Company Blog

Workforce Trends 2 - Australian Healthcare Manufacturing post GFC – Embracing the Changes

Tue, 01 May 2012 00:48:00 GMT

We’ve certainly seen a number of changes in Australia with regards manufacturing operations. Some plants have totally closed, others have downsized significantly, some have moved off-shore and others are considering their options.

A range of industries have been affected, including the healthcare manufacturing sector. Today questions are being asked about the future of the local industry and the effects of the changes on the people in our industry.

There are two main messages I’d like to convey in this article:

Firstly, the world has changed, and a lot more change is coming.

Secondly, there are many opportunities within this changing world – opportunities for both employees and employers.

Let’s start with why the world has changed.

There are a couple of major reasons here:

Firstly there’s the Global Financial Crisis – the GFC – which started in 2008. This resulted in the collapse of worldwide financial markets, the failure of several banks and many businesses, an increase in unemployment and a plummeting of consumer confidence. As a result people aren’t spending as much and this is affecting economies worldwide, and particularly in Europe and in the US. Government policy is focusing on austerity (decreasing spending, increasing taxes); and companies are also attempting to decrease their expenses and to find ways to increase their revenues.

This change in thinking has affected business practices worldwide. Many healthcare companies in Australia have headquarters in the US and Europe, so changes in their working practices and thinking are directly affecting us.

Before the GFC there was already a change underway in how Australia was competing in the global economy and particularly in our relationship with our Asian neighbours.

Global companies have been restructuring their operations to focus on high growth markets eg Asia. This has resulted in some manufacturing plants in Australia being closed down and relocated to China, Singapore and Indonesia.

This is certainly something which is on everyone’s mind – “How many more plants will close?” “How many more jobs will go off-shore?”

At the same time there’s recognition that Australia is a significant contributor to high-tech manufacturing. A Taskforce has been set up called Australia in the Asian Century (www.asiancentury.dpmc.gov.au), submissions are being reviewed and a White Paper is expected mid-year. The Terms of Reference for the Taskforce are to “provide a comprehensive review of economic and strategic change in Asia and its implications and opportunities for Australia”.

Medicines Australia’s submission to the Taskforce highlights Australia’s well-established reputation in Asia for manufacturing safe and high quality medicines; our solid history of exporting pharmaceutical goods to Asia (for example, $1.7 billion in exports to 20 Asian countries in 2011); the continuing investment by some companies in manufacturing plants to supply markets in Asia; and that the growth area for Australian manufacturing is in the new field of ‘biomanufacturing’ ie biologics derived from living cells and tissues that require a highly sophisticated process to manufacture in commercial quantities.

This is the area where Australian manufacturing is moving. Lower value commodity manufacturing is being transferred off-shore where there’s cheaper labour. Biomanufacturing may become the growth area if major investment can be attracted. However this will require government incentives like tax breaks – and this is the hot topic of conversation today.

Sure some companies have closed their plants and are moving manufacturing overseas. That's business. Asia is a rapidly growing region and it only makes sense to relocate manufacturing to high growth areas, to be closer to the customer. It’s certainly not all doom and gloom though. We've got great people - intelligent, educated and technically skilled. There are lots of opportunities out there – but these opportunities will require a new skill set.

For people considering career alternatives there are a number of options. Firstly it’s useful to review your current skill set and determine which skills are transferable to other roles. This is called a ‘Transferable Skills Analysis” and starts by examining your past accomplishments and experience and can be facilitated by a recruitment or HR specialist. Here we would sit down and ask: “How did you achieve this? And what skills did you use?”. We would then work with you to determine where else you can use these skills. For example people from a healthcare manufacturing background would have the following skills: scientific and healthcare understanding; knowledge of regulatory requirements; technical writing skills; compliance and audit understanding; materials handling and testing; documentation and SOP experience; quality inspection; complaints management; and database and IT systems experience.

Through involvement with process improvement initiatives there will also be experience gained with: reducing waste and rework; reducing changeover times; improving cycle times; improving process efficiency; improving product reliability; and improving performance. All of the skills used during these initiatives can be transferred to other areas of the business.

There’s also non-technical transferable expertise such as budget responsibility; people management; the ability to multi-task, prioritise and work within strict deadlines; time management skills; attention to detail and accuracy; and analytical thinking.

Since the GFC there’s also been solid growth in both employers and candidates seeking contracting roles. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, in turbulent times companies need flexibility. They need the ability to upscale and downscale depending on current conditions. They recognise that contractors can come in and deliver to business objectives immediately; and are willing to pay a premium.

At the same time contractors are seeking out flexible opportunities. There’s increasing recognition that contract roles provide great experience through working on diverse projects and hence contributing to their transferable skill set. Following a redundancy or as a career/lifestyle choice contracting is proving to be an attractive option for many candidates.

One of the biggest changes since the beginning of the GFC is that companies are employing candidates with a broad range of skills in preference to those with a narrower skill set. Today, resources are being stretched and companies need their available talent to be multi-tasking, flexible, agile thinkers who can draw on a range of expertise to tackle complex issues. In turn, employees need to be constantly up-skilling themselves.

The two main areas where skill sets can be added to involve technical understanding and business understanding.

When hiring, employers need their staff to ‘hit-the-ground-running’. They expect technical competence from Day 1. There are a range of formal and informal ways of enhancing technical understanding including: refreshing current skills; obtaining further tertiary qualifications (eg biotechnology); attending courses run by ARCS, AusBiotech, ASMI, CAPSIG, MTAA, and attending relevant conferences and seminars.

In addition to being technically competent employers need their staff to understand what’s happening in today’s economy. Everyone needs to understand top line (sales) and bottom line (profitability) concepts and appreciate their contribution to both, either individually or as part of a cross-functional, commercially-focused team.

To enhance business expertise the following activities can be undertaken: reading business magazines and newspapers eg Harvard Business Review, Financial Review; reading business books – general business, finance, marketing, sales techniques; watching business programmes – Business Sunday, Foxtel business channels, interviews with business leaders; networking across the company – Finance, Human Resources, Marketing, Sales; and undertaking formal studies such as a Marketing certificate or MBA.

The number one business competency required in today’s environment is Emotional Intelligence (EI). People with EI skills are more effective at working together and through this are more effective at identifying opportunities in today’s volatile business environment. We are seeing many more clients specifically asking for this competency; and candidates with these skills commanding attractive salaries.

Popularised by Daniel Goleman EI centers around understanding yourself, your goals, intentions, responses, and behaviour; and understanding others, and their feelings.

A group of 5 skills enable people to maximize their performance

• Self-Awareness
• Self-Regulation
• Motivation
• Empathy
• Social skill

Where self-awareness, self-regulation and motivation – determine how people manage themselves; and empathy and social skills – determine how relationships are handled.

For candidates going for interviews we suggest reviewing the questions below.

For employers these questions will allow you to delve into the candidate’s experience and to determine how effective they will be in today’s market. Companies need employees who can effectively work with others; who can cope with a constantly changing commercial environment and who can identify opportunities and deliver outstanding results.

1. Self-Awareness

Candidates with well-developed self-awareness know their strengths and their limitations and are open to feedback and to continuous learning. As such they are effective players in today’s economy because they embrace change. Interview questions could therefore include:

Tell me about yourself.

How would your colleagues describe you?…tell me more

Tell me about your strengths and your limitations.

Tell me about a time when you received feedback.

Tell me about a time when you had a great success.

Tell me about a time when you made a big mistake.

2. Self-Regulation

Businesses today need to deliver results, more so than ever before. The result is that workplace environments have become more pressured and more stressed. Candidates with fine-tuned self-regulatory skills can cope with multiple demands and increased pressure. The following questions can be used to assess their competency:

How do you handle stressful situations?

How do you relax?

Tell me about a time when you got angry. What did you do?

When do you feel most under pressure?

How do you handle multiple demands?

How do you achieve work/life balance?

3. Motivation

The core of business success is having a motivated workforce. The interview presents an excellent opportunity to assess motivation, achievement and drive with questions like:

What motivates you?

Why do you work?

How do you measure success? What results do you achieve?

Tell me about some challenging goals you have set?

How do you overcome obstacles and setbacks?

What do you do to stay up-to-date with industry developments?

4. Empathy

To work together effectively there needs to be an understanding of others’ perspectives. Empathy is therefore a necessary skill in environments where collaboration brings commercial success; and can be assessed with the following questions:

Describe a time when you had to deliver difficult news.

What do you do when someone comes to you with a problem?

Describe the people in your team and discuss what they need and how they feel.

Describe a time when understanding someone else’s perspective helped you understand them better.

What do you do to understand someone else’s behaviour?

How do you understand what your team members are feeling?

5. Social Skill

Working together towards common goals requires a range of social skills like communication, rapport building, persuasion and conflict resolution. Again the interview is the time to assess the strength of a candidate’s competency prior to the hiring decision, with questions like:

Tell me about a time when you needed to influence someone.

Describe a difficult issue you had to deal with.

Tell me about what you would do to gain respect as a new manager.

Tell me how you build networks within your company.

