Blog Posts

So you want to work on a cruise ship? - My experience

5/15/2018

I have two things to say, #1 I never thought I would end up working in human resources and, #2 I never thought I would end up with a career based at sea. Human Resources was vilified and made to seem scary when I was in high school and my family business was a yachting and marine service company. I thought HR was scary and the inner rebel in me automatically avoided the family business.

I am not sad that my life has taken several personal and professional diversions over time. But, I know that HR is not scary and evil and I also know that my heart belongs to the ocean. It may have taken a few years but I am happy and proud to say I am “back in the family business”.

How did I get here? Well, that is actually a funny story, at least to me. I have a close friend that for years has fantasised about working on cruise ships and after both of us were in a bit of an emotional slump career wise I finally said “ok, thats it! I am coming over on Sunday with food and we are going to apply to the cruise lines”.

Sunday happened and with our laptops out, resumes and cover letters updated we applied to a couple of our favourite companies. We were both in the same role in another industry and ended up applying for the same role which was in Training & Development.

Monday morning… We BOTH received responses from our most preferred company asking to complete online personality testing. We did that right away and both passed. The next steps were phone/skype interviews with the recruitment professional before we would progress to the direct hiring manager. We did our interviews on the same day, mine in the morning and his in the afternoon.

Success! we both passed the screening process to this point. The next step was to do a teach back (facilitate a mini training session) via Skype. Not an easy task over Skype at the time! I had to use several devices to ensure I had all my bases covered. Skip to a couple days later and I had passed the interview, my friend, had not… I was devastated for my friend because really, this was their idea.

Once you pass the interview process you have to complete intense background checks and a very thorough medical exam. Some of this is out of your own pocket and the medical exam, at least in Canada was about $800. I was then offered a start date! after some back and fourth and trepidation on my part I left my office job for the last time in March 2015 and have not looked back since. I love my life at sea and yes, it is a lot of work to get here. I think it is worth it and is the most rewarding work I have ever had the pleasure to do.

If you feel like getting your feet wet… join me! I will follow up with another article more specific to job hunting for careers at sea. In the meantime, just check out all the various websites and or speak to your local hiring partner.

May the winds be in your favour,

Jeff

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Shifting perspectives of HR

10/19/2017

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When I was 14 years old, in high school, I was made to complete a personalty profile along with my fellow students to determine what career path we not only could take, but should take based on our competency and academic standing.

At that time I had my heart set on being an airline pilot or a doctor or optometry. Based on my profile results I was essentially told that I was not smart enough to do either. Both of these turned out to be untrue, I became a pilot despite not being great at maths. These tests at the time served only to pigeon hole or limit the dreams of many young people, good intention but poor execution.

If you told me at 14 that one day my career arc would take me to being a human resources professional I would have used some very colourful language to essentially say “not a chance, no way”. Why would I say this? Because the world of human resources had been vilified to me. My aunt has been an HR professional for years and has a very distinguished record, yet members of my own family spoke about her work in such a negative light that I grew up thinking that the world of human resources was a scary and negative place. It turns out this could not be further from the truth.

I am not alone however, many people have a physical cringe moment when the topic of “HR” is raised. Further, often when someone is invited to meet me in my office the first question is “am I in trouble”. Why do people feel that way? I would suggest it stems from the notion that most guests say to me when they find out what I do “oh! you are the one that hires and fires”.

I do not like hearing the because, as I have learned, human resources is so much deeper than simply starting or ending someones career. I have so much respect now for what my aunt does, she works in a heavily unionised and regulated health care industry and yet when we meet we do not compete for the most recent exciting termination story or investigation. We talk about organisational development and how to support the business needs of our organisations and ensure we create an inspirational place to work.

It is true, sometimes we have to give bad news to an employee including ending their current employment. We also and more often get to give good news, a promotion or a successful hiring. We do not look at the end of someones career as a a bad thing, the news hurts them and we feel it too, we also know that if their career is ending with us it is for a good reason and they will certainly find more fulfilment in another role or a different company, bad news today can and is good news tomorrow.

