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Measuring employee engagement is essential for companies that want to perform at their peak. But let's be clear about one thing: Measurement doesn't cause engagement.

Top-down solutions may produce clarity, but they don't inspire buy-in or practicality.

Many companies use Gallup's Q ¹² employee engagement survey to measure engagement at the workgroup level, which gives them insight into where engagement is strong and where it can improve. But simply measuring engagement will not cause managers or employees to be engaged. Engagement is the result of many factors, including individual and team commitment to improving the workplace.

One proven strategy to increase engagement is action planning, a process that managers and their teams use to make plans and take action based on their Q ¹² results. I've spoken with hundreds of managers about engagement and action planning, and I've found that managers ask me these two questions more often than any others: "How do I get my team to buy in to action planning?" and "How do I make it practical?"

These are reasonable questions. Managers want to fix problems. They want to isolate the engagement problem, find a solution, and implement it as soon as possible. Meanwhile, their employees are watching them, wondering if this is just another one-time survey or if this is a long-term process that will finally identify and correct problems that need to be fixed.

That's why so many well-meaning managers jump right in to interpreting numbers from a report, often choosing areas of focus without involving their teams or considering business outcomes. So when managers complain that their team hasn't bought in to their plan, I ask a question of my own: "Whose plan was it?" Usually, the response is something along the lines of, "Well, it was mine."

Top-down solutions may produce clarity, but they don't inspire buy-in or practicality. That's because top-down decision making about engagement fails to recognize the varying dynamics among workgroups. More importantly, it misses an opportunity to engage teams in creating and "owning" their own solutions.
Engagement is a process
Engagement should be treated as a process, not a one-time event; it is an indicator of a workgroup's fitness, not a stand-alone outcome. Engagement also requires intentionality and a scalable structure. Managers and employees need to be involved in the action-planning process, and the process must be replicable. But too many managers approach building engagement as they would choosing a cellphone carrier: They consider the variables, make a decision, and move on until the contract expires, neglecting to seek feedback from people who have actually experienced the carrier's service.

I've listened to the difficulties managers face trying to create meaningful action plans, and I've heard everything from excuses like "We don't have time for this" to legitimate concerns such as "It's tough because my team is located in five different sites across three time zones."

Through conversations like these, I've found that the following five questions are a practical approach for thinking and talking about engagement. They also ensure maximum participation, practicality, intentionality, and scale. I have asked managers these questions many times, and I recommend that managers use them with their teams immediately before sharing their Q ¹² survey results. For many managers and teams, they have become an essential part of the action-planning process.
Question one: How do we define each of the Q¹² items in our workgroup? For example, how do we define "materials and equipment" for our team?
Gallup's Q ¹² is a 12-item measure of employee engagement, and each item addresses a specific element of engagement. These items include statements such as "I know what is expected of me at work," "I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right," and "My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work."(See sidebar "The 12 Elements of Great Managing.")

Individual workgroups have different cultures and needs, so they should discuss what they think about each element of engagement. The temptation here is for companies to define what Q ¹² items mean in the organization. But a better approach is for managers to ask their teams how each specific item applies to the realities of their particular workgroup. Managers should ask their team this question, then pay close attention to what emerges from the discussion.

For example, I consulted with a large technology company that had recently experienced a round of budget cuts, and travel had been frozen. Their remote workers were most likely to cite videoconferencing when defining the materials and equipment most important to them. Most managers weren't surprised by this, but they varied widely in how they responded to this feedback. Predictably, managers who dismissed videoconferencing as too expensive or as outside the realm of their control were those with the lowest levels of engagement relative to their peers.
Question two: Now that we defined each of the Q¹² items for our workgroup, what would the ideal look like for each item?
Making engagement happen isn't just a manager's responsibility.

Sometimes, I'll encourage managers to dream a little with their teams. If budgets didn't exist, for example, what would the ideal materials and equipment be for their team? Often, the answers are surprisingly mundane -- workgroups rarely want what's impossible, even when the sky's the limit.

Many managers are hesitant to have this discussion with their workers, citing that it might create false expectations or set an impossible standard. This hesitation, however, is unfounded. The purpose is not for the team members to say, "If we have x, we'd rate this item a 5." Instead, the purpose is to establish aspiration and ownership, empowering the team to consider what their efforts might achieve and creating a benchmark to which the team can aspire.

For example, despite the budget realities that many teams face, many of the managers I talk with have generated new ideas for remaining connected using existing materials and equipment, such as emailing a "question of the day" about the company to members of their teams or using videoconferencing in addition to conference calls to create face-to-face connections. When the teams dreamed a little, they often found they already had the materials and equipment they needed to solve the problem.
Question three: What is the difference between where we are now and that ideal?
Having established what the ideal looks like, the team can take the bold step of asking how far away from it they are. This process affords opportunity for celebration, building on previous successes, and establishing best practices. It also promotes candid discussion and creates an environment where team members can share and support their views. This helps teams grow and mature and gives everyone a chance to claim responsibility for areas that might lie within their control.

After we talked about how to use these questions, one manager conducted his action-planning meeting and reported back. "I told the team where I thought I'd been getting in the way and admitted some mistakes I'd made over the last few months," he said. "It was hard, but I think the team appreciated it." This kind of transparency builds goodwill and creates a platform for more open dialogue.
Question four: As we think about our action plan, which items have the greatest impact on our culture or performance?
Engagement must be tied to performance because it benefits businesses in tangible ways. Otherwise, the exercise and conversation are pointless, and employees will rightly wonder why they must participate in activities that have no real purpose or practical utility. Again, measuring engagement shouldn't be an end in itself.

Making engagement happen isn't just a manager's responsibility. As employees identify aspects of culture and performance that would benefit from increases in engagement, they begin to think in solution-oriented ways. They begin to own the culture, their performance, and their own engagement.

This question also grants vital permission to take the discussion further. Managers and teams start asking themselves more questions, such as: "Is it OK to prioritize some items and defer others based on the team's stated objectives?" and "What items are most likely to drive those objectives?"

