Author: Dr. Lynette Reed

Writer, researcher and advisor on human potential for personal and organizational development, Dr. Lynette Reed has mentored people from in businesses, not-for-profits, schools, allied health agencies, chambers of commerce, government and churches. She has taught courses on team building, leadership, ethics, world religion and world cultures. Her current literary contributions include an executive summary paperback titled, Fixing the Problem: Making Changes in How You Deal with Challenges, as well as book contributions, articles, guest radio appearances and a series of children's books with Abingdon Press. She is also a co-founder and board member of the Institute for Soul-Centered Leadership at Seton Cove. Lynette holds a Doctor of Ministry in Spirituality, Sustainability, and Inter-Religious Dialogue and a Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Contact her at expectations2reality@icloud.com.

How Assumptions Lead to Conflict

Alan Alda gave the commencement speech for his daughter Eve’s graduation. In his speech, he stated, “Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.” We all have assumptions that cloud the way we view situations. When we allow our assumptions to become facts, the ability to see distinctions in how we think and how other people process information can become lost. This type of clouded thinking is almost always the starting point for conflict.   Conflict from assumptions usually starts when thoughts alone become the foundation of a shared belief system. You first see the gloomy beginnings of a struggle when you, a co-worker, or a leader become frustrated or upset without first making sure that there is a collective understanding of the event or situation. Just because you believe something to be true does not mean that you are looking at the full, shared truth. That truth is based on facts and mutual agreements. The narrative in a conflict interaction based on assumptions may start with statements such as “that’s not the way we do it” or “you’re doing it the wrong way.” These types of messages may be followed by the blame game—that is deciding who did the work incorrectly without looking at the logical trail for how the work was assigned or needed to be completed. For instance, a manager may tell two of his employees that third team member is responsible for one part of the project. The two employees move forward with their part thinking that this other team member is completing the rest of the project. The project lead forgets to tell the other team member about his part, and so later that week, the two employees find they do not have a portion of the task done. The third team member does not even know that there was another part of the project he was responsible for. A conflict occurs because the three employees focus on what was not done instead of first clearing up the assumptions and finding a path forward.    Assumptions can also cause emotional conflicts in a workplace. For example, you may be in a meeting and notice someone is frowning in your general direction. Do you check in with the co-worker afterwards? Or do you assume that the person is scowling at you, decide they do not like you, and start to avoid them? If you take the second path, your co-worker may notice that you are not engaging in the same way since the meeting, and potentially the avoidance becomes a two-way street. These assumptions, in turn, impact others that work with you both. Of course, the conflict may have been avoided by asking right away what the true intent behind the frown was. It could be that the employee initially frowned because they were thinking about how to solve a project issue.    What we think dictates how we act. How we act determines how much power assumptions have in creating conflict. Managing assumptions is a difficult task, and we all have assumptions that challenge our ability to hit the mark. A recent Financially Simple blog post discussed the role of assumptions in the business world. The author equated the managing of assumptions to trying to make a bullseye, but tossing a dart from behind. You consider the options before throw it. Sometimes you hit the center point, but there are other times when you cross your fingers unsure of where you’ll land. You never really know how an assumption will find its way into a situation. Perhaps you have to adjust with the next throw.   The added challenge is that managing your assumptions usually takes a back seat to maintaining projects as you get caught up in work that needs to be completed and the complexities of daily tasks. The ratio of time invested between work activities and managing assumptions works well if you find methods that integrate the ways other people think with your perception. Conflict can come in; however, when these assumptions are not addressed on a personal or collective level.   In a recent article, Dan Trommater, a magician and chief empathy officer, offers some helpful ways to reduce assumptions, in turn increasing a direct team communication. These behaviors include asking for more information, responding with a picture of the larger view, looking for positive intentions, and finding shared understanding. Individuals and groups that exhibit these types of behaviors find less conflict arises because beliefs are maintained in concert with the daily work they are performing. Maintenance of assumptions keeps the windows clean, and as a part of your daily work routine,  can shine a little light on a miscommunication before it becomes a conflict.

