Interviewed by Dr Andrew O’Brien, Gary Ryan, author of the new book What Really Matters For Young Professionals!, shares insights on each of the 15 practices featured in the book. This interview includes practical tips to enable you to accelerate your career.
Find out more information about the book at www.orsgthatmatter.com/WRMFYPBook
Major international sporting events like the World Cup create a terrific opportunity to focus on the elements that enable high performance. These elements are applicable not only to elite and social sport, but also organisational teams.
Specifically the Australian Socceroos Round One loss to Germany by a record breaking four goals to nil score line highlights the power of team talk. The Australian media have gone into a frenzy debating whether this current Socceroos team has what it takes to create success at the World Cup. Success, in the media’s eyes and re-enforced by the Australian Socceroos themselves is reaching the competitions quarterfinals.
Imagine the possible team talk in the Socceroos change rooms regarding next Monday’s game against Ghana. “If we lose this game it is all over. Our World Cup Campaign will be finished. Our reputations will be equal to mud if we get thrashed again.”
Such team talk creates a focus on the outcome rather than the moment, and also creates a strong and vivid image of failure. Humans have a remarkable capacity to focus on what they don’t want and then go ahead and create it. When I ride my motorbike I have to be aware of the truck that is coming toward me. But if I focus on the truck I will ride my motorbike straight into the truck (the same is true for bicycles – you travel where you look). Clearly I don’t want to ride my motorcycle into a truck, so I have to become disciplined at focussing on where I do want to go, while being aware of the truck at the same time.
The same is true for teams and team talk. Your team talk reflects what you are focussing on. As the image highlights, team talk leads to team image which then affects performance. Negative team talk leads to a negative team image which, like a magnet, draws the team’s performance in that direction. Of course the performance then re-enforces that the team talk was accurate and a vicious cycle is created.
Team talk by itself does not guarantee success. Nothing does. But positive team talk that focuses on what the team can control, such as its systems and processes when balanced with the right work or training increases the chances that success will be achieved. When negative team talk is present it significantly increases the probablility that failure will occur.
In this context teams must focus on what they can control and the team talk that relates to success. If the Australian Socceroos are to achieve the success they desire then focussing on their team talk is a powerful approach to adopt.
I believe Henry Ford was right when he said, “If you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right either way!”.
What is the team talk present in your teams? Is it positive? Is it negative? Is it focussed on what you can control?
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People expect good service. Period. Often, their expectations are not met. Too often. Just think about your own experiences as a customer. How often are your expectations met? How often are they exceeded? Customers expect their expectations to be met. You expect your pay to arrive when it is due. You expect your food to be delivered as ordered within a reasonable timeframe and at the appropriate temperature when you order food at a restaurant or cafe. You expect finance reports to be delivered and inclusive of all appropriate information as scheduled. You expect to be treated as a human being when you visit a government agency, education institution or medical facility.
In order to be able to consistently meet expectations, your organisation must aim to exceed expectations. It is likely that there will nearly always be a lag between when you last checked the expectations of those you serve and the actual service that you are providing them. The lag time may include a change in the level of expectations of those you serve. Unless you are aiming to exceed the expectations at the level that you understand them to be, you may not achieve a consistent level of meeting the expectations that you do know exist. This never-ending journey means that exceeding expectations is a challenge. A real challenge. A challenge worthy of your commitment. Is your organisation currently worthy of your commitment? Is your performance worthy of your organisation’s commitment to you?
Quote
“Consistently exceeding the expectations of the customer, personalizing his or her service experience, and continuously improving your product or service so that it creates greater value for the customer produces a level of customer loyalty that cannot be matched by your competitor.”
(Theo Gilbert-Jamison, service excellence expert/author)
I have spent the last couple of days in hospital having had my appendix removed. My experience of the hospital was fantastic with a high level of care shown by all the staff with whom I came into contact.
Last evening I witnessed an event that displayed integrity and courage, while also highlighting that serious mistakes can be made even in a well run hospital.
At about 8:30pm a senior nurse came in to speak with an elderly gentleman with whom I was sharing my ward. She informed him that he had been given someone else’s medicine an hour earlier. She told him that she had checked with his doctor and that there weren’t any issues regarding side effects with the incorrect medicines that he had taken. She also apologised profusely for the error.
From my perspective the nurse showed courage and integrity by admitting the mistake, initiative by checking with the patient’s doctor before informing him of the mistake and she also provided a genuine apology.
This experience got me thinking. In a hospital it would seem that giving the wrong medicine to the wrong patient is a fundamental error that shouldn’t occur. It would appear that human error was involved. Six Sigma was a system that was introduced at Motorola as a way of creating a culture that minimises such fundamental mistakes. Six Sigma officially translates to 3.4 mistakes every 1 million efforts. I’d like to think that, at the hospital where I have just spent the last few days, the mistake that I experienced was one of the 3.4 in one million!
