Category: Articles

A JUG, GOLF BALLS, PINS, SAND AND TWO CUPS OF COFFEE

Corporate Team building framework infographic

A JUG, GOLF BALLS, PINS, SAND AND TWO CUPS OF COFFEE

WRITTEN BY: JOEY NG

It was the class last ever lecture with Mrs Tan. After this lecture, the students will take their final exams and hopefully, graduate with flying colours. Before Mrs Tan dismisses the students for the final time, she took an empty jug from a big black bag and place the jug on a table.

“This jug represents our life”, she said. The students stopped chattering amongst themselves and focused their attention on Mrs Tan, curious to see what Mrs Tan was going to do next. Mrs Tan reached into her black bag, pulled out a box of gold balls and filled the entire jug with golf balls.

“Is the jug full?”, she asked. “Yes!”, the students responded immediately. Mrs Tan reached into her black bag, pulled out a box of pins and poured the pins into the jug. She gave the jug a good shake and the pins sipped through the gap between the golf balls.

“Is the jug full?”, she asked again. “Yes!”, the students responded, but not as loud and assured as the previous time. Mrs Tan then pulled a bucket of sand from underneath her table and poured the sand into jug, filling up all the gaps between the golf balls and pins.

“Now, is the jug full?”, she asked for the third time. “Yes!”, the students responded loudly and confidently. Mrs Tan then walked over to another table, took two cups of coffee and emptied the coffee into the jug.

“Now, is the jug full?”, she asked. The students laugh but none responded, not sure whether Mrs Tan has another trick up her sleeve.

“This jug represents our life. The golf balls represent the most important things in our life, such as health, family and career. We should fill our lives with as many of such important things as possible. The pins represent things that make our lives more comfortable, such as a car, laptop and a nice comfortable pair of shoe. We should always find space for such comfort in lives. The sand represents the finer things in life, such as an expensive holiday or a sports car. It is good to reward ourselves with such luxuries from time to time, but only after we have taken care of our ‘golf balls’ and ‘pins’.”

“What about the coffee?”, a student shouted from the last row of the lecture hall. Mrs Tan, “The coffee? Well, no matter how packed our life is, we should always remember to make room for coffee with our friends.”

Written by Joey NG (Facilitator)
Adapted from a graduation speech. 2nd September 2016

JOEYNG

12 THINGS THAT WE NEED TO GIVE UP TO LIVE A HAPPIER AND PRODUCTIVE LIFE

WRITTEN BY: MUGAN TAYALAN

Here is a list of 12 things which, if we give up on them, would make our life a lot more productive and happier. We hold onto so many things that cause us a great deal of pain, stress and suffering. Instead of letting them all go and allow ourselves to be stress free and happy, we cling onto them. Therefore, we should give up on all those things that no longer serve us, and we would embrace change.

Give up our need to always be right

There are so many of us who can’t stand the idea of being wrong, wanting to be right at all times, even at the risk of ending great relationships or causing a great deal of stress and pain, for us and for others. It’s just not worth it. Whenever we feel the ‘urgent’ need to jump into a fight over who is right and who is wrong, we should ask ourselves this question: “Would I rather be right, or would I rather be kind?” We should let our ego down and see the difference that it can make.

Give up our need for control

Be willing to give up our need to always control everything that happens to us and around us, situations, events, people, etc. Whether they are loved ones, colleagues, or just strangers we met on the street, just allow them to be. Allow everything and everyone to be just as they are and we will realize how much better that will make us feel.

“By letting it go, it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try in vain, the world is beyond winning.” – Lao Tzu

Give up our self-defeating, self-talk

How many people are hurting themselves because of their negative, polluted and repetitive self-defeating mindset? Don’t believe everything that our mind is telling us, especially if it’s negative and self-defeating. We are much better than that.

“The mind is a superb instrument if used rightly. Used wrongly, however, it becomes very destructive.” – Eckhart Tolle

Give up our limiting beliefs

Give up our limiting beliefs about what we can or cannot do, about what is possible or impossible. Henceforth, we should not allow our limiting beliefs to keep us stuck in the wrong place. We should spread our wings and fly.

“A belief is not an idea held by the mind, it is an idea that holds the mind” – Elly Roselle

Give up complaining

Give up our constant need to complain about people, situations and events that make us unhappy, sad and depressed. Nobody can make us unhappy; no situation can make us sad or miserable unless we allow it to. It’s not the situation that triggers those feelings in us, but how we choose to look at it. We should never underestimate the power of positive thinking.

Give up our need to impress others

Stop trying so hard to be something that we are not just to make others like us. It doesn’t work this way. The moment we stop trying so hard to be something that we’re not, the moment we take off all our masks, the moment we accept and embrace the real us, we will find that people will be drawn to us effortlessly.

Give up our resistance to change

Change is good. Change will help us move from A to B. Change will help us make improvements in our lives and also the lives of those around us. The only thing that is constant is change. So, we should not resist, but to embrace change.

“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls” – Joseph Campbell

Give up labels

Stop labeling those things, people or events that we don’t understand as being weird or different and try opening our minds, little by little. Minds only work when they are open.

“The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.” – Wayne Dyer

Give up on your fears

Fear is just an illusion, it doesn’t exist. It is created by us. It’s all in our minds. Therefore, we should correct the inside and the outside will fall into place.

“The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Give up our excuses

Send them packing and tell them they’re fired. We no longer need them. Many times, we limit ourselves because of the many excuses we give. Instead of growing and working on improving ourselves and our lives, we get stuck, lying to ourselves and giving all kind of excuses which are not real most of the time.

Give up the past

This may appear hard, especially when the past looks so much better than the present and the future looks so frightening. But we have to take into consideration the fact that the present moment is all that we have and all that we will ever have. The past that we are now longing for – the past that we are now dreaming about – was ignored by us when it was present. We should stop deluding ourselves and be present in everything we do and enjoy life. After all, life is a journey, not the destination. Have a clear vision for the future, prepare ourselves and always be present in the now.