As I debriefed with a manager after a recent action-planning session, he told me that the team had chosen to focus on the item "My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work." They chose this item because their team both depended on and served internal customers, and they thought that improving in this area would shorten wait times for their stakeholders and improve their internal brand, which had suffered recently.

It's neither advisable nor desirable to include every item in an action plan. It's far better to focus on the items that will bring the greatest return on invested time and effort at a particular time, because the team's needs and circumstances will change. Every element of engagement is important and links to key business outcomes. But using this question to narrow the focus to a few key items will reveal what is important for the workgroup now.
Question five: What is every person on the team willing to do about engagement?
Too many companies treat engagement like an a la carte menu from which the manager chooses everything. If an engagement process results in open dialogue among the team members and the team identifies expected outcomes and areas in which to invest, yet the manager is the only person who leaves the meeting with a to-do list, then action planning has failed.

A good action-planning meeting is one in which every attendee leaves with a next step. Each member of the team must contribute and have a role to play. People are more eager to invest in ideas they helped generate than those initiated from the top down.

In addition to creating accountability, this question also enables the team to decide that some ideas, though compelling, have too many barriers to implement immediately, while others present more positively. For example, budget limitations might make travel or the purchase of new equipment difficult. While these options should be explored, they might not be part of the final action plan as a result.
Engagement isn't solely a manager-driven outcome
When used as a template for action planning, these five questions yield the critical elements of buy-in and practical action. They also help dispel the myth that engagement is solely a manager-driven outcome. While managers can influence engagement, they can't be expected to generate it alone. Managers who use these questions will get associates involved by creating a conversation. By treating engagement as a process, not an event, they tie engagement to actions that produce cultural improvements and business outcomes.

Five Questions for Action Planning

These five questions offer a practical approach to help managers and teams think and talk about engagement. They work best when managers use them to start a discussion with their teams immediately before reviewing their Q ¹² employee engagement survey results and to develop an action plan to increase engagement.

Question one: How do we define each of the Q ¹² items in our workgroup? For example, how do we define "materials and equipment" for our team?

Question two: Now that we defined each of the Q ¹² items for our workgroup, what would the ideal look like for each item?

Question three: What is the difference between where we are now and that ideal?

Question four: As we think about our action plan, which items have the greatest impact on our culture or performance?

Question five: What is every person on the team willing to do about engagement?

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Measuring employee engagement is essential for companies that want to perform at their peak. But let's be clear about one thing: Measurement doesn't cause engagement. Top-down solutions may produce clarity, but they don't inspire buy-in or practicality.

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A 6-Part Structure for Giving Clear and Actionable Feedback

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A 6-Part Structure for Giving Clear and Actionable Feedback

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Robert was the head of an East Coast insurance company. His greatest asset was his large, extroverted personality. He was the classic glad-handing, backslapping, high-energy salesman. His problem was a familiar one, too: a great salesman - even one with charisma - doesn't necessarily make a great leader.

After receiving some 360-degree feedback, we met to discuss the data. He'd received low scores on providing clear goals and direction, indicating a chaotic management style. His challenge, as I saw it, was twofold: he had to change himself and his environment simultaneously - which meant aligning his team's behavior with his own.

In my years of executive coaching and research about behavioral change, I have learned one key lesson, which has near-universal applicability: We do not get better without structure. Structure is a major contributor to successful behavioral change, whether you're trying to change your own behavior, or your team's. When either asking for or providing feedback, structure can make the process a positive encounter for both parties.

I had a simple off-the-shelf structure for Robert that had worked with clients many times before. It took the form of six basic questions he would discuss during a bimonthly (every other month) one-on-one meeting with each of his nine direct reports. The agenda for each meeting was a sheet of paper with the six following questions:

1. Where are we going?

2. Where are you going?

3. What is going well?

4. Where can we improve?

5. How can I help you?

6. How can you help me?

Where are we going? This question tackled the big-picture priorities at the company. It forced Robert to articulate what he wanted for the company and what he was expecting from the executive. Answering this question, Robert described a vision that could be discussed openly, not merely guessed at. The back-and-forth dialogue was a first step in changing both the environment and Robert's reputation.

Where are you going? Robert then shifted to his view of where each executive should be going. Then he turned the table and asked each person to answer the same question, thus aligning their behavior and mindset with his. In short order, they were replicating Robert's candor and honesty about their responsibilities and goals.

What is going well? Bad as he was at setting clear goals, Robert scored almost as low at providing constructive feedback. No meetings, no opportunities to praise his superstars. So the third portion of every meeting required him to openly recognize recent achievements by the executive facing him. Then he asked a question seldom asked by leaders: "What do you think that you and your part of the organization are doing well?" This wasn't just a compulsory upbeat moment in a meeting. It helped Robert learn about good news that he may otherwise have missed.

Where can we improve? This forced Robert to give his direct reports constructive suggestions for the future - something he'd rarely done and that his people didn't expect from him. Then he added a challenge: "If you were your own coach, what would you suggest for yourself?" The ideas he heard amazed him, largely because they were often better than his suggestions. He was okay with that. He was not only shaping the world around him, he was learning from it.

How can I help? This is the most welcome phrase in any leader's repertoire. We can never say it enough, whether we're in the role of a parent or friend - or a busy CEO running a meeting. It has a reciprocal power few of us take advantage of. When we offer our help, we are nudging people to admit they need help. We are adding needed value, not interfering or imposing. That's what Robert was going for: building alignment between everyone's interests.

How can I become a more effective leader? Asking for help means exposing our weaknesses and vulnerabilities - not an easy thing to do. Robert wanted to be a role model CEO. By asking for ongoing help and focusing on his own improvement, he was encouraging everyone to do the same.

The improvements at Robert's company didn't happen overnight. But they never would have happened without some sort of structure. This simple list of questions played to Robert's strength. He had always been a great communicator with customers. Now he was deploying the same skill with employees.

In hindsight, the structure's biggest impact may have been to slow Robert down. Instead of always being on the go, he had to carve out serious time in his calendar for nine one-on-one meetings every two months.

