Jeff McManus's Blog, page 20

Take Your Team with You

Years ago, I was challenged by a former boss to carry my staff to another property to view their operations. It had never occurred to me that this might be a good idea. I could think of a lot of reasons not to do it; too much to do, not a good time, it costs too much, and it would slow me down. I was on a journey of discovery after all. I had plans and the thought of taking all my people with me seemed, well, like a burden. But was it?

Last week, an outside group of 9 people came to visit our...

Work Yourself Out of a Job

As a newly appointed Director, I sat in the hotel room at a Miami resort attending a manager’s training. My team radio crackled loudly; another incoming question from one of my staff. Being polite, I quickly hopped up and went out the door to respond. After this exercise occurred a few more times, the long-time resort Dock Master, a navy veteran commander, offered an observation: “A sign of a good leader is that when that leader is gone, the organization doesn’t miss them.”

I smiled and nodde...

What To Do When HR Will Not Let You Fire An Employee

“True courage is being afraid, and going ahead and doing your job anyhow, that's what courage is.”

~Norman Schwarzkopf

I recently spoke at another great facilities leadership workshop. While at lunch a department leader at a major university shared, he had some weeds in his department; employees who refused to buy-in, work together or produce the results he needed. He felt helpless in his own department. He said HR would not let him fire them. He was frustrated.

We have heard the term, ...

Why Is Self-Improvement Vital for your Success?

“When everything seems like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top.” ~Anonymous

In running a team, department, or business the day-to-day operations can exhaust all our time and energy. The marketplace is a demanding environment, the grind can leave a person empty and tired.   Often it is easier to stay busy in the work, and to ignore being intentional in your personal growth. Self-improvement is one of the few areas that is going to develop you into the type of leader needed...

10 tips for Growing Great Customer Service

“A brand is defined by the customer’s experience. The experience is delivered by the employees.”
~Shep Hyken
Listen – pay attention to what your customers are saying. Use surveys, feedback cards, and face to face conversations to see how you are doing.
Be aware – watch each team member in the act of serving a customer – where are the weaknesses and how can you build them up?
Define – what is and is not great customer service. New employees may not know how to handle situations or even that customer ...

From Completing Tasks to Leading a Team

3 Keys to Great Leadership

“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.”  —Jack Welch

We tend to promote those who are productive and get tasks completed. But are those the best skills to look for in promoting someone to run a crew, department, or organization?  Just because the person is great in sales and/or great at getting their individual projects completed does not mean they can lead others well. As a ...

Communication

Nonverbal communication is made up of all the things we add to the words – when we smile, wave, or look someone in the eye when talking to them. Most of the time we think of those things as supporting our words, the verbal message, but in fact, most agree it makes up around 93% of all our communication. Why? Because those gestures, facial expressions and eye contact heavily influence how people interpret and react to information. Saying words is just the beginning when communicating. This is an ...

Labor: Ways to Find Quality Employees

“Great vision without great people is irrelevant.” ~Jim Collins, Author of Good to Great

Today, finding quality employees could well be a full-time job. The challenge is that you already have a full-time job. The good news is that there are many outlets that make this less time consuming and more beneficial. Here are a few:

1. Post on your social media outlets. What started as a way to stay in touch with friends and family has now become a way to stay in business. Use it.

2. Ask your c...

That’s Not My Zone

“Yeah, but that’s not my zone, that’s their zone.” How do you overcome a wrong mindset that creates silos and excuses within your team? Most facilities and large properties need a simple and efficient way to manage their work flow. One simple way to accomplish this is to divide a large area into smaller areas of responsibility. In developing these smaller areas, aka zones, it allows for better attention to detail within the individual areas and prevents us spending all our time in one location a...

Want To Irritate Your Boss?

Most of us don’t try to irritate the boss, we see no real positive gain in such. If your boss has empowered you to make decisions and act on their behalf, then my assumption is you probably are capable and have the power to answer questions that come up. As a leader, you are looking for people whom you can develop and hand off more responsibility to. Leaders need their people to think through problems, respond and handle situations with sound judgement. A real leader can’t and should not be the ...