Give up living your life to other people’s expectations

Many people are living a life that is not theirs to live. They live their lives according to what others think is best for them, they live their lives according to what their parents think is best for them, to what their friends, their enemies and their teachers, their government and the media think is best for them. They ignore their inner voice, that inner calling. They are so busy with pleasing everybody, with living up to other people’s expectations, that they lose control over their lives. They forget what makes them happy, what they want, what they need, and eventually they forget about themselves. We all have one life, that is the one right now. We must live it, own it and especially don’t let other people’s opinions distract us from our path.

MUGAN TAYALAN

5 FACTORS THAT DETERMINES EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN LEADERSHIP

WRITTEN BY: PETER GOH

It has always been common consensus since the rise of capitalism and corporations, that IQ and technical ability has been a telling factor of corporate success. Not until 1995 when psychologist Daniel Goleman published his book “emotional intelligence”, did corporate players start adopting EQ as a critical factor of employee competency models. Since then, “EQ” has been largely thrown about the business-academic sector as a scapegoat for the failure of highly intelligent and capable leaders. But what exactly is EQ and how does it predict individual success?

Daniel Goleman studied over 200 firms in the 1990s to determine the critical factors of employee competency. The factors were categorised into technical skills, IQ and EQ. Data analysis revealed that EQ-related factors were 2 times more effective at predicting success than skills and IQ. Incases of employee cross-analysis, EQ played an increasingly important role in determining success.

Self-awareness

The first important aspect of EQ is self-awareness. Self-awareness means understanding one’s emotions, strength, weakness, needs and drivers. People with self-awareness are more likely to see themselves more accurately and also more welcoming to receiving feedback. This can create a culture of honesty and integrity within a company. Take a manager who may not have bought in to a directive by top management, instead of sulking and risking the spread of unhappiness amongst his subordinate, a self-aware manager will instead be frank and honest with his opinion. He/she may voice out to the management “ I am finding difficulty understanding the reason behind such a decision” This will initiate the process of solving the manager’s unhappiness through meetings with the management or tweaking of the system.

Another important aspect of self-awareness is the ability to pinpoint ones personal values. This is crucial as it allows the employee to align their values to the company’s. It also allows the employee the conviction to make decisions and reject projects that may violate one’s own values. This once again creates a culture of honesty and integrity within the company. It also leads to greater motivation and long term commitment and satisfaction from the employee.

A crucial part of self-awareness is also the ability for self-deprecating humour. An employee with high self-awareness is usually able to look back at pass mistakes and have a good laugh. This exhibits humility and the person’s ability to accurately see one’s strength and weakness. An employee who is able to accurately analyse ones strength and weakness is also more likely to accurately assess the resources within a company.

Self-Regulation

Next up on the list is Self-Regulation, the ability to rationally control one’s behaviour in spite of the emotions one may be feeling. Many a time, dishonest employees do not conduct elaborate plans into their illicit actions. These actions are often seen in a situation of opportunity, where it may be conveniently easy to make self-centred decisions at the expense of the company. Such impulses are seen in employees who exhibit low level of self-regulation.

Often, a leader who takes time to consider the situations may be seen as cold and distant by his employees. On the flip side, a leader with a fiery temperament may be seen as charismatic and powerful. This common misconception is brought about by a need for immediate action. A leader who takes his time to consider the situation is more likely build trust and fairness within the organisation.

In today’s VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity) environment, it is essential that a leader is able to self-regulate their actions and not make rash decisions. It is also beneficial that an individual is able to roll along with the changes, suspend judgment and ultimately derive the meaning and reason behind each change phenomenon.

Motivation

Motivation is highly discussed, and can be seen as the passion to work beyond the compensation of money or status. It is the intrinsic value that builds a cycle of humility and constant self-reflection that will lead to personal growth and development.

A highly motivated individual has been shown to more optimistic and well-equipped to face setbacks, making them more resilient in today’s corporate landscape. It is not surprising that motivation is a significant predicator for success. Motivated individuals constantly push the bar for success and surround themselves with like-minded individuals, creating a culture of collective potential, a force to reckon with in any situation.

Empathy

Perhaps the most well-known factor is empathy. Not to be confused with sympathy, empathy is the ability to read non-verbal cues that emanate from our social interactions. Compare a situation in which a company is undergoing a period of recession. A manager who is worried by prospect of being retrenched may neglect the same feelings shared by his subordinates. This can create an air of paranoid and fear within the organisation. Yet, imagine a manager who shares the worries of his employees and consciously act on reassuring everyone. This in turn will create an environment of trust and commaderie over a period of time.

In another example where a manager has to fire a number of employees, a less empathetic manager may make a gloomy speech about the state of the company and the reasons for the retrenchment, where another manager may make a different speech, one about hope and opportunities. The underlying intention may be the same, but the overall outcome is starkly different.

Even more importantly, in an ever globalising economy, it is empathy that will allow us to communicate beyond language and culture. The biological reactions to emotions are involuntary and organic across borders. With a high degree of empathy, we are in a better position to collaborate with international partners despite cultural barriers.

Social skill

Social skill is an accumulation and a mechanism for action of the previous 4 components of EQ. With empathy we are able to read the non-verbal cues during our social interactions. Self-awareness and regulation allows us to choose the response to these signals. With mastery over these components, any individual will be able to navigate through the complicated web of social dynamics and emerge with a network ready for all situations.

An individual who is highly skilled socially usually has a huge network available to them. This is not to say that they are constantly socialising. They realise the significant limitations of a single individual and instead build connections such that they have an available network to tap into for all situations.

Realistically, a leader’s job is to empower people such that work can be done through these channels. As such, leaders network broadly and widely and without judgement. Social skill can thus be seen as a crucial cog in the application of the above components to elevate EQ.

