It’s easy for this to happen: you accept new responsibilities because it’s a sign of your potential, an opportunity for growth, and expanding your platform. But what do you do when you’ve bitten off more than you can chew? Continue reading
The Litmus Test
Often when there are management changes, the temptation is to stop what you’re doing and wait for the new person to define the priorities and strategy. Here’s my litmus test: “If you’re doing the right thing for the firm, it shouldn’t matter who your boss is.” Continue reading
How To Deal with Work Stress
So, the reality is that work stress is inevitable in life. In fact, you can reach higher levels of performance when you’re under stress…it’s the adrenaline that can push you to perform better. That’s good stress.
Bad work stress is the kind that does the opposite: it deteriorates your performance. Here are the situations to be aware of, and some tips to manage them. Continue reading
What to Do When You Feel Disappointed
A few years ago, I had a mentoring conversation with a young woman who was very disappointed with her year end bonus. She felt let down, taken advantage of, and worse, unappreciated. Continue reading
You and Your Manager
I find that performance reviews can be vague. You’re left with an “Ok, I’m doing well but now what?” And does “doing well” match up with your expectations regarding compensation, promotion, or new roles? Midyear reviews are better because you can do something with the rest of the year.
Here’s my advice on what your manager should know about you: Continue reading
Sayings I Love
“Procrastination is the theft of time.”
I don’t know who said it, but it’s so true. Think about what you keep putting off, and just decide to stop or start whatever is in your best interest. Remember, oxygen mask on you first.
Big Reengineering Project Checklist
Congratulations, you’ve just been asked to lead a big reengineering project. Huge..with very significant impact and exposure. Now what?
Like many things, successful projects are dependent on the pre-work…..the work you do before the project is formally underway. This can sometimes seem bureaucratic, and a waste of time, but if you can’t answer the following questions, the team is guaranteed to struggle. I went through Rummler-Brache training…it was one of the best programs for reengineering. Continue reading
Not Fooling Anyone
So once I got to attend an “executive coaching session” a few years back down in Florida. It really was group therapy intervention. I should have known when they told us there would be no alcohol allowed for the week, and that they strongly urged us not use any drugs (e.g. painkillers). The other giveaway? Tons of tissue boxes scattered around the room. But I digress.
Teaching A Class
A friend of mine is an associate professor at NYU, and he asks me to come and guest lecture for his students. This class is focused on process reengineering.
People underestimate the importance of process. Processes are horizontal, but organizations are vertical, so there’s a tension. Processes are end to end, but because organizations are silos, they only see their piece of the process which is usually well managed…it’s the “white space” between the functions that is where the disconnects usually lie.
Here are the reasons why I think bad process happens to good people.
- The 80/20 rule: the 20% of your work that is exception-based will make up 80% of your effort.
- Manual processes get created as an interim “fix”, but never replaced with automation.
- The group “handing off to you” doesn’t understand your process.
- Process breaks are built into the process, requiring human intervention for fixing, which is usually in people’s heads, creating key person vulnerability.
- The metrics are silo focused: no metrics that measure the cycle time end to end because it goes across functions/organizational reporting lines.
- No one owns the end to end process.
Everywhere I’ve worked, I’ve found that processes are broken. Not people.
Bullying
Recently, this has come up more and more in my conversations with women: situations where someone is struggling with a difficult individual, trying to get their job done. Worst thing? Every situation is woman/woman.
I can put up with a lot (incompetence, mistakes, laziness) but the worst behavior is bullying in the workplace. Here’s a definition I found online:
“Bullying is the use of force, threat, or coercion to abuse, intimidate, or aggressively dominate others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual.” Continue reading