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How to create an informal work culture in 5 steps

Informal Work Culture

In the previous decade, we’ve seen a significant change in corporate culture. The days of the stiff, formal office are slowly fading away. In their place, we’re seeing a rise in the informal work culture. Many companies are now adopting an informal work culture, and there are plenty of benefits to doing so.

What is informal work culture? It’s basically a term used to describe a work environment where employees are allowed to be themselves. There are no strict rules or regulations, and people are free to communicate and collaborate however they please.

Consider how wonderful it would be if you could choose your own work hours, wear what you want, and socialize with your coworkers every day?

It’s conceivable to create a casual office culture without violently overthrowing the current structure. And it’s perfect because most folks would choose a workplace with a more informal atmosphere over one that is more corporate.

In this post, we’ll look at some of the advantages of casual company culture and how to adapt your management approach to match.

Benefits of Informal Work Culture

7 Benefits of Informal Work Culture

Creating a welcoming culture is critical for organizations that want to hire top talent. Just ask Google. They have turned their work culture into a major selling point to prospective employees.

Imagine playing ping pong, sleeping in a hammock, or having free food available all day long. Wouldn’t you rather work at Google than someplace where you had to wear a suit and sit in a cubicle?

In contrast, companies with a formal and stuffy work culture can struggle to attract and keep the best talent even if salaries are generous.

The fact is that organizations with cultures that are perceived as more welcoming have higher employee happiness, loyalty, and engagement.

Below are seven benefits of having a more informal work culture:

1. Increased productivity

When your staff feels at home in their workplace, it’ll have a beneficial impact on productivity. Your employees can concentrate on the task at hand far more easily. As a result, you will be able to fulfill your objectives ahead of schedule.

They won’t feel the need to waste time “fitting in” or playing politics. Instead, they’ll be focused on their work. For example, they can take short breaks to socialize or take care of personal business as needed.

Besides, who really wants to spend their nine-to-five in a lifeless office?

2. Greater job satisfaction

Retention is key in any industry, and one of the best ways to retain staff is by providing a job with which they can be satisfied.

Employees who are happy at work are less likely to leave their position. And employees who feel comfortable in their workplace are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs. They will take greater pride in their work and be less likely to leave their positions.

Being a part of the corporate culture will teach you many things, but your job satisfaction level won’t be the same as if you work for a company that gives its employees freedom.

Happier employees

3. Happier employees

In addition to job satisfaction, employees who feel comfortable in their environment are generally happier. They feel like they are a part of something, and this sense of belonging is essential for employee satisfaction.

Employees who enjoy their work are more productive and less likely to leave their jobs. Furthermore, companies with happy employees tend to have lower staff turnover rates.

4. More opportunities for creativity

Informal offices offer more opportunities for creativity. Staff can be more expressive with their clothing and interactions without the fear of being reprimanded.

This type of environment allows for new ideas to flow freely, and employees are encouraged to think outside the box. As a result, your company will be able to come up with creative solutions to problems.

Typically, individuals prefer working in a place where they can freely express themselves rather than being subjected to someone else all the time. You’ll have considerably less tension, which will help you avoid job-related stress and boost your level of enjoyment at work.

5. Innovation explosion

A more relaxed environment also allows for more creativity and innovation. When people feel comfortable and aren’t under pressure, they’re more likely to come up with new ideas.

Innovation is key for any business, and a more relaxed work culture allows for more of it. This can lead to an innovation explosion in your company as people feel free to share their ideas and implement them.

Accountability

6. Accountability

In a formal office, people are often afraid to speak up in case they say something wrong. This can lead to a lack of accountability as people don’t want to be held responsible for their actions.

In an informal office, people are more likely to speak up because they feel comfortable with their surroundings. This results in better communication and fewer misunderstandings.

Plus because the environment is more lighthearted, people are more likely to own up to their mistakes rather than hide them.

Not to mention that confronting is a lot easier because the stakes are a lot lower. Micro-confrontations are more likely to occur and be successful vs. larger confrontations sparked by a buildup over time, which are less likely to be effective.

7. Increased loyalty

Employees who feel comfortable in their office are more likely to be loyal to the company. They will be less likely to look for other jobs and will be more productive.

Informal offices foster a sense of community, which leads to increased loyalty among employees. They feel like they are a part of something, and this sense of belonging is essential for employee satisfaction.

Challenges to the Informal Work Environment

4 Challenges to the Informal Work Environment

While an informal office has its benefits, it’s important to be aware of the challenges that come along with it.

CHALLENGE 1:

In an informal workplace, there can be a lack of structure and organization.

While most people thrive in a relaxed environment, some need more structure in their lives. Without set rules and guidelines, some employees may feel lost and unsure of what is expected of them.

This can lead to employees feeling lost and unproductive.

CHALLENGE 2:

Informality can lead to chaos and confusion.

In an informal office, people are less likely to follow protocol. This can lead to chaos and confusion as people are doing things their own way.

This can be problematic as it can lead to a lack of communication and misunderstandings.

CHALLENGE 3:

In an informal office, people can be less professional.

Informality allows for a more relaxed environment, but this can also lead to people being less professional. Employees may feel like they can act less professionally because there are no formal rules or expectations in place.

This may be a problem since it can lead to a lack of respect for authority and the firm. Plus, clients might find it unappealing.

CHALLENGE 4:

In an informal office, communication can break down.

In an informal office, communication can break down as people are less likely to follow protocol. This can lead to a lack of communication and misunderstandings.

In addition, people may feel like they can’t speak up because there are no formal rules or expectations in place. As a result, important information may not be passed on to the right people.

Steps to Create an Informal Work Culture

How to Create an Informal Work Culture in 5 Steps

Creating an informal work culture doesn’t have to be complicated. There are three easy steps that you can follow.

STEP 1. Foster a sense of community.

One of the best ways to create an informal work culture is to foster a sense of community. This can be done by organizing social events, such as team lunches or happy hours.

It can also be done by encouraging employees to chat with each other informally. This will help employees feel like they are a part of something and they will be more loyal to the company.

Communication is key in an informal office, so make sure that you are encouraging employees to chat with each other.

STEP 2. Set rules and guidelines.

As a rule of thumb, try to keep the rules and guidelines to a minimum. You don’t want to overwhelm employees with too much structure.

However, it’s also important to have some structure and guidelines in place. This will help employees feel like they know what is expected of them. And managing expectations is key to a successful informal office.

It is also a good idea to emphasize regulations that are ambiguous or subject to change. So, if there are times when a more formal appearance is required due to unforeseen circumstances like client-facing, make sure you convey it and enforce it.

STEP 3. Encourage flexibility.

Another way to create an informal work culture is to encourage flexibility. This can be done by allowing employees to dress casually, take breaks, and work from home occasionally.

This will give employees a sense of freedom and they will be less likely to feel bogged down by rules and regulations.

STEP 4. Promote creativity and innovation.

To create an informal work culture, you need to promote creativity and innovation. This can be done by giving employees the freedom to come up with their own ideas, taking risks, and being open to change.

This will allow employees to be more creative and they will be more likely to come up with new and innovative ideas.

STEP 5. Prioritize employee ownership.

For an informal work culture to thrive, it’s important to prioritize employee ownership. This means that employees need to be given a sense of ownership and autonomy over their work.

This can be done by giving employees the freedom to come up with their own ideas, taking risks, and being open to change.

By doing this, employees will feel more invested in the company and they will be more likely to work hard to achieve success.

CONCLUSION:

At the end of the day, it all comes down to two factors: productivity and money. And while a formal office culture is more well-known, informal workplace behavior may be more productive and lucrative.

Because an informality-driven company culture promotes creative production and problem-solving, it provides the foundation for innovative ideas.
So, if you’re looking to create a more successful business, it’s time to consider creating an informal work culture.

There are several ways to create an informal work culture, such as fostering a sense of community, setting rules and guidelines, encouraging flexibility, promoting creativity and innovation, and prioritizing employee ownership.

So, if you’re looking to create a more relaxed and productive work environment, consider implementing some of these tips.

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How to Prevent Employee Burnout: Symptoms, Causes, & Cures

Preventing employee burnout
@teamly
For additional information on this topic, feel free to check out this Youtube video from our channel.

Now, onto the main content...

The Great Resignation was a wake-up call for many companies, as businesses experienced the consequences of 33 million Americans quitting their jobs en masse, starting in early 2021. Business leaders worried whether burnout was the culprit, and if so, what could be done to prevent employee burnout?

As it turns out, leadership was right to be worried. While analysts have floated many different theories behind the causes of the Big Quit, recent research indicates that employee burnout played a sizable role.

For instance, in a study of 1,000 full-time workers who started a new job in 2021, 40% of respondents said the main reason they left their previous job was due to burnout. Findings like these have made corporate America sit up and take notice, as companies increasingly try to identify strategies for employee burnout prevention.

In this article, we’ll help with that aim by explaining why preventing employee burnout is important, what the most common causes of employee burnout are, and how to identify and prevent employee burnout.

To kick things off, let’s first take a look at how employee burnout is defined.

What Is Employee Burnout

What Is Employee Burnout?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO):

Burnout is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions:

  • Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;
  • Increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and
  • Reduced professional efficacy.

Burnout refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.

Why Preventing Employee Burnout Is Important

Why Preventing Employee Burnout Is Important

Employee burnout prevention is important because it offers companies the following benefits:

  • Turnover Reduction

    Turnover is costly. Not only does it take time and effort to recruit qualified talent, but you also have to train those new employees–which can be expensive and time-consuming.

    Worse, those new hires haven’t spent enough time on the job yet learning your organization’s procedures, values, and “how things get done” … as a result, there’s a knowledge gap that can worsen your company’s overall performance.

    That’s why trying to keep employee turnover low is a no-brainer. All things being equal, companies with experienced workers enjoy greater operational efficiency than those with high turnover rates.

  • Greater Productivity

    Burnt out employees are less engaged and subsequently, care a whole lot less about helping employers meet their objectives. As you can imagine, this lack of commitment translates into weak motivation and subpar performance.

    By contrast, engaged employees approach work with drive and purpose. As a result of their enthusiasm, they have better work attendance and higher rates of productivity.

  • Higher Profits

    As you might imagine, lower turnover and higher productivity translate into bigger profits … which is why organizations with highly engaged employees enjoy 26% higher revenue per employee. They also earn 13% higher returns for shareholders.

    Of course, the converse also holds true. When employees are burned out and disengaged, they cause profitability to suffer. For instance, research shows that organizations with the least engaged employees have slower revenue growth than average.

    However, the problem is even more serious than that. For instance, Gallup found that an actively disengaged employee costs an employer $3,400 for every $10,000 of salary … meaning that someone earning $50,000 annually actually costs their employee $17,000 per year.

    Worse, that’s just one disengaged employee … it’s estimated that 17.6% of employees fall into the actively disengaged category, making these figures even more sobering.

How to Identify Employee Burnout

How to Identify Employee Burnout

Dealing with employee burnout is a challenge for any manager. However, it’s even more difficult to manage if you’re not sure whether your reports are actually experiencing it. That’s why in this section, we’ll identify some common symptoms of job burnout, such as:

  • Criticism or cynicism
  • Impatience
  • Irritability
  • Lack of focus
  • Low energy
  • Increased absenteeism
  • Change in work quality
  • Missed deadlines
  • Mental and physical exhaustion
  • Isolation
  • Greater sensitivity to feedback
  • Hopelessness

If your employees exhibit any of these signs, they may be experiencing burnout. Fortunately, burnout can be manageable, which is why later on in this article, we’ll identify some solutions for preventing employee burnout.

However, before we do, let’s first take a look at the most common causes of employee burnout …

Employee Burnout Causes

7 Employee Burnout Causes

The 7 main causes of employee burnout are as follows:

Employee Burnout Cause #1: Unmanageable Workload

An unmanageable workload is characterized by long hours, high anxiety, and little work-life balance. Not only do these stressors take a toll on employees’ well-being, but because they’re working long hours, employees have little time to recharge their batteries–which further exacerbates their anxiety.

Worse, because they have little work-life balance, their other priorities are forced to take a back seat to work. As a result, their healthy habits can go out the window, as they’re forced to skip workouts, grab takeout for dinner, miss social events, and get by on less sleep to keep up with work demands.

While employees can see the light at the end of the tunnel and deal with unmanageable workloads for short spurts, they can only tolerate this condition for so long.

Given enough time, they end up feeling frustrated, fatigued, and resentful toward their employer for not fixing the situation … leading to a classic case of employee burnout.

Employee Burnout Cause #2: Lack of Control

Another common cause of burnout is a perceived lack of control. A lot of factors can contribute to this feeling, such as the inability for employees to set their own schedule, take breaks when they want, or work from home during the pandemic.

Employees in this position feel like they have little say in the decisions that affect their professional life and may even feel micromanaged or burdened by multiple competing priorities.

Because these employees have no say in their responsibilities, they lack the autonomy that workers place such a premium on–creating the perfect recipe for resentment, frustration, and yep, employee burnout.

Employee Burnout Cause #3: Impossible Deadlines

Some deadlines are humanly impossible to meet, either due to a lack of time or not enough people to work on the task. Yet in some workplaces, when employees try to explain that they haven’t been given enough time to do the job, their complaints are met with deaf ears and a “find a way to get it done” mindset.

As you can imagine, this can create a feeling of hopelessness that’s usually met with one of two responses–either employees will phone it in because they know they can’t be successful, or they’ll work incredibly hard trying to accomplish the impossible.

However, regardless of their approach, unrealistic deadlines can trigger employee burnout–especially if they’re a regular occurrence.