Do not be afraid of HR, our soul purpose is to help you achieve you goals.

Jeff

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Social Media - Toolkit for HR Managers Part II

5/16/2017

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If you have read Part I on this topic (below) you are up to speed on the impetus for this post. Social media and smartphone technology are amazing, they have made the world smaller and brought us all closer together, I don’t go anywhere without my smartphone in the off chance I get to take my next best Instagram pic.

For those of you that work with the public we have to assume that every customer has a smartphone on them and as we have learned recently, customers will use them to protect themselves, to shame people or companies into giving them what they feel they deserve or even to use in threat of legal action. Given recent events I think it is important to be proactive of our new social media world and ensure employees have tools to rely on when faced with these types of situations. Customers will not hesitate to use social media to get attention. A true example I witnessed, a couple who had just checked into a hotel room actually created a brand new twitter account just to post pics of issues in their room with hashtags directed at the company, they never picked up the phone or followed “standard lines of communication” to get assistance, they just lobbed a twitter grenade at the hotel and waited… sure enough they got a ton of attention after that.

Here are four tools I think every HR team should have in their tool box to create stronger social media awareness.

Legislation - The laws and rules will be different depending on your region. Most local legislation states that to photograph or film a person requires that persons consent, and to continue to photograph and film without consent can lead to law enforcement becoming involved. When photographing or filming a group of people en masse does not require individual consent. It is important to know the local laws of your land and educate your employees on them and how to communicate them to customers when in these situations.

Procedures - The strongest buildings stand the test of time because of a solid foundation, procedures are the foundation that will proactively prevent heated use of social media as a means to complain. JetBlue is a great example of a company with common sense and balanced procedures that helped them weather their own recent drama after removing a whole family from a flight to Vegas. In the United Airlines incident where the passenger was dragged off the aircraft, bloodied by law enforcement, there lacked clear protocol that could have helped prevent or reduce the social media backlash they received. For JetBlue, anytime the decision is made to deplane a guest, and after several attempts at polite request to disembark, their procedure is to deplane the entire aircraft, this is fantastic out of the box thinking as it removes all the “tinder” to the potential fire and with all guests leaving the aircraft what is the remaining guest to do? All of this is handled with grace and polite communication. JetBlue has clearly thought about any possible guest friction their policies could create and it is clearly working for them when you view social media feedback on them, versus other airlines.

Training - Solid user friendly procedures without training is a waste of time, for everyone. Educating employees on corporate social media policy is important and should not only happen once in a classroom. Use innovative techniques such as in the minute training during team or tool box meetings. Use of e-learning and sharing recent examples from actual social media will help to keep the topic front of mind. As technology continues to evolve training on social media awareness should be an ongoing event. Training should not be just for those working in guest facing positions, supervisors, managers and back of house employees should also be included.

Awareness - It is impossible for anyone to memorise every single policy and procedure, we also know that training has retention of up to 10%. How do we ensure our employees will be prepared if a guest suddenly shoves a camera phone in the face? Keep the conversation going! Discuss social media awareness in team meetings, one-on-ones, ensure that your front line supervisors are acting as coaches to ensure the established procedures are being followed and that they are working and use a tactical approach to assist and mentor any employee that could be at risk of a social media tear down.

Is social media and the use of smartphones by customers something that is on your radar? do you have procedures and training to prepare your employees should they be faced with a situation like United Airlines or JetBlue? If not we may see your company thrust into social media firestorm one day…

#CiaoCiao

Jeff

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Social Media - Toolkit for HR Managers Part I

5/16/2017

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By now you have all seen the headline, or even watched the jarring video of a male passenger being dragged off of an aircraft, screaming and bloodied. The United Airlines flight 3411 incident that took place in Chicago was very interesting to me. I spent 12 years in the airline industry so I tend to view aviation related events through a few different lenses.

