Executive Coaching - C-Link Consulting

Effectively leading remote meetings

Nick Welham — Wed, 25 Mar 2020 15:33:39 +0000

Prepare for the meeting in a different way

Optimize your presentation. What are the minimum amount of data/slides to set the scene and get attention?
Use the system to set ‘poll’ questions to keep people’s attention. Plan what are you going to ask and when. What will you do with the responses to engage the audience?
Circulate an attendee list in the invite to avoid lengthy introductions in the meeting

How much of my message is getting through?

In the meeting

Articulate a clear purpose for the meeting and why it is important
Assign roles at the beginning of the meeting, so people know what to pay attention to
When assigning a task, ensure everyone is clear on who is responsible and the timeframe

After the meeting

Be empathic and understanding to what your employees are going through (fear, sickness)
Check in individually after the event to give everyone a chance to voice any concerns

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“If you don’t like change, you’ll like irrelevance even less”

Nick Welham — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 21:50:35 +0000

“If you don’t like change, you’ll like irrelevance even less”

– General Eric Shinseki

Change is hard, and it takes a lot of effort to effect a successful transformation. While every change has an implementation cost, there is also a cost to “institutionalizing” your organization, where people fear change. This can lead to a stale culture which is not welcoming to new hires. Employees look to make a difference when they join an organization and they want to be a part of something where they can share their experiences. If the organization cannot seriously consider their contributions, they will leave, and this will create a revolving door of new hires.

To engage your organization in a change culture:

When communicating, frame change as an opportunity, not a threat.
Get your employees used to change by asking for suggestions on a regular basis and follow up with them. This will get people used to the idea that change is “not a big deal”.
Ask new employees to document what they think should change when they arrive. Review this with them on a regular basis to see if and how their perception changes.
Don’t allow your organization to fall into a “status-quo trap”, where we fail to evaluate the current situation with the same criteria used for the options for change.
As the HBR article below says – always explain why change is necessary and what the benefits are.

If your organization is worried about staff retention issues or is frustrated by the time and cost it takes to implement change, connect with me on LinkedIn, or email nick.welham@c-link.consulting and let’s start a conversation to see if I can help.

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An “intervention” leads to $150,000 annual savings

Nick Welham — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 00:43:07 +0000

Client: Multi-state medical services provider.

Situation

After several years of contracting and then stagnant growth, the client was looking for a method to increase profitability. Reviews for savings had been considered in the past, but options had been rejected for fear that removing services would reduce brand equity.

Process

A strategic “intervention” was staged with senior managers by sharing the issues the company was facing and convincing them of the need for change. They were challenged to provide a range of options to satisfy the issues, and then each option was reviewed for its financial impact, cost of implementation and staff perception.

The chosen option had been previously rejected, but we were able to re-explore the issues and develop a plan with the stakeholders. The implementation affected the workflow every staff member and almost every patient. Despite the magnitude of the change, it was positively received by all involved.

Savings

This change resulted in annual savings of over $150,000. Moreover, it allowed patients to start their treatment regimen faster and had no effect on public perception of the brand.

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A product line analysis saves $200,000 annually

Nick Welham — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 23:21:50 +0000

Client: Bricks and mortar retailer.

Situation

In an effort to compete with online sales, our client had introduced a new product line that was not sold on the web. They had not taken into account that this new product line had a much lower profit margin and they were not able to raise the sale price. Sales were strong and this new line cannibalized their other sales, leading to profitability issues.

Process

Analyzing the company statement of accounts revealed an increase in the cost of sales, and this was then traced back to the new product line. Using this data, the leadership team conducted several brainstorming sessions to generate options, which were reviewed for impact on customer loyalty, staff acceptance, and profitability.

The need to reverse the earlier decision and remove the new product line was communicated to staff so they could comment and get comfortable with the change before they had to explain it to their customers. This valuable feedback was rolled into a larger initiative which led to several other projects that increased value for customers.

Savings

This change resulted in annual savings of over $200,000 and product sales remained as strong overall, despite facing more on-line competition.

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Is it possible to be a manager and a coach?

