Any self-aware person will know that email is evil, so we will discuss how to make it less evil.  How can you be more productive with email?

Below we discuss why email is evil, and what you can do about it:

• Why Email is Evil.
• Making Incoming Email Less Evil
• Making Outgoing Email Less Evil

Why Email is Evil

• It’s a time killer. Some people report spending up to 20 hours per week dealing with email.  In almost all cases, this is way too much.
• Email is not an effective way to communicate.  Email is a horrible way to communicate with others.  It lacks context; emotions are easily misconstrued; and it is too impersonal to be meaningful.  It can be a useful tool for moving information around, but that is not the same as communicating.
• Email is particularly evil when users feel the pressure of instant or “pavlovian response”.  Just because the email chime sounds, doesn’t mean you have to check to see who has sent you a note.
• It looks and feels remarkably like work.  Email is not work, although we like to think that it is.  It is an escape from work at its worst, and at its best it should be an enabler of work, or a tool.  However, never mistake the managing of email as actual work.

How to Make Incoming Email Less Evil

If you believe that email is evil, then your mission now must be to figure out what to do about it.  You don’t have much control over what email gets sent to you, so you need build coping strategies into your day:

1. Limit your time on email.  You need to block time daily to deal with email, and once that time has elapsed, you need to go do some real work.  For example, you may want to set aside 30 minutes each morning to deal with you email, and then another 15 minute follow up in the mid-afternoon.
2. Turn off the email chime.  It is a cruel joke that a bell sounds every time we get an email.  If you feel pressure to check your email every time you hear the bell, you should turn the bell off.
3. Deliver all cc emails to a separate folder outside your Inbox.  Many people copy the whole world on their emails, so you should consider any email that is not addressed to you directly to be of secondary importance.
4. Create expectations in others as to how you will respond to email.  Many people expect an instant response to email.  It is up to you to temper this expectation.  In some professions, it is necessary to have a turnaround time of minutes on an email.  For the vast majority of us, this is not necessary, and you should let people know that you only look at your email once or twice a day.

How to Make Outgoing Email Less Evil

You want to make sure that your actions are not contributing to others’ ongoing struggle with email.  To that end, exercise as much self-control as possible when sending email:

1. Use “Reply to All” sparingly, if ever.  Don’t jam up others’ email inboxes unnecessarily.
2. Never use email to deal with an emotional issue.  When dealing with an emotional or otherwise potentially volatile issue, you need to choose a different communication media.  Email is not appropriate.  And certainly, never send an email in anger – you will regret it after the fact, and there is a permanent record of your outburst.
3. Compose email properly.  We don’t claim to be the etiquette police, but there are some simple rules for using email.
   1. Spelling. You look like a dolt if you send an email full of spelling errors – especially considering most email applications point out those spelling mistakes.
   2. Don’t use all caps.  It’s an old rule, but it really does show a lack of consideration (or awareness) when you send out an email all in upper case.
   3. Remember there is a permanent record – don’t say inappropriate things.  Much like that inappropriate comment you wrote into someone’s high school yearbook, you can’t take it back after the fact.
   4. Don’t send one-word responses such as “thank you” or “OK”.  Assume the other person would prefer not be thanked over having more junk in their Inbox.
   5. Put something meaningful in the “Subject” box.  Many people delete email without opening it, and the best way to make sure your email is deleted without a view is to skip the subject box.

3 Things to Remember About Why Email is Evil:

1. Email is not work, nor is it productive.  It is a necessary evil (at best).
2. Use it as a tool, but don’t let it manage you.  If half your work day is spent dealing with email, you need to make some changes.
3. Use the E-Golden Rule:  treat others on email, as you wish to be treated.

Watch the ’3-Minute Crash Course’ about Email is Evil Note: The full length ‘Email is Evil’ video (15 minutes) is available in the members-only area below.  Become a member today!

