The Queen of Candor

It's All About the Results

Work hard and do great work.  But it is not how hard you work or the hours you

put in that will determine your reputation or your future, it is by what you

produce.

It’s not unusual for the hardest working people to get laid off.  They worked crazy hours.  They are the first ones in in the morning, every morning, for years.  And they are the last ones to go home in the evening, every evening, for years.  They work their butts off, missing their kids’ sporting events and any semblance of a personal life. Work was their lives. And yet, they aren’t any good.  Regardless of how many hours they put in, they produce mediocre results, and everybody knows it. 

And because giving direct feedback, as we’ve already established and you already know through a lifetime of personal experience, makes people uncomfortable, they don’t get any, for years and years.  They linger in their same jobs, toiling away, being continuously ineffective, but no one tells them, until eventually their roles are eliminated.  That’s the day they get feedback, loud and very clear feedback.  But that’s not the point.

The point is that how hard you work makes no difference. Now don’t take this the wrong way. I am not suggesting you become a slacker loser who comes in at ten, takes a two hour lunch, surfs the internet while sipping a double, skim, decaf, vanilla latte during the afternoon and knocks off early.  You already know that everything you do makes an impression and that you only want to put in front of people what you want them to see, so you can manage their perceptions. 

You should work hard.  Working hard will help you get the right reputation, get noticed and possibly get ahead, but only if the work you produce, while working hard, is good.   If the work you’re producing is mediocre, then work a normal work day and go home, because anything beyond that and you’re wasting your time. Pick up a hobby.  Learn to play pool. Make new friends. But doing more of something ineffectively is an utter waste of time.  Eating M&M’s while running on a treadmill would be a better use of your time.

Now, how do you know whether or not you’re doing great work? I’m quite certain that the poor souls mentioned at the beginning of this entry were pretty convinced that they were doing great work.  If you want to know how your work is being perceived, you need to ask people. Know your reputation, remember??  Ask for feedback from people who will give it to you, straight between the eyes.  And look for signs.

Here’s how to spot the people who are perceived as doing good work:

They get asked to do more.  It’s one of the unfair realities of the working world. The better you are, the more you’re asked to do. Think about it, if you are launching a project and you want it to go well, are you going to give it to a rock star to lead or someone who does mediocre work?

People who do good work tend to get put on lots of projects or initiatives. They’re asked to participate in areas that extend beyond the sphere of influence that their ‘real’ job creates.  They’re one of the go to people. For example, you need an answer to a question or something done in the Marketing department.  Regardless of who you ask, you consistently get referred to one or two of the same people, no matter that what they do in the Marketing department has nothing to do with what you need. They’re perceived as being good and good people often know more than their titles or job responsibilities would lend you to believe they know, and if they can’t answer your question, they’ll find someone who can.  Also the good people in the company know the other good people in the company.  It’s like the I’m famous you’re famous phenomenon.  The good people hang out with the good people and the not-so-good-people, well quite frankly, they have no idea, but they pretty much hang out with the other not-so-good people.

If you want to excel at work, get on the best team.  The best teams, with the most capable people, get the best projects and they get the money to lead those projects effectively.  It’s hard to deliver results without the right funding.  You also want to work for a perceived power player who delivers results and is respected. It’s really hard to work in a department or for someone who isn’t respected.  I’ve been there, and it’s lousy.  Regardless of how good you are, others associate you with the overall ineffectualness of the department or with the person who is not-so-good.  And it’s hard and awkward to distance yourself from your department or boss to elicit the respect of others.  It’s a double edge sword. You need to be close to your boss for him/her to know enough about what you’re doing to feel comfortable moving you forward in the organization, but if you’re too close to an ineffective manager you get lumped with that person.  The key is to generate your own positive results and promote the heck out of those results. 

People say good things about them and the work they do.  You don’t often here the not-so-good people getting a lot of accolades.

They get promoted. 

So work hard and do great work.  And if you aren’t sure how your work is being perceived, ask someone who will tell you.  And if you aren’t any good at what you do get good, switch fields or work 40 hours a week and pick up a hobby.

Shari leads The Harley Group, a Denver-based training and development firm focused on helping organizations develop and retain key talent. Shari can be reached at shari@harleygroupllc.com or http://www.harleygroupllc.com.

People do not do things as we would do them, even when we think they should.

Meetings start late, without an agenda, and we are surprised.  Employees come in late without calling and we are surprised.  Colleagues don’t return calls in a timely way, and we are surprised.  It’s human to expect employees to do things as we would do them, similar to being raised never go to someone else’s home empty handed.  We wouldn’t even conceive of doing something like this, so how could anyone else?  We never told people we expected meetings to start on time and have an agenda.  We never told our employees to call if they’re going to be late.  We never asked our colleagues to return our calls within 24 hours. We shouldn’t have to. They should just know.  Well, they don’t.

