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Welcome to “The Jayhawk Way”:

A Pathway of Excellence” by TCG

Congratulations! You are about to begin a process that is going to take your personal leadership skills to a higher level. It is designed specifically for improving your personal leadership at KUMC and is created to take your performance and that of the team you are on to new heights. KUMC has the vision and is on a mission to build a culture of excellence; and over the course of this program, you will participate in a dynamic environment that will improve and develop your performance and the performance of those around you.

You know this training is for you if you want to:

· Strengthen your leadership skills

· Improve your team’s performance

· Have even more fun on the job and with your team

· Create a culture at KUMC that is world-class

“The Jayhawk Way: A Pathway of Excellence” is a custom designed program that is designed to give you the necessary skills and tools to reach your maximum potential in personal leadership. Think of this program as a road map to your success and the success of KUMC. If you follow this road map and stay the course, we guarantee it will get you from where you are today to where you want to be!

“Celebrate what you've accomplished, but raise the bar a little higher each time you succeed.”

--Mia Hamm (1972 - ) American soccer player, Olympic gold medalist

A Message From Dr. Girod

Welcome to The Jayhawk Way, KU Medical Center’s custom-designed professional development program.

At KU Medical Center, our vision is to lead the nation in caring, healing, teaching and discovering. To lead the nation – that is an exciting vision and one that requires a world-class workforce. The Jayhawk Way is an investment in such a workforce – an investment in you.

The program is designed to create clear alignment to our mission, vision and goals, and to promote excellent communication across our organization. During the course of seven sessions, you will explore such alignment and communication, and will learn valuable, practical tools and techniques for high quality performance in your job and in your relationships with colleagues.

Some tools and techniques will be new; others will be familiar. I ask that you keep an open mind and that you engage in the sessions. I have participated in The Jayhawk Way, and I am sure you will find it as beneficial as I have found it to be. Faculty participants are using it with great success in the classroom, establishing mutual expectations with their students. Physicians are using it in the clinical setting, enhancing communication among members of the care team. Researchers are using in the lab, building a positive culture in their research teams. Staff members across campus are using it to optimize their effectiveness in supporting our mission areas.

Facilitating The Jayhawk Way are knowledgeable and dedicated partners from The Carden Group. During the past several years, they have come to know our campus, our people and our culture. In addition to the program sessions, I encourage you to sign up for one-on-one coaching. It is an added benefit of the program and a great way to understand The Jayhawk Way concepts in greater depth, to practice what is presented in the sessions, or simply to get an extra perspective on a challenge or opportunity you are facing.

Again, welcome to The Jayhawk Way. I hope you enjoy the program.

Douglas A. Girod, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Executive Vice Chancellor

University of Kansas Medical Center

The Jayhawk Way: A Pathway of Excellence

Working for KUMC is a privilege and should be seen as so. It is important that things are done in a world-class way!

KUMC senior management acknowledges and appreciates the hard work and dedication the leadership team has demonstrated. You work hard; and to be successful, you have to be effective at managing multiple tasks at the same time (and that is an understatement!).

The goal of this program is to take our leadership skills to higher levels. We do not plan to add more to your already full plate, but plan to share some best practices that will help you work smarter. To do that, KUMC is committed to providing you with the best tools to help you be even more effective in leading and being a part of your team members’ development and taking their game to a higher level. As a world-class team, we want to be laser focused on developing ourselves and assisting our team members to be the best they can be. This is a challenge for all of us; and through this program, it is our hope that you will become better equipped to motivate, coach, and inspire yourself and your team members.

This program is based on the best practices from the top performers at KUMC and from high-performing individuals in other top organizations. What you will see in this program is currently working in many organizations right now. It is our goal to pass on these best practices and to help you develop a consistent and effective process that delivers higher results year after year.

Key Topics:

· Preparation

· Building Rapport

· Observation

· Game Plan

· Execution with Coaching

· Follow Up

The Jayhawk Way

The Jayhawk Way: A Pathway of Excellence will help you manage your efforts as you work with your team to improve performance. Each leader might have a different personality within the process, but everyone will use the same foundation to make sure they understand exactly what they are doing to be successful at improving performance. This process will also help you set yourself up for success as you work within your team.

Preparation

Preparation happens before any type of personal leadership happens. With preparation, you make sure you have the greatest impact possible with your team. All aspects of leadership take preparation, which includes one-on-one interactions, team meetings, or just getting ready for your daily activities. A purpose must be established for everything a leader does during preparation process.

Building Rapport

Rapport has an enormous impact on trust with you and your team; and you must work daily at increasing your rapport with everyone on your team.

Observation

Making sure you have a good understanding of what the situation is, where your team member is coming from, and how you are going to move forward.

Game Plan

In the game plan you, and if possible your team, decide who does what and by when. This is where you put together a plan of action. The plan can be set for yourself, your entire team, or an individual team member.

Execution

Execution is all about taking action to make sure we improve performance.

Follow-up

Accountability, recognition, and feedback all happen in the follow-up step.

Common Top-Performers’ Characteristics

The goal is to understand where you are and where you have room for improvement.

Rank yourself on a scale between 1-5 (1 being the lowest, 5 being the highest) in the following areas:

Top Performers:

Consistently meet with their team members for one-on-one interaction

Allow their team members to be part of the one-on-one and not force their thoughts on their team members

Create a plan for their team members that both parties agree is the right plan of action for the team member

Consistently meet with the team and hold effective team meetings, that are full of energy, excitement and enthusiasm

Constantly monitor their team members and give them feedback on how they can improve their performance

Are effective at giving the right feedback at the right time (goal-oriented, constructive, corrective, appreciative)

Are effective at holding their team accountable to the expectations set without leaving a feeling of micro-management

Lead by example, and can effectively get their people to execute on their coaching

Are great at taking their skills and transferring them into their people, making the team member better equipped for success

Successfully inspect what they expect with their team

Identify quickly, within each team member, if it is a “skill” or a “will” issue and coach accordingly

Are great at improving results, increasing the performance of their team, and retaining their people

Please circle your three highest scores and draw a square around your three lowest scores. Share with a partner the common denominators between your three highest and three lowest scores.

TAB Session 1

The Purpose of This Program

KUMC has put this program together to accomplish the following:

To create a proven consistent leadership process that every leader throughout KUMC uses to maximize efforts in improving the performance and development of their people and themselves.

The specific goals of this program are intended to:

1.

Create a culture of excellence and an environment that is positive

2.

Raise the employee retention rate

3.

Create a fun and healthy work environment

4.

Create a consistent environment of “how we do business” at KUMC

5.

Create a consistent process to solve the true issues

6.

Raise employee satisfaction

Why are these goals possible to achieve? How do you know?

Who will benefit if each of us reaches these goals?

Course Objectives

Those who complete “The Jayhawk Way” will:

· Make sure there is clarity of the KUMC vision and that the vision becomes a KUMC reality.

· Focus on two words: Empowerment & Accountability.

· Learn - Critical/Free Thinking.

· Use Guided Autonomy: Aligning at all levels of management and the mission of KUMC.

· Understand the organizational mission and figuring out how doing our part helps drive the overall mission.

· Create an attitude of “it can be done, let’s figure the right path to success.”

· Take the KUMC core values and help embed them into KUMC’s everyday culture.

· Understand that now is the time to focus on moving forward through observable change and consistency.

· Have assignments in between sessions that individuals will be responsible to complete.

· Have the right skills, behaviors, and attitudes in development areas.

· Clarity of expectations, vision, leadership, and holding ourselves accountable.

· Create a fun and enjoyable workplace.

Areas of focus and development:

· Values and daily work ethic

· Working together as a TEAM

· Problem solving and ownership of the necessary solutions

· Performance improvement

· Communication Styles

· Defining and understanding of “personal leadership”

· Eliminating triangular communication

· How to lead up and down – knock down walls between people and departments

Your Comfort Zone

Abraham Maslow wrote about the four levels of learning. As we push ourselves beyond the comfort in learning, we progress through the four levels.

