Managers Can Motivate Employees with One Word

by Heidi Grant Halvorson  |   10:00 AM August 13, 2014

Human beings are profoundly social — we are hardwired to connect to one another and to want to work together. Frankly, we would never have survived as a species without our instinctive desire to live and work in groups, because physically we are just not strong or scary enough.

Tons of research has documented how important being social is to us. For instance, as neuroscientist Matt Lieberman describes in his book, Social: Why Our Brains are Wired to Connect, our brains are so attuned to our relationships with other people that they quite literally treat social successes and failures like physical pleasures and pains. Being rejected, for instance, registers as a “hurt” in much the same way that a blow to the head might — so much so that if you take an aspirin you’ll actually feel better about your breakup.

David Rock, founder of the NeuroLeadership Institute, has identified relatedness — feelings of trust, connection, and belonging—as one of the five primary categories of social pleasures and pains (along with status, certainty, autonomy, and fairness). Rock’s research shows that the performance and engagement of employees who experience relatedness threats or failures will almost certainly suffer. And in other research, the feeling of working together has indeed been shown to predict greater motivation, particularly intrinsic motivation, that magical elixir of interest, enjoyment, and engagement that brings with it the very best performance.

Theoretically, the modern workplace should be bursting with relatedness. Not unlike our hunter-gatherer ancestors, most of us are on teams. And teams ought to be a bountiful source of “relatedness” rewards.

But here’s the irony: While we may have team goals and team meetings and be judged according to our team performance, very few of us actually do our work in teams. Take me, for example: I conduct all the research I do with a team of other researchers. I regularly coauthor articles and books. My collaborators and I regularly meet to discuss ideas and to make plans. But I have never analyzed data with a collaborator sitting next to me, or run a participant through an experiment with another researcher at my side—and my coauthors and I have never ever typed sentences in the same room. Yes, many of the goals we pursue and projects we complete are done in teams, but unlike those bands of prehistoric humans banding together to take down a woolly mammoth, most of the work we do today still gets done alone.

So that, in a nutshell, is the weird thing about teams: They are the greatest (potential) source of connection and belonging in the workplace, and yet teamwork is some of the loneliest work that you’ll ever do.

So what we need is a way to give employees the feeling of working as a team, even when they technically aren’t. And thanks to new research by Priyanka Carr and Greg Walton of Stanford University, we now know one powerful way to do this: simply saying the word “together.”

In Carr and Walton’s studies, participants first met in small groups, and then separated to work on difficult puzzles on their own. People in the psychologically together category were told that they would be working on their task “together” even though they would be in separate rooms, and would either write or receive a tip from a team member to help them solve the puzzle later on. In thepsychologically alone category, there was no mention of being “together,” and the tip they would write or receive would come from the researchers. All the participants were in fact working alone on the puzzles. The only real difference was the feeling that being told they were working “together” might create.

The effects of this small manipulation were profound: participants in the psychologically togethercategory worked 48% longer, solved more problems correctly, and had better recall for what they had seen. They also said that they felt less tired and depleted by the task. They also reported finding the puzzle more interesting when working together, and persisted longer because of thisintrinsic motivation (rather than out of a sense of obligation to the team, which would be an extrinsic motivation).

The word “together” is a powerful social cue to the brain.  In and of itself, it seems to serve as a kind of relatedness reward, signaling that you belong, that you are connected, and that there are people you can trust working with you toward the same goal.

Executives and managers would be wise to make use of this word with far greater frequency. In fact, don’t let a communication opportunity go by without using it.  I’m serious.  Let “together” be a constant reminder to your employees that they are not alone, helping them to motivate them to perform their very best.

More blog posts by Heidi Grant Halvorson

More on: Leading teams, Morale, Motivation

HEIDI GRANT HALVORSON

Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D. is associate director for the Motivation Science Center at the Columbia University Business School and author of Nine Things Successful People Do Differently and Focus: Use Different Ways of Seeing the World to Power Influence and Success. Dr. Halvorson is available for speaking and training. She’s on Twitter@hghalvorson.

