The Power of Work Synergy

RMA & ISKLEAD SYNERGY Experiment: This article is a follow-up to the Introductory Post of March 26, 2023.

QUESTION: How do you begin to create Synergy between 2 leaders that are used to doing things on their own time and in their own way?

You just START! So … last week Ahmed briefed me on a lead for a unique training project for a prospective client that potentially could become a long-term asset.

By the end of our 60-minute Zoom meeting with the client, I was mentally drowning in an overload of data coming from academic-type slides and the additional info and references etc. offered by the client as he answered our questions. The next day, per our request, he emailed us some additional, specific info which was somewhat helpful but added to the burden of reading even more info.

After I finished reading it, I was even more convinced that there was too much overall info and not enough of what he wanted the results to be. I need targeted, specific information. But Ahmed seemed to feel that all was manageable. I started to wish that this prospective project and my sense of stress about it would just disappear out the window. Maybe I could just tell him that this was not the right project for me. But part of my mind screamed out “Communicate, Communicate?” And so I did. Ahmed and I had a Zoom meeting and a phone talk and I ended up with as much detail as I needed. He needed far less, and that’s OK. We work differently.

A good listener, he understood my concerns and took some steps to alleviate them but wasn’t overly worried. I kept asking myself why Ahmed didn’t seem more concerned. Maybe he was just assuming that things would be fine. And I hate to assume. Or maybe I was just overreacting with my need for more targeted info? In the end, I think that with my prodding for more usable info and with his calm sense of positivity and confidence, we managed to create the synergy we needed to better deal with this situation. So, we’re still in the game as they say! We’ll be meeting with the prospective client in the next few days to see if we can close up the “deal”.

Here’s a simple tool to use to clarify the requirements of prospective Training Projects so that you can create greater SYNERGY.

1.?SPECIFIC INFO NEEDED:

a.?Set-up: Where, When, Format (If in a “conference type set-up”, ask what comes before and after the training sessions).

b.?Logistics: Number & Length of Training Sessions; Number of participants

c.?Participants: Backgrounds/Roles of Participants ?

?

2.?RESULTS OF THE TRAINING SESSIONS: (3 to 5 items for each item below)

a.?What does the client want the Results to be? SMART goals

b.?What does the client want the participants to Know after the training that they didn’t know before?

c.?What does the client want them to Understand so that the new info changes their thinking?

d.?What does the client want them to Do or be able to do when they leave the training?

?

SUMMARY

TODAY’S QUESTION: How do you begin to create Synergy between 2 leaders that are used to doing things on their own time and in their own way?

ANSWER: We learned that synergy doesn’t happen automatically just because we have several common traits. Don't forget we also have several, different past experiences, different levels of skills, and different areas of focus. We need to take these into consideration as we learn to identify and respond to the different needs of the people involved: the leaders, managers, etc.

LESSON LEARNED: Learn to voice your needs in a specific, respectful, and professional way until you’re comfortable with the responses that you get. Don’t back down! Be assertive! And don't ASSUME anything.