Employee Burnout Cause #4: Unfair Treatment

Truth is, some people are more likable than others. Generally, they’re the ones who smile often, agreeably take on difficult work assignments, and have a positive outlook–rather than a tendency to complain. Everyone enjoys working with people like these.

The problem arises when managers treat them differently, creating an unfair situation–for instance, by allowing favorite employees certain privileges that others don’t get or unfairly distributing raises.

As you can imagine, this perceived favoritism makes employees resentful. However, it’s not the only reason employees might feel like they’re being unfairly treated. Other situations that can create a breach of trust include mistreatment by a coworker and unjust policies.

Regardless of the reason that workers feel like they’re being unfairly treated, the result is the same: employee burnout.

Unclear Communication from Managers

Employee Burnout Cause #5: Unclear Communication from Managers

Another big cause of employee burnout is unclear communication from managers. This can come in many different forms.

For instance, perhaps managers don’t clearly explain to employees what’s expected of them, change priorities without keeping workers in the loop, or leave team members to “figure it out” but don’t offer any guidelines on what a reasonable solution might look like.

In situations like these, employees feel like they lack the information they need to do their job correctly. Subsequently, they feel confused and frustrated, because they’re never quite sure what’s expected of them. And after enough communication misfires, they may conclude there’s no way to win–so they quit trying.

Employee Burnout Cause #6: Lack of Support from Managers

There are a number of different ways managers can fail to give their employees the support they need. For instance, managers might not give employees adequate resources to do their job efficiently, or they may refuse to go to bat for employees who’ve been mistreated.

Whatever the reason, the result is the same: employees feel like they can’t turn to their managers for help when they need it.

Unfortunately, this perceived neglect can leave employees feeling irritable, cynical, and isolated. Because they don’t believe management is there for them in any meaningful way, they start to feel burned out, experiencing apathy toward their job and employer.

Employee Burnout Cause #7: Negative Work Culture

Micromanagement, hypercompetition, blame, finger-pointing, office politics, even yelling … these are the workplaces where happiness goes to die.

Characterized by never-ending drama and frequent turnover, these miserable work environments have employees feeling like they can’t leave fast enough.

However, until they land that next job, you can bet they’ll drag themselves to work feeling exhausted, angry, and stressed out … making them prime candidates for employee burnout.

Cures for Employee Burnout

7 Cures for Employee Burnout

Most often, employee burnout is a symptom of a management problem, which is why there are no easy fixes. However, your first step to preventing and managing employee burnout is to understand what’s causing it.

If it became crystal-clear to you what the likely issue is after reading the causes of employee burnout in this article, great. However, if not, it’s a good idea to query employees via an anonymous survey to assess what the company is doing well … and where it could stand to improve.

A survey will help you determine which of the following employee burnout strategies you should implement:

Employee Burnout Cure #1: Offer an Employee Assistance Program

Mental health challenges in the workplace are on the rise–so much so that according to a 2021 survey, 76% of employees reported having at least one symptom of a mental health condition, such as burnout, anxiety, or depression.

Worse, these mental health problems were frequently related to work! For instance, when asked to identify significant stressors, many respondents cited emotionally draining work, work-life balance challenges, and lack of recognition.

Fortunately, an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) can go a long way toward addressing problems like these. An EAP is a voluntary, work-based intervention program that helps employees deal with issues that can have a negative impact on their work, such as substance abuse, domestic violence, financial crises, childcare issues, and other personal problems that can exacerbate feelings of burnout.

Typically EAPs assist employees by offering confidential assessments, short-term counseling, referrals, and follow-up services. These services can be delivered in a wide variety of ways, such as in-person, over the phone, via video meetings and online chat, or through email interactions.

Even better, EAPs have strong research behind them. For instance, one study of 56 different EAP vendors showed that 86% of EAP users experienced clinical improvements from the help they received.

The same study also found that after using an EAP, employees’ productivity increased 86%, and their absenteeism fell by 64%. Furthermore, a whopping 94% of the surveyed individuals reported satisfaction with the service.

Just remember that if you do decide to use an EAP, you’ll want to make sure that it’s well-publicized and that everyone understands its offerings, so your employees can derive maximum benefits.

Employee Burnout Cure #2: Implement Manager Training

Many of the causes of employee burnout are specifically related to managers, such as unfair treatment, poor communication, and a lack of support.

To combat this, it’s important to take the problem of bad management seriously, rather than promoting the philosophy that it doesn’t matter how managers achieve their goals–as long as they do so.

In actuality, it’s very important how managers get things done because their behavior affects team members’ work quality, productivity, emotional wellbeing, and yep, employee burnout.

Furthermore, as important as good management is, few managers have been trained in how to manage people. As a result, they don’t always know how to effectively communicate, empower, and motivate their team.

That’s why it makes good sense for companies to invest in management skills training. Management skills training teaches managers crucial skills, such as how to delegate work, develop emotional intelligence, actively listen, and motivate team members. These skills can ultimately go a long way toward preventing the high costs of employee burnout.

Employee Burnout Cure #3: Change a Toxic Work Culture

Admittedly, overhauling a toxic corporate culture is no easy feat. However, it’s well worth the effort, since research shows that companies with toxic cultures are 10.4X more likely to contribute to an employee quitting.

To overhaul a toxic work culture, leadership first needs to assess what the problem is and evaluate which changes need to be made. Then, the executive team should create an action plan detailing the steps they intend to take to improve the culture.

Perhaps most importantly, individuals need to be held accountable for making the changes that they’ve committed to. It’s not enough to merely say, “Things will improve once we do X, Y, and Z,” then fail to take action … management needs to walk the talk.

By the way, for more information about how you can improve a toxic corporate culture, check out our blog post, “When You Know Something’s Off: How to Spot and Fix a Toxic Culture.” The article provides some helpful, telltale signs you can use to determine whether your corporate culture could benefit from an overhaul.

Offer a Mental Wellness Program

Employee Burnout Cure #4: Offer a Mental Wellness Program

Employee burnout is characterized by high anxiety. Fortunately, companies can go a long way toward helping to alleviate employees’ stress by offering mental wellness programs.

For instance, companies might provide meditation classes, yoga classes, an on-site fitness center, gym reimbursement, stress reduction programs, or even a wellness app.

Although mental wellness programs do require a financial outlay, some of the items on this list are surprisingly simple to implement and well-worth the expense to combat the even higher costs of employee burnout.

Employee Burnout Cure #5: Assign Reasonable Workloads & Deadlines

If employees are feeling overworked, the ideal solution is to hire additional team members to lighten their workloads, however that may not always be possible–in which case, leadership needs to identify other creative solutions for giving employees more manageable workloads.

For instance, managers might develop more realistic expectations and prioritize work differently. Alternatively, they could look for ways to increase their teams’ efficiency, perhaps by developing better work processes.

Leadership might also ask employees directly what ideas they have for reducing their workloads–as the ones actually doing the work, they probably have additional insight into the issue that managers don’t have.

Employee Burnout Cure #6: Encourage Self-Care

Some companies view self-care as only for the weak. These are the organizations where you might hear things like, “You’re leaving at 5:00 again, slacker?!” and “It doesn’t matter if you’re sick, you still need to come in.”

With a corporate culture like this one, employees are expected to bend over backward to help a company reach its goals–at the expense of their own wellbeing. And as you can imagine, this type of environment contributes to employee burnout.

Instead of fueling burnout by encouraging employees to neglect their needs, a better tactic is to take the opposite approach by emphasizing the importance of self-care.

For instance, you might enact an organization-wide policy that employees can’t respond to emails on evenings and weekends. Alternatively, you might make a new rule that employees have to use all of their vacation time during the year.

Just keep in mind that once you establish these new policies, you don’t want to pay lip service to them. Instead, make sure your employees know that not only are these new rules non-negotiable, but that team members also won’t be judged for taking advantage of them. This makes it clear that you value your employees’ well-being, every bit as much as profits.

Give Employees Greater Autonomy

Employee Burnout Cure #7: Give Employees Greater Autonomy

If your employees have a perceived lack of control, you’ll want to take steps to give them more autonomy. According to The Mandarin, some easy ways you can do that are by:

Giving workers more input on how they do their job, the speed at which they do it, and how they solve problems.

Making sure employees have the skills they need to successfully do their job, and if any skill gaps exist, providing development opportunities.

Using performance reviews as an opportunity to give employees more input into how they do their jobs, rather than focusing only on subpar performance.

Providing job rotation opportunities, so employees can expand their skills while enjoying greater variety at work.

In Conclusion

There are a number of employee burnout causes. Fortunately, if employee burnout is a problem in your workplace, there are steps you can take to improve morale. To get you started in the right direction, we suggest you read our article, “7 Secrets to Keeping Employees Happy.”

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The Top 15 Myths in Project Management

project management myths

Let’s debunk some common project management myths so you can go into your next project with confidence, a good attitude, and prepared to succeed.

Project management is one of the most important aspects of any business. It’s responsible for ensuring that all aspects of a project are completed on time and within budget.

However, despite its importance, there are several myths floating around about project management. In this article, we will dispel some of these myths and give you a better understanding of what project management is all about.

Change is always bad

Myth 1: Change is always bad

While change can be risky, it’s not always bad. Change can often be beneficial, especially when it comes to project management.

Projects are constantly evolving, and teams need to be able to adapt to changes to ensure the success of the project.

Of course, not all change is good. Sometimes changes are made that don’t make sense or that are counterproductive. But this doesn’t mean that all change is bad.

People often fear change because they don’t know what changes will entail or how they will impact them.

However, change is a necessary part of life and it’s also necessary for projects to succeed. For a project to be successful, it needs to adapt and change as new information becomes available.

The key is to be able to identify when a change is beneficial and when it’s not. If a change is going to improve the project or make it easier for the team, then it’s worth considering. But if a change is going to make the project more difficult or is unnecessary, then it’s probably not worth making.

Project management is only for big projects

Myth 2: Project management is only for big projects

This is one of the most common myths about project management. People often think that project management is only applicable to large-scale projects, such as building a new factory or developing a new product. However, this simply isn’t true. Project management applies to any size project, from small to large.

It’s important to have a project management plan in place no matter how big or small the project is, to ensure that all aspects of the project are completed on time and within budget.

Myth 3: Project management is only for technical projects

This is another common myth about project management. People often think that project management is only applicable to technical projects, such as developing a new software program or building a new website. However, this isn’t true either.

Project management can be applied to any type of project, whether it’s technical or not. Project management is often used in non-technical projects, such as planning a wedding or organizing a corporate event.

It’s important to remember that project management is about more than just coordinating technical tasks. It’s also about ensuring that all project goals are met and that everyone involved in the project is working together towards a common goal.

Myth 4: Customers are always right

You’ve probably heard the adage “the customer is always right.” While it’s important to listen to your customers and consider their needs, they aren’t always right.

In some cases, customers may not have a clear understanding of what they want or need. In other cases, they may be asking for something that is simply not possible.

They frequently miss things or have no idea how things work. They may have strong opinions on features they want, but many of the things they desire provide no clear business advantages. Worse, customers may be oblivious to or ignorant of features that genuinely are beneficial.

Customers should always be heard, but teams should not accept every word and request as unquestionable truth.

Customers can also be mistaken in their beliefs about products, processes, and markets. The objective is to be proactive in dealing with clients by managing their expectations, conducting the appropriate study, and providing useful information throughout the lifespan of a project.

Constant meetings are unproductive

Myth 5: Constant meetings are unproductive

This is another common myth about project management. People often think that having too many meetings is a waste of time and that it’s better to just get things done.

While it’s true that you don’t want to have endless meetings that accomplish nothing, it’s also important to have regular check-ins with your team to ensure that everyone is on track and knows what they need to do.

Meetings are also a great way to get feedback from your team and ensure that everyone is happy with the direction the project is going.

Myth 6: Constant meetings are necessary to ensure project success

While it’s important to have regular check-ins with your team, you don’t need to overdo it. Having too many meetings can be counterproductive and lead to frustration and resentment from your team.

It’s critical to strike a balance between holding enough meetings and having too many of them. The objective is for there to be just enough meetings to ensure that everyone is on track and the project is progressing as planned, but not so many that individuals are constantly asking, “what’s the purpose.”

Myth 7: You need a lot of experience to be a successful project manager

While experience is certainly beneficial, it’s not necessary to be a successful project manager.

There are many different ways to learn the skills necessary to be a successful project manager. You can find books, articles, and online courses that will teach you everything you need to know.

You can also attend seminars and workshops or take classes at a local college or university.

Many different project management tools can help you become familiar with the tools and techniques used in project management.

The bottom line is that you don’t need a lot of experience to be a successful project manager. You can learn what you need to know by leaning into training materials and using the essential tools.

The project manager is the boss

Myth 8: The project manager is the boss

The project manager is not automatically the boss. The project manager is responsible for ensuring that the project is completed on time, within budget, and to the specifications set out by the client.

However, the project manager does not have the authority to give orders to team members.

This responsibility falls to the team leader or the manager of the team member in question.

The project manager should always work collaboratively with team members and should never issue orders. The goal is for everyone on the team to be working together towards the same goal.

You can use only one project management technique

Myth 9: You can use only one project management technique

There is no one right way to manage a project. Every project is different, and every team is different.

Some managers use Agile techniques, while others use waterfall methods. The important thing is to find the project management technique that works best for your team and your project.

Adopting a single approach for your organization might be shortchanging your members by restricting their options and preventing them from experiencing the benefits of abandoned techniques.

