Posts

Posted on

Change is Tough – Managing Transition

Change is situational and is happening around us, all the time. If you stop to think about this, you’ll see that it is true. Consider television. The way we watch television has evolved – no more waiting until a set day and time of the week to watch your favorite show. Instead we’ll stream it or download it and binge watch it all at once. How are you managing this new way of watching television- this transition?

How we comes to term with change – how we manage the transition– from the old to the new – is the key to success. So what does managing this transition mean for the workplace and for managers and staff?

One model that resonates with Workplace Learning and Development is William Bridge’s Transition Model. This model focuses on people and the psychological changes that lie behind significant organization change. William Bridges maintains that the situational change is not as difficult as the psychological transitions that are required of the staff or team impacted by the change.

His process involves three phases:

  1. Ending, Losing and Letting Go – helping staff deal with tangible and intangible loses and mentally preparing them to move on
  2. Neutral zone – a space of time where critical psychological realignments and re-patterning takes place.  This is about helping people move through the transition.
  3. The New Beginning – helping people develop a new identity, a new process, a new energy and discover a new sense of purpose to make the change begin to work.

 

So what does this mean for you as a supervisor?   

In the image – you’ll see the level of management required in the beginning stages is high. During this time, something is changing – a process, a way of being at work, a work schedule, etc. – and causing a time of ending and letting go. And during this time – your staff are going through a transition – from old to new. Your role as supervisor is to guide your staff through this transition using skills such as active listening, communication and dialogue, as well as external resources such as Workplace Learning and Development.

Once your staff are in the Transition or Neutral zone, or the bridge between old and new, you’re role is to champion the change, provide them a sense of direction and provide performance feedback on how they are doing with the new change.

And lastly, a higher level of management is required as the new “beginning” is being implemented. Staff are beginning to embrace the change and incorporate in it into their workday. As a supervisor it’s essential you help sustain this this change. Using techniques such as goal setting, performance feedback and celebration.

When you implement a change it isn’t the changes themselves that people are resisting, but the transition and the losses and endings they will experience. Instead of focusing on the how good the change will be when it is complete, deal directly with the losses and endings. Consider doing the following:

  • Identify who is losing what
  • Don’t be surprised at “overreaction”
  • Acknowledge the losses openly and sympathetically
  • Compensate for losses ( if possible)
  • Give people information, and do it again and again
  • Mark the endings

“The single biggest reason organizational changes fail is that no one thought about endings or planned to manage the impact on people. Naturally concerned about the future, planners and implementers forget that people have to let go of the present first. They forget that while the first task of change management is to understand the destination and how to get there, the first task of transition management is to convince people to leave home. You’ll save yourself a lot of grief if you remember that.”

Adapted from: Managing Transitions, William Bridges, Addison-Wesley, 1991

 

Additional Resources:

Additional Change Management Models

Written and complied by Paul Papierski, Employee and Organizational Development Specialist, Workplace Learning and Development, University of Massachusetts, Amhert

Contact WL&D

Posted on

It’s Always Been Done This Way….

“It’s always been done this way” – not a statement you want to hear from your employees as you try to implement new policies and procedures. So what do you do now that you’re in charge?

You’ve made your decision and decided this change is needed. Where do you even start? A number skills come into play. Here are a few:

• Strategic Planning – Ask yourself does this proposed change fit into your strategic plan/long term vision for your department and team? What is the business reason for this change? Don’t have a strategic plan? Check out these videos on creating one >> Strategic Planning and Strategic Planning Process

• Active Listening – Using your active listening skills from the SLDP program ask your employees what the objection is to this change. Asking open ended and genuine questions, you’ll be able to gather information about their resistance. Ultimately, you’d like them on actively onboard with the proposed change. Mindtools has a few resources >> Active Listening Mindtools

• Change Management – This is a bit more complicated. No one really likes change, but change in the workplace is inevitable – even within slow moving bureaucratic organizations – and your role as a manager is to help employees embrace that change insuring a smooth transition and success. Having a solid understanding of the change management cycle is key. A good model is Kotter’s 8 Step Change Model. More information via his book  “Leading Change”and Mindtools has some great information>> Change Management Mindtools

• Leadership Skills – Management theorist Simon Sinek suggest that good leaders make their employees feel safe by building trust and safety. Not an easy task – hear what he has to say about this here Good Leaders .  He has a number of great books – “ Leaders Eat Last” and “Start with Why” .