How do you develop rapport with people?

How do you build relationships with people?

Successful people have highly developed emotional intelligence.

They have self –awareness – they know their strengths, weaknesses, drives, values and impact on others.

They have self-regulation – they control or redirect disruptive impulses and moods.

They have motivation – they relish achievement for its own sake.

They have empathy – they understand other people’s emotional make-up.

They have social skill – they build rapport with others to move them in desired directions.

And companies with emotionally intelligent employees will continue to grow during turbulent economic times.

Even in today’s economy there are lots of jobs available. Moving from one sector or industry to another won’t always be that easy, but it’s also not impossible.

With enhanced technical and business skills there are many opportunities for candidates to explore and for employers to secure great talent.

Transferable skills from healthcare manufacturing are being sought in the following areas:

Regulatory Affairs
Clinical Research
Medical Information
Medical Affairs/Medical Science Liaison
Medical Writing
Health Economics/Reimbursement
Sales

And there’s a range of industries to choose from including:

Bio-manufacturing
Bio-medical engineering
Medical Devices
Pharmaceuticals
Food
FMCG
Resources - Oil/Gas/Mining
Universities/Academia
Government
Consulting

These industries value the transferable skills and knowledge which candidates bring. Healthcare is highly regulated with quality-driven manufacturing, global supply chain processes; significant investment in high-tech R&D and company cultures which value technical expertise, knowledge-sharing and collaboration and commercially-focused outcomes.

The world has changed and it will continue to change. Many opportunities will come from these changes – opportunities for both employees to obtain new roles and for employers to secure great talent, talent with the transferable skills to contribute to overall business objectives.

Workforce Trends - How the Global Economy is affecting the Australian Healthcare sector

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 07:56:00 GMT

The world has certainly changed, and this change is affecting the industry in which we work. Australia is not immune to global events, and with many local employers subsidiaries of global multinationals the effects are reaching us.

Working across several hundred companies we have seen some fundamental changes in how medical technology and pharmaceutical companies are conducting their businesses, how they are employing people and what they are expecting of their people; and in a series of articles I’m going to outline how this changing economy is affecting us in Australia.

But firstly, it’s useful to reflect on how we got to be in this position in the first place.

Economies go through cycles, cycles of boom and bust. Sometimes the effect is not significant, sometimes it’s catastrophic. The Great Depression of the 1930s was catastrophic with millions of people out of work and homeless. It’s not that bad today, not yet. Economists are already referring to this period as either the Global Financial Crisis, the Great Recession or the Lesser Depression. Some are predicting further turmoil; others are predicting a slow recovery. The current facts are that across the world financial institutions have collapsed, the stock market has fallen, banks are being rescued by governments, businesses have failed, unemployment has increased and consumer confidence continues to plummet, and this has changed the world.

A number of complex factors have caused this crisis, and it started in the US in the 1990s and early 2000s. At the time there was a great influx of money into the US from richer nations with more money being available for banks and financial institutions to invest. The banks then sold mortgages and other financial products to consumers. At the same time the banking system was undergoing a period of deregulation, with more entrants and relaxed underwriting standards.

Many people increased their investment in the housing market. There was lots of money available, interest rates were low and mortgages easy to come by. With very little documentation and even less financial due-diligence millions of people raised mortgages to buy second homes and investments. They also used the equity in their homes to borrow money to spend on their lifestyle, hence the term ‘debt-financed consumption’. With housing prices going up, equity increased, and they could borrow even more money, increasing their debt load.

The availability of easy money meant that the ‘sub-prime mortgage’ market flourished. Here, money was lent to people who had no credit history, no assets for security and who couldn’t afford the repayments when interest rates increased. When they couldn’t meet their commitments they simply walked away from the house and the banks foreclosed.

During this period the original lenders bundled the mortgages together into new financial products, one of which was called CDOs (collateralized debt obligations) and on-sold them to other investors, both in the US and across the world. These CDOs were given ‘low-risk’ recommendations by ratings agencies and were therefore attractive to conservative investors (pension funds, local councils, not-for-profit organizations, governments). However these CDOs carried a lot more risk than perceived. The original ‘sub-prime’ mortgages were being provided to people who had a high probability of de-faulting. When low introductory interest rates reverted to standard rates people couldn’t afford the higher monthly payments and they defaulted; the value of individual investments dropped; the value of the bundled investments (the CDOs) dropped; and the flow of funds from these investments dropped, meaning that investors were not being paid.

As interest rates began to rise and housing prices began to fall refinancing became more difficult. Many consumers had negative equity in their properties (they owed the bank more than the house was worth). The banks foreclosed on houses and started to accumulate enormous debts. Global investors who held the mortgage-backed securities saw the value of their investment plummet and the entire financial system began to unravel.

The collapse in the US financial market led to tightening of credit around the world. Money was harder to borrow and it became more expensive. Growth therefore slowed.

Because worldwide financial markets are so inter-connected the financial crisis quickly spread to Europe. This ‘financial contagion’ hit European economies which were already not healthy. For years there had been overspending, high-risk lending and borrowing practices, rising debt loads, and less than optimal financial management at government level, with Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Greece notable examples.

Government policy in a number of countries is now focusing on austerity measures (eg decreasing spending and increasing taxes) and this change in thinking has affected business practices worldwide. With many Australian based pharmaceutical and medical technology companies subsidiaries of US and European parents these changes in working practices and thinking are directly affecting us.

Now for an overview of how the global economy is affecting Australia. In subsequent articles we will continue the analysis and provide further updates.

Companies are now focused on saving money:

It’s about cutting costs. Over the last couple of years companies have trimmed fat and continue to trim; and today many companies are running much leaner than they did 3 years ago.

A number of companies have consolidated divisions to save money and to promote efficiencies eg combining cardiovascular and respiratory; or oncology and specialty care. Others are grouping products together and promoting them by the same sales team in order to reduce costs.

Some departments have also down-sized to save money eg Shared Services (IT, HR, Finance), Learning and Development, or have moved off-shore (Manufacturing, Clinical Research), where cost as well as risk and future market opportunity are key decision drivers.

More work is being outsourced so that companies have the flexibility to upscale and downscale, depending on market conditions. More clinical research is going to CROs and companies are forming closer alliances with specialised agencies for pharmacovigilance, regulatory affairs, health economics, medical writing, data management services, recruitment, payroll and learning and development services. To ensure efficiencies in outsourcing new roles are being created to manage the relationships with providers.

People are being made redundant; and roles are being kept vacant when someone leaves. There’s also been a decrease in part-time work. With an available headcount companies prefer to have a full time person to maximise productivity of that position.

Roles are also being combined as companies seek to save money and broaden the skill sets of their employees. For example: there are now fewer Associate Product Manager roles with Product Managers assuming more responsibilities; senior CRAs have monitoring responsibilities; CRMs project manage; sales people are required to develop business as well as account manage; Accounts Receivable staff undertake Accounts Payable duties; QC is doing more QA; Regulatory Affairs more QA. Roles are morphing and skill sets broadening. In short, companies are trying to get more value out of one person.

Companies are keeping tighter controls over their spending. Budgets are being reviewed monthly and quarterly rather than annually. Every line is being scrutinized with additional justifications required. Authority to spend has moved to higher levels with local managers requiring regional or head office sign-off, for increasingly smaller amounts.

Procurement is expecting more from suppliers and are formalising this in tighter Service Level Agreements. This ensures that products and services are being delivered cost-effectively and that the company is receiving value.

There has been an increase in sourcing roles as companies try to eliminate the middle person and deal directly with distributors and end-consumers to cut costs. These Sourcing Managers now require advanced negotiation skills and an in-depth understanding of business and industry issues.

Companies are analysing their business’ more:

A few years ago companies would report to their head offices on a quarterly and annual basis. We have now seen a shift to monthly and even weekly reporting as there is an increased requirement to be on top of the numbers. More so, than ever before, senior managers want to know where the sales are coming from and what specific activities are contributing to those results.

With a need for additional data and additional analyses we are seeing more Analyst roles being created. Companies recognise the need to generate greater market insights if they are going to compete effectively in a volatile and uncertain environment. These Analysts have responsibilities to both report on the numbers and to make recommendations to senior management with regards strategy development.

Through this analysis new technologies are being introduced to increase productivity and efficiency, eg customer facing technology - smart phones for instant emails, iPads for improved knowledge sharing; and back-office technology for instant order processing and effective supply chain management.

Companies are employing people who can hit the ground running. Direct, specific experience in operating systems (eg SAP, Oracle, JD Edwards) is required where in the past clients would have trained up new employees. Further, expertise in specific modules relating to order processing, demand planning and reporting is essential.

These changes have resulted in a change in the culture of companies:

Companies are now more commercially focused. Workplace cultures are becoming more P&L focused with more discussions and reporting on top (sales) and bottom (profit) line actions and results.

This has affected hiring practices. Companies want people to be adding value to their role and adding value to the company as a whole. Within the scope of responsibilities employees need to be seeking out additional opportunities for their companies. This may involve identifying more cost-effective suppliers; alternative streams of revenue; and more effective ways to deliver results. And this requires employees to have strong networking and engagement skills.