Finding the ideal approach is a complicated process that is dependent on a variety of factors including industry, project style and difficulty, time requirements, and comprehensiveness.

There are no rules that state you can’t borrow ideas from various approaches and combine them to produce something that works for your project needs, team makeup, and method.

Don’t be afraid to try different techniques until you find one that works for you.

Myth 10: Be sure to avoid conflict

Conflict is not always a bad thing. Conflict can be beneficial to a project.

If team members are not allowed to express their opinions or ideas, then the project will be at a disadvantage. It’s important for team members to feel like they can speak up and voice their opinion. Otherwise, they will be less likely to offer new and innovative ideas.

Of course, there needs to be a balance. Too much conflict can be detrimental to a project. But a little bit of conflict can be helpful.

It’s important to encourage team members to share their opinions and ideas. But it’s also important to encourage them to work together towards a common goal.

Myth 11: Changes in scope suggest that a project is on the verge of failure

Projects can and often change scope. This is not necessarily a sign that the project is on the verge of failure.

Changes in scope can be a normal part of the project management process. They can occur for a variety of reasons, including changes in client requirements, changes in the market, or changes in technology.

Most recently, because of the pandemic, virtually all businesses have gone through numerous and frequent scope modifications. These adjustments were unavoidable, but they didn’t always spell disaster. They disrupted organizations, but they also helped them take a step back and reconsider initiatives and current projects.

It’s your job as the project manager to manage these changes and ensure that they do not hurt the project.

Project Budget and Timeline

Myth 12: If a project is both on time and within budget, it will be a success

A project can be on time and within budget, but that does not mean it will be a success.

Other factors contribute to the success of a project, including the quality of the deliverables, the satisfaction of the client, and the overall impact of the project.

A project can be completed on time and within budget and still be considered a failure.

Projects can also be completed over budget and past the original deadline, but still, be considered successful.

It’s crucial to remember that while budgets and schedules are critical, they may not always be the project’s most essential litmus test. The stakeholders’ demands can change throughout a project, and they decide whether it was a success or failure.

Myth 13: A previous project template is a good predictor of future success.

Just because a project was successful in the past, does not mean it will be successful in the future.

The template for a previous project may not be suitable for a new project. The needs of a new project may be different than the needs of the previous project.

A different team, different client, or different set of circumstances may require a different approach.

Don’t rely on the success of a previous project to predict the success of a new project. Instead, take the time to assess the needs of the new project and create a plan that will meet those needs.

The project manager is responsible for the success or failure of the project

Myth 14: The project manager is responsible for the success or failure of the project

The project manager is not solely responsible for the success or failure of the project.

Many factors contribute to the success or failure of a project, and the project manager is just one of them.

Other factors include the quality of the team, the client’s expectations, and the overall scope of the project.

The project manager is responsible for the success of the project, but he or she cannot do it alone. He or she needs the help of the team, the client, and other stakeholders.

Myth 15: Project management software is the key to success

Project management software is not the key to success.

While project management software can be helpful, it’s not the only factor that contributes to a successful project.

Other factors include the quality of the team, the client’s expectations, and the overall scope of the project.

With that said, project management software can be a valuable tool, and it’s important to select the right software for your project. We always suggest Teamly. It’s a great tool that can help you manage your projects and team.

Conclusion

Project management is a hot topic, and the field is rapidly expanding. Because the field has momentum right now, demand for project management offices and tools is increasing.

Although the field is not known for its high pay, it does offer a solid financial base, as well as excellent job prospects. The average yearly salary is about $80,000, making project management an increasingly attractive option.
Also, project management tools are getting increasingly powerful, accessible, and inexpensive.

As the industry continues to develop, professionals attempting to succeed as project managers will need to wade through an increasing number of misconceptions and real-world facts.

The goal is to maintain an open mentality while avoiding misconceptions such as those mentioned above.

Our best advice is to find out what works for you and keep refining your process!

Looking to learn more about project management? Click on this link to access our library of blogs.

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How to Eliminate Awkwardness in Remote Performance Reviews

Remote Performance Reviews

You’ve undoubtedly been through it before, the agony of anticipating a performance evaluation. The buildup alone is enough to drive anyone insane.

Then there’s the actual review itself. You sit down with your employer, preparing your mind for all potential criticisms. You try to keep an open mind, but it’s hard not to feel defensive.

And if you’re like most people, you walk away from the meeting feeling criticized, insecure, and unsure of your future with the company.

Performance reviews can make you bite your nails and break a sweat, no matter if you’re giving feedback to a direct report, getting constructive criticism from a boss, or delivering peer-to-peer evaluations.

It’s not pleasant, but it’s important.

What does a good review look like

What does a good review look like?

Performance reviews are a necessary evil in the corporate world. They are extremely valuable to any team, remote or not. They should happen regularly and have a specific goal: to improve individual, team, and organizational performance.

A good review should be balanced and fair – it should provide feedback on both strengths and weaknesses observed over the period reviewed. The goal is to help the individual employee grow and develop professionally while also meeting the needs of the organization.

The purpose is to assess how an employee is performing in their role. It’s an opportunity for employers to give feedback, both positive and negative, and to set goals.

Empathy for all involved

It’s to your advantage to recognize that performance reviews can be difficult for everyone involved. Performance review anxiety is very real, and it’s something that your employees are likely struggling with.

As a manager, you understand that you’ll be leading these reviews for your employees. So, at the very least, you can comprehend how intimidating this may be for those whom you’ll be interviewing.

Most likely they’ll feel under a microscope, with their every failure potentially exposed.

As a manager, it’s important to make sure your team is comfortable with the performance review process.

This is especially true if you’re conducting remote performance reviews. When you’re not face-to-face with your employees, it can be difficult to gauge their reaction to the feedback you’re giving them.

Remote Performance Reviews

Remote Performance Reviews

Apple Watches, Google Docs, and Zoom have made it possible for us to be productive from anywhere. But what about performance reviews? How can we tackle them when our team is distributed across the world?

All things considered, the workforce trend is shifting to online or remote.

According to a recent study by researchers at Standford, nearly half of the American workforce – 42% – works from home. That pattern isn’t just restricted to the United States. Teleworking has exploded in popularity all around the world.

So, it’s not surprising that more and more companies are conducting performance reviews remotely. And it looks like this trend is here to stay.

For some, this might be comforting to have some space behind a screen. The person being interviewed can keep notes on their desk, mute the screen to catch a thought, and take a break without feeling the awkwardness of being seen.

But for others, it might be difficult to focus when they’re not in the office and can’t easily ask questions or get a feel for the room.

The art and science of reviews

There’s both an art and a science to conducting a performance review. On the science side, there are objective measures that help assess an employee’s performance. Performance reviews should be based on data and not personal biases.

But on the art side, it’s important to consider the feelings of those involved. Performance reviews can often feel like a personal attack, and it’s important to take that into account when delivering feedback.

When done well, the performance review process should be:

  • Focused on results, not activities
  • Data-driven
  • Objective
  • Balanced (positive and negative feedback)
  • Timely (regular reviews help employees stay on track)
  • Constructive (focused on growth and development)

Giving & Receiving FEEDBACK

Giving & Receiving FEEDBACK

Learning how to receive and give feedback is the key to successful performance reviews. Feedback is an essential quality. Without it, there is no way to improve upon past performance.

Giving Feedback

It’s critical to be clear about what you want to accomplish while providing feedback. As a result, it might be beneficial to know that there are four types of feedback:

Goal-oriented feedback – This type of feedback helps employees understand how their actions contribute to the organization’s goals.

Process-oriented feedback – This type of feedback focuses on how an employee can improve their performance by changing their methods or processes.

Relationship-oriented feedback – This type of feedback is about the interactions between an employee and their co-workers or boss.

Personal feedback – This type of feedback is about an employee’s character or personality traits.

Receiving feedback

You should not only try to provide feedback regularly, but you should also make allowance for your staff to voice their thoughts too.

There are three key areas for your employees to offer feedback:

1. self-performance

If they were to judge themselves, how would they rate their performance? How do they see themselves fitting into the overall structure of the organizations?

2. systemic issues

If they were in charge what would they do differently? Are there any areas of the business they feel need improvement?

3. leadership feedback
How have they been led? What type of leader do they respond to?

The Performance Review Outcome

The Performance Review Outcome

Ideally, the goal of a performance review is for both the employee and the organization to walk away with a better understanding of how the employee can improve and grow. The review should also give a sense of where the company stands in terms of its goals and objectives.

It’s important to keep in mind that reviews shouldn’t be a one-time event. They should be a regular occurrence, to keep employees on track and help them grow.

6 tips to conducting a performance review – remotely

Now that we’ve covered some of the basics, it’s time to get into the nuts and bolts of conducting a performance review. A remote review is very similar to a review done in person, but there are a few things to keep in mind.

Here are 6 tips for conducting a remote performance review:

1. Set the right tone

The first step is to set the right tone for the conversation. This means being clear, concise, and direct. You want to avoid any ambiguity in the conversation. The last thing you want is for your employee to leave the conversation feeling confused or uncertain about what was discussed.

It’s also important to be respectful and professional. This is not the time to get personal or heated. Remember, the goal is to help the employee grow and develop, not to put them down.

2. Choose the right tools

There are several tools out there that can help with remote reviews. Our favorites include Zoom and Teamly.

Zoom is great for video conferencing. It’s easy to use and has a lot of features, like screen sharing and chat, that can be helpful during a review. It doesn’t have to be Zoom, all that matters is that you use some sort of video conference tool.

This may bring up the question: “why cant I just email the review or just give feedback over the phone?” This would be a bad idea for a few reasons:

  • It’s hard to have a back-and-forth conversation over email.
  • You can’t see the person’s facial expressions or body language, which can be important in a performance review.
  • It’s easy for things to get lost in translation over the phone.

Teamly is a project management tool that can help you keep track of all your teams and projects. It’s amazing at keeping your work goals and objectives all in one place. It’s also great for observing deadlines and communication patterns for remote teams.

3. Give an overview of your meeting ahead of time.

Give a written overview before the meeting. This allows your employee time to process the information and prepare for the discussion. It also shows that you’re organized and have thought about the meeting ahead of time.

Giving team members access to the review ahead of time means they can think deeply about your main points before the conversation, and you can ask more thoughtful questions during the meeting as opposed to just reciting a bunch of information in front of them.

What should be included in the overview?

There’s a dance. You don’t want to share anything too personal or confidential – but you do want to give your remote worker a sense of the topics you’ll cover.
Generally, you’ll want to share:

  • The goals of the meeting and how it will help the employee grow
  • The tools that will be used during the meeting
  • The agenda for the meeting
  • Any documents or resources that will be referenced during the meeting

Structure the conversation

4. Structure the conversation

It’s also imperative to have a structure to the conversation. This means having a plan for what you want to cover and how you want to cover it.

You don’t have to stick to the plan rigidly, but it’s important to have a general idea of the topics you want to discuss. This will help keep the conversation on track and focused.

Here is a template for structuring the performance review conversation:

  • Introductions: Who are you, who is your employee
  • Review Period: When did the review take place
  • Goals: Discuss progress on goals and objectives
  • Feedback: Offer feedback on strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for growth
  • Next Steps: What should the employee do next to improve their performance

5. Remember to welcome feedback

Not only is it important for you to give both positive and negative feedback to your employee, but you must also provide a place for the interviewee to express his or her feelings.

The benefit of this is twofold:

  • It allows you to get a sense of how the employee perceives their work, which can help you understand their motivation or lack thereof.
  • It also allows the employee to feel heard and valued, which can help build trust and rapport.

When giving feedback, it’s important to be clear, concise, and specific. For example, rather than saying “you’re not meeting deadlines,” try “I noticed that you missed the deadline for project X. Can you tell me more about what happened?”

Make sure to give your employees time to respond and ask questions. Remember, feedback should be a dialogue, not a monologue.

Follow up with an action plan

6. Follow up with an action plan

Once the meeting is over, it’s important to follow up with an action plan. This document should list the goals that were set in the meeting, the steps that need to be taken to achieve those goals and the deadlines for completing those steps.

Conclusion

Performance reviews don’t have to be a stressful experience. In fact, they might be quite helpful if done correctly.

If you structure the meeting, give your overview, invite feedback, and end with an action plan, you’re well on your way to a successful review. These steps will help ensure that the meeting is productive and beneficial for both parties involved.

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Why You Need to Consider Lead Time And Cycle Time For Your Project Management Strategy. Plus, 10 Tips to Reduce Your Project’s Lead And Cycle Times.

Lead Time and Cycle Time

“Time is money,” right?

When it comes to business, this adage couldn’t be more true. And that’s why if you are a business owner or a project manager, understanding the core concepts of time measurement is essential.

In project management, two terms you’ll hear constantly are “cycle time” and “lead time.” What do they mean and how can you use them to your advantage? Read on to find out!

The terms Cycle Time and Lead Time are frequently used interchangeably in the manufacturing industry. However, there are significant distinctions between how they’re measured and calculated. Understanding how each of these is utilized may help your organization optimize operations’ workflow, resources, and labor time.

In this post, we’ll go through the various distinctions between lead time and cycle time. Then we’ll show you how to use each indicator to your advantage.

What is Lead Time

What is Lead Time?

Lead Time (LT) is the time it takes between placing an order and receiving it. This metric is important because it tells you how long it will take for your overall project to be completed in full.

LT represents the total time that you added to the project.

What is Cycle Time?

Cycle Time (CT) is the time it takes your team to complete an item, up until the product is ready for shipment. It’s the time it takes to complete one task.

