Susan Scott's Blog, page 69

Let’s Talk About Toxic Employees: Do You Know Any?

At ATD International Conference & Expo yesterday , Fierce Founder and CEO, Susan Scott, rocked the house in her session Toxic Employees: The Best Techniques for Managing Them. She discussed how we’ve all worked with toxic employees, and how perhaps, at one point we’ve even been one.There are key trends that create toxic employees in the workplace. They include when people:Are disengaged.Feel overworked.Feel stressed.Feel undervalued.Are given anonymous feedback. Which one do you see most in your organization? What do you notice about toxic employees?Take our Toxic Employee survey here . It explores how you and your employer feel about the attitudes of colleagues, positive and negative, and how these attitudes impact workplace relationships, culture, and the bottom line.We’re excited to hear your thoughts. If you attended the ATD session yesterday, what were your takeaways?

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Fierce Tip of the Week: Bust the Negative Attitude

It happens. Negativity can gradually, then suddenly, creep into your team, your office, even your home.Negativity is often underestimated on an everyday level, however, its impact can be quite large. In fact, a 2012 Fierce survey shared that 78% of the respondents cited a negative attitude as the key trait of a toxic employee. Negativity trumped gossiping, laziness, and passive-aggressiveness.Can you think of someone in your life that is consistently negative? Urban Dictionary defines a Negative Nancy as “someone who commonly whines, complains, or looks at the bad side of things.” A Negative Nancy or Negative Nick does not approach situations with solutions or ideas, but rather, examples of why the situations are so horrible.In short: We don’t need these people in our lives. Why do we put up with it?This week’s tip is to address a negative attitude with someone in your life before it gets worse. Get to the point, and don’t let it fester. We all deserve to travel a little lighter.Do you think negativity is the key trait of a toxic employee? Tell us in our current toxic employee survey that launched last week here.

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fierce resources: most company wellness programs are a bust

This week’s Fierce resource was originally published on Gallup.com and identifies time-off as a key contributor for increased productivity, enhanced engagement, and improved well-being. Most Company Wellness Programs Are a Bust found that by creating a culture that encourages general well-being, organizations gain a competitive edge. Managers need to shift their focus to seeing employee well-being as an end in itself, instead of a means to an end.Time-off is something we all talk about, but rarely use. What’s stopping you from taking your dream vacation?“Managers account for at least 70% of variance in employee engagement scores across business units. At your company, do your managers carve out time to take vacation, go to the gym or attend their children’s school events? If managers don’t do these sorts of things, employees will feel they can’t either.”Read the full article.

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Meet our May Fierceling of the Month: Katelyn Sorensen

Here at Fierce, we honor a person once a month with the coveted title of Fierceling of the Month. The qualification for a Fierceling is someone who has been nominated by peers for exceptionally exhibiting the fierce values and the 7 principles of our work. There are some great internal perks including choosing your favorite restaurant to cater a company-wide lunch. Each month I look forward to interviewing these amazing people.This month, I had the honor to connect with Katelyn Sorensen.When and why did you join Fierce? I officially joined Fierce two years ago this month. Unofficially though, it was a little bit earlier than that. My dad has been involved with Fierce for a long time and when I was looking for something to do over one summer in college he asked Stacey if she would be interested in an intern. He got my foot in the door, and then I fell in love with the mission and the culture and worked my ass off so that someday in the future they might let me back. Then, after working for a year in Australia, I moved back to Seattle and applied for a full time position – I must have not screwed up the internship too bad because they let me rejoin.What are some responsibilities for your role here? I am on the Lead Generation team, and our primary function is to do outreach to potential clients and then make introductions to our client development team. I am also taking on some data reporting and back-end metrics. I’ve been really enjoying the technology side of my role. We have a lot of freedom to explore here and create campaigns and develop our skills in different areas – that is something I really love.What’s the coolest thing you are currently working on? Right now I am helping to facilitate a huge change in the way that we interact with our CRM (customer relationship management software), and I am really excited about it. We are trying to streamline our processes and make sure that we are using our technologies in the best way possible – it can feel a little bit like re-inventing the wheel, AND the wheel is going to roll a lot faster when we are finished!What is your favorite thing about working at Fierce? I love the culture, I love the people, I love the innovation, and I love the mission. My generation wants to be part of organizations that they align with at a deep level, and Fierce is that for me. I feel incredibly lucky to have a job that I enjoy at a company that has a product that I feel good about sharing with people.What fierce principle are you working on this month? Master the courage to interrogate reality.When you’re not at Fierce, what are you most likely doing? You can usually find me at a Barre class, wandering around Ballard (a Seattle neighborhood), playing kickball, or trying a new restaurant. I try to be outside as much as possible – and it definitely depends on the fickle weather we have here in Seattle!What inspires you? I am surrounded by people that inspire me. My colleagues are amazing, my friends are incredible, and my family is the best support system I could imagine. And lucky for me, some of those people even overlap! I am inspired by growth, innovation, learning, and especially being a part of something that matters – both to me and to the world.What was your reaction when you found out that you were Fierceling of the Month? I was WILDLY excited to get to wear the sexy orange cape!! I was also very honored, it is an incredible feeling to be nominated for something like this by your peers, especially when they are people you hold highly and respect immensely.What else do you want to ask Katelyn? Tweet @fierce_inc #fiercelingofthemonth to ask any other questions.