The danger zone is getting comfortable, the Unconscious Competence, and not pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone to learn more. As in the levels of martial arts, there are continual levels of learning.

Maximizing Your Experience

There are a few things you should keep in mind that will help you maximize your experience:

Be open to change. To increase your leadership skills you must be open to new ideas that can enhance your performance.

Take practice sessions seriously. We are going to be doing a lot of practice and it is tempting to simply go through the motions during practice exercises. Remember, perfect practice makes perfect.

Take good notes in this manual so that you can use it as a resource.

Suspend judgment on the techniques you are learning until you have applied them in the field for at least 30 days. The newly acquired skills will feel awkward at first. Don’t make the mistake of judging the new skills when your competency and comfort level is at its lowest.

What do you expect from yourself?

What do you expect from The Carden Group?

X ___________________________________________________Date ______________________

Remembering Names

Work is filled with distractions that get our attention in many different ways. We have the formidable task of focusing on what we need to get done every day; and in the process, we can be in our “own world”. Sometimes we pass by the same person 20 times a day and have never said, “Hi.” Often times, we don’t even know their name. A very effective tool that we can use to create a friendlier KUMC workplace is to remember names.

Tips to remember names more effectively:

· Focus 100% concentration on the person you are dealing with.

· Make sure you hear the name correctly. Ask again if necessary.

· Ask the person to spell his/her name if you can’t pronounce it easily.

· Repeat the name silently to yourself.

· Use the name in conversation occasionally.

· Write the person’s name down after your visit.

· Use vivid visual pictures and name associations to improve your ability to recall names.

· ACE (Action-Oriented, Colorful, Exaggerated)

Cycle of Performance Improvement

Creating a Connection at Work

Picture

Meaning

Name Plate

House

Map of the World

Workman’s Glove

Tennis Racket

Family Portrait

Airplane

Microphone

Goal Post Shaped Like the Letter “Y”

Participant Introduction

Name

Time with KUMC

What are your strengths and areas of opportunity as a leader? Why?

Who has been the most significant person making an impact in your life and why?

KUMC Core Values

Mission

· To improve lives and communities in Kansas and beyond through innovation in education, research and healthcare.

Our vision is…

· To lead the nation in caring, healing, teaching and discovering.

Our Values (I Lead)

· Innovation: I embrace new ideas and take intelligent risks.

· Leadership: I bring compassion, quality, caring and joy to my work.

· Excellence: I commit to my best in all I do.

· Authenticity: I engage others with honesty, openness and respect.

· Diversity: I appreciate the unique qualities each of us brings to the.

Building a Better You

Overview:

Everyone agrees that providing consistent, superior, service at work is a critical success factor if KUMC is going to continue to grow and move forward as an organization. This is a common topic that is discussed by just about every organization in the country; but very few are able to really stand out as examples of consistent, superior service.

Our goal is to make KUMC a “world-class” organization. Excellence by its very definition is rare and requires a serious commitment to doing the things that not every person or organization wants to do. There is no magic formula that will produce a great experience for others and us. The only thing we can do is to remain laser-focused on the areas under our control and constantly try and improve on those areas.

In the next few pages, we will examine the key fundamentals that produce superior service and commit ourselves to a vision of building a world-class organization by enhancing our skills, behaviors, and attitudes. If we improve, KUMC improves.

Key Topics:

· KUMC employee success factors.

· Identifying areas in which we can improve.

· Achieving your vision and career plan.

· Best practices on continuous improvement.

· Best practices on the right type of attitude that it takes to be successful.

All things are created twice; first mentally; then physically.

The key to creativity is to begin with the end in mind, with a vision and a blue print of the desired result.

-- Stephen Covey

TCG Beliefs About World-Class Organizations

· Clear and compelling expectations for a culture of excellence are set and over-communicated from top to bottom.

· People know exactly what is expected of them from Senior Management and what changes need to happen in order to build and create a culture of excellence.

· Team members know exactly what needs to be done on an hourly basis to deliver a top-notch performance daily.

· Top performer behaviors and habits are known and understood at all levels of the organization and every team member understands they must adopt these practices.

· The organization has a simple and effective way of tracking their effectiveness that is driven by valid customer and employee feedback. This information is reported in a simple and timely way up and down the organization.

· Executives know how to build a strong and committed culture that penetrates all levels of the organization. Employees in companies like these work at a faster pace with a deeper commitment to quality and overall excellence.

· There is a strong "inspect what you expect" work ethic built into the best organizations. Managers know how to inspect what they expect and hold team members accountable to the highest service expectations.

· Executives and managers/coaches know how to apply effective, performance and coaching methods that continuously improve the performance of the team.

· The management team works together to identify and document the most effective way to interact with their people. These processes are taught to and coached into every member of the team. A no-excuses expectation is set and enforced around these top performer processes.

· Efficiency metrics are typically tied closely to effective processes and teams are not constrained with unrealistic efficiency goals that undermine quality goals.

· Executives are highly focused on retaining top performing team members and turnover with these special people is well below industry averages. In fact, turnover throughout these organizations is typically lower than average, although there are some exceptions to this.

KUMC Leadership Success Factors

There are several factors that help you to work effectively with your team members to heighten performance. Please brainstorm the key factors that help a Leader to produce superior results.

Leadership skills that create success at KUMC:

1.

2.

3.

4.

Attitudes that create success at KUMC:

1.

2.

3.

4.

Knowledge factors that create success at KUMC:

1.

2.

3.

4.

Identifying Areas We Can Improve

Three skill areas I can improve:

1.

2.

3.

Three attitude areas I can improve:

1.

2.

3.

Three knowledge areas I can improve:

1.

2.

3.

I chose these factors specifically because:

The results I would produce if I were able to improve in these areas would be:

What Top Performers Do Differently

Leaders that get the best results manage their time and energy differently than everyone else. They maintain a sharp focus on what they want most and have the will power to say ‘no’ to activities that simply don’t get them to where they want to go.

Developing a Winning Vision/Why

Start with the “WHY”

Vision plays an enormous role in the way we develop individually and the eventual outcome of our business. To be really successful we start with “the why” we do what we do.

Every person on the planet knows WHAT he or she does. These are the roles they play at work or at home, the things they do, and what they accomplish.

Some people know HOW they do it. These are the things that make them special or set them apart from others.

Very few people are clear about WHY they do what they do. WHY is not about making money. That’s a result. WHY is a purpose, cause, or belief. It’s the very reason you exists.

The clearer we are about “Why” we do what we do, the clearer our vision of “How” we operate and “what” happens as a result.

A compelling “Why” can literally attract the right people and the outcomes we want most. Specifically, a strong “Why” allows us to see a clear picture of how we want to do business daily and it is empowering to all those involved. This helps to shape our behavior; and more importantly, it helps to provide the motivational power to help us make the changes, improvements, and adjustments necessary to achieve the results that top performers are able to generate.

Notes

The Golden Circles

What

Every person on the planet knows WHAT he or she does.

These are the roles they play at work or at home, the things they do, and what they accomplish.

What

How

Why

How

Some people know HOW they do it. These are the things that make them special or set them apart from others.

Why

Very few people are clear about why they do what they do. Why is not about making money. That’s a result. It’s a purpose, cause or belief. It’s the very reason you exist.

Notes

Fundamentals of World-Class Organizations

· Setting crystal clear expectations

· Provide timely and meaningful feedback (recognition)

· Creating an environment of excellence (fine reputation to live up to)

· Transferring essential skills

· Driving world-class performance with urgency and motivation (positive attitude)

· Leveraging physical environment (use of scoreboard, contests, etc.)

· Demanding excellence

· A.C.T. (Accountability, Communication, Transparency)

How can layering these 8 principles into the KUMC culture create a better work place?

What is one thing you need to do to make you a more effective leader?

Creating/Setting Crystal Clear Expectations

Setting crystal clear expectations is one key component to create clarity and to keep people continually focused on their vision and direction, that of the team, and KUMC.

What questions can you ask to get your team members to communicate their expectations of themselves, you, and KUMC?