In a manufacturing setting, the CT would be the amount of time it takes for a product to go from start to finish. This is an important metric because it tells you how quickly you’re completing your production.

The goal is to have a short cycle time so that you can turn around products faster and make more money.

CT represents the amount of time for which you’re working on a project.

Now that we’ve gone over the basics of lead time and cycle time, let’s take a look at the key distinctions between the two metrics.

The Difference Between Lead Time and Cycle Time

The Difference Between Lead Time and Cycle Time

The distinctions between CT and LT are straightforward to grasp.

CT is a component of the overall LT, and it just assesses the production rate of the manufacturing process.

While Lead Time includes all operational procedures that precede and follow the manufacturing phase, Cycle Time only measures production rates in the manufacturing process.

The measurement of lead time is from the customer’s viewpoint, whereas the measurement of cycle time is from the internal process perspective.

EXAMPLE

Let’s say you are at a restaurant and you’re ordering food.

The LT would be the measurement of how long it takes for you to place your order with the waiter until the food arrives at your table. The CT would be the measurement of how long it takes for the cooks to receive your order until it’s cooked and delivered to you.

LT is important because you need to know how long it will take you to deliver the product. CT is important because you need to know how long it will take you to make the product.

If you have a long cycle time, it means that it takes you a long time to make each product. This can be costly and cause you to lose money.

It’s important to keep track of both lead time and cycle time so that you can optimize your manufacturing process and make the most profit.

Calculating lead time and cycle time

Calculating lead time and cycle time:

How to calculate LT

To calculate the LT, you just need to know when the order was placed and when the client received the requested items. It’s the time it takes from receiving an order until it is sent out.

For example, let’s say you sell teeshirts, and a customer orders 5 teeshirts on Tuesday. The order is received on the following Monday. In this case, the lead time would be 6 days.

All the time spent in between these six days, from order processing to manufacturing to labeling to delivery, is accounted for when calculating Lead Time.

How to calculate CT

To calculate CT, you need to know when the teeshirt production started, and when it was completed. It is the time it takes from starting to work on an order until it is shipped out.

For example, let’s say it takes 12 hours to print the 5 teeshirts ordered by the customer. In this case, the cycle time would be 12 hours.

If you’re looking to improve your operations, it’s important to track and measure both Lead Time and Cycle Time. By doing so, you can identify areas where you need to make changes and improve your process.

Improving LT and CT

Tips for improving LT and CT.

There are several methods to use cycle and lead time analysis to shed light on how you may improve business procedures. The nicest thing is that you don’t need to be a mathematician to make good use of cycle and lead time analysis.

There are a few things you can do to help improve your Lead Time and Cycle Time.

1. Improve communication between departments:

It’s very easy for time to be lost when departments are not communicating with each other. By improving communication, you can help reduce the amount of time wasted and make sure everyone is on the same page.

Communication flow can be guaranteed by creating a communication plan and following it religiously. Just make sure you allow time for regular check-ins between departments so you can ensure things are running smoothly.

2. Map out your process:

Mapping out your process can help you see where there are bottlenecks and where time is being wasted. You can also use this information to come up with ideas on how to optimize your process.

3. Invest in project management software:

Project management software can help you keep track of deadlines, tasks, and progress. This will help to prevent any overlap or missed deadlines.

And there is no better software than Teamly. Teamly allows you to manage your entire team, remotely. You’ll have the single project management software you need to finish tasks more quickly and effectively, giving you a distinct edge over your competition.

4. Fixing the bottlenecks:

Identify where things are taking too long and find ways to improve those areas.

Once you’ve mapped out your process and have identified the bottlenecks, it’s time to find solutions. This may require some trial and error, but by finding and fixing the bottlenecks, you can reduce the amount of time it takes to produce a product.

5. Simplify the process:

The more complicated the process is, the longer it will take. Find ways to streamline the process so that it’s more efficient. Delegate tasks, get rid of unnecessary steps, and make things as simple as possible.

7. Training and standardization:

Make sure all employees are properly trained and that the process is standardized. This will help to ensure everyone is doing things the same way, which will help to reduce the amount of time it takes to complete a task.

Checklists

8. Use checklists:

A checklist can be an extremely valuable tool when it comes to reducing Lead Time and Cycle Time. By having a checklist, employees can make sure they are completing all the necessary steps, which will help to eliminate any wasted time.

9. Automation:

Automating tasks can help reduce the amount of time it takes to complete them. If there is a task that can be automated, explore ways to do so. This will free up employees to focus on other tasks, which will help to improve efficiency.

10. Incentivize employees:

Offer incentives to employees who complete tasks quickly and efficiently. This will motivate employees to work faster and more efficiently.

Conclusion

Although lead time and cycle time are often used interchangeably, they have different meanings and implications for your business. By understanding the pros and cons of each and employing the 10 tips in this article, you can reduce the amount of time it takes to get your product from inception to delivery.

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Don’t let your projects fall apart- Create a schedule risk assessment for peace of mind.

Project Schedule Risk Analysis

Have you ever been late on a project deadline? If so, you know that the consequences can be costly. Not only does your reputation take a hit, but you may also face financial penalties from your clients or employers.

This only gets worse if you juggle multiple projects at the same time. Suddenly, something as simple as an unexpected delay on one project can cascade and cause delays on the others.

To avoid these time-consuming setbacks, it’s critical to conduct a schedule risk assessment (SRA). In this post, you’ll learn what SRAs are and how to go about conducting one for your project timetable.

What is an SRA and why should you perform one?

What is an SRA and why should you perform one?

An SRA is a handy tool that can help you identify and mitigate risks to your project schedule. It allows you to systematically examine all of the potential problems that could impact your project, and it helps you develop strategies to address them.

Unlike other tools or methods, SRA focuses specifically on risks that could impact the schedule of your project.

Why should you perform a schedule risk assessment?

There are several benefits to using an SRA. SRA’s can assist you in the following ways:

  1. To identify and counteract risks to your project schedule.

    In any project, certain risks must be faced. The goal of an SRA is to identify the hazards that jeopardize your project’s completion.

    As a project manager, you can use quantitative risk analysis to focus critical resources where they’re needed, making risk mitigation a useful and practical tool for efficient management.

    The good news is by performing an SRA, you can identify and hedge potential issues before they cause delays to your project.

  1. To minimize the expense of your resources.

    Just as risks can delay your project schedule, they can also impact your budget. By performing an SRA, you can hedge against any unforeseen dangers that could cause your project budget to exceed its allocated funds for resources.

    For example, if you know that there’s a risk that an important supplier will delay shipping your materials, you can plan for it and budget for the potential delay.

  1. To mitigate your labor costs.

    In addition to delaying your project and increasing your budget, schedule delays can also impact the cost of labor. By performing an SRA you can get in front of any potential issues that could cause your labor costs to exceed their budgeted amount.

    For example, if you know there’s a chance that you’ll have to hire more people to meet a deadline, you may prepare for it and budget for the expense.

  1. To guarantee product-quality assurance.

    Risks can also impact the quality of your product. SRA’s can aid in creating quality assurance for your company’s products.

    For example, let’s say your product is new software. If there’s a risk that your software will contain coding errors, you can address it by testing your software more thoroughly.

  1. To keep your stakeholders informed.

    By providing information about potential scheduled risks and how you’re addressing them, you can maintain transparency and keep your stakeholders informed about the progress of your project.

  1. To improve the accuracy of your project schedule.

    When developing a project timetable, it’s vital to consider all of the project dangers that may occur. An SRA is an excellent approach to managing those schedule risks, allowing you to create an accurate and valid schedule.

Reducing Schedule Risk

Reducing Schedule Risk

There are several ways to reduce schedule risk on your project.

  • Changing the project schedule – If you know that a particular risk is likely to occur, you can try to adjust the project schedule to account for it. This may involve delaying some tasks or rushing others, but it can be worth it to avoid the potential disruption that the risk could cause.
  • Procuring additional resources – If you’re concerned about a risk that could impact your resources, you may want to consider procuring additional resources. This can be expensive, but it may be worth it to ensure that your project is completed on time.
  • Using risk management tools, such as probability and impact matrices – These tools can help you to better understand the risks that your project is facing, and can help you to develop strategies to mitigate them.
  • Developing contingency plans – If you know that a particular risk could have a significant impact on your project, it’s a good idea to develop a contingency plan. This plan should outline how you will deal with the risk if it occurs.

By taking these steps, you can reduce the risk of schedule delays on your project.

When should you perform a schedule risk assessment?

When should you perform a schedule risk assessment?

An SRA should be completed at the start of each project and continue throughout your project’s lifecycle. By performing the analysis early and often, you’ll be able to identify and mitigate any risks that could delay your project or impact its budget.

Imagine that you’re working on a project that’s scheduled to last six months. You can use an SRA to examine the risks that could impact your project timelines, such as potential delays caused by supplier problems or unexpected staff absences.

How do you create an SRA document?

How do you create an SRA document?

We always suggest creating a separate document that outlines the steps of your SRA.

1. Understand the risks

The first step in creating a risk analysis is understanding the risks that are inherent in your project schedule. Many different factors can contribute to risk, including:

  • Complexity of the project – Projects have dependencies, and the more variables and dependencies there are, the greater the risk
  • Length of the project – The longer a project takes, the more opportunity there is for things to go wrong
  • Resources – Not all resources are created equal. Planning for risks related to scarce or expensive resources can be critical
  • Project location – Projects that are located in hazardous areas or that involve working with hazardous materials can be riskier.
  • The amount of time allocated for the project – If you’re short on time, there’s more pressure to meet deadlines, which can lead to rushed decisions and sloppy work.
  • Use of new or untested technology – When a project involves new or untested technology, there’s always the risk of things going wrong
  • Tight deadlines – When there’s a lot of pressure to meet a deadline, it can lead to rushed decisions and an increase in risk.
  • Unclear project objectives – If the objectives of a project are not clear, it can lead to confusion and conflict, which can increase the risk of the project.
  • Limited resources – If a project is reliant on limited resources, there’s a greater risk that the project will not be completed on time or within budget.
  • Lack of experience – If the people working on a project lack the experience needed to complete the project, there’s a greater risk that it will not be successful.

2. Document the risks

Once you’ve identified the risks, you need to document them. This document should include a description of each risk, as well as how likely it is to occur and what impact it could have on your project.

3. Assess the risks

Next, you need to assess the severity of each risk. This assessment should take into account both the impact of the risk and the likelihood that it will occur.

4. Mitigate the risks

Once you’ve identified and assessed the risks, it’s time to start mitigating them. There are many different ways to do this, including:

  • Changing the project schedule
  • Procuring additional resources
  • Using risk management tools, such as probability and impact matrices
  • Developing contingency plans

5. Monitor the risks

Once you’ve mitigated the risks, it’s important to continue monitoring them. This will help ensure that the risks don’t have a negative

Conclusion

Although performing a schedule risk analysis is time-consuming and laborious, the advantages make it well worth the effort. You can save your team time and money by detecting and reducing hazards to your project timetable, while also ensuring that your product is of the greatest possible quality.

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10 Team Management Skills Every Leader Needs

Team Management Skills

Leading a team isn’t a walk in the park. You have to deal with different personalities, foster a cohesive team environment, and of course, make sure all the work gets done —without micromanaging.

Fortunately, there are some key team management skills that can help you master these challenges. In this article, we’ll discuss what those skills are, why they’re so important, and what you can do to develop better team management skills.

But first …

What Are Team Management Skills?

What Are Team Management Skills?

Team management skills refer to the talents and abilities that managers need to effectively manage groups of people. These soft skills include abilities like problem-solving, listening, open-mindedness, adaptability, and creativity.

By contrast, hard skills are those that are gained by practice and education, such as accounting knowledge, coding ability, or foreign language fluency.

While both hard and soft skills are important for any manager, team management skills are essential when you need to organize, motivate, and coordinate the efforts of team members to achieve a common goal.

The Importance of Team Management Skills

The Importance of Team Management Skills

Team management skills are critically important because they affect:

  • Team Cohesion

    Team management skills help to foster collaboration among team members, and as the saying goes, “teamwork makes the dream work.” When teams are cohesive, members help each other out and problem-solve more efficiently.

    Because team members trust and respect each other, the entire team benefits–experiencing synergy, as members unite to achieve common goals.

    However, in the absence of good team management skills, competition, backstabbing, and gossip can fester among team members. This creates a lack of trust and without trust present, people tend to adopt a “go it alone” mentality.

    Because team members don’t feel like they can rely on each other, the entire team suffers, operating less efficiently than it could.

  • Employee Engagement

    The better your team management skills, the happier and more engaged your team members will be. That’s important because engaged employees are more motivated and driven.

    Because they enjoy what they do, they want the team to successfully accomplish its objectives, and they’re committed to the company’s success. As a result, they perform better–often going above and beyond to help achieve team goals.

    Furthermore, as an added benefit, engaged team members like their jobs so they’re far more likely to stay on, rather than to seek greener pastures elsewhere.

  • Productivity

    As we touched upon in the last bullet, team management skills have a significant impact on employee morale–and happy, engaged workers are more motivated and driven.

    As a result, they work harder and accomplish more. So much more that according to Gallup, highly engaged teams experience a 17% increase in productivity.

  • Job Success

    Team management skills aren’t just good for your team members and your employer, they’re also beneficial to your career.

    Interestingly enough, research conducted by Harvard University, the Carnegie Foundation, and Stanford Research Center has concluded that 85% of job success comes down to soft or interpersonal skills–meaning that knowledge and technical aptitude only account for a mere 15% of job success!

