Wednesday, November 09, 2011

4 New Hire Landmines Bosses Should Avoid

Many might think that when a new hire’s on-boarding period is unsuccessful — resulting in his/her dismissal, voluntary or not — it is the new hire’s fault. This isn’t always the case.

All too often, unsuccessful on-boarding is a result of the hiring manager’s missteps. In fact, the largest landmine is stepped on by hiring bosses or managers long before a new hire’s first day on the job. Actually, it happens before candidates are even considered and lined up for interviews.

Landmine #1:  Role Failure
“This failure happens before the hiring manager talks to anybody!” says George Bradt, founder of PrimeGenesis. It’s when a new role — or position — in an organization is designed without considering how the new role will align with the rest of a division or department.
Imagine a scenario in which a new hire was brought on to be the new global head of marketing at a company. But, in doing so, the firm failed to let any of the company’s division presidents, who are responsible for handling their own marketing, know about this new position. Soon, this new role is unclear, and it’s all too likely that this new person’s days on the job are already numbered.  “The role failure is the most killer because people don’t see it coming — they get blindsided,” Bradt said.

Landmine #2:  Personal Failure — the Inability to Hire the Right Person
It sounds so simple, but the potential scenarios working against it abound. A manager is looking to fill a new role; he/she vets and lines up some potential candidates. These candidates come in, sell themselves extremely well, professing how not only are they sufficiently competent in the core skills required for the position, but they have a cape, can fight crime, and in their spare time enjoy building complex computer models that produce advanced baseball statistics and forecasts.

Point being, interviewees can oversell. Who would blame them? They want to get an offer! But managers need to be diligent.
• First, really press hard during interviews. Make sure the candidate has clearly defined not what his team accomplished, but what he or she did to move that accomplishment along.
• Second, do a complete reference check — call every boss the person has had since the beginning of time, not just the two or three provided, because they’re likely to give rousing reviews.
• Third, if offering the position to a top choice, make them take a few days to think about it before they can accept. Open them up to current employees so the candidate can do his or her own due diligence before accepting the role.
The elation of receiving a job offer can often prevent that candidate from actually considering if they are capable of fitting in and doing well. If the candidate takes time to think it over, do some more research, and says yes, then great. If he or she gives it more time, decides it’s not a great fit, and says no, then no harm, no foul — you move on to your second choice.
“Letting the person do their own due diligence [before accepting the job] is one way to help mitigate risk,” Bradt said.

Landmine #3:  Relationship Failure
Not cultivating the right relationships when on-boarding can doom a new hire. The same goes for the boss, who is responsible for creating perhaps the most important relationship in any employment situation.

“What people screw up is the boss doesn’t partner with the new employee and doesn’t help the new employee get a head start in those early days,” Bradt said. “Too many people show up to work their first day and their boss isn’t there — he/she is on vacation, taking a long weekend or at a meeting somewhere else.”

He added, “If you’re going to be out of the office on Monday, have the person start on Tuesday. It’s really not that hard.”
Why? Because most of the time people don’t quit because they don’t like working at the company. They quit because they don’t get along with their boss.

Landmine #4:  Engagement Failure
Lastly, make sure a new hire is able to build and cultivate relationships across the board during the on-boarding period. “The best bosses help their new employee make the right connections and form the right relationships across and down [the organization],” Bradt said.

The ones that don’t do this, he added, end with up engagement failures — where their new hires, three or four months in, still don’t understand where they fit in, don’t have friends at work and end up quitting.

Putting new hires on the right teams, in the right projects and in situations where they can find their niche is essential to successful on-boarding.
In all, “It’s about aligning [role], acquiring [hire the right person], accommodating [relationship], assimilating and accelerating [engagement],” Bradt said.

(NOTE:  This was adapted from Frank Kalman’s 9/23/11 Talent Management blog)

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

Posted on 11/09/11 at 10:29 AM
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Thursday, November 03, 2011

Downsizing & Layoffs - Who You Need to Help

At year-end, many organizations begin compiling data for their State of the Company address.  This evaluation sometimes culminates in decisions around downsizing or layoffs.  (Not a high point for the upcoming holiday season.)

If you are put in a situation where you need to deliver this bad news, would you know how to react both personally and with your team?

You have an important role in helping your team deal with the coming changes.  However, before you can help them, you need to come to terms with your own emotions.

Help Yourself

• Name your own feelings first.  Angry?  Afraid?  Anxious?
• Know that it is OK to feel however you feel.
• Talk to someone about how you feel.  (Check if your organization offers free help through an Employee Assistance Program – EAP.)
• Decide how you want to feel tomorrow and every day thereafter.
• Start thinking, “I know I can do this.”

