This week has been all about the published word. At the start of the week I was asked by BIFM to peer review the new Good Practice Guide to to Implementing a Sustainability Policy, and as a member of the Sustainability Committee, I was delighted to assist.
Yesterday's FM World quoted me talking about Etiquette in open plan offices - a fascinating topic and one which I'm sure we'll hear more about as budgets get squeezed and FMs are asked to save space costs.
Today's Daily Telegraph has an interesting four-page career supplement on FM - for once the media seem to approach FM as a seriously sector with much to offer the new entrant.
On Wednesday I was representing the Best Practice Club (www.bpclub.com) at their Internal Communications workshop hosted by DVLA - a day full of valuable advice from the many companies represented, and an opportunity to participate in discussion groups around market segmentation, measurement, engaging line managers and other ways to communicate.
Enjoy the rest of your week!
Liz
www.lizkentishcoaching.co.uk
Thursday 23 October 2008
Thursday 16 October 2008
Saying 'No'
I ran a training event yesterday on Resolving FM Communication Problems, and one of the hotly debated topics was when, how and whether to say 'no'.
A lot of people just don't like the idea of having to tell people they can't do something. Often they feel obligated when a colleague asks a favour; or feel pressurised when a client or someone senior to them needs something done.
How many of us find it easy to say no to something we really have not got the time or desire to do. How often do we find ourselves in situations where are workload is too high and in turn the work we produce is rushed and not to our capable standard. How often do we find ourselves at events that we never wanted to attend but we just did not have the heart to say no?
Human beings have a strong desire to be accepted and appreciated and feel that one of the ways to do this is to avoid hurting peoples’ feelings or letting them down. We feel that the more we do for others the more they will appreciate us. We feel that by saying no we are being selfish and self- centred. By saying yes to every thing that is asked of you, you are actually denying yourself of the right to do what you want to and be who you want to be.
You will find people may take advantage of your generosity and flexibility. You will also find that if you have said yes to too many responsibilities and committed to too many deadlines, your work will be rushed less thought through and mistakes will occur and deadlines will be missed. These consequences will generate a lack of respect and trust from others. So always saying yes to obtain acceptance and respect is not the way forward.
There is a way to generate respect and be accepted. We call this process of saying NO.
Rationalise
The first step to building enough confidence to say no is to identify why you feel you always have to say yes. You need to stand back from the situation and think about it logically.
Just say No
Once you have rationalised and come to a conclusion you should feel more comfortable about saying no if you need to. The next step is to say no directly to the person making the request.
When doing so you will need to remember to use assertive body language and an assertive tone. You do not want to sound or seem apologetic or nervous.
Explain your reasoning
Make sure that when you say no, you explain your reasons for your decision. This does not mean you are justifying your decision it will simply help others to understand especially if they are used to you always saying yes. This does not mean offering an excuse.
Offer a solution/suggestion
For those of you who were born to help or are not totally comfortable with just saying no you may feel more comfortable to compromise or offer an alternative.
Saying No
Here are some pointers of what could make it easier to say 'no':
If you're saying something serious, notice whether you smile or not. Smiling gives a mixed message and weakens the impact of what you're saying.
If someone comes over to you while you are seated; and you want to appear more in charge, stand up. This also works when you're on the phone. Standing puts you on even eye level and creates a psychological advantage.
It's all right to interrupt! A useful technique is to say something along the lines of, 'I'm really sorry; I'm going to interrupt you.' Then use whatever tool fits the situation. If you let someone have their whole say without interrupting, they could get the impression (when they get no message to the contrary) that you're on board with their plan (to get you to do whatever...)
Pre-empt. Meetings are a great place to get landed with work you don't want. You can see it coming. So to avoid the inevitable, pre-empt, 'I need to let everyone know right at the top, that I can't fit anything else into my schedule for the next two weeks (or whatever).'
A lot of people just don't like the idea of having to tell people they can't do something. Often they feel obligated when a colleague asks a favour; or feel pressurised when a client or someone senior to them needs something done.
How many of us find it easy to say no to something we really have not got the time or desire to do. How often do we find ourselves in situations where are workload is too high and in turn the work we produce is rushed and not to our capable standard. How often do we find ourselves at events that we never wanted to attend but we just did not have the heart to say no?
Human beings have a strong desire to be accepted and appreciated and feel that one of the ways to do this is to avoid hurting peoples’ feelings or letting them down. We feel that the more we do for others the more they will appreciate us. We feel that by saying no we are being selfish and self- centred. By saying yes to every thing that is asked of you, you are actually denying yourself of the right to do what you want to and be who you want to be.
You will find people may take advantage of your generosity and flexibility. You will also find that if you have said yes to too many responsibilities and committed to too many deadlines, your work will be rushed less thought through and mistakes will occur and deadlines will be missed. These consequences will generate a lack of respect and trust from others. So always saying yes to obtain acceptance and respect is not the way forward.
There is a way to generate respect and be accepted. We call this process of saying NO.
Rationalise
The first step to building enough confidence to say no is to identify why you feel you always have to say yes. You need to stand back from the situation and think about it logically.
Just say No
Once you have rationalised and come to a conclusion you should feel more comfortable about saying no if you need to. The next step is to say no directly to the person making the request.
