Windsor Training: HR

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Tuesday, 9 December 2014

5 Invaluable Things Mentoring Has Taught Me

The use of mentoring has exploded in corporate life and within a variety of organizations, both big and small. Whether you are being mentored for the first time, or if you have just accepted the role of mentor. I want to give you 5 things that I have learnt from being a mentor over the past few years:

#1: Be a Critical Friend

By ‘critical’ here I do not mean offering negative criticism, instead you need to be aware that you are offering positive comments and guidance. You are not overtly critical, nor are you just there to be their friend and tell them what they want to hear. It may mean that you sometimes tell them something that is difficult for them to take – see the ‘wake up’ call later on – but you are failing in your duties as a mentor, if all you do is tell them how well they are doing, if it isn't true.

#2: A Sounding Board

When teaching or training, I always tell my students, “there are no stupid questions, only the ones that go unasked.” A mentor needs to be someone who the mentee feels comfortable running their ideas and questions past, no matter how outlandish they may seem. It is not the role of the mentor to validate or reject those ideas, instead you need to offer probing and guiding questions that will help the mentee to clarify them in their mind and then come to their own conclusions as to their validity.

#3: The Voice of Experience

It helps if the mentor has already trodden the path that the mentee is following, not just once but multiple times. However, whilst being the voice of experience, that should not blind you to the fact that the mentee may actually come with a fresh pair of eyes and see something in a new and innovative way. Just because you are looking through the eyes of experience, this should never blind you to the different perspective of your mentee.

#4: The 'Wake Up' Call

Sometimes our motivation fails us. Life takes over and the things that we planned to do get done are submerged by work and family commitments. A mentor does not provide the motivation, this can only come from the mentee themselves, although it is useful for them to know that there is someone out there who is following what they are doing with interest.

However, there comes a point when they may not be progressing or they have come to a full stop. As a mentor you then provide the wake up call – take them back to the reasons why they started the project, or whatever it is they are embarked upon, and ask them whether they are still valid and if they are going to complete on the original basis. Perhaps the original objectives need to be changed, but a good mentor helps the mentee to refocus on what is important and encourages them to get their mojo back.

#5: Guide DO NOT Lead

You are not there to say, ‘this is the path to take’, instead you say, ‘these are some of your alternatives’. Some mentors assume the role of leader, by providing too much of the motivation, where they think it is lacking, or by telling the mentee what it is they need to be doing and how they need to do it. If it all goes wrong, then the mentee will rightly blame you and the relationship will sour. This approach also develops a relationship of dependence, rather than encouraging the spirit of independence that sees real growth on the part of the mentee. For mentors that come to the role with a great deal of experience it can be hard, but it is often better to lead from behind and take a step back by being the sounding board and critical friend along the journey.

These are just five of my own personal reflections on being a mentor, you may have others, but I hope that you derive some benefit from them. Have you been mentored, what did you learn from the process? Have you been a mentor, what would you offer other would-be mentors as good advice?

Will Trevor is the Founder and Training Consultant at Windsor Training. Please click 'Follow' if you would like to hear more from Will in the future. Feel free to also connect via his Linkedin page, or via Twitter and Facebook or email: will.trevor@windsortraining.net

Wednesday, 29 October 2014

4 Ways to Give Effective Criticism at Work

The image shows an army drill instructor shouting at a new recruit and this is supposed to symbolize the feeling that an employee has when they feel that they are being criticized unfairly.

Nobody really likes to be criticized: the word has negative connotations of someone pulling your work apart and telling you how bad it is and making you feel angry and annoyed, just like a drill instructor shouting at a new recruit. The reality is that people are often simultaneously bad at giving criticism and similarly poor at receiving it. Whilst we often like to think that we are giving out good advice and feedback, the recipient may hear our words as negative criticism and respond in a way that we had not intended.

Couching everything as mere feedback often misses the point that there may be serious performance issues that need to be addressed. That doesn't, however, mean that the manager has to adopt an overtly negative or hyper-critical approach to giving meaningful and developmental criticism. Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos are famous for roasting colleagues, you and I have to be more positive in our approach, if we want to develop our team and deliver on our objectives.

So how do we ensure that as a manager we are a good critic to?

#1 – Accentuate the Positives

Start by praising what went well. If you start on a positive then you have the team member on side and they'll also believe that what you are telling them is balanced and considered and they may be more receptive to what you have to say. If you launch in with what went wrong, then you will alienate them from the outset and their defences will be up, even if you then proceed to give them some praise for something that went well.

