Listening

Listening is that part of communication where the message is received and understood.  Many people would say that they listen, but do they really?  It's really different than hearing. Hearing is just when the sounds enter the ear canal and make vibrations.

I've been asked a few times about the best way to listen and I've come up with really one that answers the question. It's a simple test.

You're on a plane sitting comfortably on your way to someplace adventurous and then all of a sudden the pilot comes up on the intercom system to say, "Hello, everyone. I'm sorry to inform you that the we've lost both of our engines and that we'll be making an emergency landing in the next city."  You sit at alert anticipating the next few seconds and what's to come - Yes, instructions to save your life! 

Can you see the difference this would make on your professional life? Listening to every conversation like your life depended on it?

Here are a couple more examples. You're now at a sales meeting and your client states the conditions you and your company could stand to gain their business tripling your commissions.... Or your CIO states that your company has decided to reduce headcount and that you will be impacted ... Or your CFO states that your company has exceeded their financial goals and will be handing out bonuses.

In all of these situations and others, you're required to listen. I won't go into the details of the techniques of listening, but if your life depended on it, you'd be listening.

Regards,
Gil Gido
NAAAP Seattle
President

NAAAP Natl Webinar Series: NING

If you missed my webinar on social media, yesterday, I presented a walkthrough of NING, a new-age social networking tool, and showed how it helps businesses and associations set up a community for collaboration and to nurture relationships. I illustrated two examples, one of my clients (Vibrant Teams) and another for our own Women in NAAAP (WIN) program.

It was very exciting.  In preparing for the webinar, I had the opportunity of working with great people: Seattle Chapter members as well as the International Board Committee for the Women In NAAAP Program, most importantly with Judi Rhee Alloway, the National Chairwoman of WIN. Their support and their creative ideas led us to creating a NING network for the program as what’s evident to make the WIN program successful was to create a supportive network and moreso, using social media.

This network is in BETA though so we can gather feedback to make improvements to the network. Throughout this year, Women In NAAAP will continue to build this network for local and National participants in WIN to discuss topics related to women in the workforce, re-entering the workforce, community and family matters and much, much more.

To sum up, I'm super energized about the NING platform and the Women In NAAAP Program.  If you would like to help us test and grow this network, you're invited to sign up on NING and check it out.

Regards,

Gil Gido

NAAAP Seattle

President

Links:

 Join these social networks to join the conversation.

• Women In NAAAP on NING: http://winaaap.ning.com/
• Vibrant Teams on NING: http://vibrantteams.ning.com/

Where are they now? Li Tan, NAAAP Seattle President 2005 - 2006

Hello, my name is Li Tan. I served on the NAAAP Seattle Board of Directors for four years: two as treasurer and two as President. During my term as President, we hosted the NAAAP National Convention. The time and effort that we put into planning and fundraising for the convention was equivalent to a full time job, but it was worth it in the end. Our co-chairs, Joneil Custodio, Janet Ung and Charles Wu did a great job of taking charge and ensuring that the convention was a huge success. By now, most of us have currently moved on to other boards. This year, I became the President of the Asian Counseling and Referral Services board (ACRS) and am serving my second term on it, and Charles (full disclosure: he is my husband) is currently the President of the International Community Health Services (ICHS) Foundation. Without the experience and relationships that I had developed while being involved with NAAAP, I don’t think that I would have the opportunities that I have today.

One of the great challenges of being involved in NAAAP is working with people from many cultural backgrounds. When I refer to culture, I am not limiting myself to ethnicity but am including work experiences, types of jobs people hold, and where we grow up. I think that all of these things contribute to who we are and how we behave. In my profession, I work with many like-minded individuals, so it was nice to be in an environment with many different types of thinkers which is what NAAAP provided. This type of environment allowed me to further develop my leadership skills and appreciate how hard work and collaboration can significantly pay off. The best example that I can use for this is the convention. We had 3 co-chairs, while Asian on the outside, came with differing perspectives. I brought these three individuals together and discussed with them their interests and strengths and used this discussion to determine what types of responsibilities and subcommittees they would lead. With this structure, we were able to meet our fundraising goals and offer two days of relevant programming to our participants and sponsors. The feedback that I received from one of the co-chairs was that she appreciated that I did not micromanage and allowed her to take the lead for her subcommittee.