When the story first broke, it seemed like the usual overly sensational news about another unruly passenger being removed from an aircraft. This does not sway me as this happens if not hundreds, but thousands of times a day around the world. I watched the main video that was all over social media and aside from the chaos that took place in the cabin of that aircraft I was floored to see the explosive way that this story spread not only on traditional media, but the wildfire it created on Facebook, Twitter etc. The comment threads that I reviewed were angry, judgmental, and very opinionated. The whole sphere of social media was out for blood and the mass online condemnation caused United Airlines stock to plummet in value by one billion dollars in the first 24 hours.

United tried in vain to turn the tide, releasing several statements that were not received by the public well, the first was supportive of the employees and their actions and this caused mass anger again towards the airline. The public hatred towards United Airlines did not begin to turn around until the CEO came out and took full blame for the event, announced major procedural promises and changes and offered compensation to every passenger onboard flight 3411, the airline had dug themselves into a hole with no way out and had to make unrealistic promises that it cannot keep. What surprised me most by this point, was that although the poor finesse of how this situation was handled, United Airlines was actually in the right. I am not defending the injuries sustained by the gentleman involved, the fact is, based on federal law and established policy United had every right to take all the steps that they did, and yet because of the prevalence of smart phones and social media, being right or wrong did not matter, the public made up their mind and wanted to punish United for it.

But why did the public turn so negatively toward United? Because of the social media firestorm. People were posting and re-posting articles and videos with highly sensational, angry, opinionated statements. People like to be heard and with social media, everyone has their own soapbox, truth, facts, and objectivity ceased to matter. This issue is not going to go away, since the United 3411 incident there have been several other airline related incidents that have also played out on social media. Recently JetBlue was the subject of this amazing hyped up headline “Family kicked off flight to Vegas for stowing birthday cake in overhead bin”. This could have gone poorly for JetBlue but it didn’t, there are several factors. JetBlue has clearly established policies, procedures and training in place that are good for both the company AND the customer. JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes was even interviewed on a morning news programme and was eloquently able to defend his employees and the decisions they made, he backed this up with facts related to the case, the training provided to the employees and the applicable laws and regulations.

In todays world we are literally surrounded by smart phone technology where anyone can film or photograph whatever is happening around them. So, how do we prepare for this new world where social media can take one incident and ruin a person or a companies reputation? We will explore strategies for this in Part II of this topic.

#TweetWell

Jeff

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Energy and Creativity Killers - Part II

1/15/2017

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In Part I (below) we explored the foundation of our work environments and how they make us feel about the work that we do. We discussed the idea that a large majority of what creates a great versus not so great work environment is the way communication is conducted, not necessarily the art work on the walls, the benefits package or even the compensation.

After all, have you heard the statement “you don't quit your job, you quit your boss”. This means that a large portion of the power to have, or not have a positive and happy work environment lays squarely on the shoulders of how you treat your employees. More specifically, how you communicate with them. Check out some of my other posts on how to provide feedback that works.

Here, lets stick with the theme. How we talk and communicate. Below are some of the most common pitfalls and some tips to avoid them.

The storm has entered the room -

If you have not seen the movie “The Devil Wears Prada” or read the book of the same title I will help paint a picture. If your employees are giving each other a heads up that you are approaching or about to enter the room you have created an environment of fear. There is nothing wrong with high expectations, so long as they are reasonable and your team understand WHY they are set so high, your team wants to win too. We have all had that manager at some point, we hope and pray that they will not call on us for something “Dave, what are your current projections for Qtr 3 losses?”.

Hail the Dictator -

If you talk at your employees but do not take the time to listen to them, if you do not allow them to ask questions, you may have killed their passion, or are at risk of doing so. Even if their question seems silly to you, it is not to them. I have literally observed teams of 20-30 individuals completely turn on their supervisor due to flippant non answers “how do you not know this?” or “I am not here to teach you” or “If you want me to treat you like children then I will”. As a leader you cannot be everywhere at all times, you need your team to communicate to you the critical information in order to make sound decisions that effect everyone. Remember that empowerment is fuel for an employees soul, their satisfaction with you is directly effected by how much rope you give them.

