How to Get More Done While Having a Good Time

Submitted by On Leadership on Wed, 02/17/2010 - 20:45

It seemed like everyone was in the hallways. They weren't doing anything of note. They were just...talking. Some were talking animatedly with gestures that needed no words. Some seemed so relaxed with expressions of pleasure on their faces as they chatted. In one corner three men with furrowed brows conferred in a seemingly serious manner. Others milled about accepting greetings from those who hurried by. It was time. Suddenly, the various huddles broke and everyone scurried away leaving the marble halls empty and quiet.

No School Tour

This was my first visit to a legislative body as a guest of a member. I had been to the state capitol before as a part of the occasional educational tour. This was different. As I struggled to keep up with my honorable host, I had trouble understanding just how different this day would be. We raced through doors and back hallways too quickly for me to process what I was experiencing. Wait! These halls weren't on the school version of the tour! The post-committee commentary wasn't on the school tour. The lunch with a group of legislators and a couple of members of the governor's staff wasn't on the tour, either. Most importantly, the education I got that day was missing from the school tour. (It was missing from the the political science classes I took in college, too!)

 

Tidbits

Here are a few tidbits gleaned from that experience:

  • Nothing should EVER come up in committee session, or any other session that hasn't been previously discussed.
  • As one mayor found out the hard way, if no one on the committee you need to address likes your representative, you'd better do the leg work on your own.
  • As another witness found out, you should always OVER prepare. (As the Homer Simpson might say, DOH!)
  • Very little actual work happens during formal working sessions.
Those are valuable lessons, but they are just procedural realities. The real lessons are about how things get done. It took a while. It really took a few years. It is a pity that I didn't pick out these lessons sooner. How much time and trouble could they have saved me?
The lessons seem so simple now. At the time, it just looked like everyone was being lazy, hanging out in the hallway and chatting and having a good time.
They were having a good time AND getting things done.

 

The Lessons

 

1. Connect

Keith Ferrazzi writes about it in his books and on his blog. Dale Carnegie wrote about it and the company that bears his name still teaches it. John Maxwell writes about it. Come to think of it, almost every leadership author writes about it. If you get nothing else out of this article, get this: CONNECT with other people! Connect with them on an authentic basis. Maybe you're not going to buy each others' kids birthday presents, but make the relationship that you do develop real. Why is that important?

Because, people choose...

When given the opportunity, people choose to work with people they like. They will also choose, all other factors being equal, to hire people that they like.

Bill Hybels, senior leader at Willow Creek Church in South Barrington, IL wrote that key criteria used in hiring included likeability. Yes, Willow Creek hires for character and competency, but chemistry is also important. (Hybels, Courageous Leadership)
 
Others have written about likeability as a hiring criteria, too. The authors of Tribal Leadership write that IDEO has candidates go to lunch with up to ten associates. If the tribe likes you and wants to work with you AND you have skills, you get an offer. If you aren't likeable, or don't fit that tribe, you won't be working at either Willow Creek or IDEO.
As you work to genuinely connect, you become more likeable, and more people want to work with you. (Isn't nice to be wanted?)

 

2. Work Informally

Who knew that you could enjoy work? Working informally can make work a more peace-filled and joy-filled experience by allowing you to privately and consultatively address differences of

  • culture
  • opinion
  • vision
  • values, and
  • needs/desires.
 
No one needs to be embarrassed in a meeting or put on the spot. You can explore possibilities in a collaborative manner. Contentious points can be discussed over time. You can really work to understand the other.
You might even -- gasp! -- find that you already work with people that you like.
The problem is that working informally requires familiarity that only comes from really connecting with team members. That connection requires trust. Ooooh...trust. That's the foundation of another of my favorite books...and a discussion for another day. For now, concentrate on
  1. genuinely connecting,
  2. choosing to work with people you like (or learn to like the people you work with and being likeable), and
  3. working informally when possible.
As a result you will be more productive and have a better time doing it.

Have you put some of these principles to work for you? Please, share your experiences in the comments section! __________

Photo by korona-pl. Displayed at flickr.com under Creative Commons license.

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