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Don’t Settle for Average

May 21, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Summary:  You don’t consider yourself average so don’t accept average. Where does it start? Be demanding.

Do you consider yourself average? Probably not, so why would you settle for average. No, I’m not talking about dating – it’s about your people. The people working around you every day and who you rely on for your companies success.

Photoxpress 4155667 320x222 Dont Settle for Average

Courtesy of PhotoXpress

Where does it start? Expectations. You need to have a clear understanding of what you expect from people and be able to convey the message to those who need to live up to it. This includes your people, suppliers, consultants, etc. anyone who assists you making your business prosperous.

Where else? These expectations needs to be clearly understood during the recruiting process, once they have joined the company/department and on an on-going basis. Your suppliers and consultants, etc. when the engagement starts.

Be demanding and don’t accept less – after all you have high expectations for yourself why not for those around you. Understand that demanding does not mean:

  • being rude
  • being a dictator
  • you stop listening
  • you stop soliciting information

Demanding means:

  • having expectations
  • communicating
  • explaining
  • focus on results
  • a way of working
  • open to feedback
  • asking for the feedback

Set your expectations and demand nothing less.  Can you do it?

Filed Under: Authentic Leadership Tagged With: ,

What if People came with Nutrition Labels?

May 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Summary: Finding and hiring people is a process many people dislike. What if candidates came with a nutrition label just like our food?

It’s the necessary, laborious process that many people dislike. Finding, interviewing and hiring a new employee. After all it would be so much easier if every person came with a  nutrition label, you know like the ones we see on every product in the grocery store. Or maybe a bar code we could scan that would tell us everything we need to know so we wouldn’t have to guess about their skills, attitude or personality. Ahhh…that would be great!

 

What if People came with Nutrition Labels?

 

Well its not exactly a nutrition label or a bar code, a resume can help guide us about a person. Just like a nutrition label it can only provide with relevant information if we know what we are looking for, for example, are we more concerned with calories, fat or sodium.  Only then will the label give us what we are looking for and let us know if it acceptable to us.

A resume is the same. What are you looking for, what’s important to you  - skills, results, accomplishments, industry experience, or something else. Once you know this, the resume you are reviewing becomes more relevant and provide insight. Just like a nutrition label, you need to know what is important before you start reading.  Before you look at one resume, know what is meaningful to you. We can easily be distracted by “shiny objects” that may or may not help us in the long run.

What is important to you when reviewing a resume?

Filed Under: Hiring/Firing, Leadership Tagged With: , ,

It’s Up To You

April 16, 2013 By

Summary:  Culture is you internal brand. It is up to you to create and maintain it – no one else.

Sometimes when to speak of culture or your internal brand, we place the onus on someone else. Maybe it’s the person in marketing, human resources, a manager or the administrator.  I’m sorry to tell you this….no one else is to blame or is responsible – it’s up to you.

u 320x286 Its Up To You

If any of those other people aren’t living up to your expectations or managing the way you like then it is up to you to change it. If you have people who are treating others poorly, it is up to you to change it. If people are saying one thing and doing another then it is up to you to change it. If your brand isn’t being perceived as you like, it is up to you to change it.  Yes, it all starts with you.  After all it is your business, whether you are the owner, president or some other title –  it is up to you.

Now that we have that clarified, what are you going to do about it?

Ah ha, that’s the tough question!

Step back. Before diving in and taking action. Take a look at what the “root cause” of the issue. Don’t stop at your first answer, keep digging. You have to know what to fix before the how.

Plan. Come up with a plan of action and follow it. You don’t want to wing this, the consequences are too great to leave it up to chance.

Follow through. More times than I care to count, plans fail from lack of follow through. Yes, it is going to take time and will mot be fixed overnight. It will take perseverance on your part and “stick to it-ness”. Remember it is too important, if you don’t frustration will set in very quickly and you will be the one to blame.

Get to it!

 

 

 

Filed Under: Authentic Leadership, Employee Communication

What does it mean to you?

April 2, 2013 By

Summary:  What does culture mean to a business? Define it, work it, use it and celebrate it. It’s all good.

A lot is said about culture – how to define it, do you need one and what does it mean to your business. To many businesses this sound like a “big business” idea and may not realize what this means to them.

actdet imagen para la ruta gaudi 320x233 What does it mean to you?

Park Guell by Gaudi, Barcelona Spain

What does culture mean to a small business? Culture is essentially the personality of the company, what makes it a great place to work and the kind of people working in it.  Think of the companies you admire – what kinds of words do you use to describe it, does it sound like you are talking about a person than a company? Usually, since a personality makes it more personable to us.

What is your culture? Keep in mind their is no right or wrong answer here – your culture is what it is. The real question then becomes – is this what you want it to be?

Define it. Take out a piece a paper and write down the words that describe your company. How do your clients see it? How do your people see it? How do you see it? It’s possible you have three very different lists.

Work it. If your lists don’t match, you need to figure out what you want your culture or “personality” to be and work towards it. Having different view points between the three creates more of a multiple personality disorder than a culture.

