Contractor or Consultant?

Choose A Contractor When:

• you have a well-defined, rock-solid plan and need more hands
• your software won’t intersect with your larger organization now or the foreseeable future

Choose A Consultant When:

• you need help with project definition and execution
• you aren’t sure how external threats and opportunities will influence your choices
• the software may live longer than anticipated
• you want to manage the total cost of ownership directly

Reference

Do I Need A Contractor Or A Consultant? (n.d.) digital primates. Retrieved from https://www.digitalprimates.net/blog/do-i-need-a-contractor-or-a-consultant/

Where Do You Sit In A Meeting? The 4 Power Positions

Are you running the meeting?

Do you have the ear of the meeting’s Chair?

Or do you want to just blend in?

Where you sit in a meeting directly influences your effectiveness.

1. The Power Position

The power position is at the head of the table. Everyone in the meeting can see you. From this seat you can best facilitate the flow of the meeting.

Sitting in the power position doesn’t mean you have the biggest ego. As Chair, you need to keep the agenda moving, keep people on task and get to decision.

The meeting gets sloppy when there is no clear Chair. Whether you use this spot to wield personal power, or to encourage the social good is up to you. However, if you choose to sit in a weaker position at the table your ability to be an effective Chair has decreased.

2. The Other End

The seat immediately opposite the Chair is the second power position. This seat tends to be reserved for the guest. It is visible to all and a good location for people who need to pop into the meeting to present specific items on the agenda.

This end seat can be a powerful spot to voice disagreement with the Chair. You sit here and you sit opposite the leader.

The smart leader may want to minimize divisiveness and have no seat at the opposite end of the table. Put up a screen for slides or a whiteboard to prevent individuals from sitting there. Or create a different table configuration for the meeting.

3. The Flanking Position

The individuals who sit next to the Chair have the ear of the Chair. When you sit in this position you can influence the flow of the meeting by assisting the Chair. You can draw attention towards or away from topics. You can prompt a speeding up or slowing down of the agenda.

Classically the seat to the right of the Chair is the spot for the second in command. The left seat is the spot for the up-and-comer.

4. The Middle Few

The individuals who sit in the middle are out of sight to many at the table. They are being talked over and around. Only the heads of the table can see everyone.

You may want to sit in the middle next to individuals with opposing view points to soften or mitigate their opposition. Sit closer to the Chair and your opposition has to talk over or through you.

The middle of the table is also good place to sit if you don’t want to be heard. Sit here if you are unfamiliar with the group and you’d like to quietly size up the situation. This is the seat if you want to be forgotten or overlooked.

Circular Tables

These are the best tables for collaboration. However, the bigger the circle, the less effective the collaboration becomes.

It’s best to sit closest to the facilitator to wield influence. Sit farther away and off to the side to have less influence.

No end chairs.

Sometimes there are no seats at the end of the table. The power position in this setting is the middle of the table. It has the best view of the most individuals. The weakest position is at the end of the table on the same side as the Chair.

Most meetings are a bit like musical chairs. Individuals come in and sit in the closest chair. They may sit closest to the food or the door. They may sit next to friends or away from others.

Think about how the choice of where to sit effects the flow of the meeting. Having this knowledge will make you more effective.

Imagine how effective you would be if you tried to lead a meeting from one of the orange chairs.

Reference
Winters, R. (n.d.). Where Do You Sit In A Meeting? The 4 Power Positions. www.richardwinters.com/seats

Disagreements are inevitable. Use these tips to make them productive instead of petty.

From https://www.inc.com/kat-boogaard/6-key-tips-to-respectfully-disagree-with-someone.html

6 Smart Ways to Disagree With Someone Respectfully

What a world it would be if we all agreed on absolutely everything. But, as you already know, that's just not reality.

We all have our own thoughts, opinions, and values -- which means disagreements can be pretty common, especially in the workplace.

However, there's a big difference between just disagreeing and disagreeing respectfully. The first will likely cause hurt feelings and only add fuel to an already tense fire. But, the second? That approach can lead to new ideas and a much more productive discussion.

Unfortunately, it's all too easy to get so wrapped up in your own beliefs that all common courtesy goes straight out the window. So, as a friendly reminder, here are six key tips for disagreeing with someone -- respectfully, of course.

