Jen Lawrence, Author at Jenerosity Partners

Improve the Way You Work by Hitting Reset

December 5, 2023

In the fall of 2022, Harvard Business Review published the results of a case study done with the task-management company Asana. The goal: to reduce the amount of time spent in meetings. The method: clear the calendar. The participants started small by removing standing meetings with less than five participants for 48 hours and then methodically removed additional meetings using differing criteria. The results were fewer meetings with clearer purpose and impact.

This study got me thinking about all the areas of our work that could use a healthy reset. Much like the meetings that tend to live on indefinitely on our calendars, there are tasks, projects, and even processes we follow that could benefit from a second look or even starting over.

I ran my own experiment of resetting my work in three areas: my task list, calendar, and workflows. My goal was to simplify the way I work. After a few days of evaluating and purging, my stress levels were lower, my processes were streamlined, and I had more space for deep thought. And the process was much less daunting and intense than I initially expected.

If you’re ready to hit reset on your work systems, start with these three areas.

Empty the Task List

I started with my task list because it was the most intimidating part of my process. The list had bloated to the point that I no longer enjoyed going into my day because I never felt like I was making progress.
The first step was to evaluate the tasks that only involved me. Tasks that were no longer relevant or needed were easy to eliminate – delete! Then there were the tasks that were truly ideas (not to-dos) and needed additional consideration. Those were moved to a parking lot/brainstorming document to be thought through more thoroughly later. Finally, there were lingering tasks that needed to be evaluated on the grounds of purpose and value. Are these truthfully ever going to get done?

Once I tackled my personal task list, I turned my efforts to tasks delegated to me by others with the same process. Working with my colleagues and clients, we asked:

Is this task still relevant or needed?
Is this an idea, or is it actionable?
Is this task a priority? Is this still in alignment with what we want to accomplish?

The eye-opening result of this process was how many tasks get flat-out deleted. Too often, tasks and projects get put on the back burner and linger without reevaluation. With that in mind, once the task list is tidied up, create a reminder to audit task and project lists every quarter.

Clear the Calendar

As I approached cleaning up my calendar, I divided the contents into two categories: within my control and outside of my control. For those outside my control, I let them rest as-is. Instead, I turned my attention and energy to those I could impact immediately.

The calendar contents within my control fell into two buckets: meetings and recurring holds. My holds included reminders like lunch, picking up my boys from school, and other reminders. My meetings were usually standing meetings, either weekly or bimonthly.

To evaluate my meetings, I had a candid conversation with the attendees to discuss whether the standing meetings were necessary and if there were alternative options. A few options we discussed were reducing the frequency, moving “status update” meetings to email updates, and eliminating certain meetings altogether because we had a tool that kept communication and productivity flowing (such as ClickUp.) As a result, I reduced the number of these meetings on my calendar by half; they haven’t been missed, and we’re getting much more work done.

Next up came the reminders and holds on my calendar. Many of these reminders do exactly what they were intended to do – ensuring I had time set aside for my recurring activities. It’s been a wonderful time and task management tool. Unfortunately, they worked so well that I started micromanaging myself. Thus, when evaluating, I asked myself two questions:

Do I honor this reminder? Or skip over it? If I skip it, it’s just a guilt notification reminding me of what I’m not doing – delete!
What reminders are redundant (due to being tied to other tasks) or simply unnecessary (I’m looking at you, reminder to make dinner every night)? These should be deleted without a second thought.

Redesign Processes from the Ground Up

Reevaluating workflows takes a little more time and thought, but the payoff is huge. Looking at how I actually get the work done, I asked myself:

Given everything I’ve learned, if I were to start over, what would it look like?

And I do just that – I start over and redesign my workflow. The first couple of times I revamped processes, I had resistance around the amount of time and energy I had put into my current state and things being “good enough.” It felt like I was throwing away past effort. I learned to reframe this as dismantling and rebuilding with better tools.

To start redesigning processes, begin with work that has persistent friction or that you haven’t looked at in a long time. And don’t forget to update your documentation!

Process redesign can be tricky, and an outside perspective will often get you over mental or systems hurdles. I have advisory sessions designed specifically to help with this. Learn more here.

