Month: October 2019

leadership dot #2684: evaluation narrative

October 21, 2019October 18, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

New supervisors are often overwhelmed when it comes to writing performance evaluations for their staff. Instead of avoiding this critical task, here are five key sections that can form an outline for the narrative:

Context: What (if any) extenuating circumstances/factors that were outside of the employee’s control occurred during this evaluation period that may have influenced the job the person did/was able to do? (examples: staff vacancies that caused the employee to do double duty, new supervisor, reorganization, new technology system, etc.)

Contributions: Looking back on the evaluation period – what are specific contributions that the employee made? Cite evidence/examples for your statements.

Challenges: Looking back on the evaluation period – what are specific challenges that the employee had/what do they need to do differently… Cite evidence/examples for your statements.

Goals/Looking Ahead…and then, looking forward – what goal/plan/actions are needed to remedy these challenges and what are priorities for the employee in the upcoming evaluation period (to remedy challenges or to seize opportunities)

Summary: Overall assessment of the employee, optional comments on intangibles

Writing an evaluation narrative is an effective way for the supervisor and employee to ensure that their expectations and impressions are aligned. It’s a worthwhile exercise for every supervisor to do every year – both as a conversation prompt and as a snapshot of performance progress. Don’t let the task intimidate you from doing it.

More on the evaluation process can be found at dot 1753.

leadership dot #2683: nicer

October 20, 2019October 18, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

With so many signs regulating our behaviors, they tend to lose their effectiveness. One way to stand out from the communication overload is to rethink the wording on your signs and utilize nontraditional verbiage to get your point across.

One organization did this with a sign to discourage employees from exploring unused space on the floor of the office building they were renting. Instead of “do not enter” they changed it to: “Your wandering curiosity and Dupaco’s leased space stops here. Please do not venture past this point.” How much nicer is that?

The next time you need to make a sign, take an extra few moments to craft a message that conveys your point in a memorable way. You can achieve the same intent but with a smile.

leadership dot #2682: a plan

October 19, 2019October 18, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

A recent Frazz comic strip features Caufield saying “Plan, they say, so I plan: I decide I’m going to be a millionaire with a muscle car.” To which Frazz replies: “Yeah, that’s more like a dream.” “Then what’s a plan?” Caufield asks. Answer: “The stuff in between nothing and the dream.”

It’s a tricky distinction to go after something visionary – and to simultaneously attend to the minute details but that intermediate stage is what makes the creative possible.

Think about where your skills lie: are you the dreamer who can come up with lofty ideas and see things that are beyond what is possible now – or do your talents gravitate toward taking others’ visions and giving them the plans required to see them realized?

There is a wide gap between nothing and a dream. Where are you best suited to contribute?

leadership dot #2681: harvest

October 18, 2019October 18, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

One season “woodland friends” were featured on every imaginable product, then there was a frenzy over cacti, only to be replaced by llamas and unicorns. When something is so suddenly pervasive, my sister and I joke that the product must have gotten a new PR agent who promotes its image and orchestrates product placements in all the major stores.

This year, the mythical marketer of the year award goes to those responsible for promoting autumn. Have you noticed that “fall” has become a merchandising frenzy on its own? I’m not talking about Halloween or Thanksgiving, but the actual “It’s Fall Y’all” season in between. Pay attention and you’ll be astonished.

Fall decorations are everywhere. Products include hand towels, pencils, shower curtains, soap, rugs, and all manner of seasonal trimmings. You can have a complete set of fall dishes and almost every food item comes in pumpkin spice flavor to serve on them. Hallmark has a selection of cards wishing greetings just for the season and Walmart is running commercials to encourage “harvest parties.”

Someone identified a gap between summer and Halloween and revved up the merchandising machine to fill it. You may have caught the bug personally and added an extra pumpkin or wreath to your front porch, but has your organization capitalized on the new energy around this season? Add “fall” to your planning cycle for next year: host your donors at a pumpkin patch, add spice flavoring or color to your product, or send sunflower cards instead of Christmas greetings.

There is a marketing bounty waiting for those who harvest it.

leadership dot #2680: debatable

October 17, 2019March 16, 2021by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Thank goodness that they don’t interview executives the way they do presidential candidates! Can you imagine applying for your job – standing next to 11 others vying for the same position – and being given 75 seconds to answer questions or 45 seconds to respond to others – all while on national television.

Primary debates are the ultimate balancing act. You need to stand out from your opponents, yet not too much because you’ll need those supporters in the general election. You need to distinguish yourself from the others who are members of the same party, presumably meaning they share the same essential core values even if you differ on how to enact them. You need more of a message than “beat the other guy” but aren’t really given any time to deliver it.

And all of this leads to soundbites and pithy statements about what you’ll do if elected – conveniently ignoring the fact that you’ll need Congressional support (or at least budget allocation) to get much of it done and glossing over that how those elections go could seriously impact your plans.

Eight million people (including me) thought it worthy enough to watch last Tuesday but I can’t say that it swayed my vote. What it did do was cause me to wonder what the point of the spectacle really is.

