Carolyn Stern, Author at EI Experience

Experiential Learning in the Workplace

by Carolyn Stern | Jul 1, 2020 | Emotional Intelligence, Experiential Learning

The ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius once said: “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand”.

Today more and more organizations are gravitating to assimilating experiential learning in the workplace. Why? Companies are starting to see the benefits of bringing in training programs that encourage learning through “doing” and “experiencing.”

When you incorporate experiential learning into your training programs, it increases the learners’ motivation to learn, it produces more autonomous learners, expands the transfer of knowledge/skill to the workplace, and cultivates more meaningful learning. If your training programs are not designed to include approximately 30% of the time focused on disseminating the content to the learner and 70% of the time allowing them to apply what they learned, then you are missing the boat.

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING IN THE WORKPLACE

TO BE EXPERIENTIAL; IT SHOULD ALSO INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING FUNDAMENTAL ADULT LEARNING PRINCIPLES:

It must have a purpose and personal applicability to the learner (relevance)
Participants must be allowed to improve their learning by applying new skills (practice, feedback, and repetition)
There must be reflection time to make connections between the activity and real-world applications (transference)

Einstein once said, “The only source of knowledge is experience.” With this in mind, do your training programs provide your employees with an experience they will remember?

Creating opportunities for your employees to experience an emotional connection to a concept is what is going to stay with them, not notes from a training session. Not sure how you will flavour your training programs with experiential learning?

Incorporating some role-plays, games, case studies, simulations, problem-based learning, sensitivity training, or on-the-job training are all experiential learning activities that will help the learner employ the concepts of what they learned.

Experiential learning allows an employee to get their hands dirty while applying what they have learned. Learning by doing provides the learner with instant feedback. They can reflect on what to keep doing, what to modify, or what to change altogether.

When you employ multiple senses and emotional connections when training, it creates stronger memories. Let’s not forget; our brains are wired to remember emotions. Experiential learning enables employees to feel something, improving the brain’s ability to remember. Training without an “experiential” component means you risk missing out on integrating what they learned into their day-to-day activities.

Experiential learning in the workplace allows the learner to get creative solving problems and more motivated to learn. It provides an opportunity to reflect, make connections between new concepts and existing ones, and engage more regions in their brains. This allows the learner to make genuine personal connections to the material, which helps enhance their knowledge and skills and yields more meaning behind the learning.

Experiential education is the ideal learning model that allows for direct, hands-on engagement with course content. The act of practicing a skill and reflecting on our experiences strengthens the neural connections in our brain, making us, in effect, “smarter.” It accelerates our learning, helps us apply critical thinking and adapt to changing circumstances.

It is critical that you incorporate experiential learning into your training and development programs, and allow your employees to practice, make mistakes, learn from those mistakes, and try again. As Sir Richard Branson says, “You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.”

Do you need help in effectively integrating experiential learning in the workplace? Book a call with us here; we’d love to listen and provide support in any way we can.

To learn more about emotional intelligence and how it impacts your organization, sign up for our biweekly newsletter here, where you will receive our latest updates, an inventory of resources, and much more!

Assigning a Task Clearly

by Carolyn Stern | Jun 1, 2020 | Communication, Management Skills

One prominent mistake managers make daily in the workplace is the ability to assign a task to subordinates effectively. Often, managers are vague in their directive, not specific about what a good job looks like, or think that they don’t have time to explain a task in detail. What they are not realizing is that being clear from the onset ensures less back and forth later and results that are more aligned with expectations. Also, effectively assigning tasks will maximize your productivity and that of your team. You will tackle more projects, more assignments and create more opportunities for development, which will ultimately lead to more success for your employees.

Assigning a task does not need to be an arduous task, but it does take practice to master. Consider the job and the competence level of the person completing the task, what type of skills are necessary to complete the task successfully, and what kind of employee do they need to emulate for this situation? When assigning tasks, it is essential to make sure the person who is receiving the message understands what you expect from them.