In Conclusion….

This isn’t to say that IQ and technical abilities are not important attributes of a leader. If anything, IQ and technical abilities can be seen as the substance that give us form and shape in the corporate arena. EQ can be seen as the glue and lubricant that allows us to flow and glide and interact seamlessly with our dynamic environment.

The question remains though, can EQ be learned and how?

That is an article…. for another time.

Written by Peter GOH (Facilitator)
on 3rd February 2018

PETER GOH

GET AHEAD- STAY AHEAD

GET AHEAD – STAY AHEAD

WRITTEN BY: JOEY NG

Using Training as a Strategic Tool

“What is the best way to get the maximum return on the training budget?”

At a time when training budgets are tight – the above question as to where to invest it for maximum returns is clearly a top-of-mind issue for many organizations. The dilemma is: Should the focus be on maximizing individual employee potential or should it be on maximizing organization returns?

Though both these objectives seem tightly inter-linked, there is a fine dividing line. In the eyes of employees, by and large – loyalty to the organization is no longer seen as an investment that pays. Consequently, for a large population of Theory X managers responsible for deciding on training investments, it is the immediate and tangible returns on a training investment that find more favour than the longer term organization returns. In other words, invariably the short term impact is prioritized over the long term benefits.

Let me give you an example to illustrate. A training intervention that can be shown to have an immediate and tangible impact is perhaps a technical training session around the products or services that a company sells. Given the right environment, senior people involvement and metrics – it can be shown that the session has had a clear positive impact. Now consider another kind of training intervention – a leadership workshop, a workshop around innovative thinking or say a team building workshop. These are investments that do not have an immediate tangible result (regardless of how good the intervention may have been) due to the very nature of the issues being addressed.

One does not become a better leader, right after attending a workshop on leadership. Similarly becoming a good team player is a skill learnt with time and practice. However, what attending such a workshop can do nevertheless, is to set a person out on a certain path towards the long term goal – of being a good leader or a good team player. For a keen learner, that is all that is often needed.

In that sense, workshops that address long term but important issues act only as catalysts in changing people & hence the destinies of companies.

But why should companies invest in something like making their employees better team players? Is there a tangible benefit?

“Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful & so rare”- Patrick Lencioni, author of 5 Dysfunctions of a team.

In todays age, all our Products, Services or even Processes can be copied. The window available for new innovations is becoming shorter and shorter. The competitive advantage for companies then is in putting together teams that can handle rapid industry changes, improvise continuously and produce ideas that help business to sustain.

An increasing number of companies are slowly coming to the same realization as stated above by Lencioni. The age of the “lone wolf” or the “star performer” is pretty much done and dusted. The success or failure of most organizations now hinges largely on how well the different teams within them work with one another. At its best it can work like a well oiled engine – at its worst it can be a HR nightmare.

An individual may be a great performer by himself – but if he does not know how to take other people in his team along, communicate effectively within the team and handle conflicts in a mature way, all the personal skills can come to nought.

No wonder then that an increasing number of companies now hire professional firms to run Teambuilding workshops for their teams to make them more cohesive & oriented towards the
organization’s shared values.

Such workshops teach teams in a fun way to strive towards common goals & commitments. To achieve a common objective, teams often have to try new methods, prioritize tasks, assign roles, trust their peers, innovate and become more adaptive towards the ever changing environment.Along with their skills & tools, individuals in such workshops attain another important asset – “the right mindset”, which is collaborative and team oriented.

When teams start displaying trust in each other, it creates a safe environment, where each team member feels he is equal and hence becomes an active asset for generating IDEAS.Organizations & members both flourish in such healthy environments. And the results help them in Getting Ahead – Staying Ahead.

A few thoughts that can help managers in hence prioritizing their training budgets are:

– Focus on what the TEAM needs to succeed

This necessarily means striking a balance between immediate impact trainings like ones focused
on products, services and processes versus the long term impact ones like leadership,
innovation and team building

– Create a supportive learning environment

Building a TEAM isn’t just about recruiting and putting different members together. Sharing the
learning goal for the team – in line with the business priorities, helps people understand why a
certain kind of training is needed for the team.

– Tap the individuals in the TEAM for their inputs before freezing on the training schedule

There is a famous saying:

“You have a coin and I have another. We exchange, we both have one coin each.
You have an Idea and I have another. We exchange, we both have two ideas each.”

Most teams carry an innate wisdom that we often ignore. The best way to decide on a training calendar for a team is tooften just openly ask the team members to share their thoughts. Share the big picture – share the business priorities – and then ask the team which are the areas they need help in to succeed. What this also ensures is a much bigger buy-in for whatever trainings that you finally roll out.

Any organization can outshine the competition if their “rate of learning” is faster than the “rate of change”. L&D managers in organizations hence have a key role in ensuring organization competitiveness. Its only when they can get the teams within their organization to think about learning on an ongoing basis that they can truly become a Learning Organization.

The foremost things that training managers should hence keep in mind while deciding the use of their training budgets is a healthy mix of the short term imperatives versus the long term necessities – in line with business priorities.

What are your thoughts about how you use your training budget? Do share with us!

NITTIN SHARMA

6 STAGES IN COMMUNICATION

6 STAGES IN COMMUNICATION

WRITTEN BY: JOEY NG

6 Stages in Communication – A Fragile Process.

An article by Joey Ng

30/7/09

Can we think of anything more fragile than communication? By fragile, it means that it can be broken down easily. There are so many opportunities for communication to breakdown and when it occurs, it is term as ‘miscommunication’. Miscommunication happens when there is a difference between the message the sender intends to send, and the message the receiver perceived.

Let’s break down a standard communication pattern into 6 different stages and analyze where and when breakdowns can occur.

