Behind the Front Lines

We have a joke at ADVISA…if you have a question, call 1-800-ASK-PENNY. OK, that’s too many digits for a real phone number, but you get the idea. This is because, in my position as Office Manager, I get to “touch” each and every one of our clients. I’m not equipped to answer strategic planning questions or how to implement an executive team building program. But if you want to know when your annual fee is due, how to navigate the web software, or when your sales team went through sales team training, I’m the one with an answer (or a quick way to get you there).
 

My experience involves process design, implementation and administration, financial management, customer services, supervisor training programs and fleet operations. I have worked in a variety of industries including professional and community services organizations.

 
In this blog I’ll post my unique perspective on observations from behind the front lines.

When did summer get here? It seems like just yesterday I was trying to figure out how I would get everything done before Christmas. I had projects that I planned on completing indoors before the nice weather arrived, and almost none of them have been done. Now, July is coming to a close and I have a patio bar inside my house still waiting for the new tile top. I'm faced with the possibility of another season of not using it.

The same thing happens at work. There are things I intend to do, little back burner projects that need completed. The only problem is, the back burner doesn't ever seem to get moved to the front burner. Recently I've begun working remotely every other Tuesday in an effort to minimize interruptions and complete some of these projects. I'm happy to say I've completed 2 of them in just 3 remote work sessions. It's done wonders for my morale and motivation. I suggested it to Bob and Heather as an option in my mid-year review, and they were happy to give the rotation a try. Employee productivity was the primary goal but the importance of motivation was also a contributing factor. I'm happy to work for a company that considers the employee into the equation.

So much can be solved with two simple words - I'm sorry. OK, so technically it's 3 words if you don't count the contraction as a single word, but still, the premise is the same. In all relationships, personal and professional, sometimes saying I'm sorry isn't only satisfactory, it heals. Why then, is it so hard to say?

I recently faced the disintegration of a personal relationship simply because the words could not be spoken. Similarly, professional relationships can be destroyed because we can't say "I'm sorry" to a client. In fact, often the professional relationship is that much easier to sever, and that much harder to repair. 

Perhaps it's because we feel we are admitting that we did something wrong , something most of us don't like to do. But, as was pointed out to me while discussing the ending friendship, an apology doesn't always mean you were wrong - sometimes it's just taking responsibility for hurting someone, however unintentionally.

A study of the University of Michigan Health System found that malpractice suits were halved after discontinuing the policy to not apologize to patients. It's amazing that a genuine apology can diffuse anger. Studies tell us it's easier to keep an existing client than to land a new one. How easy would it be to honestly say "I'm sorry" if you knew you were about to lose one of those existing clients?

 So when we are training sales people and managers, should the art of a sincere apology be part of the sales training curriculum? The same could be said for any business leadership training. Especially now, keeping existing customers is just as important as winning new ones.

Many organizations strategic planning implementation leave them faced with doing more with fewer resources. When this happens, stress is bound to build. This can create some challenging situations and result in managers running to the Internet trying to figure out how to manage difficult people. As I wrote in my article about stress and your PI®, part of the vicious cycle of stress is that people that have normally done a good job of "managing" their PI have a tendency to find that management more difficult during times of high stress. Low Bs that are trying to push that B a little higher have difficulty exuding the simplest pleasantries. High As that have done a good job of being "less aggressive" start to resemble a rattler waiting to strike. Add that to profiles that might not normally mesh well to begin with and you basically have landmines waiting to go off - not fertile ground for building employee engagement.

It's important in these difficult times for managers to be aware of this potential time bomb. Because heading off the difficult situation before it happens is always preferable to cleaning up the fallout. Be aware  of those employees who might be required to work against their profile more often now that you are short-staffed.  Be attuned to the fact that these tough times can be causing external stressors that could make an employee that "manages" their profile a little less proficient at it. Know where your landmines are and take steps to mitigate the potential for damage. If you aren't sure where your landmines are, our consultants can help you uncover them.

It's not just a matter of improving employee productivity or staff motivation, it's a matter of survival.

When I first went through Predictive Index^® training, I participated in a closed training session at one of our client locations. For those of you who remember your training (and I hope you do), the employee personality assessments from the organization being trained are often used as examples. One of the employees was discussed quite frequently because he possessed a drive that no one else in the organization possessed. He was a Low D in a High D world. It got me thinking about my situation, and I realized – I’m a Lowest B in a High B world (with most of my co-workers being Highest B). So, it begged the question: “How does a Lowest B survive in a High B world?”

Over the last few months, I’ve learned two things. First, knowledge of PI^® is very important when you are dealing with a drive you don’t understand (and let’s face it, we never truly understand a drive contradictory to ours). Second, a certain amount of compromise is necessary for survival and happiness.

Regarding knowledge – without knowing about PI^®, it would be easy to become frustrated while interacting with my co-workers. For example, I prefer email to phone conversation. My co-workers prefer the opposite. In fact, if they could face me instead of having to use the phone, that would be even better from their perspective. Therefore, when I send out an email requesting information, I often receive my response via the telephone. It actually prompted me to ask one of my co-workers once if he had ever realized there is a “Reply” button in email correspondence he receives; I had sent three different email requests one day and received three reply phone calls. His contention was that it was easier to call me and tell me the answer rather than type it . In reality, he wanted to talk to someone. Knowing this about the High B drive allowed me to tease him about his phone call and how there is just no training sales people, and we were able to have a good laugh rather than get frustrated. Before PI^®, I would likely have interpreted his phone calls as a lack of respect for my time and another instance of managing difficult people.