Team Management Skills List

Team Management Skills List

There are 10 essential team management skills you need when leading a team. Those skills include:

  1. Organization

    Team managers have multiple people, projects, and priorities to keep track of, which is why managing a team requires good organizational skills.

    Without them, you can easily find yourself drowning in emails, searching for misplaced paperwork, or slowing your employees down by peppering them with questions you should already know the answers to … ultimately reducing efficiency and preventing your team from being as successful as it could be.

    For these reasons, team managers should have a good system in place for tracking key dates, managing project dependencies, staying on top of their email inboxes, and storing important files.

    Furthermore, rather than viewing organization as a one-and-done activity, team leaders need to employ good organizational skills on an ongoing, consistent basis.

  2. Delegation

    There’s a quote from business magnate Malcolm Forbes that goes, “If you don’t know what to do with many of the papers piled on your desk, stick a dozen colleagues’ initials on them and pass them along. When in doubt, route.” Clearly, Forbes knew a little something about delegation!

    That said, he was definitely on to something, because delegation is an incredibly important team management skill. After all, as a team leader, you have some very big responsibilities–so many responsibilities that you’re unlikely to fulfill them if you can’t or won’t delegate to others.

    That’s why rather than attempting to tackle things single-handedly, you need to be able to assess who the right team member is for the job, assign them the task, and then trust that they have the right skills and requisite professionalism to do the job well and on-time–without you have to constantly hound them about it.

  3. Communication

    In the course of a regular workday, team leaders need to conduct meetings, respond to emails, answer team members’ questions, and delegate tasks–which is why research shows that managers spend up to 80% of their time at work communicating.

    This statistic illustrates just how essential it is that team leaders possess great communication skills–after all, communicating with others is one of the primary responsibilities of the job!

    For this reason, team leaders need to be able to communicate clearly, concisely, and effectively–even relentlessly–to ensure that their entire team’s on the same page.

    They also need to adapt their communication style depending on who they’re speaking to. Interestingly enough, a failure to do so is cited as the most frequent cause (42%) of poor communication in the workplace, which has been shown to increase stress, lead to project delays, and contribute to low employee morale.

  4. Openness

    Although “it’s my way or the highway” might be a catchy expression, managers who take that approach are bound to create team discord. After all, nobody appreciates working for an inflexible tyrant!

    Instead, team leaders need to be open to differing viewpoints, new approaches, and better ways of doing things, because no one person has all the answers. Good leaders understand that and remain open and flexible to team members’ input.

  5. Emotional intelligence

    Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to understand and manage your own emotions. People high in emotional intelligence are also adept at understanding and influencing the emotions of others.

    Typically, people with high EI possess qualities like self-awareness, the ability to regulate their emotions, and empathy. They also have good social skills; these are the people that know how to read a room–and act accordingly.

    One of a team leader’s primary roles is to motivate, encourage, and influence team members. To do that, you need to be able to step into your team members’ shoes and understand their unique perspectives, so you can connect with them in a meaningful and effective way. Emotional intelligence is essential for achieving that aim.

  6. Decision-Making

    Throughout the day, team leaders are confronted with dozens of decisions that need to be made: “Which task is the highest priority?” “When do you need this by?” and even the more mundane, “Can I take a week off next month?”

    Because decision-making is such an important component of managing a team, team leaders need to be able to quickly weigh pros and cons, assess alternatives, evaluate risks, and act decisively–without letting the stress get to them.

    This requires not only confidence, but humility as well–for instance, there may be occasions when team leaders need more time or information before they can reach a decision. When that occurs, team leaders need to feel comfortable admitting they don’t have the answer yet, rather than coming to a hasty, ill-advised decision.

    Problem Solving

  7. Problem-Solving

    Among the many interpersonal and team skills you need as a manager, problem-solving may be one of the most crucial, because it’s such a key part of the job.

    As a team leader, you’re expected to handle problems coming from every direction–your team members will come to you with problems, your boss will expect you to solve problems, and you may even have clients, customers, or suppliers with problems you’ll need to solve.

    As a result, a team leader needs to employ the talents and abilities of a good problem solver by displaying critical thinking skills, creativity, adaptability, level-headedness, and resilience.

  8. Boundary Setting

    As a kid, you probably tried to push your parents’ boundaries … which is a totally natural reaction when someone has authority over you.

    Well, guess what? As a team manager, there’ll be times when employees try to push your boundaries too … perhaps by regularly coming in late, blowing off important meetings, or trying to do as little work as possible.

    Although you might be tempted to act like Mr. Nice Guy, that never goes well because it establishes a permissive environment–one that some employees will take advantage of. Perhaps just as bad is that the ones who don’t will resent the employees who do–and you for letting them get away with it.

    Bottom line? The ability to establish rules that are non-negotiable is an incredibly important team management skill. Without it, you run the risk of bringing out the worst in your entire team.

  9. Fairness

    Another key team management skill is fairness, because let’s face it … not all employees are created equal. Chances are good you’ll like some team members more than others, whether it’s because they have a cheerful personality, good work ethic, or just a lot in common with you.

    However, if you treat team members differently–for instance, by allowing your favorite employees certain privileges that others don’t get or unfairly distributing raises–you’ll create divisions on your team and sow the seeds of resentment, which is exactly what you don’t want.

    Instead, you’ll want to be fair and objective when dealing with the members of your team. In doing so, you’ll find it much easier to create a cohesive team that accomplishes the objectives you set forth.

  10. Confidence

    Managers need a lot of confidence to achieve the other skills on this list. Think about it … you need to confidently set boundaries with your team–or risk rogue members running roughshod over you.

    You also need to confidently make decisions–if not, you’ll endlessly second-guess yourself and struggle to move the team toward its goals. And then, of course, you’ll want to communicate with confidence as well.

    Confidence is important, because not only does it make you more likely to succeed, but it also conveys leadership to others, inspiring trust in them … which is exactly how you want team members to feel about you as their leader.

As you can see, there are a number of important skills you need to be an effective team leader, and this isn’t even a complete list! We could go on and on about other team management skills that are also valuable when managing others, however, these are the 10 team management skills that are the most critical.

If you possess them, you’ll find it that much easier to be successful as a team leader. Fortunately, if you’re lacking in any area, the good news is that you can develop these skills. More on that in the next section …

How to Develop Good Team Management Skills

How to Develop Good Team Management Skills

If you read through our list and thought, “Hmmm … I could stand to develop that skill a little more,” this section is for you. In it, we’ll identify ways you can improve your team management skills, so you can be the strong, effective team leader you were meant to be!

  • Perform an Assessment

    Before you can be a better team manager, it’s helpful to perform an assessment, so you can identify any skill gaps. To do this, start by asking yourself questions, like, “What are my strengths?” “What are my weaknesses?” and “Where is there room for improvement?”

    By assessing your current skill set, you’ll find it easier to determine which skills are most important for you to develop, so you can focus your time and effort accordingly.

  • Solicit Feedback

    We all have our blind spots … which is why even after performing a skills inventory, it’s still a good idea for you to get feedback from others. So, talk to your manager and see what he or she has to say about your team management skills.

    Likewise, ask the team members you supervise how you could be a better manager. This 360-degree assessment will give you the opportunity to discover potential areas for growth that you may have missed otherwise.

  • Seek Out Professional Development Opportunities

    Once you’ve identified which skills you want to improve, seek out professional development opportunities offered locally or online. These days, there’s literally a class for everything, and you can find management classes on emotional intelligence, effective communication, problem-solving, and more.

    So, search around and when you find a class that resonates, enroll in it to further develop your team management skills.

  • Find a Mentor

    Although a mentorship relationship is often suggested when you want to advance your career, a good mentor will help you do much more than climb the corporate ladder. For instance, a mentor can act as your sounding board, provide guidance, and help you develop better team management skills.

    To find a mentor, think about someone you admire such as a former boss, a colleague from a previous position, an executive in upper management you’re friendly with, or an expert in your field that you follow. Then, ask them if you can meet for coffee or a video chat. If things go well, you can continue to develop the relationship over time.

  • Work with a Career Coach

    Career coaches are especially helpful if you’re looking to develop the soft skills necessary to successfully manage a team. In fact, according to Forbes, not only are soft skills trainable, but research on the topic suggests that “coaching has very strong effects on an individual’s career success and moderate-to-strong effects on performance.”

    To find a career coach, try asking colleagues for recommendations or do a search on the Internet. Once you’ve found a few potential candidates that look promising, schedule consultations to decide which career coach would be the best fit.

Conclusion

There are a number of important interpersonal skills you need to effectively manage a team. Fortunately, if you feel like you’re lacking in any area, there are steps you can take to improve your team management skills. To get you started in the right direction, we suggest you read our article, “The Definitive Guide to Amazing People Management Skills.”

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Requirements Management: The Key to Project Success

Requirements Management Planning

As a manager, you undoubtedly understand that each of your company’s projects is influenced by the needs of your business and your stakeholders.

Here’s an important tip, you should take these demands seriously and turn them into project guardrails. This process of identifying and managing your project’s needs is referred to as requirements management.

In this article, we look at what a typical requirements management plan entails and how to put one together.

What is a requirements management plan?

What is a requirements management plan?

A requirements management plan is a document that defines how requirements will be identified, managed, and tracked from initiation to closure of the project. Most of the time, it’s created in conjunction with the project plan.

Where the project plan defines the high-level tasks and milestones, the requirements management plan spells out how requirements will be identified and gathered, from both internal and external sources.

Let’s say, for example, that your project is to develop a new website for your company. The requirements management plan would document how you will go about identifying the specific needs of the business and its stakeholders, and then turn these into specific requirements that the development team can work with.

One need could be to have a completely new website design. Another might be to include a search function on the home page. A third could be to make sure the website is responsive across different devices.

The requirements plan would spell out how these and other needs will be captured and turned into specific requirements.

Your plan should also spell out how changes and updates to requirements will be managed, as well as how your project team will be kept up to date on the changes.

Your plan absolutely needs to include a process for QA (quality assurance) of requirements. Ideally, this includes a procedure for verifying that requirements are correct, complete, feasible, and meet all of your customer and stakeholder requirements.

The following are some of the most essential questions that require answers in the requirements management plan:

  • What are the specific needs of the project?
  • How will they be identified and gathered?
  • Who will approve them?
  • Who is responsible for ensuring that they are met?
  • What happens if they’re not met?
  • How will changes to requirements be managed?
  • How will the project team be kept up to date on changes?
  • What is the process for Quality Assurance of requirements?

Why projects fail

Why projects fail

Requirements planning is an important step in ensuring your project’s success. A well-crafted strategy will help to minimize uncertainty and risk, and will help to ensure that all stakeholders’ needs are met.

However, even with a well-defined requirements management plan, projects can still fail. The following are some of the most common reasons why projects fail:

  • Lack of clarity or miscommunication about requirements
  • Requirements that are not feasible or cannot be met
  • Changes to requirements after the project has started
  • Poor quality of requirements
  • Unmet customer or stakeholder expectations

By taking the time to properly strategize and document your project’s requirements, you can help to minimize the chances of these things happening.

Who creates a requirements management plan?

The requirements management plan is typically created by the project manager, in conjunction with the team responsible for requirements gathering and verification.

However, it’s important to get input from all stakeholders, including customers and end users.

And don’t forget to identify which tools and techniques you will use, and how requirements will be verified and approved.

Battling uncertainty

When it comes to battling uncertainty in project management, requirements management planning is one of your most powerful tools. By taking the time to put a comprehensive plan together, you can help ensure that all stakeholders’ needs are met and that the project is executed as smoothly as possible.

This is why a rigorous requirements planning process is so important. It helps to ensure that the project stays on track and meets all the specific needs of the business.

Elements of a requirements plan

Elements of a requirements plan

Below is a list of key elements that you should include in your plan:

  • Identification of stakeholders and their needs
  • Development of use cases or scenarios
  • Define and refine project scope
  • Requirements elicitation techniques
  • Requirements verification and validation
  • Change management procedures
  • Tracking and reporting mechanisms

Putting together a requirements management plan

Putting together a requirements management plan

Putting together a requirements management plan may seem like a daunting task, but by taking it one step at a time you can create a plan that will help to ensure your project’s success.

1) Identify stakeholders

The first step is to identify the stakeholders and their needs. This includes understanding who the end-users of the system will be, as well as what their business needs are.

Most project requirements will come from its stakeholders, so you must first identify who they are.

Just be sure to outline the specific steps you’ll take to identify your project’s stakeholders, such as interviews, meetings, or team brainstorms.

2) Develop use cases or scenarios

One way to understand the needs of the stakeholders is to develop use cases or scenarios. This will help you to see how the system will be used and what functions are required.

3) Define project scope

Once you understand the needs of the stakeholders, you need to define the project scope. This is a high-level description of the project’s goals and objectives, but it doesn’t contain all of the specifics.

For example, if you’re project is developing a new software system, the project scope might include the following:

  • The system will be used to manage customer data
  • The system must be able to interface with other software systems
  • The system must be able to handle a large number of transactions

These are just some examples – you’ll want to include specific goals and objectives that are relevant to your project.

Without the clarity of scope, it would be difficult to develop requirements that met the needs of the stakeholders.

The requirements management plan should spell out how the project scope will be defined and how it will be verified and validated.

4) Elicit requirements

Once the project scope is defined, you can start eliciting requirements. This involves gathering information from the stakeholders and documenting it in a clear and concise manner.

The requirements management plan should identify the specific techniques that will be used to elicit requirements, such as interviews, focus groups, or surveys.