Two people Talking

Onboarding New Project Managers

Employees are the foundation of your organization. They add value with the skills and knowledge that they bring to the team. They also convey a tiny element of the company culture. A new person hired into a team causes a shift in the overall personality and focus of the group. Even though the standard projects and daily work may remain the same, employees become a working part of the DNA of the team and also of the organization. Sometimes this environmental shift may be indiscernible, but with each hire, you create a slightly different team that will help determine the overall achievements of the group. Onboarding plays a critical role in the success of transitioning new project managers. The onboarding process sets the stage for how well the new project manager integrates into the job and team members. New employees get a first impression of the job they will be doing by how well they are introduced to the new work environment. Glassdoor recently found that organizations with a robust onboarding process improve new hire retention by 82 percent and productivity by over 70 percent. There is also the financial side to new employee hires. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics identified that there were 5.8 million hires in July 2020. There were also about 5.0 million departures during that same time. Although COVID plays a factor in this and other studies, organizations spend an average cost of $6,110 to replace an employee. This cost alone is a valuable reason to make onboarding a priority. Surprisingly, Gallup advisory company found that only 12% of employees think their leaders organize a useful onboarding process. Here are a few things to consider if you want to create a dynamic hiring process that helps to increase productivity, improve culture, and reduce costs. Ensure your approach is consistent with each employee to maintain continuity in the hiring process for all new employees. This process gives them a sense of being a part of the team. Have a Plan That… …Demonstrations to New Employees their Value You are setting the tone for what value you place on your employees. Words are nice to hear, but it’s actions make a new hire feel welcome and valued. Take time to show your appreciation for their choice to join the team. The most important aspect of these activities is authenticity. Think about what would show someone on the team that they are valued for their role in making the team a success. There are many ways to express this type of value to a new hire. You can send an email or put a card on their desk telling them that you are glad they bring their specific skill to the group. You can add to that small item for the desk to show them they are part of the team. Stop by for a few minutes to see how they are doing or ask if they need anything. …Shows Awareness of the Team Culture Each team has an environmental culture. It is made up of each team member’s personality and the place they are working. Some cultures occur naturally, while others are created more intentionally. As with any group of people, activities that both strengthen and fracture the team impact the overall work environment. Make sure new employee are introduced to the culture and understand its importance to the team. If you do not currently have a strong understanding of your culture’s strengths and weakness, there is value in taking time to identify the components of your culture. This aspect of onboarding helps not only new employees, but also existing employees. …Effectively Integrates New Hires into the Work System Make sure the new project manager can start finding their fit in the team on day one. Paperwork and training will need to be completed, but it helps if they know where they are going. Have a system in place that shows a new manager what tasks or projects are first in line for them once they have completed all the paperwork and processes typically included in onboarding. This advanced information helps new employees more effectively and efficiently start the work they will need to begin. A clear path forward enhances a new employee’s sense of purpose and connection to the job. It also shows the employee that they do play an essential role within the company. …Introduces New Folks to Other Team Members One of the challenges with onboarding is to help new employees find their place within the team. It is beneficial to have ways for a new project manager to learn who does what. That way, if they have questions or want to learn more about their project, they will know who to contact. Meeting other team members also makes for a quicker integration into the culture and activities of the workday. One way to help with introductions is to have a book available containing a one-page introduction of team members that outlines their name, job title, and current project lists. You can also add small welcome meetings throughout the first week, so that the new employee can slowly get to know the other members of the team. The goal is to let them start to learn about the team and the work without overwhelming them with too much information at one time. …Provides Ample Information about Protocols and Added Benefits Many companies place most of their emphasis on the paperwork and process part of onboarding. Obviously, it’s important for a new project manager to fill out all the paperwork and learn about benefits and other essential business processes and protocol aspects, but do your best to make it as simple and seamless as possible. It is a necessary part of the onboarding process that can either be accomplished in person or online, depending on your procedure. …Provides Support and Training Opportunities MPUG offers over 500 hours of self-directed on-demand training videos, weekly live interactive web training created and presented by industry experts, and the chance to earn PMI® PDUs across all categories of the PMI® talent triangle. Offer your new hires a MPUG membership. It will give them access to the training they will need. It’s a win-win for them and for your organization. Content is crowd vetted by over 650k users with 98% user satisfaction.  When implemented consistently, these onboarding activities will help introduce new project managers more effectively into the culture and work of your organization or team.

