Excelling At Work Flashcards
What is the trust equation?
(credibility x reliability x intimacy) / (self interest - sharing)
What does each element of the trust equation mean?
Credibility = I know something about this
Reliability = I do what I say
Intimacy = you know me
Low self interest = I’m not affected by personal gain or fear
Sharing = I share what I think do and feel and am open for feedback
Explain the parent, adult, child model in relationships
You want to aim for adult - adult relationships all the time.
When someone is being a parent, you will naturally slip to child mode (be defensive, conform to majority etc.)
When someone is being a child you may need to be in parent mode for a bit (help them take action) but then get them back adult
The adult questions and informs.
So, to get back to adult from parent or child, ask intelligent open ended questions:
- how do you think we can solve this?
- what solutions can you think of?
- (if in child): this is what I propose
Before explaining anything, what must you ask them?
You must ask ‘what do you already know?’
It allows you to frame the answer and pitch your response at the right level
If someone asks a difficult question, what’s a good qualifier you can ask back?
E.g., someone asks ‘how are you going to get this project done in 12 weeks?’
You can reply; ‘it sounds as if you don’t think we’re going to get the project done on time. Why is that?’
On small talk, if someone asks about your weekend (for example), how should you reply?
Create intimacy and go into detail on something to do with your set of values
E.g., I spent a lot of time with family which was great, family is so important to me. Did you do anything nice this weekend?
Don’t ask how their weekend was, ask if they did anything nice.
What are some good alternatives to ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘im wrong’?
‘Point taken’ Or ‘I hear you’
What’s a powerful mindset shift from ‘how can I look good’ in meetings?
‘How can I help the people in this room?’
What is the johari window? And what’s the aim?
Four quadrants
The arena (what is known to you and known to others)
The blind spot (not known to you but known to others)
The mask (known to you but hidden from others)
Unknown potential (not known by you or others)
The aim is to make the arena bigger by taking feedback on your blind spots and being more intimate
When delegating, what do you need to really think about / make clear?
You must make boundary conditions clear.
Write down exactly:
- what needs to be done
- why it needs to be done
- when it needs to be done
- how best it needs to be done
- who is responsible for the delivery
How can you tell if a task should be delegated or not?
Use the tree framework for severity of task:
Leaf = doesn’t matter so much, delegate
Branch = matters more, but still delegate
Trunk = matters more still, consider strongly whether to delegate
Root = can’t lose these, don’t delegate
How much constructive feedback should you give per meeting? And what one thing should you tell them?
Only ever one piece of feedback and think about what they would need to do for you to think they are really good
If someone isn’t impressing you, and you need to tailor feedback, what quadrant can you place them on?
Will / Skill quadrant.
Will on Y axis, Skill on X axis.
If someone criticises something you show, how can you respond?
Really lean into this and speak to it:
‘Oh that’s interesting. What might you have expected to see here?’
How to mitigate adrenaline before a big meeting?
Take really big slow deep breaths. Adrenaline is generally not a good thing.
If someone comes to you with an issue / problem they are having, how should you respond?
Don’t steal the spotlight and make it about you
Don’t problem solve
Give contextual empathy: ‘that sounds really difficult. It must’ve been especially hard given X context. I’m sorry to hear that’
What’s a good introduction to a meeting?
Purpose: ‘the reason for this meeting is…’
Payoff: ‘this is an interesting meeting for you because…’
Process: ‘the agenda for the meeting is…’
Preview: ‘we will be showing you XYZ important points / insights’
How to keep interest during a meeting when you’re talking?
- Keep the speed. As short sentences as possible
- Involve the audience.
- Practical relevance. Make sure what you’re showing is specific to the audience you’re speaking to (in Sales, specific to the specific pains you have uncovered)
What to do when a meeting goes off track / people aren’t paying attention / too much talking / scattered focus?
Simply say what’s going on: ‘you’ve all gone very quiet’, ‘everyone is focussed on the temperature in here’
If someone asks a difficult question that isn’t directly relevant to the topic at hand, what can you do?
Put down a marker for later
‘I want to make sure we discuss MAIN THEME today - shall we do DIFFERENT THEM now or at the end?’
How can you prepare your body before a big meeting / talk / presentation to be primed + ready to be good?
Warm up your hands, feel the connection/tingling and become present in your body.
Open up your chest by drawing big O’s with your arms. Deep breath on up, Deep breath out on down.
Warm up your knees.
Make sure you are synced up with your body.
ALWAYS plant your feet firm and hip length apart. Power pose. Whether standing or sitting.
What do people judge you off for first impressions?
70% non verbal (body language)
25% vocal quality (tone of voice)
5% words used
You have a natural ‘leader’ personality. What does that mean for your energy + actions?
Be the first person to move/act as you will lose energy by watching other people and sitting on the sideline.
Make extra effort to listen to others and make them feel important.
What should you do before presenting in terms of delivery?
Propose to be in a place and environment that you thrive in. You prefer to stand up, to be active to lead. So ask if this is okay or create the environment where this is ok
How do you ensure that you are productive every day and avoid procrastination?
No email or text or phone for the first hour.
Write down the 3 to 5 things that are causing you the most anxiety and are the most difficult and therefore most important things to do.
Set aside two hours of your day to complete one of these tasksknowing that completing one of them will make you feel satisfied at the end of the day.
No distractions in the two hours and only focus on the single task.
