Manage Your Time With Your Manager

Time is a precious resource in business. Time is important to you and it is just as important to your manager. So it’s essential that we make the most of the time we get with our manager, especially if we have a virtual organization and time together is infrequent.

Communicating effectively is the key to maximizing your time with your manager. One definition of effective communication we like to use is: effective communication occurs when messages are clearly sent and accurately received. However, there are so many potential barriers to anticipate and navigate that can disrupt the sending/receiving process.

How do you know there is a barrier? – How do you know your message has missed the mark? One key indicator, either virtually or face to face, is you don’t get the reaction you expect!

The “Your Style with Your Manager” report from imapMyTeam will help you anticipate, navigate and manage your approach to delivering an effective message, and that might be just the difference you need to succeed in the short amount of time we have in today’s environment.

To access your customized report, go to the center pane on thewww.imapMyTeam.com homepage and click on the drop down menu that says “Reports about you”. From the list of reports click on the “Your Style with Your Manager” report.

This report will give you some quick insight regarding “When you are at your best” with your manager and it will also give you some helpful ways to recognize when you “are not at your best”. Utilizing this report will help you develop a strategy for how you might change (manage) the way you interact with your manager next time.


Do your best to maximize the time you have with your manager; time used wisely is a precious and productive resource.

Olympic Sized Pressure

On Saturday I watched the USA-Russia hockey game and thought about the immense pressure that all the players felt prior to this game. The Russians are skilled and expected to win on their home ice; the Americans are thought to be the most ‘complete’ team even though most believe the Canadians are the most talented team. The game was intense and after a regulation tie, went into overtime, then a shootout.

Although some others participated in the shootout victory hung in the balance on the performance of USA goalie Jonathan Quick, Russian goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, USA forward T.J Oshie and Russian forward Ilya Kovalchuk. Pressure indeed. Playing for your country, Russian President Putin looking down from the Presidential box, political overtones present, even if unspoken- the game over in a flash with one mistake. High stakes while twenty plus of your teammates watch you perform from the bench rooting for you to pull it out.

After seven shootout rounds and the game still tied, Quick made a great save on Kovalchuk then T.J. Oshie ended the game with his 4^th goal in 6 shootout attempts!

How well do you perform under pressure?

Maybe you are not in the Olympics, but I would not be surprised if you were under pressure to perform more often than not. Your teammates counting on you to come through…

imapMyTeam.com can help you shine like Jonathan Quick and T.J. Oshie. In the center pane section there is a report called “How to Succeed Under Pressure” that will give you great insight as to the circumstances that cause you to feel pressure and how to rise to the occasion.

If you are looking to another lesson from this game, once T.J. Oshie scored the winning shootout goal he turned and pointed to his goalie, Jonathan Quick to acknowledge his part.


Who doesn’t like a teammate that understands the pressure others are under as well and willingly acknowledges their contributions?

What role do you play in Success?

Last week, Jay Leno appeared for his final time as host of “The Tonight Show”. First airing in 1954, “The Tonight Show” is one of the longest running and most successful franchises in American television history. Despite the fragmentation of the late night television market it has sat atop the ratings charts for most of its history.

Before asking musical guest, Garth Brooks to close the show with one last song, Jay took time to acknowledge his audience for their loyalty and thanked all of his hard working staff, many of whom had been with him for all of the 22 years he hosted. He mentioned many people who work in the background -the lighting crew that helped him look better than he really looked; the audio people that made him sound better than he really sounded; and producers and all kinds of talented people who helped him appear smarter than he really was.

Every successful franchise or endeavor requires a supporting cast of talent and skill, engaged and willing to do their best work, in concert with a coordinated plan to achieve their end goal. In most businesses it’s not enough to simply achieve the goal; it’s also about sustaining the performance over the long haul. When team players are engaged and able to fully utilize their strengths, great things can happen and achieving and sustaining performance is easy.

The “How I Contribute to the Organization” report found atwww.imapMyTeam.com will help you and others quickly recognize some of the strengths you bring to the success of your team. It can serve as a reminder that there may be a strength you have not yet offered to the team, as well as a strength you need to use more regularly to be productive and support the success of the team. In times of change this report may also help you identify new strengths you may need to develop to sustain your personal and team success.

Remember, no individual succeeds without some help; everyone’s contribution is required.

Inspiration is Indiscriminate

"Success isn't just about what you accomplish in life. It's about what you inspire others to do."
~Anonymous Quote

You will probably agree that most, if not all of us, are drawn to a people we find inspirational. Someone that touches us through their deeds, words, ideas, spirit, or passion – we can find inspiration in so many things and from so many people.

Inspiration is indiscriminate because it comes in many forms and from many places.

If we were to ask you what great leader inspires/inspired you we might see a lot of overlap because people often mention the iconic leaders – Lincoln, Churchill, King, Mandela and so on. But sometimes people list these same leaders for different reasons. Sometimes the list expands to include important, but lesser known names than above, because something about that person resonates so deeply and personally with you.

Inspiration can play a big role in the things we choose to pursue and involve ourselves in. It can also be just what we need to push on and persevere through difficult situations.