Another key element in Robert's process was not just what he did every other month, but what each of his directs reports did in between the bi-monthly sessions. Robert involved his team in his own transformation toward becoming a better leader. Robert gave each team member carte blanche to call him on any leadership failing, to take personal responsibility for immediately contacting Robert if he or she felt confusion or ambiguity on direction, coaching, or feedback. Robert changed himself and his environment. Robert added structure. The team assumed responsibility. The combination produced amazing results.

When Robert retired four years later, his final 360-degree feedback report put him in the 98th percentile on "Provides clear goals and direction." What most amazed Robert was all the time he saved. He summed up: "I spent less time with my people when I was rated a 98 than I did when I was rated an 8. In the beginning, my team couldn't tell the difference between social chitchat and goal clarity. By involving them in a simple structure, I could give them what they needed from me in a way that respected their time and mine."

That's an added value of matching structure with our desire to change. Structure not only increases our chance of success, it makes us more efficient at it.

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A 6-Part Structure for Giving Clear and Actionable Feedback

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Robert was the head of an East Coast insurance company. His greatest asset was his large, extroverted personality. He was the classic glad-handing, backslapping, high-energy salesman. His problem was a familiar one, too: a great salesman - even one with charisma - doesn't necessarily make a great leader.

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Use Your Staff Meeting for Peer-to-Peer Coaching

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Use Your Staff Meeting for Peer-to-Peer Coaching

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One of the unintended consequences of the constant right-sizing and flattening of our organizations is that we now live in a world where managers just don't have time to do all that's required of them in their daily jobs, let alone find time for coaching their employees.

Yet coaching is a critical job for any manager who wants to improve her team's performance. Research shows that training alone can improve performance by 22%, while training accompanied by coaching (that is, collaborative problem solving, feedback, and evaluation) can improve performance by 88%.

So what are time-constrained leaders to do?

In our research at Ferrazzi Greenlight, we've found an extraordinarily rich and robust coaching resource sitting around us each and every day - our peers. And the ideal venue for peer-to-peer coaching is already built into our schedules - the staff meeting. You can use staff meetings the way a sports coach uses practice time: to run new plays and build new, better habits. The time devoted to coaching during staff meetings can also propel team members to encourage each other "off the court."

The staff meeting is one of the only times when all of the "players" are together on the field. It's also the one time the manager has total control of the agenda and can micro-coach the movements of the team, so that new muscle memories are built under her watchful eye. On a winning sports team, the coach certainly spends time with individual players, but also has group practices where the team runs plays with the coach, who sometimes gives the entire group advice, and sometimes singles out individuals. Coaches then do the same during actual games.

The locker room conversations and peer-to-peer encouragement and correction that happen among great sports teams occur because the best athletes know that it's not just individual performance that matters - it's the collective team performance. If they fail, they fail together. Our research has shown that the same peer-to-peer dynamic can be used in business as a powerful driver of performance.

We recommend these ways to unleash effective peer-to-peer coaching in staff meetings:
1. Shift the meeting from report-outs to collaborative problem solving.
Change the structure of the meeting from individuals reporting their own performance and successes to collaborative problem solving, where the leader or a member of the team brings a topic for group discussion.

The importance of this exercise is that team members begin to see their peers as a rich source of advice - one that they might not have gone to before. This type of collaborative problem solving usually yields better decisions - and is a more enjoyable way to work. Just be sure to follow a few rules:

Set the topics in advance.

Distribute a one-page topic description beforehand for people to reflect on, which includes a specific question that you want the group to address.

In the room, break into small groups of three or four to debate the topic, in order to gain higher degrees of candor.

Don't take decision-making control away from the individual who brought the question to the table. This should be a rich source of diverse input, not an abdication of the responsibility to the group, and not an exercise in reaching consensus.

2. Facilitate periodic, open 360-degree reviews.
In "Open 360s," each team member gives very honest, constructive feedback to peers. The sessions are designed to get individual feedback and instill greater candor and intimacy within the team in a safe, and even caring, fashion.

Each individual hears from everyone at the table about what they admire most about his or her performance for no more than 30 seconds each. This sets up respect and safety and helps the individual welcome input from team members. Then, there is a second go-round where individuals offer constructive criticism. This time, each person shares in this way: "Because I care about your success, and your success is critical to this team's success, I might suggest ... "

Here are a few rules of thumb for the person receiving the feedback:

After each go-round, you may ask clarifying questions. You may not be defensive. You may not push back.

There is no obligation to change. You don't necessarily have to do anything with what's suggested to you.

At the end, say, "Thank you," and recognize that all this data is yours to chew on and do with what you will.

This exercise is a smart way to open up, through a formal process, the peer-to-peer feedback that should exist at all times. It also helps people see that their team members are resilient and that, perhaps, they can accept this kind of feedback at other critical times. When you couch feedback in service of others, instead of punitively or judgmentally in service of oneself, you lead with the affirmative and establish a level of respect that breaks down potential hostilities.

Professor James O'Toole and my late friend-professor Warren Bennis found in their research that teams who practice and exhibit candor in the workplace outperform their counterparts. They also discovered that whatever momentary discomfort leaders and employees may experience is more than offset by the fact that the unveiled information helps them make improved decisions.
3. Give 'em homework and hold 'em accountable.
Have each person in the room identify one behavior that they personally want to work on between now and the next meeting. Have everyone "buddy up" with another person in the room and require that, between now and the next meeting, they speak by phone, or in person, two or three times to check in on progress on their self-selected goal. As the leader, you have to assure that this offline peer coaching actually occurs by asking individuals to share their successes, or to request additional peer support if they feel stuck.

As leaders, we all know that we need to do more coaching. So let's use the forum we've already established - the staff meeting - to encourage our team members to complement our efforts. Those who adopt this strategy may find themselves on the rare dream team where members can look at each other across the table and can say, "I'm not going to let you fail."
Want to help with our research? Please answer this survey so we can see how many companies perform these practices.

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Use Your Staff Meeting for Peer-to-Peer Coaching

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One of the unintended consequences of the constant right-sizing and flattening of our organizations is that we now live in a world where managers just don't have time to do all that's required of them in their daily jobs, let alone find time for coaching their employees.

