Employee Onboarding Strategy Checklist - Improve Your Onboarding Plan

I don’t think I can overestimate the importance of a well-thought-through onboarding strategy. A smart onboarding plan can make a new employee’s energy and effectiveness go from adequate to exceptional.

Your onboarding strategy should empower and excite your new employee, giving them confidence they made the right decision to join your team. Their onboarding experience should also accelerate their familiarity with your company culture and help them build the relationships they need to successfully use the skills you hired and to do the work you need them to do.

Without a doubt, great onboarding is a Win-Win for them and for you, but let’s face it, it’s an area where almost every leader and every team/company struggles. So, let’s look at how you can fix that to benefit your team/company and every future new employee.

A Fresh Start

As a leader you may have just gone through a multi-month hiring process that has meant a lot of preparation, schedule balancing and sweat equity with HR and the other people on your hiring panel. Finally, you are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and are keeping your fingers crossed until your offer is accepted. And while I would love for the hiring process to truly be over for you, I’m sorry… it is not. You need prepare for the next big wave of work - onboarding. The great thing is, once you have a fresh new orientation plan in place, it will be easier for every other new employee or promoted employee (yes, promoted employees need much of the following list as well).

Great onboarding is the transition step that is going to help your brilliant new employee quickly grow into a happy, engaged, proud, productive and loyal member of your team. Onboarding includes product and procedure information as expected. But, in today’s high-performing companies, great onboarding is also a detailed training and orientation plan that introduces company values and culture and sets up expectations about everything from the company’s commitment to work-life balance to how employees are expected to behave when working with a team or in high-stress situations (phew). This is your first and best opportunity to have your new team member experience your company values and culture first-hand – not from some words in a manual or on a poster on a wall, but in real life terms which is the absolute perfect way for them to learn about, understand and then share your values and culture with others.

So, just like you don’t want to waste time during onboarding, let’s get into what you can include when you put together your step-by-step onboarding plan that can be used for any new member of your team.

1. In many ways, onboarding begins during each interview because you can use the results you tracked on your BEI (Behaviour Event Interview) scorecard:

   a. What were their demonstrated values, experience and strengths?

   b. What value set of the company / team did you demonstrate?

   c. Use the strengths and opportunities for learning to discuss possible areas for training and options with your new employee.

2. Manage their expectations – before their first day:

   a. Appointments with HR and to get a security pass – and how to use the security pass

   b. What first/last name do they want for security, email etc?

   c. Hours to be available, and if virtual, when – how – why?

   d. Vacation and benefits information

   e. A list of policies and support departments / agencies

   f.  Virtual workspace – when – how – why?

   g. What is the dress code – in office or remote?

   h. How to use the elevator?

   i. Options for getting to work / parking

   j. Places for coffee / lunch / gyms

3. Now that they have started, give them team introduction / information:

   a. As their leader, be there to greet your new hire on their first day

   b. Ask your team to come in to welcome the employee

   c. New employees go to lunch the first day with you - their leader

   d. Organization chart including names and phone numbers

   e. List of company jargon, abbreviations and unique terms

   f. Give them a company and / or office tour

   g. Of course – let's not forget product / service orientation

   h. What key performance metrics are they and the team measured?

   i. As appropriate, introduce new employees to senior executives.

   j. Discuss industry associations, conferences, magazines, training, AGM schedules etc.

   k. Introduce them to their onboarding team and mentors

   l.  As their leader, follow up each day for at least a week and then periodically after that – often in your one-on-one meetings

4. Prepare their space / equipment:

   a. Will they have a desk or hoteling with a locker?

   b. Phone, computer, email address, calendar, teams, etc.

   c. Give them merchandise (sweatshirts or portfolios) to help them feel part of the team.

   d. Walk them through fire safety and emergency contact processes

5. Discuss the company Vision, Mission & Values:

   a. What do they mean to the team?

   b. What do they mean to their work?

   c. Be honest… are there any major challenges ahead?

6. Bring them to meetings asap (and debrief them):

   a. Invite them to upcoming team meetings

   b. Invite them to future one-on-ones

   c. Team expectation of cameras on or off during virtual meetings

7. Discuss projects and goals for their first 90-days:

   a. What key performance metrics are they and the team measured?

8. Discuss transparency & managing expectations:

   a. Delivering work on time is base line. Early is the goal.

   b. Respect is non-negotiable. It’s OK to disagree or have a different opinion, but to discuss by sharing and listening.

   c. Expect recognition and constructive feedback:

   i. Both should be seen as growing opportunities and discussions

   d. What to do when a due date / deliverable is in jeopardy?

   e. Meetings are safe spaces where we share listening and respect.

   f. Discussions of someone underperforming against agreed upon KPI’s will happen quickly in what is meant to be a safe and supportive space.

Yes, it takes a time and planning to onboard a new employee. But your investment will pay dividends in many multiples. Recently, Glassdoor shared a report that stated effective employee onboarding increases retention by 82% and boosts productivity by 70%. You just hired someone – don’t you want them to stick around and be amazing, knowing they made the right decision to join your team?

Your onboarding plan is your best opportunity to set the tone for the care and respect you will deliver to them and expect from them.

Conclusion

Onboarding used to be a primarily HR responsibility, but onboarding has evolved just like effective leadership, employee expectations and team engagement have evolved. Now leaders must take on another significant people-focused role - onboarding. As leaders it is our responsibility / your responsibility to create an onboarding program that will put us in the same league as other great leaders and great teams around the globe.

PS: As I mentioned earlier, onboarding isn’t only for new hires – some version of a full onboarding process can also be important when:

• An existing employee moves to a different department.

• Your company does a merger and acquisition of another company.

• An employee comes back from a leave of absence.

BONUS Idea #1: Set up a multi-person onboarding team unique to each new employee.

When you set up an onboarding team, one person will likely still be responsible for much of the traditional formal policy and HR process that will be needed for any new hire. And then, the rest of the team will take over. For example, the other members of an employee’s unique onboarding team may be responsible to set up equipment like computers and phones as well arranging for email addresses and appointments with security to get any access fobs they may need. Others may share responsibility (and give different points of view and experiences) for the direct job information and may be a commitment of a few days to a few weeks depending on the work and company. As a leader you will also be part of their unique onboarding team and keep checking in with them, making sure they have everything they need. Sharing onboarding responsibilities (which included a form of mentoring) is a great idea because besides not occupying one person’s time can also strengthen relationships with multiple team members. These responsibilities can include:

• Introducing them to other members of the team, other departments and suppliers.

• Mentoring for a few weeks or months.

• Perhaps having the new employee job-shadow them part-time.

Make sure they are invited to important and relevant meetings that align to their work. Let them know it is OK for them to initially audit these meetings. But also book some one-on-one time with them before and after the meeting to prepare them and debrief the meeting. Asking them if they had any ideas about the topic discussed will help them feel more confident.

BONUS Idea #2: Ask for feedback

Throughout the mentoring process ask your new employee for feedback. It’s important for you to hear what they need and why they need it. It’s your way to continuously improve the process. Consider the opportunity for them to make the adjustments they recommended. After they have been with you for a year, you may even want them to be part of your next new hires onboarding committee.

Some post onboarding general questions you might ask new hires:

• Do you have recommendations for improving the onboarding process? What do you wish you had learned during your first week/month?

• Do you feel you are part of the team? Are you comfortable with the team dynamics and overall company culture?

• Are there any areas of the company, team and/or your job where you feel you need more training or support?

• Is there anything I have not asked that you would like to share?

Some post onboarding position related questions you might ask new hires:

• How are you settling into your role? What are some of the challenges you’ve encountered?

• What are you most proud of accomplishing since you’ve joined the company / team?

• Do you feel you have a clear understanding of your responsibilities and expectations?

• Do you feel you have the resources and tools you need to perform your work effectively?

• Is there anything I have not asked that you would like to share?

Following up and checking in on new hires includes providing safe and inclusive environments for employees to share their opinions and ideas without fear of repercussion. Openly acknowledge the value of diverse perspectives and explicitly invite new employees to contribute their thoughts during meetings, demonstrating the openness of your company’s culture.

Thank you for reading about how to improve your onboarding plan and set up an employee onboarding strategy check list. I look forward to hearing from you if you have any questions.

Bruce

Other articles in this series include:

• The Importance of Empathy at Work

• How to Practice Empathy at Work

• Practicing Empathy During & After the Covid-19 Pandemic

• The Role of Empathy During Difficult Conversations at Work
  

About Bruce and Bruce Mayhew Consulting.

Bruce is Corporate Trainer, Keynote Speaker and Executive Coach.

Bruce Mayhew Consulting specializes in customized Difficult Conversations, Crucial Conversations or Conflict Management Training, Email Etiquette Training, Leadership & New Leadership Development, Generational Differences, Time Management Training and other soft skills training solutions in Toronto and across Canada. Bruce is also an Executive Coach to a few select clients.

Bruce is an experienced motivational speaker in Toronto and has inspired audiences across Canada and within the USA and the UK. Bruce works hard to always make sure your training event, conference, retreat, or annual general meeting is a success.

Be A Great Leader For Generation Z

While Generation Z have just begun entering the workforce, it is important to pay attention to them because they will soon be the second largest population at work.

Generation Z expect their career journey to be unique. This isn’t an ego thing; it is an experience thing. Gen Z grew up being in the middle of constant social and technology change with unlimited access to information. They have witnessed and fought against racism, sexual harassment, gun violence and income disparity while they have supported diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and climate change solutions. Many are well-travelled and have had local and global influences from travel and/or from their multicultural family influences. Add all of this together and it often means that Gen Z are socially liberal and financially conservative.

