Converting negatives to positives

Oh, that dreaded interview question: “Tell me about your weaknesses!” How can we put a positive spin on our most negative traits? Many traits possess a duality-either extreme can be a liability. Or viewed with a different perspective, there can be positive qualities about negative ones.

Are you a perfectionist or detail oriented? Stubborn or persistent? Pushy or assertive? Slow or precise? Weird or creative? Quiet or a good listener? Can you make a shift in perception?

The success of a business often relies on the brand or image that is associated with it. Peter Robinson used his background in hospitality to guide the West Palm Beach Public Library (www.wpbpl.com) in an exciting transformation. The process helped them clarify the decor, service style and menu of services they wanted to provide, taking them from Plain Jane to WOW! GASP is a simple process for defining a brand. Each person writes down ten adjectives that describe the ideal:
1. Graphics (signage, promotional materials, website)
2. Ambience (mood conveyed by the physical library)
3. Style (service style) and
4. Presentation (programs and publicity)
These ideas are then compiled and discussed, until a final list is then implemented.

Labels can be a powerful tool in organization. Clear labels enable us to find what we are looking for. Choose the descriptive words that you want to be associated with you. Then live your life by those words. A mission statement guides decision-making, and these adjectives will also.

Learning Effectiveness

There are opportunities for learning all around us, but recently I’ve attended many wonderful programs at library conferences. They’ve really got me thinking, but they say the best way to learn something is by teaching it, and there is certainly truth in that too.

One of the programs was “How to Be Effective in Your Organization” by Nancy Bolt. A version of the program is available on her website at http://www.nancyboltassociates.com/workshops/organizational_effectiveness.htm

The presenter included a few quick exercises. One was to think of a project we had been nervous about that turned out successfully, and what we learned from that. Another was to think about our skills five years ago, and what we have learned since then. Re-evaluate an idea you have considered in the past and didn’t try. Why didn’t you and would it work now?

She asked questions to involve the audience, like “why don’t people take risks?” She asked the group to offer examples of stories. She talked about behavior that is not effective, like avoiding issues, whining and complaining.

To be effective in your organization, know what you think and say what you mean. Be willing to ask for what you want while describing the benefits to others. Ask questions to increase your understanding and encourage discussion. Meet the boss regularly with a bulleted list of ideas, questions and concerns, problems and possible solutions.

Observe, check what you think you see, and provide positive feedback. Get the most out of meetings you attend by contributing and showing interest. If you volunteer to take notes you can include the points you want to make. If you don’t want anything to get done, neglect to ask “who will do what by when?” Do what you are best at, and be the change you want to see.

I’ve learned that an effective teacher asks the questions that will lead to a synergy of sharing and discussion. More learning takes place when we come up with answers ourselves than it does if someone simply hands us information. And it’s more fun too!

Here are some ideas from the time management program at the library on Monday: Use different colored markers to highlight priorities on calendars. Set up folders and filters to sort email. Cook ahead for the week. Put on upbeat music. Use checklists for repeating tasks. Keep paper and pen handy to take notes. Learn to relax and have fun.

Many of us struggle with setting priorities to handle too many to-dos. Life now offers an overflowing smorgasbord of choices from television channels to varieties of pop that can be overwhelming at times.

Talents

Booknotes on “First, Break all the Rules” by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman.

The Gallup Organization conducted two in-depth studies. First they asked: what do the most talented employees need from the workplace? They developed 12 questions that measure the strength of a workplace. And they found the answer was great managers. This answer led them to ask “how do the world’s greatest managers find, focus, and keep talented employees?” The managers they interviewed came from a wide range of situations and had varying styles. But Gallup identified what they have in common, and discovered that they first break the rules of conventional wisdom.

Great managers understand the difference between skills and knowledge, which can be learned, and the importance of talents, which cannot. Talents are recurring patterns of thought, feeling, or behavior that can be productively applied. We each have a unique filter, a characteristic way of responding to the world. These mental pathways are formed as we develop to our mid-teens, and thereafter there are limits to what can be changed.
Some pathways that are not developed can be improved, but only to a certain extent.

The myth is that with enough determination we can overcome all liabilities and transform weaknesses into strengths. The reality is that attempts to change nontalents into talents can be a frustrating waste of time and effort that would be better spent in discovering and using the talents we do have and developing skills and knowledge. When we understand that some things can be learned and changed more effectively than others, we are freed to focus on those things. Talents fall into three basic categories: striving, thinking, and relating. An appendix in the book goes into more detail within these categories.

The vital talents for a great manager are these: they must be excellent at selecting for talent, setting expectations, motivating for performance, and developing the person. Great managers are catalysts that speed up the reaction between talents and the needs of the customer or company.

Great managers identify the talents that are essential for each job by looking at what the best employees do. They must define the right performance outcomes or results. This can be complicated as some outcomes are quite difficult to define and measure. To find the right outcomes, discover what is right for the customer-what is really important to them? Learn what is right for the company-what is the best strategy to meet the mission? And what is right for the individual-what are their talents and what will motivate them most effectively?

Great managers observe the actions and interactions of the employee to learn what makes them tick, they ask employees what they need and provide it. If non-performance happens, they check first for mechanical causes and personal causes. Perhaps better tools or information are needed, or there may have been a death in the family. Next they check to see if further training will provide missing skills or knowledge, or if a different kind of motivation or “trigger” is needed.

If all these efforts fail, the person has probably been miscast in a role that doesn’t fit their talents. Managers can devise a support system, find a complementary partner, or find an alternative role. Managers must decide what level of performance is unacceptable, and how long is too long at that level? At what point have they done enough to help? When an employee is struggling, the most caring thing to do is to help them find a role that is a better fit.

Great managers have a regular performance management routine. A regular review of actions taken, discoveries made, and partnerships built will help to identify strengths and weaknesses. Self-discovery is the driving, guiding energy force for a healthy career. The point of self-discovery is not to fix your nontalents, but to capitalize on who you are.

The book “Now, Discover Your Strengths” by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O Clifton presents results of a study by the Gallup Organization. You can identify talents within 34 themes.

Kent Blumberg has a great post about this book at his site.