Phillip Van Hooser's Blog: Build Performance Blog, page 10

Stay Grounded in the Grind

Stay Grounded in the Grind

I don’t believe anybody’s true purpose in life is to serve themselves. Instead, I think all of our purposes are rooted in serving others. Once we understand the shift of using our gifts and calling to achieve success through work that serves others, that’s where we start to live a life well-lived, one full of meaning, contentment, and of no-regrets.

Balancing the work we must do to live out our purpose can send people into this misguided path that creates a sense that everything is all about you. Innocently enough, it usually plays out like this…

We figure out our gifts and line them up with opportunities to serve.

For example, I do that through speaking, training and writing. You may do that through sharing products or services that help others achieve their goals, or teaching others about what you know, or using your gifts to help in someone else’s business, etc.

Then, in order to make sure we do those things well, we make to-do lists of everything we must do. Productivity, right? We start tracking all our daily tasks, meal planning, water intake, daily affirmations, etc. In the pursuit of productivity, we miss our purpose. Our priorities get out of balance.

How do you stay grounded in the midst of the grind? Here’s three ways.

As you plan your daily or weekly to-do list add these three action items so that when you end your week, you’ve done more than fill your own cup:

Celebrate Someone

There’s always a reason to celebrate. Some obvious reasons to celebrate are holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries. But there are also national holidays like National Pizza Day — who wouldn’t love being surprised with free food?! You can celebrate school being out for summer, a professional achievement, or simply a just because celebration.

Celebrating is all about reinforcing who and what is most important. For the person on the receiving end, it feels good to have someone reinforce that they are important to you. For you, it focuses your mind on selfless actions which creates such a more meaningful existence.

Serve Someone

Everyone has hard things they’re dealing with in their life. Pick someone, a co-worker, customer, friend, family member, etc. who you can serve. Maybe they need a pick-me up, maybe they need you to help clean their house, pick up their kids, pay their bill, etc.

Serving others is not about what’s convenient for you. Serving others is about giving them a leg up when they’re struggling. Whether you know them personally or not, who can you help today or this week?

Strengthen Someone

Empowering others is key to everyone living out their calling. How can you use your words, actions, time, and other resources to strengthen someone? Maybe it means that you make time to stop by someone’s desk to speak life and encouragement into them. It could mean that you choose to say yes to the person who has asked you to mentor them– it’s your turn to strengthen them with your knowledge. It could be a handwritten note that simply says I believe in you. How can you empower someone to live up to their full potential? It might be something as simple as that which can help someone else turn a corner into a better, brighter future.

Grinding for the Greater Good

When we all realize that this life is not about me, but about us, then as we all work to crush our personal goals, it ends up that we all arrive in a better place. Keep your intentions pure, focus on serving others, and then the grind will be better balanced because you’re serving the greater good.

 

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Grow or Swell: Creating Positive Leadership Goodwill

Power and position can be an awesome combination. It has the potential to accomplish much good for an organization, its team members, and even the leader. Unfortunately, an elevated sense of self-importance can destroy whatever positive leadership goodwill may have built up over time. Let’s explore a leadership pitfall which is all too common and way too costly to ignore.

Negative or Positive Leadership

Picture it. Eighty-five top managers from a well-known national organization jammed into a meeting room for a one-day leadership retreat. I wanted to get the group involved quickly, so I began with a simple exercise.

“Think of the best leader you’ve ever known…” I asked them. “…then write down the characteristics this leader possesses. ”

One by one, I had each manager read their list of leadership characteristics out loud as I captured each entry on a flip chart. The room had an upbeat energy as the compilation of positive leadership attributes expanded before their eyes.

As I turned to face the group, the CEO sat in the front-row seat to my left. He had been actively participating in the exercise — that’s always a good sign!

What You Think Doesn’t Matter

Then something unexpected happened. The CEO laid down his pen and pushed back from the table. He reclined in his chair and in a voice loud enough to be heard throughout the room, spoke these words:

“Yeah,” he said with a self-satisfied sigh, “I think it’s obvious — I do all those things.”

What did he just say??? 

Multiple times in my professional career, I’ve had leaders tell me just what a great job they are doing. But this CEO was a first!! And I undoubtedly hoped he would be the last. But each time it happens, I listen attentively, respectfully, but always thinking the same thought…

Don’t you realize it doesn’t really matter if you think yourself to be a good leader? What is far more important is what your team members and co-workers think of your leadership abilities. That’s what you should be most concerned about.

(Find out the rest of the CEO’s story in my book, Leaders Ought to Know, chapter 10.)

Grow or Swell

Power and position can be an awesome combination. It has the potential to accomplish much good for the organization, the team members, and even the leader.

Unfortunately, an elevated sense of self-importance — pride, arrogance, conceit, haughtiness, overconfidence, condescension, standoffishness — can destroy whatever positive leadership goodwill you may have built up over time.

One of two things usually happens when individuals are elevated into positions of leadership and added responsibility. They either grow… or they swell.

Growth is good. It’s positive and desirable. Swelling, on the other hand, can be the first step toward any living organism rotting and ruining. Need I go further with this analogy? I think you probably get the picture.

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As Scottish philosopher David Hume once said,

“When men are the most sure and arrogant, they are commonly the most mistaken.”

And thinking yourself too important foretells a host of other potential problems:

an unwillingness to listen to othersthe inability to ally support around an idea or undertakinga powerlessness to influence othersthe incapability to make a lasting difference.

If we constantly work to make our team members, associates, and customers feel as important as we do, they will be more apt to ensure we really are!

Then we will never have to audibly say, “Yeah, it’s obvious — I do all those things!” Our people will do it for us!

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Frisk It Before You Risk It

Frisk It Before You Risk It

Have you ever watched Law & Order, COPS, NCIS, Chicago PD, Criminal Minds, or any other crime drama? The love of crime shows runs so deep in our culture today. As millions of us have watched our favorite on-screen detectives, correctional officers, or police officers frisk someone, we’ve seen them tell the person in question to put their hands on the wall, spread their legs, then they pat them down to make sure they’re not hiding anything that would put their safety in question.

So what’s the point of all this? Well, it’s not to be able to tell whether the person has been eating too many chips or hitting the gym every day! Instead, it’s how the official manages their risk. They’re making sure they’re covering all their bases — making sure things are safe — before moving forward. If the suspect has been identified correctly, and if the frisk is performed perfectly, then the outcome is successful.