Next Steps

Resetting your work systems can have a significant impact on how you get the work done and your stress levels. To make the most of it, set aside time to be thoughtful and intentional with your reset efforts. Block off time on your calendar and reduce distractions so you can focus and make the best decisions. Finally, set a reminder to check in on your systems and clean up every quarter or six months.

Need more help with your systems? Check out the shop for resources to get you streamlined, optimized, and operating at your best.

Key Terms of Strategic Planning

November 7, 2023

As a small business owner, you understand the importance of planning for the future and making informed decisions to drive your business forward. Strategic planning is a crucial process that helps align your company’s goals with its actions, but it often comes with a host of complex terminology that can be overwhelming. Fear not! In this blog post, we’ll break down the most common strategic planning terms, including OKRs (Objectives and Key Results), goals, and objectives, to empower you with the knowledge needed to navigate this vital aspect of your business.

1. Mission Statement

Your mission statement is the foundation of your business. It succinctly defines your purpose, core values, and the reason your company exists. Crafting a clear and compelling mission statement is crucial as it serves as a guiding light for all your strategic decisions.

2. Vision Statement

While the mission statement defines “why” your business exists, the vision statement outlines “what” your business aims to become in the future. It paints a vivid picture of your long-term aspirations and helps inspire and motivate your team towards a shared goal.

3. SWOT Analysis

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. A SWOT analysis helps you assess your business’s internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats in the market. Identifying these factors will enable you to make informed decisions and develop effective strategies.

4. OKRs (Objectives and Key Results)

OKRs are a goal-setting framework used to define and track objectives and their outcomes. Objectives are specific, ambitious, and time-bound goals that align with your mission and vision. Key Results are measurable milestones that indicate progress toward achieving the objectives. OKRs help you focus on what matters most and provide a clear way to measure your business’s performance.

5. Goals

Goals are the broad, overarching aims you want your business to achieve. They should be aligned with your mission and vision and serve as a roadmap for your strategic planning efforts. Goals are generally long-term and provide a sense of direction for your business’s growth and development.

6. Objectives

Objectives are specific and quantifiable targets that support your overall goals. These are the stepping stones that will lead you towards goal attainment. Objectives should be challenging yet achievable, providing motivation for your team to strive for excellence.

7. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

KPIs are quantifiable metrics that measure the performance and success of specific aspects of your business. By tracking KPIs regularly, you can assess your progress towards your goals and objectives and identify areas that need improvement.

8. Core Competencies

These are the unique strengths and capabilities that set your business apart from competitors. Identifying your core competencies allows you to focus on what you do best and create a competitive advantage in the market.

9. Competitive Analysis

A competitive analysis involves evaluating your direct and indirect competitors, understanding their strengths and weaknesses, and identifying opportunities to differentiate your products or services in the marketplace.

10. Strategic Implementation

This term refers to the process of putting your strategic plans into action. It involves allocating resources, assigning responsibilities, and executing initiatives to achieve your defined objectives and key results.

Conclusion

Strategic planning might seem intimidating with all the jargon, but understanding these common terms, including OKRs, goals, and objectives, is essential for your business’s success. By crafting a clear mission and vision, conducting a SWOT analysis, setting ambitious yet achievable OKRs and goals, and tracking KPIs, you’ll be well-equipped to make strategic decisions that drive your small business forward. Remember, strategic planning is an ongoing process, and it’s okay to adjust and refine your strategies as your business evolves. Embrace the power of planning and watch your business thrive!

3 Ways Organizations Misuse Personality Assessments

September 5, 2023

Personality assessments are ubiquitous in company culture today. Everyone has their preferred assessments, and the list of available profiles is extensive: DiSC, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Predictive Index, Clifton Strengths Finder, Hogan, Lumina, etc. When used correctly, personality assessments are powerful tools to create cultures of belonging with effective communication and collaboration. However, when misused, serious personal and company damage can be done. If you’re administering profiles, avoid these common ways organizations misuse personality assessments.

Misuse 1: Diagnosing Others’ Personalities

Companies often engage personality assessments to shine more light on their employees and their needs. While well-intentioned, an unfortunate side effect of diagnosing individuals based on their results can slip into how the assessments are used. Because personality assessments categorize and label individual styles, it’s easy to slip into, “They are an X-style; therefore, I can assume they do/want/need this.”