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Fierce Tip of the Week: Take a Vacation

It is that time of year. Winter has melted away, and the sun is out. Start thinking about a break or a trip you want to take this year. Do you want to spend time in your own town? Sail in the Caribbean? Climb a mountain? Lay on a beach in Hawaii?The opportunities are endless.So I ask: Are you really going to take advantage of your paid time off? Many people don’t. A few months ago, I read a Forbes article that highlights that very fact. More than forty percent of American workers who received paid time off did not take all of their allotted time last year, despite the obvious personal benefits, according to “An Assessment of Paid Time Off in the U.S.” commissioned by the U.S. Travel Association, a trade group, and completed by Oxford Economics.Why do people not take the time? There is a laundry list of whys. Too much work to do. No one to delegate to. No money to dedicate to vacation. The list goes on and on…The thing is: Not taking time off seriously puts a dent in companies’ productivity and energy. And in turn, impacts their bottom lines.So what should companies do? Encourage managers to talk about vacations with their teams and take time off. In a Fierce survey we conducted, 83.4 percent of respondents have never discussed vacation policies with their employers. The conversation needs to happen.This week’s tip is to take the matter into your own hands and plan some time off for yourself. Focus on a time where you can really disconnect – this means not checking email and text messages related to work. Do something fun or adventurous or relaxing. You get to choose.I will be heading to Thailand in June. Where will you go this year?

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fierce resources: what’s the temperature of your relationships?

This week’s Fierce resource was originally published on TrainingIndustry.com and examines the impact our relationships have on our ability to meet our goals, both personally and professionally.What’s the Temperature of Your Relationships, redefines standard leadership roles, moving focus away from what was accomplished to who made it happen. Think of the last time you had a big win at work, did you take full credit? Or did you acknowledge your team? Often the biggest challenge for a new leader is to check their ego at the door and start connecting. As leaders, we should create a culture of open communication and recognition.Are you enriching your relationships at work? Are they authentic?“Everyone likes to hear that they’re doing a good job, but for some reason we often forget to say thank you. Find opportunities to acknowledge the day-to-day efforts of those around you. Remember, people engage more when they feel appreciated, so become really good at verbally communicating your thanks.”Read the full article.

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In the Name of Admiration: Three Tips to Share

Think about a person you admire in your life.How would you describe him or her? Is it someone who cares deeply about others? Someone who says the brave statements? Someone who acts so beautifully authentic? Someone who really listens?Have you told the person you feel the way you do? If you haven’t, channel some good advice: Sharing is caring, people.Here are three tips to share your admiration with someone:Be ready. Make sure it is a good time for you and the receiver to share your message. Do not rush it, and make sure you are not distracted. This is a time to honor someone else, so your phone and/or computer should not be in between the two of you.Be specific about what you admire. Let them know the impact they have had on your path or thought processes. The goal here is to be very detailed. Examples are a powerful way to have it hit home. Instead of saying, I admire the awesome work you do; say, I admire how you continually show up in meetings prepared and ready to listen.Do not have an alternative agenda. This conversation is about sharing your thoughts and appreciation. It should not be followed with any expectations or tasks for the person to do. This is critical in both the workplace and at home. So, there you go. Now the ball is in your court.Tell me who you admire and why.

