Meetings are Not Just Meetings

Careers have stalled, derailed or even been cut short because of what happened or did not happen in meetings.  While meetings are primarily for discussing and making decisions, they are also useful for getting noticed and advancing one’s career.

As the old Castrol TV commercial drilled into our consumer brains, “Oils ain’t oils,” so meetings are not just meetings.  From the point of view of the individual manager or professional, the management meeting is a semi-public forum in which you are able to stand out and impress the people who are powerful and/or highly influential in your organisation.  You will never see it because it will happen at another time and place when one nod or shake of the head will result in career heaven or career hell for you. 

Senior meetings are not the places to think out loud about some vague idea you had when driving in to work.   Save that brilliant thought until you have worked it out with your team and put together a compelling business case.  Shooting the breeze with an idea which is still in the early formative stage is too risky. 

Before you go to a meeting, switch yourself over to “meeting mode” in which you are consciously managing the perceptions of the members of your organisation’s tribe:  the senior executives, your manager, other senior managers and your peers.

Make the most of meetings by preparing and promoting.

On the surface you are there to discuss the current project, report on its progress, make decisions and for a thousand other reasons.  Under the surface you have another agenda which is to build your executive presence ever stronger.  You go to each meeting thinking about how you will present and interact in ways that are consistent with and reinforce your executive presence.

Here are just five strategies (of many) to consider:

1.         Invite your Manager and His/Her Manager to Your Next Team Meeting

Most people avoid asking the senior executives to attend one of their own meetings like they avoid jumping into crocodile-infested waters.  It is rare for a senior executive to be invited into what most managers regard protectively as “my territory.” 

If you have a great meeting structure, lots of positive contributions and you stick to the timelines and run the meeting efficiently, you can distinguish your leadership and openness by taking up this strategy.

2.         Speak Confidently and Concisely

In senior executive meetings, be direct to the point and make your contributions concisely.  Avoid long anecdotes or making interesting (to you) detours when you speak.  Instead speak in bullet points, backing up what you say with concrete facts, evidence and data.

3.         Keep your Contributions Overwhelmingly Positive

When others think about you, they should have strong impressions of a positive contributor.  Keep your comments at least 90 per cent positive and reserve your negative gun-powder for when it really counts, for example, when you know with absolute certainty a particular decision will send the team, Division and company hurtling off a cliff and plunging to certain death on the rocks below. 

4.         Promote Meeting Preparation to the Top of Your To-Do List

Absolutely when it matters, you must prepare thoroughly before you go to the management meeting.  Even if you are not presenting at the meeting, study the agenda and have one or two points ready to contribute to the discussion.

Senior executives notice when someone is well prepared; equally they notice when someone always comes to meetings unprepared.

Preparing before the meeting is especially important for people who need time and a quieter environment in which to formulate their ideas and responses.  We are referring to the introverts in the team; every team needs these more serious, analytical and cautious members.  Introverts tend not to like making snap decisions and speaking off the cuff.  If the foregoing description sounds like you, it is essential to allow more time to prepare so you are ready to speak on an issue, ask questions and play an active part of the decision-making.

5          If the Meeting Structure and Organisation is a Shambles, Fix It

If management meetings produce little or no outcomes or run over the allocated time, don’t just walk away shaking your head in frustration.  Do something about it! 

Go to your Manager or the Chairperson with a plan for change, for example volunteer to write the Agenda and distribute it.  Place time limits on the individual Agenda items to ensure the meeting finishes on time.

 

In People Results’ Executive Presence Half-Day workshop, the topic of meetings is covered, along with many other strategies for managers and professionals to build and increase their poise and presence and be viewed as future senior leaders of their firm, company or department.

Our next public Executive Presence workshop is in Brisbane on Wednesday, 29^th August, 2012 from 9am to 1pm.  If you would like more information and/or to arrange registration, please click here.

 

All the best for great meetings,

Lynne Lloyd 

Managing Director 

People Results 

Swimming Hard and Fast in the Leadership Stream? What does it take to Succeed?