Leadership as an Actionable Event

The definition of leadership is changing. With increasing challenges from a pandemic that has lasted over a year and the remote work that such a pandemic has brought, business leaders have to change the way they create culture and inspire engagement. A recent Deloitte study found that employee engagement and culture issues are becoming more prominent this year. In fact, these issues are the number one challenge worldwide. Eighty-seven percent of respondents in the Deloitte study believe that the issue of culture and engagement is “important,” with fifty percent citing the problem as “very important.” That number is double that of last year’s survey result. The study also found that sixty-six percent of HR respondents identified that they are updating engagement and retention strategies to meet this changing environment’s needs. This view was also supported by a recent Harvard Business Review article that discussed how a LinkedIn survey identified that employees in today’s workforce have higher expectations of their employers that extend beyond the paycheck. The survey found that sixty-five percent of people would prefer lower pay and foregoing a fancy title (26%) than to have to deal with a bad workplace environment. These changes lead us into a new workplace dynamic that requires more actionable behaviors from leaders. In the past, leaders may have talked about the value of culture and engagement, but their actions did not always match their words. It’s easy to say, “Yes, our employees are valuable,” but in the next breath, tell an employee that they are doing a poor job without providing direction for how to resolve the situation. This disconnect is what causes rifts in a leader’s credibility, and with current trends, it’s not an option. Leaders have need more than ever to show employees with their actions that they are committed to changing the paradigm. The number one way for leaders to build trust and authenticity in the workplace is by making sure that actionable events match their words. Leaders who can put actions behind words show their team members that they are committed to building relationships and a more reliable workplace. If the words you say are, “We want a positive and affirming culture,” then you need to put into place actionable events that support such a statement. Making this affirmation as a leader, but then disregarding an employee’s frustration causes a fracture because the words of your message do not match your actions. These fractures cause a break in trust and authenticity. Actionable events that do not match commitments or words draw individuals away from the team or business placing them in a state of uncertainty. This is a step backward into distrust and frustration. This leadership behavior also creates a rift in the relationship so that individuals begin to feel disconnected from the leader who does not place value on these actionable events. Imagine, instead, a team where the leader implements actionable events that support his/her words. A team with this type of leader would develop behaviors that support one another and allow for a focus towards work instead of underlying worry over disconnected actions. This dynamic does not mean that you can’t discuss the struggles an employee has with a work situation. The goal of leadership with actionable behaviors is to keep moving forward. A helpful tool for leaders wanting to support actionable events that engage is to put timelines on activities, so that commitments can be measured as completed or revised, as necessary. Just as the program management of a project works more effectively with this behavior, so does the culture and engagement of your company or organization. Leaders who make actionable events a part of the culture and engagement process find that employees can better focus on their work. There is also a greater sense of continuity when individuals put their actions at the forefront. Leadership then becomes the actionable events that make up the day and bind the team together. How are you leading right now? What actionable events have you implemented successfully for your team?  