Why would it be important to have individual conversations with each of your team members and your boss around expectations?

What can happen if everyone is not on the same page and everyone has different expectations and understanding of the vision and direction?

Practice Delivering the 3x3 Around Expectations

After you gain input, it’s important to provide your own clarity around what you expect. One way to prepare the conversation is to work with the 3x3.

SELECTION

MAIN POINTS

Tell Them What You Are Going To Tell Them

(Top 3 Expectations / Preview)

1.

2.

3.

Tell Them

(What & Why in Detail)

Expectation #1

Expectation #2

Expectation #3

Tell Them What You Told Them

(Review)

1.

2.

3.

4.

The Incident, Point, Benefit Formula

Personal Leadership demands having the ability to clearly communicate in a way that captures the audience’s attention, articulates a point that is relevant to them, and creates motivation for action. This simple, and yet effective, formula creates a framework for just that! Use this to organize your thoughts and move people to action through their own motivation.

Incident:

We have always understood the power of a story. Captivate your listeners with a story that is rich in detail and demonstrates the Three (3) E’s of effective communication. Earn the right to tell the story. This simply means that you have lived this incident. No one but you has earned the right to tell about the incident. Be Excited to give tell about this incident. The fact that you are excited to tell about this incident is proof to you that you have chosen the right one for you audience. Being Eager to share the incident creates an eagerness to listen on the part of the audience.

Point:

Be sure to direct your audience to a natural conclusion to your incident; and more importantly, to your point in telling about the incident in the first place. Failing to give a point will allow the audience to assume what you intended to say and create unintended outcomes. It is your responsibility to create clarity, not assumptions.

Benefit:

There is a term called WIFM, What’s In It For Me. One of the skills in leadership is to understand the motivation of others and create a bridge from their motivation for action that benefits the health of the department/organization. Talking in terms of others’ benefits demonstrates your ability to see beyond yourself and incorporate others into the overall success of the organization.

Assignment:

Below are assignments for everyone to have completed by the time we meet again in approximately 14 days. Take this time to prepare a realistic game plan that you can execute.

Vision/“Why” Assignment:

· Meet with your boss to align your vision with their vision. Your boss needs to communicate their vision for themselves, you, and the entire team in order to tie that back to the overall vision of KUMC.

· Refine your vision to align with your boss’ vision, ensuring again that everything is aligned with KUMC.

· Meet with each of your direct reports and share your vision. Help them understand how it fits into the bigger KUMC vision.

· Each direct report must create their vision to align with your vision and share that with you.

Expectations Assignment:

· Have an expectations conversation with your boss around what they expect of you, and what they expect of themselves. Share your thoughts and ideas during this conversation.

· Have a conversation with each of your direct reports and understand what they expect of you as a boss and what they expect of themselves. Share your ideas and expectations. (Use the 3x3 as a tool to create clarity).

· Document these conversations and keep your notes in the team member files.

· Reporting Session: Prepare a two-minute talk, using the incident/point/benefit formula on your expectation conversations. This report will be given to a small group.

TAB Session 2

Session 2

Review/Preview:

Reporting Session:

A two-minute report based on one of your expectations that you had over the last two weeks. Start with an Incident and finish with a point and a benefit.

Incident:

Point:

Benefit:

A Pathway Of Excellence

Welcome to The Jayhawk Way

Managers who consistently accomplish a lot are notably inconsistent in their manner of attacking problems and approaching situations. They continually change their focus, priorities, behavior patterns, and their own leadership styles based on with whom they interact.

— Harvard Business Review, 2008

Versatility and Leadership

How We Like to Work

· Make a commitment to your learning

· Be fully present

· Share your experiences and learning

· Vegas rules

· Partner with your boss, post-program

· Return from all breaks on-time

· Have fun, learn, change

Three Quarters of people With Whom You Work

· Work differently from you when in groups

· Plan differently when with others

· Are motivated for different reasons

· Differ in willingness to take risks

· Make use of time differently

· Make decisions differently

· Manage tasks differently

Social Style Concept

· Social Styles® are predictable patterns of actions that others can observe and agree upon for describing one’s behavior

· All styles are successful and get results

· We all have style range and the ability to flex or adapt based on the situation

Observable Behaviors

· Actions - What we say or do

· That can be seen or heard

· Not the reasons or rationale behind those actions

Controlled

Fact

Less Expression

Monotone

Moderate Pace

Task

Emotive

Feeling Emotion

More Expressive

Inflected

Varied Pace

People

Social Style…identifying my behaviors:

Driver

Analytical

Ask/Listen

Softer

Moderate Pace

Lean Back

Less Opinions

Slower Decisions

Less Eye Contact

Tell/Talk

Louder

Fast Paced

Leans Toward

More Opinions

Faster Decisions

More Eye Contact

Expressive

Amiable

Ask/Listen

Tell/Talk

Decisive

Tough

Candid

Efficient

Results-Oriented

Controlled

Objective

Precise

Thorough

Detailed

Rational

Controlled

Creative

Enthusiastic

Humorous

Energetic

Focus on Vision

Promoter

Supportive

Empathic

Loyal

Group-Oriented

Team Focus

Sharing

Communication Style Strengths

Emotive

Controlled

Driver

Expressive

Amiable

Analytical

Communication Style Gaps

Analytical

Driver

Tell/Talk

Ask/Listen

Emotive

Complying

Pushover

Follower

Self-Sacrificing

Passive

Hesitating

Excitable

High Strung

Emotional

Loose Cannon

Lacks Detail

Over-Committed

Not Focused

Autocratic

Overbearing

Insensitive

Impatient

Presuming

Ruthless

Dominating

Slow

Overcautious

Indecisive

Inflexible

Unfriendly

Nit-Picky

Rigid

Controlled

Expressive

Amiable

· Purpose: Gain insight into how each style prefers to be worked with or influenced

· Timing: 60 minutes. Move to the corner of the room for your style

· Step 1: Small Group Activity (10 minutes)

Brainstorm your responses to each question and place the responses on the flip chart.

· What approach makes you more receptive?

· What does your style find annoying or frustrating about an approach?

· What’s a great question to ask the other three styles to learn more about them?

· How does your style create tension?

· Step 2: Full Group Debrief (40 minutes)

· Share your responses and rationale.

Activity: Four Quadrant Summit

A Little Styles Humor

Getting on an elevator…

Expressive

Analytical

Let others in…saying “always room for one more, we’ll wait for you”

Watch the whole elevator bank – never just that one elevator – so that you can get an “express” elevator just for your team

Get on the elevator, count the number of people, and guess their weight to determine if car is overloaded

Walk up, press the button repeatedly thinking that it will get the elevator to arrive sooner

Driver

Amiable

Styles Under Stress

Expressive

Attacks

Confronts

Amiable

Acquiesces

Goes Along

Driver

Commands

Takes Over

Analytical

Avoids

Withdrawals

Need

NeedOrientationGrowth Edge

RecognitionSpontaneityRestrain

Expressive

Analytical

AccuracyThinkingDecide Sooner

Amiable

HarmonyRelationshipSpeak Up

ResultsActionListen

Driver

Style Attributes

Social StyleQuadrants

Controlled / Task

Emotive / Relationship

Ask/Listen

Tell/Talk

Driver

Analytical

Amiable

Expressive

What is Style Flexing?

Temporarily adjusting your behavior to manage tension and to encourage others to behave more productively with you.

What is Style Flexing?

