Team Tips - 23 {Protocol Check - on myself}

I've been thinking about my last post of Team Tips - Team Tips 22 {Ouch, that hurts - Part 2} - and that no one responded to my challenge.

And how that is actually a good thing. Weird, eh?

I know that 20+ folks looked at the blog page, and so it is reasonable that some even read it. But not one comment.

Now, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence (or more precisely, is not evidence - period.) Someone out there may be busy pondering my questions, researching articles, sharpening their cyber pencils, drafting an essay, getting copy editor revisions, and so on. Or not!

However, no response is perfectly reasonable, because I broke the rules.

The Perfection Game is one of the Core Protocols. I like the choice “Protocols” because it implies following a procedure, a set of steps. In other words, doing it - the Protocol - properly. After all, if you want to do things well, then once you have a successful method follow it! At least until a better procedure shows up.

So I shouldn't have hidden an Ask for Help inside a pretend Perfection Game. Sure, I presented it as “an example” to skirt the fact that you didn't actually ask me to Perfect your reading of the post. But a donkey having been through the car wash is still a donkey.

I should have just Asked for Help directly.

All of you who didn't comment - all 100% - congrats! You could have gleefully screamed “Protocol Check!!” and pointed out the error of my ways. You could have asked me for an intention check to clarify my purpose, and then with that clarification from me then gleefully screamed “Protocol Check!!”. Or you could have ignored my inappropriate behaviour and walked away, as the evidence might indicate you did.

The point of having these atoms of proven successful group behaviour - the Protocols - is that everyone in the group knows them, how to use them, what to do if they suspect improper use. All of which set up the best known initial conditions for successful teamwork. If you would rather use your own version of the Protocols, or not use them at all, be my guest. Let me know how that is working for you.

In the meantime, let me Ask for Help properly:

• Will you use the Comments area to note some [employee] performance examples for which the Perfection Game doesn't seem to work; and
• when using the Perfection Game as your performance management method, a simple scheme to allocate merit increase money if it must be based on job performance?
  

Team Tips - 21 {Ouch, that hurts - Part 1}

You've been to the doctor, right?

There's always the moment when the doctor or nurse has to give you a needle, or draw blood, or otherwise inflict some unmentionable procedure on, or in (ew), some unmentionable part of your humanity.

That's when you hear the phrase:

This won't hurt a bit.

Just like when a “best friend”, or business associate, or the boss at performance evaluation time thinks you really need to hear some feedback, some constructive criticism. After all doesn't everyone want to improve? See their mistakes and learn from them? Make themselves a better person?

This won't hurt a bit. This is for your own good!

It's a wonderful idea if you are the “helper”: being a good friend, advising someone with your pearls of wisdom. But it's not so much fun being the “helpee”. Particularly when it is “inflicted help”. (I think every instance of feedback should be automatically matched in strength and duration with a return message; not as defensiveness or revenge. Just to return the favour.)

Ah, Reeves, you just don't want to hear criticism. You just don't want to be a better person. I'm, like, trying to help you here!

Hmmmm: right; wrong; wrong.

Right: I don't want to hear criticism. I may not respect the source; I may not like the intent; and I've already got my own imaginary critic whispering in my ear.
Wrong: I do want to be a better person. Returning as a dung beetle isn't at the top of my list (see previous post).
Wrong: You really aren't helping. If you really intended to help you would ask me how I would like to receive the “feedback” you have for me.

What I would like you to do, when I ask, for the topic of concern:

1. Tell me how I'm doing numerically, roughly, on a scale of 1 to 10. 
2. Tell me what you like and think I should keep doing 
3. Tell me what I should do differently, or add, to make the score a perfect 10, from your point of view. 

Now:

• I have a quick idea of how I'm doing: 10 out of 10 means I'm good for now; 1 out of 10 means you have lots of improvement ideas for me. 
• And I know what things you think I should continue doing. 
• And, best of all, I know what you think I should do more of, or do better, or add to my game. 
• The final component is that I can decide to use, or not, any of your suggestions. Nothing inflicted. 

In fact, this can be seen as a game. We could even call it, say, the Perfection Game. Crazy! 

It could be part of the Core Protocols. 

Oooops; Jim & Michele McCarthy already thought of that.

10 /10 from me.

Team Tips – 20 {I'm being reincarnated as a what!?}

OK; I have a confession to make.

Last blog I said I had no evidence of anyone reading my posts. That was a bit of poetic licence to make the point that I have not been overwhelmed with responses or comments.