Stage 1 –Know what to say

Before a sender wants to communicate any message, he must know what is to be send. Ever encounter situations when someone is talking to you and you have the feeling that he has no idea what he is talking about. Or worse still, he knows he have no idea what he is talking about.

This could happen when the sender is relaying a message for someone else, but have limited information and is required to fill the gaps with assumption or, miscommunication have already taken place between the original sender and the medium.

Stage 2 –
Find the right words to use

Different words have different meaning. Different meaning will lead to different perception.

Language deficiency could be one of the reasons for breakdown at this stage. Great players do not necessarily make great coaches. One reason is because despite their experience, they are unablemto find the right words to piece their thoughts together.

Stage 3 – Convey the message clearly

The key to this stage is to articulate the message clearly, using the right tone, at the right pace. Issues could arise when the speaker is not speaking clearly, and the listener is not impelled to raise the matter.

Stage 4 – Listen to the message accurately

Moving on to the receiver’s half. Breakdown could arise if the environment does not support accurate listening. Setbacks could also occur at this stage if the receiver is not use to the pace or language the sender is using, or, if there are too much information to digest.

Stage 5 – Decode the message correctly

In the receiver’s mind, the words heard by him are drawing linkages with his understanding of each word. Again, language deficiency could cause break down at this stage as the same word might mean differently between the two parties. The need to assume if the word is not understood could also lead to break downs.

Stage 6 – Translating message into thoughts

The meaning of each words are put together to form a perception in the receiver’s mind. The same principal of language understanding as Stage 5 applies, because words can have different meaning when put together. Once the entire message is put together, the receiver will intend to connect it with his knowledge.

If he is unable to draw any links, he will not be able to fully comprehend the actual meaning of the message, resulting in misinterpretation or misconception. When the receiver translates the misinterpreted thoughts into action and it does not aligned with the sender’s intention, both parties will realize that there has been a miscommunication. Trust is also an element which might affect the communication process at this stage. If the receiver of the message does not fully trust the sender, he might interpret the message differently.

Communication is a process of transferring information from one entity to another. In this article, this process has been broken down into 6 stages, each containing several elements. The process of communication is as fragile as it can get because it takes just one element to breakdown to shatter the entire process.

JOEY NG

OLD TO NEW SHOES

WRITTEN BY: ADAM CHAN

Old to New Shoes
By Adam Chan

Nobody can avoid the initial discomfort of fitting into a new shoe. To some, departing with the old shoes seems difficult. It is also inevitable that sores and blisters will develop as one wears the new shoe and that makes you wonder if the selected new shoes are the right one. Feelings of wanting back the old shoes will continue to cast doubts in the suitability of the new pair. Such paradox; getting new shoes is unavoidable but letting go the old pair is difficult is common to us and it can paralyze our decision-making ability. Letting go isn’t an easy thing for all. By the same token, why is it so tough to let it go? It is always between the clobber and new shoes.

New Shoe

Old Shoe

Cognitive Level

· Uncomfortable

· Does not conforms to wearer’s feet

· Uncertain about its performance

· Comfortable

· Adapted to wearer’s feet

· Emotional attachment

· It has worked, it should continue to work

Systemic Level

· Lacing system may not be like the old pair

· Perceived performance

· Initial investment on new shoe

· Design may be drastically different from the old pair

· Initial sores and blisters

· Familiar with lacing system

· Proven performance record

· Undergone repairs

· Repair costs manageable

It is a clique to say that our personalities differ but it is the fundamental truth that resulted in the ways we think of new and old shoes. Our worldview a.k.a. beliefs are made up of a collection of anecdotes and knowledge of what we know at both conscious and subconscious level.

The beliefs drive our decision-making process and the product is a reflection of our behavior, whether appropriate or not. In corporate learning, the essence of this anecdote is the ability to let go of the old system and embrace the new one across all hierarchy levels. The anecdote is most applicable when an organization is undergoing major changes in manpower structure, company policies, business processes or information technology.

For any change process to achieve completeness, the process has to be led and managed. Usually the leaders are responsible to lead and manage the change process and it is also when they failed to do so the change process failed. The failure in the change process will result in widespread of uncertainties, apprehensions, anxieties, etc at the workers level and predictably, the organization will suffer a dive in performance. It would be like the new shoe fails to perform at its intended or designed level without knowing the reasons for it.

The root of such failure is usually the communication process which is also a subset of managing change. Change has to be effectively communicated to all levels. The communicator plays a critical role in steering the change process to success and the attention and preparation for its communication can never be overly emphasized.

Facilitators can use this anecdote to illustrate the various aspect of change process and solicit their views and understanding hence generating useful discussions among participants. Remember to focus on the use of keywords to invoke thoughts and insights from participants, summarizing the share insights to conclude the discussion.

Below illustrates one version of the story,

Far away in the horizon formed by the Gob desert and the skyline, there are two persons walking on the dry and hot sand, making their way to the promise land where they can find abundance of food, water and advance habitats.

Their names are Hmm and Ah. They have been walking for months but they still see no signs of the promise land told to them by their elders. Not conceding defeat, they continue to push on with their will

Not relenting to the scotching heat of the sun and desert, perseverance had carried them miles after miles and suddenly, Ah had discovered that his shoes are showing signs of depreciation after the prolonged usage. The left outsole is on the verge of detaching from the shoe’s body, he can no longer feel the dampening and insulating effect from the shoes as he began to feel closer to the sand as if there wasn’t any protection to his feet.

Ah then looked at Hmm’s shoes and they look exactly the same; they were depreciating too. This sets AH to think; how long can this pair of shoe last? Can he still go on without the shoe? Uncertainties started to cloud his mind and simultaneously he worried for Hmm.
Ah is very determine to reach the promise land but he knew if their shoes retired on them, it may affect their chances of reaching the promise land. Ah brought to Hmm’s attention about his shoes’ conditions but Hmm brushes it off by saying; “This pair of shoes had brave all storms and heat with me for many years, it is the most comfortable shoe I have owned. It will last and I have no intention to change a new pair.”