· Recognize the other person’s style

· Plan your flex: content and delivery

· Do the flex, hold the meeting

· Evaluate how you did the flexing

Be fast-paced, get to the point quickly

Start with business, give the bottom line

Use facts, not feelings

Be clear, concise, and brief

Don’t waste time

Offer options with brief supporting data

Be upbeat, fast-paced, fun

Let them talk

Allow time for socializing

Tolerate digressions

Give them choices

Focus on the big picture

Don’t rush, don’t waste time

Answer all questions

Give solid, tangible evidence

Do not push/hard sell

Do not over-promise

Be relaxed, moderately paced

Actively listen

Get to know them

Show personal interest

Ask for their input/reaction

Flexing to Style Preferences

Driver

Analytical

Controlled

Tell/Talk

Ask/Listen

Expressive

Amiable

Emotive

Be less sensitive

Be willing to take risks

Say “no” more often

Let people know what you think

Talk less

Spend more time looking at facts

Control time and emotion

Think before you speak

Emotive

Controlled

DECLARE

DECIDE

Be more flexible, more open-minded

Openly show more concern for other people

Be decisive with data

Listen for people’s feelings

Acknowledge different points of view

Show more patience

Tone down intensity

Pay attention to feelings

LISTEN

RESTRAIN & CHECK

Ask/Listen

Tell/Talk

Expressive

Amiable

Analytical

Driver

Improve Your Versatility

The Spirit of the Conversation

Conversation

Interview

Interrogation

· Delivering tough news

· Enforcing policy

· Developmental feedback

· Conflicts and disagreements

· Challenging others on their decisions

· Discussing compensation

· Handling complaints

· Requesting help

· Negotiating

The Difficult Conversations

Difficult Conversation Content – How to Plan for it

· Ideas

· What ideas or solutions you have

· Actions

· What you need to get agreement regarding

· Follow-up actions to be taken

· Reactions

· How do you have to self-manage?

· What reactions do you think you’ll receive from the other person?

· Who

· Who will be involved?

· What are the communication styles involved, including you?

· What can you do in advance to make each person more comfortable?

· What signs of tension should you look for?

· Purpose

· Why do you want to have the discussion/conversation “WIFM”

· Goals

· What you both hope to achieve

· Rationale and/or Issue(s)

· What the critical issues are for you or the company (or both)

· What’s the benefit of addressing this?

· Why it might be a problem

Activity

Purpose

Familiarize yourself with a process for preparing for crucial conversations.

Timing

10 minutes.

Step 1

Think of the crucial conversation you prepared as pre-work.

Make notes on the worksheet provided about major points that will help you in preparing for this conversation.

Discuss your thoughts with a partner and receive feedback from their perspective.

Step 2

The Communication Process

· How does this sound?

· What are your thoughts?

· How are you seeing this?

· What do you think about…

· My thought is…

· I'd like to see…

· My experience is…

· Your point is…

· Your concern is…

· You're asking…

The engine at the heart of every conversation. Speaker and Listener play active roles.

The Difficult Conversation

· Ask for Reaction and Their Ideas

· Present Potential Solutions

· Close

· Actions to be taken and by whom

· Follow up to be done and by whom

· Open Discussion

· Purpose for discussion (WIFM)

· Goals for discussion

· Present Critical Issue and Rationale

· Issue to be addressed

· Rationale and reason behind issue

· You’re feeling…

· You sound…

· You look…

· You think…

· You believe…

· Your point is…

· You’d like to know…

· You’re asking…

· You’re wondering…

· Your concern is…

· You sound…because…

· You’re feeling…about…

Reflecting Feelings

Reflecting

Thoughts

Reflecting Thoughts and Feelings

Reflective Listening

· Automatic

· “Fight or flight”

· A predictable response

· Driven by our need to protect ourselves

· All about emotions

Nature of Stress & Defensiveness

Emotive / Relationship

Expressive

Attacks/Confronts

Amiable

Acquiesces/Goes Along

· Acknowledge feelings and points of view

· Separate emotions from facts

· Ask open questions about concerns

· Allow them to express disagreement

· Restate their concerns

· Offer options for moving forward

· Recommit to results and time frame

Ask/Listen

· Logically discuss the issue

· Acknowledge a need for time

· Set a distance

Driver

Commands/Takes Over

Analytical

Avoids/Withdrawals

Tell/Talk

Styles Under Stress

Controlled / Task

· Speak: Send your message

· Ask: For reactions

· Listen: REFLECT, REFLECT, REFLECT reactions

· Response:

Options:

· Clarify/elaborate

· Ask questions

· Restate points of view

· Get agreement going forward

· Think about it/stop discussion

Handling Stress Reactions

Typical Stress Reactions

· Surprise

· Confusion

· Disappointment

· Questioning

· Anger/Hurt

· Strong disagreement

· Denial

· Rationalization

· Justification

· Excuses

· Apathy

· Resignation

· Silence

· Lack of caring

· Acceptance

· Acknowledging

· Showing a willingness to improve

· “I’d like to talk to you about ____. I think we may have different ideas on how to _____.”

· “I have something to discuss with you that I think will help us work together (even) more effectively.”

· “I need your help with something. Can we talk about it?”

· “I’d like to see if we might reach a better understanding about _______. I really want to hear your thoughts/feelings about this and share my perspectives as well.”

· “I think we have different perspectives about ____. I’d like to hear your thoughts on this and move closer together on our points of view.”

Opening – Starting Phrase

· Your tone of voice

· Loaded words

· Falling on one end of the assertiveness spectrum or the other

· Passive

· Aggressive (direct or indirect)

· Defensive reaction by the other person

Watch For…

It’s Not What You Say…

It’s How You Say It

The words you say are important and the tone of your voice is even more important. In fact, research has shown that our voice tone communicates more of our message than the words we say.

Characteristics of Effective Communication That Build Rapport and Credibility

Characteristics of Ineffective Communication That Diminish Rapport and Credibility

What are some of the challenges you face in maintaining a positive outlook every day?

What will be the positive effects if we can maintain a positive outlook every day?

Positive Words and Phrases

Your word choices, tone of voice, and the inflection you use are KEY when communicating. Words are powerful and establish a positive rapport and confidence when used correctly and effectively.

Word Choices with a Sense of Urgency

Positive Power Word Choices

Gives others the sense of how important it is to you to resolve their issue/s.

· Suggest

· Recommend

· Fantastic

· Thank You

· Great

· Absolutely

· Certainly

· Excellent

· Wonderful

· Very Important

· Imperative

· Right Away

· Expedite

· Urgent

· Critical

· Vital

· Crucial

· Essential

· Instantly

· Directly

Power Phrases

· Here is what I suggest we do.

· Here is what I would love to recommend.

· Based on what we discussed here is what I suggest we do.

· I can definitely help you with that.

· Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention.

· it is important that we resolve this.

· It would be my pleasure to look into that for you.

· Others in this situation will typically…

· It has been my pleasure working with you.

· I would be glad to take care of that for you.

· I truly appreciate our friendship.

· I can see we are not meeting your needs, let’s talk about options to better this situation.

· Thank you for the feedback. I always appreciate learning more about how I can improve.

Word and Phrases to AVOID

· I am only a ……. I don’t have the authority.

· It’s not my job.

· What do you want?

· You’ll have to…..

· I have no idea what you are saying.

· You’re wrong.

· You should…

· Maybe.

· I’ll try.

· I need you to…

· That’s policy.

· It’s required.

· No problem.

· No.

· I don’t know.

· You must.

· I’m sorry, but…..

· I can’t / you can’t.

· Unfortunately

· You ought to…

· I think so.

Planning and Conducting Difficult Conversations

Who:

· Who will be involved?

· What are the communication styles involved, including yours?

· What can you do in advance to make each person more comfortable?

· What signs of tension should you look for?

Purpose:

Goals:

Rationale and/or Issue(s):

Ideas:

Actions:

Reactions:

Response Strategy:

Planning and Conducting Difficult Conversations

Who:

· Who will be involved?

· What are the communication styles involved, including yours?

· What can you do in advance to make each person more comfortable?

· What signs of tension should you look for?

Purpose:

Goals:

Rationale and/or Issue(s):

Ideas:

Actions:

Reactions:

Response Strategy:

Assignment:

Below are assignments for everyone to have completed by the time we meet again in approximately 14 days. Take this time to prepare a realistic game plan that you can execute.

· Communication Style Flexing: With five (5) people, over the next two weeks, use the four step planning process in flexing your style to meet the other person’s style.

· Plan and have a conversation using the difficult conversation formula and flexing to the appropriate style. Be prepared to give a two-minute talk on the conversation.

