Doing what matters most: how to go about it

Q: Quietly, I have been spending a great deal of time observing the situation in the workplace here since becoming the General Manager and owner of this organisation I have taken over. There are so many things here that I feel is wrong. However, I do not want to make things worse by jumping into action without knowing enough of the organisation and what I should be actually doing. From what I can gather, the situation can be summed up in 3Ps: production is down, profit is down and people are down. With this knowledge, I feel that it is about time for me to move in with a total plan of action. What do you advise me to do?

Waiting Game

A: Any planned action should be done from the top and not the other way round. Taking a ‘helicopter view’ would mean you have a bigger perspective of the total situation and where are the key areas of focus. This will enable you to optimise your resources well while keeping your eyes on what really matters to make a quick and good turnaround.

The Bottom Line: The place to start is usually the leadership culture of your organisation. If yours is likened to a ‘command and control’ one, then this is an area you need to work on. Free them from the chain of traditional and outdated leadership practices so they have sufficient space and authority to make their own decisions on certain aspects – like how production can go up. Another place to look at may be in the policies and work rules standards of the workplace. Review them with the intention to bring down the ‘walls of bureaucracy’ so that there are fewer processes for speed of action. Another one is to make the work environment more fun and allows for more interaction with people, both from the inside and outside. Get away from making your people feel they are ‘pigeon-holed,’ almost like living in a secluded world. Perhaps, review the job itself so that it promotes their creativity while giving them autonomy as well.

Powerful Questions: What do you want your organisation to be? How does it look like? What is the biggest thing you can do to get there? How can you make your people a part of your vision?

USE STORYTELLING IN PRESENTATIONS

Q: I have heard so many comments about the ‘storytelling’ technique as a powerful motivation tool for giving speeches. I want to explore this as I believe it will make me different and also add a ‘breath of fresh air’ for the audience. What is your view on this?

Unconventional

A: Yes, I agree that storytelling is a powerful method. Ask yourself how you would respond when someone starts by saying, "I’d like to tell you a story." What would your reaction be? Now compare this to the very common way of making speeches, like when they say, "The purpose of my speech is to share with you the advantages of …"

Which one arouses your interest and curiosity more? I am quite sure the storytelling method will be more exciting, right? The key reason why people are attracted to story-telling is because they can relate them to stories of their lives, making them more meaningful and intimate. They make the audience more participative and they are likely to put in the finer details themselves to build ‘their own story’ on the story for more meaning. Indeed, stories are not only for public presentation of facts, they can be used in many situations – such as recognition events, parties, training sessions, conferences and many others.

The bottom line: There are guidelines to follow when using the storytelling method. First, decide on the story line or story theme on what you want to put across to the audience. Then, use a ‘dialogue (instead of a narrative) method’ to express the different characters in the conversation. Remember to pace it well; both in the volume and the rate you are speaking. To make it interesting, exaggerate the facts at times and put lots of expression into it. If you can involve the audience in some way, that would be even better. One last point; relax and be yourself with a style that you are most comfortable with.

Powerful Questions: What is the story that somewhat resembles one you want to share with your audience? What do you want to achieve? What pieces can be put together to attain this? What are your personal qualities that would make this story as original as possible?

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