Silenced by Hmm’s remarks, they continued with their journey to the promise land. Suddenly Ah spotted a little hut, in it he saw many pair of shoes being displayed. Ah was delighted and quickly rushed towards the little hut. Hmm was not least interested in the hut, so he moved on

In the hut, Ah was given VIP treatment by the hut owner and he quickly drops off the worn-off shoes and used almost all his valuables to exchange for a brand new and better-designed pair to meet the desert challenges. As Hmm walked pass the hut, Ah waved at him with great excitement, inviting him to change a pair of “better-designed” shoes. Hmm replied; “With new shoes, you will bound to be uncomfortable, moreover it is likely to cause you blisters. No amount of positive thinking will get you through the pain from blistered feet. I am comfortable now, I will continue the journey and see you later, alligator.”

Ah thinks; “It makes sense, if I have blisters, that would means I can’t walk anymore. How can I ever make it promise land?” Immediately, he asked; “How to prevent blisters from forming?” The owner confidently said; “Preparation and knowing the new shoes well are the keys to blisters prevention. First you must learn how to walk in the new shoes, and pre-taped the anticipated hot spots on your feet. That will give a pleasant journey ahead. Remember, bring extra tape with you to re-taped the worn off first layer. I can teach all I know about walking in this new shoe now but you must understand the essence through practice and eventually manage the new shoe on your own. I can’t fish for you, I can only teach you the fishing skills. Your journey is still young, many things can happen. Last but not least, wear socks.”

Ah armed with the new found knowledge, surged ahead toward the promise land while Hmm has already made certain headway during Ah’s stay in the hut

On the horizon, Hmm started to detect signs of the promise land. He was overjoyed to see it and he step up his tempo to get there as fast as he could. Unexpected to Hmm, his shoes ripped apart into pieces. The beatings have finally taken its toll on his shoes and now the shoes are unusable. Although Hmm’s shoes were out, he refused to stop. Discarded his beloved shoes, he carried on with the journey. Shortly into the journey but now without the protection of shoes, he began to feel the heat and the abrasive sand attacking his feet with each step he took. Hot spots started to form, it then progressed to blisters and finally the blisters were ripped opened by the abrasive actions of the sand. To the point of unbearable, Hmm halt and looked at his heavily battered feet. Still refused to give up hope on the promise land, he limped slowly ahead, with excruciating pain on every landing of each foot. As slow as a snail, the hopes and positive self in the beginning have dwindled down to desperations and prayer of reaching the promise land soon so to end all agony.

Meanwhile, Ah was feeling unfamiliar when he started walking in his new shoe. There were doubts in his head that this new shoes were the right decision he had made. Nevertheless he kept in mind what was taught to him and moves on. Gradually, he could feel a different form of comfort that was offered by the new shoes. His mood has been lifted as he became more comfortable with the new shoes he has. His pace was increasing at a steady rate, his hopes in getting to promise land were greater too, things seems so fine to Ah.

Finally Ah has the promise land insight. Ah was also told by his elders that if he failed to reach the promise land before the sunset from the first sight, it will move away from him. Ah was not going to accept the failure to reach the promise land. Fueled with excitement and adrenalin, Ah surged ahead with great speed and with his new shoes. Not long after, he finally reached the promise land and he could feel the live and the joyous atmosphere.

He was overwhelmed by the fact he has reached the promise land after all the hard work and persistent effort he had put into. Ah started to wonder Hmm’s whereabouts as he could not see Hmm around.

Back in the desert, the sun is setting into the horizon, as the sun descent, the promise land seems to move away from Hmm. He was struggling hard to inch forward, every step was simply unbearable and he was no longer positive and hopeful. Eventually Hmm stopped, both in his legs and his mind.

ADAM CHAN

LESSONS FROM THE GREAT SEE-SAW

WRITTEN BY: LEONARD KOK

Lessons From The Great See-Saw
By Leonard Kok

If you have attended any Experiential Teambuilding Programmes by Focus Adventure, you might have gone on board the giant see-saw known to those in the teambuilding circles as the ‘Whalewatch’. The contraption is so named because in the popular tourist activity called whale-spotting, adventure-seeking human beings charter a boat to spot whales frolic in the great seas and oceans. On the boat, peals of excitement can be heard as the participants collectively run to the starboard and the portside if they have spotted the magnificent creature(s). The result is that the boat tips periodically to the extreme right or left.

Balancing on the Whalewatch is a seemingly easy task. One of the main reasons for this assumption is that we have fixed notions of how to balance on the see-saw – most probably from our fun childhood experiences on a much smaller version. What is imprinted in our long-term memory thus holds following assumptions:

1.	Only two persons are required to balance the see-saw
2.	The fulcrum is the centre pivot under the see-saw. Result? See assumption 1 again.

However, if these two deep-seated assumptions are applied on the Whalewatch, the team on board will find it quite challenging to achieve balance. On a warm day, external conditions will cause greater discomfort to the team and they might find themselves as real-life participants of Bruce Tuckman’s model of a ‘Storming Team.’

The great See-saw holds many lessons for any organisation. For one, it tips home the point that “Assumption is the mother of all failure”. It is interesting to note that on board the giant see-saw, any single piece of verbal expression or action holds a lot of insight, especially with regards to the team’s strategy, assumption(s), intent; and so on. Having facilitated many corporate teams on board the contraption, I have listed a few common verbalizations and expressions. They are tabled as follows, together with possible strategies and assumptions.

