How 1 Powerful Question Changed an Entire IT Team

Oct 9, 2020 | Hot Mess Hotline Podcast, Team Training, Workplace Communication

In the process of solving your hot mess, sometimes you create 10 new hot messes. But sometimes, you solve them all by employing great team communication strategies, incremental change, and a can-do attitude. Asking “What CAN we do to make this work?” along the way can bring the shift in perspective that you team needs.

In this Hot Mess Hotline episode, Global Vice President of IT, Mike Loggins, and I discuss how asking this question shifted his team, first literally by finding them a new space to work in and outfitting it for less than $3000! Then, asking this question consistently led to breaking down some common barriers and showing Mike’s mid-level leaders how to improve communication within a team with incremental change.

As you’ll hear from Mike, he thought he was communicating, but then learned the hard way what he was really doing. One of the biggest takeaways was the need for incremental change instead of expecting one, huge, drastic change to take place overnight. Mike’s team used their “What CAN we do to make this work?” question to drive these incremental changes as they solved for smaller problems along the way. This also helped showcase real results to keep the team motivated.

This is a great takeaway for leaders who find themselves in a longer-term hot mess, which can sometimes lead to indecision and becoming stuck. Asking “What next?” or “What now?” keeps the team focused on moving forward in a positive way.

Listen to this episode of the Hot Mess Hotline to learn how Mike and his team drastically pivoted their physical position to improve their communication and success. If you know a CEO or leader who has encountered a hot mess, I’d love to talk to them about their experiences and what they learned on a future episode! Send me a message at hello@stefaniekrievins.com.

Lead powerful meetings and create purpose, participation and problem solving for your most valuable time

Download this toolkit and you'll get resources to:

- Easily manage task items from every meeting
- Design agendas quickly and allow folks the right info to prepare
- Hold your next effective staff meeting with focused content
- Run a quick daily meeting so your team gets more shit done
- Have your staff turn in meaningful updates so meetings are shorter
- Start meetings in an engaging way. Get everyone to laugh, not roll their eyes.

About Mike Loggins

With 20+ years of experience as an IT leader, I have been integral to strategic business alignment, performance acceleration, customer success, & standardizing global IT operations. As an influential leader, I have effectively led 300+ IT professionals worldwide to steer the direction of the corporate vision concerning the critical need for modernized IT operations. It is my passion to utilize my visionary approach to consistently pioneer change, advocacy, & critical IT involvement while also focusing on marketplace positioning for accelerated ROI.

Rich Leaders Have Rich Relationships with Jack Gibson

A little-discussed asset class known by rich leaders is to have rich relationships. Jack Gibson is a leader who values trust over money; friendship over revenue. Just a few short years ago, he was feeling hot, hot, hot about real estate investing with a business partner. He referred his friends to this person. Everything was great while everyone was making money together.

Until it wasn’t and they were all losing money. Big time. Jack put on his cape and saved the day. While he’s learned since then that “saving others” isn’t his job, he’ll never regret saving a relationship at the expense of virtually everything else. Listen in to our conversation where lifelong friends have stayed trusted partners because he knows the value of the best investment out there: relationship capital.

Insights into Uncomfortable Race Conversations at Work with Danielle Meadows-Stinnett

Have you ever wanted insights into uncomfortable race conversations at work but didn’t know who to ask? Our guest, Danielle Meadows-Stinnett, is generous enough to share a hot mess she found herself in as the CEO of her marketing company. She describes what it felt like when a client said to her teammate, “Do you even speak English?”

For those of us in more privileged positions in our American culture, we need to learn what it’s like sitting in the chair across from us as a person of color, a non-native English speaker, someone without a college degree whose colleagues all have college degrees, etc. etc. Unfortunately we’ve created too many ways to outrank each other. This conversation is a great reminder that we all show up to work looking to make a difference as a fellow human. Not a fellow human with all the labels we put on each other and ourselves.

How Small Tweaks Create Big Change with Nikki Evans

Big change is created by small tweaks. One of our faculty members, Nikki Evans, reminds us that change happens in small steps. Our brains are wired for overwhelm when we try to prioritize, do, plan, think through too many steps. Coaching reminds us to use our human superpowers of focus, critical thinking, and taking one step at a time.

Nikki shares her coaching perspective, why you might want to work with her, and what to expect. After listening I hope you’ll find her as amazing as I do and see why she’s a natural fit here at Stefanie Krievins & Co.