Help Your Team

• Get out of your own head; it’s time to lead with your heart.  Your team wants to listen to their feelings first before they can hear more logical information.  Start out with something like “I understand your concerns.”
• Stop pretending you’re in control.  Share your own feelings with the team.  Be willing to say, “I feel some of the same things you do.”
• Be compassionate.  Allow your folks to voice what they need to.  Acknowledge their comments with, “I understand this is difficult for you.  I will provide support in whatever way I can.”
• Accept any reaction.  Remember, you’ve had a bit of time to understand your own reaction.  Give the same consideration to your team.  People will handle the news in different ways.  Allow them the opportunity to have an initial reaction.  Let them know it is OK and that you want to help them.
• Let the team air their feelings.  Let them come to terms about the things that will change.  Let them talk about their endings.  CAUTION: Avoid turning this into a continuing Gripe Session by limiting the length of your meeting.  You don’t want to drag out the situation for days.  Once everyone has been heard, move into solving any problems caused by a layoff, termination, or downsizing.
• Address their fears.  Can your situation be influenced?  Yes!  While you don’t have any control over the decision the company has made, each team member does have control over their own feelings and emotions.

Remember, to ensure your effectiveness:
1. Don’t make-up answers if you don’t have any.
2. Don’t remain silent.  Your team will misinterpret silence and give it their own meaning.
3. Don’t stay hidden.  Get out among the team.  Your being there will boost morale.

Your role is to encourage two-way communication by getting the team talking.  You need to hear both the good and the bad.

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

Posted on 11/03/11 at 04:46 PM
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Monday, October 31, 2011

What is NaNoWriMo and Why Should You Care?

I’m a team leadership mentor/coach/trainer and don’t normally operate in the World of Writers.  But, a good friend, Rochelle Melander (http://www.writenowcoach.com), does.

It was Rochelle who first introduced me to the National Novel Writing Month – NaNoWriMo – a couple of years back.  November is designated as NaNoWriMo so the clock is ticking down to this years kick-off.  I didn’t think it was possible to complete a good piece of work in 30 days.  Rochelle, on the other hand, has done just that on more than one occasion.  In fact, she is breaking another barrier with her just released book, Write-a-thon: Write Your Book in 26 Days (and Live to Tell About It).

What does this have to do with team leadership?  Everything!

Truthfully, it had more to do with leading myself as I finished writing The 78 Biggest Mistakes New Managers Make – What You Need to Know to Avoid Career Suicide. (http://www.78ManagerMistakes.com) The biggest stumbling block leaders (and authors) have is their ability to maintain momentum under deadline pressures.

It took a deeper level of self-understanding to get psyched up enough to complete the book in a weekend.  It took not listening to the demons dancing around my brain planting thoughts of…
• “Who do you think you are to write a book?”
• “No one will read it so why even start?”
• “The deadline is too short and you’ll never make it.”

LEADERSHIP LESSONS LEARNED WHILE WRITING

1. Plan for every contingency
• Get your calendar and pick a start date.
• START on that day!
• Schedule child care/baby sitting/car pooling/doggy daycare now.
• Change your phone voice mail message that you are unavailable until the project is finished.
• TiVo shows you will miss but want to see.
• Find a laundry service.
• See if you can get groceries scheduled for delivery.
• Don’t let mail crowd your work space.  For bills, have checkbook, envelopes, and stamps ready.  Or, pay online.

2. Eliminate distractions
• Send the kids and spouse to Grandma’s, if possible.  If not, use the lock on your office door to keep everyone out.
• Turn off all phones, TV, and internet service.
• Make sure all pets are out of the house and well-loved by good friends.
• Ignore people knocking at your front door.

3. Take care of Basic Life
• Have 5-10 menus from restaurants that deliver available.  Circle the items you like best.  This is the only phone call you will make.  Why?  A hungry mind will not write.
• Have enough caffeinated products, coffee and filters for the next 2 months (or whatever your writing deadline is).  No reason why you need to be jonesing.  If you are a smoker, be sure you have enough cigarettes to last you.  Why?  A cloudy mind will not write.
• Have notebooks, pencils, pens, crayons, colored pencils, Playdoh, Legos, sudoku available.  Why?  A bored mind will not write.
• Have a 10-CD booklet with your favorite CDs or a play list on your MP3 player of your favorite music.  Why?  An unenthused mind will not write.
• Have enough toiletry products for the next 2 months – towels, soap, toothpaste, toilet paper, tissues, and lotions, whatever you use.  Get a new toothbrush.  Something that says, “Yup, we’re writing.”

Set yourself up for success.  Why should you care?  Because self-understanding is the catalyst that gives you the ability to lead yourself.  Leading yourself well is what sets apart good leaders from great leaders.  Learn the lessons early and become an exceptional leader.