Verbalization / action	Strategy	Assumption
“Okay, all move to the centre”	Team is going to start finding balance from/at the centre	By going to the centre will achieve balance
“Everybody, don’t move! Just one person move!”	Team is just going to use one member to achieve balance	Only one person is needed to gain balance
“Let’s all tell each other our weights so that we can spread our weights equally”	Team is going to distribute their the total weight equally on both sides	By spreading the weight proportionally, they might be able to achieve balance

I like to watch the acting out of the above assumptions on the Whalewatch. Fascinating statements like these lead fascinating human beings to adopt equally fascinating poses which provide for – you’re right – very fascinating photos and videos. On board this humongous contraption, it is easy to question any assumption behind the team who is trying to find balance on board because every single piece of action happens within the rectangular platform. In the same vein, if we put all human actions on the table and lay down, as it were, all our cards, it will be quite easy to guess the motive behind our fellow colleague’s actions.

An informal survey has been done on board one of Focus Adventure’s signature giant see-saw. Findings seem to indicate that the team which practises effective communication protocols will achieve balance much better results than the team which is too hung-up on the task itself. What is effective communication protocol again? It is to practise good listening and speaking on board the see-saw. For many working teams, this can simply mean taking turns to speak and listen in any communication, to speak up at the opportune time and to shut-up at the right time.

If the team learns how to listen to each team member’s verbal expressions and actions, it can enable the team on board to uncover every piece of assumption and then re-strategise to find balance. Translating this experience onto reality, openness and effective communication skills will enable any working team to achieve effective results because right or erroneous assumptions, hidden agendas and other communication blockages will be brought to the fore. This will then enable proper assignment of roles and responsibilities. More importantly, everyone will have a stake in any corporate endeavour and the taste of success will be much sweeter because everyone owns it.

Someone once said that effective communication is not how well the sender articulate his or her thoughts but how well the message has been understood and received by the recipient. Likewise, many seemingly challenging workplace issues can be resolved with better communication. Indeed, many relationship issues can be resolved with better communication.

Is your department or team an effective team? By practising effective communication protocols, it will give your team the cutting edge to triumph in many corporate ventures and adventures. In the process, your sincerity and openness in office relationships may even win you a friend or two.

LEONARD KOK

CHANGE

WRITTEN BY: JOEY NG

An Article by Joey Ng
20/2/2010

Evolve, innovate, expand, advance, learn, transform, modify, develop, revolution, creativity, be different, alter, restructure, paradigm shift, growth, progress, invent, reform… just some of the many terms we read and hear everyday. As different as they are, they are connected by a common denominator, an underlying constant. And the constant is – change.

What is change?

Change is to become different. As long as the current state is not the same as the origin, change has taken place. Change can happen to everything, and change, can happen at anytime. Everything around us is relative. A matter per se can stay constant but when the environment changes, so will the matter. Remember the good old days of pagers?

This brings us to the next question – Why is there a need to change?

When there is change, there will be obsolescence and anything can be obsolete. Function, system, technologies, style, organization and people are not spared from it if they do not change.

We need to change to survive (do enough) or to excel (do well).

The bare minimum to survival is to maintain relevance ,to do just enough. A person who wishes to just survive will eat what is enough for his body to function. A company that is aiming for survival will do just enough to not turn red.

If we were to parallel the mindset of survival to Jack Welch’s idea of differentiation (http://www.welchway.com/Principles/Differentiation.aspx), one will do just enough to not be in the bottom 10%. Human, as a resource, changes when learning and development takes ‘If we focus on result, we will never change. If we focus on change, we will get result.’ place. We change through acquisition of knowledge and development of skill. The key difference between changing to survive and changing to excel is attitude. If one’s attitude is skewed towards survival, one will develop just enough to get by. If one wants to do well,

one will do more than what is required. Let’s not forget, just like the pager, if one remains constant and no development take place, over time, one will become obsolete too. On this same note, whether an organization do enough or do well is very much dependent on the attitude of its most vital resource – its workforce.

If we keep doing the same way, we will get the same result. If excelling is the name of the game, we will need to change the way, be it system, method or process, to achieve better result. Results in this context can refer to greater output, or achieving the same output with lesser effort or both! We need to change to survive. If no change takes places, we will become obsolete. Just like the dinosaurs, if an organization does not change, it dies.

However, is change all that easy? Change is often met with resistance.

Why do people resist change?

Here is a list of reasons why change is often opposed:

1) They do not see the
need to.

Not able to see the
benefits, which are mostly long term.
Do not see the
importance. No understanding of what they are changing to or for.

2) Comfortable with
current status, way of working –

3) The change is
really a bad idea!

There is just no
point in changing – change for the sake of changing.

4) Difficulty in letting
go of the old.

The old works! It
is proven.
Emotional
attachment as a result of heavy investment (time, effort, commitment).

5) Perceived
negativity attached to change.

6) No or low confident
in handling change.

7) Human are naturally
built to resist change.

One section of our brain, the basal ganglia or ‘habit centre’, has 2 parts. One part is for routine work, the other is only active when taking in new information. Using the routine portion makes the brain feels comforting and good, thus, human have a natural tendency to process any task by diverting it to that side of the brain. Case in check, one always seeks the most familiar method when approaching
any task, even a new task. However, when one need to learn something new, when change happens, the brain will need to draw out more energy to attend to it, leading to discomfort.

b. A second problem with something new is that human brains learn to react to errors the difference between expectations and actual – and when we detect an error our brain emits a strong signal which uses a lot of brain energy. Using extra brain energy for processing something new or when we mentally detect an error, actually hurts in our brain. It seems quite human to prefer what is pleasant and avoid the painful; at the very least we can feel comfortable that resistance to change is natural rather than a

particular person’s personality disorder.

It is interesting how we human sub-consciously resist change. It is also interesting how, without much thought, the word ‘adapt’ is toss into the mix every time we encounter the word ‘change’. When one is adapting to change, one is undergoing a process. The processof adaptation can be very challenging; however, if ‘sold’ correctly, it will help facilitate the process.

So, how does one ‘sell’ change?

