P2P (People to People)

People to People

How to have the conversations that make a difference

Think about it.

Work gets done primarily through conversation. Leaders set direction, energize and inspire. Deals are negotiated, sales are consummated, service provided. Systems get built based on conversations with users. Processes are improved through dialogue with all involved. Community consensus is built through dialogue among all the stakeholders. New products are developed not just in the lab, but through talking with customers and prospects, scientists, engineers, marketing, operations, finance, and manufacturing experts. And performance issues are handled through conversation as well.

These conversations can be difficult but are essential to getting work done. How they're handled often determines success or failure. If the essential conversation does not occur, there is no opportunity for buy-in and commitment, or for creating collaboration. If the conversation is handled badly, there is little chance of "getting on the same page," or for the synergy of diverse viewpoints. Worse, the emotional undercurrent of a poorly handled conversation fosters turf wars, faulty assumptions, self-serving behavior.

Conversations are tough…

It is not surprising that many managers avoid difficult conversations, reluctant to deal with the discomfort and potential damage to relationships. Because these conversations require a skillful balance of assertiveness and openness, of inquiry and advocacy, of empathy and directness, it is also not surprising that they are handled poorly much of the time.

AlexanderHancock Associates has developed People to People™ as a tool to help managers deal effectively with the difficult conversations that are part of managing every day. The evidence is in: Critically important conversations, handled well results in aligned hearts and minds, commitment, collaboration, productivity and creativity. Handled poorly, they are more destructive than helpful.

I can do this…

People to People™ gives managers confidence to handle difficult conversations. Most of us feel we know how to have successful conversations because we've been talking since we were one or two years old. Our research and the research of countless others shows a wide gap between this rosy self-assessment and our actual experience.

For 30 years AlexanderHancock Associates has been helping people learn how to have effective, powerful, critically important conversations—a requirement of managing effectively:

Managers with associates
Service reps with customers
Sales reps with prospects
Business colleagues with peers
Government leaders with citizens

Our experience with thousands of managers and professionals has helped us develop a practical tool kit of conversation skills and techniques that point to success. And we have learned how to help people focus not just on using proper techniques, but on enhancing the relationship and getting work done—together.

A practical approach

People to People™ is literally a “learning lab” where leaders are exposed to the critical elements of handling conversations effectively, then thrust immediately into videotaped practice sessions to apply the skills. Working with their peers and receiving peer feedback and that of the facilitator, they learn precisely what to do differently to improve connectedness with their people, inspire top performance—and enhance relationships as well.

We can demonstrate results

The good news is leaders can begin using these skills immediately. People to People™ is not theory but practice that leads to changed behavior and measurable results on the job. We encourage pre- and post- training measures which we are confident will demonstrate dramatic progress.

Training that pays for itself

Imagine the lost productivity, miscommunications, re-work and damaged relationships, which happen routinely being changed to solid, productive contacts between managers and their associates—and imagine the savings from that being applied directly to the bottom line. That frees up resources to be used for all the other things that need doing!

Take a closer look

Because of the success we have enjoyed in other companies, we’re so confident that this program can produce dramatic results for you that we’d like to send you a video of models of these conversations so you can see the dramatic difference when difficult conversations are handled well. And we will customize the content of the training to your culture, your environment and your unique needs.

Call us at 1.888.892.5096 to request a copy of the video.

People to People™ training can help your

managers in these critical conversations:

Performance Deficiencies

Setting Expectations

Coaching/Career Dev.

Delegation

Recognition

Sensing Session

Employee Initiated Discussions

Getting Employee Feedback

“Teachable Moments” for employee growth

Checking in on Progress

Imagine the improvement in your organization if these conversations are handled well.

What participants in this training have said…

v Thank you so much for offering this course. It is exactly what I have needed for several years. This will really help me be a more effective manager for my directs. Can't wait to use this in real life.

v I am thankful for this course and fully expect this to change my interaction with those around me.

v I really liked how the facilitators knew our business. They were able to relate to us as managers at [company].

v This was a great course. It really helped me be a better coach.

v Thank you!! You have made me better.

v Wonderful, insightful training.

v Very effective. Like many things in life, the best way to improve is to practice and receive feedback/coaching.

v As a very new manager this program could not have come at a better time.

v I'm looking forward to using the tools in my conversations right away.

v I learned so many skills in this training that will truly help me be more effective in my role.

v I will apply the skills/behaviors to coach to continuing success in my organization.

Program Details

Description

While technology has fueled growth and innovation, human connections often remain the weak link in our organizations. B2B may be a growing economic force, but P2P – people-to-people interaction – remains a challenge.

For decades, employee surveys in thousands of organizations have indicated that poor “communication” is the greatest cause of employee disengagement, and that disengagement leads to lower levels of customer satisfaction, productivity, profits, quality, and innovation.