On the skills side, if you are looking for an employee who is tech-savvy especially when it comes to digital platforms and is used to disruption, then a Gen Z employee is likely to have these skills. Fast-paced technology advances have shaped their social experiences. They are also adaptable – a trait that can be a great asset for an employer especially when Gen Z employees can flex their creativity and innovation skills. Many Gen Z have parents who have gone to college and/or university and have grown up with a focus on higher education. As such, Gen Z are likely to go to college and/or university as well. Generation Z are often entrepreneurial and like to build / create things. Don’t be surprised if they have a side hustle or are part of the gig economy.

And yes, while embracing a multi-generational and a multi-cultural workforce takes effort, you also get to enjoy all the benefits from proactively integrating a talented, diverse population into your inclusive workplace culture. Alternatively, not paying attention will also take a lot of a different type of effort that will be less positive and it is unlikely you will experience many of the benefits.

Your New Generation Z Employee

If you just hired a Gen Z, this may be their first serious experience working and interacting in a professional work environment. It is reasonable to anticipate they will have little insight into what you expect. Everything from working in person, professional etiquette, building professional relationships professional deadlines, managing difficult conversations, emotional triggers, and receiving constructive feedback may be new frontiers.

Let’s recognize that due to Covid-19 restrictions, the last few years of a Gen Zers education and/or the first few years of their professional careers have likely been 100% remote and 100% online (isolating). This means they have experienced all the convenience of not having to travel to school or work. And when it comes to working in the office, they may also be feeling a bit restricted with less freedom and autonomy over where and when to work. Unfortunately, while they are right that they may be able to get specific tasks completed more quickly at home, they may not be aware of the many learning / growth, career and social benefits that come from being social and working in-person with their co-workers and you… their leader. These experiences will impact their communication and work styles, expectations and ability to build relationships.

And while Generation Z are used to working remote and when working in a hybrid environment they may need help / patience with their communication style, getting used to receiving constructive feedback, and seeing the benefits of working in-office/in-person. It is also unlikely you are giving them too much detailed instruction or feedback. This is certainly a place (and generation) where ‘more is better’ is appreciated.

Have I made you want to run in the other direction yet? I’ve got more because Gen Z want the whole package.

Generation Z employees like fast-paced work, learning, and experiences where they have impact. Gen Z want their employers to be their partners and respond well to leaders who are experts. They want to learn so are looking for leaders and companies that will mentor them and give them opportunities to grow and gain experience which is far more likely when working in person. Gen Z want to understand why something is done. They are used to asking questions and getting (or looking up) the answers. This may be because they grew up with unparalleled and immediate access to information that fed their curiosity.

Can all of this be done within a 100% remote culture? Yes, but it takes a lot of hard work and commitment by everyone to create and sustain a highly effective, highly communicative, highly collaborative (and trusting), remote corporate culture.

And of course, like all of us Gen Z want to be able to trust and be trusted. To earn their trust an employer must recognize how important Gen Z social and global values are. Generation Z employees want to see their values reflected in the company. They value transparency of strategy, clarity of purpose for the company and their team, and to be able to see the impact of their collective contribution. Gen Z also want to have clarity of purpose for their position including what is expected of them, why it’s expected, and to be able to point to the impact of their individual contribution. And of course, they want equality, respect, to feel safe. And as mentioned earlier they want the opportunity to grow / learn, access to decision makers, to make a difference, and honest recognition.

But as you can imagine Gen Z have many stresses. For example, their first-hand experience of continuous change, ultra-connectivity and global unrest has impacted their mental wellbeing. They have also grown up with a greater emphasis on personal wellbeing and less negative stigma associated to mental illness. This means they may be more attuned to their own mental wellbeing and health than other generations. As an often more outspoken generation, Gen Z are more likely to speak up and care for their work-life balance and their mental and physical health.

How We Can Make The Experience Great

With hybrid work being the norm in most cases, it is important for employers to have clear expectations and consistently champion them whether people are working remote or not. Accountability to these expectations as well as to their work / teams is a must. With a multigenerational and multicultural workforce that means looking at every aspect of our workspace from someone else point of view / perspective.

Whether it is day-to-day communication or workplace expectations, we cannot take anything for granted or assume the other person knows what we mean or even uses the tools/software we share in the same way. What is ‘normal’ for you with 20-years of work experience will not be ‘normal’ for someone with 2-years of work experience that began during the Covid pandemic. And as I’ve suggested earlier, it is not only different generations that have different expectations. Different cultures have different needs, values, communication styles and different problem-solving abilities. And because values, trust and managing expectations are so important, successful leaders are now including discussions about expectations during the interview process.

While offering flexible work arrangements is more important now than ever, we must make sure we don’t lose sight of a feeling of team. Bring your team together whenever possible. One common practice is to make one day a week mandatory for everyone on your team and then allow employees to choose one or two other days. On your shared days in office, have a formal team meeting / team update. Also schedule events that are best done in-person like project brainstorming and social team-lunches. The goal for leaders is to make in-office days learning experiences that help teams bond… and get their work done.

Another way to engage younger employees is to let them know you notice their contribution. Boost this by offering them (and any member of your team), an opportunity to share their experience during a project meeting or even by giving the team a short group training event. When they feel safe and respected, the opportunity to teach (help) others can be a strong draw. At the same time, this may give older, more experienced employees the opportunity to partner and build stronger relationships with their younger co-workers. All training you offer will lead to personal and professional growth for your team members and will help your team build trust and community with each other and break down intergenerational biases and stigma.

Conclusion

To summarize, Generation Z like fast-paced environments that stay relevant with technology and social values. They want their work and their team/company to make a difference and align with their personal values. Learning and new experiences are important, but they sometimes struggle with constructive feedback. Transparency is also important. Gen Z will ask “why” a task is relevant… and their leaders should expect suggestions.

When you create a work culture that respects everyone for their individuality and is clear and consistent about company vision, values, expectations and accountability from day one, then I do believe you can create a culture where everyone is celebrated for their uniqueness while also find a path to support each other.

Multigenerational workspaces that boast diverse skills, experiences and cultures lead to greater creativity and problem solving. They also lead to more impactful peer mentoring and peer learning experiences that benefit each other, likely create greater loyalty and help make your business a great place to work that is also… highly productive.

Hiring the right person is far more complicated now so managing expectations must start during the job interview. You want to get the right skills – but you also want to get the right culture fit. Doing this will help you create a highly engaged, dependable employee / partnership. Workplaces cannot be all things to all people. Workplaces must have a dependable culture – noting that dependable does not mean stagnant.

While Gen Zers may prefer to work remotely or even non-traditional work hours, it does not mean they are naturally less engaged. It also does not mean you have to bend to their every whim. Remember, Generation Z want transparency and to collaborate. They are flexible, especially when there is purpose, and they feel respected. Providing opportunities for workplace flexibility, personal and professional growth are elements that lead to a highly motivated, trusted, productive and loyal team that brings creativity and innovation to every opportunity.

Thank you for spending time with me today and reading ‘Be A Great Leader For Generation Z.’

Bruce

Learn More About Bruce Mayhew

Toronto corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting is in the people business… it just so happens that training and/or executive coaching is involved. Let us help you improve your productivity and employee engagement.

To learn more about how leadership training can to improve your skills call us at 416.617.0462.

Bruce Mayhew Consulting's most popular programs are Email Etiquette Training, Difficult Conversations, Generational Differences, Leadership Skills Training and Time Management Training

Related Workshops That Drive Business Success

• What Is Servant Leadership?

• The What, Why and How of Vulnerable Leadership

• Email Etiquette Training

• The Role of Empathy during Difficult Conversations at Work

• Difficult Conversations: Never Easy - Always Worthwhile

Toronto based corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting proudly offers leadership training and professional development.

Disagree With Respect At Work: Part I

To disagree with respect at work is a sign we are part of a healthy business culture.

There's a big difference between disagreeing with respect versus having a heated, uncomfortable encounter. Disagreeing with respect means we can even deal with challenging situations without harming or threatening each other. Feeling safe, both physically and emotionally, means we can still be productive and move forward with confidence – together.

Wonderful things happen when we two or more people know they can disagree with respect. When we’re able to disagree with respect at work, it means our workspace also values creativity, growth, new ideas and is an evolving workspace.

We all deserve to share space where respectful disagreement is natural.

When we feel physically and emotionally safe we are able to apply our unbridled individuality to every challenge, opportunity, and goal for our shared benefit. It means we can explore possibilities while still respecting each other’s uniqueness. Alternatively, a disagreement that becomes disrespectful causes hurt feelings, lower productivity, lower creativity and morale, and burns through trust like a wildfire.

1. Approach Opportunities With Curiosity

When we approach a problem or disagreement in a positive way it becomes an opportunity to be creative, work as a team and build stronger relations as we also build trust, loyalty, and pride in our work.

One way to infuse positivity into our difficult conversations and workplace culture is to embrace Appreciative Inquiry. For example, when solving a problem using Appreciative Inquiry, we all look at what went well and what we want more of. While we don’t ignore serious flaws, overall we do however take the point of view of a glass half full. Instead of spending meetings dwelling on what went wrong and assigning blame, we spend the bulk of our time focused on how we can get more of what works, what we are good at and what our clients want. This also has the benefit of creating an uplifting, learning space focused on teamwork.

The old saying two heads is better than one is still relevant today; not because it is folklore but because it is true. Each of us is unique and there are things you know that I don’t. Two heads allow us to rely on and learn from each other, especially in a culture that embraces Appreciative Inquiry and respects curiosity.

2. Rules Of Engagement

For us to disagree with respect, we must intentionally and relentlessly commit to building a healthy foundation of trust where we care for our shared physical and emotional safety. Physical safety is self-explanatory. But when it comes to emotional safety, I think it’s important to quickly discuss how emotional safety can include many things like knowing that our individuality will be celebrated and never mocked or dismissed. Emotional safety also includes our creative ideas, our education, our experiences, our values, and anything else about us.

