Don't assume knowledge nor ignorance

When we work with others, collaborate, co-design, we don't know what other people's knowledge is, what they've experienced, what they know.

We make a great assumption if we 'start at the beginning' of a topic, or waffle on with giving people 'some context', telling 'our story' or flat out don't stop talking for 15-25-45 minutes.

What if they already know what you're talking about?

Oh but we can also jump ahead, speaking of things in ways people don't know; they aren't 'in the loop', don't know about this and can feel left out or left behind. This isn't pandering to snowflakes or patronising precious peeps. It's the reality of a world where we have incredible diversity, difference, and uniqueness - in a single group, gathering or team!

The answer is to... have a DIALOGUE, a conversation with people, rather than delivering a MONOLOGUE or preachy-presentation of information you decide to dump.

In that way you'll find out where they're at and therefore... where to begin. You can then adjust throughout the CONVERSATION, this talk between 2 or more people.

Enjoy your conversations today...

A deadline is not the only standard

A deadline is not the only standard

I met a team this week who were working on a task and they were stressed about it, working hard, pushing on, staying back late to get the work done to meet a deadline.

It was due 6 days later. The only target or standard they were going for was the date, the deadline. And it seemed they were working as many hours as they could until the date arrived. But something was missing.

We talked about identifying, asking for or clarifying other standards as well as the date, say, the quality required or expected.

How much?

What’s required by the due date?

One page or six?

Some key headings?

Raw data or curated insights?

None of these were known. It was all about the due date. It was full speed ahead, doing whatever they could until time ran out. Other work and priorities they had on fell away.

We worked together on asking clarifying questions so they could gather more information about the expectations and requirements required for any of the work they're doing. It will save them hours/days of unnecessary work and will dramatically reduce stress levels.

Overwork, burnout and perfectionism is a growing problem at work. It’s worth seeking out and then going for more than a deadline.

Managing information overload in a world of too much %$#&* information

The Institute for the Future said cognitive load coping was a 'got to have it' skill for 2020. I've been keynoting at conferences on Day 1 giving delegates these much needed 'cognitive load coping' skills.

Are we ever 'taught' or 'shown' what to do in a situation of information overload? Many people zone out, reach for the comfort of their mobile device, feign understanding (head nodding) or daydream.

Info overload at conferences happens:

🐌 g-r-a-d-u-a-l-l-y (end of Day 1 you feel zombie-ish)

or

🚀 rapidly (presentation is so fast, laden with charts and stats you lose the threads ... gone).

Part of the 'it's all too much' zone is when we foolishly choose to REWORK information. We store it (take photos of slides at conferences, save PDFs, type notes, screenshot stuff) fully intending to 'look at it later'.

But it's one of the most ineffective and inefficient ways to handle information overload. Rather, get up out of the 'it's all too much zone'. It's worth building the confidence and capability to handle all that information, live ... in the moment so you are indeed 'all over it'.

We are more than pale, male stale

Quote diversity.

For your blog, presentation, proposal or slide deck … when you want to quote someone, quote with diversity. There’s a bias here and we need to act on it to counter it.

Not all your quotations need to come from Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein or Henry Ford. It’s worth finding greater diversity. You don’t need to choose from the first 4 quotes that come up when you Google ‘innovation quotations’ or ‘leadership quotes’. It’s lazy … and biased.

Source unique quotes from podcasts, interviews, books, blogs, articles, videos. When you do Google ‘leadership quotes’, go further than the first 4 or 24. Go deeper and wider to get diversity.

If a woman, a person of colour, a person with a disability, a person of a different cultural background, an LGBTQIA person is reading your proposal or reading your blog where you quote the same old quotes that are 'pale male stale’ ... good luck with that.

And ... if they are your target market, audience or decision maker, oops .. good luck with that.

Go for greater relevance and connection to more people; not that are quick or convenient to 'copy and paste'. It’s actually not that hard ... once you notice it, and then work to remove the bias. 

Drowning in it

Drowning in it. Have you felt the ‘drowning in it’ feeling? It happens daily in meetings, or on Day 1 of a new job, drowning in all that information!

The Institute for the Future named ‘Cognitive Load Coping' as something we’ll need to be good/better/best at for the 2020s. We can't wait for a magic pill - we need to do better with information, now.

A key is understanding that cognitive overload can happen:

🌕 s-l-o-w-l-y without you barely noticing it (until you're in a daze, like at a conference), or

🌕 swiftly (when someone presents lots of complex info, data, results and - aaargh, we've lost the thread).

We can build skills to manage our own cognitive load (more on that over the coming weeks). But as leaders, we must focus and ruthlessly prioritise when presenting information to others - for their load.

TIP: Package information up in chunks that are easy for digestion. This means losing long lists of bullet points; too tough to make sense of.

Here's my infamous slide presented at a conference on Day 1. (The Day 2 speakers stayed up late deleting all their bullet points! 😆 And the presentations were better!) Ditch the list of dots, it's zzzzz. What helps your cognitive load?