How Type-A People Can Play Nice with Others

by Melissa Raffoni  |   9:00 AM August 14, 2014

People have always commented on the fact that I am highly driven – a “Type A” to a T. I set personal goals, manage multiple projects at once, and run at the speed of light. Sometimes, I feel like I am already in 2015. But what comes with this high-performing personality is the tendency to – let’s just say it – piss people off or push them away.

In my day job helping CEOs build winning cultures, I have witnessed the effects, positive and negative, that Type-A traits have on others. And I’ve discerned three behavioral tendencies of Type-A high performers, which I refer to as the High D curse. They are the tendency to dominate, to bedemanding, and to be (or appear to be) distracted. While embracing the blessings of being Type-A, being aware of my own demon traits helps me keep them in check. Here are some tricks that have worked for me:

To stop dominating others, create — and stick to — a plan. We often dominate or micromanage when we’re not satisfied with the quality of work or the pace at which it’s done. Sometimes we are in a hurry and just don’t have the time or patience to listen and work through things with others. Maybe it’s just habit. But it becomes disruptive when we interrupt and tell people what to do.

To avoid this temptation, I spend time preparing structured meetings and agendas that are designed to be participative. In large meetings, this takes the form of pre-collected and compiled work, round-the-table questioning, or small break-out groups aimed at gathering feedback.

Most of our CEO clients support the idea of taking their leadership teams offsite for annual strategy or planning sessions. When I ask them if they would consider a facilitator, almost all of them say yes. Why? Because they recognize that their tendency in these meetings is to dominate the conversation – and that alignment, engagement, and motivation are not gained through directive communication. A well-planned, collaborative agenda will force that.

It may also help to practice getting comfortable with silence – outside of work as well as within. This will minimize your tendency to jump in and fix things, which will be better perceived by your colleagues and also provide them with the opportunity to get a word in.

To be less demanding, focus on empathy. Accept that you are of a special breed and that most individuals do not think or move at your pace. Practicing self-awareness will help you to be more empathetic and patient. As a leader, you do not want to set people up to fail. In a personal relationship, you do not want people to feel minimized. At work, the real challenge is putting people in the right roles with achievable expectations, so that they feel motivated and inclined to do their best work. If your people feel over-pressured or unsuccessful, you may be pushing without thinking twice about whether or not they’re in the right roles with the right goals. Rather than reacting or pointing blame, be empathetic and see if you need to be more accountable. If they are the wrong people, change them – don’t beat them up and get a negative result.

When I routinely ask our CEO clients what lessons they learned over a given year, almost all point to wrong people in the wrong roles and their inability to correct that fast enough. So, when you find yourself feeling overly demanding, put yourself in their shoes before pushing harder.

To avoid getting distracted, minimize interruptions. If others feel that you never listen or pay attention to them, it’s time to make some changes. A few small things can make a difference. Shut off your phone or email when interacting with others. Take time to be personal and courteous – say hello, say thank you, ask how the weekend was, etc. These small gestures show people that you care enough to take the extra time to connect.

If you are having trouble focusing, re-assess how you’re spending your time. Drop extra tasks that make you crazy or bored. While our knee-jerk reaction is to push through and do it all, at the end of the day, we will get better results by working in areas we enjoy and excel in.

These strategies take discipline and are not always possible, but mastering them will strengthen your working relationships — and the work itself.

All this said, I’m so grateful for the Type A’s in the world — but all of us in this club need to strive to be more self-aware and mindful. Whether at home or at work, we need to adjust if we want to have richer relationships and be better managers.

More blog posts by Melissa Raffoni

More on: Managing people, Managing yourself

MELISSA RAFFONI

Melissa Raffoni is CEO of The Raffoni Group, a boutique professional services firm that helps CEOs realize their highest ambitions while improving the quality of their personal and professional lives.  She is recognized for her thought leadership in the areas of CEO effectiveness, strategy, execution, leadership and organizational alignment.