The fact of the matter is that taking risks is simply the price of admission to achieving the highest success. Now, you may not be in law enforcement — I’m not. But the idea of managing your risk before taking action remains constant in all our lives. So how do you go after bigger success and make sure you don’t lose everything in the process? Here are 7 questions to help you feel out, pat down, “frisk a risk” before you move ahead.

The Risk-Frisk1. Does this align with my values?

Success can be sexy. But achieving a certain level of success and landing in a place that takes you away from who you are at your core…that can lead to a life of unrest. Make sure the risks you take align with your values so you never end up in a place you didn’t actually want to be.

2. Does this align with my prioritized goals?

Do you know what is most important to you — and in what order? There will be times where you have an opportunity — potentially a risk — you can take, but the timing may not be right. There have been times in my life where my career has had to take a backseat to my kids. Both were important to me, but one more than the other in different seasons of life. Make sure that the risks you take align with what you’re trying to achieve in this season of life.

3. What does success and failure look like here?

If you don’t know what success and failure look like post-risk, how will you know when to celebrate or re-evaluate? Get clear on the possibilities.

4. If I fail, can I live with the consequences?

Let’s say you have a risk that requires a financial investment. If this risk ends up unsuccessful, can you live with that? If you have a family of five, you may choose not to spend every last penny you have, cash out your retirement, and get a second mortgage in order to make it happen. You might not want your family to live with those consequences.

On the other hand, if you’re in a situation where you might just have to eat sandwiches at home for a while versus eating out at restaurants in order to make the financial investment, that risk may have consequences you can live with. Maybe you’re evaluating a risk that could lose you some friends. Is that worth it to you? Whatever the consequence, ultimately, you have to make the decision on whether or not you can live with the consequences.

5. What is my backup plan?

Manage the risk. Plan ahead. If things go south, make a plan — in advance — to get back up and land on top.

6. Do I understand the risk?

Sticking with the opening crime drama illustration, if I was trying to get into a bank to take care of a hostage situation, I’d want to understand the layout of the bank before I went in, right? If I didn’t understand the bank layout or where the offender could run or hide, then I’d be risking my safety and everyone else’s. If I fully understand the risk, then I know exactly how to move as things change.

7. Am I fully prepared?

A risk becomes a lot less scary when you’re prepared for it. Once you understand the risk, you need to prepare for what could happen. If I were going into that bank I just mentioned, I might make sure that I have the right size team and the right resources to handle the situation whether things go perfectly or totally sideways.

If you’re speaking to someone new, make sure you’ve done your homework and know exactly how you’re going to adapt your communication to connect with them. If your risk requires you to sell a product, make sure you know everything about the product and can easily answer questions about it when asked by a potential buyer. Whatever the risk, make sure you’re prepared to show up in the best way.

The Inevitable Endeavor

TIME Magazine says the reason we’re obsessed with crime dramas is that “it triggers the most basic and powerful emotion in all of us—fear…It allows us to experience fear…in a controlled environment where the threat is exciting but not real.”

Fear…it’s exciting in theory, but only when the danger isn’t really there. Fear…it’s the exact reason too many people aren’t living up to their full potential. They don’t take the risks because they’re afraid.

But when it comes to achieving success, risk is inevitable. So while you might not be able to stop the feeling of fear from showing up, what you can do is reason it down. You can answer these questions to guide you toward the risks most likely to pay off.

So, I challenge you to “frisk the risk.” Then, even if fear is there, take action anyway. The most successful among us oftentimes reach their peak with fear chasing their tail the whole way.

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Frisk It Before You Risk It

Frisk It Before You Risk It

Have you ever watched Law & Order, COPS, NCIS, Chicago PD, Criminal Minds, or any other crime drama? The love of crime shows runs so deep in our culture today. As millions of us have watched our favorite on-screen detectives, correctional officers, or police officers frisk someone, we’ve seen them tell the person in question to put their hands on the wall, spread their legs, then they pat them down to make sure they’re not hiding anything that would put their safety in question. 

So what’s the point of all this? Well, it’s not to be able to tell whether the person has been eating too many chips or hitting the gym every day! Instead, it’s how the official manages their risk. They’re making sure they’re covering all their bases — making sure things are safe — before moving forward. If the suspect has been identified correctly, and if the frisk is performed perfectly, then the outcome is successful. 

The fact of the matter is that taking risks is simply the price of admission to achieving the highest success. Now, you may not be in law enforcement — I’m not. But the idea of managing your risk before taking action remains constant in all our lives. So how do you go after bigger success and make sure you don’t lose everything in the process? Here are 7 questions to help you feel out, pat down, “frisk a risk” before you move ahead.

The Risk-Frisk1. Does this align with my values?

Success can be sexy. But achieving a certain level of success and landing in a place that takes you away from who you are at your core…that can lead to a life of unrest. Make sure the risks you take align with your values so you never end up in a place you didn’t actually want to be.

2. Does this align with my prioritized goals?

Do you know what is most important to you — and in what order? There will be times where you have an opportunity — potentially a risk — you can take, but the timing may not be right. There have been times in my life where my career has had to take a backseat to my kids. Both were important to me, but one more than the other in different seasons of life. Make sure that the risks you take align with what you’re trying to achieve in this season of life.

3. What does success and failure look like here?

If you don’t know what success and failure look like post-risk, how will you know when to celebrate or re-evaluate? Get clear on the possibilities.

4. If I fail, can I live with the consequences?

Let’s say you have a risk that requires a financial investment. If this risk ends up unsuccessful, can you live with that? If you have a family of five, you may choose not to spend every last penny you have, cash out your retirement, and get a second mortgage in order to make it happen. You might not want your family to live with those consequences.

On the other hand, if you’re in a situation where you might just have to eat sandwiches at home for a while versus eating out at restaurants in order to make the financial investment, that risk may have consequences you can live with. Maybe you’re evaluating a risk that could lose you some friends. Is that worth it to you? Whatever the consequence, ultimately, you have to make the decision on whether or not you can live with the consequences.

5. What is my backup plan?

Manage the risk. Plan ahead. If things go south, make a plan — in advance — to get back up and land on top.

6. Do I understand the risk?

Sticking with the opening crime drama illustration, if I was trying to get into a bank to take care of a hostage situation, I’d want to understand the layout of the bank before I went in, right? If I didn’t understand the bank layout or where the offender could run or hide, then I’d be risking my safety and everyone else’s. If I fully understand the risk, then I know exactly how to move as things change.

7. Am I fully prepared?

A risk becomes a lot less scary when you’re prepared for it. Once you understand the risk, you need to prepare for what could happen. If I were going into that bank I just mentioned, I might make sure that I have the right size team and the right resources to handle the situation whether things go perfectly or totally sideways. 