Walk like a soldier -

Why do soldiers walk so stiff? to demonstrate command and control. Your employees are not soldiers so why would you walk that way? There is a reason why when I speak publicly I REFUSE to speak from behind a podium, it is too formal, too stiff and structured. Confession, when I see the President of the United States speak I spend a lot of time focused on his beautiful seal mounted on the front of the podium. Then my squirrel brain wonders “what’s he got inside? water? papers?” you can see my point. So don’t walk like you are standing behind a barrier.

Helicopter or Hyper Delegator -

Have you ever had a manager that tells you in detail how to do something that is a basic part of your job? I am sure you have felt the annoyance of being told in detail how to do something you already know. This tells me that the manager has not made themselves aware of your knowledge base, which is their responsibility. Be careful of this one, because what I call “hyper delegation” or “helicopter delegator” can kill the mood of the room of your employees immediately, job satisfaction literally melts away when employees feel they are not trusted to do their job. Delegation on it’s own is an art, in fact many books have been written on this single subject.

Some obvious, or maybe not so obvious Final Tips -

It may sound like common knowledge, but believe it or not you cannot yell at your employees in a derogatory manner or call them names. This can be far reaching insults to even subtle jabs. One example is a manager who consistently reminds their new employees that they are, well “new”. Trust me, your employee knows that they are new. Now, there is something to be said for being a humble new employee, this proves good follower-ship. Just be careful labelling your new teammates as it can be felt as demeaning, putting a box around their previous experience or sending the message that “we hear you but your voice doesn’t count… yet”.

As I do often when I self evaluate, I ask myself if I am guilty of any of the above, are you?

Jeff

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Energy and Creativity Killers - Part I

11/17/2016

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Think about your most recent work environment, picture yourself there in the middle of it, at your cubicle, boardroom table, break room. In order for you to do your work you need many things such as proper rest, nutrition etc. But that is not what I want to talk about today, instead let’s have a conversation about things that kill energy and creativity.

No longer are jobs just about being “worker bees” carrying out tasks 1,2,3. For many, you know that the job that you do has to mean more than that. For the past 5 years at least I have read many an article about “how to retain millennials”. Then I have conversations with the 45 year old married mother of three and I can’t help but feel “what about us!?”.

In an ever changing world it has become more and more important to create work “environments” or work “cultures”, language not used more than 10 years ago. Studies published have summarised that if the company someone works for creates a work environment focused on the people, on more than just “getting the task done” tend to retain employers for longer periods of time with higher productivity. Countries have done the same, France has a 35 hour work week, Denmark 33 hours and minimum of 5 weeks vacation per year to start.

“But Jeffrey, what can I do about this? I don’t run the company I work for”

It starts with you. If you are a supervisor or manager at any level of the organisation you can effect change. How do you treat your employees? more importantly, how do you TALK to them. I don’t just mean the words that you use, I also refer to the energy that you bring into the room when you show up (ever walked into a meeting and thought “whoah… whats going on in here?”).

Communication simply accounts for the following;

7% Words
38% Tone
55% Body Language (energy)

Curious that the words we use actually mean very little, it is the tone and the energy we give off that “send the message”.

Have you ever worked at a company where one department was very happy and engaged, whereas other departments were fraught with high turnover, un-satisfaction, departments where “people don't want to be on THAT team”. This happens because very different leaders are setting very different tones within their teams.

Yes, YOU can do this. You can create teams or environments that actually enjoy coming to work. They will be happy, collaborative and loyal, to you, their team and the organisation. The cool part of you creating even a small environment of happiness is that energy is contagious and even if your are not “at the top” you can spread that throughout the organisation.

In part II of this post we will explore actual tips, tricks, Do’s and Dont’s of how you can start doing this today.

“I want to turn the Welcome Mat into wall to wall carpeting”
Shondee Nye

Chat soon,

Jeff

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Leading Up - How to lead your leader

6/1/2016

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I have written many blog posts about how to be an effective leader largely based on leading your team or those that you are responsible for. What happens when you are doing everything you can for your team, yet struggle under someone above you?