The following are rules of engagement that often support a healthy personal and professional culture:

1. Find and clearly state – in writing – a goal everyone agrees on. Only then should we discuss different options on how to reach that goal.

2. Values must be clearly defined, discussed, and agree upon… with everyone.

3. When you win it doesn’t mean I lose. The idea is to get on the same page on how we move forward.

4. We treat each other with respect. This means each of us realize others may have different boundaries and needs than we do.

5. We must all be open and encouraged to actively participate in difficult conversations.

6. We must learn about and strive to overcome biases like sexism, ageism and/or any other ‘ism’ both as individuals and as teams.

7. Everyone must listen to each other with the intention to hear what they feel, need and are fearful of.

8. We don’t speak over each other.

9. While we might speak passionately, we don’t holler or use upsetting language.

10. If I want to be open to the possibility of changing your mind, I also must be open to the possibility that you might change my mind.

11. If I change my mind it doesn’t need to mean I was wrong, it may just means I understand things differently now.

3. Changing Our Mind Is Often One of The Biggest Barriers

As we learn to disagree with respect, many of us discover that in our past whenever we entered difficult conversations we had a goal to change what other people understand, feel or believe, “If we could only make them see things our way we would have harmony.” That is an important realization, so I invite you to take time with that thought.

As we learn to disagree with respect, it’s important to recognize that if we expect others to change what they understand, feel or believe, we should also be open to changing what we understand, feel or believe. The truth is that respectful disagreement and important solutions almost always mean one or both of us has an opportunity to learn something… if we are paying attention.

For most people changing our mind is personal – scary. Many of us subconsciously worry that if we change our mind that it must mean we were wrong and our identity or reputation is compromised. You may know someone who has built their reputation as being the expert, the person who knows the most and/or who has the most experience. They can feel uncomfortable and uneasy with change and disagreement because they have worked hard to build their reputation as an expert and change threatens that reputation. In these cases, building their trust is an important step. Warning: it usually will take some time to build their trust and it may not always work.

If someone is assertive and/or lashes out, we need to pause and ask ourselves “Why are they acting this way?” and “Do they recognize they are lashing out?” They may not see their behaviour as inappropriate; many don’t. A first step for us would be to use our calm approach to help them see other ways to behave – that they don’t need to be assertive with us. This means that initially, we are not even dealing with the issue. Instead, our first goal is earning their trust.

One last thing on this point. Saying something like, “You are wrong” or “I have a better idea” will almost never go over well when trying to disagree with respect. Instead, a more inclusive approach may be, “I have a new idea and I’m hoping I can get your input and expertise. If you don’t mind, I’d like to walk you through from start to finish before I get your thoughts.  Are you able to explore this new approach with me and is now a good time?”

Conclusion

Whatever we experience at work will also influence our behaviour, our relationships, and our enjoyment at home. This makes it even more important we recognize our responsibility to be part of a healthy business culture that embraces disagreeing with respect.

I believe that two things will happen when each of us learns to be respectful, open to listening and focused on shared goals:

• First, our cool, curious behaviour will calm the ‘feelings’ and ‘tensions’ in the room and encourage others to listen.

• Second, others will notice our steadiness and they will respect us for making the whole situation better… not making matters worse. We will be setting an example for others that disagreeing with respect is possible… and it feels good.

One Last Suggestion

If someone is disagreeing with you, don’t take it personal… because often, it isn’t personal. Often if someone is disagreeing with you it is simply because your goals are different and/or you have access to different information. Instead of taking it personally, listen to their ideas with curiosity. Look at the situation from the other persons perspective. What are their goals, needs and fears? Look for where there is alignment with your goals, needs and fears.

Remember, every coin has two sides. Same coin, but still, each side is different.

Thank you for spending time with me today and reading ‘How To Disagree With Respect At Work: Part I’. I hope you will enjoy Part II. I will post the link here when I launch it.

Bruce

Learn More About Bruce Mayhew

Toronto corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting is in the people business… it just so happens that training and/or executive coaching is involved. Let us help you improve your productivity and employee engagement.

To learn more about how leadership training can to improve your skills call us at 416.617.0462.

Bruce Mayhew Consulting's most popular programs are Email Etiquette Training, Difficult Conversations, Generational Differences, Leadership Skills Training and Time Management Training

Related Workshops That Drive Business Success

• Leadership Skills Training

• Email Etiquette Training

• The Role of Time Management

• Difficult Conversations: Never Easy - Always Worthwhile

Toronto based corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting proudly offers leadership training and professional development.

Work-Life Balance Requires Respect, Trust And Choice By Everyone

Organizations are continuing to struggle finding ways to address the reality that for a company to succeed, employees need to feel like their leaders care about them. This is a struggle because businesses can’t survive if all they do is care for your employees. Instead, the business – employee relationship must be a delicate balance of respect, trust, clear expectations, flexibility, collaboration and choice. 

The question is, "What is the balance between employee needs and business needs?"

Take work-life balance and flexible hours in an office environment as an example. Some employees may work the early part of the day from 7AM to 3PM as their regular hours. Other employees may be on a later schedule from 11AM to 7PM. That is terrific, but what happens when you have to schedule a project meeting and the only time everyone is available is 9:30AM except for the one person whose regular, agreed upon start time is 11AM?

I believe the answer exists within the above mentioned balance of respect, trust, clear expectations, flexibility, collaboration and choice. 

In this example:

• Respect and trust mean that everyone can be confident that there was a serious attempt to find a time during everyone’s typical work hours. They also mean that everyone will respect and trust each other and previous agreements.

• Clear expectations means that everyone knows that if someone can’t make a meeting – no matter what the reason – the person who can’t attend will understand and respect that the meeting must still take place.

• Flexibly, collaboration and choice mean the person who has the conflict has the opportunity – and the responsibility to make one of the following three choices:

1. Choose to make a special adjustment and attend the meeting.

2. Choose to assign an alternate person to represent and speak for them.

3. Choose to be OK receiving the meeting minutes and support any decisions made.

For organizations to succeed they (and by extension the leaders AND every employee), must make each employee feel like their success as employees AND as individuals matters. Employees at every level must feel valued and be proud they are part of the team. This is what it means to build a strong corporate culture where difficult decisions and difficult conversations can actually be prevented.

When people feel valued and proud, they become more creative, more collaborative and more loyal. Nobody should be treated as disposable cogs in a machine that exist only to do their j.o.b. and obey.

One last thing – leadership requires intentionality! As a leader, even if you are not in a leadership position (yet), you must focus on the well-being of others and what you can do to inspire them (and yourself) to greatness. Being a great leader takes conscious effort to find balance between the ever-changing business goals and employee needs… all the time… everyday.

Thank you for reading ‘Work-Life Balance Requires Respect, Trust and Choice By Everyone’. If you have a moment, please let us know, “How do you respect work-life balance?”

Bruce

Learn More About Bruce Mayhew

Toronto corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting is in the people business… it just so happens that training and/or executive coaching is involved. Let us help you improve your productivity and employee engagement.

To learn more about how leadership training can to improve your skills call us at 416.617.0462.

Bruce Mayhew Consulting's most popular programs are Email Etiquette Training, Difficult Conversations, Generational Differences, Leadership Skills Training and Time Management Training

Related Workshops and Posts That Drive Business Success

• What Is A Mission Statement?

• What Is A Vision Statement?

• What Is Servant Leadership?

• Email Etiquette Training

• The Role of Empathy during Difficult Conversations at Work

• Difficult Conversations: Never Easy - Always Worthwhile

Toronto based corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting proudly offers leadership training and professional development.

What Are Core Values?

Welcome to the second in my trilogy of articles covering the importance and use of Vision Statements, Core Values (this article) and Mission Statements.

I like to think of core values as common ground we are all aware of, share, understand and can count on. Core values help unite us – be it families, the companies we work for and purchase from or the non-profit charities we support. Whether it’s connecting leadership to employees, employees to customers, or customers to a feeling of trust, core values bring people, ideas and actions together.

Defining, communicating, and living core values is essential to a company or department reaching its full potential. Yes, you can have a high-functioning department with a great leader and team who embrace shared values within a less-than-ideal company.

If you want a one sentence definition of what are core values, here it is. Core values are a list of action-oriented verbs that clearly and concisely represents the company’s guiding principles.

A company’s core values establish guidance for company leadership and employees. Core values help companies make important decisions and keep everyone on the team focused and accountable, particularly during time or challenge or change or when faced with difficult decisions. Core values are also a useful tool for recruitment. Similarly, core values are excellent tools to help improve customer awareness and confidence. When customers understand the business’s core values and see how they align with their own, they’ll more than likely trust the company.

How to Use Core Values

Before you publish the core values, determine how they will be used. How will the company help every employee begin living these values with every discussion they have, meeting they participate in and decision they make? How will these values be used in product design, implementation, marketing materials, sales discussion, and client support? When will they be used to say “Yes” and most importantly, when will they be used to say “No” or “I made a mistake.” How will these amazing new core values be integrated into every employee’s goal setting discussion and performance reviews – from the most senior to the most junior? Hold everyone accountable for living your core values – no exceptions.

Share them everywhere and all the time. What else is there to say? Implementation of your core values must be more than putting up posters in the conference rooms and updating them on your website. If that is all you do, you many as well not have done any of this work.

Finally, integrate them into your vision statement (your future looking document) and your mission statement (your what we are doing today document).

How to Build Core Values

Uncovering your core values is an important project that provides stability and guidance throughout the company. Consider these steps when planning how to find your company’s unique set of core values.

1. Assemble a Team

   As with the exercise to uncover your vision statement, assemble a team who will share in this project. Ideally, include people from different levels of the organization. An outside agency will be a great asset as they can be a neutral voice and help guide the process.