If you’re speaking to someone new, make sure you’ve done your homework and know exactly how you’re going to adapt your communication to connect with them. If your risk requires you to sell a product, make sure you know everything about the product and can easily answer questions about it when asked by a potential buyer. Whatever the risk, make sure you’re prepared to show up in the best way.

The Inevitable Endeavor

TIME Magazine says the reason we’re obsessed with crime dramas is that “it triggers the most basic and powerful emotion in all of us—fear…It allows us to experience fear…in a controlled environment where the threat is exciting but not real.”

Fear…it’s exciting in theory, but only when the danger isn’t really there. Fear…it’s the exact reason too many people aren’t living up to their full potential. They don’t take the risks because they’re afraid. 

But when it comes to achieving success, risk is inevitable. So while you might not be able to stop the feeling of fear from showing up, what you can do is reason it down. You can answer these questions to guide you toward the risks most likely to pay off. 

So, I challenge you to “frisk the risk.” Then, even if fear is there, take action anyway. The most successful among us oftentimes reach their peak with fear chasing their tail the whole way.

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Beyond Words: How to Reach Your Employees

Studies consistently show most managers lack the skills needed to effectively communicate with direct reports. Where this exists, employee engagement, operational performance, and customer satisfaction suffer as a result.

Communication Skills Lacking?

I was recently interviewed by Joe White with AEU LEAD for their podcast, Secrets of Success. I offered some guidance on ways managers can more effectively reach and communicate with employees. The transcript of our conversation follows. If you prefer, listen to the podcast here.

Joe White:
Communication is the art of recreating in someone else’s mind an exact replica of what’s in yours. Sounds easy, right? Stay with us.

Hello, and thank you for joining us today. My name is Joe White and I’m the host of Supervisor Skills: Secrets of Success. The SOS podcast series is produced for the ongoing development of front-line managers. With each episode, we take on a topic of interest and interview subject matter experts for the benefit of our listeners. In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about communication. My guest today is leadership expert, Phil Van Hooser with Van Hooser & Associates. Welcome Phil, and thank you for joining us today.

Phil Van Hooser:
Well, thanks, Joe. It’s wonderful to be a part of this.

Joe White:
Thank you so much. If you would just tell us a little bit about who you are, what you do, and where you reside?

Phil Van Hooser:

I live in Western Kentucky, a little town called Princeton, Kentucky. It’s my native hometown. I haven’t always lived here, but we’re back and enjoying our time here now. And what I do, and what I’ve been doing for the past 33 years, is I work with organizations and individual leaders on enhancing and developing leadership skills from a broad-based standpoint. And of course, communication is a major part of those skill sets. I’ve done that by way of the spoken word, training, the written word, online, in-person. It’s just been a multi-faceted approach to helping individuals and organizations develop those people that are so key and including those front-line people that you’re focused on in the area of personal leadership development.

Joe White:
Thank you, Phil. And speaking of talking and communication, if I’m not mistaken, you have a book, don’t you?

Phil Van Hooser:
I have a number of books and articles, but I think the book that you may be referring to that focuses on communication is We Need to Talk and then subtitle, Building Trust When Communicating Gets Critical. It’s a book that I’ve had out for a couple of years, but it’s been well-received because of the practical nature. And maybe we’ll even get into some of that conversation here today.

Communication: A Perennial Pain Point

Joe White:
That’s great. Thank you. I often refer to the perennial pain points, the pain points that just don’t seem to go away for organizations, and communication always seems to rank at the top — or among the top — in terms of pain points organizations are dealing with. When we talk about communication,  do you have a definition for that? What does it really mean?

Phil Van Hooser:
Joe, there are a lot of folks, including a lot of people in the industry I’m in — the information sharing industry, professional development industry — who can give you a long and very flowery definition of communication, and then explain what it means. I’ve gone the other direction, I think I can answer your question with basically three words: communication equals connection.

Now, communication, of course, we can break that down. Communication, whether it’s verbal communication, written communication, non-verbal communication, etc. has so many facets that we could talk for a long, long time about those alone.

Communication = Connection

But for me, especially in dealing with and working with leaders, communication equaling connection means that communication will not happen — I don’t really care how articulate you are, how intelligent you are, how well schooled you may be — if there is not a connection that has been made or will be made with the audience, be it an audience of one or an audience of 1000. If a connection is not made, communication will not happen.

On the other hand, if connections are made and people connect with one another — and we can talk about that if you’d like — but when those connections are made, you can be inarticulate, you can be scattered to some degree, you can be unfocused, but the connection is strong enough that the communication will still take place. Then the question then becomes, have we communicated a message or an intention and have done it successfully through that connection? But for me, communication has been, is, and I trust always will be, focusing on connections being made.

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Joe White:
I really, really love that definition. And I think about in my experience, some of the most effective communicators that I’ve known, they didn’t necessarily have a strong academic background; in many cases, they were just everyday people. I really like that, the point of connection I think is so important.

Phil Van Hooser:
Well, Joe, if I can interrupt, I’ll simply say this, many of your listeners and the people that we’re talking to today came out of an industrial or a technical or some sort of labor-related background, as I understand it.

Joe White:
That’s correct.

Good Communicators Connect

Phil Van Hooser:
And for them, they may not have had the opportunity to have all the training or education in particular areas that other people may have benefited from. But the one thing that you can always know when someone is a good connector or a good communicator or a good connector on the plant floor or in the field, is when someone says “he’s one of us, he knows us, he can talk our language”, what they’re really saying is that the person has learned to connect. And that connection is far more valuable to those that they have connected with than any degree or any certification or any particular level of training, as long as that training was successful in helping them learn to connect.

Joe White:
Again, I love that. And it just draws me back to my own personal experiences. My daughter recently sent me a text and used some emojis, and I had no clue. I was like, “Okay, I have no idea what she’s trying to tell me here.” And I had to pick up the phone and call her and say, “Okay, what exactly are you saying?” She certainly communicated, I didn’t understand, but it was the connection that was missing. With these podcasts, our audience is that front-line, first-line supervisor, the foreman on the construction project. It’s the person out on the shop floor in the manufacturing facility, in the shipyard… it’s that person that’s out there interacting with the client and with the employees. Why is this topic really of relevance and importance to them?

