This lesson turns out to be far more valuable than the original goal sought.

In other words, a story highlights the moral and human reasons—the whys—for a specified behavior or principle. A story gives us the insight that follows from having learned a hard lesson, vicariously.

So, do you have some stories you can share with your team that would highlight the moral and human values behind the behaviors you want them to adopt?

Seek a Shared Understanding

Over the years I’ve learned that perception and language can dramatically influence how we engage and work with others. I’m reminded of the sayings “Your perception is your reality” and “It’s not what you say but how you say it.” Our intended meaning can often get lost by the way it is perceived or in the words that we use.

The LEAN mentality relies on a belief of “continuous” improvement. That leads to “continuous” feedback. The word continuous connotes multiple meanings. For some it means constant, all the time, without a break. While for others it may mean ongoing or regularly. You may be getting some resistance because your employees perceive that the feedback is constant or never ceasing.

Have a conversation about continuous improvement and continuous feedback. Invite your team members to share how they understand these ideas. Coming to a shared understanding will help you and your team members communicate better and resolve disagreements on this matter should they arise.

You might also batch your feedback so it doesn’t feel so continuous. Rather than correcting mistakes in the moment, try sharing feedback during your one-on-ones or in team meetings. This may help overcome any feelings that you are correcting or being critical “all the time.”

Make It a Cultural Norm

Creating a culture of feedback requires that feedback flow in all directions. Teach people how to hold themselves, others, and you accountable. Encourage team members to support one another by providing feedback as they observe misses. Also, make it clear that you welcome feedback, and others will be more open to receiving yours. Multi-directional feedback is key to a culture of accountability. Our ebook Mind the Gap is a good resource for learning more about this.

Finally, since accountability is about helping others perform to their best, recognize when they do. That is not to say you aren’t, but a reminder to recognize good performance and not only correct poor performance. Recognizing positive performance can go a long way—even with the small stuff.

These are just a few thoughts. I hope they are helpful.

Sincerely,
Scott

What else could Feedback Fatigue do? Tell us in the comments.

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I have an employee who speaks up regularly and voices their opinion and proposes changes to the organization, but if those suggestions aren’t implemented, they get angry. What can I do?

Signed,
I’m Trying

Dear Trying,

One of the biggest challenges of leadership is creating a culture where employees feel safe to share their ideas, concerns, feedback, and suggestions. Many have worked for organizations where leaders talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. They ask their employees to speak up but seek only praise and approval themselves. So, first and foremost, I commend you for creating a space where your employee feels safe to share.

Great organizations develop employees by developing leaders. Leadership is more than a title, it’s a mindset. Joseph Grenny, coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Influencer, once defined leadership as “intentional influence.” Coauthor Kerry Patterson adds, “At the end of the day, what qualifies people to be called ‘leaders’ is their capacity to influence others to change their behavior in order to achieve important results.”

What you have is an employee who wants to be a leader. And you have an opportunity to help build one. It may be that your employee gets angry not because their ideas haven’t been implemented, but because they haven’t been validated. Let me share four ideas that can help you develop an influencer and manage employee contribution.

Solicit Sincerely

If you don’t want their ideas, don’t ask for them. Little contributes to a culture of silence more than insincerely soliciting feedback. So, if you already know what you’re going to do, be sure not to hold a perfunctory brainstorming session.

Also, some people want to be seen and heard, but everyone wants to be valued. Employees share their ideas to contribute value. If those ideas aren’t sincerely valued or appreciated, the employee won’t feel valued.

You can solicit ideas sincerely by making sure you focus less on being right, and more on getting it right. What I mean is don’t let the goal trump the process. When you get input and perspectives from others, you expand your pool of meaning, which leads to better decisions, actions, and results.

Establish Expectations

Make sure your employees understand that not all ideas can or will be implemented. Establishing proper expectations can help minimize frustration. Let employees know that while their ideas may not be implemented, they do inform the final decision. Their contributions may confirm current thinking or spark new ideas to a better course of action.

It’s important that employees know that while they may not be a part of the decision-making team, their contribution as part of the data stream is invaluable. They are often closest to the problems you are trying to solve. They understand the current reality best. Additionally, when employees serve as contributors, they are more likely to adopt the new solution (even if it’s not their own) and serve as champions to encourage others to do the same.

Communicate Constraints

With limited insight into organizational constraints, employees often share ideas that are beyond the scope of what the organization can do. What resources are available? Is there a budget? What’s the timeframe or the level of quality required? Communicate your constraints so employees can offer suggestions and share ideas that work within them. When suggestions aren’t implemented, it’s generally not because they are bad, but because they are outside the constraints. Communicating constraints will lead to a greater chance of implementation. It also offers transparency and allows employees to see clear reasons should their ideas not be implemented.

Reveal Results

More often than not, employees realize that all their ideas won’t be implemented. When people get frustrated or angry, it’s usually not about implementation but more likely because they feel their ideas were not considered. So when people contribute ideas, let them know where things stand. If their idea was not implemented, explain why. Remind them of the expectations that were established and the constraints that were shared.

