Working Smarter

We’ve all heard the adage “work smarter, not harder.” There is a lot to be gained from such a simple statement, but it’s not always easy to put it into practice. How, exactly, does a team go from inefficiency into maximizing the collective skills and intelligence each individual brings? This is the subject of Wharton’s newest Nano Tool for Leaders, featuring Wharton’s own Adam Grant. In it, Grant uses three simple steps to get your team to maximize each individual’s best assets.

First, says Grant, choose the correct leader. All too often the most confident one of the group gets put in charge, when actually this person is less likely to be able to inspire others to do their best work. Look for the person who puts the mission above ego. This may be the person pointing out the problems, not the one glossing over issues. Second, use Brainwriting, not Brainstorming. The difference, is that brainwriting is done solo, and brainstorming is done in a group setting. Studies have shown that the group setting can be intimidating for some team members, and in order to conform, some may not speak up with ideas that could ultimately benefit the business. Third, create a lattice hierarchy rather than a ladder or a matrix. While a ladder gives employees only one way to go in the case of problem-solving with higher-ups (and a matrix offers several bosses or managers), a lattice framework offers multiple paths of problem solving. With this framework, employees are encouraged to seek help both across levels and between teams, ultimately leading to a more diverse pool of ideas. Examples of this, plus real-world examples of how leaders use this tool can be found in the full article. Give it a read here, and see what Mr. Grant can do for you this week.

Intentional Networking

Keith Ferrazzi once said "The currency of real networking is not greed but generosity." Even in the current age of post-pandemic semi-separation that we still find ourselves in, networking is a fun and essential part of business at all levels. In the latest installment of Wharton’s incredible Nano-Tools for Leaders series, Marissa King, PhD and Professor of Management at Wharton has shifted the focus to the power of networking. In particular; networking with intention to shape your current group to unlock its potential.

Outside of peer advisory boards such as Vistage, current research shows that the vast majority rarely if ever works on our own networks. Shameless promotions aside, almost no one makes adjusting their personal network a priority. In most cases, however, these groups can have a profound effect on mentorship, promotions, pay, etc., so it seems like they are worth the investment. Here, King points out that less can be more. The quality of your connections far outweigh the quantity of numbers in that digital Rolodex.

The first step in making your network intentional is identifying the type of network you have:

• Expansionists (larger groups, influential): create value by connecting contacts to one another, but are at risk of generosity burnout.

• Brokers (diverse groups, collaborative): create value by building bridges between contacts that would not otherwise happen, but are at risk of having to mediate disagreements that may arise between very different industries.

• Conveners (smaller, closed groups, supportive): create value by connecting only those they support and trust, but are at risk of becoming monotonous echo chambers.

Once you have identified which type of network you exist in, the next step is to consider that answer in relation to your current needs and career stage. Keep in mind these categories are by no means mutually exclusive. As King points out “you can call upon different parts of your network depending on the situation”, so combine them or switch fluidly between them as you see fit. Check out the full article here for a deeper dive and to read up on some real-world examples of how leaders put this nano tool into action.

Innovation Broken Down

Workplace innovation is a necessity. Businesses have to keep coming up with new ideas in order to stay ahead of competition, keep up with trends, and keep turnover rates at a minimum. Unfortunately, the idea can also be highly intimidating for some. Most businesses fall back on brainstorming, a process that is in no way guaranteed to work, or sometimes even outsource their creative thinking, costing money that could be better spent elsewhere. So how then, does a leader make the idea of innovation and creative thinking accessible to everyone? Well, the geniuses over at Wharton have published another one of their brilliant Nano Tools for Leaders that outlines the best way to do just that.

Wharton’s Ethan Mollick presents a concise set of seven steps that will spark creative thinking and help overcome hurdles. Based on The Breakthrough Game, which Mollick co-created with game developer Justin Gary, this nano tool is a fun approach to something that not everyone is inherently good at.

First, says Mollick, frame the question. When relying on team-think to come up with creative ideas, open-ended questions lead to more inventive solutions and new ideas. Second, build the team. Get as many diverse opinions and backgrounds as possible for the best outcome. Third, generate raw ideas individually. While this may seem counterintuitive, research shows that many ideas discussed as a group get shot down before their time to conform with the hive-mind mentality. If everyone takes time to come up with a list of ideas before coming together as a group, the more creative ideas get a chance to shine. Fourth, add constraints. Whether time constraints or boundaries about the types of ideas, studies show that these can lead to better ideas. Fifth (which gets back to the third tip), recombine as a group and watch ideas flourish. Sixth, vote! Mollick suggests voting along more than just yes and no lines. Give awards for which ideas stand out as most efficient, most cost effective, etc. And lastly, commit. Without protocols to follow up, and dedicated team member accountability to each step in the process, ideas will eventually fall flat.

