Push your team out of a rut

Every team falls into a rut once in a while. Instead of scheduling another tired brainstorming session, take a step back and diagnose the problem. Think about when, where and how your team has been most creative in the past. Can you recreate that group dynamic? Focus your team’s attention toward solving a narrow problem — sometimes constraints enable fresh thinking. Get different points of view by inviting employees from other parts of your business to present ideas to your team. Make sure people aren’t stuck because they fear their ideas aren’t any good. You need to create a safe environment where people are comfortable voicing their opinions. And once you have ideas, commit to moving them forward by setting aside a small budget to create rough prototypes or relieving workers of some duties to free up their time for new projects. Finally, avoid overuse of the word ‘innovation’ — it’s been talked to death.

(Adapted from What to Do If Your Team Is in a Rut by Rebecca Knight)

Delegate successfully

To delegate an assignment, you need to describe the job as thoroughly as possible. But another crucial task is clarifying your expectations to hold the assignee accountable. Once you’ve gone over the details face to face and identified available resources and support, you need to establish a feasible timeline with agreed-upon deadlines. Make sure the assignee agrees that the timeline is doable. Establish how much authority you’re granting by laying out clear guidelines for when the employee can act independently — and when consultation with you is required. Agree on standards of performance, measures of success and levels of accountability. And determine a process for follow-up and feedback. Explain that you want progress reports every week or every month, and decide if these will be via an email, a staff meeting or a one-on-one with you.

(Adapted from Delegating Work from the 20-Minute Manager series)

Handle a group interview

Group interviews are tougher than one-on-ones. To succeed in this kind of setting, you have to prepare. Do your due diligence to gather information that can help you break the ice with the interviewers. Then once you’re in the room:

Greet them individually. Don’t sit right down and wait to be grilled. Walk around and introduce yourself.

Don’t be a wimp. They want a leader, not someone who shies away from controversy and tries to make everyone happy. But if you’re pushing back, soften it with a question: Ask, “What do clients say about your current marketing approach?” instead of, “It doesn’t look like your marketing approach is working.”

Manage the meeting. Act as the facilitator of the group. If one person won’t stop talking, turn him off politely. If someone hasn’t said much, let him into the conversation. Make sure every interviewer has had a chance to be heard.

(Adapted from Ace the Group Interview by Priscilla Claman)

Not ignore fighting co-workers

It’s always uncomfortable when two co-workers fight. If the conflict is getting in the way of teamwork, talk to them. Let them vent to you, and try to get both sides of the story. Show that you understand how hard the situation is, and then explain how their fighting is affecting the team. Maybe say, “You two not getting along is hard for everyone, and it’s preventing us from doing good work.” But before you offer advice, ask if they want your help. If they do, you can problem-solve together. It’s rarely a good idea to involve the fighting co-workers’ boss — unless the problem is truly hurting work — because that would escalate the situation. If the issue is outside of your comfort zone, suggest they turn to a third party, like someone from human resources.

(Adapted from When Two of Your Co-workers Are Fighting by Amy Gallo)

If you’re on a roll, take a break

When you’re on a roll at work — completely focused, tearing through your to-do list — the last thing you want to do is take a break and lose momentum. But research shows that no matter how engaged we are in an activity, our brains inevitably tire, and we become more vulnerable to distractions. Sporadic breaks replenish our energy, improve self-control and decision-making, and fuel productivity. We just have to get better about stepping away before we burn out. So try blocking out a couple of planned 15-minute intermissions on your calendar, one in the morning, one in the afternoon — and find something active to do with this time. Talk a walk, stretch, run an errand, go with a co-worker for a snack, etc. The important thing is to step away from your computer so your focus is relaxed and your mind drifts. Checking Facebook doesn’t count.

(Adapted from Schedule a 15-Minute Break Before You Burn Out by Ron Friedman)

Published in Dawn, Economic & Business, October 27th, 2014