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Getting the Job Done: Five Secrets of High-Performance Teams

Posted on 07/30/2015 by ·
Getting the Job Done: Five Secrets of High-Performance Teams by Laura Stack, MBA, CSP, CPAE

“When a team outgrows individual performance and learns team confidence, excellence becomes a reality.”—Joe Paterno, American college football coach. In business, we both expect and encourage teamwork. Teams understand the importance of working together on goals that align with organizational goals that move the whole organization forward. Most people make serious efforts to accomplish this, but somehow, a few teams always seem to outshine the rest. Why is this the case? Manfred Kets De Vries, writing in the European Business Review, calls teams and organizations where people consistently perform at their best “authentizotic.” The term derives from two Greek words, authenteekos and zoteekos, that translate to English as “authentic” and “vital to life,” respectively. Applied to … [Read more...]

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Ask or Act? The Different Levels of Initiative

Posted on 07/27/2015 by ·
Ask or Act? The Different Levels of Initiative by Laura Stack #productivity

“When you believe in what you're doing and use your imagination and initiative, you can make a difference.”—Samuel Dash, American law professor and chief council of the Senate Watergate Hearings in 1974. For decades—in article after article, book after book—business and motivational writers have urged you to take more initiative in your work. They tell you it’s the only real way to become 100% committed to your organization and “own” your job. High engagement ensures high productivity, as long as you make sure you maintain a healthy work/life balance. I think most business leaders genuinely believe this. But we must be doing something wrong, because time and time again, pollsters point out that fewer than 35% of white collar employees are fully engaged, with another 50% not engaged … [Read more...]

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Instant Productivity: Break Your Routines

Posted on 07/20/2015 by ·
Instant Productivity: Break Your Routines

How productive is your team, really? You may think you're moving along just fine, until you encounter another team whose productivity just leaves yours in the dust. Even if you're genuinely doing fine, there are simple practices that can increase your productivity from the moment you implement them.     Opting Offline Some jobs require constant Internet access, whether for answering customer chat and email questions or conducting research. However, many don't; and if you're like most people, you probably spend a little time daily checking personal email and social media. Even if you don't, some of your teammates do. Since 10 wasted minutes a day add up to over 43 hours a year, imagine how many workweeks your team's losing to the lure of the Internet annually. … [Read more...]

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The Motivated Coworker: How to Increase Team Productivity Even When You’re Not the Team Leader

Posted on 07/16/2015 by ·
The Motivated Coworker: How to Increase Team Productivity Even When You're Not the Team Leader by Laura Stack #productivity

“People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily.”—Zig Ziglar, American motivational speaker and author. Active, participative teamwork has become crucial to the modern business environment. Gone are the days when one person could anchor a team by doing everything well—or doing everything, period. Even superstar athletes like Labron James and Sidney Crosby depend on the talents and hard work of their teammates to excel. Modern business is too complex to know or do it all; this has necessarily led to specialization. We need capable people in multiple slots to accomplish specific business goals, no matter how narrow those goals—especially in this era of business agility. Ideally, your supervisor would tie you all together … [Read more...]

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Increasing Productivity at Work: A Modest Survey

Posted on 07/09/2015 by ·
Increasing Productivity at Work: A Modest Survey by Laura Stack #productivity

"Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning." —Benjamin Franklin, U.S. Founding Father. Someone once told me, "This world would be a nice place if it weren't for all the people." He meant it humorously, but the statement stuck with me because of the grain of truth at its core. While we tend to work best as parts of teams, we also get annoyed with people who get in our way or won't listen to us. It's so much easier to take charge and just lay down the law than to compromise, but for most of us, that's not an option. In a recent survey, I asked my newsletter readers, "If you were going to increase your productivity at work, what would need to happen?" Although some admitted they needed to improve their work skills, a full … [Read more...]

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Around the Bend: Behaviors That Drive Your Coworkers Crazy

Posted on 07/02/2015 by ·
Around the Bend: Behaviors That Drive Your Coworkers Crazy by Laura Stack #productivity

"Behavior is the mirror in which everyone shows their image."—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer and statesman. In recent months, I've conducted Q&A surveys via my Productivity Pro® newsletter, collecting the results using the SurveyMonkey app. If you're a reader, you've probably seen them; you may even have responded—thank you if you did! I've learned some interesting facts from my readers, most of which have direct application in any workplace. One of the first questions I asked my readers was, "What bugs the you-know-what out of you?" Given the wording, I expected some blunt answers, and that's what I got. Most respondents listed their greatest pet peeve only, but some listed several. They came down to three broad categories: Lack of … [Read more...]

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Workplace Quality of Life: Making Yourself Happier on the Job

Posted on 06/19/2015 by ·
Workplace Quality of Life: Making Yourself Happier on the Job

One measure of true professionalism is your ability to maintain a high level of productivity no matter your emotional state. But few of us can master this completely; we're neither Vulcans nor secret agents. It might prove easier if would could easily separate how we feel about our job conditions and the people we work with from the work itself, but few of us can. It stands to reason that job happiness affects productivity. In fact, you know it does. Think about the last time you had to do something you didn't like, whether it was a workplace task or a household chore. Did you really give it your all, or did you just rush through it as fast as you could, cutting corners when possible, not caring much about the quality? I suspect we've all done this at work at some point, and the result … [Read more...]

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What If It’s You? How to Recognize If You’re a Productivity Killer

Posted on 06/15/2015 by ·
What If It's You? How to Recognize If You're a Productivity Killer by Laura Stack #productiviity

"A computer can be a useful and indispensable tool. But if we allow it to devour our time with vain, unproductive, and sometimes destructive pursuits, it becomes an entangling net." -- Joseph B. Wirthlin, American businessman and religious leader. Let me ask you a simple question: are you worth your pay? In other words, do you deliver the level of productivity your leader and team expect of you, or do you drag down team productivity like a lead anchor? I know it breaks the rules to assume MY readers are anything less than competent... but if your team's productivity has been flagging lately, consider the possibility that the problem is you. You may not mean to damage productivity; but sometimes, things beyond your control—or that you've let slide—can hamper the productivity level you … [Read more...]

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Generalist or Specialist: How Can You Best Serve Your Team?

Posted on 06/11/2015 by ·
Generalist or Specialist?

I recently read in a LinkedIn business blog (December 2014) that employers are having great difficulty filling specialist slots these days—even with new college grads. I find this ironic. During the Great Recession, most businesses had no choice but to require specialists to stretch themselves to do more and different work as team sizes declined. In the process, the business world developed a culture of generalists. Apparently, business schools noticed and responded appropriately—or so they thought. Even if this didn't happen, individual student no doubt took note of the trend and opted for a more generalized business education. Now that the economy has recovered, no one wants more generalists. Jacks of all trades remain useful, but we also need masters of specific functions—like … [Read more...]

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To Do, Or Not To Do: What’s On your Team’s NOT to Do List?

Posted on 06/01/2015 by ·
To Do, Or Not To Do: What's On your Team's NOT to Do List? by Laura Stack #productivity

Sometimes, the best thing you can do in productivity terms is NOT to do something. I’ve talked for years about having not-to-do lists, which can prove as important as your to-do lists. A Not-To-Do list is precisely what it sounds like: a list of items you refuse to do—because they either waste your time, or the drawbacks outweigh the benefits. You probably have a Not-To-Do list, even if you don't bother to write it down. For example, you might have long since decided not to take a certain route to work, because you arrive late when you do. Maybe you've decided never to accept phone calls or email from people you don't already know, or to avoid personal communications at work. You may have decided to never eat at your desk, so you can get a little bit of refreshment before heading back … [Read more...]

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