5) Verify and validate requirements

Once the requirements are gathered, they need to be verified and validated. This means checking to make sure that they meet the needs of the stakeholders, are correct, complete, and feasible.

The requirements management plan should identify who will verify and validate the requirements, as well as how that will be done.

6) Manage changes

Requirements are always changing, and the requirements management plan should identify how changes will be managed.

This includes procedures for identifying, tracking, and reporting changes.

7) Track and report requirements

The requirements management plan should also identify how requirements will be tracked and reported.

This might include a requirements repository, a changelog, or a status report.

Putting together a requirements management plan is an important step in any project. By taking the time to tailor the plan to your specific project, you’ll be sure to gather requirements that meet the needs of the stakeholders.

5 Common mistakes to avoid

5 Common mistakes to avoid

Mistakes are bound to happen during any project, but there are some mistakes that are especially common. Here are five mistakes that must be avoided:

1) Not identifying stakeholders

One of the most common mistakes is not identifying the stakeholders and their needs. This includes understanding who the end-users of the system will be, as well as what their business needs are.

Most project requirements will come from its stakeholders, so you must first identify those stakeholders.

Just be sure to outline the specific steps you’ll take to identify your project’s stakeholders, such as interviews, meetings, or team brainstorms.

2) Developing use cases or scenarios without understanding needs

Use cases and scenarios are a great way to understand the needs of the stakeholders, but they must be developed correctly.

Many times, teams will develop use cases without understanding the business needs and this can lead to requirements that don’t meet the needs of the stakeholders.

The best way to avoid this is to have a clear understanding of the business goals and objectives before developing use cases.

3) Developing requirements that are not feasible

It’s important to develop requirements that are both correct and feasible.

Many times, teams will develop requirements that are not possible to implement or they may be too costly.

This can lead to frustration on the part of the stakeholders and missed deadlines.

The best way to avoid this is to have a clear understanding of the technology that will be used and the constraints of the project.

4) Not eliciting requirements from all stakeholders

Another common mistake is not eliciting requirements from all stakeholders.

This can lead to missing information or, worse yet, conflicting requirements.

The best way to avoid this is to have a clear plan for eliciting requirements, such as using a variety of techniques.

5) Not verifying and validating requirements

After the requirements are gathered, they need to be verified and validated.

This means checking to make sure that they meet the needs of the stakeholders and are correct.

The requirements management plan should identify who will verify and validate the requirements.

This can be done by using a variety of techniques, such as interviews, focus groups, or surveys.

Putting together a Requirements Management Plan is an important step in any project. By taking the time to tailor the plan to your specific project, you’ll be sure to gather requirements that meet the needs of the stakeholders. Avoid these five mistakes and you’ll be on your way to success!

Conclusion

Project requirements are one of the most important aspects of project management, yet they can also be one of the most difficult to manage. A requirements management plan is a key document that helps to ensure that project requirements are gathered and managed effectively.

By taking the time to put together a well-thought-out requirements management plan, you’ll be sure to gather requirements that meet the needs of your stakeholders.

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The 15 Best Business Ethics Books

Business Ethics Books

There’s a famous Warren Buffet quote, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” In a nutshell, Buffet perfectly illustrates why business ethics are such a pressing concern in this day and age.

Yet, as important as they are, businesses are still prone to making unethical decisions due to fear, greed, and failure to consider the consequences. If you find that concerning, you’ll love the business ethics books on this list because they contain something for everyone.

So, keep reading to discover the best books about business ethics. Among them, you’ll find books that guide you on how to foster integrity in the workplace, use a framework for making ethical decisions, and of course, books that’ll inspire you to be your best self.

1. Ethics 101 by John C. Maxwell

Ethics 101 by John C. Maxwell

Clocking in at just 81 pages, Ethics 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know is a short but powerful ethics primer written by leadership expert, John C. Maxwell. In Ethics 101, Maxwell argues that although virtually everyone claims they want businesses to behave more ethically, most of us take ethical shortcuts in our own lives, failing to display the same integrity we request from others.

Fortunately, Maxwell suggests that ethics don’t need to be complicated. Instead, he encourages executives to follow the Golden Rule, meaning you should treat others in business the way you want them to treat you. Although the tenet is a simple one, Maxwell argues that it acts as a compass for any type of business.

Notable Quotes

  • “There’s no such thing as business ethics–there’s only ethics. People try to use one set of ethics for their professional life, another for their spiritual life, and still another at home with their family. That gets them into trouble. Ethics is ethics. If you desire to be ethical, you live it by one standard across the board.”
  • “If the environment–the systems and goals–of an organization encourage and reward unethical behavior, then merely addressing individual employee’s actions will not improve the situation.”
  • “In the short term, behaving ethically may look like a loss (just as one can temporarily appear to win by being unethical). However, in the long term, people always lose when they live without ethics.”

2. The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey

The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey

Although The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything was first published in 2006, it remains on Amazon’s bestseller list even to this day. People are clearly taken with its premise that trust–and how quickly you establish it–is the single most critical component of successful leadership.

Perhaps more importantly, Covey maintains that trust yields better business results, and he offers plenty of relevant examples to make his case. In the book, he also identifies 13 behaviors of high-trust leaders, while explaining how the concept of trust relates to a variety of different scenarios.

With over 2,000 5-star reviews, The Speed of Trust is a must-read if you want to learn how you can promote greater trust in your personal and professional relationships.

Notable Quotes

  • “Trust always affects two outcomes–speed and cost. When trust goes down, speed will also go down and cost will go up.”
  • “The traditional business formula says that strategy times execution equals results: But there is a hidden variable to this formula. Trust–either the low-trust tax, which discounts the output, or the high-trust dividend which multiplies it.”
  • “Contrary to what most people believe, trust is not some soft, illusive quality that you either have or you don’t; rather, trust is a pragmatic, tangible, actionable asset that you can create–much faster than you probably think possible.”

3. The Transparency Sale by Todd Caponi

The Transparency Sale by Todd Caponi

Although The Transparency Sale: How Unexpected Honesty and Understanding the Buying Brain Can Transform Your Results only focuses on the selling aspect of business ethics, it has a powerful (albeit counterintuitive) message: by being upfront about your product’s flaws, you can close bigger and better deals faster.

As Caponi points out, customers are naturally skeptical of 5-star reviews and the notion of product perfection … plus, with the advent of the Internet, they have tons of information at their disposal and can easily find out your product’s shortcomings anyways.

That’s why “unexpected honesty” is such a successful sales strategy for those in sales and marketing. In the book, Caponi explains how to use a transparent approach throughout the entire buying lifecycle, illustrating his points with several real-life examples.

Notable Quotes

  • “We have been taught to sell perfection, but perfection does not sell. To win in this digital area, where feedback is all around us and easy to come by, we need to adjust how we sell to optimize for the way buyers buy.”
  • “Transparency wins, and now there is science to back it up … science, which can be applied to every element of your sales arsenal.”
  • “Don’t be afraid of the flaws in your offerings, as exposing those flaws may be the very reasons your customers engage with you, buy from you, and keep buying from you. “

4. Conscious Capitalism by John Mackey and Raj Sisodia

Conscious Capitalism by John Mackey and Raj Sisodia

Nice guys don’t always finish last–at least, not according to John Mackey. In his book, Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business, the Whole Foods co-founder suggests that businesses don’t solely prioritize profitability but instead, follow a conscious capitalism paradigm in which the focus is on creating value for all stakeholders, such as customers, employees, shareholders, vendors, society, and the environment.

In Conscious Capitalism, you’ll learn practical advice for operating more ethically, following the four principles of Conscious Capitalism, a visionary philosophy that’s already practiced by a number of highly successful companies, including Trader Joe’s, Harley-Davidson, Google, Panera Bread, Starbucks, Costco, and Southwest Airlines.

Notable Quotes

  • “Just as happiness is best experienced by not aiming for it directly, profits are best achieved by not making them the primary goal of the business.”
  • “Conscious businesses believe that creating value for all their stakeholders is intrinsic to the success of their business, and they consider both communities and the environment to be important stakeholders.”
  • “One day, virtually every business will operate with a sense of higher purpose, integrate the interests of all stakeholders, develop and elevate conscious leaders, and build a culture of trust, accountability, and caring.”

5. Intentional Integrity by Robert Chesnut

Intentional Integrity by Robert Chesnut

In Intentional Integrity: How Smart Companies Can Lead an Ethical Revolution, former Airbnb Chief Ethics Officer Robert Chesnut argues that although we’re all capable of dishonesty, most companies spend little time talking about it–which is a problem because companies that don’t take integrity seriously are doomed to fail.

Chesnut then provides a 6-step process for leaders, so they can foster a culture of integrity in the workplace, before identifying the 10 most common integrity issues. With lots of real-world examples, Intentional Integrity–which made Inc. Magazine’s “Top 10 Business Books of 2020” list— is a compelling read for anyone interested in business ethics.

Notable Quotes

  • “Intentional integrity is not just a vow to be virtuous. It means making a serious and thorough effort to, first, identify an organization’s purpose and the values it stands for; then develop specific rules that reflect those values; and finally, drive the importance of following the rules into every corner–and level–of a company. ”
  • “Ambiguity is the enemy of integrity.”
  • “The trouble is, most companies don’t talk much about integrity. Many seem to fear that it might attract unwanted attention, scrutiny, or accusations of hypocrisy.”

6. Winners Never Cheat by Jon M. Huntsman, Sr.

Winners Never Cheat by Jon M. Huntsman, Sr.

There’s a common belief in business that to succeed, you have to cut corners. After all, everybody’s doing it–right? Although Huntsman maintains that “ethical corner-cutting has risen faster than the price of a gallon of gas,” he makes a strong case against the practice in Winners Never Cheat: Even in Difficult Times.

Huntsman should know. He built a $12 billion-dollar company from scratch, and along the way, he faced many difficult decisions, unforeseen obstacles, and tough times–yet he still managed to succeed without compromising his values. In this inspiring book, he provides real-world examples that illustrate how he did it, and more importantly, he offers practical advice on how you can too.

Notable Quotes

  • “The rationale that you have to cheat to stay competitive is a powerful lure. Moral bankruptcy is the inevitable conclusion.”
  • “When expediency trumps propriety, it results in an escalating toboggan ride down a mountainside, a descent impossible to stop until the sled crashes from excessive speed and lack of direction.”
  • “Take your values to work. Don’t disconnect them when you sit down at your desk. There should not be a conflict between making a profit and adhering to traditional principles of decency and fairness.”

7. Business Ethics by Mark S. Schwartz

Business Ethics by Mark S. Schwartz

In Business Ethics: An Ethical Decision-Making Approach, business ethics professor Mark S. Schwartz takes an in-depth look at the elements that determine someone’s moral character. Along the way, he keeps things entertaining by offering relevant, real-world examples to illustrate various concepts.

Schwartz also examines what prevents ethical behavior, before providing a “3P” framework for making ethical decisions: the public test (would you want your decision to be made public?), the parent test (what would you tell your child to do?), and the pillow test (can you sleep peacefully at night having made your decision?).

Notable Quotes

  • “When our moral character is weak or has been placed under too much stress, we can more easily reach an ethical tipping point or personal ethical threshold and morally compromise our moral value system leading to unethical behavior.”
  • “In a business organizational context, the strength of our moral character often dictates the extent to which we are prepared to challenge decision making by raising ethical concerns, report ethical misconduct, or report bad news or mistakes to our managers.”
  • “Those who possess strong levels of moral competence tend to be able to judge situations as right or wrong rather than remaining unclear or undecided over what the right action consists of.”

8. The Noble Edge by Christopher Gilbert

The Noble Edge by Christopher Gilbert

Gilbert kicks off The Noble Edge: Reclaiming an Ethical World One Choice at a Time in a compelling way, as he recounts how his hot meal delivery company was destroyed by an unethical competitor. Fortunately for his readers, that experience prompted Gilbert to earn a Ph.D. specializing in leadership ethics before becoming an author and international ethics consultant.

In this award-winning book, Gilbert uses humorous anecdotes, personal stories, and real-world examples to illustrate how you can bring ethics into your home, boardroom, community, and beyond. The book covers a lot of ground, providing three research-proven steps and nine principles for leading an ethically-driven life.

Although The Noble Edge’s focus isn’t solely on business ethics, it’s still an inspirational book that’s well worth a read. Business executives, in particular, will appreciate the chapter covering Enron and corporate ethics.

Notable Quotes

  • “There is no right way to do the wrong thing.”
  • “In the broadest context, an ethical choice is any decision or action that has an impact on others now, or in the future.”
  • “Here’s the surprise about invoking the legal or illegal question to judge ethical behavior (which is common practice in business): legality is the low bar where moral conversations start and ethical actions begin. ‘Legal’ or ‘illegal’ is the beginning of the discussion about ethics, not the end.”

9. Net Positive by Paul Polman and Andrew Winston

Net Positive by Paul Polman and Andrew Winston

Named one of the Best Books of the Year by Bloomberg, Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take asserts that to thrive today and tomorrow, companies must become net positive–in other words, they must give more than they take.

Written by former Unilever CEO Paul Polman and corporate sustainability expert Andrew Winston, Net Positive argues that government can’t tackle the world’s most urgent problems alone. Subsequently, businesses must step up. Fortunately, the book offers plenty of tangible advice on how to do that–while still meeting shareholders’ demands.

Notable Quotes

  • “… our vision of net positive is a business that improves well-being for everyone it impacts and at all scales–every product, every operation, every region and country, and for every stakeholder, including employees, suppliers, communities, customers, and even future generations and the planet itself.”
  • “The ultimate question is this: Is the world better off because your business is in it?”
  • “… given the scale and urgency of climate change, the moral imperative of tackling inequality, and the changing nature of financial markets, the quarterly-focused, shareholder-first mantra is wildly unfit for today’s world and is ultimately self-defeating.”