When doing so you will need to remember to use assertive body language and an assertive tone. You do not want to sound or seem apologetic or nervous.
Explain your reasoning
Make sure that when you say no, you explain your reasons for your decision. This does not mean you are justifying your decision it will simply help others to understand especially if they are used to you always saying yes. This does not mean offering an excuse.
Offer a solution/suggestion
For those of you who were born to help or are not totally comfortable with just saying no you may feel more comfortable to compromise or offer an alternative.
Saying No
Here are some pointers of what could make it easier to say 'no':
If you're saying something serious, notice whether you smile or not. Smiling gives a mixed message and weakens the impact of what you're saying.
If someone comes over to you while you are seated; and you want to appear more in charge, stand up. This also works when you're on the phone. Standing puts you on even eye level and creates a psychological advantage.
It's all right to interrupt! A useful technique is to say something along the lines of, 'I'm really sorry; I'm going to interrupt you.' Then use whatever tool fits the situation. If you let someone have their whole say without interrupting, they could get the impression (when they get no message to the contrary) that you're on board with their plan (to get you to do whatever...)
Pre-empt. Meetings are a great place to get landed with work you don't want. You can see it coming. So to avoid the inevitable, pre-empt, 'I need to let everyone know right at the top, that I can't fit anything else into my schedule for the next two weeks (or whatever).'
Some phrases to avoid:
“It’s not my fault, I don’t make the rules”
“What’s the problem”
“To be honest with you”
“With all due respect”
“Nobody has complained about this before”
“You’re the 3rd person who’s complained about that today/this week”
“It’s the way we do things here”
Some food for thought I hope!
Liz.
Friday 10 October 2008
Cutting work space
Many employers are planning sweeping cuts to their workspaces to cope with the tightening economic squeeze, according to property experts.
TheUK cities monitor report 2008 found that 25% of companies expected to reduce space requirements to cut costs. One-fifth intended to consolidate staff into one building, while almost 10% were considering moving to cheaper premises.
Will forcing employees into smaller working areas or less salubrious buildings cause them to look elsewhere - what do you think?
Wednesday 1 October 2008
Operations Directors - help is at hand!
Over the past week several Operations Directors within the FM industry have openly shared with me their current key people issues.
In times of economic uncertainty, your people become ever more vital to the smooth running of your service.
Here are some of your key issues and some ideas for resolving them - fast.
Retaining qualified employees
Ensure every individual has clear objectives and still understands the need for flexibility and working as a team. This will also help tackle the 'it's not my job' syndrome. Give people development opportunities. Find out what drives every individual in your team - it may be security, variety, a sense of belonging, recognition, status - who knows? And how do you find out? Ask them! Once you know, use it in managing them.
Motivating a multi-site team
You need to see them face to face as often as you can - not necessarily for formal meetings - just show you care about their welfare, development etc and say thank you to them. Find the 'key communicator(s)' on each site and give them responsibility to e.g. contribute to your newsletter, intranet etc. Some of these people may even be the 'moaners'; get them on side and they will be valuable assets to you.
Stopping gossip
Why do people gossip? Because a) we all want to communicate and feel we belong, b) we need to feel informed. One way to stop gossip is to communicate regularly and honestly - good news and bad. Right now your FM teams may be clearing the desks of colleagues who have been made redundant, cancelling meeting and conference bookings, cutting back on using sub-contractors - all this makes them feel uncertain. Give them answers to their questions, even if the answer is sometimes 'I don't know'.
It all comes down to you
Yes, quite often it feels like that. Are you talking with people in your peer group, your coach and your mentor, to find out what's working well for them, and exploring ways to cope more effectively? It's good management to ask for support.
For more help and advice, download your free report 'Building confident, high performing teams in FM' here
In times of economic uncertainty, your people become ever more vital to the smooth running of your service.
Here are some of your key issues and some ideas for resolving them - fast.
Retaining qualified employees
Ensure every individual has clear objectives and still understands the need for flexibility and working as a team. This will also help tackle the 'it's not my job' syndrome. Give people development opportunities. Find out what drives every individual in your team - it may be security, variety, a sense of belonging, recognition, status - who knows? And how do you find out? Ask them! Once you know, use it in managing them.
Motivating a multi-site team
You need to see them face to face as often as you can - not necessarily for formal meetings - just show you care about their welfare, development etc and say thank you to them. Find the 'key communicator(s)' on each site and give them responsibility to e.g. contribute to your newsletter, intranet etc. Some of these people may even be the 'moaners'; get them on side and they will be valuable assets to you.
Stopping gossip
Why do people gossip? Because a) we all want to communicate and feel we belong, b) we need to feel informed. One way to stop gossip is to communicate regularly and honestly - good news and bad. Right now your FM teams may be clearing the desks of colleagues who have been made redundant, cancelling meeting and conference bookings, cutting back on using sub-contractors - all this makes them feel uncertain. Give them answers to their questions, even if the answer is sometimes 'I don't know'.
It all comes down to you
Yes, quite often it feels like that. Are you talking with people in your peer group, your coach and your mentor, to find out what's working well for them, and exploring ways to cope more effectively? It's good management to ask for support.
For more help and advice, download your free report 'Building confident, high performing teams in FM' here
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