To compete companies need to exchange information quickly and this requires communication and collaboration. Being a team player is even more essential today.

Risk taking is encouraged. Employees need to see opportunities and take a risk, even though it’s not the ‘old’ way of working. Competencies now sought include: flexibility, agility, competitiveness, innovation, and assertiveness.

The world has changed and a lot more change is anticipated. Events in Europe and in the US are changing head office working practices. In Australia we are seeing how this is directly affecting the hundreds of companies with which we work. It’s affecting hiring practices and workplace cultures. There’s increased demands on employees to increase their efficiency and productivity and to deliver results.

In subsequent articles we’ll be providing additional analysis of the on-going changes affecting companies in Australia.

Season's Greetings from PMP

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 00:23:00 GMT

In recognition of the giving nature of the Festive Season and to celebrate the year we will be donating to the Jimmy Little Foundation.

The Jimmy Little Foundation plays a significant role in the lives of indigenous Australians. They support a range of programmes centered around preventative health, education and treatment (including mobile renal dialysis units for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders).

The Foundation (www.jlf.org.au) is also sponsored by Medicines Australia and several pharmaceutical and medical technology companies, and its vision is to “Increase the life expectancy of indigenous Australians”.

We are pleased to be contributing to this initiative and recognize that the Festive Season is both a time for celebration and a time for reflection and support.

All the very best from everyone at Pharmaceutical & Medical Professionals.

Helping Underperformers

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 02:39:00 GMT

2012 is going to be a busy year. The economy will continue to dominate our thinking. There will be an increased focus on delivering results.

You've assembled your team. You've communicated the plan. Resources are in place. Everyone is ready to go. But you are concerned about several of your employees. You're not confident that they will deliver.

What will you do?

Chapter 8 of McKenna and Maister's book 'First Among Equals - How to Manage a Group of Professionals' provides practical advice on how to help underperformers.

Firstly, it's helpful to consider the reasons why someone may be underperforming. The authors surveyed a cross-section of group leaders and asked them this question. The reasons were:

1. Trouble at home or other personal problems (divorce, alcoholism, depression).
2. Burnout - no longer finding the work interesting or stimulating.
3. Lack of competency.
4. Fear of failure in trying something new and reaching for career progress.
5. Quality of life choice - lack of desire to contribute more energy or time to the business.
6. Externally driven reasons such as the loss of a recent client or downturn in their sector.
7. Failure to keep up in their field; being less in demand.
8. Struggling because of poor time management or other inefficiencies.
9. Lack of knowledge about what they should be doing to succeed.
10. Being poorly managed.
11. Insecurity due to things like company merger discussions.

Depending on the specific dynamics within companies and teams there will be a number of other factors which contribute to underperformance. However the main reasons identified centered around burnout, loss of enthusiasm, quality of life choices, personal/family issues and externally driven market changes.

Generally people are not underperforming because they don't know what to do, or they don't want to do it, or the incentives aren't there. If they aren't doing what they should it is probably due to something deeply personal in their lives. By talking with them, managers will be able to find out what it is and will then be able to deal with it.

Lack of performance is very rarely to do with competence and everything to do with confidence.
The role of the manager is to work with the individual to understand what is happening and to reignite confidence - the results will then follow.

McKenna and Maister outline a number of steps to be taken to help a person whose performance needs attention:

1. Set up a meeting to discuss the performance issue that concerns you. Stress your commitment to solve the problem together. Ask the team member to bring their ideas to the meeting eg "I'd like to catch up with you on Wednesday to talk about your workload. I have some concerns about your numbers and since you are a lot closer to it than I am I'm keen to discuss your ideas on how things could improve".

2. Reassure the person of your confidence in them and your desire to be supportive, eg "I know that there are times when the results don't come in. I know that you can turn this around. I'll do anything I can to help".

3. Get agreement that a performance issue exists, and discuss causes. This may involve firstly setting out the specific performance expectations for the person. The individual may respond with a range of emotions - they may become defensive, uncooperative or hostile. Stay positive and listen carefully, because it's important to identify and understand the reasons for underperformance. The key is to stay calm in the face of resistance. Don't become frustrated or angry.

4. Identify and discuss any obstacles to performance beyond the individual's control. These obstacles may be real (administrative policies, compensation inequities, physical or emotional health, or not feeling fully responsible) or imagined (lack of priorities, convenient excuses). When the obstacles are legitimate your role as manager is to help to remove them. When the suggested obstacles are not real you need to confront the excuses, eg "The reality is that you are accomplishing less and I am concerned for you. Do you have some ideas on how we can help you refocus and what specific first steps you could take to get back on track".

5. Seek ideas for improvement by keeping your team member focused on the areas in which performance improvement may be possible eg "Are you aware that it is taking you longer to complete your tasks than others? What do you think we can do to improve this situation?"

6. Agree on specific actions to be taken to solve the performance issue. Although, as manager, you may have a number of constructive ideas to resolve the situation, it is important to allow the individual to come up with remedial ideas first. By doing this it will be their plan, not yours, and they will own it. Then set out all the ideas, and work together to come up with an action plan. Allow the person to choose which actions are of the highest priority and capable of being implemented, and then get them to outline the actions in writing, eg "So that we're clear about what needs to be done please send me a short summary with the action plan". By doing this, they own the plan.

7. Set specific follow-up dates to review progress. These should be short review meetings, a few weeks apart, where you acknowledge any achievement, no matter how small. Your role as manager is to 'praise achievements back to acceptable levels of performance'.

2012 will be a very busy year. All the indicators are there. The state of the global economy is causing companies to re-evaluate their business models, to drive efficiencies, to reduce costs, to increase outputs. More will be expected of everyone, and the role of manager is to instil confidence, to remove obstacles, and to unleash performance.

References

First Among Equals - How to Manage a Group of Professionals, Patrick McKenna and David Maister. Free Press 2002

Tips for Resolving Interpersonal Conflicts

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 02:33:00 GMT

Conflicts are unavoidable when different personalities work together. Someone will say something, or do something and this will cause another team member to have strong negative feelings. These feelings can include annoyance, frustration, disappointment and anger. The offended individual will replay what happened over in their mind and will talk, often at length, with others in the company. However they will generally not talk to the offending person directly.

As a manager you are likely to be sensing that something is happening, and may be hearing noise from across the company. It may be brought to your attention that two team members are always 'at each other' with put-down remarks or finding fault with one another. There's also the chronic bickering and the demeaning comments. Or there may be icy coolness where they ignore each other except during the most formal of interactions.

This general air of discontent is affecting workplace morale and productivity and you need to do something about it. Underlying issues need to be confronted and, as the manager, if you don't intervene to help people discuss their problems, situations can intensify to the point where lasting damage will occur.

In McKenna and Maister's book "First Among Equals - How to Manage a Group of Professionals" (Chapter 17) advice is given that the most effective response to dealing with conflict is one of negotiation. The manager listens to both sides, identifies the common areas of interest and agreement, and builds on these areas of agreement so that each individual can understand the other's point of view.

5 steps to resolve conflict are outlined:

1. Describe the conflict and the non-productive behavior you are observing:

For example, "It appears to me that neither of you seems to be listening to the other, and obviously each of you has some very strong views on how you want to approach this project".

Potential triggers for conflict include differences in needs, goals, values, or competition for scarce resources. As manager you must take the initiative to bring the disagreement to the surface as soon as it is apparent and help the people involved to analyse their differing points of view. The first step is to get your two team members to take the time to look objectively at how they are interacting with each other.

2. Ask each person to comment on the causes of the disagreement:

For example, "Can I suggest that we take a few minutes and may I ask each of you in turn to comment on what you see going on between you? What is the problem here as you perceive it?

As manager you must exercise active listening and be able to hear the emotional aspects of what is being said. During the meeting calmly invite each of them to describe what they think is the reason for their conflict. Don't try to solve the problem. Simply invite your colleagues to discuss the underlying cause of their differences.

There are four basic categories of conflict (See 'Managing Workplace Conflict', Jean Lebedum, AmerMedia Inc 1998):

i. Over facts and data. A basic misunderstanding or misinformation is the easiest type of conflict to resolve.

ii. Over process or methods. Your people may have the same goals but differ on how to achieve those goals, a situation where compromise is often possible.

iii. Over purpose. Your people may have different goals or agendas, which sometimes can be merged.

iv. Over values. Your people may have differences in basic beliefs or principles. These create the most difficult conflicts, and sometimes people must agree to disagree.

3. Have each person summarize what the other person said:

For example, "For purposes of just making absolutely sure that we are all understanding each other, can you briefly tell us what you just heard your colleague say is the core issue?"

Now ask each person to repeat back what the other person said. By having each one paraphrase the other's main points, you are encouraging them to listen to and acknowledge each other's views. Then ask each person to confirm, clarify or correct the summary that was repeated back. As manager, maintain a position of neutrality. Don't try to solve the conflict. Your role is simply to gather information.