Encouraging employee innovation and creativity is key for organizational success, as well as for engagement and retention. Managing the process can be challenging, but healthy organizations will always have more ideas than they can implement. Creating a process built on safety and rooted in sincere solicitations, established expectations, clear constraints and transparent results will aid your efforts.

All the best,
Scott

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How do I get my team to accept change? The changes I am trying to implement ensure we stay compliant. We went over these changes to processes well in advance, yet several of my team members are now resistant, passive-aggressive, and have ignored the changes. One person is especially difficult. She expressed her dislike for me and my personality in a one-on-one meeting. When I asked her if she can at least be professional, she shrugged her shoulders. She has teamed up with another teammate and together they make it very challenging.

Signed
Stymied

Dear Stymied,

Your paragraph is rich with mystery. Many of the concerns you express could have a wide variety of causes, so rather than serve you a meal of advice I’m going to give you a buffet. I hope you’ll find something nourishing.

Don’t Neglect the Weak Signal

You describe one “especially difficult” person. You report that she expressed dislike for you and your personality. While your characterization of her may be correct, that doesn’t mean there isn’t something in you provoking resistance and that she is the one person opening up about it.

In today’s workplace few people give each other honest feedback. It may be that you are coming across as obstinate, thin-skinned, coercive, self-righteous, judgmental, disorganized or otherwise displaying some other weakness. Because few people will point out your flaws directly, it’s wise to attend to the “weak signals” you receive in unexpected moments or, frankly, from others who are brusque enough to confront you.

One of the most disarming and useful things you could do is ask her for a meeting. Let her know you’re concerned you might have a weakness that’s undermining your ability to lead change and that you would be grateful if she would elaborate on what she said earlier. Then go, ask, and do nothing other than take notes and ask for clarification. When she is finished, don’t agree, don’t disagree, just commit to give some thought to her input and respond later about what you want to work on.

I find that there is almost always a kernel of truth in others’ feedback to me. If I reject their assertions because they’re overstated or abrasive, I miss the benefit of gleaning some truth in the weak signal.

It’s Better to Remove Resistance than to Add Force

The legendary sociologist Kurt Lewin described the natural human tendency to fight resistance with more resistance. If someone pushes, we reflexively push back. If someone raises their voice, we rise to meet them. If someone tells us we’re wrong, we point out how we’re right.

Lewin suggested that this is like driving with one foot on the brake and the other on the accelerator. If you’re encountering resistance to change, the first step is to try to understand it, not oppose it. And the best way to understand it is to…

Connect with Opinion Leaders

Everett Rogers did one of the most important studies ever of the social physics of change. And one thing he found is you can accelerate change by involving opinion leaders.

Few people adopt new behaviors because they “make sense.” Most only change after they see those they respect change first. We use opinion leaders in our lives as curators of truth. Rather than trust our own analysis of hard data, we look to those we think are wise. If they do it, we’ll do it.

As a would-be change leader, you’d be wise to identify the people who are most respected in your organization and invite them to have a candid conversation with you. Let them know you’ll share the reasoning behind the proposed changes, but ask them as well to come prepared to give unflinching feedback about why they won’t work.

At the end of the day, change won’t flow until these people are on board. So spend whatever time it takes to earn their trust and address their concerns, and then solicit their help. Have them be part of key presentations, involve them in experiences that will allow them to feel the problem you’re trying to solve, and involve them in experiences using the new changes so they can personally attest to others that they work.

Ability Issues are Often Dressed Up as Motivation Problems

Finally, don’t fall into the “fundamental attribution error” trap. Often when others disagree with us, we attribute their disagreement to malevolent intentions. We think they are lazy, stupid, selfish or dishonest. If you’ve been feeling angry or irritated about the opposition you’re seeing, it’s likely you’re nursing a story like this about your colleagues. Long experience has shown me that what often looks like a motivation problem is often an ability issue. People oppose leaders because they feel uncomfortable, incompetent, uninformed or unprepared. What they need is information, education, and tutoring, not another motivational speech.

I once worked with a hospital that was struggling to get doctors to use a new electronic medical records system that could potentially change lives. Frustrated leaders were ready to compel the doctors to get on board. They considered threatening them with loss of privileges, shaming them in front of colleagues, and other coercive methods. As things escalated, a wise leader sat down with a few doctors who were opinion leaders and asked for feedback. She discovered it wasn’t so much that doctors disagreed with the need for the new system, but that they struggled with scheduling, felt unprepared to use it, and didn’t understand the tip sheets they had been given.

It wasn’t a motivation problem, it was an ability problem. She then held a special mentoring session for the opinion leaders at a time convenient to them.

On the day the software went live, she asked the opinion leaders to wear purple T-shirts that indicated they could help any doctor with their first experience. And she arranged coverage for other doctors so they could attend trainings themselves. In short, she addressed the ability problems. Within two weeks, 95% of the doctors were ready to roll.

I hope something in this buffet is useful to you. And I wish you the best as you grow as a leader and influence others for good.

Sincerely,
Joseph

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