Personal & Finance

Five smart things new bosses do to instantly become better leaders, backed by considerable

science. By Jeff Haden.

Simple, sure. But also extremely effective. For any leader.

Great companies, and great teams, are built by great leaders. But what if you don't have any leadership training? Or – more crucially, since everything I learned about leadership I learned the hard way – any leadership experience?

While it takes time to gain skill and experience, there are a few things you can start doing right away.

Be present, but not just in the way you think

Being ‘present’, giving people your full attention, is obviously important. But so is simple presence.

A study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology found that physical presence matters.

You don't have to talk a lot. You don't have to interact a lot. You just have to be there.

Strong

As the researchers write, ‘Mere exposure had weak effects on familiarity, but strong effects on attraction and similarity’.

Which is a fancy way of saying the more often we see you, the more we will like and respect you.

Granted, that's hard when you're a new leader. You're unsure. You're uncomfortable. You might be asked questions you can't answer.

You might be asked to handle situations you don't know how to handle. It's tempting to spend less time with the people you lead, not more.

Harder

But shying away actually makes your leadership life harder: Not only do you get fewer chances to gain skill and experience, but you also lose out on the positive effect of just being present.

So if you are nervous about not having the answers, flip it around and ask questions.

If you are unsure you can handle certain situations, ask people for advice. Let people help you lead.

Not only will you become a better leader, you'll also build a better, more engaged team.

Yet at the same time, hold a lot fewer meetings

Ninety percent of employees feel meetings are ‘costly’ and ‘unproductive’, and they're right: Employee productivity increases by over 70 percent when meetings are reduced by 40 percent.

Why? Fewer meetings gives employees more time to get things done.

And makes them smarter; one study found that when employees attend meetings, the average IQ of each individual drops by between 15 and 20 percent.

For one thing, if you feel like a ‘junior’ member of a group, your IQ drops. (As in most situations, confidence matters a lot.)

If you feel your contributions won't be valued, your IQ drops more.

And if other people criticize (overtly or implicitly) your contributions, your IQ drops even more.

Goal

That's why great bosses hold fewer meetings, especially when the goal is to brainstorm or problem-solve.

Idea generation dramatically improves when people first come up with ideas by themselves, or with at most, one or two others.

That typically leads to greater diversity in ideas, better analysis of the pros and cons of those ideas, and much greater odds of a larger group – if you eventually decide to convene a larger group – eventually identifying the best idea.

So be present, but in the real work world. Not the make-believe work world of meetings.

Never serve the dreaded ‘feedback sandwich’

You've probably heard you should deliver constructive feedback by starting

with a positive, sharing the negative, and then closing with another positive.

But you shouldn't, because feedback sandwiches are really tough to swallow.

According to a study published in Management Review Quarterly, a feedback sandwich almost always fails to correct negative or subpar behaviours.

Three out of four recipients feel manipulated. Nine out of ten feel patronized.

And only 7 percent actually change the meat described in the feedback sandwich.

Instead, just be clear. Be direct. And be encouraging. While few employees want to hear how they can improve, good employees appreciate the knowledge.

And they will respect you for being open and candid, especially when you don't patronize them in the process.

Yet at the same time, focus mostly on positives

No matter how it's delivered, though, research shows that after a few days – or even a few hours – people typically forget the negative feedback they receive.

But they remember positive feedback for a long time.

Not just the positive (‘You did a great job improving fulfillment process flow’) but also the facts accompanying the positive (‘And as a result, our shipping costs are down 7 percent and our on-time delivery rate is up 11 percent’).

Want employees to be more patient when dealing with customer complaints? Praise them when they take extra time to make things right.

Help

Want them to spend extra time training struggling employees? Praise them when they step in, unasked, to help a person in need.

In short, focus on positives. Tell people you appreciate their hard work, not just in general but in specific.

Explain why that makes a difference, not just to your business but to you.

They'll remember how good it feels to do something well, and will want to experience that feeling again.