At the London Olympics, Michael Phelps has just made history, becoming the most decorated Olympian of all time with 19 medals in his trophy cabinet.  When asked what it took to achieve his success and go so much further than others, Phelps is reported as saying:

"It's a combination of everything.  You have to have a great work ethic. Have a strong mind, be motivated. There are so many things that come into it.”

 

A key word from Michael Phelps’ quotation is “combination.”  Michael Phelps is the epitome of the synergy of success.  Being successful in any field is not about having one or two strengths or skills and working long hours.  It is the combination of many factors that make up the secret sauce that champions possess.

The combination for success includes recognising opportunities that appear from nowhere when you are not even looking for them.  Those headed for success don’t hesitate; they positively jump on the opportunity and go all out.  The more cautious, insecure person may think, “No, not yet.  I’m not ready for this senior role.  I need to learn more.”  Others fall into the trap of thinking “There are lots of other opportunities out there waiting for me in my future.”  The reality is that “Maybe yes there are; equally maybe no; maybe this is my one great opportunity.”  

Embrace any advantages that you are offered or influential mentors who will promote you and smooth your path to leadership.  Sometimes it is just one person, one encounter, or one “lucky break” that provides the secret ingredient to your success sauce.  

It is true that some factors that lead to career success are hidden and not openly acknowledged as being important.  They might be small and seemingly inconsequential.  For example, it could be how well you get along with your boss, how well you understand what results he/she has to produce, what pressures he or she is under and how you look out for and find ways you can contribute and add to his/her results.  When your boss is promoted, does he or she know that you are a key part of their success?  Will he/she reciprocate when the time is right and ripe, and endorse you for a role you want?  The answer is yes, absolutely!  You have demonstrated your support and loyalty and they like, respect and trust you. 

The hidden success agenda of leadership is the focus of People Results’ Executive Presence workshop which has been attended by hundreds of managers and professionals from a wide range of organisations.  Our next workshop date is on Wednesday 29^th August 2012 from 9am to 1pm in Brisbane.  If you would like more information and/or to register, please click here.

To all the Olympians competing at London 2012 (and to you too) , all the very best for your Success!

Lynne Lloyd

Managing Director 

People Results 

Telephone 1300 167 981

Email:  enquiries@peopleresults.com.au 

Web:  www.peopleresults.com.au

8 Top Ways for Women to Negotiate Successfully

1.    Instead of Negotiate, Think  “I’ll Ask”

The word negotiation has some negative connotations that stop us from doing it.  Negotiation sounds like a very formal, serious and competitive event.  It can seem scary!  Take the negative out of it by substituting the phrase “OK, I’ll ask” instead of “I’ll negotiate.” 

2.    Without Fail, Always Negotiate. 

Even if you are delighted by what appears to be a generous offer, do not immediately jump to “Yes, I’ll take it.”   Research studies show that men negotiate far more often than women; in fact up to nine times more.  Raise the number of times you negotiate daily and weekly.  The more you ask, the more you will receive for yourself, your team and your organisation.  Always negotiating can become one of your most effective management tools.

Raise the number of times you negotiate daily and weekly.

3.    Don’t Wait for Someone Else to Offer 

Do not wait until someone else notices what you need at work.  This is the squeaky-wheel tactic and it works.  Start by asking your manager for small things and work up from there.  Firstly ask yourself, “What do I need to do my job better?  What resources does my team need to perform better?  What does my division need to reach our targets?” Then go ask for it.

4.    Use Your Own Communication Style

If a woman tries a tougher, more combative approach when negotiating, most likely she will meet greater resistance and even opposition.  This tactic will backfire.  As women negotiators, we can be tough on the issues and targets but not tough in how we communicate.  There is an old saying that we attract more flies with honey.  So the kinder, softer, more collaborative communication style that is natural for most women will work fine when negotiating.  

5.    Slow Down and Get the Best Possible Deal

When you are told the details of any arrangement, for example if you have been promoted and your new remuneration package is under discussion, be upfront and say that you need some time to consider it.  Arrange another meeting and go away to think, consult others, research and prepare your counter offer.  When you rush through a negotiation, you will lose value for yourself.