Phil Van Hooser:
Well, first of all, I love the audience that you’re focused on. In fact, I came up through the manufacturing world in my early part of my career, and I was a young HR manager. So I spent a lot of time on the plant floor. And since I’ve worked with a lot of the trade industries and so on and so forth, I spent a lot of time with front-line supervisors. The reason communication is so critical can be summarized by reminding supervisors of who they are and what they do. A supervisor is someone who gets something done through other people. There are working supervisors out there who are still doing particular jobs. And in addition to the technical or the labor-related job that they’re a part of, they’re also supervising.

Open Lines of Communication

But if you can focus just on the supervision part of it for a moment, getting their job done has got to be done through other people. And the only way that we can do that successfully is to have open lines of communication and very successful lines of communication that are followed throughout. And so, yes, I agree with you, oftentimes it is the pivot point that a lot of people struggle with, or those people who are very successful with their communications actually succeed even more.

Secrets of success. If there’s one that I would offer, even right now, I’d say work on your communication skills, regardless of who you are, where you are, where you are in your career. I don’t care if you’ve been there six months, or if you’ve been there 36 years, the more we work on our communication skills, frankly, the easier our job gets because we don’t have to go back and repeat or try to fix problems that communication could have solved or at least avoided early on. But it also is the secret sauce that gives us the opportunity to have more opportunities if that’s what someone is interested in.

So for me, the communication and being able to communicate what needs to be done, what the expectations are, and frankly, offering feedback as to the success or lack thereof, of what’s been done or what’s happened… all of those things play to the success that individual supervisors, front-line supervisors can have because of their ability to communicate most effectively with the people working with and for them.

The Ultimate Communication Test

Joe White:
Again, great points. I think back in my career and early on, I had a superintendent tell me one time… he said that effective communication was like shooting a robin hood in archery. He said the first arrow had to be on target, and that was getting your points across, communicating effectively. But he said you’re not done. He said that the second arrow has to split the knock in the first and that’s, “Is it understood?” And that’s really the ultimate test: did you communicate effectively? And secondly, was it well understood?

Phil Van Hooser:
Well, that’s an interesting illustration, one which I’ve never heard, but I oftentimes talk about the curse of good enough. You’ll hear people say, even people who are strong in a lot of different areas, “Oh, I’m not a great communicator, but I do what I need to do. It’s good enough. I can get through. I can talk to anybody for 15 minutes.” You’ve heard those kinds of comments around.

And the reality of it is, that’s the kiss of death because that’s what I refer to as a lazy communicator. One who’s willing to take whatever level of communication they’ve sort of developed over time and stay right there.

Now, the reality is, if everybody else is staying right there too, you can probably get by. But as you alluded to a moment ago with your daughter’s example, the fact of the matter is our audience, our workforce, the people who we call our followers or employees are changing every day. And their expectations of us are based on the communication experiences they’re having outside of work.

Different Communication Experiences

And so if we’re not growing, if we’re not advancing, if we’re not preparing ourselves accordingly, if we’re satisfied with good enough… then quite frankly, you’re going to be dissatisfied with the experiences that you have, especially if we’re talking years into the future. That’s what I try to help people with — to prepare not for today, even though preparing for tomorrow will help today, but I try to help them prepare for the rest of their career.

Joe White:
Great points. I worked in a manufacturing facility basically for the majority of my career, a Fortune 100 company. It was in the chemical industry. When I first came in, there was so much talk about the generations at that point that were entering the workforce and how we had to train them to adapt to us. And I think now, very wisely, most people recognize and realize that if we’re to be effective working with employees, we’ve got to find ways to reach them where they are and not necessarily expect them to change to our styles, and in this case, styles of communication.

Phil Van Hooser:
It’s interesting when you talk about, we must change or educate them in a way that they can change to adapt to us. I came up in the manufacturing arena, as I told you. And as you alluded to, I did that as well. The reality of it is even if we could pick a number 200, 500, 1500, however many may be under the same roof. The fact of the matter is they are of different age, they have different experience, different educational level, different expectations, etc. We can’t expect that many people — even if we’re great trainers, educators, etc. — we can’t expect to be successful in getting that many people to align with our way of communicating.

I, on the other hand, like to think in terms of being rigidly flexible.

Joe White:
I like that.

Phil Van Hooser:
Rigidly flexible. I know what I need to communicate, and that is my role and responsibility, but I will explore virtually any methodology or any thought process that will help me be able to be successful in communicating that… I will be flexible in that regard. Rigid in terms of the message, flexible in terms of the methodology. And frankly, it served me well for at least to this point in my career and I trust it will continue to serve me in the days ahead.

The Biggest Communication Problem

Joe White:
Great. I love George Bernard Shaw’s quote. He was quoted as saying, “The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” Why is communication so difficult? And with that, let me add, we have more means, more methods of communicating today than we ever have. So the efficiency of communication has never been better.

Phil Van Hooser:
Right. Well, it’s a big question. Why is communication so difficult? If we had come to a conclusive answer to that question, life would be better on almost every front, family front, nations would be communicating more effectively, families would be communicating more effectively, and certainly, in the workplace, we would be communicating more effectively. I’ve had to deal with that throughout my career as well.

And I think that the single answer I would come to, and it’s a broad answer, but the single answer I would come to as to why communication is so difficult in the workplace is that we are too selfish. We’re more focused on ourselves than we are on the people that we’re attempting to communicate with and to. And so therefore I found that the best communicators are the ones that can step out of themselves and focus more on others and on the needs of others or the experiences of others or the circumstance of others, than trying to expect them to do that for me.

Selfless vs Selfish Communication

This is especially true for front-line supervisors. If an employee comes to a supervisor and they start a conversation, going back to what I said earlier, that connection is so critical. The connection may initially be made. But if in fact the supervisor then spends more time talking to his or her employee or follower about what their problems are, as opposed to what the employee’s problems are, there’s going to be a disconnection in that communication.

So I’ve found that, whether I’m at home talking to my wife, whether I’m with my children, whether I’m with my friends or in the workplace, if I spend more time listening to and talking to, or trying to draw out the information about them, as opposed to trying to teach them, share with them, talk to them about me, the communication always is more successful. And according to George Bernard Shaw, I think that big problem, if not eliminated completely, can be whittled down somewhat.

Joe White:
Yeah, it’s great advice. Again, I think about the years of experience I’ve had and some of the quotes and comments that people have made to me over the years. I had a friend one time tell me, “Look, if you want to end a conversation real quickly, start talking about yourself.”

Phil Van Hooser:
Exactly.

Signs You’re Not Communicating

Joe White:
And there’s a lot of truth in that. The next question I’d like to tackle is really around problems that you may, as an organization or as a business owner, or as a supervisor… signs and symptoms that you might not be communicating as effectively as you would like to be. What are some things that you can look for? What are some telltale signs that you may not be communicating effectively?