How to Present to a Small Audience

by JD Schramm  |   12:00 PM August 20, 2014

It’s easy to associate delivering presentations with standing in front of an audience and gesturing toward projected slides. However, many meetings or pitches involve fewer than ten participants in a room, where everyone remains seated and walks through the same slide deck together. This is quite a different scenario with greater constraints on the presenter and fewer tools to engage the audience. But thoughtful planning and awareness of nonverbal cues can make these “non-presentations” successful.

When preparing for a seated presentation, certain tools like a lectern, projector, or microphone may not be readily available, as they might if you were presenting in front of the room. Shift your focus by asking yourself these six questions:

How do you prepare your printed deck? It is important to work from the same printed deck (with the same page numbers) as the audience. When you assemble your deck, use a limited number of handwritten notes (possibly even in light pencil), so you don’t appear overly reliant on them. One colleague shared that when she had forgotten her own deck the pitch went particularly well. She had more of a conversation when she wasn’t bound to her script. If you can’t project your slides, bring a set with you on a USB stick, or email a PDF to yourself as a backup.

How do you prepare the deck for your audience? Make it easy for people to follow what you’re saying by guiding them directly to each slide. Use highlights or sticky notes to emphasize important sections. Or try purposefully leaving something blank that you wish to have the audience fill in. My first sales job was in grad school selling advertising on a desk blotter that was given to college students. My mentor showed me that if I provided a “mini-mock up” of the calendar and quoted the prices to prospective advertisers, most of them would write down the prices as I spoke. When they later looked back at the document, with their own handwriting on it, it formed a more lasting impression.

What else should you bring with you? Since typically every member of the audience will have their own copy of the deck, I try to bring one item that everybody will look at together for at least a portion of the presentation. One group of executives I trained from Rabobank in the Netherlands had to deliver an update to senior leaders on their three-week fact-finding trip in California. Rather than print a small map of the state in each person’s deck, they instead unfolded a large AAA roadmap in the middle of the conference table and marked it up as they went through the presentation, showing the various stops on their trip. Clients of mine who work in architecture or real estate development often bring a floor plan and several sheets of clear acetate when reviewing building or site plans, so the decision makers can sketch what they hope to see in the next iteration.

When should you stand? Nonverbal experts agree that if you can stand, while others remain seated, you gain some power. So decide if you can stand for the more formal portion of the pitch and then sit to field questions. Should this prove too awkward or out-of-the-norm, consider standing for only a few moments. Perhaps stand to illustrate something on the whiteboard or flip-chart, then remain on your feet for a bit longer, as you facilitate some comments about what you’ve just illustrated.

Where should you sit? Seating should not be accidental. If you are the primary presenter, take a position beside or at a corner adjacent to the decision-maker. Research shows that if you share a corner or side of the table with the decision-maker, it will be easier to reach an agreement. Conversely, the most adversarial position (think of a chess game) is directly opposite someone. Try to sit where you can maximize eye contact. Sitting near the end of a long board table lets you easily see the majority of the people in the room (and avoids the tennis match position where you must turn your head whenever a person speaks from each end of the table). Choose a seat that minimizes the barriers between you and the audience. In a room where you regularly present, you may readily know which seat provides you the greatest nonverbal advantage; in an unfamiliar space, you have to quickly decide what’s the best option. When you are on a team for a presentation, enter the room in a way that allows the person with the greatest speaking role to select her/his seat first.

When should you distribute the pitch book? Delay this if possible. Take some time to talk about the audience’s goals and hopes for the meeting before you begin. Once they have their slide decks, you will be competing for their attention. Your initial read of the audience can also help you guide them directly to the parts of your material that matters most to them.