6.    Broaden your Perspective from “It’s just me!”

Even the most experienced commercial negotiators find negotiating for themselves relatively difficult.  As women, we can get mired in self-doubts like “How much am I entitled to?” “Shouldn’t I be grateful to have this job?” and “Will I be seen as too demanding and aggressive?”   Broaden your perspective from “It’s just me!” and negotiate from a position of strength and leadership. Try imagining what you would say and do if you were negotiating for a third party with the same qualifications, experience and achievements as yourself.  Then do it for you.

7.    Whenever your Role or Responsibilities Change, it is Time to Negotiate

A significant change in role and expansion of responsibilities is the time to negotiate with your employer.  Whether intentional or not, the employer may neglect to mention any change of title, remuneration or entitlements.  So remember the trigger of change and ask for a new package.  You will, of course, be very clear about what you want (homework, research!) and will prepare a strong case.

8.    When you are asked to make a Concession, Always Get Something in Return
You are asked to give up something small and insignificant and you readily agree.  Then you are asked for another small concession, and again you agree.  In negotiation terms, this tactic is called “nibbling” and all these small concessions can add up to a lot for the other party who is gaining more and more from you without having to give anything in exchange. 

So if you are asked to make even the smallest concession, ask for something of value to you in return.  If you are taken by surprise and not sure of what you want in return, ask if the request can be “parked” off to the side temporarily as you consider it.


You can become a very successful negotiator for yourself, your team and your organisation.  People Results can help.  We have two negotiation workshop dates coming up in July and August:  one on the 25th July in Brisbane. Hurry if you would like to attend this workshop as only 2 places remain.  Please register here.  Our other workshop date is 8th August in Toowoomba.  Please register here.


Please note that People Results also delivers the Successful Negotiation workshop for your organisation exclusively.  Please let us know if an in-house workshop is a preferred option.

Any questions?  Please get in touch by phone or email for answers and assistance with registering for the workshops. We look forward to speaking with you soon.


To your Success,

Lynne Lloyd
Managing Director
People Results
Executive Coaching and Talent Development
T  1300 167 981
F  07 3910 1003
E  enquiries@peopleresults.com.au 
W www.peopleresults.com.au

Don’t Just Accept It, Negotiate It!

My position description does not list negotiation skills as a core capability.  Do I really need to be a good negotiator to do my job well? 

Negotiation skills are often categorised with conflict resolution skills or as part of the sales process.  While these are two key applications of negotiation, they are not the complete picture.  In effect, negotiation abilities are multi-faceted and useful in many different work and personal situations.

Even when we do not have the authority to make the decision, we can influence the decision-makers and the choices they make through negotiating.  When we negotiate fairly and effectively, we are empowered.  We are active and influential participants rather than passive recipients.  Across diverse situations, negotiation improves the likelihood of securing workable solutions that hold benefits for us and others.  Negotiation is versatile, accessible and empowering for individuals, groups and organisations. 

When negotiating, ask questions to explore the positions and interests of the parties. 

Prior to initiating a negotiation, there are two important precursors.  The first is to recognise that negotiation begins with developing a particular mindset, one of being open to possibilities and looking with fresh eyes.  Successful negotiation is not just a matter of taking a common-sense approach and sitting down with others to have a discussion.  Negotiation has its own language, models, processes and tactics which must be learnt before being put into practice. 

The second precursor is to recognise many everyday situations as opportunities to negotiate.  Negotiation is more than international deals, commercial contracts or buying a new car.  It is also the everyday agreements we can reach in cooperation with others.  Through negotiation we can achieve equitable and more sustainable solutions.

Improving our knowledge, awareness and abilities to negotiate allows us to achieve more than ever have before in our interactions with senior managers, peers and external stakeholders.  So don’t just accept it, negotiate it!

If you would like to gain successful negotiation strategies and skills, People Results is offering two workshop dates in July and August 2012.  The first workshop is being held on Wednesday 25^th July in Brisbane - only two places remain in this course so please be quick.  You can register here.  Our other workshop is being held in Toowoomba on Wednesday 8^th August; please register here.

Lynne Lloyd

Managing Director

People Results

Executive Coaching and Talent Development

Telephone:  1300 167 981 

Mobile:  0421 998749 

Email:  enquiries@peopleresults.com.au 

Web:  www.peopleresults.com.au 

What Messages Are You Reinforcing?