• Performance Management – This is your tool to create goals and success measures regarding your employee’s role in the change, as well as document their performance. Using the performance management cycle will allow you as a manager to help your team to stay focused on the change by providing feedback and positive reinforcement during your regular check-in conversations.

It’s never easy to implement change, but with some advanced planning as well as drawing on the skills you learned in the Supervisor Leadership Development Program, there is no doubt you’ll be successful. And as always, Workplace Learning and Development is available to assist you.

Written by Paul Papierski, Employee and Organizational Development Specialist, Workplace Learning and Development, UMass Amherst.

Posted on

Team Development

As individuals go through development stages (think the “terrible twos”), so do teams. The most commonly used framework for a team’s stages of development was developed in the mid-1960s by Bruce W. Tuckman. Although many professionals have written variations and enhancements to his work, his descriptions of Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing provide a solid framework for you to look at your own team.

Each stage has its own recognizable feelings and behaviors. By understanding why certain actions and behaviors are happening on your team, you’re able to get a clearer picture of the functionality of your team.

Stage 1: Forming

In this stage team members are excited to be part of the team, eager about the work ahead and have high positive expectations for the team experience. During this stage, there are lots of questions about individual expectations, the team norms have not been established, no trust has been established between team members and there is a high learning curve.

As a manager and leader, some actions you might take are setting a mission and goals to help define the team, establishing team member responsibilities and roles, and determining ways to build trust among team members.

Stage 2: Storming

In this stage the team begins to move towards its goals as the members discover the team doesn’t live up to their earlier expectations. Their focus might move from tasks at hand to feelings of frustration regarding the team’s lack of progress. Cliques could form, members are less polite than during the Forming stage about their frustrations and disagreements. Anxiety rises and problem solving doesn’t work well.

As a manager during this stage, you can actively support and reinforce team behavior, facilitate group wins, create a positive environment, and ask for and expect results.

Stage 3: Norming

During this stage of team development, the members begin to resolve the discrepancy they felt between expectations and team reality. As the team sees some repeated successes, the members should experience an increased sense of comfort in expressing their “real” ideas and feelings as well as an increasing acceptance of others on the team. Team members are self-reinforcing the team norms, hidden agendas are becoming more open and team confidence is high.

As a manager some of your responsibilities are to maintain traditions, communicating positive feedback and reinforcement of team behaviors, and evaluate team processes.

Stage 4: Performing

In this stage, members are feeling satisfaction of the team’s progress. They share insights into personal and group process and have become aware of their own (and each other’s) strengths and weaknesses. A “can do” attitude is visible as are offers to assist one another. The team is making significant progress towards its goals.

As the manager of the team, continue with positive feedback and reinforcement of the team’s behavior and processes. You might consider raising the bar with newer, higher goals.

 

While working on a high-performing team may be a truly pleasurable and fulfilling experience, it is not the end of team development. There is still a need for the team to focus on both process and product, setting new goals as appropriate. Changes, such as members coming or going or large-scale changes in the external environment, can lead a team to cycle back to an earlier stage. If these changes – and their resulting behaviors – are recognized and addressed directly, teams may successfully remain in the Performing stage indefinitely.

In thinking about your team – what stage might it be at? Is this a new team – just formed – or an existing team? Have they been successful in achieving their goals or stuck in the “Storming” stage? Taking this high level look at your team can help you determine what they need to move forward to the next stage.