1. Focus on Facts

A strong argument is one that uses facts over opinion. But, that can be difficult to remember when you're in the middle of a disagreement.

However, a respectful -- not to mention compelling -- disagreement is one that prioritizes logic over your emotions about the situation. So, don't forget to place your emphasis on the reasoning and information supporting your disagreement.

Not only will that make you much more convincing, but it'll also make it clear that this isn't personal.

2. Don't Get Personal

Speaking of getting personal, it's something you want to avoid at all costs when disagreeing with someone -- particularly in a professional setting.

Obviously, that means you shouldn't put down the other person or attack his or her ideas and beliefs. That's not at all helpful or productive.

Instead, focus on illustrating why you feel the way you do. Remember, your goal is to effectively present your ideas -- not to just poke holes in the other person's.

3. Recognize the Good

Yes, you're disagreeing with this person. But, rarely is a suggestion so bad that you can't find a single nugget of wisdom hidden in there somewhere.

Before launching right in with your argument, it's best if you can preface it with something that you like about that person's original suggestion -- and then use that as a launching point for your own idea.

For example, something like, "I definitely think you're on the right track in saying that we need to improve our customer response time. But, what if we did it this way instead?" shares your idea in a way that's friendly and collaborative -- and not at all accusatory.

4. Remember to Listen

There's a trap that's all too easy to fall into when you find yourself in the middle of a disagreement: Rather than actively listening, you're just sitting there waiting for your chance to respond.

Unfortunately, conversations where you're completely tuning the other person out are never productive. So, remember to actually listen to the points your conversational partner is presenting. You might be surprised -- you could end up finding an even better solution that way.

5. Use "I" Statements

Which one of the following statements sounds more harsh and critical?

"You always come up with these big ideas so close to the deadline that you only make things harder for everybody."

"I see where you're coming from, but I'm concerned we might be getting too close to the deadline for major changes."

Chances are, the first one made you recoil just a little bit. This example is an adequate representation of why it's best to use "I" statements when disagreeing with someone. It's just another subtle way to illustrate that your disagreement isn't a personal attack.

No, effectively disagreeing isn't all about sugarcoating what you're trying to say. But, making even this small effort to soften your language can make a big difference in how your message is received.

6. Know When to Move On

That cliché catchphrase "agree to disagree" is oft-repeated for a reason: It can be a handy sentiment to lean on when you need it.

Perhaps one of the most important pieces of respectfully disagreeing with someone is knowing when you need to just call it quits and move on.

No, it's not always easy to swallow your pride and walk away -- particularly when you feel strongly about your side. But, sometimes it's the best thing you can do.

Disagreements are inevitable. But, there's definitely a wrong way and a right way to present your own arguments.

Implement these six key tips, and you'll be able to disagree in a way that's effective, professional, and always respectful.

By Kat Boogaard The Muse @kat_boogaard

How to save a meeting - technology challenges (infographic)

Statistics, problems, and solutions from infographic at https://www.techrepublic.com/article/infographic-the-wrong-tech-can-ruin-your-meeting-heres-how-to-fix-it/

Only Your Best Work

Stop Doing Low-Value Work

Some good reminders from Harvard Business Review

By Priscilla Claman

In the past, time management experts would recommend that you divide up your work into A tasks, B tasks, and C tasks. The concept was to do the A tasks first, then the B tasks, then the C tasks, when you can get to them. If priorities changed, you just changed the order of your As, Bs, and Cs. Doing all aspects of a job seemed possible then, if you just followed some basic time management rules.

That kind of thinking ended during the recession of 2007-2009. Between January 2008 and February 2010, 8.8 million jobs were lost. Although the jobs went away, much of the work didn’t. Teachers ended up with more children in a classroom; customer service representatives ended up with more phone calls; and managers ended up with more people to manage as teams were consolidated. No matter the job, everyone ended up with a lot more work. And although there have been real gains in productivity since then, the days of A, B, and C tasks are over. Overwhelmed is the new normal.