Learn Even More About ‘Email is Evil’

Wily Manager members, click here to access the members-only area for this topic (you must be logged in).  In the members-only area, you can:

• Watch the full length ‘Email is Evil’ Video (15 minutes)
• Download the ‘Email is Evil’ Video (mp4)
• Download the ‘Email is Evil’ Audio (mp3)
• Download the ‘Email is Evil’ Slides (ppt)
• Print or save the ‘Email is Evil’ Cheat Sheet (pdf)
• Click through to Related Topics:
  • Time and Priority Management
  • The von Manstein Matrix

Not a member yet? Join us now and get instant access! For more information about the advantages of becoming a Wily Manager member, visit Become a Member.

 

So why would anyone want to encourage conflict?  Below we talk about the following aspects of Encouraging Conflict:

• Why Encouraging Conflict is Good
• Warning Signs that your team doesn’t have enough conflict
• Steps to Encouraging Conflict
• Three Things to Remember about Encouraging Conflict

Why Encouraging Conflict is Good

Teams that don’t have enough conflict run the risk of sub-optimizing their performance.

• Conflict often extracts the best ideas.  Discussion that involves respectful disagreement yields results and insights that would not otherwise surface.
• By Encouraging Conflict crucial topics get addressed and real solutions  are discussed and determined.
• Encouraging Conflict stifles the “pocket veto” and backroom politics.  It ensures that disagreement and dissent occur within the meeting, rather than outside it.

Warning Signs that Your Team Doesn’t Have Enough Conflict

• Your meetings are BORING.  If everyone always agrees, then you may need to do a better job of Encouraging Conflict.
• Back-channel politics and personal attacks thrive.  Without Encouraging Conflict, the meeting ends, and then the real discussion takes place without all the players at the table.
• Your team avoids controversial topics even when they are critical to team success.
• Silence is viewed as agreement … and many team members remain silent.  If your team meetings are very quiet, you may need to Encouraging Conflict.

Steps to Encouraging Conflict

• Create a safe environment by starting with Team Trust.  If there is a low level of trust amongst team members, you will not be about to Encouraging Conflict.
• Seek out alternative viewpoints by asking for them.
• As the leader, hold back on your opinions for a time, and encourage hearing from others.
• Assign a meeting role of “devils advocate”.  By having a person assigned to disagree, more issues will be put on the table.

Three Things to Remember About Encouraging Conflict:

1. Although we have advocated that some conflict can be productive, not all conflict is, so be careful not to over do it.
2. Build your team with diversity in mind.  If you select people for your team that always agree with you, it will be very difficult to Encouraging Conflict.
3. Attack the problem, not the solution or even the idea.  Make sure conflict is never personal.

Watch the ’3-Minute Crash Course’ about Encouraging Conflict Note: The full length ‘Encouraging Conflict’ video (15 minutes) is available in the members-only area below.  Become a member today!

Learn Even More About ‘Encouraging Conflict’

Wily Manager members, click here to access the members-only area for this topic (you must be logged in).  In the members-only area, you can:

• Watch the full length ‘Encouraging Conflict’ Video (15 minutes)
• Download the ‘Encouraging Conflict’ Video (mp4)
• Download the ‘Encouraging Conflict’ Audio (mp3)
• Download the ‘Encouraging Conflict’ Slides (ppt)
• Print or save the ‘Encouraging Conflict’ Cheat Sheet (pdf)
• Click through to Related Topics:
  • Top 10 Manager Challenges (Part A: Managing Conflict)
  • How to Manage Conflict
  • Building Trust in Teams

Not a member yet? Join us now and get instant access! For more information about the advantages of becoming a Wily Manager member, visit Become a Member.

 

It’s not about silly games, but rather Team Motivation Activities should be about how you manage your business and lead your people.  Below we talk about 5 Team Motivation Activities that can make a difference with your team.

This topic was inspired by a question from Matt, a Wily Manager member:

“Hey Wily Manager Team,

Thank you very much for the podcasts.   I know how to motivate one person at a time, but my question would be, how do you motivate a whole team that has no career aspirations and hardly any motivation to achieve their goals.”

Well, Matt – thanks for your question on Team Motivation Activities, and here’s some food for thought.