To succeed, practice and follow our guide for assigning a task clearly:

DELIVERABLES

What does a well-done job look like regarding this task?

If you are unable to verbalize what a good job looks like, how are you going to expect your employees to meet those expectations? You need to be able to concisely describe the deliverables you expect from completion of this task, and this may require some preparation before tasking the deliverable. Also, this means appropriately prioritizing tasks for your team. If the final deliverables have specific requirements to meet expectations, is it possible for the employee to complete the job with their current workload? Are there projects that need reprioritizing to make this task happen? As a leader, you need to set a priority system to ensure you are assigning tasks with a clear priority.

COMPETENCIES

What competencies are required to complete the task?

As a manager, you need to recognize if the delegate has the appropriate skills to complete the task. If not, there are additional steps you need to take to support the completion of this task. Perhaps you need to allocate other resources to this person to help them complete the task, or need to consider whether he or she might not be the right person to complete the job. Consider the strengths and weaknesses of your team and recognize when is the appropriate time to provide a growth opportunity for one, or assign it to someone who has the skills to do the task, and will be able to get the job done quickly and effectively.

TIME

How much time is needed to get the job done?

Time can be a significant constraint when it comes to task management. Unfortunately, managers can often mistakenly underestimate how long specific jobs take, resulting in undue stress added to the employee in addition to the manager who is not meeting their targets. It is crucial to consider the following when assigning a task:

Have you indicated a clear timeline for the job?
Are there repercussions for not completing the task on time?
How much time do you expect this task will take for the completed job to meet your expectations?
Have you been reasonable with your timeline?

Once you are clear on time required, you must confirm the acceptance of this timeline from your employee. You need to ensure that they accept, understand and are committed to meeting the deadlines you have set, and if not, it may require more support from you to make that happen.

RESOURCES

What resources and tools are needed to complete the tasks?

Resources are people, equipment, place, money, or anything else that you need to do all of the activities that you planned for. It is essential to state the resources and tools that are available to the employee when assigning a task. Perhaps they need to use particular software, like Excel, to show pivot tables and graphs. They might not realize when you assigned a marketing budget, that tables and graphics are what you are expecting. Therefore, you must state resources and tools clearly. Perhaps, they might need to ask someone in another department for some information to complete their task. Unless you say – “Fred will be a good resource to leverage and find out about our legal requirements,” – your employee might miss that step and fail to reach out to others. You must share the potential resources needed to complete the task to your expectations.

GOALS

How does this task contribute to the greater goals of the organization?

The purpose is a tremendous underlying motivation for employees to complete tasks and projects. If there is no clear purpose to what they are doing, why do it? As a manager, you need to share recent organizational successes and verbalize how this task supports the greater good of the company. If organizational goals have changed recently, be sure to find the time to explain them to your team. Always take time to share the vision and strategy of the organization to support the motivation and direction of your team.

APPLYING TASK DELEGATION IN THE WORKPLACE

It is important to remember that clearly assigning tasks takes practice. Not only do you need to work through the process multiple times to assign tasks, but you might also be required to build other skills to do this successfully.

Effective delegation involves being engaged in more conversations with your team, and having this 1:1 time means you need to focus on communication styles and recognize you may need to adapt your message to be understood by your employee. Or maybe these conversations about task management can lead to more coaching conversations or an opportunity to give feedback.

Either way, assigning a task is an important skill to learn. If you follow our five-step guideline, you will be on your way to better communication, and your employees will have a deeper understanding of your expectations.

Do you need help in effectively delegating roles and responsibilities and assigning tasks in your company? Book a call with us here; we’d love to listen and provide support in any way we can.

