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Answer You - Managing Your Team (Part 9) - Is That a Fact or Just an Opinion?
Should you mail a one-page letter or a two-page letter? Neither. Mail a four-page letter.I’m talking about donor acquisition letters. The ones you mail to strangers, asking them to send you a gift. The most successful acquisition letters are longer than your typical renewal letter. Here’s why.Renewal letters, by definition, ask current donors to renew their support. So these letters assume that donors understand who you are, what you do, who you help, and why you are a worthy cause that deserves the dono
Everyone benefits, you, the team, the organization, the customer.
Why should this behaviour be encouraged?
If you are looking for a good business opportunity, then consider running a franchise. Ruining a franchise under any prominent and profitable company will spell success for any ambitious business entrepreneur. Many successful companies have now started selling franchises to business entrepreneurs to take their business forward. You will find on the web various franchise brokers offering numerous franchise-buying opportunities. Some websites also carry detailed information on companies willing to offer a franchise to business professi
Perhaps it's human nature, maybe it's all to do with power and influence - there can be a tendency to accept, without question, statements made by those in a position of power or those we regard as experts in their field.
Within your organization, you'll know 'the rules'. You'll know what can be said, what can be questioned and who can be questioned. I've been there and have to say that I didn't always get it right.
I can only hope that your organization believes in the real practical value of empowering individuals to develop and add value in an open and structured environment.
Even if it's not, the purpose of this article is to...
Ask you, as team leader, to create and maintain the team environment within which openness is encouraged, and all team members feel enabled and safe to question statements made and conclusions reached. Allow them to take a risk
Why is this important?
From the day we discovered the world was round to landing on the moon, from the quill to the laptop - where would be today if nobody questioned, if nobody challenged, if nobody felt enabled to take a risk?
I am not suggesting we create a free for all. The emphasis still needs to be on adhering to the agreed ground rules and following a structured, systematic approach. Having said that, as leaders of our team, we can lead by example - we can get into the habit of presenting facts and supporting data not opinions. We can remind the team how successful we / they have been by following a behaviour of fact driven, data supported problem solving/decision making.
Give real examples to support argument, especially if you have examples of disastrous outcomes when decisions were based solely on opinion. This behaviour sets clear expectations in the minds of our team members.
Everyone benefits, you, the team, the organization, the customer.
Why should this behaviour be encouraged?
I have a great Callaway jacket – what do I like best about it? It has my website embroidered on it – a subtle yet distinct JVWisdom.com.Anything that is customized or personalized suddenly becomes very much more valuable. We like our own names and our company names and our sports team names, don’t we? So when we customize a product or service for an industry or a specific business, we create massive increased value at very little cost.You can private label an innocuous shampoo for a good hair salon and make serious mone
I can only hope that your organization believes in the real practical value of empowering individuals to develop and add value in an open and structured environment.
Even if it's not, the purpose of this article is to...
Ask you, as team leader, to create and maintain the team environment within which openness is encouraged, and all team members feel enabled and safe to question statements made and conclusions reached. Allow them to take a risk
Why is this important?
From the day we discovered the world was round to landing on the moon, from the quill to the laptop - where would be today if nobody questioned, if nobody challenged, if nobody felt enabled to take a risk?
I am not suggesting we create a free for all. The emphasis still needs to be on adhering to the agreed ground rules and following a structured, systematic approach. Having said that, as leaders of our team, we can lead by example - we can get into the habit of presenting facts and supporting data not opinions. We can remind the team how successful we / they have been by following a behaviour of fact driven, data supported problem solving/decision making.
Give real examples to support argument, especially if you have examples of disastrous outcomes when decisions were based solely on opinion. This behaviour sets clear expectations in the minds of our team members.
Everyone benefits, you, the team, the organization, the customer.
Why should this behaviour be encouraged?
When was the last time you did not pass a certain interview? Have you tried recalling what you told the interviewer that made him give you thumbs down? For job hunters, do you usually prepare what to answer for the undying questions that these companies ask their applicants?Let me give you an overview of my experience as an Interviewer. In 2002 until 2005, I worked as a Human Resources Assistant for a Networking Company where I handled both the Recruitment and the Benefits and Compensations of over a hundred employees. It is
Why is this important?
From the day we discovered the world was round to landing on the moon, from the quill to the laptop - where would be today if nobody questioned, if nobody challenged, if nobody felt enabled to take a risk?
I am not suggesting we create a free for all. The emphasis still needs to be on adhering to the agreed ground rules and following a structured, systematic approach. Having said that, as leaders of our team, we can lead by example - we can get into the habit of presenting facts and supporting data not opinions. We can remind the team how successful we / they have been by following a behaviour of fact driven, data supported problem solving/decision making.
Give real examples to support argument, especially if you have examples of disastrous outcomes when decisions were based solely on opinion. This behaviour sets clear expectations in the minds of our team members.
Everyone benefits, you, the team, the organization, the customer.
Why should this behaviour be encouraged?
Are you dreaming of being your own boss? I suggest that you stop dreaming and get into action. You never know what happens when you make that decision and go for it. People usually make excuses why they can’t do something, they never look at the things they can do. Why do we do this, always look at the negative. I have wondered myself about this, we sabotage our dreams all the time, without thinking what we are actually doing. It takes changing our thoughts and really that’s about it, when you change the way you think than a whole n
Give real examples to support argument, especially if you have examples of disastrous outcomes when decisions were based solely on opinion. This behaviour sets clear expectations in the minds of our team members.
Everyone benefits, you, the team, the organization, the customer.
Why should this behaviour be encouraged?
You never thought this day would come, the day when you can’t stop working and you don’t want to. You’re a workaholic. These days, more and more people are succumbing to this lack of work-life balance. Ironically, being a workaholic can make your work decline in quality and effectiveness, as you allow your work-obsessed life to turn you into a miserable person. Far from being a conscious decision, this typically happens slowly over time in the form of several small yet repeated sacrifices of personal time to allow for more work t
Everyone benefits, you, the team, the organization, the customer.
Why should this behaviour be encouraged?
How do we manage this behaviour?
Boring as it may be to some, when the team is in the forming stage, set it as a ground rule that whenever the team leader, a team member, or a guest speaker gives a presentation or simply provides information, all statements are based on fact which is supported by data and not merely someone's educated opinion or hearsay.
Of course there will be times when this is not possible but that's the whole point of encouraging an open approach and a risk-free team environment - bottom line - if there is a lack of data, the statements or decisions can be challenged constructively and through that challenge, the team reaches consensus before moving on.
"Constructively" means we are challenging the statement in oder to get a positive outcome and not attacking the individual personally, for example...
"If we accept what you have said as feasible, what data can you provide to test it?"
"Tell us how you can prove that those last statements are true"
"That idea sounds really good. Given there is not a lot of supporting data, what can we do to help justify running with it?"
"What data do we need to provide that verifies the conclusions are based on fact and not opinion?"
Note that a lot more information will be forthcoming when we ask open, searching questions, for example...
What's the difference between "can you provide data?" and "what data can you provide?"
Managin
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