4. Ask each person, in turn, to identify points of agreement and disagreement:

For example, "Can we identify the points where the two of you obviously agree? You both seem to be saying that you want to work together on this project. Now, without losing sight of that, let's identify the points of contention between the two of you on how you each want to approach this differently".

First ask each to identify the points of agreement in their two respective positions. Then do the same for areas of disagreement. Should either person just want to rehash where they disagree, ask questions to help them see where they agree. Don't pretend the differences don't exist. Your role is to clarify the various points of view. An interpersonal conflict is most likely to be productively resolved if both parties can see that they stand to gain something from the resolution. As manager your task is to highlight what is in their mutual best interests, or where they need each other to accomplish more than either of them could on their own.

5. Invite your colleagues to suggest ways to proceed:

For example, "How would you suggest we move forward? Are either of you willing to compromise slightly in the interests of achieving what you both have agreed that you want?"

Ask them to suggest actions that address the points of agreement and disagreement they've just reviewed. Your role, as manager, is to have them reach agreement on the steps that are needed to resolve the situation. Look for workable suggestions and small action steps. Sometimes the only viable suggestion may be simply to let the dust settle and set a date for another meeting between the two.

Any agreements and actions that do result from your discussions should be put in writing to prevent any further problems from arising and reduce the chances of any misunderstanding at some later point.

Conflict within the workplace is inevitable. People have different personalities and different working styles. They have different goals and agendas, different views on processes and methods, or they may be competing for scarce resources. Your role as manager is to resolve conflict between team members as early as possible so that workplace morale and productivity is maintained.

References

First Among Equals - How to Manage a Group of Professionals, Patrick McKenna and David Maister. Free Press 2002

Managing Workplace Conflict, Jean Lebedum, AmerMedia Inc 1998

How to Manage a Group of Professionals (Part 2)

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 07:39:00 GMT

There’s an excellent book for managers called: “First Among Equals – How to Manage a Group of Professionals.”, by Patrick McKenna and David Maister. It’s applicable to both new and experienced managers and gives good practical advice on how to manage a range of workplace situations.

I’ve previously summarized the first 4 chapters of the book and in this blog I’ll provide summary notes from chapters 5-8.

Chapter 5: Win permission to coach

Coaching is an activity, not a title or position. It is the process by which you help another person fulfil his or her potential. It requires that you judge well when to intervene and when to stay away.

Coaching is what is required when some member of your group:

1. Is unclear about his or her career path.
2. Asks for advice, assistance, feedback or support.
3. Is taking on a new task or responsibility.
4. Appears frustrated or confused.
5. Seems indecisive or stuck.
6. Is performing inconsistently.
7. Expresses a desire to improve.
8. Performs below acceptable standards.
9. Has a negative attitude that is impeding their work and the work of others.

Before you can even begin to develop and stretch your people’s talent, you must assess whether you have earned the right to be able to do so.

Preparation (planning what you are going to say and how you are going to help) is an important part of any effective coaching process. However many coaching opportunities may be spontaneous, requiring quick action in order to assist a situation or prevent a problem from arising.

There are many challenging dimensions to coaching. Successful group leaders learn how to straddle the line between “too little” and “too much”.

Here are some basic steps that may help in your winning permission to coach:

1. Ask how things are going – your aim is to find out what is on the individual’s mind. Your best approach is to be informal and open-ended. Identify an opportunity to help someone expand on his or her skills, knowledge and abilities. Look for signals or cues indicating that coaching could add value. Take time to tune in to the need behind the words.
2. Confirm that the individual is ready for coaching. “Do you have a few minutes to discuss this? Would you be interested in talking about what happened? Perhaps I can help. Is this a good time or do you want to schedule something later today?”
3. Ask questions to clarify the situation, and offer your support and help. Phrase your questions carefully so they do not pressure the person or imply a negative reaction. Use questions that draw out facts. Try to build awareness, not solve the problem. Determine if the individual has the right information to move forward.
4. Offer information as appropriate. Offer only necessary information. Respond briefly, being careful to take your cue from the other person.
5. Listen actively. Don’t interrupt with your own ideas. From time to time, summarize with your own ideas.
6. Help this person identify possible courses of action. Avoid offering any of your own ideas until the person you are coaching has finished. Encourage them to think aloud.
7. Agree on the next step. Prompt the person to make a firm commitment to action. Clarify what specific steps are required and when.
8. Offer your personal support and confidence. Conclude by expressing your continued interest, your confidence in your colleague’s ability to solve the issue and your offer to help, if and where you can do anything that would support them in accomplishing their objective.

Chapter 6: Listen to build rapport

As a coach, it is important to be a good listener.

What good listeners do:

1. Probe for clarification.
2. Listen for unvoiced emotions.
3. Listen for the story.
4. Summarise well.
5. Empathize.
6. Listen for what’s different, not for what’s familiar.
7. Take it all seriously (they don’t say ‘you shouldn’t worry about that’).
8. Spot hidden assumptions.
9. Let the other person “get it out of his or her system”.
10. Ask “How do you feel about that”
11. Keep the other person talking (“What else have you considered”)
12. Keep asking for more detail that helps them understand.
13. Get rid of distractions while listening.
14. Focus on hearing your version first.
15. Let you tell your story your way.
16. Stand in your shoes, at least while they’re listening.
17. Ask you how you think they might be of help.
18. Ask what you’ve thought of before telling you what they’ve thought of.
19. Look at (not stare at) the person as her or she speaks.
20. Look for “congruency” (or incongruity) between what the person says and how he or she gestures and postures.
21. Make it seem as if the other person is the only thing that matters and that they have all the time in the world.
22. Encourage by nodding head or giving a slight smile.
23. Show awareness and control of body movement (no moving around, shaking legs, fiddling with a paper clip).

Active listening is the ability to pick up, define and respond accurately to feelings expressed by the other person.

People find it difficult to communicate their feelings about sensitive situations. Yet a critical part of your role as a group leader is to get people to share their issues, and how they feel about them, with you.

Chapter 7: Deal differently with different people.

Not every individual can be managed or inspired the same way. A manager must learn to deal with each individual according to the things that energise that individual.

People think, communicate, decide and behave differently. They also use their time differently, handle emotions differently and deal with conflict and stress differently. The group leader who fails to take these differences into account will rub people the wrong way, mis-communicate and consequently experience great difficulty in establishing rapport and trust.

People can adopt various styles ie

Analytical – wants to get it right
Driver – wants to get it done
Amiable – wants to get along
Expressive – wants to get noticed.

By adapting your approach based on understanding preferences in styles, you increase the receptivity to whatever you are trying to communicate.

To create an effective coaching relationship with any of your people you will need to adjust (temporarily) your natural approach.

Chapter 8: Helping Underperformers

A common mistake in dealing with underperformance is rushing to talk to the underperformer without pausing to consider why he or she is underperforming.

If you are going to make a difference, your task of turning an unproductive person around is often to help him or her find some meaning in what they (and your group) do. If the issues are loss of enthusiasm for the company’s work and/or personal issues, then you need to help the individual rediscover the energy, excitement, passion in the group’s work.

Ask first. Very often we just rush into assumptions about why people are unproductive. The reason is usually not hard to figure out if you have a track record of ongoing informal conversations with your people eg “I get the sense that you’re not fully engaged with everything here. You don’t seem to be showing the normal levels of passion you have shown in the past. Something is going on. I would love to help you if I can. Is there anything I can do?”

Effective group leaders know that the key to improving underperformance is to address it early and proactively before it becomes a full blown problem.

A number of important steps can be taken to help a person whose performance needs attention:

1. Set up a meeting to discuss the performance issue that concerns you.
2. Reassure the person of your confidence in them and your desire to be supportive.
3. Get agreement that a performance issue exists and discuss its causes.
4. Identify and discuss any obstacles to performance beyond the individual’s control.
5. Seek ideas for improvement.
6. Mutually agree on specific actions to be taken to solve the performance issue.
7. Set a specific follow up date to review progress.

Coaching someone to success depends upon systematic, quiet repetition. You will need to use frequent (if gentle) reminders.

The above is a brief summary of chapters 5-8 of “First Among Equals – How to Manage a Group of Professionals by Patrick McKenna and David Maister (The Free Press 2002).

How to Manage a Group of Professionals

Tue, 24 May 2011 02:37:00 GMT

The book is divided into 4 sections: 1. Getting Ready; 2, Coaching the Individual; 3. Coaching the Team; and 4. Building for the Future.

In this blog I’ll provide summary notes from Section 1: Getting Ready.

Chapter 1 Clarify your role:

How, exactly, do you add value as a group leader?

A leader has to bring a certain energy and optimism to the business. Part of your job is to build energy and enthusiasm.

Most often you will be working with highly talented people who do know what to do and how to do it, but just aren’t doing it. The causes may be numerous (fear, suspicion, lack of drive, attitudes, problems at home or structural organisational impediments) and you will find that most of the barriers have to do with feelings, attitudes and emotions. Your role, therefore, and your essential skills, will be to help people fulfil their potential by influencing these feelings, attitudes and emotions.