Inspiration is not limited to only ‘leaders’. Team members should recognize at any given time they have the ability to make an encouraging impression on others as well.

www.imapMyTeam.com can help you understand how you can actively influence and inspire others to be their best. The ‘How to Inspire for Best Performance’ report will give you some insight about what it takes for you and others to be influenced and inspired. The ‘My Reports’ pull down window in your center pane is where you will find this report about you. You can see the same report for your peers by clicking on their names to put them in the center pane; and then click the ‘My Reports’ pull down menu. If you have direct reports, simply click on the imapMyTeam icon next to their name to select the appropriate report. Regardless of your perspective, these reports will give you helpful insights.

Don’t just look for inspiration, become it.

Juxtaposition

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view -- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."

- Atticus Finch, in To Kill a Mockingbird

Mr. Finch would love imapMyTeam.

It is not all that unusual to be left wondering why someone else did what they did; said what they said; thinks the way they did, etc. The reason that it is not unusual is that when we contemplate that situation, we are processing it through our own unique set of filters.

And something that you can count on is that people have very different filters that impact their perception of the situation and then how that perception drives behavior.

To simplify this complexity we look at broader dominant characteristics of behavior. Those are reflected in the team player grid or team dynamics grid found in imapMyTeam.com. In both of these grids you want to pay attention to the other person’s need.

Despite outward behavior, people use their need to evaluate the person or the environment that surrounds them. If one of your colleagues always reacts differently to the same person or environment than you – they have different needs.

This is important for us to know and understand because once we have a better understanding of what another person’s underlying needs or unique set of filters are, the better we understand their choices.

Spend time reviewing and understanding your team-mates reports in imapMyTeam. This is the equivalent of ‘climbing into their skin and taking the walk’ that Atticus Finch suggests. Follow his advice and see the world through new eyes, theirs!

Are you a Coupler?

Coupler: a device for connecting railway cars or trucks together

A locomotive is a powerful machine. It is the source energy for the train. It follows a plan [the tracks] to a predetermined destination [the goal]. A locomotive cannot use that power, energy and plan however if it is not coupled to the freight cars that are carrying the cargo. Uncoupled, a locomotive would arrive at its destination by itself – and to what value?

People and teams are the same way. We may look to the manager or leader to be the locomotive of our train, but everyone is somewhat responsible for ‘coupling the cars’ too. When we are connected we do better than being a lone car that has been left off the train…forgotten, rusting away.

Freight car’s couplers are designed to snap together or apart easily. People don’t work that way, but we each have important “couplers” those things about us that connect us easily with others. These couplers or connectors are available to you by logging into imapMyTeam.com.

The fastest connection to others is around common interests. We get energized when we find someone who shares our passions and interests whether work related or avocational. Use the interest section of your Team Dynamics grid to see what work and possible outside work connections you have.

Another key area of connection is recognizing and respecting differences. While we may have a lot in common, people are far too complex not to recognize that we are all different in some way. People who are great connectors realize differences are complimentary and a source of enhanced capability rather that a reason to clash. You can use the Team Player or Team Dynamics reports to see the similarities and differences of your coworkers.

The locomotive starts only when all the cars are coupled. Effectively moving along the tracks to your goal is only possible when you are fully connected - you can’t afford to pull away from the station and leave a single car behind. Get coupled!

Fear Your Strengths

Our strengths are a gift, of sorts. They largely develop into ‘second nature’ and come so naturally to us that we have a tendency to lean on them in many, of not all, circumstances that we find ourselves in.

You have come to know your strengths well through imapMyTeam. There are many reports that describe that behavior in a positive way and how it contributes to your success and the success of the team.

You need to learn the other side.

Your strengths can work against you. You need to be able to determine where those strengths are working for you and where they may be working against you.

Are you able to recognize when you take your strengths too far?

For example, let’s say one of your strengths is to be exceedingly direct. In many circumstances that can be a strength. When you need to be crystal clear and get right to the point that directness works. The question you need to ask yourself is ‘where doesn’t it work?’ With whom or under what circumstances might some tactfulness improve the outcome.

There are many reports available in imapMyTeam.com to help you reflect on this. You can look at your strengths in the Team Player grid and reflect on times that strength did not serve you well with someone or some circumstance. Reports such as ‘How to Talk to Them’ or ‘What to Avoid with Them’ help you understand others preferences. If your strengths are opposite of that other person’s preference, how well are you managing your strength in regards to that other person?

If you are aware – and modifying your strengths as necessary, congratulations are in order. If you are not, learning to ‘fear’ your strengths, a bit more adaptability would be a good goal for 2014.

New Year - New Connections

Everyone approaches New Year’s resolutions a little differently, but typically included in the top 10 resolutions set every year (after all the health related ones!) are those that involve some level of ‘improving relationships’ and ‘networking.’

We can help you with that!

The more people you know, the better equipped you are to learn and grow because of the diversity of perspective. Engaging with someone who may evaluate a situation or a problem in an entirely different way opens our eyes.

An example to the extreme is Charles Darwin who discussed his theories and ideas for over 20 years with others prior to writing On the Origin of Species. One can bet that his ongoing dialogue, that most likely included people who saw things differently than he, must have included a number of challenges to his ideas and greatly contributed to the final product.

We are not suggesting you invest 20 years, but we are suggesting that someone you know – or need to know – can help you attain success by offering you a completely different perspective of the issue.

If ‘improving relationships’ and ‘networking’ are resolutions for you – don’t forget that a powerful app for successful business relationships already resides on your desktop. imapMyTeam is an effective tool for improving existing connections AND building new connections.

Login to imapmyteam.com now to find those new connections in 2014 and gain new perspective.