2. Brainstorm values

   In a small business you may be able to ask everyone for their insight. In a larger operation, you may need to be more selective as you capture a range of employee voices from different levels of the company. Ask employees to use verbs – action words and short statements to describe how they feel about the company, the work they do and the impact they make. Also ask what they would like to company to represent in the future. Don’t edit their feedback. You will likely end up with a long list of interesting ideas. Note, some of this feedback may not be positive or inspirational. That is valuable information into your corporate culture, and I encourage you to use it to work on your employee engagement.

3. Group themes

   Now is the time to consolidate and group similar words and statements. Look for themes that represent your business now. I also encourage you to explore themes that are inspirational and will assist in supporting change and growth.

4. Look for words that pop

   Have each person on your values team independently select 10 words they feel best meets the company’s current and future potential and uniqueness. Ask them to rate from highest to lowest and include a brief explanation of why they chose that word. Then, assemble the team and discuss. This is a time to practice your listening skills. Try to choose six core words which may have a few related words listed below them. If you have more than six core words don’t worry – go with that for now. Remember, you are looking for unique, relevant and truthful words that are inspirational for today and into the future.  

5. Draft a support statement for each word

   Try writing one sentence for each of the six word you chose in the previous step. You may want to ask each member of your team to draft a few versions of this sentence and then meet to review and discuss each option. Once you have agreed on a sentence for each word, ask questions like, “Are we missing anything?” and “Do we really believe them?”

6. Finalize core values

   Share your proposed core values with others from top leadership to your newest employee. How do they feel about them? What feedback do they have about them? Use their feedback and see if there must be any further adjustment before you lock down your final core values and support statements.

Conclusion

I recently was approached by a prospect to do some leadership training. As part of our initial discussion we began to talk about their vision statement and their core values which they were proud of for good reason, they had recently invested a good amount of time to update them as part of their current and future strategy. To honour their hard work and the hard work of other teams who want to embark on this journey, I decided to write a trilogy of articles that walks through the important process of creating and using:

• A Vision Statement

• Company Core Values (this article)

• A Mission Statement

I will link to the other two articles here as I launch them.

For now, let me leave you with one last thought about core values. Exploring, sharing and working each day being guided by your companies core values will help everyone as individuals achieve excellence as they work united toward the companies – and their own personal and professional goals.

Thank you for reading ‘What Are Core Values?’.

Be well and happy communicating, leading and creating a culture of belonging within your company or within your team.

Bruce

Learn More About Bruce Mayhew

Toronto corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting is in the people business… it just so happens that training and/or executive coaching is involved. Let us help you improve your productivity and employee engagement.

To learn more about how leadership training can to improve your skills call us at 416.617.0462.

Bruce Mayhew Consulting's most popular programs are Email Etiquette Training, Difficult Conversations, Generational Differences, Leadership Skills Training and Time Management Training

Related Workshops That Drive Business Success

• What Is Servant Leadership?

• Email Etiquette Training

• Having Difficult Conversations

• The Role of Empathy during Difficult Conversations at Work

Toronto based corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting offers leadership training and professional development across Canada and the USA.

The Best Kind of Belonging

We all want to belong somewhere and to be part of something important. This is a good thing.

The challenge comes when we change how we act in order to fit in – seeking approval in a way that my dad would say is, “Going against our grain”. That never really works. Instead of belonging we are constantly making small changes / adjustments along the way to make sure we are behaving how we think we need to behave. We are always on guard, feeling stress and wondering when our charade will be discovered.

Yes, change is inevitable, change is even important. Growing and evolving is part of life; it’s exciting. But, being true to ourselves is also important. Being true to ourselves and growing / evolving is different than changing who we ‘appear’ to be in order to fit in. Growing is about getting bigger, exploring, finding new parts of ourselves and making parts we already know of even better. Fitting in is about getting smaller and ignoring parts of us that are important to our true nature. As Author Roy T Bennett said, “It’s only after you’ve stepped outside of your comfort zone that you begin to change, grow and transform.”

Because belonging means we have to first be true to ourselves, belonging means that sometimes we have to stand alone. The beauty is that when we get to know ourselves we also get to decide… to choose when we don’t fit in. We can be comfortable standing alone because we know why we are standing alone. Knowing why is an incredibly important part of understanding; it gives clarity, focus and strength. In this case, standing alone is a demonstration of confidence, not defiance or fear; we are not diminishing the value some one or some team by choosing to stand alone. Quite the opposite should be true. While we choose to stand alone or go in another direction we must keep the communication channels open with others, we owe that respect to ourselves and to others.

In our personal lives, the concept of belonging often starts the moment we meet someone. We know quickly if we feel we have anything in common – often because we intuitively pick up on key markers like other peoples values, integrity and ethical principles. If we don’t have anything in common, even the most superficial conversations can feel difficult and emotionally draining. Our response is that we let go of (or minimize) these relationships as quickly as we can.

In our professional lives, the same kind of emotional challenges we have in our personal lives happen, and those challenges make work easy and enjoyable or difficult and draining. And, when ‘difficult and draining’ happens, the overall energy, trust and loyalty of each person on the team begins to degrade. You know this – we’ve all experienced it when our values and ethical principles are not in-line with someone we work with.

The best kind of belonging is not something others give to us, it comes from within. True belonging is a gift to ourselves. When we belong 100 percent to ourselves, that is when we are able to belong to a tribe and know we can trust that bond… even if that tribe consists of only one other person. The kind of trust I call ‘Earned Trust’. For me, that is the best part of belonging because even though some people may think we are weird we can be comfortable being authentic. In addition, the people around us can always trust we will uphold our reputation and our values, and we will give our best, no matter how our relationship is defined.

As I mention above, deep trust lives within the best kind of belonging - the kind of trust that is earned over time, trust we can count on and trust that can count on us. To put a fine point on this, lets take a look at what I mean when I say earned trust.

• Earned Trust: Sharing something I value - putting it or me at risk (my reputation or career for example), because over time I have learned to believe that the thing I value… and me as an individual are safe with you and respected.

• Distrust: Keeping something I value private - guarding it (my experience, connections or creativity for example), because I don't believe the thing I value… and me as an individual are safe with you or respected.

Thank you for reading The Best Kind of Belonging. I look forward to your thoughts, comments, stories.

NOTE: Because hiring the right people is so important as part of my leadership series I teach Behaviour Event Interview best practices.

About Bruce and Bruce Mayhew Consulting.

Bruce is Corporate Trainer, Keynote Speaker and Executive Coach.

Bruce Mayhew Consulting specializes in customized Difficult Conversations, Crucial Conversations or Conflict Management Training, Email Etiquette Training, Leadership & New Leadership Development, Generational Differences, Time Management Training and other soft skills training solutions in Toronto and across Canada. Bruce is also an Executive Coach to a few select clients.

Bruce is an experienced motivational speaker in Toronto and has inspired audiences across Canada and within the USA and the UK. Bruce works hard to always make sure your training event, conference, retreat, or annual general meeting is a success.

Empathy at Work During the Covid Pandemic and Moving Forward

An exploration of empathy is an important opportunity as we all push through the Covid-19 pandemic. Learning what other people may be feeling, believing and/or needing during this difficult time helps us learn about ourselves and what is important to us. Practicing empathy also helps us be strong, recover and even emerge out of a bad experience with greater awareness and resilience. It helps us be the people we want to be and build the future we deserve.

We can all agree the Covid pandemic has us under greater stress. If we’ve been able to continue working during the pandemic we’ve likely either separated from others with plexiglass and masks (as important as they are), or we’ve fallen into a pattern of back-to-back, highly efficient Zoom calls and even more email than ever. Covid also has added stress to our family lives, sometimes keeping family members apart while keeping others together 24/7 for weeks and even months on end. Even grocery shopping and other simple tasks has become complicated. And, worst of all, Covid has taken friends and loved ones away from many of us.

At this stage of the pandemic most of us are exhausted, less connected and are quite simply out of practice at how to be social and build personal connections, both of which help us have trusting, respectful and mutually beneficial relationships.

Finding the silver lining

We can give our shared distress some meaning. Nelson Mandela said, “Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do.” As we rebuild, we have an opportunity to reflect on what we are learning about ourselves, our communities and our workspaces. We also get to decide how we want to move forward as we celebrate our strength and resilience.

Even though we may not be fully out of the Covid pandemic, let’s not wait to take a positive next step.

In our workspaces each of us (from the brand new employee to the veteran leader) have an opportunity to champion healthy workspaces and build healthy teams and healthy companies. All of us can take on a leadership role to create empathetic workspaces built upon shared respect and trust… even if it is within our own bubble, one positive step will lead to another and will influence someone else. Another Nelson Mandela quote seems appropriate here, “As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same”.

Opportunities to practice empathy and the benefits

Empathy is at our fingertips, all we have to do is choose to use it. And best of all, it is free of charge and very effective.

Here are 6 of my favourite opportunities to practice empathy:

1. Explore our personal and shared values… and what they mean

2. Be open to learn about each other and from each other (I love hearing other peoples stories)

3. Strive to develop greater team communication and inclusion

4. Support greater collaboration, commitment, creativity and innovation

5. Support greater work life balance

6. Be very open to continuous change (all of these opportunities will require an element of change)

By following the above mentioned opportunities to practice empathy, in addition to greater workplace harmony we all can experience the following Win-Win benefits for ourselves, our friends/coworkers and our company (I think this is amazing, especially since empathy costs nothing):

• Less burnout

• Greater satisfaction, pride and sense of purpose in our work (for us and for others)

• Greater productivity

• Lower turnover

• Greater customer experiences and customer satisfaction

Using empathy at work and other places

Empathy is at the heart of feeling respect for ourselves and others. When we feel respected it meets our individual need to feel valued for our contribution. There are so many ways to explore empathy both within ourselves and outwardly as we all push through the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition to the 6 opportunities to practice empathy during the covid pandemic and moving forward that I mentioned above, here are 5 more described in a bit more detail.