Business management

How to Make Professional Development Meaningful This Year

We’ve all felt it—the dynamic tension between the need for continued learning and the wish to get our to-do lists done. In the 23rd Annual Global CEO Survey, eighty percent of CEOs identified that the need for new skills is their most significant business challenge in the current environment. We are moving faster and more globally than at any other time in history. Add to this new paradigm of work, a move into an unknown post-pandemic workplace, and many of us are finding the idea of professional development begins to look a bit different! Paul Falcone’s recent SHRM article discussed the initial decline of professional development in the face of the pandemic. With layoffs and shifts in many workplaces, this becomes a time when there is value in re-energizing development programming. Remote work and shifting business dynamics bring an increasing need to understand better the way we work together. Our understanding of our connections to each other determines the state of the system. We can either enhance the process or distract from it, and professional development can open up a whole host of new and diverse ways to enrich the system of people who work together. Thinking of professional development as a way to help make the work system more effective, brings people together. With any system, the work output is only as efficient as each part works in conjunction with the other parts. When you are developing a course of action, you are looking for ways to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. The purpose of professional development, on this level, is to find the areas where the system is struggling and create an end goal of strengthening those areas. Training includes, not only technical skills, but also soft skills, too. In a recent Harvard Business Review article, professors Mihnea Moldoveanu and Das Narayandas suggested that companies spend heavily on executive education, but often get an insufficient return on their investment. They propose that a personal learning cloud, which includes a fast-growing array of online courses, interactive platforms, and digital tools, can transform leadership development and make it easy and affordable to get “personalized, socialized, contextualized, and trackable” learning experiences. Successful learners are also tapping into network intelligence by looking for one-on-one conversations with those who have faced similar challenges and can share valuable expertise. Tom Peters identified a new way of looking at leadership development in his interview published in the McKinsey Quarterly. Peters discussed the importance executives having unscheduled time. He advised, “One way to deal with the insane pace of change is by living to get smarter and to learn new things.” Set aside regular time to learn. These development techniques help balance out the system, so that there is time to get the work done. The way we use professional development determines the value of the output. Here are three best practices to follow as you look at the role of professional development for you and your team in the upcoming year. Identify the Need As with any system, you can only strengthen the areas you know need repair. Consider how your work system operates. Take a look at the system as a whole, but also at the individual parts. Do you have some people that need more technical training? How are the soft skills of each team member? Are there different needs for different teams or individuals? Is there value in bringing in a coach to help the team work more effectively together? Is there one person who is consistently causing a break in the system, and if so, what are they doing. The more you know about the system’s inner workings, the better you are able to determine what development can strengthen your team. Look at the End Goal If you are attempting to determine the success of professional development, you have to look at the end goal. You may want there to be a box checked every year that says you have completed training. If this is your goal, then success looks like a checked box. This type of professional development is not geared toward strengthening the system. You are putting a marker on the spot that says you have performed the programs, but will not necessarily get the benefit of developed professional work. Alternatively, you could say that the goal is to have a more effective team. With this end goal, you’ll find success when individuals and the work system operate more effectively after training—and it’s measurable. Some questions to consider are: Do new skills need to be incorporated into our work? Are there new programs or techniques that will enhance the ability to do a particular job? What do I want my team or company to look like when this development is completed? What value is placed on communication, technical skills, and soft skills? Are we looking only at professional development, or should personal development be included to energize the entire system? Take Meaningful Action The biggest challenge found with incorporating professional development is taking meaningful action. Meaningful actions allow for more individualized development. Since people are varied in background, skills, and viewpoints, some expansion of their professional skills could benefit from more varied activities. Instead of having a one-size-fits-all training program, find ways to incorporate professional development into daily activities. Meaningful events for development bring a higher level of success to the system. It may be that there is a list of choices for how and what training is available depending on the needs and end goals of your company. All too often, leaders say that professional development is essential, but, when employees are asked about the programs, they do not feel as if there is credible value-added for the plans in place. This period of time is offering us an unprecedented opportunity to change the way we do business, and the doors are wide open on how we define professional development and what we reinforce to create a more resilient workplace. Professional development extends from necessary technical skills to what our offices look like or how we connect. We are developing what it means to be a professional! Let’s be sure our professional development programs evolve with us! Boost your MS Project skills. Check out MPUG’s latest Courses!

Fixing the Problem: Making Changes in how you Deal with Challenges

Event Description: COVID has brought dramatic changes in society. We are having to learn how to adapt to a new way of living and working. This change brings on challenges in not only what we do but how we do it. Our work structure is different, and so is our behavioral framework for interacting with each other. In this webinar, Dr. Lynette Reed outlines her 3-part model for changing behavior for yourself or your organization to instill more trust and authenticity. This model was designed to help individuals and groups work better together. You can create a lifestyle or a work culture that holds these three behaviors as core elements that improve communication and reduce conflict. Learning objectives:1. Understand the difference between binary thinking and critical thinking and its impact on individuals and organizations.2. Learn the three-part process of change that helps secure a stronger sense of unity for individuals and organizations.3. Create a personal mission that helps you begin the process for change for either personal growth or more organizational effectiveness. Presenter Info: Dr. Lynette Reed – Writer, researcher, and advisor on human potential for personal and organizational development, Dr. Lynette Reed is a People and Culture Partner. She has mentored people from businesses, not-for-profits, schools, allied health agencies, chambers of commerce, governments, and churches. She has taught courses on team building, leadership, ethics, world religion, and world cultures. Her current literary contributions include an executive summary paperback titled, Fixing the Problem: Making Changes in How You Deal with Challenges, as well as book contributions, articles, guest radio appearances, and a series of children’s books with Abingdon Press. She is also a co-founder and board member of the Institute for Soul-Centered Leadership at Seton Cove. Lynette holds a Doctor of Ministry in Spirituality, Sustainability, and Inter-Religious Dialogue and a Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Contact her at expectations2reality@icloud.com. Have you watched this webinar recording? Tell MPUG viewers what you think! [WPCR_INSERT]

