Great Expectations: How to Build Successful Teams and Projects

Many of us started off this year with a rush of new opportunities, ideas and goals. Yet, in conversations with some of my colleagues, a common theme surfaces: even though we are working at break-neck speed everyday, we still feel like we are deluged with work. Those goals seem to creep further and further into the distance. Interestingly, it’s not because of volume, it’s because of a lack of clarity surrounding expectations. 

Once expectations become clouded, no one is clear on what needs to be accomplished. And, when that happens, you might as well put your project and your team in a vat of quicksand.

I decided to observe how my colleagues were handling their schedules and workloads in concert with their day-to-day operations, on-going technological changes, reorganization and succession planning goals. Many were able to complete a variety of daily assignments, yet just couldn’t get ahead of their workload. Ever.

With the non-stop presence of technology in our day-to-day lives, it is no wonder that we loose sight of the expectations of what it is we are trying to achieve. Over the last decade (and even more so during the last few years), many people are pushing forward on projects with the solitary (and fruitless) purpose of meeting the expectation of completing on time.

Expectations, if not clearly defined at the beginning of a project, can go astray quickly, putting leadership and good teamwork at risk. 

Create a clear path of expectations:

1.  Identify upfront the goals and objectives for the project by asking these questions: 

- Why are we here?

- What we are trying to achieve?

- Who is responsible for what deliverables to meet the overall expectation of the end user (often the client)?

2. Write down the responses with specifics such as: expectations, execution, completion dates, deliverables and next steps forward.

3. Throughout the project, stay focused on the expectations of the project and the roles and responsibilities of each team member in order to successfully complete a collaborative and cohesive project on time.

How to establish expectations: 

1. Make sure the expectations come early and are realistic. 

2. Engage your team early in the planning of expectations and the individual roles and responsibilities of the project. 

Expectations are great:

1. By establishing expectations at the beginning of a project you are able to create accountability markers for your team members. 

2. Clear expectations, early, prevent derailment, confusion and a general lack of communication and unease. 

3. A more collaborative and focused team will emerge with clear communications to develop and complete a successful project. 

4. An ownership environment thrives.

How to Help this Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving, remember what it means to help.

H is for Humor
E is for Esteem
L is for Listen
P is for Praise

When is it time to move on?

In this blog, I write a lot about the balance of career, family and community with mindfulness, fulfillment, slowing down and…turning it off. My hope is to provide some sound advice and encourage continued growth on a healthy and interesting path for all.

The toughest question when I consult is: How do I decide when it is time to move on to something new?

Sometimes that work-life balance may be achieved but perhaps the path is not as happy or as interesting as it once was.

Your answers to these questions are good indicators:

- Do I still enjoy my work?
- Do I still feel passionate about what I am doing?
- Is my work appreciated?
- Do I find that I am still able to add value to the company for whom I work?

- Does the leadership reflect the core values and the reason why I joined the company in the  first place?

- Am I staying fresh in my work and growing my skill set and talents?

- Is the work still inspiring or is it just way to “pay the bills”?  

- Do I continue to add value to the well being of the company?

- Does my mission still align with the mission of the company?

How were your answers? If they were mostly negative, then it might be time for some deeper reflection.

A couple of colleagues shared that headhunters had recently approached them. Often, this is a compliment to the person and their reputation in their market sector. I shared with them that they could see what they had to offer, as it is a great way to measure your current situation and compare it with other opportunities.

I believe that there are times when we should move on…and the reason is not always monetary. It is up to each and every one of us to believe in what we are called to do and to trust in the creation of our own destiny.

The Sustainability of Endurance

Are you able to hold on and carry it through?  You can get it over the one-yard line and the thirty-yard line, but can you make it to the goal? Our greatest challenge is to have the endurance needed in this age of technology to ride  comfortably with its cycles and  its fickleness.

The utopia of a Spring garden—its newness and bloom surprises—is quickly followed by the Summer months of July and August. The garden grows double-time, basking in the vitamins from the sun and warm weather. This is the season that puts me to the test. Longer and more frequent days are are required in the garden, trying to stay ahead of the growth, the bugs and other challenges. The peak of summer gardening is all about endurance.