Aside from these five questions, it’s also important to consider the effect of your voice and your gestures – just as in a standing presentation. When seated, we still need to breathe fully from the diaphragm and speak with a strong voice. Make sure that those furthest from you can clearly hear you. Being seated allows for a more conversational and informal tone, but don’t become too relaxed, or you may lose your edge as an authority. Be sure both feet are firmly planted on the floor with your weight evenly distributed. Lean just slightly forward when you are speaking, so your audience sees your engagement with them. Some experts suggest relaxing this slightly when taking questions – sink back into the chair a bit so you appear approachable during the Q&A. Make eye contact with each person in the room, and sustain it for four to seven seconds per person, or longer if there are fewer people. Men and women face different obstacles non-verbally, as Amy Cuddy shares in her2012 TED Talk. Knowing our personal predisposition in terms of space use, gestures, and nonverbal communication can be a great start to maximizing your non-verbal power.

Ultimately, it comes down to being thoughtful and strategic. When communicating from a seated position, success depends on your relationship with the audience and how well you can engage them within certain constraints. If you think about it, we all present much more often than we realize. We need to be conscious of how we can deliver our best, even when we’re sitting down.

More blog posts by JD Schramm

More on: Communication, Managing yourself, Presentations

JD SCHRAMM

JD Schramm, Ed.D., teaches communication at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, where he founded the Mastery in Communication Initiative. Follow him on Twitter@jdschramm.  

19 Basic Cooking Techniques Every Home Chef Should Know

• HOLLIS MILLER, FOOD52

• AUG. 20, 2014, 12:27 PM

Business Insider

The problem with cooking basics is that people often forget to teach them to you. You may have watched your mother cook rice countless nights during your childhood, but things can get a little daunting when you try to take the reins. And how can you advance to delicious recipes like Cinnamon Sugar Breakfast Puffs and Kale and Quinoa Pilaf if you don’t have the basics down pat?

We've pulled together the essential techniques that every cook should know, from cooking steak and roasting vegetables to brewing coffee and baking the perfect chocolate chip cookies. So take a deep breath, take your time, and try to conquer them all. Whether you've been cooking your whole life and need to brush up on the basics, or you're getting to know your way around your first kitchen, check out these helpful how-tos for your everyday cooking.

Let's start with rice. There are many different kinds, and it's important to get to know all of them.

There are also many ways to cook rice — here's a rundown of all your cooking options.

Brown rice can be a bit trickier to cook than other varieties, but you can make it perfectly each time with this advice.

But don't let all these options overwhelm you — just heed these tips for stress-free rice.

  

.* Everyone loves pasta — here's everything you need to know to make yours the best.
  

* You'll need a good topping for your perfectly cooked spaghetti — so make marinara sauce without a recipe.

Picking out quality meat is important; learn how to identify the freshest meat and store it properly.

No meat eater can resist a perfectly seared steak — here's how to get it right every time.

* There are tons of opinions on how to roast a chicken. Read up on our community's tips, then go it on your own.

  

* You'll need a side for that roast chicken. Luckily, you can roast almost any vegetable for an easy side dish; once you have your technique down pat, your weeknight dinners will be all the better

* From poaching to scrambling, try your hand at the many ways to cook an egg and find your favorite
 

The best thing since sliced bread is actually homemade bread. Start with this no-knead sandwich loaf. 

Once you've mastered bread, move on to pizza dough

* Canned beans are fine, but cooking dried beans yourself makes them a thousand times tastier.

If you feel like your coffee isn't reaching its full potential, test out these 5 tips to improve your morning cup of joe.

For the dog days of summer, beat the heat with some cold-brewed coffee.

If you've never baked from scratch before, start off easy with these delicious chocolate chip cookies.

You should always have a chocolate cake recipe in your back pocket, for dinner parties and birthdays and every day in between. Here are fourteen. (And this one's vegan!) 

And finally, master the perfect pie — from perfecting your crust, to par baking, to weaving a lattice. We believe in you