Three Human Behaviors That Can Help Improve Workplace Effectiveness

COVID has certainly brought dramatic changes to our society this past year. The pandemic has given us all a rare occasion to redefine the way we work. People are working remotely and finding different ways of communicating. As you move into a post-COVID environment, you have an opportunity to look at new ways of doing business, too. This inspection includes apparent discussions about changing your workplace system’s structure regarding remote versus brick and mortar, and/or deciding if you will continue to allow online meetings to play more of a role in your organization. You also have the opportunity to change your behavioral framework for interacting with each colleagues. During this time of isolation, we have learned that interconnectedness is vital to our workday and the way we do business. Sam Balaji, in his recent LinkedIn article, observed that business models are being reimagined and the human element is paramount everywhere. Regardless of whether the work is at a physical location or via a remote meeting, connecting with others is vital to our ability to work well and stay united. The way we connect is also an essential part of the well-being of the organization. Businesses that find ways to connect people see a more considerable degree of success than organizations with fractured human systems. With this greater understanding, human connectivity’s value moves toward the forefront of a cohesive business process. I’ve written about this before, but it’s worth repeating. When looking at human behaviors, some behaviors have been found to help draw us together, while others create fractures in both people and organizations. You see stronger ties in teams where individuals take time to connect. When individuals within a group are not connecting well, you feel distrust and frustration. Companies who see the significance of strengthening these uniting behaviors find more success in the engagement and effectiveness of their team and the financial success of their company. As with any system that you are trying to assimilate, behaviors also have a system that helps maintain efficiency and order. Three behaviors specifically have been found to solidify connectivity within a team or organization. Strengthening these for yourself and for your organization helps to instill more trust and authenticity into any situation. I’ll explain each one in more depth below.   Have Actionable Behaviors That Set Up the Framework for How You and Other Individuals Will Interact These are words that define how you want the team to connect. They are adjectives that describe how to talk with each other and how to handle difficult situations. The measure of success on this element is how well you or your team members use these behaviors to handle difficult situations. If you look at a team that works well together, they probably have inherently identified these words and use them to define communication. These have to be defined since everyone has a slightly different definition of what a word means. For instance, if the word is friendly, you might ask team members to explain what friendly means to them. For some individuals, friendly might mean you smile and help each other out. For other team members, friendly might look like helping people when they ask for help. People may believe that friendly does not always look like someone who is smiling. Understanding these differences and nuances is essential, so that each team member can be themselves in how they bring friendly into the workplace. There is not always a one size fits all for this word. If you have worked on a team with a similar set of behaviors that define interactions, it is not hard to see how the impact this can have on a team. Think of the team you have been with where there is one person who fractures a group with their behaviors. Start to integrate this behavioral element by discussing what work needs to be done and what words define the way people interact. Doing it ahead of a conflict will come in handy when there is a challenge in the workday. Instead of getting mad or frustrated, you can focus on using this behavior to keep connected. For some people, this will be intuitive. For others, practice may be necessary.   Make Your Words and Actions Match Throughout the Day Aligning words with actions helps to build trust and authenticity. People who place value on making their actions match their words bring cohesion to a team. An individual or even a team who says that they choose to interact with each other in a friendly or helpful manner can either create cohesion or fractures by how they choose to respond. Problems will always arise in the workday. The intersection for connectivity depends on how each individual chooses to respond. If an individual on the team says they are helpful, but do not engage to help with any part of the workday, they lose trust among the group because they are not aligned with the behavioral system. That does not mean that they have to be helping people continually. It means that if a person does not try and participate in the spirit of the actions, they will start to see tiny fractures in how people work. That is why it is beneficial to find people for a team who can do the work and also have a like-minded approach for how to treat others. These interactions are also helpful in the case of diversity and inclusion because the measure of success is how well you integrate yourself into the words that secure the team. These defining words are not designed to create a Pollyanna picture of work, but rather to help people focus on how to move forward when a challenge is presented to the team. You can keep your wits about you when work comes crashing down if you at least know how to proceed concerning your behavior.   Don’t Judge Others or Yourself as Good or Bad/Wrong or Right. Connectivity is related to a sense of self. When people feel they are doing a bad job, they tend not to integrate into a system and may lose a sense of value to the team. If an individual feels bad or wrong when they make a mistake, then they will feel devalued in the situation. In this type of system, some individuals are good, and some are bad. Other individuals are right, and some are wrong. This up and down motion of value creates instability within the team. Judging the value of individuals pulls people backward—looking for people to blame. Groups that recognize the inherent value of all team members find a greater sense of stability. They are able to move forward, trying to find a solution and fix problem. These three behaviors work together as a system of connectivity for you or your team. When you integrate these behaviors into your workday, you find a greater sense of cohesion in how you do business. As with any system, these parts are complex and might require some practice to achieve; however, they can be handy tools to have in your interpersonal toolbox to help bring your team together in connectivity. Want to learn more or continue this conversation? Watch my on-demand webinar, Fixing the Problem: Making Changes in how you Deal with Challenges. I discussing these three behaviors for connectivity and more.  