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A Simple Managerial Tool that Will Keep You In the Loop — The People Equation

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A Simple Managerial Tool that Will Keep You In the Loop — The People Equation

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Leaders, do you want a simple, easy-to-remember process for staying up-to-date with your team's workload? Here's an idea I heard from my colleague Sally. (She said it was OK to share with my blog readers, so, thanks Sally!)

Sally told me about a process that one of her favorite managers created to stay in communication with his direct reports. Once a week, Sally would meet with her work team leader to review what he called the "Three P's": Plans, Progress, and Problems.

Plans: This is the forward-thinking part of the conversation. The leaders asks questions such as, "What's on your docket for this week?" and "What are you goals?"

Progress: This "P" refers to the current project slate. The discussion centers around targets met, updates on actions and "wins".

Problems: This third element of the Three P's addresses the challenges that employees are experiencing. Sally and her boss would brainstorm ideas for removing barriers and other ideas to help Sally when she felt stymied or otherwise unable to complete her tasks.

This format works because:

It's super-simple to implement; people can easily remember three things to share with their boss

One of the most important things managers do is remove road blocks for their team members and this format allows for an easy way to do so

If done every week, the consistency builds positive work habits: employees are conditioned to look for plans, progress and problems

In this very complex world, simple is better.
What simple management tools have you used with success with your team members?
Jennifer V. Miller is a leadership development consultant whose writing and digital training materials help business professionals better lead themselves and others towards greater career success. Follow Jennifer on and for her quarterly e-newsletter offering tips for the savvy workplace professional.

Tagged as: Career, Character, Communication, Corporate Culture, Personal Effectiveness

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3 Things Every Leader Should Ask at Update Meetings

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Leaders, do you want a simple, easy-to-remember process for staying up-to-date with your team's workload? Here's an idea I heard from my colleague Sally. (She said it was OK to share with my blog readers, so, thanks Sally!) Sally told me about a process that one of her favorite managers created to stay in communication with his direct reports.

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How to Give Feedback to Millennials - YouTube

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How to Give Feedback to Millennials - YouTube

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How to Give Feedback to Millennials Learn one effective strategy on how best to give feedback to Millennials. Have Ryan speak to your organization or association: http://ryan-jenkins.com/speaker Ryan Jenkins is an internationally recognized Millennial speaker, generations expert, and Inc.com columnist who helps organizations better lead, engage, and market to the emerging generations- Millennials and Generation Z.

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Virtual meetings don't have to be seen as a waste of time. In fact, they can be more valuable than traditional face-to-face meetings. Beyond the fact that they're inexpensive ways to get people together - think: no travel costs and readily available technology - they're also great opportunities to build engagement, trust and candor among teams.

Several years ago, my company's Research Institute embarked on an exploration of the "New People Rules in a Virtual World" to explore how technology is shaping our relationships and how we collaborate. This multiyear journey also evolved my thinking on the subject, helping me recognize that virtual is not the enemy of the physical if key rules and processes are maintained and respected.

Going back through that research now, I've put together a comprehensive list of some simple do's and don'ts to help you get the most out of your next virtual meeting.
Before the meeting:
Turn the video on. Since everyone on the call is separated by distance, the best thing you can do to make everyone at least feel like they're in the same room is to use video. There are many options to choose from, such as WebEx and Skype. Video makes people feel more engaged because it allows team members to see each other's emotions and reactions, which immediately humanizes the room. No longer are they just voices on a phone line; they're the faces of your co-workers together, interacting. Without video, you'll never know if the dead silence in a virtual meeting is happening because somebody is not paying attention, because he's rolling his eyes in exasperation or nodding his head in agreement. Facial expressions matter.

Cut out report-outs. Too many meetings, virtual and otherwise, are reminiscent of a bunch of fifth graders reading to each other around the table - and that's a waste of the valuable time and opportunity of having people in a room together. The solution is to send out a simple half-page in advance to report on key agenda items - and then only spend time on it in the meeting if people need to ask questions or want to comment.

This type of pre-work prepares participants to take full advantage of the meeting by thinking ahead about the content, formulating ideas or getting to know others in the group, which can help keep team members engaged, says business consultant Nancy M. Settle-Murphy in her book Leading Effective Virtual Teams. But one thing is critical: It has to be assumed that everyone has read the pre-read. Not doing so becomes an ethical violation against the team. I use the word "ethical" because it's stealing time from the team - and that's a disrespectful habit. The leader needs to set the tone aggressively that the pre-read should be done in advance.

Come prepared with the team's opinions. Not only do you need to do your pre-reads, but once you see the agenda, make sure you discuss with your team what is going to be covered - that is, do your own due-diligence. What happens all too often is that people get on virtual calls with a point of view, but because they haven't done any real homework before the call, they end up reversing their opinions once the call has ended and they've learned new information that they could have easily obtained in advance. If there's a topic that seems to have interdependencies with people who work in our location, get their input ahead of time so you're best representing those constituents in the meeting.
During the meeting:
Connect people. People perform better when they are comfortable with each other, which affords a greater degree of candor and mutual interest. Your job as a leader, particularly when people may not know each other, is to make them feel connected so you can have a productive meeting. How? Do a personal-professional check-in at the beginning of each meeting. Have team members take one minute and go around to talk about what's going on in their lives personally and professionally. Go first to model the approach for what doing it "right" looks like, in terms of tone and candor. Remind everyone to respect each other by not interrupting and to only say what they're comfortable sharing with the group.

Encourage collaborative problem solving. A collaborative problem solving session replaces the standard "report-outs" that can weigh meetings down. It's when the leader raises a topic for group discussion and the team works together - and sees each other as sources of advice - to unearth information and viewpoints, and to generate fresh ideas in response to business challenges.

Give each person time on the agenda. Along with collaborative problem solving, giving each person time on the agenda fosters greater collaboration and helps get input from all the team members. Here's how it works: In advance of the session, have team members write up an issue they've been struggling with and bring it to the table, one at a time. Each team member then gets five minutes on the agenda to discuss his or her issue. The group then goes around the meeting so everyone gets a chance to either ask a question about it or pass. After the team member answers everyone's questions, people then get an opportunity to offer advice in the "I might suggest" format, or pass. Then, you move on to the next issue. It's a very effective use of a collaboration technique that could easily be managed in a virtual environment.