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Fierce Tip of the Week: Recognize Someone

Recognition is not a fluffy thing. It goes way past getting the gold star or a bunch of smiley faces on a feedback form.In fact, a HealthStream Research study discovered a 3x greater return on equity for companies that effectively recognize excellence. Researcher Karen Endresen said, “This study took recognition results from the soft side of business to a proven business essential.” You can check out more here.We take recognition seriously at Fierce.In fact, we have a culture committee that focuses on how people want to be recognized. After surveys and conversations, the committee launched our program, Fierceling of the Month. The qualification for a Fierceling is someone who has exceptionally exhibited the fierce values and the 7 principles of our work. It comes with a sexy orange cape as well.This week’s tip is to recognize someone for how they show up or display your organization’s values. This can be formal or informal.Who do you think most deserves it?

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Fierce Resources: Be Yourself, but Carefully

This week’s Fierce resource was originally published on Harvard Business Review and explores how to maintain the right balance of “authenticity” in the workplace.Be Yourself, but Carefully takes a deeper look into what it means to be authentic in the modern workplace. Despite its potential benefits, even the best communicator’s off-hand comments and self-disclosures can backfire at times.Are you misunderstood by your team? How do you balance giving feedback with relationship building?“Authenticity begins with self-awareness: knowing who you are—your values, emotions, and competencies—and how you’re perceived by others. Only then can you know what to reveal and when. Good communication skills are also key to effective self-disclosure; your stories are worthwhile only if you can express them well.” Read the full article.

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3 tips for leaders to address a team performance issue

As a leader, ideally, you’ve built a relationship with each of your employees. You’ve swapped stories about your families, collaborated on successful work projects, and built the emotional capital necessary to have a successful team - most of the time.However, being a leader means that sometimes you are confronted with the challenge of how to best handle delicate situations, such as addressing the performance issues of your team.Even great teams at times, for one reason or another, don’t perform to the expected standard.You, as a leader, may have the urge to avoid the situation and hope it goes away. The reality, though, is there are problems and the longer they go on without being talked about - the worse they will get.Make sure to not call a team meeting if your issue is about one individual team member. Honor your team’s time by addressing issues that are relevant to the unit as a whole and save individual conversations for another time.Below are three tips to help your team to move past their performance issue and onward.Tip #1: Acknowledge the IssueLike flipping on a light switch in a dark room, gather your team together and acknowledge there is an issue. In the Fierce Team Model, we teach how to conduct a Beach Ball meeting. We call it a Beach Ball meeting, because we view each employee on a team as a stripe of color - like on a beach ball. Each stripe of color represents a different perspective.This type of meeting allows you, the leader, to create a setting where you come to the table with your team and address an issue collaboratively. This is a great way to tackle a subject like a team’s performance, because it removes the punitive feeling that is associated with this topic and encourages the team to come to a solution together.Tip #2: Get Curious and Open it Up for DialogueAfter you call out the issue, allow each employee’s perspectives to be heard. Your goal is to facilitate this conversation by listening and helping your team solve the current challenges.Don’t immediately dismiss an excuse, instead ask: Given our team’s goals, what can we do to achieve them? What will help us move forward?Tip #3: Create an Action PlanThe final step is to create an action plan. Ask the team: Knowing what the team knows now, what is everyone committing to do over the next week, month, and year? Get specific! Assign responsibilities and schedule a time for everyone to reconnect on progress.If one meeting isn’t enough to tackle the issue and you don’t have time to get to this critical step, schedule the next meeting right then. It’s also possible that some of your team members might have individual issues that don’t apply to the unit as a whole. Address their concerns by setting up a time to meet with them one-on-one and create specific next steps for them.Addressing an issue like performance can be a hard, yet necessary, component of leadership. In the end though, addressing an issue in an open and communicative matter strengthens the relationship with individuals as well as your team as whole.As a leader, how do you address performance issues?

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