8 Tips For Giving Feedback

by Carolyn Stern | May 1, 2020 | Giving & Receiving Feedback

Giving feedback to employees is something that takes time and practice to master. New employees and longtime managers alike can struggle to acquire this critical skill. Providing an evaluation or critique on someone’s behaviour or performance can seem daunting; giving feedback can turn into a very awkward encounter. It is essential to recognize that receiving feedback is equally unnerving because it is hard to take someone’s sentiments about you, not personal, which ultimately can lead you to react defensively.

So what exactly is feedback and why is it important? Feedback is information about reactions to a person’s performance of a task, etc. which is used as a basis for improvement.

How can you ensure your feedback is appropriately received and understood? Follow our eight FEEDBACK tips to help you improve the next time you need to give feedback at work:

Formulate a Plan:

It is vital to ensure you are clear on what you need to say, but this doesn’t mean you should wait until this person’s next performance review. Once you have identified that a feedback conversation needs to take place, act promptly, choose an appropriate location, and ensure you have determined the what, why and how this person can improve.

Ensure Positive Intent:

As the giver of feedback, you need to be engaging in feedback conversations to help improve the performance of the receiver. If you are angry or frustrated, it is not the time to be giving someone feedback. This conversation should be used as a learning opportunity to help the individual better meet your expectations of them. Should your frustration be clouding your ability to lead this conversation effectively, it is best to cool off and check your emotions before moving forward.

Embrace Empathy

Taking an empathetic approach is something that many leaders overlook, but it should not be forgotten. Being empathetic means, you are attuned to the emotions and concerns of others. When giving feedback to a subordinate, you must look at the conversation from this person’s point of view and recognize how this person may be feeling. Consider how you might think if you were on the other side of this conversation. What would you need to hear from the person giving you the feedback to change your approach and move from compliance to commitment? In other words, what do you need to say to move your employees from just complying to what you are suggesting they improve versus saying something that motivates them to be committed to changing their behaviours?

Deliver Examples

One of the most fruitless things you could do when giving feedback is being vague or unclear. The feedback should be specific and focus on the action. You do not want to give someone vague feedback such as “You could do better” or “Good job.” You will leave the receiver wondering, “How can I do better?” and having no guidance on how to correct their behaviour. It is crucial to include specific examples where you explain what happened, how it affected the team/project/organization and provide exact steps to improvement.

Bypass Negativity

Carefully choosing your language is essential when providing feedback. If you need to give constructive feedback, you should focus on action-oriented language. Avoid phrases such as “Don’t do…” or “I wish you wouldn’t…” as you are more likely to encourage your receiver to take on a defensive stance. Instead, use encouraging language such as “Next time, you could try…” or “Taking this approach will…”.

Ask Permission

Not only do you need to be in the right mind frame to give feedback, but you also need to ensure the receiver is willing and ready to receive your guidance. It is okay if this person says no. This conversation is a learning opportunity, so it needs to be treated as such; you won’t always be able to check off this conversation on your time. It does not need to be an overly complicated request, just something along the lines of “Can we touch base for a few minutes regarding the project you just completed?”.

Consider Communication Styles

Each of us tends to demonstrate one of four communication styles: emotive, directive, reflective or supportive. Being aware of your communication style and the person you are communicating with is essential for building a positive feedback conversation. You may need to flex your communication style to theirs and share your feedback in a way that they will hear it. Check out our blog on Mastering Communication Styles to learn more about how to identify each.

Keep an Open Mind

When giving feedback, it is essential to have an open mind and play to the cues of the conversation. You may intend to speak to a subordinate for a few minutes, but if the discourse opens the door for a coaching conversation, take advantage! Or maybe the encounter was very constructive, and now is a good time to solicit feedback from the receiver. You want to encourage your employees that feedback goes both ways, so you welcome any insight they would like to provide you.