• Make a conscious effort to use empathy to rebuild trusting and respectful relationships. Show the people you work with that you care about them by learning about them and listening to their stories with no judgement. And, if they have a challenge, don’t jump into solutions mode. Instead, pause and listen; be understanding. That might be all they need.

• Every once in a while, call a friend, family member or business connection to just to say hi – especially if you don’t need anything from them. Take a moment to sincerely ask how they are. This shows them you care about them as individuals.

• Be respectful, especially if their preferences and beliefs are different than your own. There are two types of respect that build trusting relationships; Earned Respect and Owed Respect.

  • Owed Respect is based on a sense of equally and everyone should experience it. If it is lacking there is often micromanaging, abuse of power, dismissiveness, passive aggressive behaviour.

  • Earned Respect is based on our individual accomplishments or qualities. We are recognized for our expertise and given opportunity to contribute and perhaps even lead when we are the subject matter expert. If it is lacking, we feel interchangeable and don’t get credit for our unique contribution and/or ideas.

• Be open to the idea that compromise is a source of strength, not weakness. Finding a shared solution does mean we learn about each others needs and therefore often take a bit more time. In workspaces shared solutions are often more impactful and more creative. And, because shared solutions are supported by multiple people and/or departments, respect, commitment and collaboration also increase… all because of compromise.

• Volunteer somewhere. Studies show that when we help other people we trigger our mesolimbic system, the part of our brain that is responsible for feelings of reward, pride and an increase in self-esteem. Volunteering also provides us opportunities to be in low stress situations, to do something good and to be around other like-minded people. All of this means we are able to practice our communication skills, build good bonds with new ‘friends’ and build even stronger bonds with existing friends and family. Overall, another Win-Win.

Conclusion

This is just a snapshot of how empathy provides a life-long opportunity to grow and become a better version of ourselves. As we emerge out of the Covid-19 pandemic we all have the opportunity to do so with greater awareness of who we want to be, how we want to act and who we want to be with and work with. All we have to do is begin to explore our potential.

Now more than ever lets remember to practice patience with ourselves and others and take this moment to explore how we have practiced empathy in the past and how we can ratchet it up a notch or two moving forward.

Thank you for reading about how to move forward as we all push through the Covid-19 pandemic.

Bruce

Other articles in this series include:

• The Importance of Empathy at Work

• How to Practice Empathy at Work

• 8 Habits of Highly Empathic People

• The Role of Empathy During Difficult Conversations at Work

About Bruce and Bruce Mayhew Consulting.

Bruce is Corporate Trainer, Keynote Speaker and Executive Coach.

Bruce Mayhew Consulting specializes in customized Difficult Conversations, Crucial Conversations or Conflict Management Training, Email Etiquette Training, Leadership & New Leadership Development, Generational Differences, Time Management Training and other soft skills training solutions in Toronto and across Canada. Bruce is also an Executive Coach to a few select clients.

Bruce is an experienced motivational speaker in Toronto and has inspired audiences across Canada and within the USA and the UK. Bruce works hard to always make sure your training event, conference, retreat, or annual general meeting is a success.

Are Generational Differences Important To Study And Discuss?

Generational differences are real – just like cultural differences are real. In this article we’ll discuss generational differences in the workplace and why discussions about generational differences and generational diversity are important for team success.

What are generational differences? When looking to define generational differences we typically mean differences in experiences, values, beliefs and needs. The answer to the question, “are generational differences important?” depends on how we use the information. If we use it to determine how I will act as an individual or what kind of reward will inspire me, then making assumptions based on what year I was born will likely not do either of us much good. But if we use the information to estimate how a group of consumers in one generation and from one geographic area will respond, we will likely get close to making a good (but not perfect) decision.

This begs the question, “How does labelling employees by generation help or harm employee, team success?”

Overview

Today’s workspaces currently have employees from four generations all holding junior through to senior positions. And of course, each generation brings very different and valuable perspectives, experiences and insights. In addition, on one side of the age spectrum is a large group of young employees who likely are highly educated and are used to a fast-changing world. On the other side of the age spectrum is a large group of older employees with unparalleled experience, institutional knowledge and typically less formal education.

To be clear, I’m not saying Gen Z and Millennial employees don’t have experience, they do; and I’m not saying Gen X and Boomer employees don’t have education because they do. What I’m saying is there are people from four very different generations who all have something unique and very worthwhile to say (and if we know what is good for us and our companies) to be listened to.

Globalization also means we have valued employees (and customers) from many different countries with values, needs and traditions that further add to the complexity and amazing insight of our workspaces. And while I could talk more about cultural differences, for the purpose of this article I’m going to stay with discussions about the importance of generational differences and generational diversity (for the most part).

The diversity and inclusive energy in todays high-functioning workspaces is quite amazing. One of the great trends of the last 10ish years that is adding to this positive energy is that many in the business world are finally seriously focusing on important topics like team development, trust and accountability. Along with the strong focus on diversity and inclusion there is also a heightened refocus on important issues like creativity, equality and accessibility. When we talk about diversity and inclusion in the workplace, we often think of things like race, culture, gender and sexuality. But age is another important aspect within the diversity and inclusion discussion.

For reference, the following are general categories in Canada and the USA. Please note, generational birth ranges do vary from country to country and east to west:

• Baby Boomers (born 1946 to 1964)

• Generation X (born 1965 to 1980)

• Millennials / Generation Y (born 1980 to 1995)

• Generation Z (born 1996 to 2010)

Generational Differences Training: Argument For 

The simple reality is that there are differences in populations from different generations. For example, some high-level generational differences are as follows:

• Boomers grew up in the economic boom following the depression. They had very little in the way of money or possessions and physical labour was the bulk of available work. Hard work and loyalty was part of their basic upbringing. From a career perspective it was generally expected that employees would be loyal to companies and companies would be loyal to their employees. As young adults many Boomers became uncomfortable with the economic structures and began rebelling, wanting a better quality of life.

• Generation X often grew up with their mothers returning to work and wanting to have their own career, therefore many grew up in two-income families. Generation X kids were also the first generation to grow up with computers. They were children who watched the Vietnam war unravel on live TV (and in colour). They also experienced corporate America consolidate and lay off their loyal parents and move manufacturing to developing countries. For many of these reasons Generation X lead the charge of wanting greater work-life-balance.

• Millennials grew up with most families able to provide for them better that any previous family structure. They had exposure to computers at a young age, video games and diversity like no generation before them. Their parents were known as ‘Helicopter Parents’ giving their children lots of pre-planned activities, positive reinforcement and often less independent freedom. Traditionally Millennials want feedback frequently because that is what their Boomer parents gave them.

• Generation Z are often seen as being financially conservative but socially liberal. Why? Because they saw their Millennial brothers, sisters and cousins collect large amounts of debt through education but have fewer job opportunities than expected. Generation Z children traveled widely with their parents and grew up with computers from birth, giving them instant access to information and entertainment. At school, many cultural stereotypes were broken because their schoolmates (and friends), came from many different cultures and backgrounds. At the same time the entertainment they consumed and their family structures often broke many gender based stereotypes.

Now that we’ve explored a few of the generational differences, how might labelling employees by age generation help or harm employee, team and organization success? I believe the #1 greatest benefit from generational differences training is how it helps us understand ‘Why’ certain generations behave the way they do. With an understanding of ‘Why’ we humans are naturally more patient and empathic. Instead of treating everyone the same, great leaders and great companies use discussions about generational differences as opportunities to recognize employees are different and that they can embrace these differences to help their employees, their company and of course their customers to be successful.

This is a big step for companies. Don’t undervalue its importance and how difficult traditional management style is to overcome. Consider, almost all of the 1900’s hard work (and I mean physical labour) translated to success. In this environment money was the primary motivator because with money you could buy what you needed to survive.

Today we know money isn’t the best motivator. As long as we are being paid fairly based on our industry and work, people don’t want to only survive… we want to thrive. This means most employees want to embrace their own definition of work-life-balance. In the last 40+ years a whole new business psychology industry has slowly been emerging that studies and measures the impact of what really motivates and inspires employees. Through that research we finally began seeing the undisputable reality that intrinsic motivation… like pride, purpose and impact is far more effective and longer lasting than extrinsic motivation… like money.

Generational Differences Training: Argument Against 

The worst thing we can do is use stereotypes to determine how individuals will act or what individuals need. If we use stereotypes we will undoubtably make mistakes that will stop a company from hiring a great employee or by not rewarding a valued employee as they need to be rewarded and therefore, they quit.

Without doubt employees should be assessed on their unique ability to do a task and rewarded based on their individual abilities, needs and goals. Except at some high-level marketing level, I can’t think of many helpful situations where the generational label would be effective in predicting behviour.

Conclusion

All we have to do is look within our own families, our brothers and sisters who grew up with the values and often in the same households to see we as individuals we want different things and are inspired in different ways. We are both similar and different, and this is an example of why discussions about generational differences and generational diversity are important.

Beyond allowing me and others to generally understand the ‘Why’ of a generation or culture I have to admit, I’ve found that one of the most important benefits generational differences training delivers is in how it helps the teams I’ve worked with discuss – and often be amazed by how diverse people are. Through these discussions participants experience in real-time the insight (often for the first time), that what inspires one person will likely not inspire another person even if they are from the same generation and doing the same work in the same company. I bet some of your coworkers want to buy a house and raise a family while others want to rent a condo on the 30th floor and travel… and I bet some want to own an energy efficient electric car while others dream of a F150 pickup truck. For many of employees, the choices relating to how they live their lives are endless.

We are all individuals with unique training, skill, motivation and ambitions and it is best that instead of making assumptions, we stay curious as to what others value, believe and need. In the end, what is important is that you strive for greater generational diversity and treat everyone with curiosity and respect.

Thank you for reading. I will enjoy your comments / suggestions.

Bruce

About Bruce and Bruce Mayhew Consulting.