Instead of these assumptions and diagnoses, leaders should use the insights from their team members’ profiles to have more meaningful and proactive dialogue. All personality assessments provide insights into common stressors, informational needs, and interpersonal communication patterns. Use these insights to prevent problems by adjusting your communication style or leaving space for the team members to express theirs comfortably.

Remember: Personality assessments are tools for dialogue – not diagnosis.

Misuse 2: Pigeonholing Individuals

Like diagnosing, pigeonholing uses an individual’s results to make assumptions, but in a potentially devastating way. When pigeonholing, someone limits the capabilities of another person based on their personality assessment results. “They are an X-style; therefore, they can’t/won’t do this.” This can harm the person’s prospects for project opportunities, promotions or career advancement, and potentially much more.

Personality assessments use a lot of data and are rated on spectrums. While a person may have a specific style expressed on their profile, their preferences toward behaviors of that style are likely to flex situationally. Additionally, humans are a complex amalgamation of their life experiences, so their personality lives within a complicated arena with their cognitive abilities, conative instincts, and personal histories. There’s a lot to be considered.

This doesn’t make personality profiles useless. Using their profile to build your sensitivity to their uniqueness eases collaboration. Their results can aid in guiding coaching conversations and piecing together project teams with a well-rounded strengths composition – ultimately leading to a culture of belonging.

Remember: Individuals are complex, and their profile results don’t tell the whole story.

Misuse 3: Justifying Based on Style

Whether coming from the team members themselves or leaders downplaying situations, personality assessment results are often used to excuse the negative impact of certain behaviors. This looks like, “Well, they’re an X-style; what do you expect!” or “I’m an X-style – that’s just how I do it.”

Profile results should build awareness around our tendencies that allow for dialogue – not dismissal. Instead of excusing our behaviors (and impact), the conversation should shift to recognizing that we have a pattern or preference for behaviors and environments that may not work well for others. This leads to productive discussions around honoring our differences while finding common ground.

Remember: Personality profiles provide us insights – not excuses.

One way to start using personality assessment results correctly…

Stop saying… You ARE an X-style.

Start saying… You HAVE an X-style.

This moves the attention from diagnosing someone as a specific style to empowering them with ownership over the styles expressed in their personality assessments. Because, after all, personalities shift over a lifetime. This is not who this person is forever – it’s just their preferences and wants right now.
If you’re interested in exploring the power of assessments in your organization, I recommend starting with the personality assessment EverythingDiSC Workplace or the conative assessment Kolbe A Index. You can learn more about both of these here.

How to Prevent Going Over Capacity

August 1, 2023

It happens to every service-based business. Effort is enthusiastically poured into networking and marketing to get leads. Discovery calls start filling up the calendar, and proposals start rolling out. Then contracts start getting signed, and suddenly, dread starts setting in – how is all this work going to get done? Long hours are invested in delivering on all the promises made while simultaneously pushing away the waves of overwhelm and burnout because “this is what you wished for.” Once the engagements are over, there’s the recovery period, then fear of lack of leads creeps in, and thus, the process starts over – creating an endless cycle of feast-or-famine, calm-and-chaos, under-engaged-and-over-capacity. And it doesn’t feel great. So the question becomes: as a service-based business, how do you prevent going over capacity?

Being over capacity as a service provider is a great way to start hating your business. Therefore, it’s important to break out of the cycle and ensure you’re setting effective boundaries with clients and yourself.

6 Types of Meetings and How to Use Them Successfully

November 14, 2022

Let’s get honest – most of us are tired of meetings because they seem pointless. However, when leveraged correctly, meetings can be a powerful tool for feeling connected, driving fruitful collaboration, and achieving goals. Start by understanding the six main types of meetings and then scheduling them at a thoughtful cadence.