Next time you need to give feedback in the workplace, don’t worry! This conversation is an opportunity for you to connect with your team and help enhance individual and organizational performance. Just remember our eight FEEDBACK tips and your next feedback conversation will be a breeze:

Formulate a Plan
Ensure Positive Intent
Embrace Empathy
Deliver Examples
Bypass Negativity
Ask Permission
Consider Communication Styles
Keep an Open Mind

We’re here to help you have difficult conversations, give and receive feedback, and ultimately be a more communicative and effective leader. Book a call with us here; we’d love to listen and provide support in any way we can. To learn more about emotional intelligence and how it impacts your organization, sign up for our biweekly newsletter here, where you will receive our latest updates, an inventory of resources, and much more!

Coaching Skills for Leaders

by Carolyn Stern | Apr 1, 2020 | Coaching, Leadership, Mentorship

Coaching skills for leaders is one of the most critical management skills you will need to learn. Managing your team is more than just supervising their work; it is about learning how to support your staff and drive productivity in your organization. The key to ensure success in your teams is taking a coaching approach to leadership. People who want to accomplish great things can get stuck along the way. Many leaders seem to know what they need to do to move forward intuitively, but few of them stop doing it themselves and teach others to succeed.

Great leaders take the time to ask questions so their employees can unearth a vast array of solutions for themselves, empowering their teams to learn how to enhance their effectiveness and team success. This approach does not mean that you are giving them the answer, but you are engaging in each conversation to guide your coachee to find solutions for themselves. You should be asking insightful questions, pushing the coachee outside of their comfort zone and helping them come to a proactive solution.

Take a look at our five recommended coaching skills for leaders that will help you engage in meaningful coaching conversations:

BUILDING RAPPORT

If you don’t take time to build rapport with your coachee, you will likely never get into the deep stuff. The conversation will remain surface level, and your coachee will be hesitant to open up to you, resulting in an unsustainable coaching relationship. One way to build rapport with your coachee is to be vulnerable. Take the first step to open up about what is ‘behind the curtain’ and make them know it is okay, and you welcome them doing the same with you. For instance, perhaps, you have worked with a coach in the past. Now, it would be a great time to open up and let them know how having a coach was for you, what some of your struggles were, and how you overcame them.

ACTIVE LISTENING

Active listening is vital in any type of communication, but it cannot be emphasized enough when it comes to coaching. Having a coaching conversation is about the coachee, not you. With our busy schedules, it is so easy to get caught up in your mental load that staying present takes practice. Paying attention comes from letting your coachee formulate their thoughts before jumping in, watching your body language and staying in the moment. The best way to start your practice at being a better active listener is paraphrasing to clarify comprehension. Paraphrasing allows you to make sure you are on the same page and demonstrates you are listening.

THOUGHTFUL QUESTIONING

Engaging in thoughtful questioning takes practice. You want to use questioning as a way to move from a one-way conversation to a dynamic learning conversation for your coachee. Questioning requires you to pay attention, adapt to the conversation, and be flexible as the discussion progresses. Being curious and non-judgmental is critical when it comes to questioning. Being non-judgmental can be challenging for leaders who have a hard time thinking beyond their circumstances. It can result in you having to rewire the way you listen and accept opinions that are different than your own. To start building this skill, focus on making it a habit to ask follow-up questions. Think about what the person has just said and look for ways to dive deeper into their response.

ACKNOWLEDGING

It should be common sense to give focused praise when having a coaching conversation, but often it is easy to get caught up in the challenges and what is not going well for the coachee. When the work your coachee is doing has resulted in improvement, make sure to acknowledge it! Acknowledging means providing specific praise, as it has been said that compliments with no substance can do less than not providing compliments in the first place. When giving praise for improvements in a coaching conversation, focus on pinpointing specific learning, what the impact was/is, and how this is a strength for the coachee moving forward. Acknowledgment does not mean agreement, it simply means you are commenting on their efforts to improve, not agreeing on what choices they are planning to make.

