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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

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: ,
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