Kill mute. In a co-located meeting, there are social norms: You don't get up and walk around the room, not paying attention. Virtual meetings are no different: You don't go on mute and leave the room to get something. In a physical meeting, you would never make a phone call and "check out" from the meeting. So in a virtual meeting, you shouldn't press mute and respond to your emails, killing any potential for lively discussion, shared laughter and creativity.

As leaders, we need to establish a standard: Just because you're in a virtual meeting and it's possible to be disrespectful, it has to be understood that it's unacceptable. We're talking about civility and respect for people, so if you wouldn't do it in person, don't do it virtually.

Ban multitasking. Multitasking was once thought of as a way to get many things done at once, but it's now understood as a way to do many things poorly. As science shows us, despite the brain's remarkable complexity and power, there's a bottleneck in information processing when it tries to perform two distinct tasks at once. Not only is this bad for the brain; it's bad for the team. Managers should set a firm policy that multitasking is unacceptable, as it's important for everyone to be mentally present.

Here are three ways to make sure the ban on multitasking is followed:

Use video: It can essentially eliminate multitasking, because your colleagues can see you.

Have the meeting leader call on people to share their thoughts. Since no one likes to be caught off-guard, they'll be more apt to pay attention.

Give people different tasks in the meeting, rotated regularly. To keep people engaged, have a different team member keep the minutes of the meeting; track action items, owners and deadlines; and even come up with a fun question to ask everyone at the conclusion of the meeting.

Nick Morgan, president of consulting company Public Words Inc., recommends constant touchpoints: "In a virtual meeting, you need to stop regularly to take everyone's temperature. And I do mean everyone. Go right around the list, asking each locale or person for input."

Assign a Yoda. Candor is difficult even for co-located teams, but it's the number one gauge of team productivity. To keep people engaged during virtual meetings, appoint a "Yoda." Like the wise Jedi master in Star Wars, the Yoda keeps team members in line and makes sure everyone stays active and on topic. The Yoda keeps honesty from boiling over into disrespect by being courageous and calling out any inappropriate behaviors. At critical points during the meeting, the leader should turn to the Yoda and ask, "So, what's going on here that nobody's talking about?" This allows the Yoda to express the candor of the group and encourage risk-taking.
After the meeting:
Formalize the water cooler. Have you ever been in a meeting, and just when it ends, everybody walks out and vents their frustrations next to the water cooler? Make the water cooler conversation the formal ending of the virtual meeting, instead. Five to 10 minutes before the meeting ends, do what everybody would've done after the physical meeting - but do it in the meeting and make sure it's transparent and conscious, processing people's real feelings.

How? Have everyone go around and say what they would've done differently in the meeting. This is like the final "Yoda" moment - it's the "speak now or forever hold your peace" moment. This is the time when you say what you disagreed with, what you're challenged with, what you're concerned about, what you didn't like, etc. All of the water-cooler-type conversation happens right now, or it never happens again. And if does happen later, you're violating the ethics of the team.

Most importantly in virtual meetings, civility and respect must be the norm. There have to be inalienable, ethical rules that you follow before, during and after a virtual meeting for it to be truly successful. And that means adhering to two fundamental principles: Be respectful of others' time, and be present. Failing to do so steals precious hours from the team that can never be recovered. Co-located teams have enough problems building candor and trust; teams separated by distance really need to have great meetings to build these connections.

Want to help with our research? Please take this survey so we can see how many companies are using these practices.

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Virtual meetings don't have to be seen as a waste of time. In fact, they can be more valuable than traditional face-to-face meetings.

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Five years ago, after becoming frustrated with my fruitless tendency to juggle multiple activities at once, I tried an experiment: for one week, I would not multitask and see what happened.

The experiment changed everything for the better. My relationships improved, my stress dissolved, and my productivity soared. There is zero downside to focusing on one thing at a time without distraction.

One of the side benefits of my focusing on one undistracted task at a time was a new and almost unbearable impatience for wasted time. In the past, if I was on a call that wasn't going anywhere, I would do email or surf the web. In my post-multitasking world, staying focused on a dragging call was painful.

Which is how I stumbled on the single most life-changing, business-transforming revelation of my last five years:

Compressed time.

First, though, a caveat. There are some things in my life - dinner with friends, writing, sleep, unstructured time with my family - that deserve to live in the spaciousness of stretched-out time.

But other things - like most meetings and tactical work - could benefit from compressed time.

Often we schedule one hour time slots. Why? How did an hour become our standard time allotment for so many meetings, phone calls, and appointments?

As my impatience with wasted time grew, I tried a new experiment: I cut the time I allot for many activities in half.

I started with something easy. I used to work out for an hour a day. Now it's down to 30 minutes. My results - weight and conditioning - improved.

Here's why: my intensity is higher (I know I only have 30 minutes), I eat better (I don't rely on my workout to keep slim), I integrate movement more into my day (I don't rely on my workout to take care of all my fitness), and I never miss a workout (I can always find 30 minutes).

If you have half the time to accomplish something, you become hyper-aware of how you're using that time. And hyper-focused during it. Most of my phone calls are now 30 minutes or less. My podcast is 15 to 20 minutes. Even many of my conference calls, with multiple parties, are 30 minutes or less. People on the calls, aware of the time constraint, are more thoughtful about when they speak, and more careful not to follow tangents that aren't useful.

People also listen better because, when things are moving faster, we tend to be more alert. We know that a single distracted moment will leave us behind. And, since that keeps us more engaged, we end up having more fun in the process.

Nowhere has this impact been more transformational - and more evident - than in the leadership coaching we do at Bregman Partners. For the past several years, all the coaching we do is accomplished in 30-minute sessions.

The obvious advantages are obvious: everyone saves time and money.

But here's what's less obvious: the coaching isn't simply as powerful, it's vastly more so. When the coach and the client both know they have only 30 minutes, they move into high gear.

Clients show up. Just as with my workouts, people are far less likely to skip a 30-minute session than they are an hour.

