Welcome to Merge's Monthly Mega Minute - a bite-sized, yet substantial and practical, nugget of information that you can use immediately to enhance your professional and personal success.

The king and his coronation robe

There was once a king who ruled an ancient kingdom for many years. It was a beautiful kingdom with sparkling streams, majestic mountains, and verdant forests. As the king's reign neared 25 years, his courtiers decided to celebrate the Silver Jubilee with great pomp and circumstance. They planned a celebration that the kingdom had never before seen – they would re-create the original coronation of the king, but this time, it would be far more magnificent and extravagant than it was 25 years ago.

Plans were made - the event would take place outside in a natural valley against a spectacular backdrop of fir trees. All the king's subjects would be able to gather around the sides of the valley and look down and see the king be crowned once again. The royal tailor was assigned the task of sewing the official coronation gown. He created a masterpiece in green velvet, with ermine and rabbit fur dyed to match. For weeks before the event, there was a stir in the kingdom, and every one could feel the anticipation build.

One week before the big event, the king participated in a full dress-rehearsal. At that point, a noble in the kingdom happened to point out to the king that his royal green robe was blending into the greenery of the backdrop, thus not making him as visible as a king should be. The hapless noble was immediately banished to the far reaches of the kingdom, and the king, being the king, ordered that all the fir trees in the valley should be painted red!

Wait! That sounds very foolish, doesn't it? Most of us would ask the logical question – why didn't the king just get a new robe? A gown in scarlet velvet would have been just as regal, and far easier to obtain than painting every tree!

But hang on a minute. Are you perhaps being the king?  How many times have you noticed that you're not getting the results you want with a particular employee or co-worker, and yet you expect the employee or coworker to change? Have you considered changing your approach first? It's a lot easier to change your robe, than have all the trees in the kingdom painted red! It's a lot easier to change your leadership approach than to expect others to conform to your style.  In fact, the best leaders know that the key to exceptional leadership is to flex your leadership and communication approach to fit the individual.  Don't lose sight of the easier option: be flexible to changing your style of leadership if it doesn't meet the needs of that particular individual or situation.  Adaptability in leadership style is key to high performance and successful outcomes with ALL your employees.

Upon reflection, are there times when you are being the king?  Perhaps the greater question is whether you’re willing to admit it.  I’d love to know more if you’re willing to share.  Or perhaps you’ve observed this phenomenon in others in your workplace?  We can all learn from one another, so please add your comment directly on the blog at www.turningmanagersintoleaders.com/blog.

Not so new, but definitely notable – Merge is still delivering virtual programs

Whether you’re in favour of working remotely or not, there is no doubt that the coronavirus pandemic made “working from home” more acceptable, both to employees and clients.  In fact, your organization likely even developed a policy (or two) on this topic in the last year.  If you currently have a hybrid workforce, then keep in mind that Merge can deliver almost every program both in-person and virtually.  She can also design it for a hybrid audience where some attendees are live and others are virtual.  If you’ve got something underway or in mind, contact us.  We’ll set up a time for you to talk to Merge to determine the best way to achieve your meeting goals.

Turning Managers Into Leaders

• Video: Team building in hybrid workplaces isn’t difficult. Be a connector, a celebrator, and an enabler for your hybrid team 
• Video: Resilience building exercises for teams – four specific ideas. Integrate resilience building exercises into your workplace 
• The decision-making continuum – 5 possible degrees of interaction. The decision-making continuum is a useful model to assess what level of involvement another person needs from you in problem solving 
• Video: Remote team building activities are essential for your virtual or hybrid team. Implement remote team building activities such as “Virtual Pursuit”

That Merge can help you facilitate your next high-stakes or complex meeting? 

Do you have to chair an in-person or virtual meeting that has large egos, high stakes, complexity, many participants at different levels, anxieties, low degrees of trust, or all of the above?!  If so, then count on Merge to save you time, money and frustration!  As an experienced external facilitator who is adept at refocusing people with grace and humor, she can help with your next strategic planning session, Board planning workshop, association meeting, Executive team development, staff team-building, creative problem solving, or something else.  By creating a safe and productive meeting environment in which people are engaged and more efficient in using their time, Merge is skilled at helping you arrive at prudent decisions and a commitment to further action. While she promises to be positive and respectful, you can also count on her to deliver tough messages (even if you don't want to hear them) and keep your people focused and on task.  For more information, visit our Facilitation Services section at our website for more information, and also take a look at our Facilitation case studies.