One-on-One

Don’t wait until these are needed. Schedule a standing one-on-one meeting depending on your needs – weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Examples of one-on-one meetings:

Team member check-ins
Feedback sessions
Coaching or training meetings

Team Progress

These are regularly scheduled update meetings. The cadence and style will depend on your team size. Weekly meetings work well for highly-independent teams or during peak capacity times. Biweekly may work well for smaller teams that collaborate frequently. You may choose to run your meetings on the EOS Meeting format or as a simple round-robin. The agenda format relies heavily on the team’s style and size. Examples of team progress meetings:

Leadership Team Meeting
Broad Team Meeting
Project Team Meeting

Team Development

Whether educational development (hello, Lunch n’ Learn) or bonding (teambuilding), a team development session should be strategically planned in advance to ensure these efforts don’t get lost in the daily shuffle. Examples of team development meetings:

Training Session
Team Building Session
Celebratory Event

Ad Hoc

As the name suggests, ad hoc meetings are scheduled as needed and have one clearly defined goal. If it’s a brainstorming session, that’s all that is done in that meeting. If it’s to address an issue, focus solely on the issue. If it’s a decision-making session, only work on that decision. Don’t cram multiple goals into an ad hoc meeting. Examples of ad hoc meetings:

Brainstorming
Decision Making
Address Issues

Quarterly Planning

Step away from the day-to-day completely to realign your team, strategy, and projects. Quarterly Planning or Business meetings are ideal for recapping what went well over the past quarter, the adjustments that need to be made to goals and the way work gets done (e.g., Quarterly Process Review), and being proactive about the coming months. Examples of quarterly planning meetings:

Strategic/goal planning
Content/campaign planning
Project planning

Annual Strategic

The big one. Shut down operations, go to a neutral location, and get down to it. Review your values, vision, goals, strategic initiatives, project plan, key measurements, and anything else that sets the business up for success in the coming year.

How to Use Meetings Successfully

A few quick guidelines to ensure your meetings are effective:

Map your meetings on a calendar and schedule them well in advance. You can always adjust throughout the year, but at least it will be on the radar.
Keep tabs on the time investment. High Frequency = Shorter Meetings. If you’re meeting weekly, keep the meetings to 30 minutes or less.
Have an agenda. Whether an itemized agenda or a framework to guide the conversation, have a structure in place.
Limit attendees and ensure everyone understands why they are included.
Pay attention to the clock. Start on time, end on time.
Have a Parking Lot to maintain focus.
Develop an accountability system. Have someone take notes, track tasks, and follow up. (A powerful task management tool is your best friend here!)

Now take the time to think about what meetings you need for your team and what cadence makes the most sense. If you need assistance with strategically planning your team connections, my Intensives are the perfect opportunity to get another set of eyes on your plan.

3 Behaviors that Scare Contractors Away

October 13, 2022

Building a team of independent contractors is a great way to start building your business efficiency and capacity. You can add (wo)manpower to address a project or ongoing needs without getting bogged down in the Human Resources process. However, the unspoken and great risk with contractors is they aren’t employees, so their emotional buy-in, loyalty, and trust are easier to break. To ensure you attract and keep your team, avoid these three behaviors that scare contractors away.

Not Being Available for Questions or Approvals

Delegation does not mean dumping everything on your team and walking away. Particularly during training windows, business owners need to be available for questions and approvals. Even the highest skilled contractors will need your involvement and input because, newsflash, you’re the business owner – not them. The most talented team will continue to turn to you for guidance to ensure they are delivering the work you would like.

Scope Creep

You creep – creep yeeeah – and keep adding items to their list. From the offset, be transparent about what you expect from the role, what responsibilities are needed, and what growth areas are on deck when they master the initial set of tasks. If, at some point, you decide you need more or different work from them, you have to ask – and be prepared for them to say no. If they do say yes, be prepared to pay.

Treating them like an employee

This seems to be a difficult one for business owners to wrap their heads around. Hiring independent contractors comes with a handful of restrictions that business owners need to be aware of and respect. Contractors are running their own businesses, and their service to you should work for both parties – but you cannot control the way they do business. Stringent work schedules, consistent urgent turnaround times, and unrealistic performance expectations all fall into this category. Factors such as schedules and response time may be discussed and negotiated, but the contractor holds the power in these discussions.

Scope creep, lack of access, and creating too many parameters for performance are all key behaviors that will scare contractors away. If you’re struggling with your contractor team, take time to reflect on what you actually need from the roles and if it’s possibly time to hire employees.

Want to improve your operations? My consulting services can unlock your most effective and efficient way of doing business. Learn more here.