Among the contributions you can make are the following:

a.       Create energy and excitement.
b.       Be a source of creative ideas and stimulate creativity in others.
c.       Forge teamwork
d.       Help develop a common purpose that everyone can buy into.
e.       Help to solve problems and break down barriers for team members. Make it easier for them to succeed.
f.        Act as a sounding board – help people think through their issues.
g.       Enforce standards (deal gently, promptly, but firmly with noncompliance).
h.       Be a conscience (“gentle pressure”) when self-discipline fails.
i.        Be a constant source of encouragement to improve effectiveness, quality and efficiency.

Chapter 2: Confirm your mandate

Is there an explicit agreement about your rights and responsibilities?

Before you can effectively manage a team, you must ensure that you have reached agreement on what is called your “terms of engagement” or your mandate. You may think everyone around you already shares the same view of your mandate, but it’s worth checking ie what is expected of you.

A major part of a team manager’s real value comes from discussing individual performance and engaging in effective follow-up with individual members of the group…without follow-up little is implemented.

The value that the manager brings to each team member of the group is to act as a conscience mechanism. The leader serves to remind them of projects that they undertook to complete, to offer genuine hands-on assistance, and to help implement other projects.

Chapter 3: Build relationships – One at a time.

What are the key skills you must have?

The overwhelming determinant of whether or not you will be effective as a team manager has to do with your people skills – interpersonal, social and emotional.

Your success as a leader will depend on whether or not you are received by your people as a trusted advisor.

Common traits of trusted advisors;

Trusted advisors:

1.        Seem to understand us, effortlessly, and like us.
2.        Are consistent: we can depend on them.
3.        Always help us see things from fresh perspectives.
4.        Don’t try to force things on us.
5.        Help us to think things through (it’s our decision).
6.        Don’t substitute their judgement for ours.
7.        Don’t panic or get overemotional; they stay calm.
8.        Help us think and separate our logic from our emotion.
9.        Criticize and correct us gently, lovingly.
10.      Don’t pull their punches: we can rely on them to tell us the truth.
11.      Are in it for the long haul: the relationship is more important than the current issue.
12.      Give us reasoning (to help us think), not just their conclusions.
13.      Give us options, increase our understanding of those options, give us their recommendations and let us choose.
14.       Challenge our assumptions: help us uncover the false assumptions we’ve been working under.
15.       Make us feel comfortable and casual personally, but they take the issues seriously.
16.       Act like a person, not someone in a role.
17.       Are reliably on our side and always seem to have our best interests at heart.
18.       Remember everything we ever said (without notes).
19.       Are always honourable: they don’t gossip about others (we trust their values).
20.       Help us put our issues in context, often through the use of metaphors, stories and anecdotes (few problems are completely unique).
21.       Have a sense of humour to diffuse our tension in tough situations
22.       Are smart in ways we’re not.

Would you agree that this is what your team members would appreciate in a trusted advisor?

Would you agree that, if you acted in this way, they would be more likely to accept your influence?

How well does this list describe how you currently act in guiding, counselling, encouraging and supervising others?

While a coach needs many attributes and skills, one attribute dominates the list: whether or not those you are trying to influence trust your motives. If people think you are truly trying to help them, they will listen to you; if they think you are nagging and exhorting them in order to make yourself look good, they will resist your influence.

Chapter 4: Dare to be inspiring

Do you know how to inspire people?

Your team will best achieve peak performance by unleashing the power of your people. This is not done by managing them, nor by leading them, but by inspiring them.

Here’s a few important questions to reflect upon:

1.        Do you show a genuine interest in what each of your team members want to achieve with their careers?
2.        Do you show an interest in the things that mean the most to your people in their personal lives?
3.        Are you there for your people in their times of personal and professional crisis?
4.        Do you informally ‘check-in’ with each of your people every so often?
5.        Do you offer to help when some member of your team clearly needs it?

The fundamental purpose of the team manager is to inspire others. Inspiration comes from within and the manager’s job is to create the environment which can invite it. Inspiration is not derived from selfish motives, but from caring about people, caring about the relationships with those people and caring enough to intercede so that people can perform better than they thought they ever could. To be an effective coach requires patience, persistence and permission.

The above is a brief summary of the first four chapters of “First Among Equals – How to Manage a Group of Professionals by Patrick McKenna and David Maister (The Free Press 2002).

Fearless Leadership

Sat, 19 Mar 2011 03:27:00 GMT

Fearless Leadership - Contributed by Kathryn Taylor, Pharmaceutical & Medical Professionals

Mergers, acquisitions, restructures, patent expiries! As the pace of the healthcare industry rapidly increases, so does the need to engage staff throughout periods of change. Katharine McLennan’s presentation at the AHRI Practice’s Day in March struck a cord as to how to improve motivation within our industry throughout these times.

Presenting on Fearless Leadership: The Neuroscience behind the phrase “leadership as a conscious choice”, Katharine (Executive General Manager, Talent and Business Unit Human Resources, Commonwealth Bank) tapped into the importance of awareness for leaders, of their choices and resulting impacts on employees. Katharine provoked thought with the statement “leadership is a moment by moment conscious choice” going on to explain that fear is built into our nature and has an impact on all we do. In essence, she outlined fear as “false evidence appearing real”, detailing experiences throughout our average day resulting in our brains entering “fight, flight or freeze” mode. She explained we can better manage our response through a four part model around knowing what “triggers you” or others into fear and working towards “choosing rationally” within the limited space of 0.3 seconds we are offered during our brains processing.

In detailing the model she explained first you must “know your triggers”. Referring to the four key parts of the brain, Katharine remarked what is key to rational choice is the limbic area which receives emotions and the pre-frontal cortex which is rational, able to process decision making in a calm manner. Going on to outline what Daniel Goleman has named the “Amygdala Hijack”, we understand we can control our response to situations through awareness of our brains processing and improved mental fitness in responding to our triggers. Katharine explains that as humans we are all impacted by the same factors each day, these are best identified as status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness and fairness. With a resound of understanding Katharine draws on numerous office encounters to detail these aspects.

Who has had issues resulting from not including someone in a meeting or project? The employees’ reaction of unjust and lack of respect are reflected through their triggers of status, relatedness and fairness. When bonus time arises employees react to perceived disparity, responding to their needs for fairness and status. When announcing a restructure there is uproar to the transformation reflecting an alteration in certainty, status and autonomy. While waiting for a colleague to complete part of a project, employees are faced with a lack of autonomy and certainty to deliver their role. Each day employees compare titles, car spaces and positions all relating to their view of status. Questioning how they fit into a meeting, project, team or situation they are reflecting on their relatedness to that event. Katharine summarised that all five elements will cause an Amygdala Hijack unless we can recognise the situation and know how we will respond automatically, which is the second part of the model.

We have all seen the iceberg as a demonstration for leadership, but have we used it to compare our behavioural responses? In this representation the tip of the iceberg is perceived behaviour, what is seen and so known often resulting in the three natural response behaviours of fight, flight or freeze. The very base underneath is our subconscious core beliefs, these are our needs and experiences that shape us as individuals. These core beliefs have impacts on our requirements for attention, autonomy and security. Between the tip and very base is the area of conscious intention where we can control aspects of response or reaction based on what we know of ourselves and others. Katharine reminded us to reflect on those hidden parts when responding to what is exposed.

The third step in the trigger model is to ensure you choose rationally, Katharine reminded us that “we do have a choice”. This received an interesting reaction from the audience. Choice is of course the challenge as we have the same responses over many years and so need to re-educate and train ourselves through repetition and a revised mental state. Katharine gave the example of exercise. How often do we avoid or make excuses for exercise? She had recently retrained herself into a new yoga routine, discussing her procrastination at the start compared to her anticipation for it now. The role of leaders is to recognise in the office environment very few things in our normal day will lead to life or death. Our response can be to allow the Hijack to occur and become irrational, suppress it with a “stiff upper lip” or pause, allowing time to see and so assess the real FEAR for reappraisal. She encouraged leaders to use that pause throughout the day to maintain and build the trust with their employees. Emphasising the need for leaders to constantly build trust Katharine outlined Maister’s trusted adviser equation of trust, as follows, stressing that the “leader builds trust when choice is in effect”.

The followers perception of the leaders Credibility + Reliability + Intimacy
The followers Attitude to Trust

Katharine recognised “mind fitness” as most critical to achieving successful outcomes when challenging our beliefs and changing our natural responses, the final piece of the puzzle. So what is mind fitness? She explained “we are getting more unfit as a race” and so there has been an increase in depression and health issues, she believed there are more physical diseases as a result of our state of mind. In explaining mind fitness Katharine explained four different brainwaves, beta (which does most of work), alpha (when we are daydreaming), theta (an out of the blue brainwave state, for example when you have a sudden idea in middle of night or REM sleep) and delta (which is a really slow state, where empathy and intuition occurs, this is where athletes play competitive sport). So how can we train our brains and so improve mind fitness, spending more time in the “delta” zone? Katharine encourages holistic fitness which incorporates education, stress management, spirituality, exercise, nutrition, connectedness and environment.