· Reporting Session: Prepare a two-minute talk, using the incident/point/benefit formula on one of your expectation conversations from the last two weeks. This report will be given to a small group.

TAB Session 3

Session 3

Review/Preview:

Reporting Session:

A two-minute report based on “flexing” and/or one of your difficult conversations that you had over the last two weeks. Start with an Incident and finish with a point and a benefit.

Incident:

Point:

Benefit:

Practice: The Difficult Conversation

Difficult Conversations

· Purpose:

· Goals:

· Issues and Rationale:

· Ideas and Solutions:

· Actions:

· Possible Reactions:

· Response Strategy:

Personal Value Premise

Now that we have defined our vision to reality process, let’s focus on what we do every day and how that activity adds value to the team and to KUMC. From our discovery, we know that top performers are very effective at knowing and communicating their “value premise”. A value premise is the unique overview of you and how you add value here at KUMC. A well-developed and well-presented value premise can help establish the trust and credibility necessary to build strong, lasting, relationships; and also, it can help create clarity, set expectations, and accountability.

· What do you specialize in doing?

· Who is impacted by your work?

· How those impacted benefit from your work?

Also, think of the value premise in terms of your personal brand or personal value proposition. In Michael Tracey’s book, The Discipline of Market Leadership (Persus 1995), he discusses the value proposition (premise) from a customer’s perspective and focuses on key value elements to drive excellence. The book’s elements below might give you great insight into how you add value.

Product Leadership: This deals with the best product or experience overall; focus on innovation. What personal product or experience is the outcome of our work?

Operational Excellence: Not about cutting-edge products or services, but good selection and prices; focus on flawless delivery. How does what you do at KUMC impact a good product with flawless delivery? Can others trust you with your work?

Customer Intimacy: This deals with being relationship oriented. How are you impacting others through your work?

Your Value Premise

The value premise is a brief, credibility-building explanation about you that gives you a sense of clarity on how you impact KUMC every day. It may or may not be communicated to others.

What are the possible perceptions, both positive and negative, that others may have of you?

What causes these perceptions in the first place?

How will these perceptions affect the way others work with and respond to you?

Personal Value Premise Example

Your value premise will help you influence your customer’s perceptions of you. When you enhance the customer’s perception of you, it helps to make you stand out and differentiates you from the competition in a positive way. Your value premise is best communicated when it is tailored to your target market.

EXAMPLE VALUE PREMISE

Step One – Describe what you specialize in doing

I specialize in working within finance at KUMC. I help ensure funds gets properly allocated and into the right funding areas. This ensures that all projects that have been approved get the proper funds to be completed.

Step Two – Who is impacted by your work?

Almost everyone on campus; because without the proper funding of monies, allocations would be incorrect and nothing would ever get completed and the right personnel wouldn’t get paid.

Step Three – How those impacted benefit from your work

The people that are impacted benefit because these new projects lead to a better organization. Also, people that work on these projects get paid the proper amounts that allow them to do things outside this organization and that help them live their lives and provide for their families.

Personal Value Premise Worksheet

Step One – Describe what you specialize in doing

Step Two – Who is impacted by your work?

Step Three – How those impacted benefit from your work

Stand up and take it!

The ability to observe and identify the strengths in others allows for great teams to be built by strong leaders. Each one of us has a responsibility for the outcomes at KUMC.

Organizations reach their fullest potential when the individuals that make up the organization fulfill their potential. We grow stronger with our strengths, not our weaknesses; and, the recognition of the strengths in others creates more value within the organization. We are more effective when we work together combining the strengths of each person on the team.

We have the opportunity to fully recognize people we work with for the full value they bring to the organization and it can be a stretch of our comfort zone if not skilled in being able to do so. When we recognize the value in others, they may be learning something that they have not seen before or we could be confirming the strength. Either way, our recognition creates an opportunity for the other person to understand the value that is theirs.

You will have an opportunity to:

· Identify a “character strength” in each individual in your group.

· Associate the strength that you see with a behavior/action that you observed.

· Be brief and concise, using one strength and where you saw the person demonstrate the strength.

·

Strengths might be:

·

KUMC “The Jayhawk Way: A Pathway Of Excellence” by The Carden Group Excellence Collection© 2016

20

KUMC “The Jayhawk Way: A Pathway of Excellence”

by The Carden Group Excellence Collection© 2016 CONFIDENTIAL

· Honesty

· Integrity

· Sincerity

· Kindness

· Fairness

· Loyalty

· Civility

· Devotion

· Brave

· Open-minded

Focus on the strengths that make a difference in the organization and that the person has the ability to change or strengthen.

“The INNERview”

It goes beyond the typical interview in that the kind of questions one asks and the areas of the person’s life being interviewed are much more revealing. The “INNERview’s” value lies in getting to know another person in greater depth in a much shorter period of time.


It is not a vehicle that lends itself to the hiring process in business, but is extremely valuable in deepening and strengthening relationships on the job or in a social context.
It can be very useful in putting others at ease and taking pressure off of you when meeting people for the first time; and, it is easy to do.

· Ask questions about their present job, if they are working, or major activities.

· Ask questions about their background. (i.e., where did you grow up? Go to school? Family?)

· Ask value-based questions. (i.e., who are the people that have had the greatest influence in your life? What are some of the things that have dictated your values today? What advice would you give a young person today if they wanted to know how to achieve your level of success?)

· Be conversational. Do not make it a third degree. Talk about yourself a little but, mainly; let him or her be the hero.

·

Two questions to ask yourself after the “INNERview”:

· “What’s one thing I learned about this person that I didn’t know before?”

· “What did I learn about this person that makes me appreciate or respect them even more than before “INNERviewing” them?”

Assignment:

Below are assignments for everyone to have completed by the time we meet again in approximately 14 days. Take this time to prepare a realistic game plan that you can execute.

· Identify five (5) people per day that you can give a strength-centered comment to. Think of people specifically that you may need to help develop certain skills and or attitudes to assist them in their work.

· Conduct an “INNERview” with at least two (2) people at work.

· Write five (5) letters of appreciation to people outside of work that you know well.

· Reporting Session: Prepare a two-minute talk, using the incident/point/benefit formula on the “INNERview” that you conducted from the last two weeks. This report will be given to a small group.

TAB Session 4

Session 4

Review/Preview:

Reporting Session:

A two-minute report on the letters of appreciation you wrote and/or the “INNERview” that you had with two people over the last two weeks. Start with an incident and finish with a point and a benefit.

Incident:

Point:

Benefit:

Johari’s Window

The Four Phases of Attitude

Another characteristic of top performers is that they bring a winning attitude to work every day and it’s evident to everyone around them. They leave any personal issues at the door when they walk in, so it doesn’t affect their attitude that day. Also, they don’t let the others’ attitudes (which can sometimes be negative) impact their approach.

Jim Winner authored a book titled, “The Power of Attitude.” He interviewed 1,000 people who had lost their enthusiasm for their job. While interviewing these people, he discovered that they all experienced a common process he called the Four Phases of Attitude. Let’s examine the 4 phases.

Phase 1

Notes

Phase 2

“We are what we think.”

-- Buddha

Sub Phases of Phase 2

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

The Four Phases of Attitude (continued)

Phase 3

Notes

Phase 4

1.

2.

3.

Notes

Working Together Exercise

Life can be a ball!

You are about to experience the effectiveness a team can have when they collaborate and communicate in effective ways. Never before have you been in a position to understand the power of working together. KUMC effectiveness relies on the fact that we work together for the good of each individual, so we as a team will accomplish great things.

Keep in mind:

· No matter how good you may be, the team has to rely on each person’s contribution and willingness to develop.

· Innovation is created with more than one person, not in a vacuum of one.

· Efficiencies and effectiveness is an evolutionary process, with an occasional break-through.

Good Deeds on Campus

What would happen if everyone saw more genuine good deeds at work?

What are some example of real, genuine, good deeds that we can do every day for others on campus?

How will these good deeds make a positive impact on campus?

How Much Is One Additional Good Deed Per Day Worth?