People don’t do things as we do them, even when we think they should.  It’s so simple, so obvious, an “oh duh” statement of sorts, and yet we continue to be surprised when people violate our unstated expectations.  And addressing an unstated, unmet expectation after there has been an unknown misstep or error is challenging.  We’re furious that person is late; they should know better. We want to say something, but we don’t. At first because we’re too angry and don’t want it to “come out wrong,” and later because it’s just too hard.  Speaking honestly and directly makes us uncomfortable.  We say we don’t want to make the other person uncomfortable, but the truth is, the inability or unwillingness to confront a violated expectation has nothing to do with the other person’s discomfort and everything to do with our own.

What happens if they cry? What happens if they become defensive?  Then what?  So we say nothing, because it’s easier….in the moment. We hope the behavior will change, that without our having to say anything employees, colleagues and direct supervisors will get the point and make a shift.  But they won’t.  They’ll keep doing what they’re doing because for all they know, what they’re doing is working.  You haven’t told them anything other than that, so why even consider doing things another way.  Waiting for someone to change their behavior without making that request is like waiting for your dog to walk itself. It isn’t going to happen.

This entry is about setting the foundation for business relationships in which you can make requests, give feedback and speak candidly without wishing you brought prescription medication to work.  It’s about setting up relationships to deliberately get what both you and the other person wants, rather than maybe, possibly, if the stars align.  It’s also about building trust. 

People leave managers not jobs.  And if you know that, and you’re tired of being at the effect of employee disengagement and turnover, what are you going to do about it?

The Formula

When I hire someone new, start a new initiative, a new team, a new anything, I have an expectation setting conversation. For now, we’ll use on boarding a new employee as the example.  When a new employee starts working for me I do the same thing, every time.

Day One – Take them to lunch.  Being at a new company is like being at a new school. It’s scary, awkward, and stressful.  People wonder, who will I talk to? Who will I have lunch with? How do things work around here? Will I fit in? Take your new employee to lunch and get to know them, as a person. Let them get to know you, as a person.  Be human.  Again, people leave managers not jobs.  And the second greatest reason for employee turnover is not liking the people and the culture at a company. So from day one, begin creating a place in which your new employee will want to work. 

Even if you work at a company with a difficult culture, with massive turnover and a terrible reputation in your business community, you can create a department and/or team in which people want to work.  It is more difficult, but it is completely doable.  As much as you can buffer your employees from the system that doesn’t work and create an environment that mimics what they want, you will create happy, loyal and dedicated employees who stay both with you and the company. 

Notice I didn’t say create a fun workplace, or a flexible environment.  We assume that’s what employees want and that’s not necessarily the case.  In a future blog entry (hint, hint, keep reading each week) I’ll share the process of learning what your employees want, enabling you the opportunity to give it to them, rather than giving them what you think they want, which is most likely based on what you want or on some article you read.

Over lunch, or during my first meeting with my new employee I say this, “As your manager, my job is to help you get where you want to go, whether that is here within the company or elsewhere.  As a result, I’m going to ask for your permission to let you know anything I see you do or say that either contributes to where you want to go or gets in the way of that goal. Is that ok with you?”  Now, as their manager, I don’t need permission to give them feedback, my title and direct authority gives me that right, and employees know it.  But I get something for asking. I start to build trust, a little bit at a time. Because where trust is broken in an instant, it is built over time.  So from the first day I interact with my employees – starting during the hiring process – I am building trust.  And because all long lasting relationships are built on trust, I am building the foundation for my loyal, committed and long term work force.

By asking to give feedback I give some control over to the employee, and when people feel they have some control, they feel more comfortable.  And at that point I give them a list of questions I call “Contracting Questions.”  These are a list of questions I created out of my own bad work experiences.  Out of having managers who told me that jobs offers were contingent upon living in a certain city, but going nuts when I moved there without their permission.  Permission I didn’t know I needed to have.  Or managers who called me screaming that they hadn’t met with me in weeks, when they never said they wanted to have regular meetings. Like every relationship, we learn what to do by learning what not to do.

Read next week’s entry to get the “Contracting Questions” and the rest of “The Formula” for establishing long lasting working relationships based on trust, loyalty and commitment.

Shari Harley

Shari leads The Harley Group International, a Denver-based training and development firm focused on helping organizations develop and retain key talent. Shari can be reached at shari@harleygroupllc.com or http://www.shariharley.com