10. The Hard Sell by Evan Hughes

The Hard Sell by Evan Hughes

Unlike the other books on this list, The Hard Sell: Crime and Punishment at an Opioid Startup doesn’t teach leaders how they can behave more ethically. What it does instead is examine the consequences of behaving unethically, by taking an in-depth look at the Insys corporation’s sales tactics.

For those unfamiliar with the Insys saga, the pharmaceutical company developed Subsys, an oral fentanyl spray so powerful that it was only approved by the FDA for breakthrough pain in cancer patients. Despite that, Insys founder John Kapoor aggressively drove sales representatives to do whatever it took to make a sale–even if it meant bribing unscrupulous doctors to prescribe Subsys to patients who were cancer-free.

A powerful morality tale and riveting read, The Hard Sell takes an in-depth look at what businesses are capable of when ethics go out the window.

Notable Quotes

  • “What separates the opioid crisis from all previous drug epidemics is that it has its roots in drugs that are perfectly legal to use–FDA-approved and highly regulated painkillers much like Subsys.”
  • “An analysis of data from 2014 and 2015, in the thick of the epidemic, showed that the more opioid prescriptions a doctor writes, the more likely it is that drug companies are paying him.”
  • “Some reps came to believe that just by doing their jobs at Insys, they were becoming complicit in something troubling.”

11. From Values to Action by Harry M. Kraemer Jr.

From Values to Action by Harry M. Kraemer Jr.

Former Baxter International CEO Harry M. Kraemer asserts in From Values to Action: The Four Principles of Values-Based Leadership that value-driven leadership is characterized by self-reflection; balance and perspective; true self-confidence, and genuine humility. Furthermore, Kraemer argues that by doing the right thing, value-driven leaders can achieve exceptional results.

Broken into three parts, From Values to Action identifies the four principles of value-based leadership, before explaining the characteristics of value-based organizations. Finally, the book closes with advice on how companies can deal with the 3 C’s: change, controversy, and crisis. Straightforward and insightful, From Values to Action provides immediately applicable lessons and real-world examples from Kraemer’s own career.

Notable Quotes

  • “Learning how to take the time to step back and reflect is absolutely essential to your becoming a values-based leader.”
  • “Self-reflection is the key to identifying what you stand for, what your values are, and what matters most.”
  • “Values-based leadership requires lifelong learning and a continuous process of self-reflection to discover those areas in which we need to grow and develop. We are always traveling toward a forward-moving goal; we never arrive.”

12. Grow the Pie by Alex Edmans

Grow the Pie by Alex Edmans

Although this tome weighs in at 540 pages, Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit is well worth the time spent reading. In Grow the Pie, finance professor Alex Edmans explains the principles of what he calls pieconomics, an approach to business that seeks to create profits only through creating value for society.

Edmans argues that typically, companies have had a pie-splitting mentality–if I give you a piece of pie, there’s less for me. However, with a pie-growing mindset, businesses can remain true to their purpose, benefit society, and generate healthy, sustainable profits. Edmans uses an evidence-based approach to back up this assertion before explaining what companies can do to grow the pie.

Updated and expanded since the pandemic, Grow the Pie successfully counters the notion that companies need to choose between purpose and profit. Instead, businesses can be a force for good by growing the pie for all stakeholders.

Notable Quotes

  • “By applying a radically different approach to business, enterprises can create both profit for investors and value for society.”
  • “A pie-growing company’s primary objective is social value, and it views profits as a by-product.”
  • “Pieconomics is urgent given the scale of social problems and the power of business to alleviate or exacerbate them. Innovation and excellence to solve these problems often involves an attitudinal shift rather than a major financial outlay, and can be practiced by all firms–even small enterprises or those who are financially constrained.”

13. Conscious Business by Fred Kofman

Conscious Business by Fred Kofman

In Conscious Business: How to Build Value Through Values, executive coach Fred Kofman maintains that consciousness is the source of organizational greatness. According to Kofman, a conscious business aims to make all stakeholders happy, while aligning work with core values.

While this is an ongoing process that demands constant attention and commitment, Kofman believes it’s a necessity … that businesses must become conscious if they want to survive.

Fortunately, Conscious Business provides simple tools you can use to develop greater consciousness. The book offers valuable insights on qualities like unconditional responsibility, unflinching integrity, and authentic communication to provide readers with a “consciousness roadmap.”

Notable Quotes

  • “In order to do business consciously, we need to ponder the most fundamental questions pertaining to reality and human existence and let these insights guide our business choices.”
  • “Conscious employees are an organization’s most important asset; unconscious employees are its most dangerous liability.”
  • “A great manager leads through unconditional responsibility, essential integrity, ontological humility, authentic communication, constructive negotiation, impeccable coordination, and emotional mastery.”

14. Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh

Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh

One thing the books on this list have in common is their emphasis on the notion that companies can turn a healthy profit–while still remaining ethical. Former Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh is no different, and in his book, Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose, he explains Zappos’ phenomenal growth, even as the company adhered to its ethics and core values.

Divided into three sections, Delivering Happiness begins by detailing Hsieh’s background, including how he made his way to Zappos. From there, the book covers the important philosophies Zappos follows, before outlining Zappos’ vision for taking things to the next level.

An inspirational read, Delivering Happiness maintains that corporate culture should be a company’s #1 priority … and by creating a unique corporate culture, businesses don’t have to sacrifice profits for purpose. Instead, they can deliver happiness to all their diverse stakeholders, while still remaining true to their core values.

Notable Quotes

  • “Your personal core values define who you are, and a company’s core values ultimately define the company’s character and brand. For individuals, character is destiny. For organizations, culture is destiny.”
  • “We must never lose our sense of urgency in making improvements. We must never settle for ‘good enough,’ because good is the enemy of great.”
  • “When you focus on increasing the happiness of your employees, colleagues, vendors, and customers, you not only increase your own happiness but your chances for success.”

15. The Business Ethics Field Guide by Bill O’Rourke, Brad Agle, and Aaron Miller

The Business Ethics Field Guide by Bill O’Rourke, Brad Agle, and Aaron Miller

While there are hundreds of books explaining how leaders can manage better and communicate more effectively, few of them tackle the thorny topic of business ethics. In The Business Ethics Field Guide: The Essential Companion to Leading Your Career and Your Company to Greatness, the authors suggest that clarifying values–and finding a way forward when those values conflict–is an essential, yet oft-neglected third skill.

Fortunately, The Business Ethics Field Guide provides the answer to that conundrum by offering 13 types of ethical dilemmas, as well as guidance on how to handle them. The book also explains the various factors that make it difficult for us to do the right thing. All in all, The Business Ethics Field Guide is a must-read if you want to develop the ability to proceed ethically when faced with challenging business dilemmas.

Notable Quotes

  • “… when people can trust each other, doing business becomes much less expensive for everyone, because the costs of self-preservation go down. The fruits of cooperation, fundamental to any economic activity, grow more readily.”
  • “Ethical decision-making skills are every bit as critical to organizations as strong management and leadership skills.”
  • “In an interconnected world, it is nearly impossible not to be involved in at least a tangential way with products or activities that conflict with your values.”
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The Ultimate List of Brainstorming Exercises for Teams

Brainstorming Exercises For Teams

The word “brainstorm” can invoke a variety of responses that range from excitement to dread depending on past experience but, when done right, it’s truly an opportunity to foster a creative environment, encourage creative thinking, and bring your team together.

When you think of brainstorming, you probably picture a simple room and people sitting around a table shouting ideas at someone who is quickly jotting them down on a whiteboard. Sure, that is one way to do it, but there are a number of creative ways to brainstorm to help bring out the best ideas from your team.

First, though, let’s take a moment to be critical of your team’s current brainstorming practices because knowing what is going wrong will help to ensure that you can get it right next time.

Red Flags of Brainstorming Sessions

Red Flags of Brainstorming Sessions

There is nothing more draining on time, energy, and creativity than a bad brainstorming session. Being able to recogninize the red flags is an important step to planning an effective sessions and here are the most common red flags to be conscious of moving forward.

The Unequal Balance of the Conversation

This is obvious, quite literally. It is hard to miss the one person who wants to dominate the conversation and everyone is familiar with the big personalities on the team. Intentional or not, these people can take over the session and aliante more introverted people who will no longer feel comfortable speaking up.

Let’s talk about the anchoring effect, you may not be familiar with the term but I guarantee that you have experienced it. A couple of good ideas are shared and all brainstorming stops to develop the first ideas shared by influential people in the room. While brainstorming can’t go on forever, stopping the flow of ideas too soon could mean that you miss out on all the possibilities that the team can contribute.

Lack of Confidence

This is the silent killer of brainstorming, people shutting down their own ideas before they even leave your mouth because they don’t feel confident or comfortable enough to share their ideas. Lack of confidence doens’t happen over night, it tends to come after prolonged questioning of someones ability or frequent micromanaging. If you team appears to be suffering from lack of confidence, not only is it important to remind them that this is a safe place but also investigate other aspects of their work where there may be someone or some process chipping away at their confidence.

Disconnected and Uninterested team

This is the worst and is usually paired with the previous red flags. It is hard to be interested in a conversation where you can’t get a word in edgewise or the first idea pitched by the team lead was the accepted one. Usually, this results in an awkward silence and stale ideas.

If you recognize that your team appears less than excited at the thought of a brainstorming session, you may have to do some digging to get to the true cause… or maybe you are not using the right brainstorming technique.

Top List of Brainstorming Techniques

Top List of Brainstorming Techniques

There are so many ways to brainstorm that it is impossible to capture them all in one list… but I tried! To make it easier, techniques have been grouped into categories to better filter the ones that will work best for your team.

Traditional Brainstorming Techniques

There are a few techniques that come to mind right away when someone says “brainstorm”. These activities are well known for a reason, they have been shown to be highly effective!

Brainwriting

This is a great way to get introverts to participate because you don’t have to actually talk, think of it as a game of telephone only the message gets better instead of worse.

You start by jotting down a couple of ideas on a piece of paper. After a couple of minutes, you pass the paper to the person beside you and, in turn, receive a piece. In front of you are a handful of ideas you may or may not have had yourself. From here, you elaborate on the ideas of others, inspired by a couple of words on the page. The pages make their rounds and then the team will review them.

Another variation of this technique is called rapid ideation. This technique means that you are writing down ideas quickly, sticking to a specific and tight time constraint forcing people to jot down the first thing on their mind.

Storyboarding

While usually a technique used by visual creators of TV shows, movies and other visual media, it can be very helpful for a team to use this method to brainstorm ideas. Sticky notes work great for this because you can jot down ideas and rearrange them as you see fit. You can even print out headshots if your ideas involve members of your team or perhaps a new hire. Think logos of clients you are looking to work with or of programs you wish to consider as other possible visuals.

This technique helps the team to see any patterns or larger themes that may be missed in more text-heavy brainstorming methods.

Round-Robin Brainstorming

Tried and tested, most people are familiar with round-robin brainstorming. This technique is great for larger groups and ensures that everyone can contribute to the discussion, not just those who speak the loudest.

Sitting in a circle, the team each receives an index card. From here, they are instructed to write down an idea and past it to the person on their left. When you receive a card, you can elaborate on the idea of your neighbour. The cards make their way around the circle at least once so that every idea ends up with the feedback and elaboration of each participant.

While similar to brainwriting, the key difference is that round-robin brainstorming focuses on just one idea as opposed to many. This method is fantastic for co-creating but also inspires others with ideas that they likely haven’t considered.

Popcorn Brainstorming

Popcorn anyone? Just like that tasty bag of salty goodness in the microwave, this technique expands with the input of energy and results in a real treat. Popcorn brainstorming is much like round-robin only that you contribute vocally. The facilitator makes a statement or asks a question and each person has one minute to contribute their thoughts or ideas out loud.

Popcorn brainstorming may be stressful for the more introverted people on your team and is not great if your team is suffering from low confidence. Be sure to consider those factors if this is a technique you wish to try.

Word Banking

Word banking invites the team to submit words that are relevant to the idea or problem. A word bank can be big or small but will ultimately contain a list of words that can be moved around and connected in ways to provide a new perspective on a topic or problem.

This technique works well because the words can be used for a number of other activities such as marketing and SEO.

Using Imagination and Scenarios for Brainstorming

Using Imagination and Scenarios for Brainstorming

Sometimes, these brainstorming techniques can be a hard sell for more serious folk but their benefits cannot be denied. Creativity is great for breeding even more creativity.

Wishing

This is exactly what it sounds likes. Remove every possible constraint: time, money, resources… all of them, gone. Ask your team how they would solve a problem or develop an idea if there were no boundaries at all. This can take a while to get rolling because the idea of there being no boundaries is so far out there and our brains have likely not visited that realm since we were children.

Capture this list of ideas and tweeze out some favourites. At this point, you can start to slowly return your team back to reality and impose reasonable boundaries but continue to investigate what components, themes, or ideas from these wishes may actually be attainable. Think of how ideas may be scaled down or implemented under more reasonable circumstances.

Figure Storming

What would Steve Jobs do? What would Brene Brown do? What would Jim from finance do?

This method involves picking someone who is not in the room, who people like and trust and putting yourself in their shoes. This could be a celebrity, the CEO of the company, or even the friendly office custodian. It certainly helps creativity to put words in someone else’s mouth, especially if it is something that you have never and likely will never meet but whose personality you are familiar with.