How to Implement a New System Successfully

October 10, 2022

Implementing a new system or process can be frustrating if all the hard work put in doesn’t stick. We evaluate, design, implement, and then, disappointingly, nothing works how we hoped. Why? Most systems and processes fail because the team is not aligned for the new system rollout. Team members don’t understand the context of the change, the importance of the improvement, the goals of the project, or their role in bringing the new system to reality. The good news is this is easily solved. Implement a new system successfully by ensuring your team is involved, informed, and well-equipped.

Here are five things you can do to ensure your new system or process is embraced and sticks.

Align your team around the vision

Your team should understand why this new system is needed. Provide context, including the pain points, and how this new system will ease the way they work. Also, communicate the anticipated timeline and what success will look like.

Involve your team

When brainstorming about a new system, or deciding what features and functions are included, involve your team in the process. Collect their feedback to ensure they not only feel heard, but you are also solving true issues for their work environment.

Set expectations

Often new systems are brought in to replace old ways of doing things or technology. Set expectations with the team about the timeline of implementation and when old systems or old ways of doing things should discontinue.

Have a training plan

Train your team on the new system or processes immediately. The first training session should be simply an orientation to help the team understand the various functions and features of the system or a process. From this initial session, provide training opportunities or materials for ongoing development, such as sending out related webinars and tutorials. Take it a step further by adding training lunch and learns or other ad hoc training opportunities to build the team’s confidence with the system.

Review and revise

Regularly come back to your system to evaluate its efficiency and effectiveness for your current business needs and goals. This can be done well in a quarterly process review or annual systems review. Ask your team to individually provide feedback on how the system is working and what improvements would be helpful. Combine this feedback, and in a meeting together, sift through the themes and create a plan to adjust the system.

All the effort put into system and process improvement should be done with the end in mind. Not only should you focus on what the system will achieve, but also how it will be used. Thoughtfully involve and train the team members who will be using the system to improve implementation success greatly.

As you work to improve your operations, a strategic partner can make all the difference in successful design and implementation. My services help you optimize your people, processes, and technology to ensure sustainable operational excellence. Learn more about how I can support you here.

3 Fundamentals of Operational Efficiency and Effectiveness

October 6, 2022

Achieving operational efficiency and effectiveness can be frustrating for new and veteran leaders alike. As business moves through environmental and resource changes, the strategy to manage workflows has to adjust as well.

First, it’s important to understand the difference between operational efficiency and effectiveness. This blog post can help you with that.

Next, adopt a framework that allows you to quickly evaluate your operational health and where the workflows are no longer working. The fundamentals of the PPT framework are ideal for all business sizes and models to achieve operational excellence.

The PPT Framework

One of the most popular theories for improving efficiency and effectiveness has been the People, Processes, and Technology (PPT) framework. PPT has been around since the early 1960s and has been applied across industries to maintain a balanced operational strategy.

For the PPT framework to be applied well, it needs to be treated like a three-legged stool. Too much emphasis on one area or neglecting another will unbalance the organization. Often, small businesses that are looking to grow and scale will hyperfocus on either people or technology and, in the end, struggle to rebalance themselves after their investment.

To ensure a strategy is executed with the overall operational health in mind, use the PPT framework as a guidepost. Here’s what each of the three fundamentals includes.

People

“People” is every person available to deliver goods, services, and operational support inside an organization. Ensuring your people are all contributing to your organization’s effectiveness, consider the following:

Are people being utilized well?
Are they the right people? (Culture and values fit)
Are they in the right role? (Role and skill alignment)
Do team members have clarity on their roles and responsibilities?
Is additional training needed to improve performance?
Are team members able to leverage their natural talents?
Is the team culture healthy?

Processes

“Processes” is how the work gets done and goals are achieved utilizing the resources available. Workflows often get broken because processes are not updated to reflect changes in People and Technology. Continue to improve your operational processes by considering the following:

How can the process be streamlined to minimize friction?
How can the process be streamlined to maximize client touch points?
Do team members understand how they fit into the process?
Is the process well defined and documented?
Does the process have a measurement of success that is understood?
How can the process be improved with existing or new people or technology?

