The Retrospector

The dynamics of a team can be a very fragile thing. As with many things, when properly maintained it can be a very powerful machine. How do you maintain your team? One good way is to help create an environment for each member to reach a fully concentrated state.

Many people have terms for being in a state of total concentration. A state where you are able to focus completely on the task at hand without distractions of any kind. A state where you are the most productive you can possibly be.

Generally speaking, I’ve known most technical people such as programmers, architects, system administrators, or designers to be much more productive when they’re able to concentrate. This probably holds true for a great deal of non-technical employees where a high level of concentration is needed to do the job, but I’m in IT…so that’s what I’ll write about.

So, I’ve managed to quantify 5 steps to helping your productivity machine get to that most optimized state of efficiency. For the next week or so, I’ll be posting the steps in a series for the following topics:

0. Coin a cool term for being fully concentrated
1. Identify how your employees concentrate and perform
2. Create a process where team members are most effective
3. Encourage collaboration in the group time, and support total isolation for the individual time.
4. Create the appropriate atmosphere
5. Don’t be afraid to change and experiment.

The first item may sound pretty unnecessary as a step of its own. Basically, everyone on the team needs to be on common ground with terminology. Managers, peers, and even business users need to understand what it is you’re talking about when you talk about your schedule. The other reason I threw this in here is because it’s probably the shortest piece of this series, and sort of makes for a semi-humorous intro to the rest of the steps. So here we go…

0. Coin a cool term for being fully concentrated

Some terms that I’ve heard to describe the total state of concentration where people can really produce some of their best work are:

• Crankin’
• Totally Focused
• Spewing (as in spewing code)

And probably the best of them all, and one I’ve been using since I first heard it:

• In The Zone (something I only ever heard used in sports-related descriptions for someone that was “on fire” and just couldn’t mess up.)

Now, I have to admit something. When I hear that someone is “In the Zone” I can picture a number of strange scenarios. The best analogy that comes to mind is someone being in the end-zone after making a touchdown at a football game. The person has struggled very hard to get there, and is at a total performance peak. Things are going well, and any slightest penalty could totally slow down momentum of the team as a whole even after one or two people took the ball to the end-zone.

Scientific people, engineers, doctors, etc. all need to be able to reach that “on fire” state where they just perform flawlessly with no mistakes and total coordination of their thoughts in order to really produce. Why wouldn’t you want to help get your team members to be able to focus and perform in the same manner? Stay tuned for more steps on how to help your IT team concentrate…

In the meantime, I’m really curious what other names people call their “zone”. What do you say to someone when you’re in the middle of concentrating on the super-difficult piece of code you’ve been working all morning to get your head around? How to you let someone know you’re going to go get “in the zone” for the afternoon and don’t wan’t to be interrupted? How many of you turn off your phone’s ringer when you’re busy like I do? Continue on to Part II.

Tags: concentration, productivity, focus, IT, team+building, management

To complete the series, I’m going to touch on something that overlaps some points I’ve already made in the earlier posts…but I think it merrits just a little more attention. I want to talk a little bit about saying “I don’t know” and when to recognize that’s exactly what you should say.

Before I get into it, here’s a list of the other posts in this series:

• Avoid Taking Undeserved Credit
• Don’t Defer Blame
• Don’t Exaggerate

If you haven’t read them already, please take a look before continuing and come on back.

No excuse for being unprepared

First off, I want to throw out my disclaimer. By promoting the use of saying “I don’t know” when appropriate, I’m not encouraging you to be unprepared or even being put in a position where you look stupid and just have nothing else to say. I most certainly think it’s better to be as familiar as possible with every aspect of your job to the point where you shouldn’t have to ever use the phrase in front of other people.

This is not rocket science. I’m almost looking at some of these posts and just thinking to myself “why the heck are you writing these things anyway, isn’t this common sense?” Well, if it were that obvious, there wouldn’t be so many people sending comments to me about these subjects. (I’ve gotten a number of comments via email from this series for some reason.) So knowing that, I continue on.