#2 – Highlight Progress

Even if the performance isn't quite where it needs to be, give credit where progress has been achieved and forward momentum has been made. A key part of motivation is to feel that we are getting good at something, but if all we hear is how bad we are doing, even where some progress – however slight – is being made, then this can be a powerful de-motivator. If things have improved, then say so.

#3 – Be Encouraging

Suggest that the issue can be resolved and that the team member is capable of overcoming it and succeeding, given the right encouragement and support. Try and be nurturing towards your team, because the payback in terms of the boost to performance will be incalculable and you will be building a supportive and loyal group around you.

#4 – Share the Blame

Don’t make the team member out to be a scapegoat. If you are the manager, then some of the blame probably sits on your shoulders and if part of the reason is something that you did, or failed to do, then say so. Otherwise you will just start to build resentment and a belief that you are prepared to sacrifice others and shift the blame. Your team don’t expect you to be infallible, but they do expect you to have broad enough shoulders to admit your own mistakes when they happen.

Monday, 6 October 2014

“Should I stay or should I go?” - The Dilemmas of Leaving Your Job?

Forgive me for using the lyrics of the 1970/80s band, The Clash, as the headline for my post, but this cry of teenage punk angst seems to neatly sum up the various dilemmas of the disgruntled or ambitious employee. When is the right time to leave a job?

For the would-be job leaver there are a few dilemmas that may apply to you:

Dilemma #1 – Have I been in the job long enough to avoid being seen as a job hopper?

Dilemma #2 – Is the grass really greener elsewhere and might I miss further opportunities to advance right here?

Dilemma #3 – Will I get a suitable reference from this employer or might they make life difficult?

Dilemma #4 – Have I really got everything I could out of this job and am I just thinking I have to leave so that the grass doesn’t grow under my feet?

Dilemma #5 – Am I just running away, whether from the fact I can’t do this job or because of the boss, colleagues, or the general working environment?

One or a few of these dilemmas may be familiar to you, so let’s look at them in turn:

Dilemma #1 – Have I been in the job long enough to avoid being seen as a job hopper? Conventional wisdom suggests that a job seeker should stay no longer that two years in a job, but then the beauty of conventional wisdom is that it can be transformed to fit any occasion and I’ve also heard twelve months as the optimum time to leave. Too short a time period, and certainly less that twelve months, will raise suspicions, but more important than the length of time you stayed in a job was what you achieved while you were there. Most importantly it needs to be verifiable, perhaps you completed a landmark project in record time, or you doubled sales in a few months. Providing you have convincing and valid reasons for changing jobs, then this should not be an issue, particularly if your skills and experience are in demand.

Dilemma #2 – Is the grass really greener elsewhere and might I miss further opportunities to advance right here? This is a valid dilemma: essentially you are giving up the certainty of your existing employer for the uncertainty of another. It could well be the case that if you stay there are opportunities in the pipeline or, perhaps, your existing manager didn’t know you were looking to move on and they may make you an attractive offer that encourages you to stay. There is no harm in quietly saying to your boss, “I am ready for my next challenge and I thought you should be the first to know.” They’ll appreciate your candour and you may be surprised by what they come up with.

Dilemma #3 – Will I get a suitable reference from this employer or might they make life difficult? This is a tough one and largely depends upon what you achieved in the time that you were with your current employer and what you relationship with them is like. Libel laws discourage anyone from saying anything defamatory about you in a reference, but some places might just acknowledge that you worked there and not add anything else. Do you have other potential referees from other posts that you have held elsewhere who will be willing to give you a reference? References are notoriously unreliable and often distorted, so are there other testimonials or other evidence of your achievements that you can offer as well?

Dilemma #4 – Have I really got everything I could out of this job and am I just thinking I have to leave so that the grass doesn't grow under my feet? As the saying goes, “a rolling stone gathers no moss.” Sometimes, however, we feel we have to move on, just because we get a sense that we have been somewhere too long. Maybe I am enjoying my role, perhaps the pay is fine, the job still excites me, and I like the people I am working with. So stay, for the time being, and whilst each of those factors apply. Perhaps when one of those factors changes, think again and consider whether that move is now overdue.

Dilemma #5 – Am I just running away, whether from the fact I can’t do this job or because of the boss, colleagues, or the general working environment? “To thine own self be true,” said Polonius in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Are you running away because you haven’t been able to do the job? Is the boss stifling you or blocking you from doing anything? Are the colleagues unhelpful or part of clique that doesn’t include you and it’s creating a bad atmosphere? Whatever the reasons, be honest with yourself as to the real motivations as to why you want to leave, if it is you, then you will find the same self behind a desk at your new place, so you might like to consider what things you can do to change.