Over the course of the summer, a number of managers reached out to Workplace Learning & Development resulting in the WL&D team leading a number of retreats, customized workshops, one-on-one coaching sessions as well as meeting with individual managers to develop long term team development plans.

Is your team performing at its highest level?

Some additional resources:

Moving a Workgroup to High Performance

Understanding the Stages of Team Formation

Want more information? Contact your Workplace Learning and Development Team. We’re available to provide information, discuss options, and facilitate a variety of team buildings sessions.

 

Written by Paul Papierski, Employee and Organizational Development Specialist, Workplace Learning and Development, University of Massachusetts Amherst, September 2017.

 

Posted on

Performance Management

The Performance Management cycle here at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst has reached the summer performance review stage. It’s time of the year when employees complete their performance reviews providing information on their successful completion of the past year’s goals as well as meet with their supervisors.

As we learned in the Supervisor Leadership Development Program, the Performance Management Cycle is not a onetime event, but rather a series of discussions that occur throughout the year. Below are some links to useful information that will help you as a manager successfully complete your employees’ reviews and avoid that awkward performance conversation.

As we discussed in the SLDP program, Performance Management is an ongoing process. Outlined below are the steps in the process. (These are in section 6 of your SLDP manual.)

  1. Set timeline for when you will review performance and check-in with the employee
  • Both you and the employee should have clear understandings of how and when you will be holding conversations on their job performance.
  • Review your own documentation of employee’s performance to date.
  • Prepare and allow the employee to prepare for any conversations.
  • Ask employee to think about feedback for you.
  1. Ask employee to self-assess their current performance
  • Have employee comment on own performance and progress to date on goals or priorities.
  • Ask employee to share any materials/documentation they may have collected to demonstrate their success.
  • Ask employee to identify areas needing support from you, ideas for professional development and areas needing improvement.
  • Cover areas of success as well as areas for improvement.
  1. Jointly discuss how to eliminate obstacles to success
  • Clarify expectations as necessary.
  • Listen to your employee’s feedback for you.
  • Be open to hearing about obstacles or barriers.
  • Work together to solve the problem, making sure the employee owns the solution.
  • Identify supports that you can provide in helping employee be successful.
  • Provide coaching as needed.
  1. Revise performance expectations as appropriate
  • Alter goals or priorities as appropriate considering obstacles and other challenges.
  • Clarify new expectations as needed.
  • Be clear on any performance issues and what the employee needs to do to improve.
  • Involve the employee when setting new/different expectations.
  1. Document the conversation as needed
  • Provide the employee with appropriate follow-up information.
  • Clarify any performance improvement plans in writing.
  • Pay attention and adhere to any union contract provisions or department policies regarding performance.

 

Remember, with frequent check ins, conversations throughout the year, proper planning, preparation, and clearly communicated expectations you can avoid any awkward performance reviews such as experienced by this employee and manager. Watch the video.

(WL&D does not endorse Vital Smarts)

Posted on

Motivating Employees

Motivating Employees

“How do I motivate my employees?” This is a question that gets asked frequently of the Workplace Learning and Development team. And the answer depends on a number of factors.

Motivating employees take effort and planning on your part as a manager. One area to think about is employee engagement. When you meet with your employees, have you noticed if they are engaged in the work that they do?  The chart below illustrates three types of employees. What’s the engagement level on your team?

So just exactly what motivates employees? On way to look at this is extrinsic (external) and intrinsic (internal) rewards. In a unionized environment, extrinsic rewards are challenging to come by, but intrinsic rewards are driven by the employee themselves.  Here’s an article that dives a bit deeper into this.

Maintaining Employee Motivation in the Public Sector

Different generations of employees are motivated by different things. For instance, Baby Boomers, born 1946 and 1964 prefer monetary rewards but also value nonmonetary rewards such as flexible retirement planning and peer recognition while the Generation Y, born between 1980 and 1995, are motivated by skills training, mentoring, feedback and the workplace culture. More information can be found in this Society for Human Resource Management article.

