Improve Results by Moving to Action

Dear Crucial Skills,

Last year a representative from your company conducted a training in Florida on Crucial Conversations. As part of our take away we received a pack of 4x4 flash cards.

One of the cards, titled “Move to Action: How to Turn Crucial Conversations into Action and Results,” poses the questions “Pay special attention as conversations come to an end. Are people preparing for action or disappointment? What’s the most common mistake?”

Can you please provide more information on what the most common mistakes are?

Curious Training Graduate

Dear Curious,

You are one of the first people to pose this question and I’m glad you did. This principle is so important that I am happy to offer some advice.

One of the most common mistakes people make in a crucial conversation is that they don’t remember to Move to Action. One point we make in the training and the book is that how you end a conversation is as important as how you begin. Sometimes people tee up a conversation, work through it well and then end with a fizzle.

People understand and apply the metaphor we recommend—that is to fill the pool of shared meaning. It takes time and skill to get everyone to have the courtesy and candor to fill the pool. And when that happens well, the person who initiated the crucial conversation may be tempted to think, “Well, there you go; we did it; we spoke the truth; that wasn’t so hard after all!” And they think the conversation is complete. This is the first common mistake: thinking you’re done without actually completing the process.

Why is this a problem? The reasons we have crucial conversations is to catch problems early, maximize input, make better decisions, and take more committed action. If we stop without moving to action, we fall short of what we are really trying to accomplish—improving relationships and results, not just talking about them.

Another common mistake is to leave out one of the steps involved in "moving to action." People end up being too vague and too general. Let me review the steps in Move to Action with some advice on each.

• Who. When people say “Let’s get that done,” the word “let’s” is too vague. We need to name names and we need to designate who specifically will do what—specifically. If the task is complex, break it down into specific actions and put a name on each action.
• Does what. This can also be too general and confusing. For example, “Jane will get that done.” This statement assumes that everyone knows what “that” means. To prevent this from happening, specify exactly what you mean. How many? What quality? What result?
• By when.  Don’t let people be vague here either. If you want to start playing accountability games, just forget to set a date and time on completing the action or see if any of these sorry substitutes will work: “As soon as possible,” “When it’s convenient,” “Early next week,” or “When it fits in the schedule.” When you leave the “when” so general, you are setting everyone up for disappointment and frustration.
• Follow-up. This step is frequently omitted, but following-up is one of the most important things you can do. If the task is new or risky, set a specific time to follow up. Sometimes a follow-up needs to precede the due date, just to check in. If the task is less risky or more routine, or the person has experience in doing the action, let them set the follow-up date and be responsible for it.

The main point: We have crucial conversations to improve meaning so we can improve results and relationships. If we don’t move to action well, we will inevitably be disappointed in accountability, in trust, and in results. When we finish conversations well, we are in a position to hold others accountable, to help when things fall short or go wrong, or when there are changes that need to be made. Without Move to Action, we are left only to assume and hope—a likely path to disappointment.

So remember, you haven’t completed a crucial conversation until you Move to Action.

Best wishes,
Al

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Tedemonium

A while back, a good friend and colleague was describing a recent training session he had conducted that kind of flopped. As he relayed the details of the session, I realized he’d fallen prey to that perennial training killer: tedemonium! (You know, when teaching the class has become tedious, and as a result, it unleashes pandemonium in the learning process).

So, as I listened to my friend, it dawned on me, “he’s not alone.”  All trainers, including myself, have to overcome the tediousness of training certain courses for the umpteenth time, wishing we were somewhere else, and sometimes even presenting as if we were somewhere else. So what can we do when we realize we’ve just “phoned in” the last training?

There are many ways we can invigorate our training experience by simply changing aspects of our approach.  For instance, some training can be re-shuffled and be taught in a different order. If this doesn’t apply to your course, another approach is to change your perspective in anticipation of a session. Ask yourself, “How would this material apply to frontline supervisors, technicians, warehouse workers, engineers, or maybe even doctors?”

Or, take your training a step further by interviewing people from different walks of life to discover prime application opportunities your participants might encounter on a daily basis.

One of the most energizing activities for me is to follow-up with former participants. After I’ve found out what these graduates have done, I’ve uncovered a wealth of change examples that have helped me see how concepts in training increased people’s ability to effectively manage the multiple, often difficult, aspects of their jobs.  And with their permission, I even had new and interesting stories to share with future participants.

So if you find yourself experiencing this problem in your training sessions, remember these techniques for changing it up and avoiding the tedemonium conundrum. 

If you're interested in bringing Steve or another of the VitalSmarts expert speakers to your organization, click here.

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