This activity helps people feel more comfortable sharing ideas because they are sharing them as someone else.

The Paper Clip Method

This is a fun one and leaves lots of room for creativity and even humour! The idea is that you have a simple item, like a paperclip, and instruct each team member to think of alternative ways that you can use that item. This is a great way to get the creative juices flowing while also having a bit of fun.

The item itself is irrelevant, the whole purpose of this activity is to get people comfortable with the idea of being creative.

Eidetic Image Method

This method is based on the ability to visualize a solution or idea in your mind. It’s directed by a moderator who starts by asking the team to close their eyes and visualize their response to the moderators questions with their eyes closed.

Think of a team designing a new computer chair for office workers. The moderator may have questions like:

  • What colour do you imagine this chair to be?
  • What kind of features will this chair have that are not currently on your existing chair?
  • What is the size of this chair?

You get the idea. Keep asking questions until there is a clear picture in the minds of the team. Survey the team to get the picture out of their mind and see how it compares with others.

This technique works better when it comes to enhancing something that already exists as opposed to designing something new. Having a foundation to build and improve on.

Brainstorm Acronyms

Everyone loves an acronym, right? Here are two that you should know when it comes to brainstorming.

S.C.A.M.P.E.R.

This is a long one but hang in there because it is a great technique for brainstorming! The word “scamper” means to move or run quickly, usually with excitement, a relevant word for a brainstsorming activity. Ideally, this technique is used to improve upon an existing idea or product by testing out different scenarios and looking at it with an exciting new perspective. The acronym is broken down like this:

Substitute: What would happen if we substituted “X” for “Y”?

Combine: What would happen if we combined “X” and “Y”?

Adapt: What would need to change to adapt to a new scenario, environment or context?

Modify: What could we modify to improve this idea or product?

Put to another use: What other uses could this project or idea have?

Eliminate: How could we simplify it?

Reverse: How could we reorganize this idea or project to work differently or better?

Each question digs a little bit deeper and forces to the team to consider new possibilities and even new elements of an existing idea or product.

S.W.O.T

S.W.O.T

Did you really think there would be a brainstorming list without a S.W.O.T analysis? This is certainly one of the better-known techniques and is essential in business development especially but has other implications and uses. S.W.O.T stands for:

Strengths: What are you doing well?

Weaknesses: What areas can be improved upon?

Opportunities: What area can you take advantage of or are available?

Threats: What could negatively impact your idea?

This activity puts you in problem-solving mode and takes into account the competition or potential threats to your idea. It’s also a great add on to the brainstorming session once an idea has been more fully realized.

Digital Brainstorming

Digital Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a different ball game when your team is unable to meet physically but there are a number of ways to engage with a remote team.

Chat Waterfall

Technology is great… when it works. Sometimes, technology can be slow and some people type faster than others.

Enter the chat waterfall!

Using your chat program of choice, divide your team into smaller groups. From there, ask each group to start typing their ideas into the chatbox. Instruct them to not hit “enter” until they are asked to. After a designated amount of time, the group is instructed to hit enter and a waterfall of ideas appears! Continue this with however many groups you have.

This method helps put everyone on a level playing field and ensures that ideas come in at a pace where you can truly appreciate each one.

Brain Netting

To make the best use of this technique, chose a central digital location where you can gather ideas. There are a number of platforms designed for this already, digital whiteboards work great. Start by putting a idea in the center of of the document. From here, people can contributing by typing or using digital sticky notes to add their thoughts and comments. Because you are seeing this on your screen in real time, you can watch ideas develop and contribute wherever you like.

This technique is best for capturing new ideas to be developed later and with other methods mentioned on this list. Brain netting can also be an ongoing activity, leaving the document or virtual whiteboard open for anytime contribution.

Step-ladder Technique

While this technique can also be done in person, it is a great way to make effective use of breakout rooms in your video conferencing apps.

Start with the idea or brainstorming topic. From there, have a moderator or facilitator choose the first two members of your team to discuss the idea for a couple of minutes while everyone else leaves and hangs out in a breakout room. Every couple of minutes, a team member leaves the breakout room and joins the brainstorming session. This happens until everyone is back in the main room.

This is a great brainstorming technique for a medium sized group and gives everyone an opportunity to participate. While it may be a bit nerve wracking to be part of the original two, the idea continues developing with each additional person, everyone leaving a bit of their mark.

Brainstorming by the Numbers

Brainstorming by the Numbers

So we shared a couple of great acronyms but there are also some great numerical brainstorming activities that just add up (see what I did there?).

Zero Draft

Start from the beginning… the very beginning.

Write as if you are taking notes for someone who has zero insight at all into your idea and you don’t want to miss any points. The key here is that you don’t worry about format or even spelling, just freely write everything you can possibly think of. People also call this technique a brain dump and is a great activity for an individual to get all their ideas out with the intention of organizing them later.

3-12-3 Brainstorm

Ever heard of Parkinson’s law? It basically says that work will fill the time it is given and that’s important to understand for this next brainstorming method.

The idea is that you start fast, your team has only 3 minutes to generate as many ideas as possible. Once the 3 minutes are up, the team then has 12 minutes to consider the ideas they came up with and try and make sense of them. After 12 minutes of refining, the last 3 minutes are used to present the concept back to the group.

You will be surprised at what can be accomplished in less than 20 minutes and the restrictions encourage people to go with their gut ideas without thinking about them for too long.

1-2-4-All

If you have a larger group, this method is a great one to try out with your team. Starting small with individual team members reflecting on their own about an idea. From here, they pair up with another team member and discuss eachs others idea. That pair then merges with another pair and further expands on the idea.

You can continue doubling the group for all long as you need to and this will vary greatly depending on the size of your team.

6-8-5 Brainstorming

This is another technique that involves quick thinking and boundaries. The idea is to give your team a starting point by asking a question. From there, they can jot down 6-8 ideas in 5 minutes. Remind them that perfection isn’t the goal, just get 6-8 ideas out of your head in a short period of time to refine later, kind of like a brain dump with a time limit.

25/10 Crowd Sourcing

As the name suggests, this technique is great for larger crowds. Start by writing and idea on a index card. With a timer set for a couple minutes, encourage people to walk around the room and exchange cards without looking at them. When the timer stops, each person will have a different idea in their hand. With the new idea in hand, rate it on a scale of 1-5. Repeat this process until each card has a total of 5 ratings. Add up the ratings on each card for a score out of 25. Chose the top 10 scored ideas and use those to influence your brainstorming as they are the most popular ideas among your team.

The 5 Whys

Much like an inquisitive toddler, asking “why” multiple times tends to break down a statement to the most basic elements.

This activity starts with a problem that your team wishes to solve. Make it clear and central because you will be referring to it 5 times. Ask your team why this is even a problem, why does it exist? From there, keep digging deeper by asking “why” another 4 times. This is a great activity to really get to the root of the problem and will help you develop a better solution.

Visual and Creative Brainstorming

Visual and Creative Brainstorming

For many people, it’s helpful to see the ideas right in front of them or be able to manipulate the medium in real-time. This is where more visual methods of brainstorming come in.

Mind Mapping

Remember food webs from middle school? Mind mapping is similar in that you start with the problem in the center of the map and then branch out trying to identify very specific problems that you are trying to solve. Once this first layer is done, you can take all the minor problems and start picking away are more reasonable-sized tasks as they relate to the idea.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!

Mind mapping works well because it makes a big problem more manageable, breaking it down into tasks that can then be assigned to the most appropriate people. Whiteboards are fantastic for this but you can also use a number of mind mapping programs like Coggle of Mindly.

Starbursting

No, not the yummy chewy candy but this brainstorming technique is pretty sweet to work with when a team has already narrowed down the idea and is looking for ideas on how to execute it.

Starting with the idea in the center of a physical or virtual whiteboard, create a 6-point start around it. The 6-points each represent a key question: who, what, when, why, where, and how. Once this is drawn, the team can get to work answering the questions as they relate to the idea.

Let’s say you are designing a new office chair like mentioned above, the questions may look like this:

  • Who are we designing this chair for?
  • What is the motivation to create a better chair when there are many already out there?
  • When should we launch the product?
  • Why would they choose us over another competitor?
  • Where would we find the target audience?
  • How do we reach this audience?

Of course, those are not the only questions, there can be multiple questions in each category but it is a good start to get those creative juices flowing.

Group Sketching

Something about asking a group of adults to draw or sketch tends to make people uncomfortable but those who embrace this technique reap the rewards!

Start by asking members of the team to sketch an image that relates in some way to your idea. After a designated amount of time, their page is passed along to the next person who can add or elaborate on the concept. This activity is repeated several times and the final drawings are then brought to the center to discuss.

Much like brainstorming activities that involve passing along a word or sentence for someone to elaborate on, this activity can bring out many new ideas that the original contributor may not have considered. The visual nature of the exercise helps people visualize ideas in ways that words cannot.

Walking Brainstorm

Who says you need to sit around a table to have a good brainstorming session? Make use of a large room and create different areas that people can visit and brainstorm in a couple of different ways. There is no set way to do this but consider:

  • Having flip charts in each corner with an idea written on each, having people contribute ideas by writing directly on the paper
  • Have certain walls or areas covered in sticky notes and encourage people to rearrange them in ways that make sense
  • Have a list of ideas on different tables and encourage people to leave a sticker beside the idea that they like best

There really are a million ways to do this but the key is that there is some kind of physical movement involved.

Change of scenery

Time for a field trip! Seriously, leave your chair, walk out the door and into a different space.

Using coworking spaces is a great way to change the scenery but still have all of the professional comforts handy. Many companies now have memberships at local coworking spaces and give their team an alternate space to be inspired… hard to be inspired by the same four walls all the time.

Fresh air can also do wonders, consider an outdoor session to help inspire your team to share their best ideas.

Alternative Brainstorming Methods

Alternative Brainstorming Methods

When the typical brainstorming techniques just won’t cut it, consider some of these creative and sometimes backwards methods that actually work!

Thinking Hats

Courtesy of psychologist Edward de Bono, the thinking hats technique is exactly what it sounds like. He suggests breaking down complex ideas into 6 areas:

  • Logic – consider the hard and indisputable facts
  • Optimism – looking at both the value and the benefits
  • Emotion – gut reactions, feelings
  • Devil’s Advocate – the opposite of optimism, seeing the potential threats
  • Management – overseeing the process and ensuring rules are followed
  • Creativity – considering all the possibilities from a new perspective

This method could be made extra fun by actually having actual hats that people can wear. Your team can take turns looking at a given idea and provide perspective based on the hat that they are wearing. This activity can also give people permission to share something that they may feel judged or uncomfortable for sharing, using the hat as a scapegoat.

Reverse Brainstorming

Reverse brainstorming is kind of like starting out wearing the devil’s advocate hat, you start with the problem. The difference, however, is that you then work backwards to think of solutions to the problems that have been identified.

Problems will arise whether you think of them or not so, while this exercise may seem counterintuitive, it’s actually super helpful to be clear on what potential problems realistically exist and how you will react to them if they (or when they) happen.

Questioning Assumptions

This is one case where it is totally okay to make assumptions. This activity can be done independently by assigning the team to list a certain amount of assumptions and then submit them to a central location. The key is to remind the team that it doesn’t matter if they know the assumption to be false, write it down anyway. Assign a team member to go through the list and combine duplicates, noting assumptions that appear multiple times.

Tips to Run an Effective Session

Tips to Run an Effective Session

Brainstorming doesn’t just happen, you need to create the right conditions that will enable your team to be creative and really feel comfortable sharing their ideas. Here are the top tips to run an effective brainstorming session, no matter what technique you use!

Set the Intention

You can’t have an effective meeting without an agenda and you can’t have an effective brainstorming session without setting the intention and goals for the activity. Your team will work much better if there is a clear goal for them to work towards and then understand that the end result of their work will look like.

Encourage Wild Ideas

While some of the techniques mentioned above are more conducive to encouraging wild ideas, be sure to remind your team that, in a brainstorming session, no idea is bad. Try suggesting a few wild ideas yourself to give an example as well as permission to share.

Let People Prep

Don’t pop a brainstorming session into the laps of your team without any notice, this will cause unnecessary stress and is inconsiderate of whatever headspace they may currently be in. Make sure that you schedule the session in advance and give any relevant information that your team may need to prepare. Not only will people show up more willing to engage, it also helps them feel more confident when they can prepare even a little bit in advance.

Invite Guests

A brainstorming session doesn’t need to be just your immediate team, new people means new perspective and ideas. This can be a great way to involve other departments in your company or outside expertise.

Create a Supportive Environment

One way to guarantee that a team member will never speak up again is to shut them down in an environment that is suppose to be inclusive. Words can be empty, be sure to have a facilitator who can walk the walk and encourage people to share and express gratitude when they do.

Document Everything

This can look different with each brainstorming technique because some have built in recording (flip charts, sticky notes, index cards, virtual white boards) but the key is to make sure that ideas are captured in some way and available to everyone.

Follow Up

There is nothing worse then attending a great brainstorming session and then hearing crickets. What happened to all those great ideas? Were any of them considered? Was it even worth attending? Of course, not every great idea will fit into the plan for your organization but it is discouraging to not see some kind of outcome from your sessions. Keep the team updated with how the information is used, especially if there was someone who contributed an idea that was later used.

Conclusion

You know you had a good session when people leave the space (physical or virtual) inspired, excited, and feeling accomplished. You want to plan a session that people want to go to, not drag themselves to. Re-read the list and try out a couple new techniques with your team at your next brainstorming session!