Phil Van Hooser:
Well, this may be one of the easier questions you’ve asked so far in terms of a specific response to it, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy unless we’re paying attention to these things. I would break this down into two areas, the signs and symptoms that some communication is not as effective as they might be, can be both obvious and subtle, let say.

For example, if we’re a supervisor and we say to our employees, “If you ever have any problems, come talk to me. I want to hear it before I hear it someplace else, don’t want any surprises, etc.” And then they try that, and then they get met with resistance, or they get blown off or it can be any number of things.

A subtle symptom that communication isn’t taking effect is they don’t come back. They just shut down the communication. Well, they’re even saying in the break room, “I tried that, I tried going and talking to him or to her, and it didn’t work. Why am I going to waste my time doing that anymore?” It’s not that there’s been a confrontation, there’s not been a blow-up, etc. It’s very subtle. But all of a sudden, they’re just sort of invisible. They don’t happen. Or even if you search out an opportunity for conversation, it just really hard to engage them.

The more obvious idea or symptom that communication is breaking down is that if everything is couched in emotion. If every time we have a conversation, it looks like the person that we’re communicating with is just itching for a fight. Or they are very harsh in the way that they respond to something. The reality is it may not be them, it may be you.

I Told Them Once

I’ve heard too many times these words and I’ll bet you and our listeners have too. I’ve heard these words, “I told them once, if they didn’t get it, that’s not my problem.” Or if we really want to emphasize something to an audience member, again, an audience of one, or an audience of a department, whatever it may be, what do we do? We start talking louder. And the reality of it is that’s off-putting for a lot of people. You told me once, and then you’re making me the scapegoat of this poor communication because I didn’t get it. Have you ever considered that you didn’t do it very well? Have you ever considered that you were confusing or that you talked about three different subjects and I don’t know which one of them is most important?

We’ve got to look at ourselves first to make sure that these symptoms aren’t indicative of something that’s going on with us. I wrote a customer service book several years ago too. And I used a line in there that goes something like this: “A complaint is a symptom that a problem exists.” Now, a complaint doesn’t always mean that a problem exists, but it’s a symptom and therefore should be explored further.

When we see these symptoms, that communications are not going as effectively or moving the direction that we had hoped, before we start pointing fingers at someone else and blaming them, I think, first of all, we need to do a self-inspection, to see if our communication has been what we want it to be. So there’s a couple of observations. There could be many, many more, but in the interest of time, that’s probably all we need to cover right now.

Joe White:
A great point. And I know having spent a better part of my career in safety, one of the things I quickly learned is that if you’re tackling symptoms and not root causation or causes, you’re very likely going to be dealing with them again at some point in the future. And they very likely won’t go away. I want to ask you a question and with each of these podcasts, we really try to take it down to something that’s practical. Something you can go do something with. What suggestions might you have for someone that’s wanting to improve the effectiveness of their personal communication?

6 Communication Basics

Phil Van Hooser:
Well, like you, when I stand before an audience, or when I write something that will be read by an audience member somewhere down the road, I’m always trying to get to that point too: what is the basic, foundational, walk away with and apply kind of principle? And in regard to communication, and there’s certainly a lot of ways that we can consider this, but I’m going to give you what I consider to be the six basics of face-to-face communication or nose-to-nose or toes-to-toes. And when I say nose-to-nose or toes-to-toes, I’m not necessarily referring to confrontation. I’m just meaning that it’s not anybody else, it’s just two people communicating most effectively with one another. And when the leader, the supervisor, is the one leading that communication, I always remind them of six things and they’re fairly simple.

Talk with People

In fact, they can be narrowed down to 18 words if you want to make it that simple. The first three words are talk with people. Not to, not about, not behind, not around, not up to or down to, figure out how you can talk with people or with individuals. The more this is a two-way conversation, the more effective the communication is going to be. So, number one, talk with people.

Explain the Process

Number two: explain the process, upfront, before you get deep into any kind of activities, take the time, invest the time to explain the process. If you don’t explain the process upfront as a supervisor, you’re always going to have to explain it later on sometime, when someone comes back and asks, “Help me with this” or they made a mistake or whatever. But the environment changes then because someone’s already frustrated, there’s already been a problem. It’s always much more effective to explain the process upfront while there’s still an opportunity to make a substantive change or substantive success happen.

Tell the Truth

Number three, tell the truth, tell the truth. There’s never a good time to tell an untruth. There’s never an inappropriate time to tell an untruth. And frankly, the matter of communication is if someone ever catches you in an untruth, be it sharing something you want them to know or something you don’t want them to know, then they’re not going to trust future communications going forward. They’re going to expect that you’re always lying to them. And that’s the kiss of death.

Joe White:
So true. I’ve seen evidence of that so many times.

Phil Van Hooser:
And we all have, and we all know even sitting here right now, even though I should be thinking about what I’m saying to you, I’m actually thinking about people that have lied to me in the past. That’s how long we hold these particular issues, as leaders we can’t afford to have that happen. So there’s the first three: Talk with people. Explain the process. Tell the truth. Now I said there were six. So let me give you the final nine words.

Work for Understanding

Number four: work for understanding. Now, most people will focus on the word “understanding”. Certainly, we’ve got to work for understanding. There has to be understanding in communication, but I think I’d like to put the emphasis on that first word, work for understanding. If understanding it doesn’t happen immediately, we can’t give up. We can’t throw our hands in the air. We can’t just sort of wash our hands of it, we’ve got to go to work. We’ve got to figure out communication is our job. I must work at it.

Get Them Involved

Number five: get them on board, get them involved. The more you involve and the more you engage individuals in conversation, then all of a sudden it becomes a dialogue, not a monologue. It’s not a lecture anymore, it’s a discussion. And so the more we get them involved and, even better, if we can give them a job to do in that communication process so that they are more focused on what they are supposed to do than being focused on what someone else is not doing. Now, the first five, I think will make us better communicators overall just by doing those five: talk with people, explain the process, tell the truth, work for understanding and get them involved.

Do Your Job

But sometimes those five things still leave communication a little lacking. So the last thing I always tell people is: do your job, do your job, as a communicator, especially in the role of supervisor or manager, it’s our role and responsibility. Number one, to set the expectation. Number two, to communicate that expectation. And then number three, to give feedback relative to how that expectation is either being met or exceeded or not being met and therefore needs to be improved upon — that’s our job too.