5 Team Motivation Activities

1. Figure out what makes your people tick
2. Set and communicate clear expectations
3. Administer consistent reinforcement and consequences
4. Promote healthy competition
5. As a last resort, change out team members

These five team motivation activities may not be as much fun as a day-long high-ropes course, but they are much less expensive, and these activities have tangible outcomes.

Figure Out What Makes Them Tick

Your very first team motivation activity is to recognize that every person is different.  You need to determine why your team members may not be motivated.

• Remember that everyone’s behavior makes sense to her.  You need to ask, “why would people behave or react in this way?”
• How has the team historically been led?  If people have not been adequately led, they may have no historical incentive to go above and beyond.
• What has been reinforced and rewarded?  If people have no career aspirations and are generally lazy, then this is what has historically been reinforced.
• Has poor performance been dealt with?  If problem performers have not been addressed, then people will withdraw their discretionary effort.

Create Clear Expectations

Before a manager can bemoan his people’s inability to get things done, he needs to ensure those people have been provided with clear expectations.

• Is there initiative overload?  Is effort diffused by dozens of different issues all demanding your people’s attention?  If this is the case, they end up doing all of these things poorly.
• Overwhelmed by HQ?  If you work in a large bureaucracy, it is quite possible for multiple (and sometimes competing) directions are coming from head office.  Much like initiative overload, it diffuses people’s energy and ensures nothing will be done well.
• Are there 4 – 7 key team goals for the year?  If there are 50 or 60 goals, your team will become frustrated and give up.  The most motivated teams are those who can rally around a limited number of achievable goals.
• Is there one overarching objective or a clear vision?   For example:  “Be top 5 sales team in the country in 2012?”

Consistent Reinforcement and Consequences

Managers need to reinforce the behaviors they want to see, and respond appropriately to behaviors and performance that does not meet their expectations.  Unfortunately, many leaders believe that reinforcement and rewards are the responsibility of the HR group.

• Look beyond variable compensation (or any other HR initiative).
• Consistently reward desired performance in a way meaningful to the recipient.
• Deal with poor performance swiftly and decisively

Promote Healthy Competition

• Don’t pit people against each other, but encourage healthy competition:
  • Reward top performers on a regular basis
  • Public accountability where appropriate

Change Out Team Members

In some cases, when everything else has been tried, a manager must make the decision to terminate an employee’s employment.

• You need to give everyone every opportunity to be successful.
• When people choose not to be successful, make changes

BEWARE:  If you go overboard (and fire too many people), it will be obvious to all, that the problem is you, and NOT your people.

Three Things to Remember about Team Motivation Activities

1. Treat people as individuals – all of your efforts must be motivating in the eyes of the recipient – not you as the manager.
2. Be consistent — you need to reward people regularly, and deal with poor performance consistently, without bias, and quickly.
3. Don’t abdicate leadership to HR or anyone else.  As a manager, it is your job to lead your people, not HR’s.  Use HR as a resource where you can to better lead your people.

Watch the ’3-Minute Crash Course’ about Team Motivation Activities Note: The full length ‘Team Motivation Activities’ video (15 minutes) is available in the members-only area below.  Become a member today!

Learn Even More About ‘Team Motivation Activities’

Wily Manager members, click here to access the members-only area for this topic (you must be logged in).  In the members-only area, you can:

• Watch the full length ‘Team Motivation Activities’ Video (15 minutes)
• Download the ‘Team Motivation Activities’ Video (mp4)
• Download the ‘Team Motivation Activities’ Audio (mp3)
• Download the ‘Team Motivation Activities’ Slides (ppt)
• Print or save the ‘Team Motivation Activities’ Cheat Sheet (pdf)
• Click through to Related Topics:
  • Capturing Discretionary Effort
  • Good Boss, Bad Boss: Be a Better Boss
  • Generation X in the Workplace
  • Managing Baby Boomers in the Workforce

Not a member yet? Join us now and get instant access! For more information about the advantages of becoming a Wily Manager member, visit Become a Member.