Everyone is on time. Every minute counts in a 30-minute conversation and they know it. The session gets started more quickly, as the relationship is built on doing good work, not small talk.

People are much more likely to come prepared. There's no time wasted on tangents and going-nowhere conversations. Clients know what they want to cover and have put some thought into it beforehand.

The time pressure enhances focus and attention. People don't focus on three issues; they tackle the single biggest opportunity or persistent, intractable obstacle. And they move on it. Focus leads to success.

Coaches are more willing to be courageous, and clients are more willing to be prodded. In a 30-minute session, coaches can't waste time beating around the bush. They get to the point faster and earlier, interrupt more bravely, and ask more provocative questions.

Clients get more done in between coaching sessions. I'm not sure why this is. But here's my hypothesis: Leaders at all levels need to be highly skilled at getting to the point quickly and efficiently. The compressed, focused coaching session hones the skill of getting to the point quickly, focusing on the most essential elements of a situation, and taking action.

The downside? I haven't seen one yet.

Try it yourself. Transition some of your hour-long meetings to 30 minutes. As you do, consider these three steps as a way to make the 30 minutes most powerful:

1. Read what you need to beforehand and tell everyone else to do the same. Think about your questions and concerns. Decide what's important to you and what you can let go of. Ask yourself the most important question: What outcome do you want?

2. Decide on the one thing that will make the biggest difference, and spend the 30 minutes on that issue, topic, or opportunity. Get started right on time, no matter who isn't there, and be bold and disciplined at keeping the conversation on track. Let go of anything that is less critical. Make decisions quickly, even if they are imperfect. Getting traction on a single thing is far more useful than touching on many without forward momentum on any.

3. The sign of a great meeting isn't the meeting itself. It's what happens after that meeting. Save at least the last five minutes to summarize what you learned, articulate what was valuable, commit to what you are going to do as a result of the meeting, and clarify how you will assess the success of your next steps.

You will need these "get to the most critical point fast" skills - and the courage to use them - if you are going to make the most of your time. You need to be bold, and even provocative. You need to be willing to interrupt, thoughtfully and for the greater good of moving ambitiously towards what is most important. You need to let go of things that don't really matter.

And you need to be fully present. No multi-tasking. No texting under the table. No distractions. Which is also the upside: you get to be fully present in what you are doing.

There is a cost. While it's energizing, it also takes a lot of energy to be so focused, even for a short amount of time. It's a sprinter's tactic.

On the other hand, when you cut your meetings and other activities in half, you'll have a lot more time to relax at dinner with friends, write, sleep, and spend unstructured time with people you love.

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Five years ago, after becoming frustrated with my fruitless tendency to juggle multiple activities at once, I tried an experiment: for one week, I would not multitask and see what happened. The experiment changed everything for the better. My relationships improved, my stress dissolved, and my productivity soared.

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Tough Love Performance Reviews, in 10 Minutes

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Tough Love Performance Reviews, in 10 Minutes

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There's growing evidence that conventional performance reviews are not working. According to a CEB analysis, organizations can only improve employee performance 3% to 5% using standard performance management approaches. Last fall, 53% of human resources professionals in a Society for Human Resource Management study gave a grade between B to C+ when rating how their organization managed performance reviews. Only 2% gave an A to their organization. As a result of findings like these, some companies are doing away with annual performance reviews altogether.

As my company grew, I started seeing the issues with conventional reviews firsthand. Most performance management systems are simply too cumbersome and formal for today's startup world. Plus, the time reviews require is itself a huge barrier to doing them well. For me, spending one hour with 30 people each quarter, one-on-one, plus all the preparation and documentation required, didn't seem scalable. And since our employees received immediate feedback on performance issues, I found there wasn't a lot of new information to share at these check-ins.

At the same time, I felt it was important to do these reviews myself, rather than delegating them to others. As the company founder, I wanted to maintain a direct connection to my team. And I don't think they wanted me to become more distant, either; many times, employees join smaller organizations because of the founder and her passion and vision. Finding the time to stay close and nurture employee growth was critical, but so was finding a feedback method that worked better.

I run a user experience-led innovation company-which means my profession is making products better, more intuitive, and more profitable-so we approached the performance review issue as a design problem. How could we get maximum impact in minimal time? I looked at different ways to change the process, including how feedback is given, the interview duration, who leads during a performance review, what the end goal is, and how often reviews occur.

When I unraveled these factors, what we now call our "Tough Love Reviews" emerged. A Tough Love Review is simply a 10-minute, one-on-one conversation with each employee to talk through the one thing he is doing exceptionally well and the one thing that he needs to improve to reach that next level. The result is a meaningful conversation that gives employees a choice in how the conversation unfolds, and results in two key takeaways that are memorable and actionable.

Here's how they work.

First, create a spreadsheet with the following columns:

Column 1: Employee Name

Column 2: Tough-Two or three trigger words or phrases to serve as reminders during the review. Include performance issues, goals missed, interpersonal issues, and/or general quality of work feedback if it needs improvement.

Column 3: Love-Again, focus on two or three key words. Think highlights, goals achieved, great work, recent accomplishments, or accolades from clients or team members.

Think holistically about each person's contribution to the business: What do you need this person to bring to the table? What does this person uniquely contribute? What is a barrier or simply annoying for the team? Ask teammates for confidential feedback if you need to.

A few days beforehand, set up a 10-minute meeting with each employee to go over the review. Here's how the agenda typically breaks down:

Minute 1: Explain that the goal of the review is to bring awareness to positive traits and areas to work on. The employee will work with his/her manager to craft an action and accountability plan. Then ask: "How do you feel like receiving advice today on a scale of 1 to 10? One is kind and nurturing, and 10 is pointed and direct." This scale gives control to the employee, and the reviewer becomes the servant leader, playing by each employee's rules and preferences. It requires quick thinking, but tailoring your messaging reassures the employee that this is about helping him/her. An important note: those who select 10 don't get a mean boss; they just get a direct, cut-to-the-chase one. The people who pick lower numbers also get the same honest content, presented with softer words.