Google Analytics really does know I exist - I use their blogging tools. And they do report pulses of readership when I actually post something. I also have a very small cadre of blog followers. My last article even received several comments and some Google “pluses”.

So there are a handful out there who make the time to read through my stuff. There've been no arguments, no debates, no requests for other topics, but I'm not complaining. Well, maybe just a little.

But when the evidence of readership knocked on the door of my conscience, my virtue alarm went off.

“Brrrraaaaaap! Excuse me, sir, but you said you had no evidence when there is evidence. That is in direct violation of your Integrity virtue. Your penalty is 100 demerit points and no use of the virtue halo for a week.”

If, at this point, you think I should change brands of coffee because clearly something weird has affected my brain, please let me explain.

After the Ask for Help protocol mentioned in my last post, Personal Alignment is for me the next most powerful tool in the Core Protocols for personal growth and improvement. The essence of Personal Alignment is first to know what you want out of life - not just stuff - but your legacy, your contribution, your karmic achievement to avoid reincarnation as a dung beetle. (Just to hedge my bets: no offense to any dung beetles out there; I'm sure you're swell folks.)

And second is to choose a virtue (a handy list of suggestions is provided) which feels like it will help you get to your goal.

Before my experienced friends, or the Core Protocol police, object, I admit that this is how I use Personal Alignment: going for the big existential goal. That is not the critical part. The critical part is choosing a virtue to work on that feels like it will help surmount the obstacles that have prevented you so far in getting you to what you want, whatever it is. Virtues like: Self Awareness, Faith, Hope, Passion, Self-Care, Courage, Wisdom, Peace, Joy, Integrity...

So just pause a moment and chew on that. It's not about working harder, getting up earlier, staying later, cramming more into your life to get what you want. It's about virtue. (Yeah; you're wondering about my brand of coffee again!)

The “work” is putting energy into your chosen virtue, hanging on to it, thinking about it, exercising it, checking it's health.

So in my case the virtue of Integrity is a big deal for me because I've often been in situations where my thinking, my talking, and my acting were not coherent, were not aligned, were not in sync; for example, saying I would do one thing, then actually doing another. My Personal Alignment has been Integrity many times, and at other times while focused on a different virtue, Integrity has still been hanging around, just offstage. That happens after 10+ years of Personal Alignments; the virtue becomes a friend, an ally, a helper. It's like a personal assistant nudging you, reminding you, checking your temperature.

And going “Brrrrraaaaaap” when you slip up.

It's actually very cool. And it's helping me avoid coming back to this earth as a dung beetle.

Team Tips – 19 {Ask, and ye might receive.}

Back when I was a kid my parents made me have a bath every Saturday evening - whether I needed it or not. I'm not kidding! Imagine. 

So here's a blog post whether anyone needs it or not.

There's no evidence that anyone reads any of my posts, but absence of evidence is not evidence of absence - in this case. Maybe Google Analytics forgot about me, and didn't check to see if someone has been peeking. Maybe the feature that allows comments at the bottom isn't working, or is too complicated for people to bother, or requires a secret handshake and the root of minus one for identification.  Maybe there are so many people trying to tell me that they live just for my posts that they are swamping the internet. Or have died waiting.

It was been a while since my last article, (Me Mum is fine, by the way, in spite of all previous indications to the contrary): some 23 months and 13 days ago if you like hard data.

So for all you billions of fans out there, here's a poke to say I'm still here, still kicking, still training and consulting and helping people be their best. When they really want the help, that is.

I've made lots of offers with few takers. If we're talking evidence, the data that there have been few takers seems to reinforce the human condition that we all love to forge ahead independently without asking for help because that's the err, umm, adult? thing to do. Our mature egos balk at looking like, or admitting, there might be something we don't already know, or are proficient at, or with which we could use some assistance.

Of course, how do we know help is available, or that the helper really knows something we don't, or can actually explain it so we can learn something, or might actually be useful and not waste our time when we are busy struggling? How do we even know what we don't know?

Welllllll - we don't. Unless we ASK.

Asking for help - about anything - is still one of the best kept secrets for success in the world.

That's why it is the “secret sauce” in the Core Protocols. Why it is the primary behaviour to learn to develop and to be part of a great team.

And you don't have to wait for Saturday evenings to do it. It works anytime, all the time.