Bruce is Corporate Trainer, Keynote Speaker and Executive Coach.

Bruce Mayhew Consulting specializes in customized Email Etiquette Training, Leadership & New Leadership Development, Generational Differences, Time Management Training and other soft skills training solutions in Toronto and across Canada. Bruce is also an Executive Coach to a few select clients.

Bruce is an experienced motivational speaker in Toronto and has inspired audiences across Canada and within the USA and the UK. Bruce works hard to always make sure your training event, conference, retreat, or annual general meeting is a success.

Could Fear Of Conflict Be Holding Back Your Team?

You can have conflict only when you have trust.

When I say, “you can have conflict only when you have trust”, I’m not meaning negative, vindictive, inappropriate, call the lawyers conflict. I mean sharing opposing views, challenging each other’s assumptions, opening your mind and encouraging yourself… and each other to grow conflict. 

An essential ingredient of a proud and inclusive workspace is when employees, partners and suppliers don't fear conflict. They know they’re able to freely share each other’s experiences, knowledge and points of view and not worry about being attacked, mocked, ridiculed or worse. It’s exciting and empowering to be part of a team that’s committed to finding the best solution by sharing different ideas and being able to challenge each other’s assumptions, judgements and even beliefs from a place of respect and curiosity. That said, maybe the word ‘conflict’ isn’t the best word to use – it sounds negative; perhaps engagement is a better option. But because conflict is what Patrick Lencioni, founder of the Table Group and author of Five Dysfunctions of a Team calls it, we will stay with conflict for now. 

Sharing Opposing Views And Making A Decision Can Get Loud

I think it’s fair to recognize that sharing opposing views and challenging each other’s assumptions can get a little loud (some workspaces, families and cultures embrace loud debate). Personally, I’m better with calm discussion, but if loud is your way then go for it… as long as that’s what everyone expects and they feel safe and respected. I also recommend always being aware of your surroundings for a few reasons. For example:

• I urge you to stay aware of socially acceptable boundaries relating to colourful language and/or full-on inappropriate language (read your HR policies). Crossing over the socially acceptable line can cause you trouble even within a trusting relationship. We have to know what’s appropriate and what isn’t.

• People won’t share if they feel intimidated by how everyone around them communicates. For example, introverts, new hires, suppliers and meeting guests may not understand what is going on if they are not familiar with your discussion and debate style (this goes for your at-home neighbours and people in the grocery store as well). 

Whether we are speaking with someone or writing an email, I believe our primary goal should be sharing whenever we communicate. As a leader, I want to make the distinction that sharing our ideas and experience does not mean you or I have to change each other’s mind or beliefs. What is vital is that all voices are respected and we understand that challenging each other (conflict), is an important step toward collaboration and for us to honour our commitment to find a single clearly defined, measurable choice. When everyone has input, good things happen.

Conflict and Respect Within Difficult Conversations At Work

Hearing and respecting feedback, opinions, and even goals that are different than our own (like not getting a promotion we want) requires Vulnerability Trust. As I shared in a blogpost about trust at work, an example of Vulnerability Trust is when you and I feel safe saying something like “I am sorry, “I don’t know,” or “I made a mistake,” and we know we will still be treated with respect – not embarrassed or attacked.

Within healthy conflict, Vulnerability Trust strengthens our relationships as you and I experience first-hand we will not be attacked or made fool of. Using a workplace example, there is something pretty special when we can listen to our counterparts as they share honest feedback - and know (trust) it is coming from a place of support not malice or revenge. It often takes time to build trust in our team and our ability to have healthy conflict at work; it also requires we watch our triggers and our conscious and unconscious biases… especially concerning challenging news.

The one thing we really want to avoid is holding back constructive feedback because ‘we don’t want to hurt Richards feelings’. If we do hold back, what often happens is that instead of having a discussion we start making excuses, saying things like “It’s just the way Richard is”. If we hang that reputation on Richard without ever confronting him we are likely doing him a disservice that will have long-lasting negative implications on his career. Instead, choose to have a difficult conversation with Richard and respectfully share what you are experiencing / noticing. At that point Richard now has a choice to adjust or not, and what happens next is up to him.

Conclusion

Conflict is an important component within any highly functioning company or relationship. And, as I suggested above it is not meant as a fight or battle… but a commitment for two or more people to respectfully struggle as they discuss, debate, share and learn from each other.

For me, there is nothing quite like having a constructive debate. Using a personal example, in non-Covid times I always enjoyed having a few good friends over and to fall into a lively discussion on some in-the-news topic (usually over a glass or two of scotch).  I find this a meaningful reflection of many workspaces because while we are great friends, we all very different in our age, backgrounds and careers. And yes, we have very different and very similar interpretations on things. It is invigorating and I always learn something from each encounter and / or I’m reminded how wonderful it is when someone gives me space – and respect to share my ideas.

So perhaps now that we are at the end of this article, this may be a better time to ask you, “could fear of conflict be holding back your team”?

When we listen we learn, and when we don’t listen we see what we want… not usually what is true or the ideal solution. As my wonderful friend Belinda Jackson recently said to me, “[It’s] always important for a leader to listen and to ask the team if there are ideas they want to share that can make the team stronger. If you want a team, you have to be a team player. Everyone has been in different situations and it is important to share ideas and to be open to hearing them.”

Thank you for reading. I will enjoy hearing your comments, feedback and even examples about conflict at work.

Bruce

About Bruce and Bruce Mayhew Consulting.

Bruce is Corporate Trainer, Keynote Speaker and Executive Coach.

Bruce Mayhew Consulting specializes in customized Email Etiquette Training, Leadership & New Leadership Development, Generational Differences, Time Management Training and other soft skills training solutions in Toronto and across Canada. Bruce is also an Executive Coach to a few select clients.

Bruce is an experienced motivational speaker in Toronto and has inspired audiences across Canada and within the USA and the UK. Bruce works hard to always make sure your training event, conference, retreat, or annual general meeting is a success.

Thank you for stopping by.

Creating a Multi-Generational Workplace Culture

Everyone wants to know they are a valued part of the team regardless of what generation they belong to. And because generational differences of Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z employees matter when creating a healthy multi-generational workplace, I thought I would take a moment to discuss how generational differences often influence the way your employees may or may not respond four important motivators.

I also want to point out that besides generational differences, there are many other variables including gender differences, ethnic and cultural differences, feelings of trust and respect that are also incredibly important when creating a healthy multi-generational workplace culture. But for now, lets explore how each generation may interpret and be inspired by the following four important opportunities:

1. Recognition

2. Autonomy

3. Coaching/Continuous Learning

4. Opportunity for Advancement

Additional Note: While the list above is not exhaustive, I have purposely not included salary in the above list. I do this because salary is considered a base trait – that as long as an individual is being paid fairly, monetary reward becomes a far less reliable and effective motivator. So, lets take money off the table and look at other ways to create a multi-generational workplace culture.

Recognition

Everyone enjoys recognition. And while Gen Zers and Millennials are used to frequent recognition and Gen Xers and Boomers are used to less frequent recognition, whether an individual prefers to be recognized in publicly versus more privately is often more dependent on if they are an introvert versus extrovert than what generation they belong to.

The great question is, “How frequently and how sincerely do you recognize your team and team members?” Recognition doesn’t have to be a party - and please don’t start an ‘Employee of the Month’ program because recognizing one person once a month is about as demotivating as you can get. Instead, look for opportunities where you can say to someone, “Your input into this report is amazing” or “You’ve worked really hard on that sales pitch and it shows”. Recognizing someones contribution and/or effort in-the-moment is right up there with some of the best recognition you can offer… ever.

Autonomy

Historically, autonomy in the workplace was largely defined as the opportunity to work from home and seen as a perk – something employees had to deserve. Most leaders now recognize that supporting autonomy can encompasses many things like flexible hours, what to work on, where to sit (if in-office) and even professional development opportunities… as well as the choice to work from home (or perhaps more accurately, working remotely).

Thankfully even the idea that autonomy as a ‘perk’ is being replaced by the reality that most people who work remotely actually are more productive (not less), are more creative, have greater job satisfaction and employee loyalty to mention just a few benefits.

So, as you strive to create a healthy multi-generational workplace culture, look to what flexibility you can offer your employees that will help them. Do they need time to take their kids into daycare before coming to work? Do they love being in the office because it gives them a break from their family and they are naturally extroverted? Is there a project that has nothing to do with their current job that you can assign them to because you know it is related to a career path they aspire to? Those are all healthy examples of how you can incorporate autonomy into your workplace culture.

Coaching / Continuous Learning

Coaching is something every leader should be prepared to do – to both their team and to the individuals they support. Coaching ties in well to a workplace culture that promotes continuous learning, helping the team and the company stay fresh while also helping to create an inclusive, multi-generational workplace culture and to promote both collaborative and inclusive behaviour. In addition, coaching, continuous learning and being inclusive are especially important to Gen Z and Millennials.

I invite you to recognize these two generations enjoy being coached AS WELL AS coaching others, sharing their experience and helping others grow. Reverse coaching and/or reverse mentoring are important opportunities for individual and team motivation. And don’t worry if your employees are working remotely. Help employees meet other employees outside of their immediate circle and build new, meaningful relationships from afar by implementing a virtual mentorship program. These relationships will not only create meaning and benefit for them in part by satisfying our natural need to connect with one another, they will also create new synergies within the company and improve employee productivity and loyalty. 

Wondering how to start and who to include? During your one-on-one meetings with each of your team, be sure to ask them how they want to be coached and if they see opportunities where they can give back and coach others.

Opportunity for Advancement

Higher salary and opportunities for advancement have always been high on the list for Boomers and certainly of interest for Generation Xers. Unfortunately for Gen Xers, the economic downturns of the late 1980’s, early 2000’s and then again around 2008/2009 meant that fewer Boomers left the employment market for their expected “Freedom 55”. This meant the career advancement opportunities and higher salaries didn’t materialize as quickly as young Gen Xers expected. Thankfully, Gen Xers are finally getting their chance, even though they are now also competing for leadership positions against bright, well-educated and technologically save Millennials.