Until next time…Lead like you mean it!™
Marjorie

Posted on 10/31/11 at 12:11 PM
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Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Talking Too Much Kills Careers

It seems obvious that talking too much can kill your career.  Or, does it?  Aren’t leaders supposed to communicate – and communicate often – with their staff in an effort to promote trust and teamwork?  Answer:  It depends.

Your gift of gab can:
• Establish rapport more readily
• Build customer loyalty
• Influence decisions for the greater good of the team

Done poorly, it can also limit your likeability, pressure people, and unhinge job interviews if you blabber without focus.  If you suspect a need to break a Talking-Too-Much habit, figure out when and why it’s happening.  Here’s what to do:

1. Keep in mind what the listener wants to hear.
• Filter your answers.  It isn’t necessary to give ALL your thoughts on a topic.
• Very few people want to know every single little detail!
• If they do, they will ask.

Example: At a staff meeting, your colleague asks where you got your information for a report.  You say, “Most of it came from the Accounting Department.” There is no need to tell why you chose Accounting, how many other departments you asked, the amount of hours it took you, when you completed the report, etc.

2. Be direct; rather than talking around the issue.
• Say what you need to say in as few words as possible.
• Practice speaking concisely without losing the core message.
• Watch your voice quality (pitch, tone, volume, rhythm) when speaking a shorter message.  You don’t want to sound too abrupt.

Example: Instead of saying, “I was just thinking that if you have some time and are not busy, we should get together sometime next week.” Change that wandering sentence to, “Let’s get together next week.”

3. Stop repeating what others have already said.
• In a group setting, reiterating or paraphrasing what someone else has said when you clearly understand their meaning, can come across as condescending.
• Refer to their point only if there is a direct connection to yours.

Example: Instead of saying, “Tom said we need to update all customer profiles by November 30th because December is too busy with holiday orders.  It seems that every year we get stuck with more work to do during the holiday order season.” Change that to, “I agree customer profiles need to be change before the holiday rush to eliminate extra work.”

4. Cease talking when you shouldn’t.
• Watch for cues from others around you that a conversation is wrapping up.  Pay attention to when the discussion is over.
• Write reminder notes to yourself.  One manager I know puts the letters KIS (a prompt to Keep It Short) on his paperwork before speaking.
• Before adding your comments during a meeting ask yourself, “Do I really need to say this?”

The correct amount of communication is key to your career advancement.  Too much can be seem as arrogant, aggressive, and even demeaning.  Too little is suspect; like you are trying to cover up something.  Strike a good balance with both hearing and listening to the conversations around you.

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

Posted on 10/26/11 at 04:43 PM
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Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Top 5 Employee Communication Complaints

Annual employee survey results show that most organizations struggle to effectively communicate with their employees.  No surprise there – you already know that.  But, what are team members saying? Does your organization have these same issues?

Top 5 employee complaints about communication

Complaint #1: 
People in other departments always know about decisions before we do.

What you can do:
• Start networking within company departments.
• Make sure other department managers know you and your team are.
• Share with your team (as appropriate) what projects are active in the organization.

Complaint #2:
I only hear from my manager when there is a problem.

What you can do:
• Get out of your office and visit with your team often.
• Hold regular staff meetings that include both accomplishments and open projects.
• Give regular, consistent feedback to each team member.

Complaint #3:
Information only flows one way, “they” never listen to us.

What you can do:
• Have your team identify who “they” are.  You may be surprised to learn it isn’t always the president of the company or someone on the executive staff.
• Invite your boss to attend a staff meeting and give a ‘State of the Company’ update.
• Always pass along kudos given by your boss.  Employees appreciate knowing that their work is recognized higher up.

Complaint #4:
The grapevine is more reliable than the company newsletter.

What you can do:
• Seriously?  I’m a huge proponent of nip the grapevine in the bud!  But, you have no control over other departments.  Don’t get trapped into thinking you “need to get to the bottom of things.”
• When you become aware of new information, check it out with the department affected.  If true, then share what you can with your team.  If you can’t, say so.
• Consider becoming part of the newsletter committee to help them stay on top of real news.

Complaint #5:
E-mail is overwhelming, it’s too hard to keep up.

What you can do:
• Train the team to use email folders for managing incoming communication.  These should be customized to fit the team and the work they do.
• Create protocols for Subject Lines that your team follows.  Something easy like: Email purpose, Date needed by.  For example, “October 2011 P&L – Review by 10/20/11
• Make it standard operating procedure that no one responds to information-only emails with unnecessary comments like, “Thanks.”

When it comes to employee communication, don’t bury your head in the sand.  Take control of what you can, and help your team see how they contribute to the overall good.

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

Posted on 10/19/11 at 04:38 PM
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