Which also makes it a lot less likely you'll need to share negative feedback.

Most of all, say ‘thank you’. A lot

Studies show that nearly nine out of 10 people wish they heard ‘thank you’ in their daily interactions.

More specifically, other research shows a direct link between gratitude and job satisfaction: The more ‘thank you’ becomes a part of a company's culture, the more likely employees are to enjoy their jobs.

But wait, there's more: Research also shows that grateful leaders motivate their employees to be more productive.

Exchange

In short, pay is an exchange for effort. It's a transaction. You pay people to do their jobs.

But you should also thank the people you work with – as often as possible – for how well they do their jobs.

For being responsive. For being proactive. For being cooperative, helpful, and supportive.

Because every employee is also a person, and every person wants to be thanked more often.

And because we all flourish in environments – whether at work or at home – where expectation does not preclude appreciation.

By Jeff haden, contributing editor, inc.@jeff_haden

‘Be present, But in the real work world. not the make-Believe work world of meetings.’

PERSONAL & FINANCE

The cost of living crisis has been to the fore for a great deal of this year. No matter what our earnings, things just cost us more and our money is worth less in terms of what it can buy. Regular content contributors to CMi, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CPCC) are here with advice, as always.

ABOVE: Grainne Griffin Director of Communications

Tips on how to begin budgeting

When making a budget, says Grainne Griffin, Director of Communications at the CCPC, you firstly want to figure out if you are taking in more money on a monthly basis than you are spending, or is it the other way around?

Goals

Then you want to consider how you can make your money work better for you and in particular to meet your own personal money goals.

You can use a simple list or budgeting tool, such as the one on ccpc.ie, to record all your incoming payments and outgoing payments.

Use a bank statement to help you to get a full picture of where your money goes. Remember to take account of any payments you make annually or quarterly, such as car insurance.

If you are spending more than you are getting, you need to look at if you can increase your income and decrease your spending.

Payment

You may be entitled to a full or partial social welfare payment such as the Working Family Payment, or perhaps you could qualify for a GP card or get a tax refund on medical expenses.

Most consumers take out credit at some point in their lives, for example, for most people it wouldn’t be possible to make big purchases like a family home or a car without taking out a mortgage or a loan.

Many consumers also use credit on a regular basis by taking out a loan for a holiday or Christmas, or using a credit card.

Credit becomes a problem when you can’t afford to make your repayments on your debt or when you need to use credit for your day-to-day expenses.

Report

The CCPC’s Financial Well-being Report found that using credit to cover day-to-day expenses shows a low level of financial well-being and people who do this should consider seeking support with budgeting or debt management.

When looking to cut spending, firstly look at any debt arrangements you have and how much they are costing you.

Credit cards are one of the most expensive ways you can take out credit unless you pay your bill off in full every month.

If you are only making your minimum repayments, then it may be worth taking out a loan to pay off your credit card, or moving to a card with an interest free payment while you pay the balance down.

Switching

It is possible to save money by switching, and mortgages stand out at the area where consumers can save the

PERSONAL & FINANCE

most money.

If you haven’t changed your mortgage provider in the past few years, then it’s really worth looking at.

You can compare providers. Check out the mortgage comparison tool on ccpc.ie. Your existing provider may have a better rate than you can move on to, or you may want to move to a new provider altogether.

While there are additional legal costs when moving to a new provider, these can be far less than what you can save by moving.

Statements

It is worth scrutinising your bank statements to ensure you know what all your reoccurring payments are for and that you still want to pay for those services.

Many people tried new things during the pandemic but if you’re not using that audiobook/meditation/streaming subscription, then cancel it.

While making a budget can be daunting, it can bring real peace of mind when you figure out how to make your bill repayments every month or make a plan to make your debt more manageable.

If you want support to make your budget or to talk through your options for managing your debt, do contact MABS, who provide one-to-one support to work through debt and budgeting problems.

