Like many bloggers, I blog as I live and work, and thus there’s a real-time reason I’m writing about the D5M (Daily 5 Minutes) quite a bit again. It just so happens I have a few customers who are currently within all-out campaigns to cement the Daily 5 Minutes® into their company operations as a habit which never goes away. There are two reasons this happens;
a) The results of the D5M speak for themselves. People will introduce it to their managers as a “good idea to try” without fully and formally adopting it as their consistent company practice, and then lo and behold, the managers who do it as their habit start to reap the benefits. These are benefits = to results in workplace harmony the “didn’t do it” managers aren’t getting at the same rate, if at all.
As you can imagine, I LOVE this reason; when done, the D5M works. These are people who become my SLC customers based on this result, for they’re wondering, “What else does she have within this MWA philosophy of hers that we should be doing?”
b) For me personally, I no longer bring MWA to an organizational consulting gig without the D5M mandated by, enthusiastically taught and supported by, and continually demonstrated by the CEO of the company as my D5M poster child within that company. I bring a number of tools to organizations within the MWA curriculum, and the D5M is always the first one.
I LOVE this reason too, moreso as a coach. Having the D5M do its’ magic in a company makes my job working with them a whole lot easier and smarter (for me), and much more effective for them. The D5M is a catalyst for me in giving MWA a stickiness factor as the new way of managing well a workplace never again strays from. First trigger and catalyst, the D5M becomes a glue readily reapplied daily by managers, holding the rest of our MWA integration systemically into value alignment for their best benefit.
Yes indeed, all from getting more conversations going at work.
As it is intended to do, the D5M brings stuff up in 5-minute coaching opportunities, and best of all, they aren’t academic, and they aren’t biz-speak. These opportnities come up in a real-time laboratory of your work, both hits and misses. Management is a situational art, and we’re artful when we’re engaged in the right effort at the right time. Through the D5M, your staff lets you know exactly when that “right time” is, because they are so much closer to it — you can’t be everywhere, and neither do you want to be!
So within my own real-time work with customers, a common new-manager pitfall has come back in my radar lately, the work-world myth that the moment you’re “in charge” you have magic powers and mystic answers that “the line staff” doesn’t have. (See more on this according to restaurateur Danny Meyer.) As mentors to new managers and supervisors, one of the most valuable things we can teach them is how to finish their conversations with staff well.
If you are a manager, this may be one of the most helpful articles I’ve written for Leon at Lifehack.org in recent months, and I encourage you to add to it in the comments there or here if you’ve got more to share.
On Lifehack.org: Learn to Finish Conversations Well
On ManagingwithAloha.com: The Daily 5 Minutes: 9 Questions
From the archives: More Work-World Myths
Also today, A JJL Love Affair with Books continues:
Be sure you check out the first Trackback Sunday on Joyful Jubilant Learning. If you have not had the chance to participate in this community forum yet, today is your day to jump in and take the plunge!
These were the books reviewed in the past week, and as I happened to be traveling, they caused me to make a beeline for the Barnes & Noble near to one of my customer’s offices. I truly need to be more adventurous instead of only wearing down the carpet in front of the business book sections:
- Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value
- Two Weeks to a Breakthrough: How to Zoom Toward Your Goal in 14 Days or Less
- Do Less, Achieve More: Discover the Hidden Powers Giving In
- This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession
- The Zen of Groups, A Handbook for People Meeting With a Purpose
- The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
Rosa, the daily five minutes is such a great idea. It works well with people on your work teams and it also works well at home. I find that with all the hustle and bustle of real life that finding 5 minutes of uninterrupted time with a spouse, children, or even your favorite dog or cat can be hard to find.
The time watching TV doesn't count and you can't multi-task with the computer either.
We may all have friends, loved ones, and even pets that are crying out... Gimme Five!
Remote...click...off!
How is your day...
John
Posted by: John Richardson | March 11, 2007 at 03:23 AM
Mahalo nui John! My day is starting off wonderfully with these comments here from you and Keoni :-)
And your coaching for the D5M is excellent - no multi-tasking! Total listening focus on the one you gift your time to. Take 5 and reap the benefits.
Posted by: Rosa Say | March 11, 2007 at 06:56 AM