From the other side of the coin, I’ve come to realize how it is that I have been called “intense” and “distant” in my previous work-lives. Looking back I realize I was working with High B’s that didn’t understand my “things” orientation and took it as a personal affront. While I was never accused of being unfriendly, I was often accused of being too serious - not really a description I ever found accurate. I consider myself as someone who has a good sense of humor, and I laugh often. However, I was often told to “lighten up”. Knowing the High B’s need for fun in the workplace, I now understand the conclusion that I was too intense. For a High B, the occasional joke I told wasn’t really evidence that I was having fun because when it came down to having work to do, I got serious and did it. And, had I known then what I know now, I would have taken less offense to the statements that I was intense and too serious. And had they known PI^®, they would have realized I wasn’t as serious and intense as they thought. But, as they often say in training, “You didn’t know what you didn’t know.”

And there’s the rub – now I know. Some responsibility comes with knowledge. That leads me to compromise. Now that I know PI^®, I have the responsibility to try to meet the needs of my High B co-workers as a means to improving employee morale. I have learned over the last 6 months that those periodic phone replies are not something about which to get frustrated. In fact, it has become somewhat of an inside joke. And, just as my co-workers have adapted to my Lowest B (I was once told that I was only good for about 2 phone calls per day and after that, emails would be sent to me to accommodate my Lowest B), I have had to occasionally pick up the phone and call someone. It has taken some effort on my part (and energy since fighting your natural drive takes energy), but it has been well worth it. Compromise makes for a happy working relationship! And let’s face it, when you are the only person with a particular drive in your organization, by the sheer numbers of it, you are going to have to cross over to the Dark Side more often than they will be led into the Light (hey, I’m a High A too – my way is the right way!). 
 

One thing I’ve noticed about kids through the years is how they have at least one toy every Christmas that they REALLY want as a gift. When Christmas morning arrives, they are thrilled to have received that toy, and they play with it incessantly - at least for the first hour. After that, not so much. That is, until someone else picks up THEIR toy and starts to play with it. Suddenly, it’s theirs again, and they want it back. You hear cries about “My toy”...followed closely by parents touting the benefits of sharing.

 I’ve noticed some of the same behavior with PI®. Soon after being trained, there is excitement about using the new “toy” and taking it back to show it off to everyone – showing how well PI allows you to understand other people and how easy it will be to interact better. Then, once the newness wears off, it settles into the back of the mind, not being practiced as often as perhaps it should. We settle back into our old habits – treating others as WE would want to be treated (not necessarily how THEY would want to be treated). That is, until someone trained in PI® doesn’t meet OUR PI needs. Then, suddenly, it becomes “My PI”. We use “Our PI” to inform that other person about their mistreatment of us. And then it's supervisors touting the benefits of team building skills and staff motivation.

Practicing PI isn’t easy. It takes work and energy to do something against your nature. It’s easy to provide praise to a high B when you are in the classroom and all you are hearing is PI this and PI that. It’s at the forefront of your brain and you are focused. Implementing it in the “real world” takes conscious effort. If you are a low B, providing that praise to a high B can be a struggle. And if you are a high B/low D, doing your “necessary evil” paperwork for your high D/low B co-worker can be just as difficult. However, making that effort will make it that much easier for your co-workers to meet your needs – in both directions!

As is human nature, a lot of times we look at things from the perspective of how they can benefit us. We sometimes don’t realize that if we benefit others, ultimately, that does benefit us. If we work at meeting needs, even if it goes against OUR nature, then we have engaged employees, and that makes work a better place to be (and increases employee productivity to boot). PI is truly a tool for sharing. It shouldn’t be used like an old toy, only used for your purpose when someone else is using it for theirs. It should be used every day, in every interaction, as if it is a toy you perpetually just opened on Christmas morning.
 

Driving to the post office this morning, I saw the first snowflakes of the season. They say each snowflake is unique. This got me thinking about PI® profiles. Although people can have the same profile, each person is unique, made up of life experiences and values along with their genetics, needs, and drives. So where people of the same profile may react to a situation in similar ways, the reaction likely will not be exactly the same.

The PI® as a behavioral assessment goes a long way towards team building skills by making it easier to understand why someone does what they do. But we need to be careful to not forget to take everything into the equation. Sometimes we expect a profile reaction rather than a human reaction. When a persuasive reacts to a situation they think isn’t right, we often think “it’s just the persuasive being overly emotional again” rather than thinking that maybe they have a point or a valid reason to be upset. Or if a scholar is clipped in the response they give you, it’s just the “lowest b” again, rather than thinking, perhaps, that something else is going on.  Knowing a profile can explain most of why someone reacts the way they do, but it doesn’t always tell the whole story.

I know that I need to do a better job of taking all pieces of the puzzle into consideration. How about you? In an effort to improve my team building skills, I’m going to try to remember those snowflakes.