Proactive

If you are in the position where you have more money coming in than going out, consider doing something proactive to improve your level of financial wellbeing.

After tackling debt, the two most important things you can do to improve your financial wellbeing are start a pension and start regularly saving a small amount towards unexpected expenses.

We know that people are optimistic by nature and we underestimate how often we’ll need to deal with an unexpected expense, like a broken washing machine.

Aim to build up your savings account to cover 3 to 6 months of living expenses if you can.

‘If you are In the posItIon where you have more money comIng In than goIng out, consIder doIng somethIng proactIve to Improve your level of fInancIal wellbeIng.’

spotlight on: Dornan

In this special issue of CMi, Dornan Engineering’s managing director – Micheál O Connor looks at the advantages of an holistic approach to construction, through Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) The bigger picture

The complexities involved in delivering a project to meet facility requirements and client expectations depends on a wide range of engineering design, management, and construction expertise.

Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) is a one team approach with Client, Designer and Contractor involvement and cooperation for value creation and innovation in the construction of complex facilities.

Early engagement allows an integrated team to build better, safe systems of working, improve business practices and deliver the Client’s vision and quality build in an orderly and timely manner.

Advocate

Dornan Engineering Ltd is an advocate for ECI as it promotes collaborative working to bring specialist M&E construction knowledge and experience into the design and pre-construction phase of the project resulting in a win-win for all stakeholders, in order that collectively we hit the ground running on the commencement date.

In today’s world, the industry favours value, customisation, flexibility, and rapid response from the supply chain, along with the demand for solutiondriven execution and therefore early stakeholder alliances and contractor inputs have proved successful in reducing time and risk while increasing project understanding to improve design quality and build trust between all the stakeholders.

Through the ECI approach, Dornan have introduced specialised M&E installation expertise into the project lifecycle at the early design stage with very positive delivery outcomes on several high-profile projects.

Selected

Traditionally the client selected the designer, main contractor, and installation contractors through a bidding process with the appointed M&E contractor completing the build in accordance with the original design.

However, the challenge with this model is that it doesn’t always meet the client’s schedule demands.

With substantial capital investments, the decision around that investment can take time; however, once made, the client will want the fastest possible time to facility delivery.

Accordingly, final design decisions made with the insights of specialist contractors and the opportunities for potential savings in schedule and cost down the line is greatly desired by many clients.

Expertise

ECI allows all stakeholders to collaborate and collate their expertise and share insights at the design stage, with the Client maintaining a key role on the project with continued input to realise their vision and ensure a value design process within the GMP.

Collaboration through ECI further strengthens team integration from the outset, incentivising innovation, value engineering and to understand the big picture.

Trust is key and needs all stakeholders to put ‘skin-in-the-game’, this promotes a one team delivery with close collaboration and transparency.

Through this process, Dornan has identified and reduced safety risks along with strategies to maximise off site construction/modular assembly.

While ECI is not without its challenges, no final design is presented at the beginning of a project, and therefore there may be some deviation from the Client’s original vision and if the communication channels between stakeholders are not properly established with clear lines of responsibility the project may become disjointed, compromising schedule and cost.

ABOVE: Dornan Engineering’s managing director, Micheál O Connor

Vital

While it may be a time-consuming process to formalise the required standardised procedures with project execution documentation and establish ECI workshops, continuous engagement is vital ensuring smooth construction collaboration.

Nevertheless, it has been Dornan’s experience that ECI develops long standing relationships with stakeholders and has helped to streamline operations.

In turn this has ensured best practise in aligning systems to allow for continuous improvement in the consistency of delivery and proves particularly effective in large complex projects while injecting greater reliability and consistency into schedule and budget.

Essential

Early constructive and inclusive Communication, by all parties, is essential and Dornan believes the ECI model integrates the Project teams through workshops with positive discussion to achieve project delivery in a safe and timely manner while optimising the Client’s budgets.

If you would like to join the Dornan Team contact recruitment@dornangroup.com