In the industry we call this managing or leading up. Yes, believe it or not you can manage your manager. Some may call this finding a way to “win-win” or finding a way to yes.

Executive Coach - Kyle Kalloo

When might you have to lead up? There are several instances that come to mind;

- A new manger to the organization unfamiliar with the corporate culture or processes;
- An experienced manager that is comfortable (stuck) in their usual (old) ways;
- A manager that lacks big picture thinking;
- A manager fearful and protective of their “turf”

I pondered this idea for a while and in order to share the best possible practices with you I realized I needed to reach out to a subject matter expert, Kyle Kalloo is an executive with many years of experience and was the first person I know to bring up the concept of leading up. I invited Kyle to do an interview with me and here is what we learned.

Jeff - Kyle, tell us a little bit about you first. Your career history and experience.

Kyle – It has been a while I have been asked that question, because most people now tend to google me before meeting (laughing). I have been in leadership for just over 20 years now. It wasn’t something I planned on, I’d like to think I am an accidental leader. Most times I find companies tend to put me in that role. McDonald’s Canada was my first job and first leadership position. After 8 years with McDonald’s, I continued my leadership at Famous Players in Toronto, before moving on to WestJet based out of Calgary, for just over 10 years. And now the CFO, COO, Executive and Business Coach with Change My Life Coaching. Just recently, I was speaking with my younger brother about some of my elementary school report cards he and my mother found. Apparently one of those report cards identified a teacher that wrote, something to the effect, they wished I was focus more on my school work instead of trying to run a business. Naturally, that made me pause. Those that know me well, aren’t surprised by that, yet I was.

Jeff - What does “leading up” mean to you, how would you define that for others?

Kyle – I believe they are two concepts to this; I think people are still confused about the difference between managers and leaders. I support the notion that managers know how to plan, budget, organize, staff, control, and problem solve. Pretty tactful and hands on. Where as leaders tend to create and communicate visions and strategies. They think big and allow the managers to focus on the details. With that said, managing up would be specific and tactful, while leading up is more about being strategic.

Jeff - How does one know when they may need to start leading up? what are the signs?

Kyle – In simple terms, lack of clarity. When leaders are not clear with their ask or what finish looks like, are great opportunities to start the process of leading up. Often times you hear phrases such as, “Could you take care of this,” and “I need this ASAP,” When they are not clear with the expectations, they believe they are empowering the employee, but they are not. Without being clear, a lot of time is wasted with going back and forth - unproductive. This is not about being spoon fed by the manager/leader, on the contrary, it is more about spoon feeding the manager/leader. And sometimes that is necessary for a few reasons; gaining clarity and leading their expectations.

Jeff - What would you say are your hands down best practices for leading up?

Kyle – Get specifics. When this is around a project, assignment, or task, it is necessary to seek clarity by asking the right questions. By what time and what day. Do you want me to stop doing what I am already working on to make this a priority. What does finish look like. The manager/leader might not know, and this is a great opportunity for you to suggest. Often times as leaders we don’t live in the details as someone working the front line, in the trenches, so to speak. This is a great opportunity to lead up. Be clear with your priorities. You are responsible for your workload, learning, and development. Don’t get frustrated with additional tasks being put on your plate, often times the manager/leader is not aware and their ask doesn’t’ come from a place to frustrate you. Keep them informed that something else will have to stop to prioritize another item they need. This will start outlining expectations, so when you go back asking for an extension there will be no surprises. My mother often says, “before it’s a reason, after it’s an excuse”, so if you say you are going to get it done on said date, make sure it’s done or ask for an extension prior to said date.

Jeff - What if I am trying to lead up, but my boss is resistant?