Therefore, it’s actually a matter of professional life or death to get rid of your low-value work – tasks that mean little or nothing to customers or colleagues. Take an active approach. Design a new, do-able job for yourself. Here’s when to do it:

When you start a new job, you have a fresh perspective on what has to be done and you can see the low-value work more easily. Take a look at everything on your plate. Propose three-month goals to your manager, getting rid of as many useless tasks as you can.

When more responsibility is added to what you already do, you have an opportunity to restructure your work and present your plan. Offer choices to your manager: “Should I lead this task force considering it will take approximately 20% of my time? Or, should I…?”

When there is a reorganization, you have to be careful not to take on too much. People have a tendency to think they can’t say no or they will be the next person laid off. But actually, after a reorganization, the survivors are critical to the organization’s future success, so if you offer to restructure you own job, it will typically be perceived positively.

When you have done an amazing job of something and everyone is celebrating, it’s a great time to ask for something. Ask for help reducing your low-value work from your company’s productivity unit or information technology gurus.

And here’s how to do it:

Vote it off the island. A smart controller had been producing monthly reports for years that nobody read. He sent around a list of them and asked for votes for the most important three or four. He stopped producing the ones nobody used. Another approach is to ask your clients if you can not do something, just the way retail store clerks now ask people if they really want their receipts. The idea is simply to stop doing something that isn’t important, but to check first so that it doesn’t get you into trouble.

Automate it. If it’s low value, it’s easy to automate. Just find a friend in your IT function to help you do it. Whether you are talking about scheduling, acknowledging, or making standard arrangements, there are probably existing applications that you could use. Just figure out what you want to do, and find someone to help you do it.

Write your own rules. Limit what you are going to do and then make sure people know your rules. A professor decided to write personal references only for her advisees or the students in her seminars, and announced the fact to her lecture classes. It saved her hours of time.

Every week, block off the same time for yourself at work. Use the time to figure out how to get rid of your low-value work. Just an hour can make a difference. Pick a time, and stick to it. Close your door, if you have one, or find a conference room. It may take a while before people learn not to interrupt you during that time, but if you are politely persistent, it will work. Or, take the pediatrician approach and hold call-in hours — let people know when you will be available for interruptions of all kinds, and when you will not.

Redesign your own job. It’s your job, after all. Make it work for you. And stop doing that low-value work.

This post originally appeared on Harvard Business Review. 

12 Leadership Behaviors That Build Team Trust

Ekaterina WalterContributori

I write about leadership, business culture, and marketing innovation

Without trust there is no leadership.

Seems rather simple, doesn’t it?

In reality, however, it is not.

Very few managers are leaders. The difference between the two? A manager is someone who has people reporting to him. A leader is someone who people will follow, even if they don’t report to him. What separates the two is the trust and respect of his people.

When the leader establishes trust within the team, it truly shows. Team members feel secure in sharing their opinions without the fear of judgment or retribution, freely share information and openly collaborate on projects and know that if the leader pushes them, he does so with their best interests in mind. The result? Highly motivated and productive workforce.

A leader is only as effective as his team. But building trust takes time and conscious effort. People don’t trust words, they trust actions.

Here are the behaviors one needs to display to earn trust of his/her team every single day:

Lead by example

Leaders who don’t walk the talk lose trust. If you want your team members to display certain behaviors, you need to display them first. You cannot ask someone to do something that you wouldn’t do yourself. For example, if you expect your team to work late, do so as well. Showing your team that you are one of them and their equal in being responsible for outcomes will go a long way in building trust.

Overcommunicate

Transparency builds trust. Secrets destroy it.

True leaders are direct and honest. And they communicate all the time. Lack of information creates assumptions that are usually negative or disruptive to team’s motivation and productivity. Err on the side of overcommunicating, always.

People can smell you hiding something a mile away. If there is some information you can’t share with the team just yet, tell them what you can and show them you got their backs. This is especially critical in the times of reorganization or layoffs. Always follow the rule: “tell the truth, point to hope.”

Admit your mistakes and acknowledge your limitations

Publicly own up to your mistakes when you make them. Admitting you were wrong isn’t a sign of weakness, but strength. Acknowledge the mistakes and outline the new course.