Innovation can be intimidating, and having steps can greatly help teams and businesses achieve goals and solve problems. Sometimes it just helps to have it broken down in a seven-step path before we can really get into the meat of the ideas. Check out the full article here for a deeper dive and see what your team can come up with!

Speaking With Confidence

Whether preparing to speak to a large audience, or gearing up to have a difficult conversation with just one other person, we all want to be able to speak with confidence. It does not, however, come that easily to many of us. Even seasoned leaders are sometimes betrayed by faltering words or demeanors, and we could all use a lesson (or at least some reminders) in effectively getting our points across. So once again we turn to the amazing initiative out of Wharton, the nano-tools for leaders. These nano-tools are quick changes to the brain anyone can put into practice. Their latest is from associate professor Jonah Berger and concerns speaking with confidence.

Based on research from his new book, Magic Words: What to Say to Get Your Way, Mr. Berger dives into four techniques that will change the way leaders use language to get their ideas across. Step one is what he calls “ditching hedges”. Hedges, of course, being words that call our ideas into question. Words like “maybe”, “presumably”, “arguably”, etc. can reflect uncertainty on the part of the speaker. If the speaker is not confident in their own ideas, who can be?

The second technique is the direct flip side of the first: use definites. Words like “clearly”, “undoubtedly”, “certainly” project that the speaker is entirely confident in what is being communicated. Small changes in adverbs can apparently make a big difference!

Third, and probably the most familiar piece of advice here, is to ditch hesitations or filler words. Words like “uh”, “um”, etc. are common verbal tics that cause the speaker to seem uncertain. Now, there is an argument to be made here that using these words sparingly is completely fine (see this HBR article from a few years back). Even the HBR folks agree, though, that excessive use of these words is harmful. Instead, argues Berger, try pausing. Pausing allows the speaker time to gather thoughts together without detracting from their argument.

Finally, Mr. Berger advises speakers to ditch the past-tense. Your idea didn’t “work” well, it “works” well. In order to truly change an audience’s minds, switching to the present tense creates an atmosphere of not only confidence, but comfort. You are comfortable with this ongoing success, and happy to share it with everyone. Give the full article a read here and see if you can adopt these techniques into your speaking routines.

The Power of Vicarious Learning

Goodness knows the past few years have been a test for all of us in weathering crises. This applies to us not only as individuals, but also as business entities. Unfortunately, many businesses have not been able to withstand the repeated storms. So what sets those businesses apart that are able to maintain resilience in difficult times? In Wharton’s newest Nano-Tool for Leaders, Wharton Dean Erika James and Simmons University President Lynn Perry Wooten introduce how the concept of vicarious learning can be the secret to surviving. Adapted from their 2022 book; The Prepared Leader: Emerge From Any Crisis More Resilient Than Before, this nano-tool will help guide any leader into absorbing knowledge from others who have lived through similar situations.

Recovering from a crisis takes adaptability, innovation, and resilience. This recovery process inevitably leads to lessons learned, and greater experience gained. But what if there was a way to integrate those lessons and experience before the crisis occurred? The main step in this Nano-Tool is to learn vicariously from others’ experiences, be they competitors, leaders in the industry, or organizations. James and Wooten take this opportunity to lay out some simple action items that any leader can use to start taking in information prior to disaster striking.

The first takes place prior to a crisis, and the focus is to drive a culture of learning within the business or organization. Take the time to read up on industry standards, competing businesses and any outcomes they experienced, and which red flags are signaling trouble. Secondly, during crisis management the focus is to remain open to all input and learn from as many different sources as possible. With this, management will consistently drive toward recovery. Lastly, after the initial issues have been dealt with, it is imperative to reflect on how things were handled and which lessons were learned. Putting together a review will directly translate into readiness for the future.

These Nano-Tools are a wonderful resource for leaders. Check out the full article here, and use the action items to get you started on your journey of vicarious learning. There’s even a PDF version for extra convenience!

The Power of Confident Humility

Confident humility. While some might believe these words to be dichotomous, Professor Adam Grant and the amazing minds over at Wharton have something to share: this personality trait is the secret to great leadership. In their latest nano-tool for leaders, confident humility is defined as being secure enough in your expertise and strengths to admit your ignorance and weaknesses. When one reflects on the most admired leaders throughout history, the two are often seen together. When leaders have one without the other, however, they falter. Confidence without humility leads to egotism and lack of forethought, while humility without confidence leads to doubt and failure.

Luckily, there are steps that leaders can take to ensure they embody these traits. First off, create a culture of learning as opposed to a culture of performance. Evidence shows that acknowledging one’s shortcomings creates more innovation and fewer mistakes. Second, give yourself the benefit if the doubt. Questioning methods and existing assumptions can lead to seeking new insights, thus broadening knowledge. And lastly, find one assumption to dive into and question deeply. Look for conflicting opinions or information, and truly ask if these assumptions can be wrong.

Apply these action steps to your self, and give your team some insight into what confident humility can look like in a leader. Check out the full article here and share it with those who might benefit.

The Art of the 25-Minute Meeting

Wharton’s collaboration of their Executive Education and their Center for Leadership and Change Management just keeps impressing us all with their amazing nano-tools for leaders, and this month’s might be one of the best. So often we get stuck in meetings that drone on and on, with not a lot of substance produced by the end. How much would office morale improve if meetings could wrap up in 25 minutes? This is no arbitrary number. Donna McGeorge, author of The 1-Day Refund, and now The 25-Minute Meeting, outlines specific steps on both the art and science of keeping meetings to 25 minutes.

This technique will require some examining of your process, streamlining preparations, agendas, and the like, but has the potential to pay off ten-fold. For instance, when planning the meeting, think about this sentence: “At the end of this meeting, it would be great if…” That one statement can re-frame planning and help clarify purpose better than most tools currently in the leadership arsenal. Additionally, using the Scan-Focus-Act technique developed by Channon, Burns, and Nelson in 1983 will keep the time limit within the 25 minute goal.

• Scan - broad strokes, purpose, why are we here, etc. gets 12 mins max;

• Focus - 2 or 3 items that require attention, decision making, problem solving, etc. gets 8 mins max;

• Act - next steps, action items, etc. gets 5 mins max.

Take a minute to read this brief and insightful article for a deeper dive, and see examples of how other leaders implemented these changes. Bonus - alliteration nerds will notice a precise pleasing pattern.

Preventing Burnout

“Burnout”, although currently a hot topic, is by no means a new concept. Even in our pre-pandemic lives this was a very real danger, especially in the workforce (although it can also happen in our personal lives as well). Luckily, Wharton’s own Adam Grant has come up with one of their simple yet highly effective nano-tools for leaders. His new article highlights his approach to preventing burnout, using a model he dubs “Demand-Control-Support”.

In this model, he highlights the strategy in the following ways:

• Demand: Make structural changes that lighten the load on the person doing the job or redistribute tasks.

• Control: When you can’t eliminate demands, you can at least give people the autonomy and skills they need to handle them.

• Support: Create cultures that make it easy to request and receive help.

It is interesting to see how differently these changes are exemplified in different industries. In some, for instance, tasks forces were created to identify where time-consuming tasks were holding people up, and new systems were put in place to correct them. At a Cleveland hospital, it was discovered that doctors were spending an inordinate amount of time charting in an outdated electronic health record system. Once this “demand” was identified, new management software was put into place and doctors were able to spend more time with patients.

While some companies may be able to address these issues immediately, others are more reticent, especially in the face of a predicted economic downturn. Many companies are already facing lay-offs, which, if not handled properly, will only increase burnout, not decrease it. Should a company find itself here, it is important that leadership take into account the “Support” aspect of Mr. Grant’s model. This step is able to really highlight top-down changes, as leadership must sometimes make the shift to the idea that asking for help is a sign of strength, not one of weakness. When leadership opens up about personal struggles, this culture is normalized, and employees generally are less prone to burnout, even if their workloads increase.

With “quiet quitting” coming into the modern lexicon, burnout has been blamed for this drawback from work life. Ideally, using these nano tools will prevent burnout, and thus embolden employees to set these healthy boundaries without taking away from what they are able to offer in their jobs. Take a look at Mr. Grant’s newest piece and see how your company can integrate these measures. Economic fluctuations and workload shifts are inevitable, but burnout is not.

Motivational Mastery

If you’ve followed this blog at all, you know I love to share the remarkable work from Wharton and their “Nano-Tools”. This series of tools is available for those in leadership as brain hacks that can be used in minutes. Each is targeted at a different aspect of leadership. Their newest tool; motivating your team.

As anyone in leadership or management knows, not all team members are motivated in the same fashion. It takes time to get to know team members, to learn what motivates each individual. Wharton’s new nano-tool uses psychologist David McClelland’s motivational theory, which identifies three main motivating factors: achievement, power, and affiliation. These three factors can be motivational in many areas of life, but especially at work. Just like love languages, one of these factors is usually a dominant force.

Check out the new article and see how you can harness these tools to pinpoint your team members’ most powerful motivators.

Fast-Tracking Goals

Anyone who follows these posts knows how much I like to share Wharton’s ever-expanding collection of nano-tools; their fast and effective leadership hacks that can transform your management style in a matter of minutes. Their newest instalment does not disappoint.

Wharton’s own Professor of Operations Katy Milkman contributes to this fantastic new nano-tool, and gives some very practical and exciting advice on how to make goals not just achievable, but downright enjoyable. As it turns out, willpower has less to do with it than one might think. Whether you want to ditch a bad habit or start a new healthy one, check out these action steps and see if you or your team can have a little more fun with your next goal setting venture.