What Motivates Your Workers

Regardless of which generation your employee is in, there are some concrete actions that all multiple experts agree on that you can take to motivate your employees.

  1. Communicate clearly, responsibility, and frequently information that is needed for your employees to complete their jobs successfully.
  2. Provide development opportunities.
  3. Recognize and acknowledge good performance frequently.
  4. Lead by example.
  5. Create a welcoming environment.
  6. Addressing employee concerns and issues before they lead to team dysfunction.

More information on these actions can be found in these articles.

How to Motivate People Without Saying a Word

6 Ways to Motivate Employees

The Best Ways to Foster Employee Motivation

If you are still having performance challenges after trying various motivation methods, it might be time to seek assistance from your Human Resources Department or Labor Management Unit to determine if disciplinary action is appropriate.

______________________________________

Written by Paul Papierski, Employee and Organizational Development Specialist, Workplace Learning and Development.  Find out more about UMASS’s Workplace Learning and Development.

Posted on

Delegation

word-cloud-delegate

Congratulations! You’ve just been promoted to a manager. You’re happy your supervisor has finally seen your potential and promoted you. You can’t wait to get started in your new role and have lots of great ideas for your team to implement.

But wait, what’s this about weekly reports, frequent meetings, managing staff workloads and solving team conflicts. All of a sudden you are feeling overwhelmed and are floundering in your new job when you were so successful in your previous role. There never seems to be enough time to get your old job and your new job done.

As a manager you’ll need to move away from your old job responsibilities and fully embrace your new job role. It is not easy, but one key to being a successful manager is delegation- assigning your team members the authority for particular functions, tasks and decisions. Now is the time to begin to rely on and develop your team, and begin delegating certain tasks and projects to them.

As was reviewed in the Supervisory Leadership Development Program, delegation is a 10 point process. Here are the 10 points:

  1. Identify the task
  2. Identify the correct person for the task
  3. Specify what the task is
  4. Explain why you are delegating  to them
  5. Specify the expected outcomes
  6. Establish a target completion date
  7. Discuss how they will tackle this assignment. Listen to their ideas
  8. Identify the resources required
  9. Decide how and when you are going to monitor process. Do not micro manage
  10. Identify who else needs to be informed.

If you plan ahead and follow these 10 points, you’re on the right track to a successful delegation.

Here are some additional resources regarding delegation skills.

Video: Delegation

Managers Must Delegate Effectively to Develop Employees

Delegation and Time Management

7 Steps to More Effective Delegation

Paul Papierski is a member of the Workplace Learning and Development Team. For more information visit his bio link on Workplace Learning and Development Web page.

Posted on

We are all leaders

Leadership_Wordle

What’s it take to be a good leader? If you read all the literature, you’d think you’d have to have a certain set of skills and abilities, a certain type of degree or certificate. Sure, it helps if you can manage change, be proactive, not be afraid to take risks and have an understanding of your emotional intelligence. But I firmly believe we are all leaders in our lives already. I think about my professional life – taking control of my career, leading teams, spearheading projects and initiatives. I think about my personal life – setting goals, achieving visions, leading my siblings through elder care issues and challenges, partnering with my spouse to craft the life that we want, and volunteering in my community. All these things have some common threads – change management, courage, passion, emotional intelligence and a bit of risk taking.

Here are three views of leadership for your consideration.