And if we’re not communicating in those difficult times, then quite frankly, our communication when we’re only communicating during the positive times is less effective and not as much appreciated by those that we’re attempting to communicate with. So from a face-to-face standpoint, from an individual communication standpoint, I think those six things can be as helpful as anything else I can communicate to your listeners today. Talk with people, explain the process, tell the truth, work for understanding, get them involved, and always be focused on doing your job,

Joe White:
Phil, that’s just great advice. And again, for us, we always try to make things practical, relevant, and actionable. And I think those, the six items that you’ve outlined, touch on each of those. And again, I can’t thank you enough. I know those are things that could readily be applied, you could start with that today. And if you certainly do that, there’s no doubt you’re going to improve.

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7 Realities I Wish I’d Realized BEFORE Supervising People

7 Realities I Wish I’d Realized BEFORE Supervising People

Experience in the trenches gave me the knowledge and high-level skills that a university classroom and all the grit in the world couldn’t have equipped me with. Here are seven realities I wish I’d realized before supervising people. Whether you want to lead people or you currently lead people, hopefully, these lessons will prove valuable for you, too!

People are your greatest asset, not yourself.

All my life, I felt the one thing I could always count on was me. That mindset fed over into my early management career, but it didn’t serve me or my people well. Realizing a leader’s power is their team, not themselves, changed the whole game for me. I found more meaning and joy from my work because it was less about serving me and more about serving them. And, we all achieved better when I decided to become a leader, rather than just a manager. 

Micromanaging doesn’t work, but actively measuring performance does.

Without question, managers must know how their team is performing. Helicopter leaders and micromanagers might understand where the team stands, but they do not help the team grow. On the other hand, establishing mutually agreed upon performance measurements and review processes between you and the employee will ensure the work gets done correctly, efficiently, and with a positive vibe.  

Everyone will not like you, but you should work to make it work.

Showing up in my own natural way didn’t always work out well. I could be too abrasive for some, too peppy for others, and so on. Learning to adapt how I communicate with different people at different times was key to connecting with each person I was supervising. Connection is key to building trust. Trust is key to building a solid leader/employee relationship that performance, honesty and loyalty could be built upon.

It’s easy to give people the answer. It’s better to guide them on figuring it out on their own.

Freely giving people the answer to their questions often feels like you’re saving time in the moment. However, in the big scheme of things, you’re wasting time giving answers. I had to experience it to learn it, but once you put in the time to teach, guide, and empower your employees to find the correct answer and make solid decisions on their own, you save time and can achieve more as a team.

Everybody doesn’t want what you want — and yet they’re still a huge asset.

One employee and I were the same age, both female, from the same town, with similar backgrounds, etc. But why and how we showed up for work every day was very different. She wanted to come in, keep her head down, do her work, leave on time, and not have to think another thing about work once she left the building. No matter how much I tried to inspire her to rise up in the organization and take on additional responsibility…advancement and impact achieved through her professional life wasn’t what she wanted. I had to re-think my leadership strategy with her. Instead of working to give professional growth opportunities to her, I committed to making sure she had a set schedule and didn’t have to stay late. From there, she was always sold out for whatever was needed from her while she was at work. All leaders need great followers. I almost lost one until I realized that not everybody wants what I want and we must lead everyone differently.  

Figure out how you want people to see you, then live up to that expectation every day.

Have you ever thought you were pretty smart, quick on your feet, could trust your gut, or are really good with people? At one time or another, early on in my career, I thought some of those things about myself. And those were the boxes I checked that made me think I could be a great leader. It took a while, and it took some struggle along the way, but I realized it takes so much more than what I thought it would take to create strong connections and impactful influence. Very simply put, I’d rather be an intentional leader than an accidental success. Intentionality creates predictability. Predictability predetermines your future. I want a secure future, so learning to be intentional with every move I made as a leader has continued to serve me and my people well for years now.

Set crystal clear performance expectations upfront.

After trying and failing to become Mrs. Fix-It, I realized how powerful employee ownership can be. With employees quick to offer problems but no responsibility to develop solutions, try as I might, many employees simply had no stake in effectively executing a solution. That’s a problem on multiple levels. 

Once I correctly established a standard of communication where employees were consistently encouraged to speak up about issues — once they’d come up with a correct solution on their own — I found that many employees really took ownership to make sure the solution was implemented well and the issue was resolved. 

Let’s recap: People are your greatest asset, not yourself. Micromanaging doesn’t work, but actively measuring performance does. Everyone will not like you, but you should work to make it work. It’s easy to give people the answer. It’s better to help them figure it out and learn themselves. Everybody doesn’t want what you want and yet they’re still an asset. Figure out how you want people to see you, then live up to that expectation every day. Set crystal clear performance expectations upfront.

Did anything surprise you? Do you agree with these seven? If you’ve been supervising people for a while, what would you add to the list? Comment below!

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An Unusual Success Strategy

Here’s an unusual success strategy you should consider when balancing the risks of failure against the possibility of taking action.

An Unusual Success Strategy

When I was young, I loved riding around the countryside in a pickup truck with my father.  We traveled frequently to and through Farmersville, Kentucky, the small, rural community where my dad grew up. 

Time and again, while passing through, my dad would point out a specific parcel of land and comment, “I should’ve bought that farm when your Mother and I first got married.  It could’ve been ours for almost nothing then.”  Upon delivering those words, his voice would usually drift off, giving way to silent, wistful thinking.

My dad never bought that farm.  And I’m sure he never stopped regretting it.  My dad’s gone now, but I still think about those truck rides.  And almost every time I pass that farm I remember his words.  They’re as clear in my mind today as they were fifty years ago when I first began hearing them.  

I Should’ve Bought That Farm

“I should’ve bought that farm…” Those truck rides and my dad’s reminiscing left their marks. His experience cemented an unusual success strategy I regularly embrace and employ.

It’s an unusual success strategy, but one you might consider. Here it is:  If I am to fail, I choose to fail aggressively.

This choice took root in my consciousness years ago, while I was reflecting on my Dad’s lifelong regret over not buying the farm.  Though there’s no way of knowing for sure, I’ve concluded that it would’ve been preferable for my father to have borrowed the money, bought the farm and ultimately, lost the farm for any number of reasons rather than endure decades of lamenting “what might have been.”  

Now, I am not condoning a foolish fiscal attitude that would lead you to buy what you cannot afford, without a legitimate plan for repaying the debts you incur.  That’s not a common sense success strategy.  We should always stand responsible for the commitments we make, be they financial or otherwise.    

What I am suggesting is this. The power of regret can be more debilitating than the embarrassment of failure. I’ve watched its effects firsthand.