Remote Doesn’t Have to Feel So Remote: Seven Questions to Consider

Like any change, remote work has been a challenge for many to integrate. This change to working remotely that many experienced this year as a result of Covid-19 has been even more difficult because the shift in workday dynamics was both dramatic and full of turmoil related to employees’ health and well-being. At this point in 2020, we are all coming to terms with working from home and the possibility interacting with colleagues this way extending indefinitely. In fact, working remotely is becoming the new normal, and it’s changing the how we do business in ways never before ever seen in society. Even before the Industrial Revolution, people went to work in offices and congregated in physical workplaces to exchanges services and ideas. For the first time in history, we have the option to stay connected with technology when forced into a more isolated lifestyle. We are also all, hopefully, learning that remote work does not have to feel so remote. It does shift the dynamics of engagement and culture; however, and can result in feelings of disconnection or disorganization, but some intentional discussions can help your team or organization convert more effectively into this new way of working. If you are looking to make remote work a long-term change, here are seven questions to consider. These will help as you look toward the future and think about how to keep your employees engaged and maintain strong ties.   1. How many people need to attend a virtual meeting? If you are looking to do a presentation or want to share information, then a large Zoom event is appropriate, but smaller gatherings help to build a network for innovation and/or teamwork. It is easy to lose control of larger groups of people in virtual conferences where folks are more likely to talk over each other. Smaller groups settings where everyone has a segment of time to talk help keep everyone feeling connected and a part of the team. It is helpful to have planned questions or prompts that everyone can respond to within your meetings. That way, you allow everyone to connect with the group as a whole. Each session of any size benefits from having a designated team member taking notes and sending a summary of the meeting highlights to all attendees. This extra communication gives everyone a secondary point of contact to help you stay on track and move forward.   2. How often do you need a virtual meeting? Some groups may need more meetings to stay connected, and, as a leader, you have to have more discussions with team members who rely on this type of interaction. Others may be self-starters. Try different levels of contact to see what works the best for your employees. When you do meet, make sure to start out on a positive note whether it’s mentioning something happening within the business or specific to the group of employees meeting. This information redirects colleagues to the whole picture and allows everyone to feel a little more connected to the organization.   3. What do you want the background to say about you or your company? As remote work plays a continued role in business, there may be increased interest in having memorable backdrops for employees who work from home. A standard set may help everyone feel more interconnected in meetings. If you chose to implement this strategy, everyone can have the same feel to their environment. For groups where employees are more autonomous, personal backgrounds may be preferable. There is also the option of a hybrid where, if in meetings with an outside client, a business background is consistently utilized. Many virtual rooms have available backdrops. Physical backdrops are also available if looking to put your particular brand into the virtual exchange atmosphere.   4. Would employees benefit from a fun event? Remote work does not mean that you cannot still have events with each other. The key is to find interesting activities that will hold the attention of those with whom you work and participate. It could be a virtual wine tasting or a workshop on learning a new skill. There is the option of sending everyone essential items for the event ahead of time, too. Employees may look forward to receiving a package in the mail. The key is to allow time for everyone within the meeting to talk, so that people do not talk over each other. If you have a wine event, for instance, let each person take a turn to tell the group about their favorite. If you have a large team, you may want to break down some events into smaller meeting times so that everyone takes has a turn to talk.   5. Do you have defined goals for each team member? Keeping team members focused and on track is even more critical when they are working remotely. Ensure that each employee has a specific set of work goals that they are responsible for completing. Combining particular objectives with a cohesive time frame allows you to build structure into the work. If two or more people are working on a project and do not have clearly defined roles, you could run into confusion and disorganization. Alternatively, structure amid the constraints of a remote workplace strengthens accountability for completing tasks and keeps projects on track.   6. Do you have a consistent and robust chain of command? If an employee must answer for their work to two separate points of contact, then the decision-making process becomes messy and ill-defined. Remote work, especially, requires clean lines of communication to keep individuals on point. For instance, if a product manager must answer to multiple C-Suite executives, he or she is likely to receive conflicting task requests. This could slow down work as the manager attempts to satisfy both executives, and this mixed message gives the appearance of disorganization on the part of the product manager. The reality is that without communication and concurrency of goals on the executives’ part, the manager is spinning his or her wheels. Transparent chains of command are especially crucial with remote work because the different levels of the process become more easily scattered. In a physical office, you can talk to another team member to sort things out, but in a remote scenario, the employee is left in isolation to deal with disparate communications frustrations.    7. Would a mentor help your team? A mentor or consultant may bring a fresh perspective to team dynamics, how people work together, and how individual team members’ behaviors can be strengthened. As people work remotely, mentors become part of the fabric of a business or organization. They are valuable advocates whose role is to help invidual talk through challenges and the complexities of working in greater physical isolation.   There is still quite a bit unknown about what work might look like after we are through the Covid-19 pandemic. For many companies, remote work will continue to be a new way of doing business. You and your employees can stay connected and effective in the remote workplace as we create new norms that shape our post-Covid workplace. I’d love to hear your thoughts below.  