Minutes 2-4: The Tough or Love section. For responses 7 or higher, start with Tough. Begin with Love for anyone who says 4 or lower. Those who respond in the middle, 5 or 6, get this question, "What do you think needs work?" which brings Tough to the forefront so you can end on Love.

Minutes 4-6: Switch to the remaining section, either Tough or Love.

Minutes 7-10: Now, let the employee take the driver's seat and provide whatever response they want to close out the review session. Borrow from the discipline of design thinking: observe and absorb without bias, and know that you can follow up later if needed.

Finally, remember that while we often assume that people like to receive feedback, there are also many studies that show people actually hate it. As Stanford's Carol Dweck has found, people approach feedback with either a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. People with a fixed mindset believe their qualities are fixed traits ("I am who I am"), while people with a growth mindset believe their qualities are just starting points, which can be developed through hard work, shaping who they could become. But you can help nudge your team into a growth mindset by framing your feedback in terms of growth.

For instance, Ken Moran, our head of client accounts and essentially our entire HR department, shares the feedback from his Tough Love Review, which was to work on his defensiveness: " My job is to make sure problems don't happen, and when they do, to handle them. I was reminded that being defensive undermines my ability to be a team player and leader...[because it was put in those terms] for the first time I got why I needed to change."

Since we've implemented this approach, we've seen a significant constructive change in our employees. We've seen turnarounds in team dynamics, and Ken has received more accolades from clients on team performance. We've also seen evidence of employees empowered to act on the feedback: one employee signed up for a public speaking class; another mentioned interviewing career coaches to talk through the Tough Love feedback in more detail.

Approaching reviews this way gives company founders a meaningful touchpoint with each employee to thank them for the great work they do-and helps employees figure out what is holding them back from realizing their potential so they can help their career, and the company, flourish.

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Tough Love Performance Reviews, in 10 Minutes

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There's growing evidence that conventional performance reviews are not working. According to a CEB analysis, organizations can only improve employee performance 3% to 5% using standard performance management approaches. Last fall, 53% of human resources professionals in a Society for Human Resource Management study gave a grade between B to C+ when rating how their organization managed performance reviews.

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4 Questions To Ask Your Team Members Today | The Fast Track

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4 Questions To Ask Your Team Members Today | The Fast Track

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Knowing how to ask the right questions can be the difference between being an okay manager and a great one.
Asking employees the four questions below will get you insight into your team members and their work, help you understand where you can be the most useful, in many cases improve your team's work product, and even increase people's morale.
1. What's worrying you right now?
You might assume that you'll hear about it when an employee is worried about a project or a deadline or a difficult client, but in reality, many employees assume that they're supposed to handle this kind of thing without involving you. Asking this question can open the door to all kinds of information and concerns that you might never hear about otherwise. You might end up learning about a client who's about to be very upset by something, or that another department isn't getting your employee what she needs quickly enough, or that your employee has real concerns about the strategy she's overseeing. Hearing this kind of thing gives you a chance to give input and guidance, intervene where you need to, and help your staff member think through solutions and course-correct when necessary.
2. What's going really well right now?
This question can elicit things that your employee is really excited about (which may be things you don't realize they're highly motivated by), and talking about it can give them a sense of accomplishment and progress. Plus, you might learn details that you didn't know about - things your team is doing that make you proud.

And if you follow up by asking about why they think it's going so well, you and the employee both might be able to draw out valuable lessons that can be used in the future.
3. What should we be doing differently?
Your employees have a different perspective on some things than you, because they're more deeply involved in some areas, less involved in others, and simply have a different vantage point than you do. They likely have thoughts on what could be done differently or better, but people don't always speak up about this kind of thing - because they have their hands full with their core jobs, or they're not sure that a suggestion of change would be welcome, or it just hasn't occurred to them that you'd want their thoughts.

Explicitly asking people to talk with you about what could be done differently reinforces that you welcome their input and that you're open to change - and can result in you making improvements in areas where you didn't even know improvement was needed.
4. What do we need to do to get you to sign on for another year?
Sometimes the reason managers lose their best people is because they never actually asked them to stay. It sounds obvious, but when's the last time you talked to your highest performers about how to retain them? Even if you don't get an immediate commitment, having an explicit discussion and showing that you care enough to talk about it can have a significant impact on how valued people feel and whether they stick around.

Of course, you also need other retention strategies in the mix, including salary, professional growth, new challenges, and so forth - but don't underestimate the power of a direct conversation about someone's future.

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4 Questions To Ask Your Team Members Today

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Knowing how to ask the right questions can be the difference between being an okay manager and a great one. Asking employees the four questions below will get you insight into your team members and their work, help you understand where you can be the most useful, in many cases improve your team's work product, and even increase people's morale.

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How to instantly improve meetings - YouTube

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How to instantly improve meetings - YouTube

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Buy the book (UK): http://goo.gl/9JaJx3 Buy the book (USA): http://goo.gl/0lGtDR Study: Bluedorn, A. C., Turban, D. B. & Love, M. S. (1999). The Effects of Stand-Up and Sit-Down Meeting Formats on Meeting Outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84, 277-285.

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Radical Candor — The Surprising Secret to Being a Good Boss - YouTube

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Radical Candor — The Surprising Secret to Being a Good Boss - YouTube

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Here's a great video about having candor when giving feedback

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Radical Candor — The Surprising Secret to Being a Good Boss | First Round Review

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Uploaded by FreshBooks University on 2015-12-08.

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Best Practices In Starting a Continuous Performance Program | TLNT

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Best Practices In Starting a Continuous Performance Program | TLNT

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Here's resources on how to give timely and frequent feedback during one-on-one

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Ongoing performance check-ins are shaping the future of talent management. Held weekly between managers and their direct reports, these brief meetings - just 10 minutes or less - are used to track weekly goal progress, identify bottlenecks, and exchange feedback with the purpose of improving performance.

While the benefits of ongoing performance check-ins have led companies like GE, Microsoft, and Adobe to adopt the practice, many HR teams are still in the dark about precisely how to approach the process. By finding out how top HR leaders are using check-ins, we can learn from their examples and find ways to implement them in our own organizations. Here's how leading HR teams ace ongoing performance check-ins.

