“[I]f you’re like most companies out there who think you care about what your customers want, I’m challenging you to see your company through your customers’ eyes.  Are you really giving them the service that will keep them coming back for more?  If not, it’s time to re-evaluate your hiring practices and maybe it’s time to ... start hiring for attitude instead of talent.”

In the September issue of Guitar Player there is a poll on the top attributes bands (think, businesses) are looking for in band members (think, employees).  Here are the results:

TEAM PLAYER 53.55%
Good Personality 23.50%
Chops 10.66%
Ambition 6.01%
(Remaining stats are specific to the music industry.)

Repeatedly, there is growing evidence that being a team player trumps hiring for skills.

Yes, you need to ensure every team member is competent at their job but don’t stop there.  Mike Faith, CEO of Headsets.com, states “We place attitude and personality over skills nearly all the time.  We can train skills, but changing personality is a pretty tough job.”

It is much more important to find the person who will enhance the team building and culture of ownership you have in place in your department or organization.  Why?  Better-fitting team players improve internal operations but, more importantly, they help bottom line results by turning customers into corporate cheerleaders that drive repeat business and referrals.

Take a look at your customers - or lack of them - as they are an indication of what is going on with your team.

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

When you were recruited – either to the company or a particular department team – you were probably told, “We want you to bring fresh ideas to the group.” In theory, it sounds good.  In reality, “bring fresh ideas” is code for CHANGE.

Not many folks like change; especially when it comes from someone unknown.  Some peers may have heard of your reputation and results but, most likely, none worked with you directly to vouch for your credibility.

What ends up happening is:
1. You are frustrated because team members don’t see your value.
2. They are frustrated because you don’t have their historical perspective.

How to Get Heard

If you are a new team member:
• seek background information on the issue before speaking.
• be willing to take on the challenge in spite of naysayers.
• question policies, procedures, service levels, etc because long-term team members may have become complacent over time.

If you are a senior team member:
• be open to listening to new ideas from outside your department or organization.
• focus on team goals rather than defending your own position or biases.
• make a sincere connection with the new person to get to know them.

In Everyone Communicates, Few Connect, John Maxwell writes: 
“Connecting is the ability to identify with people and relate to them in a way that increases your influence with them.”

Where does change begin?  With people.  The key to making changes by getting heard is to find common ground.  And, that happens when all team members strive to make genuine connections.

You can make a difference for the people on your team.  When you connect with them, the team accomplishes great things.

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

“Have you listened to a leader saying the same thing over and over again? I have. I’ve been that person. If you’re a talkative leader, you’re producing gibberish. Don’t argue with me, just listen.

Gibberish
1. Rapid chatter like that of monkeys. (OUCH!)
2. Incomprehensible talk; nonsense

Why we talk too much?
1.  Talking too much is a strategy to keep others from talking.

2.  Talking too much indicates you’re self-absorbed or arrogant. After all, why should you have to listen to people who don’t know as much as you do?

3.  Talking too much may express fear. For example, doctors know that talkative patients are nervous.

4.  You may talk too much because you are under the mistaken idea that talking equals power.

I talk too much when I feel strongly about a topic. Passion fuels my tongue. Furthermore, my mouth goes into overdrive if I’m trying to convince you to agree.

Two Ways to Kill Gibberish

Are you wondering if you’re a chattering monkey producing gibberish? If you have to wonder, you are. Those who don’t produce gibberish know they don’t, it’s obvious. It may surprise you to know that if you’re a chattering monkey those around you know. Here are two suggestions for killing gibberish.

The solution to gibberish is simple.
1. Stop talking. It’s funny but there is a corollary between opened ears and closed mouths. Opening your ears frequently closes your mouth. Covey wisely says, “Seek first to understand then to be understood.”

2. Shift your strategy. Realize that producing gibberish doesn’t convince or persuade. It irritates. Your most powerful persuasion tool isn’t your mouth it’s your ears. Making people feel understood through listening is foundational to persuasive influence.”

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

Once you are willing to admit that the answers aren’t coming to you without help, consider the following:

1.  Ask a “stakeholder”. Who can you request some assistance from? Consider your mentor, a manager, peers, employees, or a friend. How about a customer? Depending on the nature of your stuck-ness, one or more of these might be appropriate.