X

4 days per week

=

(additional per week)

X

50 working weeks

=

(additional per year)

X

200 employees

=

(additional per campus)

How would this campus change if we all would do just one additional good deed per day?

What type of culture would this create? Why?

Assignment:

Below are assignments for everyone to have completed by the time we meet again in approximately 14 days. Take this time to prepare a realistic game plan that you can execute.

· Go above and beyond to create good deeds on the KUMC Campus. Keep track of each “Good Deed” accomplished.

· Write Five (5) letters of appreciation to people at KUMC.

· Reporting Session: Prepare a two-minute talk; using the incident/point/benefit formula on an incident you create using a “Good Deed” and/or the letters of appreciation. This report will be given to a small group.

TAB Session 5

Session 5

Review/Preview:

Reporting Session:

A two-minute report based an incident you created over the last two weeks by giving a strength-centered comment to assist them in improving their skills and/or attitudes at work and/or a letter of appreciation. Start with an incident and finish with a point and a benefit.

Incident:

Point:

Benefit:

From Our “Why” to Reality: Developing the Right Habits/Activities

In order to turn a compelling and exciting vision or our “Why” into reality, we must begin to shape our actions around the specific activities, which will bring the vision to fruition. In an increasingly complex world that hurls choices at us every moment, we need to know how to sort through the myriad of alternatives and focus time on those activities that will get us the results that will lead us to where we want to go. It is quite possible to achieve remarkable results that are, in the end, meaningless. By using this system, you will always be marching toward the results that mean the most to you.

Habits:

How do habits form?

Activities:

“You see things; and you say, “Why?” But I dream things that never were; and I say “Why not?”

-- George Bernard Shaw

How do activities change habits?

Habits That Impact Performance

Top Performer Habits – They…

Poor Performer Habits – They…

Know department priorities and direct their efforts accordingly.

Encourage others to slow down or do less work.

Mentally prepare for each day of work.

Consistently rushed and are late for work.

Learn the benefits of working at KUMC, so you can verbalize them with “sizzle”.

Look at work as something that gets in the way of the rest of your life.

Take each day at work as a challenge and pour 100% of their energy into it.

Bring a negative attitude to work.

Avoid negative, attitude-killing people.

Criticize KUMC, their boss, and their team members.

Read positive and uplifting material.

Have a “tolerate work” attitude instead of a “become a winner” attitude.

Eat energy-full food to generate daily vitality.

Are not focused on finding ways to generate value at work.

Always look for ways to show others how to have a more valuable work experience.

Mislead their results to make themselves look better than they really are.

Learn to generate top results playing the game by the rules.

Do not take the time to understand others or how they can help.

Give encouragement to new employees and they are a sparkplug of positive energy.

Become distracted with “temptations” that take 100% focus away from work.

Use an effective process to deescalate work situations.

Ignore rules because they feel it doesn’t pertain to them.

Work hard at maintaining an upbeat, positive attitude.

Criticize employees that are genuinely interested in contributing to KUMC’s future success.

They are flexible and integrate opportunities for improvement into their job immediately.

Resist the coaching suggestions that they get thinking their leaders don’t know what they are doing.

Learn about the KUMC vision and talk from experience about the benefits.

Rely on old, questionable, ineffective ways of the culture with a “this is how it’s always been done” attitude.

Realize that success does not happen without effort and they are willing to pay the price to succeed.

Allow negative people to impact their attitude.

Constantly improve their ability to verbalize what it is that makes KUMC such a great place.

Verbalizes a less than stellar attitude that communicates they are not that interested in helping others, KUMC or themself.

Improving Habits

What habits do I have that will help me to achieve my vision or my “Why”?

1.

2.

3.

4.

What habits do I have that will hurt my chances of achieving my vision or my “Why”?

1.

2.

3.

4.

What habit do I need to add to achieve my vision or my “Why”?

What habit do I need to get rid of to achieve my vision or my “Why”?

Activity Planning

We have created our vision, set our goals, and focused on good habits. Ultimately, all this work to achieve our vision and improve ourselves must be translated down to specific activities that will get us there. Activities are bite-sized actions that lead us in the right direction. By selecting the right activities, we can dramatically increase our effectiveness and decrease the amount of time it will take for us to achieve our vision and become the person we want.

Activity planning through blocking your time:

· Divide your day into time blocks.

· Dedicate each block to a specific activity. During that block, focus on the scheduled activity and treat everything else as non-priority activities.

· Make each block a mini-deadline.

· Develop a routine.

· Block your time the night before.

· Throw all your energy into each block.

· Take a mini-break between each block to remain fresh.

· Be flexible.

· Planned activities always crowd out unplanned activities.

· 70% execution of a plan is better than 100% execution of no plan.

Observations of Activity Planning

So far during this module, we have learned a great deal about developing a compelling vision for your area of responsibility, creating constructive goals and habits, and how to plan and manage your activities.

What activities can you do every day that help you reach your vision?

How would the right daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly activities improve your work performance? Why?

Staying Motivated At Work

· Set daily goals for yourself; and if those goals are accomplished, reward yourself.

· Have a contest with others at work. Pick topics that may or may not have to do with work.

· Measure what you are doing, because a monitored and measured performance will typically produce a better performance.

· Remind yourself that in order to win at work, you must challenge yourself to find solutions and not just focus on issues.

· Keep visual reminders in your work area of what you are trying to achieve long term (both personally and professionally).

· Stay with other motivated employees at work.

· Create the buddy system with another person where you share success “tips” with each other about what is going well for you at work.

· Remember, the ten little words that can change your life and repeat them to yourself every day, “If it is to be it is up to me.”

Motivation Tips

One way I stay motivated at work is

It is not the situation that makes the person, but the person who makes the situation.

-- F. W. Robertson

The way I do this is

The advice I would give is

The Importance of Having a Process

Why is it important to have a leadership process built and structured around what top performing leaders are doing?

Why is it important that every leader within KUMC use the same proven process?

How can using a proven process impact your confidence and improve your leadership skills?

SMARTWAY Goals

It comes as no mystery that most top performing people in any industry are driven more by the goals and expectations that they have set for themselves than by anything else. KUMC is a very dynamic work environment; and, it is easy to lose focus if you do not continually set daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly goals that you strive to achieve.

A goal is a specific and measurable accomplishment to be achieved within a specified time. A written goal provides a strong statement of your intent and the results to be achieved. The goal also must include the actions we are going to take that will generate the results we want.

The elements of SMARTWAY Goals are:

Specific accomplishment to be achieved.

Measurable outcome.

Action oriented.

Realistic.

Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I will give you a person who will make history. Give me a person without a goal, and I will give you a stock clerk!

-- J.C. Penney

Time specific.

Written down and documented.

Aligned with where the department and KUMC is going.

Yields results.

Criteria for Effective Goals

Now that we have built a vision, we should set incremental goals that can be executed on a daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, and quarterly basis. These goals are going to provide the stepping-stones to our vision; and, they need to pull us out of our comfort zone. Expanding our comfort zone is the only way we will be able to move forward.

One possible formula for setting effective goals is described by Chris McChesney in his book, “The 4 Disciplines of Execution.” His formula is: X to Y by When. “X” is your beginning point. “Y” is your finish line or goal. “When” is the deadline you set for reaching the finish line or goal.

X to Y by When

X=beginning state

Y=desired state

When=timeline for achieving the desired state

Why do our goals need to be aligned with the vision that we are trying to create?

Why do our goals need to be out of our comfort zone?

Why do our goals need to be specific and measurable?

Why do our goals need to be on a specific timetable?

Goal Setting Page

Goal #1 _____________________________________

Why is this goal important to you?

What are some barriers you anticipate in accomplishing this goal?

What is your action plan for implementing this goal?

How do you plan to overcome these barriers?

How will you measure your success?

Goal Setting Page

Goal #2 _____________________________________

Why is this goal important to you?

What are some barriers you anticipate in accomplishing this goal?

What is your action plan for implementing this goal?

How do you plan to overcome these barriers?

How will you measure your success?