Kyle – This is a common question. I think it is for a few reasons; in my experience I find people try to do this right away without first understanding the company’s mission, vision, and values. There is something to be said for doing your time and truly understanding the business first. Regardless of your years of experience in a field or expertise, it is necessary to invest time (conditioning) and understanding in your organization or department. Do not expect to start leading up off the bat. Get to know your team, your leader, and your industry. Foster effective relationships first! Often times, when someone doesn’t agree with me – which is often, I am reminded of two things, 1) because I am not always in the details, they might not have access to all the information. And that is my opportunity as a leader to involve them and provide said details. Or 2) I don’t have access to all the information and it’s my responsibility to ask the right questions. In my experience, if the above is properly executed and there is still resistance, then the leader is leading from a fear base anxiety, scarcity.

Jeff - What are your additional thoughts?

Kyle – When I speak with other leaders, I am told I am pretty hard on them. I think rightfully so, because it is their responsibility to inspire and tap into the natural resources of people that want to do meaningful work. Our best years of our lives are spent at work, mostly working for someone else. And in the absence of a process people will create their own. Leaders have an opportunity to create and influence an environment that provides meaningful work and a safe environment for their employees. Employees’s responsibilities are pretty simple, do the work you were hired to do first, participate in your own learning and development, ask for what you need, and help others.

As you can see, Kyle has great insight for the concept of leading up. As a professional coach Kyle can be contacted at:

Kyle Kalloo,
CFO, COO, Executive and Business Coach,
Changemylifecoaching.ca 844-910-7111

Lead up, down and all around. Most importantly, lead always,

Jeff

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Shiplife Update!

5/31/2016

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The poll results are in! You all want to hear more about shiplife. The last time I blogged about shiplife I was still new onboard and frankly still getting use to my new environment. A year later and a lot has changed for me.

I started my sea based career as a Training & Development Manager, this role was essentially the second in command position for the shipboard HR department. After serving as T&D Manager onboard the Serenade and then Grandeur of the Seas I was looking forward to returning to the Serenade for my second contract.

Early September 2015 and then suddenly, BOOM. My shoreside boss contacted me and offered me a permanent T&D spot on the largest cruise ship in the world! the Allure of the Seas. I asked her if this was something that people turn down… “You don’t turn down the Allure…” I was told. September 19th I arrived in Civitevechia Italy to start my new role on the worlds largest cruise ship.

To go from a ship of 74,000 tons to the Allure at 225,000 tons was at first overwhelming. I had previously been responsible for the training and development of 835 crew members and now was on a ship with 2200, my previous ship only carried 2000 guests! The Allure would be home to around 6500 guests. We often refer to the Allure (as part of the Oasis class) as a different company within the company and it is true. The way we operate this class of ships is very different than their smaller cousins.

I had to adjust to the faster pace and higher volume, the number of classes to teach was quadruple and the interview process that we carried out for onboard employees was immense. Previously on the smaller ships if I was interview bartender candidates I might have 4, on the Allure, it is not uncommon to have up to 50 candidates requiring computer based assessments and interviews.

In early October, with the encouragement of my shipboard HR Manager I took the daring step of applying for the position of HR Manager. A huge step up, this executive position is responsible for the entire HR operation onboard the ship. Then, only two weeks later I learned that my role as T&D Manager was being reorganized and that after November 15th would no longer exist. But! the company was introducing a new elevated position of Learning & Development Consultant. Despite my short time with the company I was one of a select few selected from the T&D ranks to move up to this new position in L&D.

The best way I can summarize what an L&D does is to say “my dream job” coach, mentor, leadership development, organizational development. The L&D role is the “fun” side of HR. I was thrilled. Fast forward to January 2016 and there I am with all my new L&D colleagues in Miami for our kick off conference. In Miami my application for HR Manager came up and essentially was still in process. Due to our rapid growth the application process was taking a bit longer than usual. In fact, I did not have my HR Manager interview until March.