2.  Find a support organization within your company. Human resources, the strategic planning department, organizational development, and IT are a few of the possible resources that might help with specific issues.

3.  Take a time out. When you aren’t under the immediate pressure of time, it often helps to let things simmer. A time out, even a real vacation away from the office, can help you come up with ideas that get you beyond stuck.

Every single one of these ideas requires you to admit that you don’t have all of the answers. All three of them require the assistance of others.

Many of us need the assistance of our own ongoing “board of directors” to help us think through things on a regular basis. I belong to two Mastermind groups – one with colleagues who do what I do, one with colleagues who do different things. They both serve a purpose, and I need them both to get unstuck at times.

So I’m curious. What’s worked for you to become unstuck?

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

(1) Figure out your personal leadership style
(2) Figure out the strengths and challenges among your team members
(3) Figure out how to work with your boss and deliver results
(4) Figure out what it takes to WOW your customer in every interaction

That’s quite a list to figure out.

I bring this up because of comments from recent college grads who are NOT finding the management positions they have been trained for.  In this economy, they are finding it difficult to even find an entry-level position.  The dreams they had just a few short weeks ago are fading as closed doors keep them in a state of inertia.  These folks are not even being given the chance to get a “list” to figure out.

These are very bright people have said to me, “I’ll do whatever it takes to make it.” Yet, after more probing, you find that they will do whatever it takes to make it—EXCEPT WHAT IS NECESSARY TO MAKE IT!

To do “whatever it takes” means there is SACRIFICE involved in your decisions and actions.  Sacrifice is that condition where you let go of something of lesser value for something of greater value.  It. will. not. be. easy.

Letting go requires you to:
* Be uncomfortable
* Change current habits
* Think differently
* Face your complacency

While it may not be EASY to realize your dream of leading people, there is a SIMPLE solution to help get you closer to that place.  Here it is—Design YOUR Personal Success Environment.

Ask yourself:  What do I need to eliminate that is sabotaging my success?  What steps must I take on a daily basis to realize my dreams?

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

How can you not fall backwards into “old” patterns?

I heard an interview between Bob Burg and Paul Martinelli on just this topic.  They talked about being in harmony with your self-image, self-worth, and self-belief.  The interview has a “rags to riches” bent, however, filter what you hear through how it pertains to your leadership.

Listen to this 13-minute interview at:  http://burg.com/interviews/martinelli1.html

As you listen, ask yourself these questions:
1) What thoughts do I consistently have that hinder my success?
2) What do I need to pay attention to to overcome temporary success?
3) Where does my potential lay?

Remember, any transformation is an on-going process—not a one-time event.

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

This is a great reminder that YOUR CHARACTER counts!! Check it out at:  http://bit.ly/d7A49S

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

But, there is a bigger F-word that should be incorporated into every team.  It’s the thing that makes connections faster, stronger.  We’ve seen this in action among the team here at the Chick-fil-A Leadercast associates.  They have included us in their fun and encouraged us through:

* Playing Simon Says
* Live bands during breaks
* Hysterically funny videos
* The banter between emcees
* John Maxwell coming out in red shoes
* Dancing at lunch
* Piped in music
* Immediate access to all speakers after their session

The benefits of incorporating FUN into your work team are numerous.  I encourage you to ask your group what they are.  I challenge you to think of FUN beyond “Casual Friday.” Let’s get real...Casual Friday was popular decades ago.  What can you and your team do in 2010 to use FUN as the connection between each other and your customer?

Until next time...Lead Like You Mean It!
Marjorie

How does peanut butter relate to leadership?  According to Mr. Cathy, pulling back the foil cover on a new jar of peanut butter is when you can smell the freshness best.  He says, “Every day you need to keep your leadership fresh in order to best serve your team and the customer.”

But, here’s another thing that struck me.  Peanut butter also has “sticky-ness.” How many times do you talk about the sticky-ness within your business?  Leaders put a lot of attention on retaining good employees; retaining profitable customers; retaining their stellar products.  This is sticky-ness.

In what ways are you contributing to the “sticky-ness” of your team?  How are you creating that bold connection that builds a bridge to strong relationships?

Until next time...Lead Like You Mean It!
Marjorie

How can you story-shape?  Sanborn shared his 4 Levels of Story.