It is still worth taking a moment of pause here however because the traditional definition of ‘Opportunity for Advancement’ is shifting. Millennials and Gen Zers don’t only see advancement as a promotion. They also see advancement as opportunities to gain experience and opportunities to broaden their network. So, while an employee may stay in their current position, take time to learn about what they want to learn and where they would like to gain experience because it’s possible you can inspire a very motivated employee by giving them opportunities that are easily within reach and where they actually may be able to add a new point of view.

Conclusion

If you are a leader I urge you to learn as much about everyone you work with and especially people who report to you. What are their wants, needs and preferences as they relate to what they work on, how they like to work, how they like to be rewarded and connected to their preferences specific to working remotely (or not). What are their career aspirations? How can you support workplace training for each of the generations who count on you?

In addition, take a moment to consider your own leadership style and how you support, mentor and coach your team. For example, is your leadership preference lean toward creating a workplace culture where you:

• Give team members a lot of autonomy and little supervision - let them come to you when they have questions or need something

• Intentionally work at creating a culture of equality, diversity, openness and belonging

• Feel you have to have total control and make all (or most) of decisions - especially the critical high-profile decisions

• Value collaboration and input from all stakeholders, listen openly, and watch out of biases in order to explore all options before making a decision

• Focus on strategy, vision and values while making sure everyone has the resources they need to deliver

There is great value for todays leaders to focus on their soft skills and to know what inspires and motivates themselves and the people around them as they lead and create a multigenerational workplace culture.

Thank you for reading. I hope you have enjoyed.

Bruce

About Bruce and Bruce Mayhew Consulting.

Bruce is Corporate Trainer and Executive Coach.

As a Corporate Trainer Bruce Mayhew (of BMC) specialize in customized Time Management Training, Email Etiquette Training, Leadership & New Leadership Development, Generational Differences and other soft skills training solutions in Toronto and across Canada. Bruce is also an Executive Coach to a few select clients.

BMC helps your greatest assets think productive and be productive.

Bruce is an experienced motivational speaker in Toronto and has inspired audiences across Canada and within the USA and the UK. Bruce works hard to always make sure your training event, conference, retreat, or annual general meeting is a success.

How I Help Leaders Explore How Leadership Has Changed

The following are an edit of my notes from a Podcast interview I gave about leadership and how to develop an energized corporate culture with motivated, inspired employees.

Because of the length of my notes, this is Part 1 of what will be a two-part series. 

Please enjoy… and watch out for Part 2. Also, please consider liking and leaving comments below.

How I Help Leaders

I help new and experienced leaders understand how leadership has changed over the years and how they may be able to do better. There have been important changes in how to approach leadership especially in the three important areas of; coaching your team, motivation versus inspiration, and how to create a diverse and thriving corporate culture. I help clients and conference attendees explore their experiences and ask important questions of themselves and the world around them by creating a safe space where learning is important.

I see leaders fitting within a couple of buckets. There are:

1. Leaders who have been around for 30 or more years and who came into leadership when everyone around them was just like themselves. Their co-workers and customers wanted the same things so it was easy to understand what someone else expected. They lived in a world where the leader was the boss, laptop computers were a novelty and the size of small suitcases, email was a new communication tool that few people had access to, and unless you were a sales person the only way you could be productive was to be ‘at work’ where you had a desk, a phone and likely a secretary and/or access to a typing pool. Even voicemail was a new thing.

2. Young leaders who have grown up in a very different world than their parents and likely their initial role-models. They see a world where everyone has a voice (or should), is constantly connected by the internet, their mobile phones have more memory and processing power than the Apollo 11 guidance computer – a spacecraft that landed on the moon in 1972 (source: RealClear Science), empowering information is only a Google search and YouTube video away, and where choice and individuality are not only robust, they are expected and most people correctly recognize diversity as an empowering asset. 

I believe exploring and acknowledging these differences and the generational differences in the workplace is important, not to marginalize anyone but because it is important for each of us to understand the world we live in and then recognize the world we came from. Before we can begin to understand others we have to understand ourselves and our experiences. And for leaders, understanding our own perspective and our experiences really matters in how we lead, mentor, coach and inspire the people that depend on us. 

The interesting component here is that when Boomers and Generation X raised their Millennial and Generation Z children, they told their kids they could do anything and have anything and not to compromise. Then when these generations entered the workplace their, Boomer and Generation X leaders often interpret their curiosity and independence as entitlement and wonder, “Why they can’t just sit at their desk and do the work I’m telling them to do?” even though Millennials and Generation Z are behaving exactly how their parents raised them.

So, as a Corporate Trainer and Executive Coach I help leaders of all ages see how the world has changed and explore research I share with them as well as their own experiences to help understand what motivates individuals from all generations in the workplace. Motivators like having a purpose, personal growth, making a difference, feeling like they are contributing and wanting to have fun at work are all the elements of a thriving corporate culture that inspires employees. It’s important to note that while approaches to leadership are changing, Boomers are not used to thinking this way (I say this as a Boomer). No fault of our own. When they were young most Boomers didn’t work to have a purpose and be inspired, they went to work to get a paycheck so they could get a house and provide for their family. Work for a Boomer was often separate from their life but for Millennials and Gen Z… and even some Gen Xers, all of it is integrated.

The beauty is that most people no matter what generation they are from can tap into this concept pretty easily because it makes sense and is empowering. They can reflect on what they feel and want themselves as well as what they see their employees asking for. The people I work with or the audiences I present to also recognize that seeing something and being able to implement it are two different things – but change is possible. For all of us to change means we have to break our old habits (or expectations) about being a boss… and with desire, attention and often a bit of guidance change happens and is wonderful for everyone.

This is the base line of where I start. I help clients and/or conference attendees take the next step to realize difference is ok; that great leaders use that difference and use each other’s strengths. That the world is far too complex and great leaders embrace the diversity of:

·      Four different generations being in the workforce (age diversity).

·      People being equal regardless of their gender or sexual orientation.

·      Cultural and religious differences.

·      Disability / Ability.

Being a great leader requires taking time to reflect on ourselves and the environment we want to create. It’s being a coach who believes that one of their primary goals is to empower and inspire their employees to be their best and to do their own work.

Conclusion - and prelude to Part 2.

To be a great leader we have to be able to create an empowered corporate culture that gives people space to contribute their ideas while they also learn, grow and be proud of what they are contributing… and the difference they and the company are making together. Great leaders build a corporate culture that is truly based on the values of the organization then that creates a space where trust and motivation and respect become a common environment. Part of that is hiring the right people… and that is one of the key focuses I’ll discuss in part 2.

Thank you for reading. I hope you have enjoyed. Please leave a comment if have a moment.

Bruce

About Bruce and Bruce Mayhew Consulting.

Bruce is Corporate Trainer and Executive Coach.

As a Corporate Trainer Bruce Mayhew (of BMC) specialize in customized Time Management Training, Email Etiquette Training, Leadership & New Leadership Development, Generational Differences and other soft skills training solutions in Toronto and across Canada. Bruce is also an Executive Coach to a few select clients.

BMC helps your greatest assets think productive and be productive.

Bruce is an experienced motivational speaker in Toronto and has inspired audiences across Canada and within the USA and the UK. Bruce works hard to always make sure your training event, conference, retreat, or annual general meeting is a success. 

4 Ways To Rediscover Your Passion

You deserve the best, and in the interest of doing what’s best for you and the people closest to you it’s a great idea to pause once in a while to rediscover your passion.

You and I love routine because it helps us be productive and efficient. And while change and learning slows you and I down, routine turns us into experts. It’s a great feeling knowing we are ‘The best’ or ‘One of the best’. Unfortunately routine has a way of derailing our bigger plans at work and at home. So, I recommend getting into the habit of pressing ‘Pause’ on your routine in order to rediscover your passion.

Here are 4 ways to rediscover your passion that I’ve found helpful.

Slow Down:

Arrange time for you to listen to yourself. Spend a weekend alone, no radio or TV. You are not a bad employee or bad parent if you arrange for the kids to spend the weekend with their grandparents or if you turn off work for a few days. Perhaps even add to this a week vacation from work.

When you arrange for time alone, don’t spend your time keeping busy by rearranging closets, painting the kitchen or reading. The idea is to find your passion and purpose by doing things like sitting quietly and going for long walks; basically, letting yourself be bored. Being bored is a good thing. When you are bored your mind begins to explore… and your subconscious will keep going to what interests it.

Thing is, you will begin to rediscover your passion and begin to find the answers you’ve been searching for when you listen to yourself.

Talk To A Professional Therapist:

Arrange for 2-hour appointments because in 1-hour you might just start getting comfortable. Both therapists and trained executive coaches can help you explore your goals and make changes. However, if you are feeling emotionally charged it might be best to begin by seeing a therapist who has the licensure and training to address specific issues like anxiety.

Therapy often helps people increase their self-awareness by exploring the past and identifying the roots of important issues. After seeing a therapist, if there are no bigger issues an executive coach might be exactly what you need.

Celebrate Your Wins:

Reflect on your big wins of the past and celebrate them. Then begin working on getting into the habit of celebrating your small wins every day.

Too often we overlook what meaningful contribution we make every day and how satisfying our accomplishments make us feel. Instead of helping our passion flourish we fluff our accomplishments off as being “What my job expects,” or “What any good parent would do.” But guess what, you did do it and nobody ever did it the way you did because you are unique. And, while you are at it, give yourself time to notice when you’ve been connected to your passions.