Goal Setting Page

Goal #3_____________________________________

Why is this goal important to you?

What are some barriers you anticipate in accomplishing this goal?

What is your action plan for implementing this goal?

How do you plan to overcome these barriers?

How will you measure your success?

The Tyranny of Urgent

Goal Achieving Tips from Top Leaders

· Set clear goals. Make sure they are specific, measurable, and deadline-driven.

· Write your goals down. Virtually every research study on the topic reveals that top achievers tend to write down their goals. Learn from their example.

· Put your written goals in places that are visible. Put them in your daily planner (or latest technology), put them at the top of your activity planners, put them on your mirror at home, pin them up at your desk, put them on your screen-saver, and put them where you will see them every day.

· Read your goals first thing in the morning, every morning. You must constantly remind yourselves of your priorities or other less important activities will sneak in and steal time away from goal achieving time.

· Keep a goal journal (or latest technology) and regularly record your results on a scoreboard or calendar. Every week make an entry into it that tracks your progress toward your goals. Even if you have a bad week, still make an entry. On the good weeks, make an entry and celebrate.

· Celebrate when you reach your goals. Reward yourself and the people who helped you achieve your goals. Make goal achievement fun for you and the people around you.

· Stretch yourself. Set goals that help you grow.

· Set short-term goals to get you jump started. If it’s a rough day, set a specific goal for the next day. Maybe your goal is to just to clear your mind and start fresh right away the following day.

· Make mid-course adjustments when necessary. Change is guaranteed daily and those who find solutions vs. making excuses meet and exceed their goals.

· Share your goals with your family. Talk about what’s important to you and ask for cooperation and help. Goals always require sacrifice and compromise; and if you can be open with the people you love, you’ll tend to get more cooperation from them.

Assignment:

Below are assignments for everyone to have completed by the time we meet again in approximately 14 days. Take this time to prepare a game plan that you can execute.

· Identify and then write your top three goals as it relates to your vision, the “Why”, and what matters to you in your job. What activities need to be in place to ensure the process of accomplishing your goals?

· Write five (5) letters of appreciation to people that you do not know either at KUMC or outside of the organization

· Reporting Session: Prepare a two-minute talk, using the incident/point/benefit formula on an incident you create in setting your goals and/or the letters of appreciation. This report will be given to a small group.

TAB Session 6

Session 6

Review/Preview:

Reporting Session:

A two-minute report based on an incident you created over the last two weeks by focusing on your goals and/or the letters of appreciation. Start with an incident and finish with a point and a benefit.

Incident:

Point:

Benefit:

Team Accomplishment Through Goals

Life can be a puzzle

You will have an opportunity to discover how really important it is having team members. When we attempt to satisfy our EGO by doing something because we feel we can do it better by ourselves, the results may be compromised.

Keep in mind:

· When we incorporate the richness of the diversity of others and the talents they contribute, the team does better.

· Tapping into the resources that we may not have allows us all to have a better outcome.

· While we may not think that more is better… wait and see.

Steps For Better Understanding

Sometimes there are situations that need better understanding for better resolutions. Sometimes we jump to conclusions that could cause an even greater gap in understanding. Below are some examples of those situations:

· Someone is upset with a situation

· You need to better understand someone else’s position on a topic

· Emotions are high which is causing irrational solutions

· You need a better understanding of what the real issue is the person is having

· You are working with someone to come up with an agreed upon solution

· You need someone to accept a solution that they might not be completely aligned around at first

Overcoming these situations is a natural part of the process. Even if you are 100% correct and the other person is 100% wrong, we will still, often times, meet some resistance before they accept what is being communicated.

The KUMC steps for better understanding process is a non-confrontational way to bring these situations out into the open and respond to them in a way that will increase the likelihood of creating a win-win situation. You need to be able to lower resistance and build rapport quickly; and to do that, you need a step-by-step process.

“The block of granite, which was an obstacle in the pathway of the weak,

becomes a stepping-stone in the pathway of the strong.”

Thomas Carlyle

Situations - Better Understanding

What situations arise that need better understanding?

What creates these situations?

What are our attitudes toward these situations, negative/positive?

When do these situations occur?

When do you need to address these situations?

Steps For Better Understanding

NOTES:

Clarifying Situations

From observation, we have found that the most difficult step of the process for most leaders is the “clarify & listen” step. This is critical; because as the other person talks about their situation, as a response to your clarifying questions, the following things happen:

· They often dissipate the emotion behind the situation as they talk about it and become more open to your response.

· You will hear clues as to the best way to respond.

· Questions can help the other person resolve situations. Some people need to speak out loud to make sense of a situation.

· Questions can help you to gather more information, which leads to more questions.

· Questions can help you to uncover the real issues.

· Questions can keep you from talking too much and not listening to the true issues.

· Questions can help you to gain credibility in the eyes of the other person.

The following questions can really help you to get the other person talking about their situations. Use the clarifying questions that fit the situation:

· Tell me more

· Help me understand

· Please explain

· Could you please explain the situation to me in more detail?

Remember, the more the other person talks about their situations the less emotionally charged they will feel about them. So, listen if you want to create a more receptive reaction from the other person when it comes time for you to respond!

Restate and Cushion the Situation

Example Cushions:

· I understand.

· That is a valid situation.

· I see your point.

· I hear what you’re saying.

· That is an important consideration.

· Others have said the same thing.

What do cushions do for us? What do cushions do for the other person?

After you have asked clarifying questions and have listened, what is the power in restating the situation back to them?

Drawing Out Hidden Situations and Isolating the Primary Situation

Is it possible that others often have more than one issue? Why is it important we get everything out in the open before responding?

What can happen if we never determine the real situation?

“It is amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit.”

--John Wooden

Responding to the Specific Situation

Situation:

What clarifying questions would you ask to get the other person talking about this situation?

1.

2.

3.

What cushion could you use after you restate this situation?

What would you say in response to the situation?

Setting Next Step:

What would the next steps be?

Responding to the Specific Situation

Situation:

What clarifying questions would you ask to get the other person talking about this situation?

1.

2.

3.

What cushion could you use after you restate this situation?

What would you say in response to the situation?

Setting Next Step:

What would the next steps be?

Assignment:

Below are assignments for everyone to have completed by the time we meet again in approximately 14 days. Take this time to prepare a game plan that you can execute.

· Identify a situation that may need to better understanding. Follow the “Steps For Better Understanding” Process.

· Identify 3 people that you could assist in developing a skill.

· Reporting Session: Prepare a two-minute talk, using the incident/point/benefit formula on an incident you created better understanding of a situation and/or the letters of appreciation. This report will be given to a small group.

TAB Session 7

Session 7

Review/Preview:

Reporting Session:

A two-minute report based an incident you created over the last two weeks by understanding a situation better. Start with an incident and finish with a point and a benefit.

Incident:

Point:

Benefit:

Coaching Your Leaders

What are the things about your boss and other leaders on campus that you appreciate?

What are the things you would change about your boss and leaders if you could? (Be constructive)

Who is a person that has had the most influence in your life and why?

Common Top-Performers’ Characteristics

The goal is to understand where you are and where you have room for improvement.

Rank yourself on a scale between 1-5 (1 being the lowest, 5 being the highest) in the following areas:

Top Performers:

Consistently meet with their team members for one-on-one interaction

Allow their team members to be part of the one-on-one and not force their thoughts on their team members

Create a plan for their team members that both parties agree is the right plan of action for the team member

Consistently meet with the team and hold effective team meetings that are full of energy, excitement, and enthusiasm

Constantly monitor their team members and give them feedback on how they can improve their performance

Are effective at giving the right feedback at the right time (goal-oriented, constructive, corrective, appreciative)

Are effective at holding their team accountable to the expectations set without leaving a feeling of being micro-managed

Lead by example and can effectively get their people to execute on their coaching

Are great at taking their skills and transferring them into their people, making the team member better equipped for success

Successfully inspects what they expect with their team

Identify quickly, within each team member, if it is a “skill” or a “will” issue and coach accordingly

Are great at improving results, increasing the performance of their team, and retaining their people

Please circle your three highest scores and draw a square around your three lowest scores. Share with a partner the common denominators between your three highest and three lowest scores.