Reflecting on the four stages, know your triggers, know your reactions, choose rationally and mind fitness, Katharine concluded by posing the question “what is the meaning in your life”? Encouraging people to see the opportunity and make their choice.

How is all this relevant to us in the healthcare industry? It is the reality of how many “trigger points” are prevalent in each day and so how many “choices” need to be made, another role in itself. Working with highly educated professionals, engaged community groups and patient populations within expanding or multinational businesses we encourage employees’ innovation, creativity and flexibility. To maximise their motivation and energy for work we need to ensure we “pause” and remember how rarely we are in those life and death situations. We are there to educate, inform, instil and mentor these skills in all our employees in the hope that they embrace it and thrive as a result, forming the next generation of leaders.

Questions to assess Emotional Intelligence

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 03:00:00 GMT

In a recent blog (January 24th) the attributes of successful leaders were outlined.

In summary, successful leaders have highly developed emotional intelligence. They have self awareness – they know their strengths, weaknesses, drives, values and impact on others. They have self-regulation – they control or redirect disruptive impulses and moods. They have motivation – they relish achievement for its own sake. They have empathy – they understand other people’s emotional make-up. And they have social skill – they build rapport with others to move them in desired directions.

A number of people have asked how you assess Emotional Intelligence. In addition to a range of psychological tests available a very effective way to assess someone’s EI is by asking them relevant questions and then probing their responses for additional insight.

Grouped into the 5 categories of Self-Awareness, Self-Regulation, Motivation, Empathy and Social Skill these questions can be modified depending on whether the situation is an interview, a reference check or during a performance discussion.

Sample questions to include during interviewing, performance discussions and reference checking:

Self-Awareness

Tell me about yourself.

How would your colleagues describe you?…tell me more

Tell me about your strengths and your limitations.

Tell me about a time when you received feedback.

Tell me about a time when you had a great success.

Tell me about a time when you made a big mistake.

Self-Regulation

How do you handle stressful situations?

How do you relax?

Tell me about a time when you got angry. What did you do?

When do you feel most under pressure?

How do you handle multiple demands?

How do you achieve work/life balance?

Motivation

What motivates you?

Why do you work?

How do you measure success? What results do you achieve?

Tell me about some challenging goals you have set?

How do you overcome obstacles and setbacks?

What do you do to stay up-to-date with industry developments?

Empathy

Describe a time when you had to deliver difficult news.

What do you do when someone comes to you with a problem?

Describe the people in your team and discuss what they need and how they feel.

Describe a time when understanding someone else’s perspective helped you understand them better.

What do you do to understand someone else’s behaviour?

How do you understand what your team members are feeling?

Social Skill

Tell me about a time when you needed to influence someone.

Describe a difficult issue you had to deal with.

Tell me about what you would do to gain respect as a new manager.

Tell me how you build networks within your company.

How do you develop rapport with people?

How do you build relationships with people?

For further information please refer to Emotional Intelligence presentations on our SlideShare site at http://www.slideshare.net/pmpconnect

Work Life Balance is essential for business success

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 03:47:00 GMT

Work Life balance is essential for business success. With work/life balance you are more productive over longer periods of time. Because you have a more balanced perspective you spot opportunities that you may otherwise miss had you been over-worked and over-tired. We talk with many candidates and clients about workplace issues and understand what’s important to everyone. From these discussions, and my own experience, I’ve put together my Top 10 tips for Work Life Balance.

Tip number 10: Set goals, plan and prioritize:

Having clear goals makes life so much easier because you know where you are going, how to get there and you have more control. Without clear goals you can experience feelings of confusion and frustration and this can drain your energy and decrease your productivity.

A good technique is to decide what is important to you and then write it down. By actually writing it down your thinking is clearer and you are more likely to achieve the goal. In writing down the goals make sure that they are: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. So instead of “becoming healthy” a SMART goal would be “to join a gym and go 3 days a week at 6 o’clock for 1 hour”. In thinking about your goals in this way you are more likely to achieve them.

Tip number 9: Have structure in place:

Work/Life balance is all about flexibility, but to have flexibility you need a solid structure around you – both at work and at home. Structure is important because it brings certainty to the world – you know what’s going to happen and why it’s going to happen. Without structure life is a bit more chaotic. You then find that you use both physical and emotional energy to bring meaning and clarity to different situations.

Structure also means having the right tools to work flexibly. To achieve work/life balance you need to be able to work from a variety of locations and at different times of the day. For this, laptops, mobile phones, remote access and flexible hours are important. To support flexibility the company needs to be well structured, with good support systems and needs to have an internal culture which supports flexible working arrangements.

Tip number 8: Practice good time management:

Central to good time management is to do the right thing, in the right way, at the right time and for the right length of time. To be able to do this, its necessary to establish your priorities and then focus only on those tasks that advance important goals. Those goals that will bring in high pay-off results. Activities that absorb too much time should then be simplified, delegated or eliminated.

Good time management means focusing on results. It’s important to aim for excellence, but not necessarily for perfection. When you aim for excellence you will achieve an excellent result, but when you aim for perfection you may never quite get there. You will spend far too much time in getting it completely right, when excellent was all that was required.

A good time management technique is to make appointments – with both yourself and with others. In the workplace, making appointments with people and covering several topics is more time effective than constantly interrupting others with minor details. And the best time management technique is to “not to think about it” but to simply “get started”.

Tip number 7: Undertake training in the techniques required:

Everyone needs training to learn the operational techniques required for effective Work/Life balance. There are a number of books and courses on time management; goal setting; maximizing productivity; increasing effectiveness; negotiation, relaxation and stress management, and a range of providers for this training. A number of companies provide elements of this training however individuals have the responsibility to seek out this training if they are to achieve optimal Work/Life balance. The techniques are not rocket science but you need to be exposed to the methodology to gain maximum benefit.

Another important training aspect for a successful work/life balance is interpersonal skills training. Getting on with other people is a very necessary aspect of achieving work/life balance.

Tip number 6: Take holidays and long weekends:

Everyone needs a total break from the operational side of your role so that you can freshen your perspective on what needs to be done. It’s easy to tell yourself that you are indispensable and always need to be around. But if you’ve got good structure in place, with good support systems, you can take time off. I know people who when they go on holiday they take their mobiles, are in daily contact and will even leave their holiday earlier to deal with an urgent issue. They haven’t had a holiday, they’re not refreshed and when they need to be thinking optimally they are too tired and burnt out.

Tip number 5: Reward yourself:

Rewards are important because they are the something extra you have been working towards. So, after you have set your goals, and you’ve achieved them – take the reward.

In taking rewards a good technique is to focus on making money, not just saving money. There are many ways to make additional money, outside of work, such as buying and selling real estate, day trading on the share market, cleaning out your garage and having a sale, or commercializing a hobby. With the additional money you make you can afford the reward. A big part of Work/Life balance is feeling great about yourself, and what better way than to have lots of rewards.

So, reward yourself, both at work and at home. By doing this, everything will become more enjoyable. Take the small rewards and take the big rewards – you deserve it.

Tip number 4: Stay healthy:

It’s important to eat well, sleep well and exercise.

Occupational Health and Safety is an important component of staying healthy – and it’s as valid at home as it is at work. It’s important to have a good desk, a good chair, good lighting and not to fall over cables and at home it’s just as valid. Also a good bed is a must – because you spend so much time there.

Together with OH&S think about the times that you’ve put your back out when gardening or you’ve been moving house and lifting heavy furniture. It may seem that you’re saving money, but when you’re off work with a bad back – does it really seem worthwhile?

Medical check-ups are important and there are a range of healthcare professionals to provide a comprehensive service – from physiotherapy, massages through to aromatherapy and relaxation therapy. When working hard, all these services are valuable and cost-effective.

Tip number 3: Be positive, passionate and enthusiastic:

Mix with positive people and don’t accept negativity – either privately or professionally. See the opportunity, not the obstacle, and if you can’t see the positive side of any situation look harder, look longer and look at it differently. There’s always a positive spin.

Two great techniques are ‘positive self talk’ and ‘visualization’.

Instead of telling yourself you can’t do something and filling your mind with negative thoughts, think positively and tell yourself “I am a great person, I’m valuable, I’m good at what I do, everything is great, I’m excited about my work, my goals and my life.

Visualisation is a technique taught by a number of practitioners. It involves determining your end goal and actually seeing, feeling, touching and experiencing the emotion of the goal. In this way you have already achieved your goal because you are actually experiencing it. Everything that you do moving forward is therefore a natural step towards achieving something that you already own. Similarly, another technique taught in stress management is to visualize a particular place that is special to you. When you are feeling stressed, or awake at 3 in the morning, you go back to that space in your mind and start to feel much better.

Tip number 2: Love your Job:

Career development is a journey and with every journey it’s more enjoyable if you enjoy every stage. Enjoy the tasks, the people, the environment and the opportunities. You can maximize your enjoyment by undertaking a number of professional development courses. Your enhanced knowledge and understanding will increase your control and with this control you will achieve a better balance. So, to enhance your work/life balance it is so very important to enjoy what you do, or change what you do.