Here are four questions to ask yourself as you encounter situations that might seem a bit risky on the surface.

My Unusual Success Strategy: Fail Aggressively

In view of that, I’ve decided  I would rather fail aggressively than passively. In other words, I would rather fail trying to make something happen, instead of sitting on my hands watching things happen, or regretting the lost opportunity. 

Humorist Mark Twain sounded a serious note when he penned the following words regarding risk and regret. 

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the things you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.”  

That’s good advice.  But there’s one other important point that needs to be made concerning the act of “sailing from the safe harbor.” Once you choose to try, and you commit to moving forward, taking action — you may be pleasantly surprised to find failure is not a given after all.  

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Failure is not inevitable.  Once committed to something, most people are able to summons up the will, imagination and find multiple strategies to succeed.  Losing the farm was not a given for my dad.  I’m convinced he and Mom would have found a way to make the purchase successful.   

Nineteenth century author, poet, historian, and philosopher Henry David Thoreau put it this way.

“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours.” 

I happen to agree with Thoreau.  I’ve found that many people succeed in their personal and professional pursuits because they don’t fear failure and move confidently forward, discovering success at various stages throughout the process.    

What About You?

In the pursuit of success, how willing are you to embrace or tolerate your own failure? Are you…

Low Risk: I always play it safe.Med Low: I hedge all my bets.Med High: I’ll take a hit or two.High Risk: If I fail, I still win!

Curious what other people say? Take the LinkedIn poll and see.

For more unusual success strategies like failing aggressively, check out Leaders Ought to Know: 11 Ground Rules for Common Sense Leadership.

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What Abandonment Taught Me About Adaptability & Success

Don’t be caught standing in your own way to achieving success. Abandoned as a child, I learned that adaptability is key to achieving your goals. Here’s why.

What Abandonment Taught Me About Adaptability & Success

I babysat a little girl frequently when I was in middle school. Her parents went into work really early on Saturday mornings. I’d sleep over at their house on Friday night so I could spend Saturday morning playing with their little girl until her parents got off work at lunchtime.

One Friday night, when I was 13, my dad told me I was going to go babysit for them again. Little did I know that would be the last time I ever lived with my dad.

I didn’t hear from him for about six months. When I finally did get a call from him, it wasn’t because he wanted me back. It was because the government was forcing me to move in with someone else and he was calling to deliver the news.

As this new season of life began, I added to the pain of it all. I was a hurt teenager and I reacted by acting out as any hurt child might do. It took me a while to figure out that I was only hurting myself by making choices that could take me further away from where I really wanted to be.

Lesson Learned

It was then that I figured out I needed to acknowledge my feelings instead of acting on them — a lesson that has served me well in my personal and professional life ever since. If I was going to get where I wanted to be, I needed to act differently.

I decided to shift my focus —  to adapt in a way that would keep me on the path that would move me forward, not backward. 

In this season, I learned many lessons to make me stronger, smarter, more resilient, and more grounded. And it only solidified my certainty that taking ownership of your actions and reactions is the only way to guarantee your future.

I learned…

not to give up but to push through. life is not fair, but you have a chance to flip the script. choosing positive actions, even when you don’t feel like it, leads to positive results.the willingness and ability to adapt is the x-factor for success.

Let’s dig deeper into adaptability.

Where Are You Right Now?

When it comes to adaptability, where do you find yourself? Do you live your life to people-please. Or are you dead set on #DoingYou and refuse to adapt at all?

I have to tell you, both ends are dangerous. You risk losing yourself or losing your opportunity. It’s the area in between you need to be aware of and work toward. 

If you believe you should not have to adapt, and everyone should accept you just as you are — you’re likely getting in the way of your own success. If you think acting “in the moment” means staying true to who you are — I say in love — you’re wrong. That mindset can suck all the momentum out of forward progress. If you find yourself there right now, reconsider your approach and consider owning your adaptability skill.

Hear me carefully: adapting does not mean you change who you are at your core. It means, as things happen, you adjust your attitudes and behaviors to make sure you still win. As you adapt, you should never compromise your integrity or your character. You should never act immorally. But if the adapted choice aligns with your core values and is something you can change, do it!

Adaptability Matrix

Most situations in your life will involve other people. And your ability to adapt to different people impacts the results you get.

In order to adapt well, you need to be hyperaware of yourself and the people around you.This means analyzing exactly what you are thinking and feeling; what others are thinking and feeling; and how you can best interact with the person or situation in the moment.

Now, do not misunderstand me. I am not flirting with the idea of manipulating people. First, manipulation has a negative connotation as if someone is losing. I am talking about a win-win for everyone.

But I am talking about taking ownership of how other people treat you. If you want people to act in a way that is positive for you, then you have to adapt the way you interact with them so it is a positive experience for them as well.

I’ve created an Adaptability Matrix to help you see what I mean. Use it to help you know what to do going forward. Take a picture of it — print it out — burn it into your memory — so that you begin taking action in a way that gets you the results you want!

(The Adaptability Matrix is self-explanatory except in one area. Aligns With Law” refers to the “Lay Down the Law” process I teach in Chapter 2 of my book, Level Up. To really understand this tool, you can get the book HERE, or read more about the goal setting process HERE)

Adaptability: The Stealth Skill

It took a painful childhood experience for me to understand the impact adaptability has on achieving success. I don’t want pain to be the teacher for you.

So whether it’s at work, at home, or in your community — regardless of what is happening to you or around you — you control your future. Choosing to adapt is a choice for you, not against you.

You’re adapting your style, not your heart. Make sure you don’t get stuck in an arrogant, ignorant, and defeated place where you think staying true to you means never changing for anyone else. If you take that approach, you might just get stuck never knowing how good you could have had it if you just would have owned it.

Instead, choose to be constantly hyperaware of what is really happening in the minds and hearts of yourself and the people around you — then you will be able to adapt the right way every time. When you learn to adapt correctly, you win.

For more on how to understand the people around you so you can adapt your attitude and actions in the best way, check out LEVEL UP: Elevate Your Game & Crush Your Goals.

 

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Most Qualified vs. Best Suited Team Members?

Everyday, business owners and leaders in all kinds of industries are responsible for recruiting and hiring new team members. Making a good match is critical because it impacts multiple aspects of business and performance. So it’s easy to get confused as to whether you should hire the best suited team members or the ones most qualified for the position. Let’s explore the idea of most qualified versus best suited team members, because getting it right — or wrong — has far reaching effects.