What we repeatedly do is what we become known for.  Others form perceptions about us by acutely observing our behaviours.  We are the medium and we are the message. (A tip of the hat to Marshall McLuhan!)

What if someone is always playing the role of “Class Clown” in management meetings?  Even though Andrew meets all his targets and knows his stuff, he is always joking and acting in a flippant, casual manner in meetings.  His managers and peers perceive him as “not serious about the business and doesn’t care about getting into more senior roles.” 

Send in the Clowns!  Don't let it be you.

 What if someone is compliant and meekly accepting when he/she is loaded with more and more work?  When Emma is approached by her manager and colleagues with requests to take on another project or help them research and write the report for the board meeting, she is always obliging and always says “Yes.”  Yet underneath her cheerful exterior, Emma is seething with indignation and frustration that she is always the one who is loaded down with more and more work.   Emma has been reinforcing the message that she is the “Willing Workhorse” who is dependable, gets things done, and likes to help.  

What about someone who is the quieter, more reflective person on the team?  As the National Procurement Manager, Janice is on the executive management team at her company, a leader in the logistics industry.  She attends all the meetings without fail, yet Janice’s voice  is only heard when she is asked a direct question.  Otherwise Janice is content to listen carefully to the vigorous discussions that are the basis for their high-level decision-making.  Janice is certain that the others know her value and her contributions to the business.  She likes to gather all the data, analyse it and formulate her responses and recommendations after the meeting is over and she has time to think through all the options. 

In the minds of the other executive team members, Janice is perceived as a non-player who might as well not even be there.  No, they cannot see what she does behind the scenes; they can only see and hear that she is not “present” when it counts at their meetings.  The Managing Director has noted Janice’s lack of input and interprets it as “reticent to put her views forward, a bit timid, lacking in confidence ….” 

In each of the three examples above, the managers are repeating the same behaviours and reinforcing the same messages over and over again.  Unless they change these behaviours, they will continue to be perceived as:

The Juvenile Joker

The Willing Workhorse

The Quiet Achiever

The solution is to become far more personally self-aware and consciously manage how others perceive you in the key forums of organisational life.   Stop being your “natural self” and letting things take their natural course.  Stop the behaviours that are hurting your image, such as being the Juvenile Joker around the office and in meetings.  When asked yet again to take on more work and your in-tray is overflowing with high-priority projects, deliberately pull back from saying “Yes” like you always have and say “I am not available.”  Be ready to stall, defer and negotiate. 

If you are “The Quiet Achiever,” and need time to prepare before speaking, get into the habit of thinking about and jotting down some comments and questions on key agenda points before you go into the meeting so you feel confident and ready to speak without being prompted.  Be visible and audible in meetings and you will rapidly enhance your executive presence.  If you have found that others are claiming credit for your ideas and solutions, intervene with the appropriate persons and in the appropriate forums with your own clear communication that it was you who deserves the credit.  Do not overlook it when someone claims your ideas.  Immediately step in and correct them.  If they have got away with plagiarising your ideas in the past, they will assume that you won’t challenge them on it.  But you do challenge them and set them back in their box.  They won’t try it again.

In summary, what we consistently do and say is reinforcing the same messages over and over.  If these messages are not how you want to be perceived by significant others (including those who will make decisions on your future), it is time is stop these behaviours and put other ones in their place.  Do it slowly and gradually at first until you know that you can confidently build the messages and meanings that will enhance your executive presence.

To your Success,

Lynne Lloyd

Managing Director

People Results

p.s.  If you would like to attend a professional development program that will get you started on building a strong and successful executive presence, our next ExecutivePresence Half-Day public workshop is being held on Wednesday, 29^th August 2012 in Brisbane.  For more information, contact People Results direct on 1300 167 981 or enquiries@peopleresults.com.au. 

Let Us Not Diminish the Hero

With the footie season in full swing and the London Olympics just around the corner, we are hearing and seeing a great deal about heroes in the mass media.  The epithet of “heroic” is often used rather too loosely to describe people whose actions are not necessarily heroic in the true sense.  A hero is brave, courageous and has little regard for personal protection or safety in his or her actions.  Do our star footballers qualify for heroic status?  Perhaps some do like the recently-retired Darren Lockyer who rarely transgressed in his off-field behaviour.  Darren has been a superb role model of a true professional for others to admire and emulate on and off “the paddock.”