But before one sell change, one needs to understand change as a system, change as a process. Change is a process, not an event. Change does not happen at the blink of an eye, there is a series of happenings before the end state is met, and the cycle continues. Changes take place gradually and subtlety, for example, before day turns to night, day light will start to dim, or, before the market crashes, tell-tale signs will begin appearing. The challenge in approaching change is when one is unable to see the entire system of change, but just snap shot of the tell-tale signs and react to it. The following line, taken from the
book 5th Discipline, explains – ‘Many of times, we react to changes without thinking about any underlying assumptions, the message the changes is bringing out.’ It is interesting the word ‘react’ is used instead of ‘respond’. Theoretically, both words have very similar definition, however, in the context of change, both implies totally different meaning.

Let’s use a situation to explain the difference. Whenever the pipe leaks, we react by either plastering over the leak, or we change the pipe. A respond will be to understand the reason why the pipe leaks and remedy it. The respond in this case could be to decrease the water pressure or, to remove the entire water system altogether. In other words, reacting is short term and responding is long term. If one keeps reacting to changes, one will always be plugging the hole.

When one develops an understanding of change as a process and not an event, he will bebetter equipped to sell change, even to himself!

Going back to the
question, ‘How does one ‘sell’ change?’ here are some ways that can facilitate the change process:

1) Give people a
reason to change, tell them what they are changing for and why the need

for change. When you change what you believe, you change what you do.

2) Sell the benefits.
Focus on the positives to shift away from the negativities usually attached to change.

3) Create and
celebrate small wins. These make progress vivid and will encourage the ‘changee’ to take the next step.

4) Provide a structure, in other words, ‘Change Management’. Now, ‘Change Management’ and ‘managing change’ are two different ball game – First, ‘managing change’ refers to how one adapts and manage change when it happens, it could include a plan. For example, midway through a picnic, it started to rain, and we manage the change in weather by moving the set-up indoor, which was planned for. Next, ‘Change Management’ requires a step by step process, starting with identifying what needed to be changed, what is the desired outcome, how to go about reaching the outcome and what post-change actions. These are the basic fundamentals of various ‘Change Management’ model out in the market.

To change or not to change, it all depends on us. Any change in process, system, function
and technology are initiated by people. We can even dictate change in natural ecology system, like climate and food chain. If we don’t change the way we fish shark, it is just a matter of time before they become extinct. An organization will only change if the team change, the team will only change when the members change, the member will only change if he wants to change. If we don’t change, it is just a matter of time before we or our organization becomes extinct. Change is here to stay.

JOEY NG

GIVING AND RECEIVING FEEDBACK

GIVING AND RECEIVING FEEDBACK

WRITTEN BY: LEONARD KOK

Giving And Receiving Feedback: Are we doing it right?
By Leonard Kok

All of us have, at one time or another, given or received feedback for some assignment or job done. Look at the pictures below. They are labelled (A) to (H) for easy reference. Was/Is your situation very similar to what is depicted? You might even want to form a small group to discuss the pictures (and perhaps have a good laugh over them!)

If you are in small groups, you may want to share:

(a)Which picture best described the situation(s) where you received or gave feedback.

(b) Why did you feel that way?

Feedback is an appraisal given to the person or team after an action is executed. Many people have many labels for it but the basic purpose of giving feedback is mainly to provide timely response so that improvement in future scenarios will be made possible. All organisations have some kind of system and structure to deliver feedback to the person(s) involved for formative, summative and incentive-related purposes.
In what way do we deliver and give feedback? Where and when do we provide feedback and how do we do it in such a way which promotes professional and even personal growth?
Read on.

Basic Guidelines for Giving Feedback

McGill and Beatty (in “Action learning: A practitioner’s guide”, London: Kogan Page, 1994, p. 159-163) provide useful suggestions about giving effective feedback:

Clarity — Be clear about what you want to say.
Emphasize the positive — This isn’t being collusive in the person’s dilemma.
Be specific — Avoid general comments and clarify pronouns such as “it,” “that,” etc.
Focus on behaviour rather than the person.
Refer to behaviour that can be changed.
Be descriptive rather than evaluative.
Own the feedback — Use ‘I’ statements.
Generalizations — Notice “all,” “never,” “always,” etc., and ask to get more specificity — often these words are arbitrary limits on behaviour.
Be very careful with advice — People rarely struggle with an issue because of the lack of some specific piece of information; often, the best help is helping the person to come to a better understanding of their issue, how it developed, and how they can identify actions to address the issue more effectively.

When Not To Give Feedback
Constructive feedback should not be used under three conditions:

When the employee cannot take any action on the constructive feedback. The problem is not within his or her power to change.
When the person giving the constructive feedback is overstressed or has a limited amount of time. Coaching sessions demand time and calm. Once a manager loses his or her temper, the feedback loses its impact because the person receiving the feedback has shut down and is no longer listening.
When the focus is on the person, not the person’s behaviour or performance.In giving constructive feedback, out intention should be to modify the individual’s performance or behaviour. It’s a big mistake to focus on trying to change someone’s personality.

What If The Feedback Is Negative?
If you have to give negative feedback, be particularly careful (but don’t have to avoid it).

1.Avoid giving negative feedback in public. It is a good rule to criticise in private, praise in public

Avoid historical references. Present information on “here and now” as opposed to “there and then”
Avoid undue emotion – don’t lose your cool or patience – over reacting will produce defensiveness. Talk when you are calm and objective

Try this Template!

If a person (could be your co-worker, your subordinate, your partner, or even you) is not doing well, how should the person be informed? Try this:

“Hi _________________ (fill in the person’s name), When you do this ________________” (specify the behaviour)

“It is a problem because ________________” (specify how the problem is affecting you/the team )

“Next time ________________” (specify what you want the person/team to do).

What If The Person Is Angry?

