There are conflicting reports out there about multi-tasking. It’s something we can all do and should do. But wait. No, it’s something only women are good at and men are woeful at. Or then again, it’s a productivity drain no matter who’s doing it… We’re entitled to feel a bit confused.

Personally, I find doing multiple tasks simultaneously to be draining. I’m someone who likes to focus on something and get it done. However, I also tend to waffle and have perfectionism deep in the genes, both of which mean I can easily spend way too long on the one thing. I’ve tried different tips and techniques from the productivity gurus out there and here are some that I’ve found helpful:

As we come to the end of what for many of us has been a challenging year, and are probably facing more of the same next year (and let’s be honest, for a few more years), I want to offer some suggestions on getting and staying a bit more positive. Stay with me here - this isn’t a ‘think happy thoughts and you’ll get everything you want’ issue - oh no. Personally I don’t subscribe to the ‘happyism’ prevalent in airport books that hail from the land where two-thirds of global anti-depressant sales are made. This is about learning from those who seem better able to surf the tough times (they get them too) and building on those lessons.

Here are five suggestions to try:

“What am I supposed to tell them?” is something I’m being asked a fair bit by managers at the moment. People want to know what’s going on. Us humans need more certainty in troubled times. And there’s the rub: because something of which we can be pretty certain is that times are going to pretty tough for the foreseeable future. Indeed, times will be both tough and er, uncertain. People want to know what’s happening, but even the elected leaders of powerful nations often don’t seem know what’s going on and can seem lost for words, let alone solutions. So what can a manager tell their team? Here are some thoughts:

Don’t tell them, “It’s all going to be OK”. Although, if you can prove it is going to be OK, I suspect the next meetings of DAVOS, the G20, the ECB and various national banks might well want to hear from you.

So the latest CIPD/simplyhealth Absence Management Survey, published on 05 October, says that stress is now the most common cause of long-term sickness absence. Poor old musculoskeletal problems have been knocked off the top spot. Is anyone surprised?

50% of public sector organisations surveyed reported a rise in this type of sickness absence. Again, no surprise. Whereas 10% of organisations in the public sector reported job insecurity as a common cause of work-related stress last year, this year has seen the figure more than double to 24%. So now it’s higher than the private sector and public sector, where the figure is 14% for both.

When did you last experience rudeness? This morning? Last night? At the weekend? Every day? Can’t remember, it was so long ago? Now think again: when did you last experience rudeness at work? Chances are that’s a bit easier to remember and the reason why is that rudeness is rife in organisations. Rudeness has been on the rise for a while, with an increase from a quarter of people surveyed in 1998 to half in 2005. That’s half the people at work reporting being treated rudely at work at least once a week. %±$!!! “So *%& what?” you may be thinking.

“Why the +@^§ should I care?” Seems there’s a whole host of reasons, from making matters worse, to rudeness going viral, and rudeness can kill creativity.

If you asked a bunch of HR and Learning and Development (L&D) professionals what they think are the top three leadership skills gaps, what do you reckon they’d say? Given what we’ve been through these past few years (and may have to wade through for some time yet), you might think business, or finance, or commerce, right? No. Not according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)’s latest Learning and Talent Development Survey. Apparently, this group of respondents (in over 600 private and public sector organisations) believe the skills gap is more acute in these areas:

1. Performance management. This topped the chart with all sectors giving it over 50%. So everywhere you look, it seems there are leaders who need to step up to managing performance. One can’t help but wonder how much this is prompted (or maybe provoked would be a better word) by HR people having to pick up lots of pieces when it comes to dealing with performance problems.
2. Leading and managing change came a close second, with its high ranking skewed by a whopping 71% of respondents in the manufacturing and production centre saying this was their top skills gap. Hmmm… is this because these people have a clear idea of what’s headed their way? Or are the numbers skewed because their oppos in all the other sectors can’t see up the road?
3. Leading and people management, in third place, was a skills gap that spanned private, public and not-for-profit sectors, but was less of a big deal for the manufacturing lot, who must think people leadership skills are a luxury or a folly akin to Titanic/deckchair moving, given their pre-occupation with change.
4. Coaching, mentoring and developing staff. More talent management skills in the gap here, but worth noting that this gap only narrowly beat the fifth-placed one, and that was because it got a big, “Yes, we need that”, from the public sector. Other sectors viewed this skills gap more in line with……
5. Business and commercial acumen. Ah there you are!! Wondered where you’d been hiding…

To find out more and download a summary, go to www.cipd.co.uk.

From my earlier posting on mentors, you can imagine I think they’re A Good Thing. How do you go about getting one? There are two main ways: formally and informally, and two main contexts: at work and beyond. Which works best for you? Depends on what you need, what’s available and what you can commit to.

Formally at work: for this to happen, typically there will be a mentoring scheme, or a selection of in-house coaches, as part of your employer’s talent development programme. So you can ask your line manager about how to get in on the scheme, and/or ask someone in HR.

Good question - one I’m often asked. There is a noticeable lack of agreement across various coaching and mentoring lead bodies, and often people use the terms interchangeably, so it’s no surprise that folks get confused. I think the trend to have coaching as part of line managers’ skillset is further blurring the boundary (although I think managers having coaching in their repertoire can only be A Good Thing). So how can you tell the difference?

Coaching is typically non-directive, in that it would be very unusual for a coach to tell a ‘coachee’ what to do. Instead the coach, encourages reflection and uses skilful questioning to get the coachee to identify for themselves the best next steps to take. Typically the focus is on improving performance at work, although invariably personal issues creep in, for example emotions, stress at home affecting work and vice versa. Coaches are trained on fulfilling the role, some are highly qualified and some are supervised in their work. External coaches may not know anything about the client’s sector, organisation or job role; their expertise is purely coaching. However, relevant experience often plays a part in coach selection.

Ever read those interviews with high-profile people and notice how they all have wise words from those who’ve helped them on their way? I’m sure this is no accident: people who succeed are not only able to get advice and wisdom when they need it, they act upon it and value it. We can all apply this, whether you’re high-profile or still figuring out where you want to go and how to get there. Start with a ‘Who’s Who?’ of your career to date.

Write down all the people who have had an influence on your career and development (both personal and professional if you like; this can be highly insightful). Up to you: this can be a brainstorm or Mind Map, a methodical list starting with the most recent or the earliest, or a visual map according to how big an influence on you. However you do it, get it down on paper.

So you’ve stepped up to the plate, identified what to delegate, who to delegate to, done your preparation, gathered your examples (and if you haven’t, go through the previous blog posts so you can catch up). Well done. So is that it? Can you just nip off to the gym/shops/pub? What do you think?

If you’ve got the initial briefing conversation right, you will have, a) had a conversation, i.e. dialogue not monologue and, b) as a result of that dialogue agreed when and how you’ll be involved. So hopefully that’s all that’s needed: you meet and catch up at the agreed frequency and time. It’s important not to duck this commitment: your right to delegate hinges on showing up when you say you will and giving the support you say you will. When you do, it should be a straightforward case of the person up-dating you on their progress and you asking questions to get them thinking about what they’ll do next and how they’ll do it. And ideally giving them some positive feedback, praise and positive strokes on how they’ve done so far. They may have some questions for you, in which case you’re very likely to be able to help them and then they’ll be on their way. Lovely.