Nick Welham — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 20:30:38 +0000

Do you know how time pressure often results in leaders telling employees what to do without looking for input? When you are overwhelmed, it’s hard to take a moment, go beyond what you want done, and ask for feedback. Pressure closes us off from our creative side, which allows us to consider alternatives. It also reduces our listening skills and empathy.

If leaders go beyond communicating the task, relay their reasoning, and ask for input, then there are some very positive effects for employees and their organization:

1. They become engaged and motivated to find and implement a solution

2. They are provided with a full understanding of the problem domain, which should allow them to adapt to changes in circumstances rather than asking you questions. They don’t necessarily know what you know, and this investment can save you time in the long run

3. They can add information to the problem domain. Their perspective is a valuable insight from the person doing the work and they can provide feedback on customer reactions, system issues etc.

As this HBR article below says, this requires a safe environment with trust on both sides. A litmus test of this would be if one of your team asked you “why” they had to do something, would discomfort be felt on either side? Would you feel challenged, or think “good question, let’s talk about it”?

To talk more about these issues, send me a message on LinkedIn or email me at nick.welham@c-link.consulting

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Is your Team powerful and dynamic? Or only you?

Nick Welham — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 18:50:31 +0000

Just me?

The feeling that you are the only one driving the decision-making process forwards can be a lonely and frustrating experience. Leaders should be in the position to ensure the best decision is made, not having to make every decision.

One option would be to remove yourself from the decision-making process, which may sound like a risky idea, but one which could free up a lot of your time. Would the team be able to come up with a viable solution without you, and how long would this take?

Making the change

Changing your level of involvement in the decision-making will be a challenge for everyone involved. Your willingness to step back from the process will convey trust in your team, and be an opportunity for them to take greater responsibility and autonomy. However, your absence can create a vacuum which needs to have structure in place, to ensure everyone knows what role they must fulfill.

Your expectations

You must clearly outline your expectations of the team:

How much fact finding is necessary for the research and who is responsible
The criteria used to validate solutions
The timeframe they must accomplish this in
Who will make the decision as to which solution is chosen

Sharing responsibility

Limiting your engagement may feel uncomfortable due to the lack of control, but after you give your team the rules for discussion, you should step back and trust them to rise to the challenge. This will allow them to take ownership of the decision-making process and increase their engagement in the process. Both are crucial to a successful implementation.

One of the key expectations to set is who will make the decision on which solution is chosen. If this is set at the beginning of the process and conducted with fairness and empathy, you as the leader can still make the choice!

Learn how to reduce the tension that decision-making can cause and improve the dynamics in your workplace by contacting C-Link Consulting at (248) 781-0150, info@c-link.consulting, or fill out the form below.

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What happened to my great idea?

Nick Welham — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 14:30:39 +0000

I have a great idea!

Sometimes we have a great idea and cannot wait to share it with our team! You present it with enthusiasm and it is well received by the team, but the implementation takes forever, or doesn’t occur. What happened?

You were excited, and your first instinct was to sell the team on your idea, so they recognize the value in your proposition and embrace it like you did. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that anyone will be as enthusiastic and invested as you are, as they were not engaged in the creation.

SO what happened?

Your team quickly realized “which way the wind was blowing” and likely did not bring up crucial implementation issues or take the time to consult with key members of their teams. You vouched for the idea, so no real fact finding was done to support or refute the proposition. Unintentionally, you have directed the team while showing little interest in their opinion, or even worse, it could be seen by them as an authoritarian act. Either way, it may well cost you social capital and reduce your team’s trust.

Are you listening?

As leaders, we all like to believe that we are open to feedback, but it’s very difficult to provide a peer with honest objective feedback, never mind your boss. The very fact that you presented it with enthusiasm was read by your team as your emotional attachment to the idea. It would take a very strong and skilled subordinate to dissuade you from seeing it through.

Getting it right

It IS possible to bring good ideas to your team, to have them accepted and implemented. The key part of the process is to consider what business issues the elements of your idea were trying to satisfy and to take this to the team, so they can form their own ideas.

To learn how to present great ideas and remove the emotional baggage from the decision-making process, contact C-Link Consulting at (248) 781-0150, email info@c-link.consulting, or fill out the form below. We can show you how to use that great idea to stimulate a broader, healthy discussion, which will result in your team being both personally invested in the process and committed to the implementation.

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