So, the question for you is, “What are the fundamental errors that you should be minimising? What systems do you have in place to ensure that human error is minimised?” Even a short stay in hospital can provide opportunities for reflection and improvement. I’m certainly reviewing our systems and processes in the context of this experience.
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While this article focusses upon the revelations of the systematic cheating by administrators within the Melbourne Storm Rugby League Club, the article is about organisational leadership and not sport.
To me preparation to become a leader starts well before a formal leadership role in an organisation is offered to you. It starts with becoming clear about your values and practicing them every day in all your life’s roles. Vision without an understanding of your values can lead to behaviour, such as systematic cheating, that is inconsistent with the vision. I don’t know the motives of the senior Melbourne Storm administrators for their behaviour. I do know that conscious development and mastery of your personal values takes time and is important for people to have mastery of their values before they commence formal leadership roles. It is my view that not enough people are clear about their values and how they are reflected in their behaviour at work. Are you clear about yours?
Please feel free to comment on this article.
Over the past few weeks I have been conducting programs for university students. Amongst other themes, these programs have included the identification and launching of community based projects. No less than 75 students have been involved in these workshops, and this week will see another 40 students involved in a similar program.
All these students are in their low 20s and gave up their holiday time to participate in the programs. For all of them, their academic performance will not be affected by not attending the programs. Yet they have not only turned up but have enthusiastically committed themselves to creating projects that will benefit their university and/or the broader community.
Sometimes I hear people of my generation (Generation X) or from the Baby Boomers complain about Generation Y. “They aren’t like us”, they bemoan. “They simply aren’t committed to anything other than themselves!” they complain.
Well, Gen Y aren’t like us. That is okay because they shouldn’t be. Otherwise we’d be stuck in some sort of time vortex. However, Gen Y are committed, very committed to helping to create a better world. Just like the older generations, there are sufficient numbers of committed Gen Ys who are there ‘having a crack’ at creating a better world. And they are doing it right now. I have the evidence of this because I am lucky enough to be able to work with them and the student projects that I have described above are practical examples of Gen Y hard at work.
So, Gen X and Baby Boomers, don’t worry, our future is in safe hands!
Please feel free to share your experiences of the positive work that Gen Y are doing to create a better world.
Expertly interviewed by Dr Andrew O’Brien, Gary Ryan provides the background to the book and explains the key concepts that the book addresses.
For your convenience the interview has been split into small parts.
* What was the background to the book being created?
* What are ‘Employability Skills’?
* What is the background to the title of the book and who are Young Professionals?
* How can Young Professionals and the more senior staff they work with connect with you?
* How would you summarise the book?
* Why did you develop the Online Course?
* How might Young Professionals fund the Online Course?
For more information on the ebook and Online Course please follow this link.
A recent report published on the CIO website indicated the Gen Y are now more loyal to their employer than they have ever been. For a number of years I have been arguing that Gen Y are not as different as the older generations like to claim that they are. I’m not suggesting that as a generation they aren’t different, what I am suggesting is that the degree of difference is not as high as some have been arguing.
For many years I was laughed at for suggesting that the apparent ‘lack of loyalty’ by Gen Y was more driven by a booming economy than anything else. Gen Y when new in the workforce are able to exercise their right to change employers if the employer’s promises didn’t match the reality of organisational life. Many of the rest of us would love to have had that freedom of mind to take the same action. The reality is that for many of the older generations, they choose to put up with poor cultures and organisations because of their life stage – many married with children and large mortgages. (I, for one took the “I’m creating my own path” choice and with my business partner Andrew I am loving that choice!)
It is little wonder, therefore that when the economy has changed Gen Y, when asked if they plan to stay or go have responded with a resounding increase in, “I plan to stay!” Gen Y aren’t stupid. There’s no point being ‘mobile’ in your career if there isn’t anywhere to go!
My hope is that Gen Y don’t lose their intolerance for organisations not matching what they say. I have experienced too many people in the older generations who wish that their organisation’s culture was better than it is. But many of these people stay in those organisations for fear of not getting another opportunity elsewhere. Unfortunately this means that the organisations don’t change like they should.
Gen Y may have a serious impact on organisational cultures over time because they may make them more accountable. While there is good reason to celebrate the reported increase in Gen Y ‘loyalty’ my hope and belief is that they are just plain smart and they’ll be loyal while they are shown loyalty themselves. I also believe that they will continue to take responsibility for themselves and their career development far more than previous generations. Such action comes with being ’employably mobile’.
A nine month project has been concluded with the launch of the What Really Matters For Young Professionals! How To Master 15 Practices To Accelerate Your Career ebook being launched today!
An Online Learning Companion Program has also been created and is now available as well.
The printed version of the book will be available in approximately six weeks.