Actors vs. Actual Customers

In 1973 a regional brewing company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin was on the verge of capturing America’s attention — and a huge base of new customers at the same time. Little known Miller Brewing Company carved out a lucrative market niche by introducing a reduced calorie beer — originally named Lite Beer by Miller — but later — simply Miller Lite.

Now I’m not a beer drinker myself, but beer drinkers around the U.S. stopped and took notice. Why?

In part, because in 1973, the advertising agency, McCann-Erickson Worldwide created a unique marketing strategy for Miller’s new Lite beer. Over the next 17 years, dozens of Miller Lite commercials featured beer-drinking retired athletes, coaches and celebrities — or what one advertising exec referred to as “clowns, rebels and has- beens.”

These were definitely NOT qualified professional actors. They were beer drinkers — plain and simple.

And as such, exceptionally well-suited to convince other beer drinkers that Miller Lite — tasted great, was less filling — and therefore — “Everything you’ve always wanted in a beer. And less.”

Years later, the Miller Lite ad campaign was named the 8th best in advertising history by Advertising Age! Oh, and by the way, Miller Brewing Company also made a lot of money! 

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Most Qualified vs. Best Suited Team Members

Considering a most qualified team member versus a best suited team member is important. And if you, as a business owner or company leader, get it wrong, it may have serious repercussions on team dynamics and overall business performance results.

Early in my career, I spent a lot of time recruiting, interviewing and ultimately, hiring and promoting team members and associates. It was one of the more daunting tasks I’ve ever had. A lot was riding on the outcome.

After interviewing and placing hundreds of individuals, I came to realize that as important as formal qualifications are, finding someone who is uniquely the best suited for a position is even more important still.

Now please understand, I’m not advising you to completely disregard a candidate or prospect’s qualifications. But I am advising you to examine closely whether or not a potential team member is best suited for success in a position regardless how significant their qualifications may initially seem.

4 Factors for Hiring or Promoting Team Members

To make it a bit easier for you, I’ve identified four key factors to keep in mind as you hire or promote that next associate. (Considering a senior team member vs. a promising junior associate? Read this.)

1. Proficiency for and ability to do the work.

This one’s a no-brainer. If the candidate can’t do the job — or eventually learn to do it — keep looking. There’s no sense wasting more of their time or yours. Someone better suited is out there. Go find them.

2. Interest in doing the job.

Be careful with this one, don’t let it slip by you. Just because someone can do the job, doesn’t mean they want to. And we know that someone who doesn’t want to do a job is destined to doing a lousy job. Again, this is regardless of the qualifications they may have.

3.  Their ability — and willingness — to adjust to the work environment and the people.

Remember, every workplace is unique. Also remember that people are creatures of habit. Do all you can to determine whether the team member or associate can and will adjust to the work environment and those they work with.

4. Their potential for future advancement and performance.

You should be absolutely convinced that every new team member hired or associate promoted possesses the potential to make your organization better. Otherwise, why would you even consider hiring or promoting them in the first place? Not only is your professional reputation on the line, so is the ultimate performance of your business. Never settle for less than you have to.

Then — to paraphrase the Miller Lite tagline — you’ll have “everything you’ve always wanted in a team member… and more!”

Anticipate Pushback

Get ready for it. You may get pushback from those who think the best qualified candidate is always the best choice. To get you thinking ahead, what are the most common objections and your responses to selecting the best suited team member over the most qualified candidate? Please share your responses in the comments below — it will help others be better prepared too.

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Difficult Employee? Try These 3 Actions

Have a difficult employee driving a wedge between you, other employees, and even customers? These three leadership actions can help turn performance around.

Difficult Employee? Try These 3 Actions

I got a call this week from a frustrated leader who was asking me what to do about an employee who was wreaking havoc throughout the organization. Long story short, the leader is relatively new in their position — less than a year. The manager he supervises is unhappy and makes no bones about it to everyone and anyone. Bad situation, right?

Rarely are any two situations exactly the same when it comes to personnel issues, but the starting actions I recommended will apply in many situations. Today, in case you’re dealing with similar challenges, I’m sharing the action steps with you.

Look in the Mirror

Leaders set the tone for the organization. Take a long, hard look in the mirror. Get real with yourself. Are you setting the example you want to see? Here are a few of questions to help you get started with a solid self-evaluation:

Do you want the difficult employee to treat you and others with more respect? Do they see you treating others that way?Do you want the employee to respect you as a leader? Position alone rarely earns respect these days. Instead, your actions do. Have you actually given your employee a reason to respect you other than your formal authority?

It’s important to note that negative experiences far outweigh positive ones. Let’s say that most of the time you feel like you’re doing a great job as a leader. However, there have been a few mistakes along the way (How should you deal with mistakes at work? Check this article out!). Those negative experiences likely stand out in your employee’s mind. You as a leader might have some work to do on yourself before your team will perform the way you hope.

Get to the Bottom of their Priorities

As a leader, you should know what your employees want. When you understand their priorities, you can make the best decision when it comes to communicating, delegating, rewarding, etc. in order to curb bad performance. For example, don’t think more money is the answer to every problem. Money generally won’t cure performance problems, but it may mask them.  What if it’s more time off that people want? Unwarranted raises won’t benefit you or the organization in such a situation.

Sit down and have an open, honest conversation with the difficult employee. Ask them what is most important to them, what they want to achieve within the organization, and what their ideal workplace looks and feels like. Answers to these questions will give you clues into how to best move forward.

Establish Expectations & Accountability

Crystal clear expectations are one of the most underestimated leadership tools. Most often, if people understand the expectation, they’ll rise to meet it. When it comes to a difficult employee, it’s likely that somewhere along the way, expectations and accountability have become misaligned.

Regardless of the size of your organization, I’m a fan of written expectations. When expectations are only communicated verbally, there’s likely someone, somewhere who isn’t on the same page. That only leaves room for a wedge to be placed in between people. Job descriptions are a great place to start. Make sure those are accurate and very detailed. Review them with all employees.

After establishing and reviewing detailed expectations, it’s important that you create accountability. Accountability isn’t hand-holding or controlling people in order to get people to do what you want. Instead, accountability should be a mindset curated throughout the organization so that people keep promises to themselves and others to give and get the best from each other. And when that doesn’t happen? We talk about it, we fix it, we move forward — together.

Leaders Transform Teams

Oftentimes we know what we should do, but we don’t do it. For example, we know we should eat more green vegetables — but most don’t, drink more water –but most don’t, etc.

Regardless of the specific challenges you’re facing, what can you do today that would set you and your team up for better success tomorrow? Your team is only as good as your leadership.

 

Want to improve your organization’s leadership performance? We can help! Let’s talk!

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