Use it. Your culture should be used to find new hires who fit in, attract clients (people like to work with companies like themselves), and keep people motivated.

Celebrate. Enjoy who and what you are.

Share your culture with us below.

 

Filed Under: Authentic Leadership, Employee Satisfaction Tagged With: , ,

Is a Bad Apple spoiling your Bunch?

March 26, 2013 By

Summary: We have all experienced or have that one person who started out well and over time has become mediocre to awful. Worse yet, it has become contagious and spread to others. What do you do? 

We have all seen it, we have experienced it…and uh, oh…you have one.

Now they didn’t start out this way. Actually, they were fantastic. What am I talking about…the rotten apple employee. This is a person who started off good and spread the goodness. Over time, for whatever reason, the good has changed to mediocre to downright awful.  The thing is their attitude has become contagious.

Photoxpress 1284209 320x240 Is a Bad Apple spoiling your Bunch?

Courtesy of PhotoXpress

The Bad Apple Spoiling the Bunch.

Did you just nod your head in knowing? You’ve seen it and experienced it. You have also been frustrated by it and at a loose for what to do. Your first reaction may be to get rid of them, before you jump into action here are a few things to consider:

 Their reach. Who are their closest allies? In other words, if this person were to leave, who would go with them? Are they of the same mindset or just followers?

The work. What is your plan to have the work covered? Is it for the short-term or long-term? If others will also leave, what about their work.

Have a plan. Work still needs to be covered and completed. Put together two plans, one for only the rotten apple leaving and the other is the bunch leaves. Work your plan and have a backup, don’t rely on yourself or the others to cover as replacements and training may take more time than you think.

While you are working the plan and putting it together do not slow down or diminish your expectations. Ask and demand the same level of work as before and document (hopefully you have been doing this already). Keep track of what you ask for and what is not getting done. Discuss it with them, the conversation where you let them go should not be first time they are hearing the information.

Who knows, they may get tired of the constant conversations and leave on their own terms. Either way, you have your plan and stick to it.

How do you deal with your “rotten apples”? Share in comments.

Filed Under: Authentic Leadership, Employee Communication, Employee Satisfaction Tagged With: , , ,

Reach them at their level

March 19, 2013 By

Summary: Get your point across without losing the other person or talking down to them. Notice these three things to get you communicating better.

When you own your own business or have been doing a job for a while or worked in a certain industry for many years – we can forget that not everyone knows what we know.  For example if you are a marketer, not everyone around you may understand about niche or local marketing. So how do you get your point across or teach someone without losing them or worse yet come across as talking down to them.

level 320x214 Reach them at their level

Photo Courtesy of PhotoXpress

I remember reading an interesting fact early in my career that has helped me to this day. Newspapers are written at the 6th grade reading level. Now I do not want to discuss if this a good idea, bad idea or what it says about our educational system. Instead what I took from it is that you have to relate to people on their level.

This actually works in several ways, adjusting your speech or writings to the person in front of you. The key is not to insult or demean the person.

How does this work?

Listen to their speech patterns. Take note of the words they use and their speaking style.

Word choice. Are they using casual, informal words or are they using business jargon or industry specific terms.

Method of communication.  Are they a phone,  in-person or email communicator.

Knowing these three things about the other will get you on the right path as what you need to do now is match their style.  It is always easier to get through to someone if you match their style instead of having them adopt to yours.

How do you reach people at their level?

 

 

Filed Under: Authentic Leadership, Employee Communication Tagged With: ,

Your Cast of Characters

March 5, 2013 By

Summary:  Each person you work with has their own character. To be able to work with them you need to understand them.

If you work with people around you, you have noticed that each one has it’s own personality. Some are easier to get along with than others. If you didn’t have to work with everyone, that would be fine. However when you part of team, getting along with everyone on the team is important.

characters 320x213 Your Cast of Characters

Courtesy of PhotoXpress

Please note I said “get along” and not “like”. The distinction is important as like means getting to know a person beyond the work environment, which is not necessary to work together. After all we all have work colleagues that we can work with but may not want to go out to dinner with on a Saturday night – and that’s ok.

To be able to work with the various people that make up you team, you need to understand them. How?

Listen. If you really want to get to know a person and what is important to them – listen. No talking just listening. This is actually than it sounds. Ask a few questions and listen. In their own words they will tell you a lot.

Talk to them. After listening you will understand a bit about them. To learn why they do what they do and the why. Talk to them about their career, why they have made the choices, etc. Be careful not sound like an interrogation or an interview. It may take more than one chat to get there.

Mimic. This does not mean copy or be their shadow. Learn how they present information, talk and work with others. This will tell you how they want to be treated. Mimic their behavior subtly back to them to get the best results.

By learning about each person on the team, you are learning about their character. Like a play each character has it’s role. Learn your characters and their role. Only then can you being to work together.

Filed Under: Authentic Leadership, Employee Communication, Employee Satisfaction Tagged With: , ,

Minimizing the Dissapointment

February 26, 2013 By

Summary:  You get a joy of watching people grow into new roles. Sometimes with a promotion that means one other person doesn’t get it. Handled properly you can keep them interested and motivated.