I often find myself asking, “Can I ever get ahead of the upkeep and care?” And, the funny thing is, after a long week of labor in the garden, I am always rewarded.   When I sit in my favorite spot over looking the garden at dusk, I relax and take in all of the joy it brings me. I know that it is never fully complete or finished. I accept that it is a work in progress. Actually, I love that it’s always a work in progress. Isn’t it all? The splashes of colorful flowers dotted across he varying hues of green are a backdrop for a very special kind of dance where humming birds and butterflies flow to the rhythm of the gentle breeze.  And it’s never the same performance twice.

We must all endure through seasons of extra work, some emotional or physical strain, and longer hours at different times in our lives. Just remember, no two days are the same. Each day is a new performance in the greatest work-in-progress of all: life.

Creativity, Growth, Innovation

The Getty Museum, Los Angeles

Keep dreaming your way to creativity. Creativity spawns innovation and innovation leads to new growth opportunities.  

One of my greatest joys is teaching classes on growing critical thinking through creativity. During the course,  one session involves bringing a group of community leaders to a museum to be inspired by creativity. This one change of pace can impact the day-to-day, sharpen focus on the details and refresh one's outlook in unexpected and positive new ways. Seeing something new, doing something new motivates creativity.  

Unhook yourself and your employees from their routine every once in a while. Encourage them to do something different. The benefits will be felt in the workplace immediately. 

Do you still dream ideas?

  

Why Do We Complain So Much?

It seems that everywhere I turn, I hear complaining – especially from the media. Did you know that complaining is really about projecting failure? Complaining doesn’t get us anywhere. In fact, it is counterproductive. Ever notice that when one person complains about someone or something, it opens the door for everyone to complain?

Encouragement, on the other hand, shifts the depth of one’s belief and allows you to not get “stuck in someone else’s mud.”

How does one turn a complaint into something to be thankful for?

Recently, I went to a birthday party. It was a “big milestone” birthday, and preparations were in the works for weeks. The ladies purchased outfits with a glorious sunset and perfect temperatures in mind. Well, the only trouble was, it was February, and you can’t control the weather in February. The birthday day arrived, and it was non stop rain --all day and into the evening. There was no sunset. No breeze. It was raining cats and dogs.

To my relief, the host did not cancel the party. When I arrived at the restaurant, I ducked into the bathroom to dry off, only to find several other like-minded women. I I wonder if you can imagine the din of complaints. “I’m soaked through!” “My shoes are absolutely ruined!” “What a terrible day for a party!” I didn’t know these women, and I wasn’t even sure if they were there for the party, but I started to hand out paper towels from the dispenser. I complimented all of them on how gorgeous they looked with words of encouragement about the location and the fabulous dining experience we were going to have.  I reminded them of the beauty of the rain after such a long drought. What did I do? I invited happy. And as we whisked away raindrops and make-up was reapplied, the mood changed. Mindsets shifted. We all started smiling and laughing.

There is a bigger reason for what we do every day.  And this birthday was about something bigger than a pair of soggy shoes!

Encouraging others to be thankful and to think positive is contagious.

You can always choose if you want to be positive or negative. I always chose positive.

Handling Transition

From a post industrial society to a highly technological society

From childhood to adulthood

From beginning or ending a relationship

From employee to manager

From working life to retirement

From health through illness—and back again

We live transition. Every day. On a big scale and on a very personal scale. And, the first transition I talk about on this list is probably having the most impact on how well we cope (or not) with the transitions in our personal lives.

The more people I talk to, I realize that no one really talks about how to adjust or prepare for transition that is constantly swirling around us. Is it because it’s so constant, we just wade through it?

There is an important conversation to be had. This high-tech society in which we live gives us less and less time to stop and ponder when what we really need is to give ourselves the permission to take our time as we walk through the transitions of life.

Over time, I’ve learned that a transition works ONLY when we accept in advance that our calendars are going to change. A transition is going to change your timing in life. Accepting a promotion, for example, means you are going to have to take some steps away from your own time.  Transition means that your whole “person” is changing along with it.

People don’t talk about the emotional changes – the anxiety, uncertainty, instability, and the loss. You will, no doubt, need to prepare and let go of some things to invite that transition into your life in a positive way.

Talk about it.

Give yourself time.

Process it – emotions and all.

How do you welcome something new into your life?