Ask the Right Questions

Can’t stop someone from talking?

Can’t get good answers from people?

Need to ask the same question more than once to get to the information you need?

If you don’t get the response you need when you ask questions, maybe you need to ask better questions! Here are some tips for asking questions that lead to better answers.

• Ask open questions to elicit more than yes and no answers. Start open questions with how, what, would, which. How could we do this faster? What do you think would work in this situation? What might happen if we did it this way? Which way do you prefer? How do you feel about taking this step?

• Ask probing questions to get more information. What else did you like? What other solution would work for you? Can you think of anything we are missing?

• Ask leading questions to clarify and gain agreement. Leading questions often end with don’t you, won’t you, and isn’t it. Last month I didn’t have to complete the report until the 30^th. That’s true this month, too, isn’t it?

• Use closed questions to stop the other person from rambling. Closed questions require a yes or no answer.  Do you  want to add anything more to the discussion? Is it time to move on?

Being able to effectively communicate, just might start with asking the right questions!

Build Resilience

The ability to lead in changing times requires resilience—the ability to bounce back and stay strong. The American Psychological Association suggests these ways to build resilience.

1. Maintain good relationships with close family members, friends and others.
2. Avoid seeing crises or stressful events as unbearable problems.
3. Accept circumstances that cannot be changed.
4. Develop realistic goals and move toward them.
5. Take decisive actions in adverse situations.
6. Look for opportunities of self-discovery after a struggle with loss.
7. Develop self-confidence.
8. Keep a long-term perspective and consider the stressful event in a broader context.
9. Maintain a hopeful outlook, expect good things and visualize what is wished.
10. Take care of one’s mind and body by exercising regularly, paying attention to one’s own needs and feelings, and engaging in relaxing activities that one enjoys.
11. Learn from the past and maintain flexibility and balance in life.

Juggling Multiple Managers

Working for more than one person can be challenging. The key to success is discovering how your skills complement each manager’s skills. You also need to develop and cultivate an individual relationship with each manager.

• Make sure each manager understands all the projects, deadlines and priorities you are working on.
• Use a whiteboard in your office to capture your top five priorities each week and which manager they go with.
• Send out regular status reports to explain what you are working on for each manager and to track your accomplishments.
• Adjust your style for each manager. If one manager likes a lot of details and another likes just sound bites, write longer emails and leave longer voice mail messages for the former and shorter ones for the latter.
• Be aware of conflicting messages and do not get in the middle of a conflict between managers. Ask for resolution and direction in prioritizing tasks.

Keep the lines of communication open and you will be positively productive!

SMART Goals Mean Business

Goals are necessary to achieve the results you want and to succeed. They:

• Help you see and measure your progress toward achieving what you want.
• Provide motivation and stimulus to keep going over the hard parts.
• Encourage the development of self-confidence that comes from achieving what you want in your work and life.
• Give you structure and a reason for doing certain things or not doing them.
• Provide criteria against which you can make decisions.

The most effective goals are SMART:

• Specific. Clearly spell out steps that contribute most to the performance of that goal.
• Measurable. Establish criteria by which you can evaluate the goal and determine when you have achieved it.
• Adaptable. Goals must be flexible and respond to personal, professional, business and environmental changes.
• Realistic. Blue sky, but keep both feet on the ground. Set goals that stretch and grow your abilities, but are not so difficult that you become discouraged.
• Timely. Put a deadline on each goal.

Are your goals SMART? If not, take some time and revise them, so they meet the SMART criteria. The SMARTer a goal, the more likely you will reach it.

Speak Up and Be Heard

Think about misunderstandings you have had in the past. They probably came from poor communication or miscommunication. You need good communication skills to have productive, rewarding workplace relationships.

No one is a good communicator all the time; skill depends on the situation and personal factors, such as your upbringing, education, and self-confidence, among other factors. Here are some tools to help you hone your communication skills:

• Practice what you will say before you say it.
• Try different ways of saying things with friends you trust.
• Ask for feedback from people who have strong communication skills.
• Take classes, read books and listen to tapes.
• Study people whose communication style you admire.
• Read. You would be surprised at how much you can improve your communication skills by reading well-written books and articles.

“The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”

George Bernard Shaw

Enhance Your Performance at Work

Do people see you as a professional whom they can rely on to get things done? Here are some good work habits you can cultivate to enhance your professionalism at work.

• Plan your time to ensure that tasks are completed on deadline.
• Respond to stressful situations with grace and calm control.
• Maintain your enthusiasm and commitment to a task until it is completed.
• Handle boring tasks with the same care that you handle interesting ones.
• Focus on your highest priorities each day.
• Keep your workspace orderly and well organized.
• Be on time for meetings and appointments.
• Keep written documents neat and free of errors.

Do you see any habit that needs improvement? Set a goal to work on it!

Don’t Be Fooled By Illusions!

Sometimes, what we believe is a time saver actually is a time waster. Begin to question your current beliefs about workplace productivity. Generally, if you feel stress, frustration or experience failure, you are working under an illusion.

An illusion is not real. Among a group of people, the most successful person is usually the person whose beliefs correspond most closely to reality. If you want to escape the negative effects of a workplace productivity illusion, the first step is to switch some of your current beliefs.

One common workplace illusion is this: Multitasking saves time. In reality, multitasking does not involve doing several things at once. It requires you to switch back and forth between tasks, and it significantly reduces productivity—even when you are switching between very simple and highly similar tasks. Pay attention to times when you are multitasking and ask if you would be more positively productive by focusing on one task at a time.  Chances are your answer will be Yes!