Coaching The Jayhawk Way:

Proven process for developing people

Each leader might have a different personality within the process, but all leaders should use the same foundation to be sure they understand exactly how to improve performance. This coaching process will help you set you up for success as you coach and develop.

Today we are going to discuss two approaches when it comes to development.

The first approach is an understanding meeting on what you and your team member need to work on for improved performance.

The second approach is another meeting after the team member applied the skill you are working on improving. We call this Direct Model Feedback (DMF).

Direct Model Feedback is what we use to provide a path for someone to improve performance in a comfortable manner. We allow them to dissect their performance and look at what they are doing that is helping their performance, and things they would change moving forward to create an even greater impact.

We can’t change the past, so every development interaction should be focused on the future. “More things right, not less things wrong”, should be our motto.

Impactful One-On-Ones

The purpose of development one-on-ones

· Open up communication

· Provide opportunities for coaching and support

· Allow leaders to become sensitive to and resolve team member concerns

· Provide opportunities for team members to make the connection between their own goals and the goals of the organization or their team/department

· Provide a means for exchanging information on progress and problem solving

· Provide opportunities to set and periodically reexamine agreed-upon activities

· Strengthen the relationship with the team member and the leader

Guidelines for Monthly Performance Development Meetings

These Development Sessions should be…

· Planned for and expected in advance

· Scheduled in advance

· A top priority

· Documented

· Responsive to the team members’ needs and social styles

· Uninterrupted

Basic One-On-One Development Process

Step One-Rapport

Begin dialogue with an agenda statement

· Purpose of meeting

· Current situation

· Desired situation

· Build a game plan

· Gain input on agenda

Step Two–Discovery

Ask questions concerning

· Current situation vs. desired situation

· What’s working and what’s not working

· See situation through your team member’s perspective

· Discovery / Summary

Step Three-Solution/Game Plan

Build a game plan to the desired situation

· The solution/game plan ideally comes from your team member with accountability or you can recommend a solution/game plan that they agree to execute

· Get clear action steps

Step Four – Commitment/practice

Summary of action plan and practice

· Review action steps

· Practice any development skills necessary

· Agree on how and when to review results

Step Five - Encouragement

Affirm your confidence in them

· Express your optimism

· Be sincere

Step One – Rapport

Begin the one-on-one on a positive note by using an agenda statement to establish a clear focus. This will help you to be more direct and will improve your ability to keep things on track. This technique will ensure that you and your team member are focused on addressing the same issue(s).

Agenda Example:

Leader

Bob, I’m glad we have a few minutes to work together this morning. The purpose of our meeting is to explore a little bit more about your situation here at KUMC and identify ways to help improve your performance. In order to maximize our time, I suggest we follow this agenda:

First, let’s talk a little about you and what is working now with your role.

Second, let’s look at a few ways we can create an impact immediately.

Then, together we can come up with some ideas and a realistic game plan to improve performance.

Is there anything you would like to add to that?

Great, then why don’t we start by reviewing how things are going with you and KUMC. Tell me more about what is working/not working.

(Move to discovery questions)

Notes

Step Two – Discovery

When you move to discovery it is best to use questions to allow your team member to explain their current situation and desired situation (What’s working/not working). The more you can get them talking, the better.

Discovery Worksheet

Questions to discover (current situation) with regard to them and their job:

Questions to discover (desired situation) with regard to where they would like to see results:

Discovery Summary:

As I understand it, you are (restate current situation) and would like to be (restate desired situation). Is that right? Let’s build a game plan to get there.

Step Three – Solution / Build a Game Plan

Once you have a good understanding of their situation and what is going on with their role here at KUMC, it is now time to come up with a game plan for improved performance. Ideally, you can coach your team member to help them develop the plan that you believe is going to work. We do this with focused questions and a belief that our team member has the ability to solve their own problems, overcome obstacles, and generate improved results. Using these questions to draw out their existing strengths is implementing a “pull” strategy.

At the other end of the spectrum is the “push” strategy. “Pushing” is when you give your team member ideas and strategies and are very involved in setting goals for them. Using a push strategy, you do more of the talking in your efforts to construct a strong game plan. This technique may be used with a team member that has less experience and simply may not know what to do. Strong leaders are able to easily move between the two styles and adapt their style to the needs of their team member.

As a leader, why is it important to be able to adapt and be comfortable using both “push” and “pull” strategies?

“You get the best effort from others not by lighting a fire beneath them, but by building a fire within.”

-- Bob Nelson

What can happen if we do not adapt to our team member as we try to help them build a game plan to achieve their goals?

How to “Push” and “Pull”

Here are some sample bridging statements that you can use when adopting a “push” strategy.

· This is what we should do…

· Some other successful __________ have done this…

· Others, who are in a similar position, are doing this…

Create some of your own:

Here are some examples of questions you can ask when adopting a “pull” strategy?

· What do you need to do more/less of?

· What do you need to start/stop doing?

· What can you do differently?

· What specific action steps will help you?

· What results do you expect?

· How will you measure your progress?

· What is the first step you want to take?

Create some of your own:

Step Four - Summary / Commitment

After you have completed developing a game plan that you feel will generate great results, you can move to the next step.

Step Four – Summary/commitment and practice. This is a critical step, because it is easy for the team member to forget all these great ideas as soon as the next fire comes and needs to be put out.

Step Five - Encouragement

After the team member has committed to a game plan you believe will work, you must use encouragement to motivate your team member. Let them know that you are behind them 110% and that you believe they can reach their goals.

What can you say to encourage your team member to stretch, execute, and reach their goals?

“Learning is defined as a change in behavior. You haven’t learned a thing until you take action and use it.”

-- Don Shula and Ken Blanchard

Notes:

One-On-One Best Practices

· It is important that these meetings be carefully documented. This makes follow up easy and clear. In addition, it makes recapping the previous meetings and next steps easy.

· Prepare for the meetings. It is also important to have a game plan before beginning a meeting.

· Treat the meeting as a rapport-building session. Team members should look forward to these meeting with us and see it as value-added time.

· Be prepared to adapt your style and be ready to “push” or “pull” based on your team members’ level of skill, will, and experience.

· Show that you care about your team member. Take time to know what some of their personal goals are and why they are important to them. Listen more than you speak.

· Give compliments and praise for the development of good habits and for the achievement of any improvement.

· One action step is enough if it is the correct action step. Success will generate more and bigger action steps.

· Spend the majority of the time during the meeting focused on the future in a positive, solution-oriented way and less time on why things aren’t working or won’t work– fewer excuses and more action.

· Some team members may require being on a shorter “leash” – meet and follow up with them more often.

· Ask your team member: what is one thing we need to immediately impact and begin with action items that will impact that? This helps them set realistic goals and take ownership for their action plan.

· Always commit to at least one action step in their development and growth to demonstrate that you are committed to helping them succeed. This is also important with top performers to show your commitment to them.

The “Looping” Technique

Direct Model Feedback

Looping is a technique used to make sure timely and expected follow up happens with all your team members. This technique ties in everything you have to do following a development session.

In order to loop back, you must be effective at all the other skills we have worked on. You must be effective at setting great action steps. You must be able to set crystal clear expectations during meetings (3x3 technique), you must be able to coach for improvement, and you must be able to better understand situations as they arise. Also, to be good at looping, you must know how to use Direct Model Feedback for constant improvement.

In this module, you will learn to:

· Understand the power of the Direct Model Feedback and how it can help you.

· Understand the importance of accountability and follow up.

“Goals in writing are dreams with deadlines.”

--Brian Tracy

Accountability and Follow Up

The looping technique and DMF ensure accountability and timely feedback. This is important because accountability and timely feedback build your credibility. This will help your team members begin to understand that you say what you mean, and mean what you say.

What are the daily/weekly/monthly expectations that you must follow up on and hold your team members accountable for?

Why is following up and holding your team members accountable important?

What happens when we