GOAL SETTING

A coaching conversation is just a conversation unless you are goal-setting. It is a conversation where you help the coachee set, plan for, and achieve their goals. You should be using the conversation to get the coachee moving toward action and commitment, but they will need to do the work! Moving a coachee towards success means helping them identify where they are currently, what they want, and determining how they will get there to achieve success. Each coaching conversation should end with action and something your coachee will be doing to work on their capabilities. One beneficial way to lead the discussion toward goal setting is to reframe problems as goals. Reframing problems will allow the coachee to see a challenge as an opportunity instead.

These five coaching skills for leaders are not something that you can pick up overnight, it takes time and practice to master. Focus on these skills to provide your employees with the opportunity to experience fresh perspectives on organizational challenges and opportunities, improved thinking and decision-making skills, enhanced interpersonal effectiveness, better communication, and increased employee engagement.

We’re here to help in building and mastering coaching skills. Book a call with us here; we’d love to listen and provide support in any way we can.

Mastering Communication Styles

by Carolyn Stern | Mar 1, 2020 | Communication, Networking

Mastering communication styles in the workplace is critical to building a culture of collaborative and transparent communication. Leveraging your communication style ensures you are able to keep lines of communication open, respectfully seek information, and appropriately respond to keep your peers and subordinates engaged.

In addition, building effective communication in the workplace ties directly to employee satisfaction. Employee satisfaction relies a lot on having a voice and being listened to, whether they are trying to communicate an idea and/or share a complaint. Employees need to be able to communicate freely with their peers, colleagues, and superiors about all types of issues and thoughts.

Learning to communicate with impact is essential, so employees feel comfortable being innovative and sharing ideas without fear of ridicule when they bring a concept to the table. This builds trust and resilience. An organization that encourages open communication is far more likely to be an innovative one.

Communication Styles Model

A popular communication style model provides a basis for one’s communication style based on the two dimensions of dominance and sociability. The dominance continuum reflects one’s tendency to influence others in communication. The sociability continuum reflects the amount of control one exerts over emotional expressiveness. These two continuums intersect with each other to create four communication styles.

Emotive Communicator

Emotive communicators are more social, informative and expressive of their emotional opinions. These communicators may be unstructured, stimulating, excitable, persuasive and dynamic. There are a few key steps you can take to ensure effective communication with an emotive:

- Be enthusiastic
- Lose the formality
- Focus on building the relationship
- Don’t worry as much about the facts
- Practice active listening

Directive Communicator

Directive communicators are generally business-like, serious, determined and pretty opinionated. Directives like to maintain control of the communication and can appear to be aggressive, bold or impatient. When communicating with a directive, try these tips:

Maintain formalities and stick to business
Respect their time and be efficient when communicating needs – get to the point
Don’t forget the facts and figures – directives want the stats
Focus on goals and results

Reflective Communicator

Reflective communicators typically control their emotions, are orderly, careful to express their opinions and can be aloof. They may appear preoccupied and stuffy; however, they are precise, disciplined and industrious. Communicating with reflectives can take some work, consider putting the following tips into practice:

Never be late
Don’t worry too much about the social niceties
Provide documentation in advance – give them time to consider their response
Never push them to make decisions

Supportive Communicators

The last communication style is supportive. A supportive communicator is very attentive and makes decisions in a thoughtful and deliberate manner. They may appear quiet, reserved, passive, relaxed, sensitive, and patient. When communicating with a reflective, make note of the following:

Take time to build a relationship
Practice active listening
Maintain professional standards
Avoid being too direct or assertive
Let them take time to consider decisions

Building Open-Communication in the Workplace

Being aware of your communication style and that of the person you are communicating with is essential for building open communication in the workplace. It takes practice to learn how to recognize the different types of styles and learning how to appropriately leverage your style in conversation. So don’t wait, start now!

Just remember, don’t be too quick to put labels on people. You may find your communication style changes depending on the situation you are in, the people you are speaking to, and your confidence at the moment.

Do you need help in mastering communication in the workplace? We can help. Book a call with us here; we’d love to listen and provide support in any way we can.

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