Team Tips – 18 {A little cheese with that WHINE?}

Got a phone call from “me Mum” the other day. She was sad. The reality of having to finally put the family home up for sale had just hit her.

After telling me how she felt, she apologized to me for “whining”.

I was struck that at her 95 years of age, having dealt with WW2 in England, emigrating to Canada with a newborn (me), having no friends or family in this part of her world, etc., etc. that this was the first time I could recall her “whining” (as she put it).

It made me think of all the stuff I see in Twitter, and on Fussbook, and in the news where folks are continually, relentlessly, indiscriminately moaning and complaining and fussing and wailing about the latest pin prick in their lives. That's what I call WHINING!

And my reaction to all that stuff is: Ya want a little cheese with that whine?

Sure, there's lots one can complain about, and no shortage of bad news. The talking heads are paid to provide it, lay on the drama, get the audience worked up, introduce a little anxiety, move us to DefCon 3.

But seriously folks. How about a little perspective? A little dose of proportion? See - now I'm whining!!

We live in a world of abundance. In spite of all humanities mistakes we're still here on this amazing space ship. The sun appearing every day is cause for celebration.

And there are tools in the Core Protocols to recognize the problems and see what can be done with them (like Perfection Game.) Of course it's a lot easier to point out the concerns than to figure out a remedy or solution, and many times we would just rather complain.

That's also where the Core Commitments help too. For example:
 1. I commit to engage when present .... (b) To always seek effective help.
 3. I will use teams, especially when undertaking difficult tasks.
 4. I will speak always and only when I believe it will improve the general results/effort ratio.
 5. I will offer and accept only rational, results-oriented behavior and communication.
 8. I will seek to move forward toward a particular goal, by biasing my behavior toward action.

So - surprise, surprise - we CAN make choices. We can choose to complain, AND choose to do whatever we can about it.

And I figure if me Mum can get on with it, then I'd better too!

Blog History {Who'd a thunk?}

Since I just released a new version of my website, I was poking around making sure all the links worked which led me to my Blog - this one - and a shock.
 
I've made 60 posts since the first one in 2008!

Some I think aren't too bad and some are just horrible. Either way it was fun to scan through them, and that made me wonder if there was an easy way to compile a summary list.

I haven't found an easy way to do that, but I did find that Google can report the ones that were most popular - at least the top ten. They are in order below.

The astute observer will note that interest in 2011 is no guarantee of readership in 2012 and 2013. As for the desert from 2008 on - the less said the better.

The blog layout options don't make it easy to pick out interesting titles either because you actually have to select the month in the Archive list on the right to see them - not so user friendly.

That's why I've added the opening paragraphs in the list so you at least get that.
If you have some improvement thoughts, or any requests, let me know. The good news from my passion for improvement and reading is that it is great fun to post ideas in the big cyberspace library in the sky.

Here's the top ten:

Effort vs. Results on a Great Team from April, 2011

There's another interesting and important exchange underway in the Core Protocols Group forum (http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/TheCoreProtocols). This one is about the relative merits of effort versus results. [Note: this forum is now the Facebook Group "The Booted"]

Agile vs. ITIL from March, 2011

A little while ago an associate in the Agile Coaching community, Yves Hanoulle, asked me about the contention often raised that Agile software development practices don't mesh with the ITIL Framework.

Team Tips – 12 {Lean, mean, machine} from January, 2013

One part of my consulting and training life deals with IT Service Management. Those are the principles and practices associated with the view that an IT department is a provider of services to its business counterparts which improve the value and potential of business outcomes. Usually good IT Service Management is achieved by adopting best practices from a framework such as CobiT or the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL).

Team Tips – 16 {An abundance ofAngels} from April, 2013

When I was a District Manager of Customer Service at Xerox Canada one of my managers told me she had seen an Angel. The spiritual kind, the God's Helper kind.

Team Tips – 10 {A word with you ...} from October, 2012

There's a wonderful push across the world to translate the Core Protocols, from McCarthy Technologies, into a variety of languages by people who want to use this information locally with teams for whom English is not their first language.

Team Tips – 13 {What's in a name?} from February, 2013

On April 21st. Vickie Gray and I will conduct another Great Teams BootCamp. The details are here.
You'll notice right away we are calling this one a “Creating Time BootCamp”. Over the years since 2003 that we've attended, helped at, or held a Camp ourselves we've always debated with ourselves what we should call each session.

Team Tips - 7 {I, Robot} from March, 2012

Here's a challenge from some who have heard about, but not fully experienced, the Core Protocols in action: Using protocols of behaviour turns us into robots.