If you the type of leader that coaches and mentors those around you – one of the greatest joys is watching them grow and accept a new position. At times the new position will report to you and at other times they will move onto a new department. In this scenario all is good. Many times what is not discussed is what happens to either the person who doesn’t get the promotion or when a person is not given the opportunity to do more.

 

happy sad faces 320x240 Minimizing the Dissapointment

Courtesy of PhotoXpress

 

If not handled properly you may end up with a person who is demotivated, disillusioned and disinterested. I’m sure these options are not very appealing. If you manage it right,  you will have a person interested in working harder and better for the opportunity next time.

This means doing some preparation before the promotion. To start with you will need a clear understanding of what the position/project requires, skills needed and personal characteristics. I know it sounds like you are preparing to hire someone, well in a sense you are. The difference is the candidates already work for you.

After you make your decision you will want to talk to both people who were considered. First to the person who got the job/project. After they accept explain there was one other person interested and you will be speaking to them next. This is so they are aware of the possible tension that may occur but you don’t expect it to last.

Talk to the person who didn’t get the job/project. This is a more delicate situation and you should speak to them before any announcements are made. Explain you have given the opportunity to someone else. Tell them why and what they need to work on in order to have the opportunity the next time around. It is this development that will make the difference.

When people know and understand the “why” they will be more accepting. Will they be disappointed…yes, however they won’t stay that way for long.

By giving people a direction and instructions, they will work towards the goal.

How do you handle giving the bad news?

 

Filed Under: Authentic Leadership, Employee Communication Tagged With: ,

Leadership and Style

February 19, 2013 By

Summary: We all have a thinking style, a fashion style and working style. When was the last time you thought about your leadership style? Ask yourself these questions to determine yours.

We all have a thinking style, a fashion style and a working style. When was the last time you thought about your leadership style? Not very often. After all the last time I thought about any type of style was when I went shopping and that was to say “no that’s not me”. However our leadership style affects much more than ourselves,  it affects those around us and those who we are trying to lead. Both positively and negatively…therefore we must proceed with caution.

 

style 320x210 Leadership and Style

Courtesy of PhotoExpress

Take a moment to think about these.

  • What words would you use to describe how you lead people?
  • What words would people use to describe the way you lead?
  • Are they more similar or dissimilar?

In order to define your style you will need to reconcile the two if they are different. Maybe you are not quite sure what you want your style to be or you want to change it….where do you start?

Leadership at its core is based on your beliefs. These beliefs will drive your behavior, actions and thoughts therefore this is where we need to start. Here are some questions to help get you started.

  • What motivates you personally and professionally?
  • What is your outlook of people in general?
  • What do you consistently expect from yourself and others?
  • Which values will you never compromise?

Once you understand your core beliefs you can work on the rest of your style.

Your leadership style will incorporate the following:

  • Do you focus on tasks or outcomes?
  • Are you a listener or talker?
  • Do you encourage discussions on different view points?
  • Do you coach/guide others or micromanage?
  • Do you provide autonomy or strict procedures?

Keep in mind there are no right or wrong answers – just truthful ones. After all if you cannot be truthful with yourself why would anyone else trust what you have to say.

 How would you describe your style? Would others agree?

 

Filed Under: Authentic Leadership Tagged With: , ,

Day One Leadership

February 12, 2013 By

Summary: Whether through promotion or hiring for your own company – you may now be leading your former peers! Now what?

It happens, sometimes it’s planned and other times not. You may know it was going to happen and sometimes you may not realize it.

It’s leading your peers. It could be due to a promotion you were working for or maybe it was unexpected. Maybe it is because you have your own business and you decided to hire people you have worked with before.in these instances you probably didn’t think about what it would mean to be responsible or in charge of your peers.

day one 320x320 Day One Leadership

The first day comes and you have become keenly aware that your colleagues are looking at you for direction. You have that big lump in your throat, the butterflies in your stomach are huge and your confidence is no where to be found.

It’s ok…take a deep breathe we will get through this together.

Before your first day as the “boss” you will need to prepare.

  • What is your vision for the department/company?
  • In the big picture, what would you like everyone to accomplish (think long-term).
  • If it is your company, create a training plan for them to learn “how we do it here”

On your first day meet with your team to discuss two things:

  1. The elephant in the room! Talk about how you realize it is a little awkward to be responsible for the team after sitting along side them. Let everyone express what they are thinking. When it is your business make sure the person understands it is a business relationship and you have expectations for their work. Sometimes people may take advantage with the attitude “the boss and I go way back”.
  2. Discuss your vision. At this point be general so people understand what you are moving towards. What ever you do – don’t go into how things were done wrong with the previous boss/company. You are building on what they already know. Start positive and humble and you will earn their respect.

Enjoy the ride. Understand just like a good roller coaster ride there will be ups and downs. It’s ok and its expected. Learn and adjust from the downs and enjoy the ups.

What was your first day like as a leader? What tips do you have for future leaders?

Filed Under: Authentic Leadership, Employee Communication Tagged With: ,
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