As a result of my experience with NAAAP, how did I end up on the ACRS Board? One of our convention volunteers was a former Development Director for ACRS who nominated me to serve on their Board. Without the opportunities to use and further develop my leadership skills outside of my profession and the relationships that I developed, I wouldn’t have had the exposure to the Asian and Asian American community and the honor of serving on another board. I highly encourage Asians and Asian Americans to become fully engaged with NAAAP. Don’t expect that you will magically be presented with opportunities when you join. As my story shows, these opportunities were presented to me through hard work and dedication.

Regards,
Li Tan
NAAAP Seattle
President 2005 -2006

Calibration

Calibration is one of those things that organizations go through to ensure their workforce is optimized or running as productively as it can. This usually happens on an annual basis as part of a review cycle.  Organizational leaders during calibration undergo a formal process of evaluating each team member reporting up through their organization and evaluates them on several areas, such as performance and long-term potential with the group or company.  (Note: This will vary depending on what a company finds as valuable.)

What also happens in calibration is that individuals in similar career bands are compared so entry-leveled employees aren't compared to ones that are more senior.  Moreover, companies might go so far as to compare developers with developers or managers with other managers. 

Each company will typically have a grading scale and specific criteria in which they will have for their employees and once their evaluations are complete each individual in the organization will have a composite score. The scores can then be analyzed statistically placing individuals in categories, which oftentimes the category individuals fall in are used for incentives and rewards. 

For example in one model that exists, individuals will either fall in the lower 10%, indicating lower than average performance and lower than average contribution, in the middle range (70%) indicating individuals meet performance requirements and have a satifactory contribution to their organization and lastly in the top 20% of the range. These individuals are top performers with higher-potential for opportunities and promotions.  As you can see, most individuals would like to avoid being in the lower 10% as it could determine actions taken against you or you could see your career slow down or lessening opportunities for you.

You might be wondering what are tips to score high or to avoid low calibration scores.  Here are some to start:

• Talk to your manager and check in periodically on your performance. Since Calibration happens within management, it's good to know what your manager is going to say about you during that process.  Remember other managers have individuals that need to evaluation too.
• Performance is not a one-day event. Think long-term (3-5 years) and steadily build a record of success around you.
• Be honest about your performance, too. Surely, working hard 4 months right at calibration won't make up for the 8 months 'slacking' off.
• Toot your horn once in awhile and acknowlege other people's accomplishments.
• Get out of that cubicle or office. Be visible and network.  It's not only what you say about you, but how you are percieved.  Participate in team events, write an article, publish a book, or conduct a webinar.  These activities will only help to estabilish you as credible and build other skills.
• Talk to your HR department about the calibration (or review) process and adhere to them. (Note: Not all processes are 100% accurrate, so if you find an opportunity to improve on the process, then by all means, say so. )
• Get training in the areas that you need improvement on. This will demonstrate your willingness to contribute to the organization. Technology and processes and people will change and so you need to change along with the organization. 
• If you're a manager, resolve issues, most importantly, employee-related issues immediately leading to higher organizational health indicies and improved performance.

With that, I hope I gave you some clarity on how calibration works.  If you have more tips and strategies, please let me know and I'll add them to this list.

Regards,
Gil Gido
NAAAP Seattle
President

Structure for fulfillment

So you've got a goal. It's pretty lofty and you probably have doubts in reaching that goal.  So you ask yourself, "What do you do?" The answer is really simple and it's not much of a secret. To achieve your goal or any goal for that matter is to create structures for fulfillment and sticking to them.

To illustrate this, our Board just completed our strategic planning for the Seattle chapter and as part of this process we've been having discussions as to how they're going to fulfill on their goals for their committees.  Call it a plan, but a structure for fulfillment explicitly states which tasks need to be done and by when.  So let's examine one of their structures for fulfillment so you can apply this same concept to your goals and reach or even exceed them. 