If you find yourself producing a program – any program, let alone one the magnitude of the primary debates – take more than a moment to pause and consider what you’re hoping to achieve. Then produce a format that allows for those objectives to be met. It’s debatable whether the debates accomplish the goal of sharing the values and differences of primary presidential candidates; in fact, I’d vote for a better way.

leadership dot #2679: overbuilding

October 16, 2019October 16, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Iowa has some of the richest farmland in the world and it is breaking my heart to see it being covered in concrete for yet another unnecessary commercial development. Within blocks of a construction site are vacant office and retail spaces, yet beautiful black dirt is being plowed under to build another mini-strip mall. Across the street, one of the original homesteads is being emptied in preparation to be bulldozed so a convenience store can replace it – even though there is already such an establishment at the next intersection.

It’s the ongoing tension between capitalism and climate – and the planet seems to be losing.

Everywhere you go, vacant buildings stand idle while new construction occurs on pristine land. What happens to the property when the sports teams vacate an arena or Sears and Younkers cease business and leave thousands of square feet empty in malls across the country? We just allow it to sit empty and build new elsewhere.

If we want to get serious about environmental impact, we need more teeth in zoning laws that allow Planning & Zoning boards to reject new builds when vacant space exists or to deny duplicative businesses within certain geographic parameters. I know, it’s not the capitalist way to regulate competition, but it is the government’s role to oversee land use.

Let’s allow some of the land to remain green instead of cement gray while we still can.

leadership dot #2678: say yes

October 15, 2019October 14, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I was asked to teach a class next term that I have never taught before; I said yes. When I’m asked to do a workshop on a topic that is new to me, I say yes. I’ve written articles on things that I initially knew next to nothing about and even had jobs that required a substantial learning curve – but they all turned out well because I am able to “be the string” and connect concepts into a cogent whole.

Everyone can use the same process, ideally with some advance planning time. Now that I know my course topic for next semester, I will start paying attention to things that will fit with the subject area. I’ll see things on social media and in the news that will trigger other resources. I’ll ask colleagues for ideas and referrals (it’s on integrated marketing if you have anything for me!). I’ll read some things which will reference other resources and the accumulation process will begin in earnest. I keep collecting ideas until a pattern emerges that ties them all together.

For my last session, I included resources from no less than eight different people – each one contributing a piece of the puzzle that I assembled. I had books, articles, websites of organizations, videos, handouts and examples from current events. Since the session is over, I still find myself seeing new stories that would enhance the message, so I collect them, too, in preparation for the next time I use the topic.

I love the process of developing new content and find that it works for articles, sessions, classes and even projects around the home. Once you start focusing on a topic, the universe responds and provides you with ample examples to meet your needs.

Don’t get stuck in a rut because you’re afraid to venture into new territory. The path will illuminate itself, step by step, once you get started.

leadership dot #2677: map

October 14, 2019October 14, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

An organization that is working on system-wide change did some evaluations with the front-line staff involved in the efforts. What many of them said was some version of “we want a road map” – please tell us how to enact this change, outline the steps for us, give us direction, etc.

The thing is – there is no road map. There isn’t one to give them – and the change is so new and so massive that no one could even make a map if they wanted to. Instead of a map, what the leaders need to give their team is an understanding of the process of change and reframe their identity to one of creator or explorer instead of follower.

I think about this on Columbus Day – and what must it have been like for him and his flotilla to set out to unknown destinations. There was no map for Columbus – nor is there one for any organization embarking on a change effort. In addition to spending time talking about the change itself, leaders would be wise to align expectations of their staff to ready them for ambiguity, missteps, and confusion – and prepare people to make the map instead of futilely seeking one.

It seems appropriate to share this quote again today:

When David Livingstone’s work in Africa became known, a missionary society wrote to him and asked, “Have you found a good road to where you are?” If he had, the letter indicated the society was prepared to send some men to help with his work. Livingstone’s answer was clear and to the point. “If you have men who will come only over a good road, I don’t need your help. I want men who will come if there is no road…”

…Or no map.

leadership dot #2676: ink

October 13, 2019October 14, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Tattoos have become so commonplace that pen-maker Bic has embraced the concept and tried to capitalize on its popularity. The manufacturer is now offering sets of body markers designed for people to ink their own tattoos – temporarily. The design will last through several washings, enough to let you test the location and design before you venture into permanency.

Body ink is a logical product expansion for the company – it’s still ink, it still comes in very similar packaging, and it’s even sold in the same section of the store – yet it could create an avenue for new users as well as new uses.

Bic evolved from ink for paper to ink for skin. How might you allow your product to take a step in another direction? Even if the move is only temporary, it could result in some interesting adaptations for a new market.

leadership dot #2675: exterior

October 12, 2019October 8, 2019by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Organizations take great care to brand the insides of their facilities and to have their space be reflective of the work they do. Often overlooked is the outside of the building which can act as a giant billboard to create awareness and, hopefully, even interest to come inside.

One artist who grasped this idea created iron art at his studio in Michigan. The rear of his building bordered the edge of a parking lot of the busiest store in town and he capitalized on this proximity as both a storage site and as an advertising vehicle. You couldn’t help but notice his display.

What can you add to your space beyond the traditional sign? You don’t have to be an artist uniquely communicate about who you are.