Sometimes, if the person is not progressing well they become angry (as much with themselves as with you). The following provides some guidelines:

– Describe, don’t accuse. Use active listening to defuse the emotion in the situation. Make sure you are communicating a feeling rather than blaming

– Take a joint problem solving approach. Use paraphrasing and open ended questions

What If You Are On The Receiving End?

Practise the 3As

Awareness

Take all criticism as “legitimate” and then move to assess its merit.

Assessment

Of whether the criticism is really valid or not.
To determine if criticism is valid, you should ask:

· Is this something I have heard before from others?

· Is the critic an expert in this field?

· Does the critic have reasonable standards?

· Is the criticism really about me, or is the critic upset about something else and taking it out on me?

Action

3 Decide what you want to do about the criticism.

In Conclusion:

A nice model to use for providing feedback that enables the person or team to blossom and grow is the Hamburger Principle. A Basic hamburger has 3 layers. So, following the 3-layer principle, We have

With the above model, feedback will be more constructive as it provides avenues for growth and development.
References:

http://www.selfhelpmagazine.com/articles/growth/feedback.html

http://www.mgt-online.com/AHRI/trial/snap/sect2/sect2b.html

LEONARD KOK

INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS

WRITTEN BY: ANILRAJ

Internal Communications
By Anilraj

There’s no disputing the value of effective internal communications in any small or medium-sized business. Employees who are better informed are more satisfied, feel more involved in the fate of the company and ultimately contribute more to it’s success. Companies that make internal communications a priority are more likely to reach their objectives with motivated employees.In turn, conflicts can be resolved quickly and improve employee productivity

Essentially, 2 key goals to have in mind:

To create a sense of belonging. Employees have to feel that they are a part of a larger whole. Helping them see the big picture will help by reaching the overall company objectives, such as increasing sales, developing more customers, or dealing with company changes, such as mergers, downsizing or management changes.
The need to secure employee buy-in: employees who believe in the company’s initiatives will make them happen.

Company newsletter (paper or electronic):
The company newsletter is an ideal medium for relaying ongoing information to employees on a systematic basis. Topics to consider would be client testimonials, employee success stories and regular updates on company news, events and strategies. Try to get as much employee input as possible and ensure that not only managers are contributing material. Avoid making the newsletter a management spokes-piece. Generally, the newsletter should be the democratic voice of the employee body and should avoid the “us” and “them” syndrome.

Intranet site:
Creating an intranet site can enable the company to put invaluable information online and update it regularly. This is a more costly option is better suited to companies that have at least 30 employees or if your team is geographically dispersed. An intranet site can be useful, for example, to publish information on changed processes that everyone needs to use. Keep in mind that the intranet is a passive vehicle – employees have to access it to use it. It doesn’t replace electronic newsletters or emails, which are an inexpensive route to get out timely information.

Small group meetings:
Face-to-face communication is the most effective way to reach employees. Smaller groups help create closer bonds and put employees at ease to speak their minds. Be sure you have a clear agenda but allow time for people to address ad hoc issues at meetings.

Suggestion boxes:
Suggestion boxes enable employees to raise their concerns and issues anonymously, which can then be followed up on a regular basis. Even if your company has only a few employees, this option gives them complete confidentiality.

Posters
An excellent way to present information to your employees because they can be placed in highly visible areas of your company, such as the cafeteria or meeting rooms. They are particularly useful when you have to make an impact and want to add value to an announcement. Be sure that your poster provides a contact for more information. And ideally, you should follow up with more detail in another vehicle, such as a newsletter.

Crisis communications vehicles
Be sure you have a vehicle in place to help you deal with emergency communications or share information on important priorities. HR has also a big role to play in this, by basically being the point of contact should something were to happen. Keeping employees in the know soothes them and at the same time discourages the rise of half truths. You can also consider conference calls for geographically dispersed teams.
Orientation material for new employees
If you don’t have a company website, provide new employees with a written overview of your organization that accompanies their orientation. These documents are important references that enable your employees to contribute their best to your company.

Managing change
In times of change, internal communications are paramount. Whether it’s downsizing, altering a customer service strategy or dealing with accelerated growth, open communications helps

employees understand the change at hand and what’s expected of them.

Here are some key factors to consider in your internal communications:

Allot the resources you need to communicate change. You may have to increase your internal communications budget in order to handle major issues.
Be open with your employees about what is happening in your business and communicate exactly what they need to do. Keep your communications brief but give employees enough information to act.
Don’t forget that even positive change can backfire in a company if it’s poorly communicated to employees.
Avoid withholding information from employees. This can create a sense of anxiety or conflict. Be sure that they find out changes in your company before this information gets in the media spotlight.
If you’re in a larger company, consider communicating change to your managers before other employees; after all, managers can help you relay the message to your team and incorporate that change.
Communicate regularly to create a sense of stability.

ANILRAJ

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Category: Articles

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WRITTEN BY: MUGAN TAYALAN

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5 FACTORS THAT DETERMINES EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN LEADERSHIP

WRITTEN BY: PETER GOH

GET AHEAD- STAY AHEAD

GET AHEAD – STAY AHEAD

WRITTEN BY: JOEY NG

6 STAGES IN COMMUNICATION

6 STAGES IN COMMUNICATION

WRITTEN BY: JOEY NG

OLD TO NEW SHOES

OLD TO NEW SHOES

WRITTEN BY: ADAM CHAN

LESSONS FROM THE GREAT SEE-SAW

LESSONS FROM THE GREAT SEE-SAW

WRITTEN BY: LEONARD KOK

CHANGE

CHANGE

WRITTEN BY: JOEY NG

GIVING AND RECEIVING FEEDBACK

GIVING AND RECEIVING FEEDBACK

WRITTEN BY: LEONARD KOK

INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS

INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS

WRITTEN BY: ANILRAJ

Learning Objectives