They're Training Managers

For performance check-ins to work, managers must become comfortable with delivering feedback to employees more frequently. Unfortunately, it turns out many are uncomfortable with the process to begin with. A study conducted by Interact confirms more than one-third of managers (37%) are uncomfortable with providing direct feedback, while 69% say they're uncomfortable communicating with employees in general.

There are a few things HR can do to change that. It starts with training managers on giving feedback their employees will actually value. Here's how:

1. Link feedback to clear, measurable goals

To provide their teams with valuable feedback, managers must have something against which they can measure employees' performance. This is where goals come in. The first step in establishing any sort of ongoing performance check-in routine is to ensure all employees have clear, measureable goals to work towards. These goals - whether individual or shared among a team - should be aligned with your business strategy, too.

Consider this: in a Zenger/Folkman poll, 72% of employees surveyed indicated their performance would improve with the right feedback. When HR trains managers to link employee goals with current business priorities and then provide targeted feedback to drive goal performance, the ability to accelerate results increases exponentially.

2. Ask the right questions

Giving managers a list of questions to ask during check-ins can eliminate guesswork and ensure the right information is being exchanged. To get the most out of these brief sessions with their employees, have managers ask: What progress has been made on your goals since we last checked in? Are there any obstacles you're facing, and how can I help?

3. Listen to employees

The Society for Human Resources Management ( SHRM) cites a survey in which 64% of employees saw leaders who failed to seek input from their teams as the biggest workplace problem. In order to feel valued in their roles, employees need to be heard.

The purpose of an ongoing performance check-ins should not be limited to giving feedback. Instead, managers should also invite input from their teams. In addition to gathering responses from the questions listed in the previous point, encourage managers to be more receptive to general input from employees. Check-ins should present a time and place in which direct reports feel welcome to voice their concerns, discuss weekly wins, and perhaps even share some new ideas.

4. Clarify expectations

According to a ComPsych study, 31% of employees consider unclear expectations from supervisors to be the greatest source of stress in the workplace. Without clear expectations to guide them, employees simply can't be expected to achieve the outcomes managers want from them.

While employees should have a clear idea of their quarterly goals, they still need regular input from managers to stay focused on short-term priorities. For this reason, ensure managers are clarifying their expectations for the following week at the end of every check-in.

5. Balance praise & criticism

In addition to touching base on the status of goals and clarifying expectations, managers should also use check-ins to deliver feedback. Given in a timely manner, feedback is much more effective for driving improvement than when given long after the event occurs. This, in fact, is one of the primary reasons ongoing performance check-ins were created.

Yet, learning they'll have to give feedback more often can be stress-inducing for managers. Constructive criticism can be particularly difficult to deliver. Nonetheless, it's absolutely essential to achieving your overall objective, which is to improve employee performance. In fact, the Zenger/Folkman survey cited above found that a whopping majority of employees - 92% - think negative feedback helps to improve their performance, if it's delivered in appropriate manner.

To make the process of delivering constructive feedback simpler and more effective for everyone, encourage managers to use the CORE Feedback model established by Dr. Ross Blankenship:

Understand the context: Note the circumstances under which the behavior occurred. It will help the manager stay focused on performance itself, and not the employee as an individual.

State what was observed: Being as objective as possible, encourage managers to describe the specific behavior they witnessed.

Describe the results: Explain the effects of the employee's actions, including any tolls it might take on others. If it's arriving late to a meeting, for instance, the employee's behavior could have caused an interruption.

Clarify expectations: Wrap up the feedback by explaining what's expected of the employee moving forward.

They're Using Technology

Even with thorough training, busy managers can still benefit from some extra support in carrying out ongoing performance check-ins. Thus, many HR professionals are exploring ongoing feedback tools to give managers the ability to deliver timely feedback via real-time solutions such as pulse apps.

While the weekly check-in is still an essential component of an ongoing performance management framework, feedback apps give managers to address issues with employees as soon as they happen. Josh Bersin calls feedback apps the solution to disengaged employees, stating that today's employees are "more empowered, mobile, and demanding than ever."

By providing a way to access the feedback they're seeking from any device or location and at any time, employers can better accommodate the needs and expectations of today's workforce. It also gives managers a way to document feedback exchanges, which brings us to our next point.

They're Using Collected Insights to Their Advantage

Certainly, giving and receiving feedback can strengthen the manager/employee relationship, which has its own unique benefits. Yet, the real purpose of performance check-ins - which is, of course, to improve performance - is only achieved when that feedback is acted upon.

For starters, this means that employees should be taking the coaching managers deliver and actually using it. When managers provide clear, direct feedback during their check-ins, employee performance should improve as a result. Keeping track of the exchanges shared both during one-on-one meetings and through feedback apps will help managers determine whether an employee is meeting, exceeding, or falling below expectations. These insights can help HR make more informed decisions about compensation and other aspects of the organization's talent management strategy.

However, keep in mind that feedback must be approached as a two-way exchange. It's also therefore essential that managers are keeping notes of the insights they collect from employees during check-ins as well. If an employee is expressing interest in development opportunities, this should be addressed between HR and management when it comes time to consider developmental and/or succession planning.

Ultimately, the information exchanged between managers and employees during ongoing performance check-ins is only beneficial when it's put to use. Otherwise, they're simply conversations. When the conversations are used to align employees with company goals, clarify expectations, and create a two-way dialogue in which employees feel like valuable contributors, that's when performance check-ins are most powerful.

Zorian Rotenberg is founder and CEO of Atiim Software, a SaaS-based provider of corporate goals and performance management tools.

He previously was VP of sales and marketing at InsightSquared and earlier served as CMO of AppAssure Software, Inc. until it was acquired b Dell in 2012.

Rotenberg graduated with high honors from Lehigh University in 1997 with a BS in Finance and with engineering and science minors in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science. He earned his MBA from Harvard Business School.

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Best Practices In Starting a Continuous Performance Program

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Ongoing performance check-ins are shaping the future of talent management. Held weekly between managers and their direct reports, these brief meetings - just 10 minutes or less - are used to track weekly goal progress, identify bottlenecks, and exchange feedback