The scholarship committee, for example, has a goal of awarding a college scholarship to a one deserving recipient in the amount of $2000 to go towards educational purposes by June 1st, 2010 and have 30 - 50 applicants. Their structure for fulfillment looks like this.

• By 1/12 Approve funds to distribute
• By 2/2 Announce scholarship
• By 3/15 Build scholarship committee
• By 3/16 Ceate application requirements
• By 3/17 Update NAAAP Seattle website with information (If you're thinking about applying, please visit our scholarship page http://seattle.naaap.org/pages/_cmt/_scholarship.jsp)
• By 4/15 Send reminder
• By 4/21 Applications due!
• By 4/25 Send e-mail applications & grading sheets to committee
• By 4/26 - 5/14 Review applications
• By 5/14 Committee submits grading sheets
• By 5/16 Narrow field to 3-5 using criteria
• By 5/23 Conduct interview with finalists to select the scholarship winner.

As you can see, the plan fulfills on the stated goal for the scholarship committee.  Each task has a due date and brings the goal closer when each task is done.

What goals do you have?  Are you looking for a new job? Starting a business? Or raising funds for your school?  Try creating a structure for fulfillment and stick to it!

Regards,

Gil Gido

NAAAP Seattle

President

APLDC book list (Part 2)

This is the second part of the Microsoft Asian Pacific Leadership Development Conference's book list. It was prepared by the Microsoft Library. Happy Reading and Leading.

• Reading Category  | Book by Author
• Influence/Persuasion, Managing Change, Changing Perceptions | Influencer: The Power to Change Anything by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, and Ron McMillan
• Leadership, Career Growth | Invitation to Lead: Guidance for Emerging Asian American Leaders by Paul Tokunaga
• Leadership, Networking/Mentoring | Leaders at All Levels: Deepening Your Talent Pool to Solve the Succession Crisis by Ram Charan
• Leadership | The Leadership Challenge, 4th Edition by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner
• Economics, Leadership | Leadership in the Era of Economic Uncertainty: The New Rules for Getting the Right Things Done in Difficult Times by Ram Charan
• Conflict Management, Leadership  | Leading Through Conflict: How Successful Leaders Transform Differences into Opportunities by Mark Gerzon
• Emotional Intelligence | Make Your Workplace Great: The 7 Keys to an Emotionally Intelligent Organization by Steven J. Stein
• Multi-tasking, Secrets to Success (GTD author) | Making it All Work: Winning at the Game of Work and Business Life by David Allen
• Project Management Leadership | Making Things Happen: Mastering Project Management by Scott Berkun
• Innovation | The Myths of Innovation by Scott Berkun
• Secrets to Success | Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
• Networking/Mentoring, Secrets to Success | Power Mentoring: How Successful Mentors and Proteges Get the Most Out of Their Relationships by Ellen Ensher and Susan Murphy
• Presentation Skills | Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery by Garr Reynolds
• Innovation, Communication Skills | Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging and Outmarketing your Competition by Guy Kawasaki
• Influence/Persuasion, Communicating Your Value | Selling Your Ideas to Your Organization by Harold Scharlatt
• Presentation Skills | Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations by Nancy Duarte
• Networking/Mentoring, Career Growth | Smart Networking: Attract a Following in Person and Online by Liz Lynch
• Secrets to Success, Leadership | The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder
• Globalization, Leadership | The Talent-Powered Organization: Strategies for Globalization, Talent Management and High Performance by Peter Cheese, Robert J. Thomas and Elizabeth Craig
• Personality Types | Type Talk at Work: How 16 Personalities Types Determine Your Success on the Job by Otto Kroeger, Janet M. Thuesen, and Hile Rutledge
• Distributed Teams, Cultural Differences | Uniting the Virtual Workforce: Transforming Leadership and Innovation in the Globally Integrated Enterprise by Karen Sobel Lojeski and Richard R. Reilly
• Globalization | The World is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman

Regards,
Gil Gido
NAAAP Seattle
President

Related Post: APLDC book list (Part 1) - http://gilgido.blogspot.com/2010/02/apldc-book-list-part-1.html