Write:

To rediscover your passion I recommend putting pen to paper versus using a computer – your thoughts will generate differently when you write by hand. During your weekend alone, find time twice a day to set a timer for 10-minutes and write. Write anything and don’t stop to think. If you don’t know what to write next, write bla bla bla until a new idea emerges. Answer any question that comes to mind, but start considering questions like:

• Of all the things I do, I am most happy when…

• I am most proud of…

• I’ve always wanted to…

• I would like to work with…

• When I was younger, I thought I would…

Conclusion:

Most of all, remember you are amazing. You are unique. Nobody else has your unique combination of experiences, natural strengths, education, learned skills and creativity. You have something great to offer yourself, your friends, your family and your employer.

And one last thing; when you try something new expect to not be perfect… but spend time reflecting on what you did well and where you could improve. When you were younger it took time for you to learn to drive a car and now you do it without thinking. Why should any other skill be different just because you are older? Before you know it, you will be great at it. We all need to push past our fear of failure, of not being the expert… and most of all… our fear of not looking perfect at every moment.

I hope you take some time to rediscover your passion… and to then help your passion flourish

About Bruce and Bruce Mayhew Consulting.

Bruce is Corporate Trainer and Executive Coach.

As a Corporate Trainer Bruce Mayhew (of BMC) specialize in customized Time Management Training, Email Etiquette Training, Leadership & New Leadership Development, Generational Differences and other soft skills training solutions in Toronto and across Canada. Bruce is also an Executive Coach to a few select clients.

BMC helps your greatest assets think productive and be productive.

Bruce is an experienced motivational speaker in Toronto and has inspired audiences across Canada and within the USA and the UK. Bruce works hard to always make sure your training event, conference, retreat, or annual general meeting is a success.

An Introduction to Agile Project Management Methodology

What is Agile Project Management?

Although it began to evolve in the 1970s and 1980s, Agile Project Management is still a somewhat new approach to project management. It differs from Traditional Project Management because it breaks large projects into smaller projects and expects changing priorities throughout very short development cycles called ‘Sprints’. A Sprint is often only 2 to 12-weeks long (although the trend is narrowing development times to 2 to 8-weeks).

Agile Project Management is a great solution when the business needs, customer needs and/or the competitive pressures require frequent change or when the business wants to experience the benefits of development investment more frequently. This is one reason why Agile is so common in software development environments. And while projects using an Agile Project Management methodology usually move faster and are more responsive to customer needs, each project should still be part of a larger development plan / vision and be respectful of the available people, time and other resources… not to mention other ongoing projects.

A Quick Look At Traditional Project Management

Traditional Project Management is often defined as having detailed start-to-finish planning with locked-down features and long development cycles… often between 6-months to multiple years. With Traditional the business usually doesn’t see tangible value until the end of the project.

If your goals are 100% defined and not likely to change then Traditional is a viable solution. Also, Traditional is still beneficial in environments that may be heavily regulated, heavily procedure-based, hierarchical workspaces and / or when a project plan can be used by other teams or locations over and over again. For example, construction is a common space using Traditional Project Management.

In many cases it doesn’t have to be all Agile or all Traditional. Many industries a combination of Agile Project Management and Traditional Project depending on the project.

A Few Of The Many Benefits of Agile:

Just about any project can use Agile. One key benefit of Agile Project Management is the fast delivery of development solutions. In addition, four core feature of Agile are:

1. Up-front input by customers on the scope of the development goals. This usually means solutions have the greatest chance to address the target customers’ needs.

2. Frequent and direct review by customers of the project teams success throughout project development.

3. A willingness of the project team to quickly adjust goals and tactics and refocus resources mid-project – usually in response to the mid-project feedback received from customers. Agile is always more focused on delivering customer value versus following a predefined project plan – so if change during a project is required, the team follows that path.

4. Because of shorter development cycles (or Sprints) the company, employees and the customers can all benefit from incremental upgrades and more frequent product releases rather than a less frequent but large-scale upgrade. This has multiple benefits for both the customer and organization. For example:

   • The company can be more responsive to change in technology and/or customer needs.

   • The company can benefit from quicker releases that make their customers happy and hopefully more loyal.

   • The company can benefit from earning ROI on development investment sooner.

   • Employees can quickly benefit from the experience and professional development they gain as they stay current with hardware and software trends.

   • Employees can benefit from networking with both customers, technology specialists and team members they many not otherwise meet.

   • Customers get quick access to competitive, timely solutions.

   • Customers and employees benefit from less steep learning curves that are often reflective of large-scale development releases / upgrades and therefore allow them to keep focusing on their day-to-day responsibilities.

More About Agile

With Agile Project Management, teams are self-empowered which changes a leader’s traditional roles and puts them more in-line with new leadership development trends where a leader’s responsibilities are 65%-80% soft skills. Agile leaders are (as all leaders should be), vocal ambassadors of the corporate direction, vision and values while they coach and mentor talent and make sure their teams have the resources they need. Agile Project Management leaders make sure the project and team expect changing requirements and adapt appropriately. And, Agile leaders must always support the overall Agile Project Management methodology within their hierarchy no matter how flat the organization may be. In short, the Agile leader sets the project goals and then empowers their diverse team / teams to find and build value-add, timely solutions that are in line with the company vision and values.

Within Agile Project Managment it is important everyone keep focused on ‘Keeping It Simple’. If things start getting complicated it is a sign to stop and re-evaluate. Not only is this one of the 12 principles of Agile (see below), it is the only way to create a sustainable path where teams go from idea to research to launch quickly. This includes documentation; Agile methodology takes less of a concern about detailed documentation than Traditional Project Management does and instead puts more emphasis on development and delivery of the agreed-upon goals.

Another important component of Agile is to be sure you hire and work with motivated individuals. And, because it is a highly motivating environment with short project timelines it’s also more important than ever that leaders be sure not to burn-out their high-performers. Project management is always about sustainability – even Agile Project Management is a long-race not a sprint. Also, Agile is not permission to multitask; in fact the methodology suggests try to not work on multiple things at a time.

While there are many pioneers who were instrumental in the early days of Agile Project Management, Jeff Sutherland & Ken Schwaber are two you may want to research to learn more. In addition, there are many methodologies within the Agile umbrella (Scrum and Kanban are most common), but in all cases the focus is to add incremental value throughout the project. For a good overview of Scrum versus Kanban visit this link.

Four Core Values Of Agile Project Management

There are four core values and 12 guiding principles connected with the Agile Project Management methodology. The four core values are:

1. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

   People first; maintaining a focus on the value added that people provide rather than relying on technology, tools and applications. This also should focus on supporting the team and assisting in collaborative cross-functional work-teams that have little to no hierarchical structure rather than silos.

2. Working software over comprehensive documentation

   I admit I struggle with this one. Agile project management values result over documentation. The idea is to not weigh down the team or team members in paperwork – which is great, however tracking decisions and why decisions were made is important to provide historical relevance.

3. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

   As with any good design, keeping your customer – your end user in mind is critical. Agile Project Management maintains a commitment to involving internal or external customers throughout the development process to ensure their needs are addressed and effectively responding by making changes that address the client’s needs.

4. Responding to change over following a plan

   Relevance and efficiency are critical to the Agile Project Management methodology; they are core purpose. This means change has to be accepted over adhering to a predetermined plan. Change is expected and embraced. For example, if your collaboration with your customer identifies a competitive need, it is expected that the plan be adapted to be able to quickly respond and reprioritize resources. This may be one of the largest differences to traditional project management. The beauty of Agile is that because iterations and/or projects are – by their nature small, frequent and with short timelines, adapting to change should much simpler than within a traditional project management cycle otherwise called waterfall project management.

Agile allows for continuous change throughout the life of any given project.

Key Agile Project Management Definitions:

1. Story: What the project leader / team wants to happen.

2. Backlog: Tasks or requirements that customers have identified and which will become solutions.

3. Scrum: The employees who will prioritize the backlog and be the Sprint Team. These cross-functional teams primary goal is to deliver a fully tested solution that is responsive to customer priorities in a short period of time.

4. Sprint Planning. Working with customers / end users where they prioritize the requirements out of the backlog that they believe they can deliver within the project plan timeline (usually 2 – 4 weeks).

5. Sprint / Sprint Development: The actual effort. During this time the Agile Board is used to track progress.

6. Agile Board: Where tasks and progress are tracked. Includes To Do, Development, Test and Release categories.

7. Daily Scrum Meeting: Short meetings (roughly 15-minutes), where everyone shares what everyone is doing, what they are going to do next and identify how they may be able to help out.

8. Demo: At the end of every sprint development is a demo to customers / end users who will give feedback – the feedback cycle makes development fast and effective.

9. Package & Release: Once it has been tested and goes to market.

10. Done Pile: which identified what requirements from the Backlog that have been completed

11. Retrospective: When the team looks at what has been done well and not well for future improvement. To also review the backlog that the customers prioritized and now begin planning on those Sprints.

Conclusion:

Agile Project Management is a value-driven project management strategy that consistently delivers high-priority and high-quality results in short periods of time. A key benefit of Agile is more satisfied customer because there is regular collaboration with target customers throughout the development process.

There is more, but I believe this introduction to Agile Project Management methodology gives you a good grasp of the basics… you have at least enough to get started if you wish. And remember, both Agile and Traditional Project Management have strengths and challenges.

About Bruce and Bruce Mayhew Consulting.

Bruce is Corporate Trainer and Executive Coach.

As a Corporate Trainer Bruce Mayhew (of BMC) specialize in customized Time Management Training, Email Etiquette Training, Leadership & New Leadership Development, Generational Differences and other soft skills training solutions in Toronto and across Canada. Bruce is also an Executive Coach to a few select clients.

BMC helps your greatest assets think productive and be productive.

Bruce is an experienced motivational speaker in Toronto and has inspired audiences across Canada and within the USA and the UK. Bruce works hard to always make sure your training event, conference, retreat, or annual general meeting is a success.