PeekABooIDontTrustYou

1. Peek-a-boo, I don't trust you!:

      Overcoming team dysfunction #1

2.  Perfect Labor Storm Warnings

3.  Understanding Business Values and Motivators

4. This Week's Featured Books

5.  Speaking Schedule

6.  New Book: Coming Job Boom

7. Success Performance Solutions partners with PayScale

     to provide clients with real-time salary data

8. Quotes from the Hire Authorities

In childhood development there is a concept called "Object Constancy." (All of you parents, aunts and uncles take note of this!) This refers to the process whereby we become "constant objects" in our children's lives. It starts with "peek-a-boo:" We cover our face with a blanket and our babies think we've disappeared. It takes them a while to realize that when the blanket's in front of us we're still there. As they get older at some point they discover we are "still there" for them even when we're angry. We also develop object constancy when they become angry with us, and we're "still there" for them. We are constant. No matter what. This is an important phase in development that enables children to disagree and act up within a context of "mom and dad are still going to love me." Within this context they are able to successfully navigate each developmental task and grow to be fully functioning individuals that will someday take over our world. (And if that is a scary thought start paying more attention to developing their object constancy!)

Developing teams is not unlike developing object constancy with our children. (Note that I am not saying we should treat our employees or team members as children!) We start out with a group of people that are focused on WIIFM (What's In It For Me?). Hopefully as we get to know those in our group we develop a level of trust that enables us to comfortably express our opinions, even when the other members of the group might disagree. The team then becomes the "constant object" - a safe venue for expressing opinions - even conflicting ones. When our employees cannot exhibit vulnerability enabled by mutual trust, allowing them to engage in discussion and debate, then they are not able to move the organization forward and accomplish departmental and organizational goals.

Company B's request for a "team building" earlier this year surprised me because we just did a team building last year.

Last year we focused on the team's interpersonal dynamics. As part of the workshop, each participant completed a CriteriaOne DISC behavior profile. After each person reviewed his or her results, the team met to assess its strengths and potential challenges based on how the similar and different behavior styles interacted. Not unlike many team-building retreats, all the participants enjoyed the workshop. They not only had "fun" but they "learned a lot."

So when I received the call for another team building, I was both excited - and disappointed. I was thrilled that this client wanted to retain me again. I was disappointed because what I thought the team learned did not seem to have been applied. It didn't take me long to observe that this group of people enjoyed working together and genuinely liked each other. If it wasn't for the customers, life would be great!

For them teamwork meant friendship, not business results. When asked to focus on work tasks, silos popped up, departmental friction heated up, and nit-picking water cooler talk and defensiveness erupted. They simply confused the fact they were being paid and placed on a team to achieve business outcomes, not become good friends. In the Director of Human Resource's words, "We all like each other as people but when it comes to work it's every man for him self."

I quickly retrieved the team results from last year. As a group they were energized by doing the things the right way and by doing what is "right." That is a good thing. But many members were simply de-energized by frequent interactions with the customers. Their preference was to focus on their tasks with a minimum of small talk. They were personable and friendly but hardly outgoing. They were most comfortable with people they liked and uncomfortable with strangers. After a morning of customer face time, most of this team needed to chill out at lunch with a book or a crossword puzzle in order to recharge for the afternoon.

Those revelations paved the way for this year's agenda: overcoming team dysfunction #1 - and next week's column!

Call us today (800-803-4303) for a free consult or to schedule a workshop on overcoming The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.

CareerBuilder.com and researchers at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania released new research today titled, "Jobs Beyond Borders," based on a survey of more than 3,000 hiring managers and HR professionals and more than 6,700 workers across the U.S. The results of this study as well as related research are available as a series of working papers.

"Among employers who offshore, half said they believe offshoring is necessary to compete in a global economy and 15 percent project more than 20 percent of their jobs will eventually be sent overseas," said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder.com. "This does not mean the U.S. will see a reduction in employment levels, however. One-in-four employers who offshore said it has enabled them to create a greater number of better jobs here in the U.S."

Listen to the Maintenance Worker Crisis

Song now available for easier viewing on YouTube.

Read more about skilled worker shortages in the NEW Perfect Labor Storm 2.0 (soft and hard cover versions)

NEW Chapters! Generational Conflicts in the Workplace, Managing the Future Workforce, Attracting Young Employees in a Seller's Job Market plus hundreds of new facts, trends and stats.

To order Perfect Labor Storm 2.0, call 800.803.4303. Discounts for orders of 10 or more. Specify hard or soft cover.

Business values and motivators determine the "why" of human behavior. For managers, Business Values and Motivators answers the nagging question - How can I motivate my employees? For employees and individuals looking to re-energize their careers, the Business Values and Motivators report helps them understand what they value most. As people, we tend to value certain viewpoints positively and judge others negatively. How we value or judge determines our motivations and provide us with our sources of energy or conflicts and stress in our personal and professional lives. Watch author Ira S Wolfe describe the "bucket" theory of employee motivation.

Today's busy leaders and knowledge workers are looking for informative, to the point self-study resources that will answer questions, stimulate new thinking and help solve problems.

These management development pocket guides are ideal for self-directed learning, training and coaching workers, corporate universities, or to use in seminars and workships.

September 8 - Electrical Generation Systems Associatino - "The Perfect Labor Storm"

6. Hot Off The Press! "Coming Job Boom" - Buy Today!

Ira recently collaborated with Bonnie Kerrigan Snyder on a new book, The Coming Job Boom. Bonnie is the author of The Public School Parent's Guide to Success. The Coming Job Boom is the "ying" for the "yang" of The Perfect Labor Storm. While the Perfect Labor Storm is beginning to make managers feel like storm chasers looking for qualified workers, high school and college students must be smiling at this Upcoming Job Boom. For those young workers with the right skills and motivation, the job market will make these kids feel like - well, like kid's in a candy store!

One of your biggest challenges our clients face is creating compensation packages that reflect today's job market rates. I am excited to announce that we partnered with PayScale to provide businesses like yours with the real-time salary data you need to retain and recruit today's top talent! PayScale has agreed to give all of our Total View readers a free PayScale Employer Compensation Report on a job title of your choice. There are truly no strings attached.

Here's all you have to do to get your complimentary report. Visit the PayScale website by going here. Once there, locate the link on the right-hand side of the page that says "Request a Free Trial Report." Fill out the form and within 24 hours, a PayScale product consultant will provide you with the information you need to create your own salary report.

"Though we wisely worry about rising unemployment during this recession of 2008, there is another, quite different problem that soon will confront the nation: a shortage of workers."

Permission is granted to consultants, managers, business owners and HR professionals to reproduce content from this newsletter for your internal publications, or to distribute copies to your workforce, on the condition that you reproduce the credits and contact information as follows: "Reprinted with permission from Ira S Wolfe and Success Performance Solutions. Copyright 2008 Ira S Wolfe." We also hope you will forward the newsletter in its entirety and recommend to others that they subscribe.