  1. In Roselinde Torres’ TED Talk, she asks us what it take to be a good leader by posing three questions for us to answer: questions about change, diversity and “seeing around curves”. How would you answer her questions? Are you a leader that dares to be different? Listen to her 9 minute talk here.
  2. Entrepreneur magazine, in the article “22 Qualities That Make A Great Leader” lists 22 qualities that make a great leader, among them passion, integrity, positivity and communication. All qualities we all use in varying degrees every day. Check out the article and it’s animation.
  3. Daniel Goleman, author Emotional Intelligence, in an article for the Harvard Business Review Dec 2013 titled “The Focused Leader” indicates that by focusing our attention into three broad buckets—focusing on yourself, focusing on others, and focusing on the wider world—this will illuminate in a new light the practice of many essential leadership skills. He says that attention is the basis of most essential leadership skills – emotional, organizational and strategic intelligence.  What are you focusing your attention on? Whether or not you have the official title of leader, as managers, employees, husbands, wives, parents and individuals, we’re all leaders whether we think so or not. Given that, what qualities will you focus on to become a better leader?

Paul Papierski is a member of the Workplace Learning and Development Team. For more information visit his bio link on Workplace Learning and Development Web page.

Posted on

Favoritism has no place at work

Leaders who practice favoritism in the workplace have no chance to build a culture of trust.

                                                                                                                  Robert Whipple

According to Dictionary.com, favoritism in the workplace is defined as an employee or a group of employees receiving unearned privilege from a manager or supervisor at the expense of other employees who have an equal claim. The privilege is unearned in that it is not based in job performance but in the employee(s) relationship to the manager or supervisor. Favoritism in the workplace is deleterious to the development and function of organizations. The very nature of this process—favoritism– artificially inflates the value of the work of a few, while simultaneously devaluing the work of others. In a workplace where favoritism is practiced, concepts like trust, teamwork, and capacity building are stifled.

Favoritism may also cross the line from a very poor management practice to an illegal practice. It becomes illegal when the exclusion of others in the workplace is based upon their membership in one or more of the state/federally defined protected categories. There may also be legal ramifications if an individual feels that the managers’ favoritism has created a hostile or toxic work environment.

In this month’s blog, to heavily paraphrase Douglas, we bring into the light, the management practice that dare not speak its name—favoritism. Shining light on the topic can be both beneficial to management and the employee. Management must recognize when there is a perception of favoritism amongst employee(s). Then an open and honest dialogue can begin, and the proper intervention put in place, to insure parity in treatment of all employee (s). Often those who are not on the receiving end of favoritism feel isolated and devalued. A process that acknowledges their perception of unfair treatment by management, and provides a pathway to equitable treatment of all employees, will help belay concerns, decrease workplace anxiety, and increase employee satisfaction and retention.

Four articles are presented to help you deliberate and frame your thinking about favoritism in the workplace. How to Handle Favoritism in the Workplace: 10 Tips for Employees and Bosses to Build a Better Team  provides helpful suggestions to supervisors and employees alike on how to defuse the potential explosive topic of workplace favoritism. If you are a manager or supervisor and the perception of favoritism has been raised in your organization FAVORITISM AND NEPOTISM: DEALING WITH UNFAIR TREATMENT IN THE OFFICE identifies some negative ways it may impact your organization. Also included in this article are helpful strategies to address favoritism in your organization. How to Deal with a Boss Showing Favoritism is an article that encourages employees to engage in a process of perspective taking in helping to validate feelings of favoritism in the workplace. Lastly, Favoritism in the Workplace: Is it illegal?  examines the nexus between favoritism in the workplace being just inappropriate and when it becomes illegal.

Please take time to read the articles and reflect on your practice of supervisor. Are their times when the favoritism could have been the possible perception of some you supervise? What was your response to this perception? Reflect on these and other issues that might come to mind. Feel free to share relevant ideas.

 

 

Posted on

Reviewing a Tool for Employee Success: Performance Management

“Selecting the right people with potential to excel and then developing those people through the coaching and mentoring process to achieve greatness is a primary responsibility of leadership. Effective leaders know precisely when to coach, when to mentor, and when to manage.”