Level 1 - STUCK. Ask yourself: What does my team need?  They need a nudge (give them HOPE); not a kick in the butt.  How?
a) Resell them on themselves
b) Re-narrate their story
c) Re-energize them

Level 2 - STRUGGLE. Provide encouragement to your team. 
a) Refocus from the present struggle to looking at future hope. 
b) Redefine failure.  Failure is something that happens to you; it is not who you are.

Level 3 - SHAPED. How do you become positively shaped?
a) Look for the lessons
b) Look to the destination
c) Look at the affect your own story has on team members

Level 4 - SHAPER OF STORIES. This is a combination of Insight + Skill.  How are you crafting your story and weaving it into each individual employee.

What are you pouring into the lives of those within your organization?

Until next time...Lead Like You Mean It!
Marjorie

It is a humility, not of weakness, but of a compulsive ambition for the company; NOT themselves.  Great leaders know in their soul that their success is never about them.  Their success is about their FOCUS on the Team; FOCUS on the Company.

Is it possible to learn humility?  Surely, up-and-coming executives can get humility training that will turn them into GREAT LEADERS.  Collins reminded us that greatness is not a function of circumstances—it’s a matter of choice.

How are you choosing to “show up” in your current circumstances?  Are you facing:
* economic crisis
* good employees jumping ship
* staggering customer complaints
* management mistakes

What is your team witnessing in your behavior as you face daily circumstances together?  Are they seeing humility in action—your focus on them and the company?

I read this on Humility not long ago (Author Unknown):
“Humility is perpetual quietness of heart.  It is to have no trouble.  It is never to be fretted or vexed, or irritable, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing that is done against me.  It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised, it is to have a blessed home in myself where I can go in and shut the door and kneel to my Father in secret and be at peace, as in a deep sea of calmness, when all around and about is seeming trouble.”

Until next time...Lead Like You Mean It!
Marjorie

John shared with the congregation a very real, very scary, very stupid thing that he had done about a year ago.  You know what I mean.  It’s one of those “things” that can ruin a lifetime of work in a single step.  He talked about the experience and the lessons he learned.  The essence of his message was:

(1) Be Responsible. Take full and complete responsibility for all your actions when you’ve done the stupid thing.

(2) Be Humble. In one moment you can lose everything.  Credibility makes a difference during a crisis.  Be less judgmental.

(3) Be Prayerful. Take time to think, reflect, and pray about your situation.  Spend some time simply being quiet.

(4) Be Teachable. What did you learn from the experience?

(5) Be Grateful. Lean on your family and friends for support.

It takes courage and confidence to become vulnerable to your team when you have made a spectacularly public mistake.
It requires honesty and integrity to rebuild their trust in you. 
It demands forgiveness for yourself and patience with your team as they watch you recover.

Maxwell made a statement I’ll remember for some time.  He said, “We are all only one step away from stupid.”

Are you prepared for your next stupid mistake?  Do you have your contingency plan outlined?  Will your team claim you as their leader afterwards?  Something to think about.

Until next time...Lead Like You Mean It!
Marjorie

I learned that failure is not – avoidable, a one-time event, your enemy, a stigma, or irreversible.  I have, in fact, failed many times since with great success.  It is in the idea that failure is not irreversible that my management skills increased significantly.

Do you know if you are heading toward career failure?  You may be if:
• Customers and staff members are avoiding you
• You are being excluded from projects you had previously been included on
• You are not meeting established goals
• Your manager is receiving more complaints about you
• Your manager does not rely on you as he or she used to

How are you going to confidently look the prospect of failure in the eye and move forward anyway?  These seven abilities needed to fail “forward” are adapted from Maxwell’s book.

7 Abilities You Need to Fail Forward

1. Achievers Reject Rejection – Don’t base your self-worth on your performance.  You are not a failure; you just missed that one task.

2. Achievers See Failure as Temporary – Picture your setback as a momentary event, not a predication of the rest of your life.

3. Achievers See Failures as Isolated Incidents – If you want to succeed, don’t let any single incident color your view of yourself.