No one knows everything. We all have our limitations. Build a team around you that complements you – and each other – in knowledge, skillsets, and capabilities. Don’t try to do everything. Let your team members drive certain projects and outcomes. That will make them feel valued and will make you look good. But always have their back when something doesn’t go according to plan.

Keep your promises and stick to your commitments

No one trusts those who don’t keep their word. So keep your promises and, if you make a commitment, stick to it.

Every now and then, however, there are circumstances outside your control that might come into play. In those cases your team will understand, as long as you display this behavior consistently in times when this doesn’t apply.

Trust your team

Hire the best and trust them to lead. Trust is a two-way street. If you don’t trust your team, they won’t trust you.

And always remember: take the blame, but give away the credit. Acknowledge people for their contributions. The more credit your give away, the more motivated your team will be to move mountains for you. And when something goes wrong, acknowledge the fact that the mistake was made under your leadership and don’t throw your team under the bus.

Ask for feedback

No one is perfect. All of us learn as we go, even towards the end of our career. Ask your team for feedback: what you can be doing as a leader to help them be more productive, how you can improve their work environment, what process you can change for the whole team to be more effective, how you can better communicate with them, etc. And when the feedback is provided, accept it with grace and say "thank you." It’s not easy to hear constructive feedback, but it helps you improve as a manager and as a professional.

Don’t play favorites

A double standard is the fastest way to trust deterioration. Playing favorites destroys strong teams. Don’t do it! Just don’t!

Treat everyone fairly

Always treat everyone fairly. Have the same set of expectations for every team member and create team rules that you expect everyone to respect and follow, such as a “don’t gossip” rule, for example. Some leaders create the team rules collectively with their teams which ensures that everyone agrees to uphold the same set of standards.

Setting clear expectations upfront, including clear roles and responsibilities, ensures that there are no surprises. This takes extra stress out of the daily routine. Each employee knows what they are expected to deliver and are not surprised during their performance review discussion.

Don’t gossip

Gossip kills trust. Effective leaders set – and follow – a rule of not discussing one team member with another behind his/her back.

Listen

Take the time to get to know every single member of your team.

Ask questions, consistently. And then listen. You will be surprised what you can learn if you keep quiet during discussions or meetings and just let others talk.

Act with consistency

Consistency is key to great leadership. Consistency of acts, behaviors, moods, expectations. I’ve worked for managers before who would be happy one day and infuriated the other, who would set out one path one day and totally change it the next day. This creates uncertainty, frustration, and distrust. I am not saying don’t pioneer change and stay agile. I am saying that whenever possible provide your team with unwavering support that they can rely on and a set of rules and expectations that will be their guiding star through good times and bad.

Put the success of the team before your own

When your team knows that you are in it for your own success, they won’t give you their best. Ever. Instead show them that you put them ahead of your own ambitions (or at a minimum let them in on your ambitions and give them a seat at the table in achieving them). And again, I can’t stress it enough: take the blame, give away the credit.

At the end of the day, success of your team is your success as well. The two go hand in hand. But in your desire to climb the corporate (or start-up) ladder, don’t leave behind or forget those who made it happen. None of us can achieve success alone, remember that.

In summary…

Trust leads to loyalty. And loyalty leads to people doing their best to deliver results for you and the company. To earn trust and respect you have to give trust and respect, as well as look out for your people. And if you do, there will be no limit to what you can achieve.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ekaterinawalter/2015/12/01/12-leadership-behaviors-that-build-team-trust/#3de07f9a7221

How to run a brainstorm for introverts (and extroverts too)

Insights From Our Office     

Posted by: Laura McClure October 27, 2014 at 3:30 pm EDT

Cocktail party trivia: Brainstorming was invented in the 1930s as a practical idea-generation technique for regular use by “creatives” within the ad agency BBDO. That all changed in 1942, when Alex Osborn — the “O” in BBDO — released a book called How to Think Up and excited the imaginations of his fellow Mad Men.

Since 1942, the idea-generation technique that began life in a New York creative firm has grown into the happy kudzu of Silicon Valley startups. Somewhere near Stanford, an introvert cringes every time the idea comes up of sitting in a roomful of colleagues, drawing half-baked ideas on Post-it notes, and then pasting them to the wall for all to see. (If this is you, watch David Kelley’s TED Talk on creative confidence, followed by Susan Cain’s on the power of introverts.)

