Marjorie's Blog

Friday, September 12, 2008

Humble Leadership

Recently, I was in conversation with a group of managers when one of them said, “The usual way of doing business is no longer working.” He went on to explain that tactics for making production goals seemed to be falling on the deaf ear of customers.  He then began to describe in detail what he and his team were doing practically hour-by-hour in order to get their customer to buy.

I began to realize that their “doing” - all the tasks in a process - had come in the way of this teams’ “being.”

The ‘usual way of doing business’ has been to make a certain number of phone calls per day, run the same ad campaign, mimic identical weekly staff meeting, and treat both team members and customers as if they robots.  This manager’s company is reinforcing the behavior of trying to control every step...and it is not working.

It seems there is a need to become something different; something more empathetic; somehow unique in organizations today.  The new emerging leader should “become” a catalyst that affirms and encourages team members.  There should be a level of humility where it is no longer necessary to put down others who you think may be usurping your leadership.  Why?  Because you have confidence and are secure in your leadership abilities.

It would be interesting to see how your team, department, and organization would flourish when you become a humble leader and give-up the need to do controlling things.  The creativity and innovation from within your team may just surprise you.

Until next time...live like you mean it!
Marjorie

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Courageous Feedback

I have spent the past month asking for peer feedback on various aspects of my business—everything from product offerings & service levels to personal presentation style.  The purpose of my asking is to become a better business owner...create more value for the client, offer what my target market wants (not what I think they want), and communicate with my team effectively.  The responses were helpful but it felt like there was some holding back from the group.  This made me curious.

It takes a certain mindset to be totally open to what others may perceive as a flaw.  It requires leaders to examine the information and act on it.  It requires your peers to provide courageous feedback.  They take a risk in giving you input even though you asked for it.  If you believe you are getting harsh criticism, here are my 5 Tips for Graciously Receiving Negative Feedback:

1.  Listen to everything that is being said.  You respected the person giving the feedback so hear them out.

2.  Do not judge or critique the person providing you feedback.  If you truly want to be a better leader, examine the information - not the messenger.

3.  Put the information into context.  Think about any comments from the perspective of the other person.

4.  Pay attention to trends.  My rule of thumb - If 3 or more people tell you the same thing, then there is a 99% chance it’s the truth.

5.  Say THANK YOU to everyone you asked for feedback.  Provide them with your action plan of those areas you will improve.

Proceed with the intent of implementing changes that make sense - you did, after all, solicit the advice.

Until next time...live like you mean it!
Marjorie

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Being There For the Unexpected

I had something unusual happen while at the doctor’s office last week for my annual physical.  You know how the nurse comes in first and takes down all the basic information?  It was no different this time—until she started crying.  I thought, “Well this can’t be good!” My typical response to uncertain news is to turn it into a joke, if possible.  I sat there dumbfounded while tears rolled down her cheeks, and realized the situation was not about me at all.  The nurse’s sister had passed away in May, and the day of my appointment marked a special date for that family.  Her emotions were simply too close to the surface.  All I could offer was a hug and a listening ear.

Sometime in your career you will be faced with a team member who is emotional.  These emotional outbursts could be sadness, frustration, anger, happiness - whatever.  You need to show the right amount of care and concern with that employee, but also remain professional in your response.  Here are some thoughts on how to respond:

Tips for Handling Employee Emotions
* Listen, just listen.  Hear ‘between the lines’ to what is really going on.

* Be empathetic.  Use the tone of your voice and body language to show you care.

* Don’t offer advice.  Unless the employee asks, don’t offer.  They may just need to vent before solving the problem on their own.

* Offer privacy.  Allow the employee time to compose themself out of the public eye.

* If you feel the employee will harm themself, someone else, or the company, seek the advice of your Human Resources department.  Some situations may require a specialized intervention which is outside your expertise.

In your role as leader, you are responsible to the team member but not responsible for them.  Showing empathy is being responsible to the person.  However, that individual has to make their own decisions and be responsible for those choices.

Until next time...live like you mean it!
Marjorie

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Trying Something New

Some people call it ‘taking a risk,’ but I prefer to think of the unknown as simply, ‘trying something new.’ It just seems less scary; less intimidating.  By re-framing your thinking you can turn ‘fear of failure’ (commonly played out in your head as you are a failure) into ‘that didn’t work’ or ‘I didn’t like that and choose not to do it again’ (focusing on the task, not the person).

I’m looking at my August calendar and trying something new—no client bookings setup months in advance and taking the last week as a vacation.  As an independent consultant, this is the scary part.  How will I pay bills if I have no clients booked?  Will clients remember my services when I start up again in September?  What do I do with my time now?

The big question is:  Why?!  I firmly believe that if you want to attain remarkable results in your business, you must get out of your own way and “do” things differently.  In a work environment, here are some techniques to try:

* Conduct cross-department or customer focus groups.

* Create a mastermind group with other managers who have skills different than you.  Meet weekly to share best practices and resources.

* Brainstorm ideas using colleagues outside your industry.  Work off 1 clear statement - for example, “How can we make our service better for the first-time customer?”

* Dig up some data.  How recently have you conducted research around your demographics?  Product?  Customer trends?  Obtaining current information and sharing it with your team is a great way to take the guesswork out, and make decisions in the present.

Getting a completely different perspective on your situation - in the team, department, or organization - opens up a whole new world of possibility.  The possibility of deepening team relationships, designing additional products or services, seeing a new customer target market.  Be open; be intentional; be conscious.

I got an unexpected phone call and decided to hop a plane to Tucson tomorrow—never been in that city, know little about the potential client, and their current state is somewhat desparate.  I’m trying something new and the possibities are endless.

Until next time...live like you mean it!
Marjorie

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

What’s In It For Me?

There is an acronym—WIIFM (What’s in it for me?)—that has been around for years.  As leaders, we need to continually remember WIIFM when motivating either team members or customers.  People are really only interested in doing something when they know what’s in it for them.  What are the benefits to them personally if they participated?

In the book, Get Everyone in Your Boat Rowing in the Same Direction, Bob Boylan segments BENEFITS into two forms:  logical and emotional.

Here is what each of these benefit categories address --

LOGICAL BENEFITS:
* Money
* Time
* Productivity
* Efficiency
* Safety

EMOTIONAL BENEFITS:
* Recognition
* Security
* Pleasure
* Achievement

If you want your team to embrace your vision, talk about the emotional benefits to them because these benefits are more powerful.  Emotional benefits will make your vision tangible, and people are willing to follow if they are made to believe that following is in their best interest.

Until next time...live like you mean it!
Marjorie