4. Achievers Keep Expectations Realistic – The greater the feat you want to achieve, the greater the mental preparation required for overcoming obstacles and persevering over the long haul.  Approach each day with reasonable expectations and do not get your feelings hurt when everything doesn’t turn out perfectly.

5. Achievers Focus on Strengths – Keep focusing on your strengths every day to avoid personalizing the failure.  If your weakness is a matter of character then, yes, it needs much attention.  Focus on it until you shore it up.  Otherwise, your best bet for failing forward is developing and maximizing your strengths.

6. Achievers Vary Approaches to Achievement – Brian Tracey in The Psychology of Achievement wrote about four millionaires who made their fortunes by age 35.  They were involved in an average of 17 businesses before finding the one that took them to the top.  Keep trying and changing your approach until you find something that works for you.

7. Achievers Bounce Back – Psychologist Simone Caruthers said, “Life is a series of outcomes.  Sometimes the outcome is what you want.  Figure out what you did right.  Sometimes the outcome is what you don’t want.  Figure out what you did so you don’t do it again.” That is the key to bouncing back.  Keep moving forward no matter what happens.  That’s only possible when you remember that failure does not make you a failure.  No one should take mistakes personally.

Can you lead a team once you’ve failed?  Absolutely!  I was once terminated because of failure to properly lead a team, and went on to manage and lead bigger teams after being fired.  It took honestly looking at my current skill level, and identifying exactly what I needed to do to repair relationships.  More importantly, opening up to a coach and allowing her to see my management style in action is when I grew the most.  The turn-around made the painful work of soul-searching worthwhile during the transformation.

Dissect your situation and learn throughout the process.  You have the potential to overcome any problem, mistake or misfortune.

Until next time...Lead Like You Mean It!
Marjorie

You get so caught up in your everyday work tasks that you really do not take the time to identify those things that actually trigger workplace stress over and over again.  (Yes, I’m preaching to myself here.)

To help your team handle stress appropriately, it is important to recognize and acknowledge things in your work environment that affect the stress level.  Some triggers to watch for include:

• Do you have choices about how your assignments and projects are handled?
• Do you feel like you are being pulled in multiple directions?
• Are you working extremely long hours?
• Are you worried about job security?  Have you heard talk of layoffs or uncertainty within your company?
• Do you have limited control over your work?
• Are there any office relationships that make your days feel longer than they are?
• Have you hired what you thought was a stellar employee who turns out to be less than qualified?
• Are project deadlines approaching or being missed?
• Is your work life balance skewed or non-existent?
• Do you lack resources for assigned projects?
• Are you taking personal issues with you to the office?

Once you’ve identified the stressors in your workplace, the next step is to find positive ways to handle the stress.  Some things you can do something about right away, but other things take longer the more time you need to change a habit.

As you work towards finding solutions to permanently reduce your stressors, you must find ways to manage your immediate stress.

7 Tips to De-Stress

1. Take that vacation you put on hold.
2. Join a gym or fitness class…and GO!
3. Talk to your boss about the workplace stress; focus on solutions not accusations.
4. Get a massage.
5. Eat a more nutrient-dense diet with lean protein.
6. Take time for lunch away from your desk.  Go out and meet co-workers; network with peers.
7. Take a Movement Class (dance, yoga, Zumba, stretching).

The key to relieving workplace pressure which allows you to regain your confidence and competence is understanding those things that you have control over.  Adding some positive behavior to your workday can go a long way in reducing your stress.  When your stress is reduced your performance increases.

I’m off to sign-up for a Zumba class…

Until next time...Lead Like You Mean It!
Marjorie

They are expecting nearly 70,000 attendees between the live site in Atlanta and the 500 host locations throughout the country via satellite or internet downlink throughout the rest of North America.

Scheduled to appear:

* Jim Collins: Author of Good to Great, How the Mighty Fall, and co-author of Built to Last;
* Chip Heath: Author of Made to Stick (along with his brother), columnist for Fast Company, and Stanford Professor;
* John C. Maxwell: Leadership expert and best-selling author of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and Put Your Dream to the Test;
* Mark Sanborn: Best-selling author of The Fred Factor and popular corporate speaker;
* Ben Carson: Neurosurgeon and Professor of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

This is just a sampling of the thought-leaders assembled for this first-time event.  More details coming as they are available.

Lead like you mean it!
Marjorie