Sally Pearson, superb Australian athlete and strong chance for Gold at the London Olympics

Is there a hero within each of us?  Under the right set of circumstances, we can all be heroes.   One circumstance that every mother knows well is the instinct to be fiercely protective of one's children. Just anyone try to hurt our child by word or deed and we will spring to the attack.  

In organisational life, we are often called on to be “heroes” as we lead and teach others, becoming role models for how to think, say and act courageously and ethically.  However, what we often neglect to do well is to let others know what we have achieved and how we achieved our results. Sometimes we may even be dismissive and self-deprecating about our successes, thinking that anyone else could have done as well.  Not necessarily so, given that each individual is a unique combination of talents, experience and temperament.  

One of the practical techniques in the People Results’ Executive Presence workshop is how to have a selection of personal success stories at your command and to speak those stories readily when you unexpectedly bump into the Managing Director in the car park, or find yourself face to face with the Executive Chairman in the middle of a CBD coffee shop.  These are precious moments of truth when you can speak with power and conviction about your recent achievements, always giving full credit to the involvement and contributions of your colleagues and team members.

In your success story you will cast yourself in the role of “hero” in how you led and guided your team to reach the successful outcomes.  Because of the skill and finesse in which you conduct this conversation, you will not be perceived as boastful or big-headed.  Quite the opposite, in fact, you will be regarded as being articulate and self-assured.  In the workshop, we practise this technique using a very simple and effective conversational model.  

To enhance your executive presence and stand out as a leader within your organisation and in other key forums, we invite you to attend the Executive Presence for Women Half-Day workshop on Wednesday, 20th June in Brisbane.  

People Results also offers the Executive Presence workshop in-house for your staff members.  Please let us know if you would like to discuss this option.

To Your Success,

Lynne Lloyd

Managing Director

People Results

Executive Coaching and Talent Development

Telephone:  1300 167 981

Mobile:  0421 998749

Email:  enquiries@peopleresults.com.au

Web:  www.peopleresults.com.au

The Big Speech: Once More with Feeling Please!

The ACTU President, Ged Kearney, opened their National Congress this week with a speech that was well crafted and about the right length.  It should have gone well but the manner of her delivery unfortunately meant that her speech failed a fundamental test.  From the parts of the speech that were shown on Sky News, she expressed some core beliefs and the values and vision of the Australian Union movement.  Her delivery should have matched the power and passion of her words. It didn’t!

Why?  Because Ged’s head was continually bobbing up and down as she read the speech word for word from the written version on the lectern in front of her.   Just when a point needed to be made with strong conviction, Ged’s head would go down again to read from her written speech.  

  

If only Ged had kept looking up as she spoke!

The audience members saw that Ged’s non-verbal behaviours did not match the words she was speaking.  When it comes to a choice between believing what someone says and what someone does, we always pay more attention and give more credence to what we see people doing.  It was Ged’s non-verbal actions that would have distracted the audience from the actual content of her words.  If she couldn’t speak with her head up, looking at the audience and speak the words clearly and confidently, they could not play their part and listen with their heads and hearts open.

On such a big occasion as opening a National Congress, we can certainly sympathise with Ged.  She wants to remember exactly what is in the speech; she is anxious that she will forget what she has to say.  The solutions are to rehearse the speech a few times over and to memorise some of the really key points.  A quick glance to the written speech every so often to check the next major point should be enough.  Then you can keep looking ahead and around at the audience members who are “the customers” of your message.

In the Confident Presentation Skills workshop, we cover some practical techniques that are great enablers to presenting calmly, clearly and confidently.  This workshop is available as an in-house program exclusively for your staff members or we regularly hold public workshops throughout the year.

Our next Confident Presentation Skillsworkshop is being held in Toowoomba on Tuesday May 29th 2012.  We are registering a maximum number of 10 participants and limited places are still available.

Happy Presenting, 

Lynne Lloyd 

People Results 

www.peopleresults.com.au