The art of saying you don’t know

This amuses me to some extent. I’ve seen so many people try to weasel out of saying the three little words. It’s really not that hard, but for some reason there’s people out there that just never…ever…ever feel as if they’re wrong. I don’t really mind it so much when people think they’re always right, until they’re very quick to point out when you’re wrong. Not everyone can know everything all the time. Eventually, you are caught in a situation where you simply don’t know enough to sound intelligent with saying anything else.

Here’s a simple little list of ways to say “I don’t know” and still save your dignity. Sometimes you just can’t help it because you truly don’t know, but sometimes it’s just because you can’t joggle the memory well enough to bring some hidden thought to the tip of your tongue and back.

1. Here’s the obvious. “I don’t know.” Sometimes that really hurts to say, but c’mon. It’s not going to kill you once in awhile.
2. “That looks really familiar, I just can’t put my finger on it.” Ok, this is kind of lame because anyone can say that to sound like they’ve at least been familiar with your subject once upon a time and just have a short memory lapse.
3. This one cracks me up…the generic statement of knowlege. “Oh yeah, that’s the thing we were doing a few months back. I remember that.” This is very dangerous if you’re really clueless. You may have to elaborate if you invite discussion on the matter.
4. “I’m not as familiar as I’d like to be.” This implies some knowlege to begin with, even if you don’t have it. This one is much more careful than #3, and is very similar to #2. But it also implies that you really don’t know…without you actually having to say it.
5. Nod and smile, staying quiet. Then blurt out a “oh yeah, mmhmm.” This is probably the biggest scapegoat of “I don’t know” avoidance I’ve ever seen. There’s so many people that will just give you that half-blank stare while acknowledging your statements when they’re totally clueless. Don’t fall into this trap. Many people will hold you responsible for being on the same page and lose total confidence in you if you proove that you were totally clueless while totally agreeing with them.

Keep in mind you don’t want to mislead

There’s a fine line between trying to save face in a conversation you’re having with coworkers where you get by without having to admit you don’t know or understand what they’re talking about…and being depended on by those workers when you walked away really not knowing while they all need to you understand to fulfill your role properly on the team. Be careful how you admit to not knowing.

I like to make as clear as possible that I dont’ understand something until I’ve seen it very clearly in my mind. I’m horrible at nodding during a conversation, but the best thing to do is to repeat what people are saying in your own words to help you get a clear picture of what’s going on. Being on the same page with others on your team is crucial to your success.

Put a positive spin on not knowing

Something I like to do is to make an opportunity out of not knowing something. (Assuming it’s a lost opportunity because you’re just unprepared.) When I catch something in a conversation I don’t understand, I try to ask for a simple elaboration or explanation. Usually a one-two line description is enough to go on for a research project after the fact.

If you knew everything right now, life would be kind of boring. Learning is a huge part of life’s variety. So don’t be discouraged when you’re caught blindsided by some term, technology, or algorithm that others are talking about. Raise your hand and get involved by being interested and curious.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I’d love to get more information on that.” -or- “Wow, what is that? That sounds interesting…”

So, what do you do when put on the spot in front of a group about a subject you don’t know much about? Are you the know-it-all type that just can’t admit to your knowlege gaps? Are you the doornail that sits there never saying anything when you don’t know what others are talking about? Perhaps you’re the curious one that also doesn’t know when to quit asking questions and go learn something on your own…

There’s plenty of variety here that I’ve seen. I’m curious what you’ve experienced. Share it with us and think up one of the funniest scenarios you can remember when catching someone claim knowlege of something they are really clueless about.

Tags: integrity, i+don’t+know, prepared

This is the third post in the Integrity Series I’ve had going the last couple weeks. If you haven’t already read the first two posts, Avoid Taking Undeserved Credit and Don’t Defer Blame, please go have a look. I’ve only got one more topic in mind for the series after this post, so unless something else comes up I think the series should wrap up this week.

What I’m going to talk about in this post is the use of exaggeration. Many people use exaggeration so much, and since it’s just a really little stretch of the truth they don’t realize how often it’s happening. Exaggeration is such a powerful tool when trying to argue a defense for your side of the debate. Using “stretched” facts can help you win over someone else that isn’t totally informed of the facts themselves.