Finding a Perfect Match: A Look at Both Sides of the Interviewing Process

  Project Management Institute (PMI)® Professional Development Units (PDUs): This Webinar is eligible for 0.75 PMI® PDUs in the Technical category of the Talent Triangle.   Event Description: Job interviews for both the employer and the hiring candidate can be a stressful and time-consuming activity. A recent CareerBuilder survey reported that three out of four employers stated that they had hired the wrong person for a position. This wrong hire comes with a cost. On average, companies spend $14,900.00 annually for every mismatched hire. This webinar will discuss the essential two areas of proficiency to consider when looking at career changes and hiring protocol. The first part of the discussion talks about technical skills assessment. This discussion includes current research and possible ways to enhance the hiring process. The second area, which will be the emphasis of the webinar, is on soft skills. Soft skills are especially relevant to our changing times. These are the behavioral aspects of the job. Soft skills include communication, critical thinking skills, and personality fit. If time permits, participants will be encouraged to share in the discussion.   Presenter Info: Dr. Lynette Reed – Writer, researcher and advisor on human potential for personal and organizational development, Dr. Lynette Reed has mentored people from in businesses, not-for-profits, schools, allied health agencies, chambers of commerce, government and churches. She has taught courses on team building, leadership, ethics, world religion and world cultures. Her current literary contributions include an executive summary paperback titled, Fixing the Problem: Making Changes in How You Deal with Challenges, as well as book contributions, articles, guest radio appearances and a series of children’s books with Abingdon Press. She is also a co-founder and board member of the Institute for Soul-Centered Leadership at Seton Cove. Lynette holds a Doctor of Ministry in Spirituality, Sustainability, and Inter-Religious Dialogue and a Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Contact her at expectations2reality@icloud.com   Have you watched this webinar recording? Tell MPUG viewers what you think! [WPCR_INSERT]