Software for Your Head #4 from March, 2011

Finishing the project team kickoff meeting story from Software for Your Head by Jim & Michele McCarthy.

Team Tips - 4 {Is this for me?} from November, 2011

Another challenge for teams comes from Jose R.:
“Can everybody work in teams?”

Team Tips - 5 {Trust me!} from November, 2011

We're having a snow day; first of the season.
So it's a good time to tackle this challenge for teams from Jose R.:
"How can you recover trust inside a team that has lost it?"

Team Tips – 16 {An abundance of Angels}

When I was a District Manager of Customer Service at Xerox Canada one of my managers told me she had seen an Angel. The spiritual kind, the God's Helper kind.

Lizzie (almost her real name) was a professional, logical, coherent, mature adult who was a very “by the book” manager. I realized as she talked about her Angel experience that she was taking a big “career limiting” risk by sharing this with me, her corporate boss. Happily that meant that she trusted me enough not to judge her as crazy, or rat on her in to Human Resources.

I'm glad to say I listened quietly, kept my skepticism to myself, so she could share this secret. My task was to support her, not make things more difficult. In my mind I could conjure up some extenuating circumstances: her mother had just died, her husband was unusually introspective, she was stressed with a tough job.

Nonetheless, it was just plain weird in our cultural circle to admit to seeing Angels.

And I'm reminded of that situation when Vickie or I encounter some people's reactions to the Core Protocols or BootCamp.

We get:

• these concepts can't work, won't work, aren't feasible, won't be accepted
• the Core Protocols are too ... (insert negative adjective here)
• people won't use these Simple Rules and Tools
• people need to build their own
• there's no means to enforce compliance
• this is dictatorial
• people won't share emotions
• groups need facilitation
• we can't spend the time to come to BootCamp
• and several billion more

What's fascinating to discover, when a conversation is possible with an objector about any of these reactions, that the objector hasn't actually read the Core Protocols document, or has not attended a BootCamp, or seriously tried to investigate this material. Nor does the fact that thousands of people have found it helpful over the 15+ years that teams have been generating these ideas seem to make any difference to them. Or that an investment of five days is worth the value of changing one's life.

So what is preventing the level of understanding that all this might be genuine?

One possibility is fear.

When we talk about the potential for BootCamp to be a life changing experience and to effect your success for the balance of your life, that can be very scary. We know that some people don't really want to challenge their belief systems, or to deal with their true potential.

So when objectors deny the 15+ years of BootCamp success is possible, we just listen quietly, share the facts we have, and leave it at that.

If a world of abundance isn't what you want, if you don't want to realize your potential, or reach for the sky, then BootCamp is not for you.

You probably just aren't ready for a universe of possibility, or Angels either.

On April 21^st. Vickie Gray and I will conduct another Great Teams BootCamp. The details are at http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e6w31ovda52cdbb5

Team Tips – 15 {Our soufflé fell!}

I had another post lined up for Team Tips - 15 but then this gem popped up this morning on Twitter:

from @LeaderChat

BEST BUY: We Ended ROWE/Work From Home Because It Defines Leadership as 100% Delegation.... ow.ly/jrDjp By @kris_dunn

I was intrigued because a Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) is a kindred spirit with the learnings and experiences gained from the immersion in the CORE Protocols at BootCamp.

So I followed the url above to Kris Dunn's post:

[the hr Capitalist]

http://www.hrcapitalist.com/2013/03/best-buy-we-ended-rowework-from-home-because-it-defines-leadership-as-100-delegation.html

March 21, 2013

BEST BUY: We Ended ROWE/Work From Home Because It Defines Leadership as 100% Delegation....

Kris ends his post with:

Take a look and soak - it's an interesting conversation. My gut tells me that the delegation angle is window dressing, and when times are bad, people want butts (plural!) in seats.

In this way he leaves the door open for debate on the reported statements on ROWE by the CEO of Best Buy, Hubert Joly, and connects us to the related post by the creators of ROWE:

Cali & Jody Blog

http://www.gorowe.com/blog/2013/03/18/beyond-telework/rowe-creators-set-the-record-straight-best-buy-ceo-doesn-t-understand-rowe/

ROWE Creators Set the Record Straight: Best Buy CEO Doesn't Understand ROWE

It’s disheartening to us that Best Buy's CEO, Hubert Joly, complains of his ideas being “misconstrued” and then in the same breath completely misconstrues another important idea. That idea is Results-Only Work Environment, which up until a few weeks ago was the innovative work culture of Best Buy’s corporate offices.