When used too much, I think exaggeration is very harmful to your credibility and reputation. If too much emphasis is placed on your stretching of the truth, it could be interpreted as a flat out lie.

Appropriate usage

So when is exaggeration appropriate? I’ve really only been comfortable with exaggeration in the telling-a-funny-story category. Exaggeration to me isn’t far from lying, and I try never to be associated with dishonest practices.

As for when it’s not appropriate, well, I could probably be safe in saying it’s almost always inappropriate. What’s the point of exaggeration anyway? Some definitions of lying include “any deviation of the truth”. That includes lying by omission, exaggeration, changing the facts presented, etc. Why would you want to be associated with that just to make a point in a debate?

Take my advice, if you want to make a point, get your facts straight and present them in such a manner that makes sense to everyone else. If things don’t go your way, there’s probably a good reason for it.

Pitfalls

So what happens when you do exaggerate?

1. You’re labelled as someone that stretches the truth, or even worse…a liar. (even if you’re just a regular “honest Joe”)
2. You could potentially convince someone with your false/exaggerated reasoning down the wrong action path just because they couldn’t argue against your side of the story.
3. You just might like how it works on others and get more comfortable with using it more often.
4. People may begin to compensate for your exaggerations in every conversation with you, even when you’re not exaggerating. Then when you’re dead-on telling the truth they’re going to be converting everything to false information during the discussion.

How to avoid it

Here’s a few tips I’ve used over the years to help avoid being caught up with stretching the truth in any way:

1. When talking numbers, if you don’t know the exact amounts SAY SO. Ballpark the values and toss in a disclaimer that you’ll need to double-check the values.
2. If you really do have a good idea on what the fact is and it can be placed in a range…give a proper buffer to your lower limit as well as the upper limit so you’re not seen as trying to skew the facts in your favor. (i.e. Well, I’ve seen 15-25 occurances of users getting stuck on that screen the last week. Instead of saying it’s 25, when you think it’s 20. Giving a range is much more accurate when you’re not absolutely sure.)
3. Think like a CSI. (Crime Scene Investigator) If you don’t know the facts, find them out before going into your debate. This isn’t always a convenience everyone has, but if you can get all your facts straight before the conversation, there’s no need for making up skewed data to fill in the blanks. If you have the real facts, you won’t be as tempted to stretch them in your favor.
4. When in an argument, think about whether or not you’re just trying to win the argument so you can do things your way…or if you’re just letting the facts do the talking. People will be much more inclined to have productive debates with you in the future if they don’t feel like you’re always trying to overpower the conversation in your favor. Honest debate is the best kind.

Going forward

Think about what you’re going to say before you say it. Is it an exaggeration? My opinion on the matter is that it’s not far from lying. Even if you’re an honest person, stretching the truth is a really bad quality to have. Follow the avoidance hints and don’t get labelled as an uninformed pushy win-the-argument-at-all-costs person. I don’t really know anyone quite like that, but even the subtle exaggerations effect how people respond to you. I can’t imagine how bad it would be to work with a total liar.

What are your thoughts on exaggerating? Is there an appropriate place for it in your life? Do you have methods of avoiding exaggerated stories in conversations? I’d like to hear what you’ve seen and experienced with arguments full of false info.

Head on over to the last post in the series:  How to say “I don’t know”

Tags: exaggeration, integrity, debating, honesty

This post is a continuation of the Integrity Series, which is a series of posts that stemmed from a few things I think are crucial to anyone wanting to maintain a healthy trustworthy standing with their peers, managers, and subordinates. This particular post follows up on a post on how to Avoid Taking Undeserved Credit.

What I’d like to elaborate on concerns something nobody likes to really think about. What happens when things go horribly wrong? Well, when shit happens…there’s no point in polishing a terd. Someone has to shovel it up and get rid of it while the company has to figure out how to still end up with a jewel. (Or just a pretty rock will do. Some of us will take what we can get when things aren’t as they should be.) Regardless of what went wrong, if you were involved in any way with the problems…the best thing to do is to just suck it up and take what comes. The rest of the post will concentrate mostly on the what-to-do and what-not-to-do action items you should remember if ever caught up with an awry situation.