Top number 1: Love your life:

Again, enjoy the journey, everyday and in every possible way. You should only be doing those things that you want to do. Take control over your life, be true to yourself and never accept less than you want. Enrich yourself – socially, culturally and intellectually. Constantly focus on your personal development, achieve your goals and enjoy the journey.

In summary:

You’ve identified what’s important

You’re making it happen

You are in control

And you are enjoying every step of the way.

What makes a Leader?– Emotional Intelligence at Work.

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 07:15:00 GMT

What’s the ‘right stuff’ to be a leader? It’s more art than science as David Goleman describes in his article in Harvard Business Reviews 10 Must Reads1. Through his research he has found that the most effective leaders have a high degree of emotional intelligence. IQ and technical skills are important but mainly as ‘threshold capabilities’ ie they are the entry-level requirements for executive positions.

Without emotional intelligence a person can have a bright analytical mind and an endless supply of smart ideas but they still won’t make a great leader. Organisations are full of stories of highly intelligent, highly skilled executives who have been promoted into leadership positions only to fail at the job; and others with solid, but not extraordinary, intellectual abilities and technical skills, who have been promoted into similar positions only to soar.

Goleman’s research focused on how emotional intelligence operates at work. He examined the relationship between emotional intelligence and effective performance within the areas of self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skill.

In his research Goleman analysed 188 companies to determine which personal capabilities drove outstanding performance. He grouped the capabilities into three categories: purely technical skills like business planning; cognitive abilities like analytical reasoning and competencies demonstrating emotional intelligence such as the ability to work with others and effectiveness in leading change.

On analysing performance data it was shown that emotional intelligence played an increasingly important role at the highest levels of a company where differences in technical skills were of negligible importance.

1. Self-awareness

Self-awareness means having a deep understanding of one’s emotions, strengths, weaknesses, needs and drives. People with strong self-awareness are honest with themselves and with others. They are neither overly critical nor unrealistically hopeful. They recognize how their feelings affect them, other people and their job performance.

People with high self-awareness are candid and have an ability to assess themselves realistically. They are able to speak accurately and openly about their emotions and the impact they have on their work.

Self-awareness can be identified during performance reviews. Self aware people know and are comfortable talking about their limitations and strengths and demonstrate a thirst for constructive criticism. By contrast people with low self-awareness interpret the message that they need to improve as a threat or a sign of failure.

2. Self-regulation

The key to successful self-regulation is the ability to control or redirect impulses and moods together with the propensity to think before acting. Successful self-regulators still feel bad moods and emotional impulses, just as everyone else does, however they find ways to control them.

Self-regulation is important for leaders because people who are in control of their feelings and impulses (ie people who are reasonable) are able to create an environment of trust and fairness.

Self-regulation is important for competitive reasons. In today’s fast-moving and ever-changing business environment people who have mastered their emotions are able to roll with the changes. When a new initiative is announced they don’t panic. Instead they are able to suspend judgment, seek out information and listen to others.

Self-regulation also enhances integrity – both personal and organizational. Many bad actions that happen in companies are a function of impulsive behaviour. People don’t necessarily plan to lie, exaggerate, or misrepresent situations. When an opportunity presents itself people with low impulse control just say yes. By contrast people with high levels of self-regulation challenge impulses and build lasting relationships based on trust.

Leaders with emotional self-regulation therefore have a propensity for reflection and thoughtfulness; comfort with ambiguity and change; and integrity – an ability to say no to impulsive urges.

3. Motivation

Effective leaders are driven to achieve beyond expectations – their own and everyone else’s. Many people are motivated by external factors (big salaries, impressive titles, being part of a prestigious company) however those with leadership potential are motivated by a deeply embedded desire to achieve for the sake of achievement. These people have a passion for the work itself, they seek out creative challenges, they love to learn and they take great pride in a job well done. They are often restless with the status quo, want to do things better and are eager to explore new approaches to their work.

People who are driven to achieve are forever raising the performance bar. People who are driven to do better also want a way of tracking progress – their own, their team’s and their company’s.

Whereas people with low achievement motivation are often fuzzy about results, those with high achievement motivation often keep score by tracking such hard measures as KPIs, sales results and market share.

People with high motivation remain optimistic when situations are against them. In such cases self-regulation combines with achievement motivation to overcome the frustration and depression that come after a setback or failure.

Motivation to achieve translates into strong leadership. When leaders set the performance bar high for themselves they will do the same for the organization. Similarly a drive to surpass goals and an interest in keeping score can be contagious. Leaders with these traits can often build a team around them with the same traits.

4. Empathy

Empathy means thoughtfully considering employee’s feelings, along with other factors, in the process of making intelligent decisions. It doesn’t mean adopting other people’s emotions as one’s own and trying to please everybody – because that would make action impossible.

Leaders with empathy understand the emotional make-up of people – they know what their people are feeling. People with empathy are attuned to subtleties in body language – they can hear the message beneath the words being spoken.

In today’s team based business environment empathy is an important component of leadership. Within teams a leader must be able to sense and understand the view points of everyone in the group and to encourage them to speak openly about their feelings.

5. Social Skill

Social skill is not just a matter of friendliness, rather social skill is friendliness with a purpose – moving people in the direction you desire.

Socially skilled people tend to have a wide circle of acquaintances and they find common ground with people of all kinds. It doesn’t mean that they socialize continually but it does mean that they work according to the assumption that nothing important gets done alone. Such people have a network in place when the time for action comes.

Social skill is the culmination of the other dimensions of emotional intelligence. People tend to be very effective at managing relationships when they can understand and control their own emotions and can empathize with the feelings of others.

Socially skilled people are adept at managing teams. They are expert persuaders – a manifestation of self-awareness, self-regulation and empathy combined. Good persuaders know when to make an emotional plea and when an appeal to reason will work better. Motivation makes such people excellent collaborators – their passion for the work spreads to others and they are driven to find solutions.

Socially skilled people may at times appear not to be working at work. They are chatting in the corridors with colleagues or joking around with people who are not even connected to their ‘real jobs’ Socially skilled people don’t think that it makes sense to arbitrarily limit the scope of their relationships. They build bonds widely because they know that in these fluid times they may need help someday from people they are just getting to know today.

Social skill is a key leadership capability. Leaders need to manage relationships effectively. A leader’s task is to get work done through other people and social skill makes that possible.

Summary

These first three components of emotional intelligence are self-management skills. The last two – empathy and social skill, concern a person’s ability to manage relationships with others. Successful leaders strengthen these abilities through persistence, practice and feedback. Emotional intelligence can be learned. The process is not easy. It takes time and commitment.

1. Notes from “What Makes a Leader?”. Daniel Goleman. HBRs 10 Must Reads. The Essentials. Harvard Business Review Press. 2011.

Interview Advice: Tell me about You

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 07:04:00 GMT

During interviews one question candidates are often asked is “Tell me about you”. Good and bad examples of responses to this question can be seen on our YouTube site at www.youtube.com/pmpconnect

A good example would involve the candidate saying something like:

“I've got 5 years experience as a pharmaceutical sales rep and in my current role I’m responsible for both a city and a country territory where I promote our number 1 cardiovascular product. During a typical day I call on GPs and discuss our clinical trial results and also answer any questions they may have about our products.

Here the candidate is capturing the interviewer’s attention by starting with the most relevant point. They continue with:

“During my calls I seek to understand what's important to the doctor by asking him questions. I ask him how's he treating his patients, how they are responding, and what side effects they're experiencing from taking the various drugs. From his answers I refer to our medical literature and by doing this I show him why our product gives a better result to the patient. During my visit I've got specific objectives like getting the doctor to switch patients to our product and, if we've got one coming up, I'll invite him to an evening educational seminar.

At this stage of the interview the interviewer is likely to ask “Tell me more about why you're a successful sales rep” and the candidate continues with “I'm successful because I build great relationships with my doctors and I always try to understand their needs. I can discuss complex clinical data in ways which are both interesting and useful to the doctor. I have excellent time management and organization skills and this helps me to manage my territory effectively. And I enjoy being on the road by myself and also being part of a larger team where we can share ideas.

With this response the candidate is stating behaviour relevant to the position for which they are applying.

Probing for additional information the interviewer then asks: “How would your manager describe you” and the candidate responds with:

“As a friendly and hard-working person who enjoys getting results. She may also mention that I’ve been one of the top 3 sales achievers over the last 2 years. My manager would also say that I'm a great team player, I'm reliable, I've got great communication skills, I’m comfortable with speaking in front of groups and that I can develop relationships with a whole range of people.”

Here the candidate is sharing qualities which are useful for the position whilst highlighting relevant awards.

The interviewer may then probe on a specific point to obtain more detail by asking: “Tell me more about how you develop relationships with people”.

