In a time span of a couple of days, I came across a number of posts that talked aboutthe need for communication, clear communication specifically. For a leader, clear communication can help get a project finished, build team confidence, and head off misunderstandings before they become full-blown problems.
Let’s start with this quote found at Fast Company: “If you expect those below to support your leadership and step into the breach when needed, they will need to understand your strategy, your methods, and your rules.” –Michael Useem I’ve often found with the teams I lead that a little communication goes a long way in promoting trust and loyalty. When they can see where I’m coming from and where I’m heading, then they feel empowered to strike out and go above and beyond my expectations for them as they work toward helping me reach the end goal. They feel a part of things because they undertand what is going on. I also try to communicate when something has changed as soon as I’m aware of changes.
This post started by asking what one quality people looked for in a leader. The following gem showed up in the comments: Clarity is key. Clarity is the key component, because you need to have clarity in your communication to the people you lead, and to the people you serve, you need to have clarity of mission, purpose and passion so people want to follow you, and you need clarity of purpose to wade through all the information that will come your way to find the truth, or at least the most relevant information. Again, people respond well to someone who doesn’t feel the need to be mysterious in passing along information. When they can see that you are clearly on a set path, and they can clearly see the path themselves, then they are more likely to follow willingly and do what it takes to get to that ending. Mysterious directions and unclear goals are best left to guided discovery teaching moments and scavenger hunts!
This post illustratres a few ways to not communicate clearly and links to a post on how not to have a conversation. I always like to assume my teams are composed of intelligent people who will understand me, or will ask for clarification if they’re unsure. As I tend to surround myself with independent thinkers for the most part, this method works well for me. Occassionally, I get someone who needs to be directed or coached through every tiny thing, and even then I refuse to belittle them. I like questions.
The moral of the story: Communicate. Communicate clearly. Be willing to clarify when there is confusion.
Posted by Rebecca as Leadership and management at 7:40 AM EST
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It seems like recently I’ve been working with a number of students on time and goal management skills. I honestly don’t remember how I learned to do both, but I can tell you that trying to teach others to do it is something akin to leading the proverbial horse to water.
I’ve run into these twelve rules of time management a few times over the past few days, and I think it’s a great read! Perhaps I’ll put it to good use myself this week as I attempt to streamline some of my to-do lists!
Posted by Rebecca as Organizing at 8:13 AM EST
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I apologize for how short this post is. I’m recovering from a very busy weekend, and am trying to handle too many things at once this morning.
I did want to share the StartupVentureToolbox, which gathers a number of links that any entrepreneur would find useful! I love sites like these!
Found via the Business Opportunities weblog
Posted by Rebecca as Entrepreneurship at 7:42 AM EST
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I’ve read so many pieces of advice on whether or not freelancers and consultants should charge prospective clients for the initial consultation. I’m of the belief that I would be inclined to lean toward the free consultation, but until I start seriously considering life as a freelancer, I’m sure I won’t make a firm decision. I can see why it’s such a debate though, but I think in the end it all comes down to perceived value.
For the free consultation mindset, the argument is adding value. Clients appreciate being able to consider you as an option at no risk to themself. They also appreciate knowing that you aren’t going to nickel and dime them for every single thing. For every potential you convert to an actual client, the cost of that initial consultation is made up somewhere in the project.
The fee mindset, though, says that one must be paid for every working moment, including working to gain new clients. This isn’t a bad thing, but I’m not sure I understand the theory presented. Most of the people I’ve read endorsing the fee for the initial consultation claim that this brings only serious clients across your table, therefore leaving you with more time to work. I can see that…to a certain extent.
Those who don’t charge for the initial consultation seem to find many serious clients as well, plus they’re in a position to provide a little education to those who are just checking out the industry. It may be the teacher in me speaking, but a little education can go a long way in your client conversions and referrals.
I don’t know. I can see the arguments for both, but I still feel I’d go for the free initial consultation.
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized, Freelancing at 8:16 AM EST
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I have always been, and will forever be, a fan of Curt Rosengren’s work. The man really has a handle on passion and its role in developing your career, and his writing style is so approachable. It’s been a while since I’ve shared one of his posts, but really this post captures what I feel to be the core of his message very neatly
If you haven’t checked out Curt’s blog, you really ought to! It’s great and timely advice.
I’ve edited this post to include a quote I found not long after writing this post that i think just fits. “Where your talents and the needs of the world cross, there lies your vocation.” — Aristotle
Posted by Rebecca as Changing careers, Creativity, inspiration, and motivation at 7:32 AM EST
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There were a couple of interesting links gracing my Bloglines account last week regarding recruiting. It’s a tough job. I used to be a recruiting coordinator, and after dealing with a candidate, I often felt sorry for the recruiter and interviewers who would be meeting with the person.
Somehow, we’ve all been conditioned to believe that the process of finding a job and then staying there relies solely on us, the person who is looking for and then working in a job. That’s simply not true. The hiring company shares that burden with us, because if we aren’t happy, we have the right to walk away from the interview process and the job. Therefore, it’s really up to the recruiter and hiring manager to make their best effort to hire the right person and incite them to stay.
I think some of the points are interesting in the list, but I found this post highlighting one more point to consider that I think would nicely round out the list. I’ve met exceptions to this rule, but I think generally speaking there is some truth to it.
Recruiting…it’s all about the right fit for both the hiring company and the candidate.
Posted by Rebecca as Leadership and management, Work skills at 8:03 AM EST
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I’m thoroughly enjoying having all of my blogs in one place! Last week, my tech guru moved the last of my blogs into this website, and now updating my blogs has become much, much easier! Yay for simplifying my work. No more having to go to several different sites to get through a week of updates. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with the extra three to four minutes I’ll save per post. I’m considering taking up Opera or something. With everything here now, I can finally work on developing the portal page into an actual portal page! I’m very excited about this. I feel like I’m moving forward again.
The creation of this website was intended to help brig me back to the person I was a few years ago. A person who was lost in a series of life changes. I feel like I’ve really rebuilt myself over the past year, and this is sort of becoming a culminating project for that. David St. Lawrence offers this great post from his series on reinventing yourself. It asks the reader to consider what reinventions are need and how they need to be approached to best suit the individual.
This website is expected to house my resume and a portfolio of many of my varied talents by the time it’s all said and done. For me, it seems a simpler way to show off the skills highlighted in my current resume while I try to figure out how to reword the current one to more effectively convey who I am professionally.
Posted by Rebecca as Link Dump, Organizing at 7:48 AM EST
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It’s so easy to look at what we are doing, become overwhelmed, and give up on ourself in favor of what looks to be a better deal elsewhere. Usually, this is triggered by a friend telling us how well their own ventures are going.
Two seemingly unconnected articles last week really struck me as the cause and effect, the steps in a process and the warning of a pitfall. The message is loud and clear: don’t look to others to create your own definition of success, and keep your own progress in bite-sized pieces to drive yourself on to that success.
Posted by Rebecca as Creativity, inspiration, and motivation at 7:38 AM EST
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