Technology

“Technology” refers to all the digital services used to support business functions, such as hardware, software, and apps. Often, technology gets out of alignment with operational goals due to redundancy, misuse, or missed opportunities for optimization. Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your technology by considering:

Are there multiple systems that do the same functions?
Are there systems that are not needed?
Is it clear how each software is intended to be used?
Are systems optimized and integrated to streamline work?
Have systems been audited for effectiveness in the past year?
Have the operational needs outgrown what current systems are capable of?

How to use the PPT Framework?

When seeking to improve or address sticky operations, first, ask yourself, “Is this a People, Process, or Technology issue?” This will help you narrow down to the root of where focused attention would be most effective. Then continually revisit the PPT framework as you build and change workflows to ensure you’re maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of all three fundamentals.

As you work through your operations improvement, an external perspective may be helpful. As an Operations Consultant, I can help you identify areas of opportunity and assist you in developing a strategic and effective plan of attack. Learn more about my services here.

Better Manage Communication with Habit Stacking

October 3, 2022

Most of us struggle to keep up with the constant influx of communication – emails, texts, chat messages, and social media. It’s a lot of conversing that can be disruptive to our productive flow and overwhelm our desire to socialize. A commonly recommended solution to controlling how much time and attention we allocate to communication is to turn off notifications. A great suggestion and one I highly recommend. However, if you’re even slightly paranoid, you may worry about missing something important, which keeps you checking your inbox even with notifications turned off. Additionally, there never seems to be enough time in the day to dedicate solely to correspondence. To solve this, wrangle the communication chaos by habit stacking it.

What is habit stacking?

Simply put, habit stacking is aligning multiple tasks that make sense to do together, anchored by something you already routinely do.

How to habit stack communication?

There are many things you can habit stack your communication management with. However, I have found the most successful habit anchor to be drinking beverages.

Try adding blocks to your calendar designated for responding to all of those emails, texts, and messages, but also align it with a soothing beverage break.

Here are a few fun names to make the blocks of time more appealing – and easy to remember!

Coffee + Correspondence
Tea + Touch Base
Sips + Scribbles

You may only need 15 minutes to enjoy your beverage and get through all of your messages, but if you need longer, book it in your calendar! Set it up as a recurring task and keep it like a meeting. That means not double-booking yourself, but moving it to accommodate other items that pop up on your calendar. Tip: Put your communication block on your calendar as a “free/available” event so scheduling assistants won’t see it as busy.

Need additional tips for managing your emails? Start with my free download to help you clean out your inbox or this post about the five email templates you need to use.

How to Hold a Successful Project Debrief

September 22, 2022

When wrapping up a project, it’s easy just to let the work be marked “completed” and move on to the next big thing. However, a project debrief is essential to learning from the experience and growing as a team. Conduct a successful Project Debrief by setting aside the time to review and discuss.

Prior to the Debrief Meeting

In preparation for the debrief meeting, have team members submit feedback in a way that allows all team members to feel safe being candid. Depending on the team dynamic, this may look like a survey form, contributing to a shared document, or simply sending an email to a point of contact. Then consolidate all feedback to be reviewed during the session. This prework not only saves time but also helps prevent groupthink during the session.

The 3 Critical Questions

Ask team members to answer these three questions to ensure the Project Debrief is a productive use of time.

What went well and contributed to the success of the project?
What hindered the project workflows?
What improvements are suggested for next time?

Set the Agenda

A key component of a successful Project Debrief meeting is keeping the agenda tight and streamlined. The purpose of gathering together should be a constructive discussion of the feedback and to celebrate a job well done. Below is a sample agenda for a Project Debrief:

Review Objectives and Goals
Review Responses “What went well and contributed to the success of the project?”
Review Responses “What hindered the project workflows?”
Review Responses “What improvements are suggested for next time?”
General Discussion
Celebrate Wins and Contributions

Tips

Keep the Project Debrief positive by moderating the conversation toward constructive feedback.
Truly celebrate by providing food and thank yous.
Share the feedback and wins via email, highlighting key contributions from the team members.

A project management tool like ClickUp can help keep all the feedback and notes in one place. It’s the perfect system for your full project lifecycle, providing support with sharing documents, chatting, building task lists, and more. Learn more about ClickUp here.