Specifically, employees feel they don’t get enough feedback, don’t feel their opinions are valued, don’t feel they’re sufficiently informed about what is going on. Managers, on the other hand, also feel their own supervisors don’t communicate effectively with them, but tend to feel they themselves ARE communicating effectively with their employees. A recent survey by Developmental Dimensions Inc. (DDI) of over 1800 employees and 1800 managers in 278 different organizations showed that

82% of managers-- but only 49% of employees-- believe that employees receive feedback or advice on how to maximize their strengths
89% of managers-- but only 57% of employees—believe that employees receive sufficient feedback or advice on areas in which they need improvement

What’s going on here? Why the disconnect? We’ve found over the past 25 years that managers often handle day-to-day task-focused conversations reasonably comfortably and effectively. But the crucial conversations aimed at building competence and commitment or producing change are often handled poorly or avoided altogether.

These conversations are crucial to the future of the business, and to the employee. Failure to handle these conversations well can result in

loss of a talented contributor
replacement costs of up to 250% of that person’s annual salary
loss of thousands of dollars in productivity, quality, and innovation.

In our experience, managers avoid these conversations because they’re difficult – high stakes, emotion-laden, with conflicting viewpoints – and we typically have no good models to follow. Our instincts tell us to fight or flee – both of which are disastrous for crucial conversations.

People-to-People is designed to provide a third option – handling the conversation skillfully, with confidence, and with a positive outcome for the employee, for the relationship with the manager, and for the company. P2Ptm uses an immersion method to provide managers:

A model of successful conversation
A toolkit of skills
A track to run on
Language to use

Intensive practice and application, with feedback and coaching

Impact/ROI

When managers have participated in this immersion lab you can expect to see:

Managers having crucial conversations– not avoiding them
Managers and associates negotiating lasting solutions to persistent, recurring problems
Managers conducting regular one-on-one “listening sessions” with associates
Managers offering more feedback more often
Associates expressing greater job satisfaction
Associates demonstrating greater engagement and commitment on the job
Fewer problems being handed off for Human Resources to “fix”
This higher level of engagement has been proven to lead to higher levels of performance.

Learning Content

Current modules address conversations involving performance problems, teachable moments, career development, performance reviews, delegation, and many other situations. Here is a sample of some of the program content:

Conversation as the instrument of leadership
The ALT^TM (Ask-Listen-Tell) Toolkit for successful conversations
Giving people a living model of what you want them to be and do
Fostering successful achievement, commitment, loyalty
Getting employee buy-in and accountability
Communicating business drivers and priorities
Finding out what matters most to the employee and connecting that with what matters most to the business
Making the employee feel valued, increasing commitment and loyalty
Creating a climate where feedback is expected, balanced, open, and constructive.
Preventing talent from derailing
Getting declining performance back on track, getting employees to accept responsibility for solving problems
Getting different perspectives on business issues and challenges, getting buy-in and commitment
Extending influence and reach; strengthening capacity and capability
Making the employee feel safe enough to be honest, and feel that his or her concerns are important.
Getting employees to tell you when you don’t walk the talk, or when the organization needs to change

Methods

Every AlexanderHancock training program uses a variety of methods to actively engage learners throughout each part of the day. This program will be designed to accomplish its objectives through the following learning approaches:

Modify methods as needed

Videotaped labs (skill practice through role playing) the critical conversations with a trained facilitator. Our strength in this area is getting people to do these conversations well. Our experience consistently confirms that the success of the [target learner] is directly related to his/her success in preparing for and managing these conversations to achieve the stated objectives of the intervention. This is why we focus intensely on the steps involved in these discussions and the potential pitfalls which can cause these discussions to go astray and become less effective—or even harmful.

The tape doesn’t lie…Our experience shows consistently and repeatedly that videotaped practice of these critical conversations is the most effective way of changing the behavior of the [target learner] since it allows him/her to see firsthand what needs to be done differently. This practice is coupled with concrete, specific approaches to ensure the overall success of the conversation.

The role play methodology has been widely used in training in the fifty years since its origin in psychological counseling. However, many training programs utilizing role play have limited effectiveness in producing lasting changed behavior. Our own extensive research, plus the research of countless other experts, indicates that much greater and more permanent change occurs when several factors are present:

The practice situations are real, not “case study” creations.

The participant does not “play a role” but is himself/herself.

The other “role” is played by a trained, expert facilitator.

The interaction is videotaped so that the participants can truly see themselves as others see them – objectively, without filters or bias.

The feedback is specific, direct, pointed, honest.

The participant has multiple opportunities to practice “getting it right.”

Intensive practice using tools and techniques applied to real problems and challenges brought to the training by the participants.

Small group exercises and customized case studies to address real life issues.

Behavior modeling through the use of custom videotapes and live demonstrations by the facilitators.

Engaging, interactive discussions guided by a skilled facilitator to ensure that significant insights are developed.

Customization

We are strongly committed to training that produces measurable results, that changes behavior in ways that immediately impact the business. Our experience shows that custom training has a far greater likelihood of accomplishing these results. Customization means that the training fits our clients’ business, culture, language, and specific situational needs. We have used the following methods to customize P2P for our clients:

Online survey of people who report to the managers attending the program regarding the specific conversations to be addressed.
Interviews with program participants and their supervisors.
Participant pre-work requiring each to bring to the training a description of a situation that needs addressing relating to each of the conversations to be practiced.