Some favorite Harvard Business Podcasts

Every few months I go through a spurt of listening to a backlog of podcasts from the Harvard Business Review Ideacast. For every one that is not really of interest to me, there's one that sparks many ideas in my brain, gets me going on a topic, or makes me think about something that happened at work in a different way (I LOVE when that happens!). These podcasts typically come in around 15 minutes and are great to listen to while doing household chores. At least that's when I get to them!

Here's a few of the ones that struck me today:

• Women are over-mentored (but under-sponsored). This one I actually found interesting less because of the woman angle (though that's certainly something to think about), and more because of the distinction the interviewed author makes about mentoring versus sponsoring. Mentoring, in this view, is supporting somebody to get acclimated to a new position or organization. Sponsoring is fighting for somebody and helping give them opportunities and get their name out there. Interesting.
• The new era of empowered employees. In the era where everybody is online and into social media, it's wise to build on the initiative employees already have to use those avenues to connect to customers.
• Leading through a major crisis with Admiral Thad Allen. You don't need a crisis to admire the leadership lessons this admiral talks about. Some brilliant insights and admirable qualities on display here.
• Why a happy brain performs better. This author (and one of the folks who ran the Happiness class at Harvard) speaks about studies done on how improving one's happiness has a significant impact on the ability to perform tasks and be successful. Plus it has some good ideas for sharing happiness, which is something I love to do. If I notice something somebody does, says, is wearing.... whatever... and I like it, I always give the compliment. It's fun! And it makes somebody smile. Especially counter workers in chain stores.

I always end up jotting down some notes when I listen to these (which usually means putting down cooking utensils or the laundry I'm folding). The next step is to take those notes and turn them into actions!

Fun with performance evaluations (no, really!)

We’re in the midst of annual performance evaluations at our company. I’m in my twelfth year at the company, and my second year of being a manager, so I’ve been on both sides. I’ve been through easy and less-easy discussions in that length of time, and it’s true what they say: 1. It’s about the conversation, not the document and 2. Nothing in the review should be a complete surprise.

The best performance conversations (and I feel fortunate that I’ve been able to experience this) involve a run-through of the areas in which the individual is great and appreciated by both the manager and the individual’s peers. Hopefully it’s all stuff the manager has said before! Then there’s the discussion of development areas. Again, there shouldn’t be a development area that’s a complete surprise. I find it most helpful to talk about skills where the employee can build on existing strengths and become even better, even as it’s important to discuss anything that might be holding them back.

But what comes out of the development area discussion is probably the best part for me, because that’s when you get into the guts of what the individual wants to see happen. It’s starting the goal-planning, but not in a dry, SMART-goal way. It’s talking about the change the individual wants to make happen. Or the influence the individual wants to grow. Or the relationships the individual wants to build. Or the skills the individual wants to expand upon. Or the challenges the individual wants to take on.

It’s that part of the conversation that excites me as a manager, because I can’t wait to help them do those things. And it’s that part of the conversation that I enjoy as an employee, because it helps me dream big and gets me excited about what’s going to happen next. Yes, we’ll turn it all into actionable and measurable statements and that’s important to do. And we’ll check in throughout the year and add, remove, or adjust the actions and measures. That's an important part, too.

But imagining the changes one can make and influence is probably the most fun I have with of performance evaluations.

Manager as hostess (or host, as the case may be)

I was speaking with my manager about the progress we've made on some of the goals we set for ourselves and how to let the individuals in our wider team know about that progress. I made a comment about reflecting back to the individuals who had contributed, to give them a sense of the actions we had taken resulting from their comments. Reflecting back is pretty much in every lesson on listening and communication, after all.

But I started to think about the urge I have to pass on information, and I realized that some of it stems from the lessons I learned from my mom on how to be a great hostess for a party (be it dinner party, or cocktail party or house party). My mother regularly had parties when I was growing up. She, along with my stepfather, hosted an annual party with easily 150-200 people. There were neighbors, work friends, political contacts, community organizers, friends from long ago, business contacts, and everything in between. In addition to providing a great setting, great food, and great drink, my mom and stepfather worked very hard to make sure that each guest got some time with each of them, as hosts. But they also made sure to pay attention to the details, and then put guests in touch with each other to further the interests that each individual might have. In Tipping Point language, my mother was, and is, a connector (something I aspire to, but that's another post).

In my mind, that skill of connecting two people is a version of closing the loop, reflecting back, and being a good listener. When you find out that friend A likes to photograph gardens, and friend B really wants to get a framed photo of her garden, you put them in touch. When you find out that coworker Jane is really curious how a project went on that other product, and you know the lead of that other product, you put them in touch.

In much the same way, when you're a manager and your team members have asked for something, if you've either made it happen or worked with others to make progress, you need to close the loop and pass on the progress (both positive and negative results).

Whether it's putting two unrelated people in touch at a party, or relaying progress to team members, it's the actions taken based on comments from individuals that show you were listening. And really, in either case, it's the proper thing for a host or hostess to do!