The candidate could then respond with: “I'll ask them questions and I'll listen to what they say. I'll try to find out what's important to them and why it's important. When it's appropriate I'll talk about myself and we'll share stories. So for example when a doctor asks me for more information, I clarify what he wants, and I get the right information to him quickly. We'll then have a discussion about how he'll be treating his patients

To the same question: “Tell me about you" some candidates may respond by saying:

“Do you want to know about me as a person, or do you want to know about my sales experience”. This response will likely irritate the interviewer because their question has not been directly answered.

The candidate continues with “About work, I’ve got a medical sales background, sort of medical sales. Some of the products we sold in pharmacies so I suppose that’s medical. I always wanted to get into medical sales, so a friend introduced me to a neighbour who was in sales for a pharmaceutical company. It sounded interesting and I thought, well why not”. A rambling answer like this shows that the candidate is unprepared, and continuing with “So I applied for lots of jobs and eventually some unlucky person hired me” shows lack of confidence.

At this stage the interviewer will probe for more information and will ask: “Tell me more about why you like being a sales rep and what type of role you are looking for?” and the candidate continues with:

“I like being out and about, talking with lots of people. I love sales. I really do. I'm a natural sales person because I get on with all sorts of people. Sales is in my blood. Just ask anyone. Well, I’m looking for a job which will suit my abilities. If this medical sales job isn’t right for me I’d be keen to discuss any other roles you may have that would be suitable for my skills”.

The lack of detail in this response will annoy the interviewer and being unclear on what you want shows lack of commitment.

Interview Advice: What would you do to gain respect as a new manager?

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 00:49:00 GMT

When interviewing candidates for managerial roles we need to understand how effective they are within the managerial function. To do this we ask them a series of questions around their management style and how they interact with other people. During this we may ask them a question like: Assuming that you've just joined a new company, what would do in the first few weeks to gain respect as the new manager?

Good and bad examples of responses to this question, and others, can be seen on our YouTube site at www.youtube.com/pmpconnect

A good example would involve the candidate saying something like:

“As a new manager coming in I would listen carefully and take lots of notes when needed. I’d be walking around and observing closely how the department was functioning and how everyone was interacting with other parts of the company. I’d talk to everyone and understand their roles and how their roles contribute to the overall goals of the department and the company.

By taking the time to understand how the company is currently operating will give the candidate lots of useful information, and by wanting to get to know their colleagues demonstrates that they are a team player.

The candidate would continue their response with: “I’d be using a lot of open questions about How and Why things are being done. I certainly wouldn’t be assuming anything. In areas where I needed to know more, I’d be probing deeper to gain more insight. I would want to hear people’s stories and listen to their accomplishments. It would probably be too early to make any changes, and I’d be open to hearing feedback about what people liked and what they thought needed changing.”

Through using open questions the candidate is demonstrating that they listen to and respect their colleagues. By engaging with their new colleagues in this manner shows that they care about them as people.

By giving these answers the candidate is highlighting that they are skilled in people management and this would facilitate a smooth introduction when they joined their new company.

To the same question: “What would you do to gain respect as a new manager?” we have heard other less impressive candidates respond with:

“I would immediately have a meeting with everyone and give them a presentation with my plan for the future of the department. I would get their respect because I’d be the most senior and the most knowledgeable person in the room. If I felt that anyone was not with me I’d meet with them and ask them to explain their attitude. I’d tell them that I’m their new boss and there will be changes so they had better get used to it. I’d tell them that we need to be working together as a team and I can’t afford to have anyone who’s being negative. You need to be tough with the dissenters.”

With this response the candidate is demonstrating a dominating and authoritarian approach. Words like ‘my plan’ are arrogant and won’t generate respect with new colleagues.

As this response doesn’t demonstrate effective team building and leadership skills the candidate is unlikely to proceed to further stages of the interview process.

Interview Advice: How do you handle stressful situations in your job?

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 02:40:00 GMT

During interviews one question candidates may be asked is: “How do you handle stressful situations in your job?” Good and bad examples of responses to this question can be seen on our YouTube site at www.youtube.com/pmpconnect

A good example would involve the candidate saying something like:

“Being a CRA can sometimes be very stressful because I’m responsible for getting a lot of things done, especially when I’m on a site monitoring visit and there’s a lot happening. As you know, monitoring is a really important part of our jobs because the success of clinical trial timelines depends on how much we accomplish during our visits. However I don’t find monitoring visits stressful because I plan them beforehand”.

With this response the candidate is demonstrating that they understand the importance of their role, as a lead-in to their fuller answer.

The candidate then continues with: “I make my appointments early on and I try to be as efficient as I can with my time by seeing several people together. I also send an email to the study nurse before my visit to make sure that the room is ready and everyone is available. I’ve got a checklist of everything that I need to take on a visit and I make sure it’s all ticked off before I go. By doing all of this I’m in control of my day and therefore I can handle any unexpected situations.” This response shows that the candidate appreciates the importance of planning and time management.

At this stage the interviewer is likely to probe for additional information on something relevant that the candidate has just mentioned and could ask: "Tell me more about what’s on your checklist” and the candidate would then respond with:

“There’s 2 sections: The first relates to the study materials I need to take like diary cards, recruitment posters and newsletters, updated tracking spreadsheets, a list of data queries, and a list of study issues such as protocol violations, recruitment issues and CRF errors. The second relates to all those personal things like changes of clothes, my gym shoes, my phone charger and a list of all the contact details for the people I’ll be meeting. By using a checklist I find that I’m always prepared”

By answering the interviewer’s question with these examples the candidate is demonstrating that they are organised, prepared and in control.

The interviewer may then seek additional information by asking: "What else do you do to handle stress in your job that’s different to some of the examples you have already given” and the candidate would respond by saying:

“Before I go on an interstate trip I get a good night’s sleep. The plane leaves early and I need to be refreshed all day. I find that going for a short walk at lunch time is much more energizing than sitting in a crowded and noisy hospital cafeteria. When I’m traveling I always try to eat well and I always use the hotel gym at the end of the day. I love what I do and I believe that it’s important to have a balanced approach so that you continue to enjoy it.”

Here the candidate is finishing their response by showing that they can successfully manage their workload and that they enjoy what they do.

To the same question: How do you handle stressful situations in your job? we have heard other candidates responding by saying:

“Managing stress is never a problem for me. I just don’t get worried about things. Anything really. I’m quite chilled considering”

At this stage the interviewer is likely to want more clarification and will ask: “What do you mean by considering?”

The candidate then responds by saying: “Considering that I work with a bunch of uptight, hyper-stressed, workaholics who can’t have a laugh”.

This response will not impress the interviewer - criticising work colleagues doesn’t demonstrate a collaborative team-focused approach.

When the candidate continues their response with: “Seriously, at the end of the day the company and the position aren’t as important as my health so I’m not going to get stressed out about it”, the interviewer is hearing that the candidate has a lack of commitment to both the company and the position and won’t be proceeding to further steps in the interview process.

Interview Advice: “Tell me about a time when you made a big mistake”

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 02:41:00 GMT

During interviews one question candidates may be asked is: “Tell me about a time when you made a big mistake?” Good and bad examples of responses to this question can be seen on our YouTube site at www.youtube.com/pmpconnect

A good example would involve the candidate saying something like:

“I’d been with my previous company for about 3 months when I lost a major client. I felt devastated. I really thought that I was going to lose my job. However that didn’t happen because I was determined to win the client back, and I did. Firstly I examined what went wrong by talking to a number of people and examining the steps in the process. I talked to my colleagues, my boss and the client. From this I found out that our delivery schedules weren’t what the client was expecting. I talked to the client and I talked to our operations people and I found out that if I took the order earlier in the month, then we could send the products to the client by the end of the month. This way we would always be on time. I got the client’s permission to fill a few ad-hoc orders using this new system and I won back their confidence. The result is that we have won back the entire account and we have grown it over the last 3 months by 20%.”

By being upfront about their mistake and talking openly about their feelings shows that the candidate really cares about their job, and their contribution to the company. Taking responsibility for fixing the problem demonstrates pro-activity, resilience and tenacity – all attributes of strong candidates.

When asking the question: “Tell me about a mistake” interviewers want to hear phrases such as: “I examined the situation…”; I talked with people…”; “I found out that…”; “The result was…”

In this example the candidate has demonstrated how they turned a failure into a success.

To the same question: “Tell me about a time when you made a big mistake?” another candidate could respond with:

“I once lost a major client but it wasn’t my fault. I’d only been with the company for 3 months and I wasn’t really trained properly. The client just phoned up one day and said they were using another supplier. They all blamed me you know. Everyone. My boss especially. "Why didn’t you know what was happening" he yelled. That’s a bit rich coming from him. He should have been meeting with the client also. You just can’t leave it up to one person. That’s what teams are for, aren’t they – so you all take the blame together. If you want my opinion there was a lot of fuss about nothing. Another rep picked up the client and got them back. So it wasn’t as though we lost them forever.”

Candidates who make excuses are not accepting responsibility for their actions, and minimizing the failure shows lack of insight.

Interviewers don’t want to hear words like “It wasn’t my fault”, nor do they want to hear ‘blaming language’.

These unfavourable impressions will result in the candidate not proceeding to further stages in the interview process.