I’ve run a lot of brainstorms over the years: with designers at IDEO, with Tom and David Kelley (I co-authored the book Creative Confidence with them), and with TED’s editorial team. And I’ve noticed that not everyone is down with the whole brainstorm thing. In fact, I’ve come to believe that there’s no one right way to run a brainstorm. You have to be willing to modify the format, length and parameters of each session to match the mix of introverts, extroverts and creative confidence levels in the room.

Below, 12 tips on how to run a killer brainstorm for (mostly) introverts:

1. Circulate the question or topic before you start. For introverts who generate ideas best without the looming presence of others, knowing the topic in advance is key. This allows them to come prepared with several creative options — and not feel stampeded by extroverts who prefer to riff.
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2. Seat the group at a round table. It worked for King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
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3. Keep each session short. 10 minutes at the end of a regular meeting is fine, as some people might get a case of the woozies if they see a 60-minute session pop up on their calendar.
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4. Number the group list of ideas as it’s generated. Skip the Post-its and just use big pieces of paper on the table, or a whiteboard if there happens to be one. The numbering part helps people feel especially accomplished as they go. A mental pat-on-the-back.
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5. Aim for a specific quantity of ideas. 25 ideas, say. Let people know the goal at the start, and don’t stop till you get there. Keep going after you reach the goal if you want, but that’s just gravy.
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6. Start at your left and go around the circle. Each person gives one idea at a time. No one gets skipped over. This will help you hear from all members of the group—and not just the ones with the loudest voices.
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7. The default mode for a successful brainstorm is “Yes, and.” As in comedy improv, good brainstormers don’t waste time tearing down silly-sounding ideas. Instead, they either improve on the idea by adding something awesome to it, or generate a new idea quickly. Another way to phrase this is “build on the ideas of others.” This is one guideline I always mention at the beginning of every brainstorm, and reinforce throughout, since it’s the exact opposite of how large, traditional corporations tend to work with new ideas. The goal at this stage is to remix and add to others’ ideas — not filter or critique.
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8. Write down every single idea that’s mentioned, and take a neutral, respectful stance toward each idea. Consciously or subconsciously, others will cue off your lead. You want everyone in the room to feel heard, to have permission to speak their piece, and to defer judgment during the brainstorm. Pro tip: Don’t attach people’s names to ideas.
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9. Share back the unfiltered ideas list after the brainstorm ends. You can share this in an email, as a Google Doc — whatever’s best for your team. You never know which stub of an idea might spark the next great thing for someone else on your team.
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10. If the word ‘brainstorm’ doesn’t work for you or your group, don’t use it. Call it design improv, call it a pitch jam, call it a ‘5-minute think’ — whatever. The name is way less important than the goal, which is to get people together in a manner that allows them to generate ideas worth spreading or solutions to problems worth fixing.
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11. Modification #1: Passive brainstorm, 5-day version. One successful alternative to an in-person group brainstorm, if you’re all physically in the same office, is to tape a large piece of paper to an office wall near the kitchen or bathroom, with your question at the top and a pen for writing in answers (at IDEO, blackboard paint on the bathroom wall worked well). Leave it up for 5 days, then take a picture and transcribe it.
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12. Modification #2: Passive brainstorm, 5-minute version. A second alternative to a meeting-room brainstorm is to throw a 5-minute inspiration break around 3 in the afternoon, when people tend to need a boost anyway. To kick it off, send a group email (or whatever works for your company culture) with the subject line: “5-minute inspiration break: [your question here]” — and ask them to discuss. One caveat: This method works best when you start the email string with a few options you’re already considering, and keep it time-boxed to 5 minutes.

Like other idea-generation tools, brainstorming was invented to make creative success easier, not more stressful — which is why creators are still using this technique 75 years after its invention. But coming up with lots of great ideas is just one step. The crucial next phase, often in a smaller group: filter the ideas list and start picking the best ideas to move forward on.

https://blog.ted.com/how-to-run-a-brainstorm-for-introverts-and-extroverts-too/

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