Take responsibility

Be as informed as possible. If you’re caught in the middle of a bad situation, looking stupid is about the last thing you want to happen. Collect as much information as possible on why things went wrong, the source of the problem didn’t just happen out of thin air. Even if you weren’t expecting something and didn’t account for it, do your homework and find out as much information as you can as fast as you can so that when you’re in the room trying to explain what happens…you at least look and sound intelligent enough to be speaking on the subject.

You most certainly don’t want to get into a meeting to talk about this and not be able to defend facts just because you’re unaware. Even if you aren’t to blame, looking unprepared is just as bad as being guilty because you didn’t help prevent it by being prepared in the first place.

Be honest. If you’ve got your facts straight, what have you got to hide anyway? If the problem was your fault, at least you have a fighting chance at saving yourself by explaining what most likely went wrong and having evidence for it. On the contrary, if you try to lie your way out of it…and get caught…you’re just an idiot and probably deserve whatever comes your way.

Don’t blame anyone else

Don’t mention names. This is probably the most difficult thing to do, but unless directly asked for a name just don’t throw them out there. Marching into your boss’ office and blaming the entire thing on someone else can be just as bad for you as it might seem good depending on the situation.

1. Pointing the finger shows cowardice, irresponsibility, weakness.
2. Burning bridges may gain you a short term way to save face, but sometimes bridges don’t get rebuilt. You may not have the support of your peers in the future.
3. By not blaming others, you show that you are a strong team player willing to take responsibility for your actions and everyone on the team…especially if you weren’t really involved to the point of deserving blame.

Keep it to simple facts. Don’t let any biased opinions creep into the discussion just because you’re angry or flustered. Stick to what’s fact, and let the evidence take care of itself when dissecting a problem.
Have a plan of action ready

Now what? If you messed up, you better be ready to fix it. Being prepared is as good as you can do at this point. If you just shrug the entire thing off, your company may consider you an unnecessary expense. Who wants to hire someone who just messes stuff up and won’t even try to make things right? I sure wouldn’t. If I screw up, you better believe I’m in there pulling double-time until I make it right. Having other people dependent on me to do my part is pressure enough. Forcing teammates to dive in and bail you out all the time just sucks and makes you look incapable.

Regardless of whether you were really to blame or not, be ready to assist in making things right. The only people that are remembered more than screw-ups, are the people that can fix things. If one of your teammates royally goofs up their component and you’re reliant on it being successful, roll those sleeves up and get your hands dirty in solving the problem. You’ll gain so much more respect as a team player and key versitile resource. Just being able to help with brainstorming ideas and fresh perspectives is sometimes enough to push a group effort over the edge to a successful path.

No plan? Find someone who can make one. I don’t care if you’re just some new grunt right out of college, if you can’t make a plan you better find someone who can and be proactive enough to get something going or you could be putting your job on the line as well as your reputation.

Everyone has to learn the hard way, and you’ll probably get some leniency the first few times. Don’t even let it come to that. Being proactive is about the best thing you can do in a situation unless your directed to focus your attention elsewhere while the disaster recovery crew takes over.

Going forward

Obviously being in this scenario isn’t fun. But knowing at least where to start and what direction to head should give a good advantage over the deer-in-headlights-type people in the end. Be informed, hold your head high, and have confidence that you did everything you could…and are going to do everything you can to make things right.

Most important of all, learn from your mistakes AND the mistakes of others. Your experience is gold for your career. If you ignore things that have happened to you and everyone around you, you may as well be a fresh college graduate your entire life. If you plan on moving up in the world, make sure you pay attention to how things happen around you.

What do you do in situations that just don’t go right? How do you react to make sure things can smooth out over time? (Well, besides starting a new job-hunt )

Next posts in this series:

• Avoid Exaggerating
• How to say you don’t know

Tags: integrity, blame, accountability, mistakes, planning