I signed off the Allure in April and was focused on enjoying my time off and preparing for my next contract back on the Allure as an L&D Consultant. Then, on May 9th I was offered the position of HR Manager aboard the Rhapsody of the Seas! I would be returning to the Allure for 1 week to prep my replacement then joining my new ship on May 23rd. So here I am, in in seat 38C on the second leg of my journey. I started off this morning in Cozumel Mexico flew to Houston Texas and am now on my way to Frankfurt Germany, final destination? Venice Italy. I am excited to return to a smaller ship, they tend to be more intimate, more nautical and I cannot argue with the amazing itinerary (Italy, the Greek isles, Croatia, Montenegro and Turkey).

As I have said to many of my friends and co workers, if you told me in March 2015 that in May 2016 I would be an HR Manager I would not have believed you. Our corporate HR mission statement is “We make our employees dreams come true so that they can make our guests dream vacation a reality”. So far, my dreams have been well exceeded and I cannot be more excited for what the future has in store.

Dream big, and never stop chasing your goals.

Jeff

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What would you like me to blog about next?

4/12/2016

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Usually I end up writing my posts based on various inspirations, sometimes I see a quote that grabs my attention. Other times I have an interesting work or personal life experience and find inspiration in writing about it. This time I would like to ask you! Let me know by voting on various topics below and I will blog about it for next week!

Also, my website host has changed the subscription service so if you want to receive updates on new posts please add your e-mail address to the update subscription to the lower right.

Thank you for your input!

Jeff

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Industry worst "best" practice #3

4/11/2016

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Leadership presence and relationship building

Yes! Please come in!

I have many leaders out there that inspire me, one leader Simon Sinek; himself a speaker on leadership topics is very inspirational. He wrote the bestselling book “Start With Why”, many of you have heard me speak about the concept of starting with why and how the question “why do you do what you do” is in many cases impossible for us to answer… More on this in a future blog post.

Today, a quote from Simon Sinek caught my attention:

“We react to emails.
We talk to people.”

The past two weeks I have facilitated several leadership development programs and coaching a lot of leaders on their development. I would say the focus these past two weeks has been on “leadership presence” and “relationship building”. I have a scenario for you to consider, put yourself into this situation;

You walk into your manager’s office; you ask “May I have a few minutes of your time?”
Your manager, “Yes of course! Please, come in, have a seat”
Your manager turns to you, looks you in the eyes and says “What is going on? How can I help you?”

Off to a great start right?

Then it happens… the sound of an e-mail arriving on your manager’s computer “beeeeuuuuu”… You watch as your well intentioned manager turns from you to their computer screen, “click” opens the e-mail that at its worst, is nowhere close to an emergency (who sends an email “fire, fire, fire!”). Then the “clickty clack” sounds of hands on a keyboard fill the room… “It’s ok! Keep talking! I am listening!” your manager says to you with a warm smile. Has this ever happened to you?

Like Sineks quote, the email is merely a reaction, the same happens with text messages and phone calls. When we accept distraction in these situations we are severing the relationship with the human being sitting in front of us. Put yourself in the shoes of the person that came to speak with their manager, how would it feel to know that they are choosing an inanimate object over you?

Talking to people means being present, and being present does not mean just “showing up”. The excuses I often hear about these situations are “I can multi task”. The question I ask is “how many conversations are you repeating because you were not present in them the first time?”

I have some tips to enhance your leadership presence:

As the manager:

When someone sits down to have a conversation with you (building the relationship) turn off the power to your computer monitor. Turn your mobile phone to vibrate or silent and turn it over so the screen is facing down. DO NOT allow yourself to wander back to whichever task you were doing before and think very hard about the types of calls you may have to accept in exceptional circumstances.

As the person meeting with the manager:

Very simple. If at any time they get distracted and start typing on the computer, texting or taking a phone call. Stop talking and wait. Your leader is likely going to encourage you keep talking, don’t. Just politely say you will wait until they are finished, stick to what you said and just wait.

As another of my favourite inspirational leaders Susan Scott says “the conversation is the relationship”. For me that means the conversations we have or do not have directly equal the quality of the relationships with those people in our lives. Remember, a person talking at you while you type away is someone talking to themselves and you working beside them.

Enjoy the conversations,

Jeff

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