It’s never an easy decision and you should find some comfort in the fact that others have faced similar dilemmas in the past, and if you are still unsure, then there’s always the sagely advice that comes courtesy of The Clash:

“If I go there will be trouble, An' if I stay it will be double.”

Written by Will Trevor - Founder and Training Consultant at Windsor Training: will.trevor@windsortraining.net

The Clash lyrics courtesy of writers: Mick Jones, Joe Strummer - Copyright: Nineden Ltd.

Picture Credit: By High Contrast (Own work) [CC-BY-3.0-de (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/de/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons

Job Interviews: Don't Take It Personally

The image shows a young man in a business suit, being interviewed in a room with other people. The interviewer is listening intently to the words of the young in interviewee.

Heading towards the end of my fifth decade, I have done many job interviews during all those years, for various roles and in a variety of industries - some I got, some I didn't, and some I didn't want when the interview was done. I have also interviewed a number of people, both in recruitment and also as an employer, so I want to give you my thoughts from someone who has sat on both sides of the job interview desk, as interviewee and interviewer.

The Q&A

One job interview that stands out for me was for a more senior role at the local council at which I was working a number of years ago. The interview was held before a panel of three: an HR manager, the line manager, and the senior manager - in whose office the interview was being held. The interview lasted about forty-five minutes and was structured around a traditional question and answer session - the format in which most job interviews are still held worldwide.

"If you are as good as you say you are ...?"

I felt that the interview was going well and I had answered all of the questions fully and competently, or so it seemed to me, and I knew that my previous experience and qualifications exactly met the job specification. However, at a certain point in the proceedings, the senior manager interjected, he puffed out his chest and pushed himself back on his padded chair and then declared, “If you are as good as you say you are, why haven’t you got any higher than your current position?”

In cricket, that is what is called being bowled a ‘googly’: basically a ball that throws you completely off guard! His fellow panel members looked at him askance and with undisguised incredulity, although his reputation as a blunt speaker was well-earned and with good reason. I retained my composure and answered him that I thought that suitable opportunities had not arisen before this one and I was now ready and eager to move up.

Perhaps without the benefit of the body language and the nuance of the tone of voice, then this question might not seem so bad to some people. However, what it suggested to me, as a candidate, was that having made a good case for why I was suitable for the role, I was now being asked to account for why I hadn't already secured a post of this type, which was unfair. It also telegraphed very clearly that the interviewer was not favourably disposed to me and, to a more sensitive person than I, it might even have come across as rude.

Poor Interviewers

I could give you plenty of other examples: the interviewer who kept calling me by a different name, the ones who had the wrong CV, the job that didn't even exist, or the post that had already been filled and ‘didn't someone let you know?’ etc. etc. Or the interview for a sales role that was preceded by an hour of psychometric testing. When the interview properly began the interviewer proceeded to read out the scores from the test and he advised me that I had scored the highest in verbal reasoning of all the candidates that they had seen for this or any other role. Thinking that this must be a good thing, the manager then fixed me with an unsmiling gaze, staring over the rim of his glasses he proclaimed that, “it never pays to be smarter than the boss!” Needless to say, I didn't get that job either.

The reason I mention this is not to air some ancient grudge, although I probably felt hard done by at the time, but to illustrate the fact that the majority of interviewers are not well-versed in the skills of interviewing. The questions may be inept or insensitive or even downright offensive. Even after years of employment legislation you may not get the job, because of age, gender, or because you were the wrong person for the role, even though the interviewer might not be able to articulate why. You might also find that you are up against a shoe-in or some other favoured candidate, so no matter how well you interviewed, you were never going to get that job. There may also be some complicated internal politics of which you are unaware. In some cases the interviewer may have already made up their mind about you before you have even released the welcome handshake.

Reflect and stay positive

There are plenty of posts and books that tell you about how to approach and prepare for job interviews, but here I have a simple message: I want you to realise that you won’t always get that job, even if you have done everything right. The important thing is never to take it as a personal judgement on you and your own abilities and suitability and don’t let it get you down. Always reflect on what you did right, and what you did wrong, and identify what you might do differently next time. And to paraphrase the Serenity Prayer, “grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Don’t take it personally, stay positive, and keep going!

What are your experiences of job interviews that went well, or not so well, and what did you learn?

Written by Will Trevor, Founder and Training Consultant and Windsor Training: will.trevor@windsortraining.net

Picture Credit: By bpsusf (http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfbps/4607149870/) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0) or CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons