Driving Personal Performance (Part 1)

Performance!

Everything we do in today's world demands more speed, volume, accuracy, impact and relevance, at a fraction of the price we used to pay during our parents' time. The Boss seem to want the impossible. We end up getting overly stretched and stressed. Everyone is. Morale runs low. The guillotine of restructuring, right-sizing, or whatever you want to call it, is kept hanging just above our necks as the stick for non-performance. Whatever carrot the Boss hangs in front of us doesn't quite do it for us to drive us forward, drive us away from the guillotine. Something is amiss. We just don't buy into the change the Boss is driving as we know at some point it will change again back to what it used to be.

Heraclitus, an ancient Greek philosopher who lived about 100 years before Plato, once said, "the only thing that is constant is change." The only problem, nowadays, is not the change itself but its frequency. It makes us question if we are changing our directions so frequently, surely we don't know where we are going. Every time change happens, we go through anxiety and steep learning curves just to keep our existing jobs. The cynics in us tell us it's just a ploy the Boss plays to keep us on our toes, appear to be "driving strategic changes" (call it doing "work", if you will) and to use it as a reason to put the guillotine above our necks.

Does it really have to be so? Are we really stuck in a rat race that gets us no where? Can there really be no happiness in the corporate world? Can we really motivate ourselves to outperform our peers and even ourselves? But how?

Perception is Reality

Much of what we believe depends on how we perceive things. Things are not always what they appear to be. I know this may sound like I am stating the obvious, but bear with me. The Boss is just another human being, like you and I. It's just that he/she is sitting at the other side of the table, hence having a very different perspective of things.

As much as we don't like to be told, the Boss has to communicate directions of the company to align the people towards a vision. Admittedly some bosses are better managers than others but management requires a specific skill set. One that is not necessarily present in a star performer. A simple example is that your best Sales person will not necessarily become the best Sales Manager. Translating a vision into a set of expected behaviours and expected next actions is not a simple task. One common mistake that many managers do is simply to cascade their objectives down to their subordinates. To the engineers, it's exceedingly difficult for them to imagine how they can contribute in objectives like "Increase EBITDA margin by 5%." Not many managers can relate, let alone translate such high level objectives into something actionable for their people.

The Boss was hired to deliver some desired results for the company. Under tremendous amount of persistent pressure to perform, the Boss can sometimes neglect (or choose to neglect) the softer issues like team morale and our overall wellbeing.

Personal Performance

So, it's really down to us to see how things really are, where we are, why we are here and decide what we can do to drive our personal performance. We will be touching on 3 key issues in this series:

1. Having a goal in the company

2. Things to avoid like a plague

3. Things to keep your eyes and hands on

Your Goals

An employment is one that is mutually beneficial to both the employer and employee. The relationship between capital and labour. Horse and carriage. You can't have one without the other. What the employer expects of you is your time and energy to deliver a service. What you expect from your employer is a reasonable compensation and some development for growth. Simple? Not quite.

In most cases (of course there are exceptions), employers know why they've hired you and know what they expects of you, whether or not they have managed to communicate it effectively to you. Other than wanting a higher pay (and more benefits), most people do not know what they want, let alone expect, from the company.

Ask someone if they have a goal in their life? Ask again if they have a personal goal in the company they work for? Very few will have an answer to those questions. At best, they will struggle and tell you that they want personal development, training and opportunities for growth and experiences. But what exactly? What drives you and what do you see you can learn and get your hands dirty on? From whom can you learn? Knowing what you want is just as important as doing the right thing to deliver performance as it gives you a reason and a purpose in doing so.

Sleep over it a night or two. Once you know what you wish to get out this experience called work, you will instinctively know your way around with just some guidance. Once you know what you wish to get out of this company you are working for, you will know which direction you will want to pursue. It makes a difference. Confucius said, "if you don't know where you want to go, it doesn't matter where you end up."

Email etiquette - write how you would like to talk to a human

FYI.

Best Regards, YGH

Have you ever considered the way you communicate via email determines
- the (emotional) reaction of the receiver - whether positive, shocked, or disturbed
- the level of working relationship you will establish with the receiver - warm, cold, commanding

A few things to consider before you type that email
- you represent your company when you write
- observe the tone of voice used of your employer (this usually determines the corporate culture)
- attempt to keep it more casual than overly formal (but pls, not xoxo, ttyl..)
- write how you would converse to a person (hello, how do you do... )
- keep it brief, and well structured
- if the email is important, follow up with a call
- make sure you have answered all queries even if you do not have the answers to, just say you do not know, do not leave the reader guessing if you overlooked or you are ignoring him/her
- NEVER SHOUT
- whatever you are planning to type down, it has the potential to get circulated to any person in the world.

Hey George,

I browsed upon an article stating that writing effective emails matters in our career. Found it enlightening. Thought you would be interested in it too.

Here's the link: yghexec.blogspot.com

We can discuss it over coffee if you like, cheers, Joe

FYA.

Best Regards,
YGH

How marketable are you when someone looks at your CV?

I have reworked my CV numerous times over the span of my career. I take the time to review the various formats available out there, get a couple of close friends to review it, do spell checks, and etc...

How do you build your CV?

Most of the CVs that I've reviewed, interestingly, not many really shouts "Oh this fella is excellent, set up an appointment". In fact, I pity the recruiters who have to filter through stacks of it.

Remember this, you are the product, you need to sell your features and benefits.
Imagine that you are selling a power tool.
Your sales pitch to a housewife vs a carpenter would be very different.
Perhaps, to the housewife, you sell the benefit of "easy to handle", just push a button.
And to the carpenter, you sell the the multifunctional or battery life.

You get the gist?
The company that you are sending your CV to is your customer
- Make your CV well structured so that it is easy to read
- Keep the tone plain and simple so that it is easily understood
- Show your personality so that you can build trust
The position that you are applying for is the problem your customer wants to solve
- Provide relevant experiences only, it's not about the more the better
- Put a number to the achievement, achieved cost savings vs. achieved cost savings of USD10,000 gives the reader a different perspective

With a good interviewer, you will be questioned in depth of the achievements/experience that you have listed.. so be prepared to put in things that you can really talk about passionately.

What they teach you in University IS applicable in YOUR working life

How many times have you heard "I hardly applied anything (at work) that I studied in university"

Well, I am guilty of (having said) that too, especially when I first started my career, and I had no idea how Microsoft Excel works...!

However, it taught me many other more important skills, indirectly, and I list down the top 3 that continues to help me deal with the challenges of the working world.

1) Problem solving
My Dad showed me recently a mathematical problem used for a university entrance paper, the sort of questions that I used to have to solve quite a bit during my time on campus. Honestly, I couldn't solve it there and then. But I'm certain that I would be able to solve it, if given time to look it up, make some references, and speak to some people.

Now, work does not require you to solve mathematical equations (well, hardly complex ones*), but it does require you to solve problems, everyday. And university has prepared you with this skill, to dissect a problem into manageable parts and think of possible ways/methods/sources that could help you solve it.

*unless you are doing highly technical/specialised work

2) Ability to learn new things
A lot of subjects were probably new to you when you signed up for your first semester. You probably felt overwhelmed by all things new and confusing. The working world is no different, but eventually, you made it out of your degree, feeling proud and ready to take on the world.

What you may not have realised, is that you have picked up the ability and confidence to face new "subjects" at work, and learn it enough to perform and deliver within a short period of time.

3) Building relationships
Campus was a melting pot of new people from all parts of life for me. Never have I met so many "different" people in one place. I made some "enemies", lots of hi-bye friends and life-long ones as well. I've had my share of arguments, confrontations, but also a great deal of quality conversations and discussions.

In the work place, you are faced with similar challenges. Colleagues come from different parts of the world, walks of life, seniority, values and beliefs. Like it or not, you have to learn to work and solve problems together. You probably picked up during your time at campus, that people are not weird... it's just that they have different perspectives.

A seed is planted
Certainly you don't graduate being an expert in these abilities. But a seed is planted. It is up to you to realise it and to nurture it.

Thankfully, my University did not teach me Excel.