Jody Thompson continues to explain some myths about ROWE which you should read for the full story. To summarize, they are:

Myth #1 - ROWE is delegation

Myth #2 - If you can see people at the office, you know they’re working!

Myth #3 - ROWE is a one-size-fits-all program

And Jody ends with:

Either Joly truly doesn't understand what ROWE is or he doesn't know how to lead in a ROWE. Either way, he just doesn’t get it.

Fascinating, Captain!

Taking these posts at face value, and assuming Hubert Joly is a smart person with good intent, we have a conundrum.

• Perhaps he is misinformed about ROWE, or it's mechanics, or how it has been implemented at Best Buy
• Perhaps he has a bad speechwriter / press agent, or can't read
• Perhaps he has been misquoted, or might plead the Nixon-ism: “Those statements are not longer operative”

Given his quoted remarks it's clear he doesn't understand delegation. When he says no one should delegate the task of building a brick wall to him (because they wouldn't like the result) he seems to not understand that

• delegation of responsibility is only viable when the “delegatee” can produce the desired result, OR
• (and he should surely understand this as the CEO) when the “delegatee” can further delegate the task to a bona-fide bricklayer

Does Best Buy regularly designate responsibility for, say, accounting audits to their facilities people, or IT services to their logistics experts?

And Mr. Joly needs some assistance with the concepts of leadership. His description of possible leadership styles as “coaching, motivating or directing” are more accurately descriptions of parent-managing.

But we started with the belief that Hubert Joly is a smart person with good intent. Hmmm. Reductio ad absurdem?

He at least needs some help. A good executive coach might work with him on his integrity so that he can honestly say: "I don't like our implementation of the ROWE concepts. It hasn't worked out like I wanted here at Best Buy. We are changing direction and asking all HQ employees to work in the office." (BTW: that's leadership - at least in the traditional organization)

Perhaps even: "Butts in seats is good enough for Yahoo so it's good enough for us."

Whichever way you look at it, the chef shouldn't blame the recipe when he doesn't follow it.

Team Tips – 13 {What's in a name?}

On April 21^st. Vickie Gray and I will conduct another Great Teams BootCamp. The details are here.

You'll notice right away we are calling this one a “Creating Time BootCamp”. Over the years since 2003 that we've attended, helped at, or held a Camp ourselves we've always debated with ourselves what we should call each session.

Jim & Michele McCarthy coined the original name of “BootCamp”. The common explanation for this choice is that over the week each attendee adopts new “software for their head” (taken from their book of the same name). So then everyone “boots new software” - using computer jargon. But this stuff isn't a computer Operating System. It's the commitments and protocols that make up the CoreProtocols that have emerged from teams being great. And adopting these best practices gives you a new way to operate in the world. Your own new mental operating system.

So if you're into software, or are in any tiny way computer literate, you get the idea.

But.... We've also had parents call us that wanted us to straighten out their teenagers. They hoped we were running a Marines style drill Bootcamp. And of course if you are leery of the military, or drill sergeants, or pushups in the rain, then the name BootCamp is not so exciting.

Then we got keen on “Results Camp” because the whole outcome of BootCamp is to generate a team that knows how to produce great results every time.

And I like “Great Teams Camp”. After all, the Core Protocols emerged from great teams in action and have been handed on to help others become a great team, and it's the team that produces the great results, and ...

Later, Vickie and I found out about Human Systems Dynamics, a whole discipline generated by the doctoral research of Glenda Eoyang. Glenda's certification course taught us about the importance of simple rules and tools. And bingo! We realized that the Core Protocols package was just that. The commitments were simple rules for teams to follow and the protocols were tools of behaviours for them to be great.

Now we had the name “Simple Rules and Tools Camps”.

Then we conducted a BootCamp where the team was astonished by the time-dilation effect. They were getting much more accomplished much faster than anticipated. That lead to Vickie's first book: Creating Time.

So as you are signing up for our next session above, you'll see it's a “Creating Time BootCamp”.

And when you get your manual once you've registered you'll see it's called the “BootCamp Manual”.

If this is all confusing, don't worry

Under the covers, it's still the same fabulous content. The week is your time to immerse yourself in the best understanding there is of what makes great team work. And you get to experience it to produce a great product. Yourself. Sweet!

A rose by any other name ...