?Dr. Rick Johnson, founder, CEO Strategist, LLC

Too often when managers and supervisors think of a performance management system they focus on the performance appraisal portion of the process. Performance appraisal is just a part of the overall performance management process.  There are three fundamental components of a true performance management process; (a) Performance planning where goal and objectives are established, (b) Performance coaching where the manager/ supervisor intervenes to give feedback and if needed, adjust performance, and (c) Performance appraisal where individual performance is formally documented and feedback delivered.

While this model suggest a linear relationship between the components, the true relationship is far from linear. In fact, it is more accurate to think about the relationship as circular. The performance management process does not have a clear start and ending. It is not an episode, but it is a process that supervisors and managers, and those they supervise, are constantly engaged.  Each step in the process informs the next step. It is a process in which feedback, both received and given, is expected and encouraged. As a result of the feedback process, expectations and goals for employees may be adjusted to better enhance the possibility of success.

Encouraging didactic feedback throughout the performance management process allows managers and supervisors to identify gaps in performance. Gaps in performance are defined as the gap that results between actual results and desired results. Immediately identifying gaps in performance allows for quick and efficient intervention by the manager or supervisor. Coaching or mentoring an employee through a gap in performance leads to better trained more effective employees. It allows the employee to experience success in a professionally difficult period. In short employee success means organization success.

This month’s blog reviews the performance management system as a tool for employee success. What is Employee Performance Management?  is a short online article that provides a  historical perspective of performance management and discusses some of the possible outcome of the annual performance appraisal process. Chapter 7: Performance Management examines more in depth the coaching and the annual appraisal processes of the performance management system. Importance of Performance Management Process & Best Practices To Optimize Monitoring Performance Work Reviews/Feedback and Goal Management  is an online article that  reviews the essential elements of a performance management system. Included for your review is a video that provides an in-depth examination of the performance management system and contrast it to the more traditional system, Performance Management.

While there may be variations in the performance management process in different workplaces, the essential elements remain the same. It is important as managers or supervisor to become agile with the components of performance management utilized in your organization. A well-developed performance management increases employee satisfaction, productivity and increases internal and external customer satisfaction.

*In Unionized workplaces, it is vital to understand and follow the contract language that pertains to performance management and evaluation.

 

Posted on

Onboarding Employees

“Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.”         Richard Branson

Onboarding employees, also known as organizational socialization, is the process by which new employees are systematically introduced to their position and the organization. This process extends well beyond a traditional orientation period. The onboarding process may differ significantly from the traditional orientation period in that it may last as long as a year.  Onboarding is a multi-method process in that it may include computer based training, lectures, formal and informal meetings, printed materials, job shadowing, and more frequent performance reviews. These techniques allow for a new employee to not only be introduced to their particular job, but to be socialized to the organizational culture. It has been demonstrated through research findings that the process of onboarding leads to higher employee satisfaction and higher levels of employee retention. Additionally, a true onboarding process allows for differences in employee cognitive and learning styles.  More frequent performance reviews stimulates feedback. Which in turn reinforces the learning process. This allows managers and supervisors more flexibility in meeting the learning needs of the employee.  It is a simple concept – coupling employees knowledge of the position to organizational knowledge is a win-win situation for both the employee and the organization.

This month’s blog is all about the onboarding process. Presented for your review are 2 short online articles and a video about the onboarding process.  How to Build an Onboarding Plan for a New Hire  describes the essential anatomy of an effective onboarding process. It highlights the need for the onboarding process to take place before the employees first day.  12 Employee Onboarding Best Practices Every Business Owner Needs to Know is a very accessible list of suggestions that managers and supervisors can use to construct an effective and efficient onboarding process through the first ninety days of employment. Lastly Five Steps to World Class Onboarding is a video that presents another set of elements to consider in shaping your employee experience which can lead to greater job satisfaction and achievement.

At your leisure, please take time to read the articles and watch the video on the onboarding process. Reflect on the way that new employee are introduced to their position and socialized within your organization.