Leaders, give thanks to your staff

For most of us, this week is a short one due to the Thanksgiving holiday. While many are grateful for a break, it is also a bit of pressure to get everything completed before the holiday weekend.

As a leader, you are no doubt busy at all times, holiday season or not. But no matter the circumstances or amount of workload, you still need to take the time to give recognition to your staff.

Sure, it might seem somewhat trite to show thanks on a holiday that celebrates, well, giving thanks. However, sometimes all it takes is a holiday to remind us that we should show appreciation to those around us every once in a while.

Employee recognition can be as simple as saying ‘thank you’ to your employees, as it really is one of the most important two words you will communicate to them. But why stop there? You should let your staff know they are appreciated year-round.

It is important for you to find new methods for making work rewarding and meaningful to your direct reports. These initiatives don’t have to be expensive or time consuming.

Here are some other ways to show gratitude to your staff. No need to thank us.

Without a doubt, the one free reward that would make all employees happy is flexible work schedules. Now your company may require certain working hours, but you can always give a little latitude in work schedules, and encourage staffers to take time for family or personal issues (such as a doctor’s appointment or going to the bank). As long as the employee does not abuse their hours, this will go a long way in building trust and creating an engaged workforce.

Catch team members doing something right, and as soon as possible make sure you give them positive feedback for the action you appreciate. If you have decent handwriting, send an employee a handwritten card expressing your admiration for their hard work. But instead of giving it to them at the office, mail it to their home address. This will serve as a nice surprise, and shows you went the extra mile in demonstrating your appreciation.

Everyone enjoys food, especially free food, so make an effort to hold special recognition or celebration lunches to acknowledge team member accomplishments or successful completion of projects. Remember, it can be as simple as doughnuts in the morning, pizza for lunch, or a cake from a local bakery.

Keep in mind that people are motivated by different things, including: achievement, balance, autonomy, job security, power, and relationships. Know your employees well enough to understand what motivates them, and be willing to reward them accordingly. Remember that the rewards that motivate some team members could potentially demotivate others.

We hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!

Want to be a leader? Start acting like one.

Many employees aspire to one-day take on a leadership role. However, just because an employee wants to become a leader, it doesn’t mean that employee will automatically get promoted.



Sure, you’ve held your role at the company for quite some time and are itching to make a jump to a higher position. But before you try to make that jump, take a step back to evaluate if you are currently performing to the best of your ability. To be considered for a leadership role, you have to be extremely proficient in your current position.



Think about your problem solving skills in a team environment. Do you help your team resolve problems, or do you find yourself holding back? And if you do hold back, is it because you are afraid that if you help others, they might get ahead of you in the company?



Well, if you operate with that kind of attitude toward your team, you most likely will not become a leader.

Remember, leading others is primarily about the relationships with followers.



Aspiring leaders must demonstrate job-skill competency and establish positive relationships with other workers. In addition, they need to show they are a resourceful worker who adopts a ‘can do’ type of attitude, and works with the team toward a common goal.



Instead of viewing your co-workers as competition, focus on collaborating with your co-workers and pay attention to what they need. Learn to be open to their new ideas and promote the ideas if you feel it is worthwhile. When you lend a hand to solve problems and make valuable contributions to the team, these actions will actually help to identify you as a potential leader.



Here are some other ways to become more resourceful:



· Take a course, or attend a professional conference, to expand your technical skills. Make sure you learn and understand the basics of your trade and industry.



· Let yourself be known as an expert in certain areas and continually communicate your availability as a resource.



· Examine how you give advice when others come to you for help. Take care not to act “superior” because you know the answer.



· Identify the people in your organization who are notably creative and innovative. Spend time with them and observe how they approach problem solving by “turning problems upside down,” and “thinking out of the box.”



· Develop your communication skills to gain trust from those around you. Efficient leaders communicate well both in writing and verbally, along with demonstrating excellent listening skills.



As we mentioned earlier, if you want to be a leader, you better start acting like one.



What advice do you have for aspiring leaders and managers?

Are you an unapproachable boss?

One of the big perks of being the boss is having your own personal office. Your office gives you the power of privacy and you can shut the door at anytime to avoid interruptions.

Makes life nice, right? Well, maybe not. Just because you have a door to your office doesn’t mean you need to adopt a closed-door policy - both literally and figuratively.

Think about your relationship with your staffers. Have you ever notice them to get quiet or have looks of intimidation (or even fear) when you walk by?

You might be giving off a ‘do not disturb’ vibe without even realizing it. After all, this behavior is easy to see from the outside, but many people struggle to recognize this element in themselves. Most people realize they have flaws, but all of us like to believe we are approachable people, but that is just not always the case.

In fact, only about 12 percent of employees believe their employers genuinely listen to and care about them, according to the marketing research firm, Martiz Research.

When employees feel their manager is unapproachable it can soon result in other issues such as employee resentment and an unhealthy office culture. In addition, you might be seen as difficult to read and hard to trust.

Part of your duty as a manager is to identify areas where you need to improve. Even if you believe you are a friendly person to most, think about what it is that others could find unapproachable about you. Maybe you only spend time with those in your small circle at work, and others could find that group closed in a way they find unfriendly or excluding.

Or perhaps you are so focused on your own tasks that you don’t even notice other people around you. As long as they are getting their job done, you may feel you don’t have to interact with them much. But this thought process could result in negative employee relations.

You should strive to become a more approachable leader. Approachability is about being accessible and helpful, along with showing a genuine interest for your work colleagues.

Here are some tips to remember:

Make a point to talk with your peers one-on-one in an informal way. Get to know them as individuals, and you will likely find something besides work that you have in common. This will likely smooth out your working relationships.

Extend common courtesies to others; for example, greet people in the morning, say,’ hello’ in the halls, and say, ‘thank you’ when someone does something on your behalf.

Look for opportunities to ask the question, ‘How can I help you?’

Schedule or participate in more frequent one-on-one meetings. Use these opportunities to build relationships and let others get to know you and the skills you have to offer.

Make sure you are not manipulating people or creating a climate of mistrust around you. In particular, don’t use information unfairly to gain advantage.

Show interest in other people by asking questions about him or her, rather than talking exclusively about yourself or solely about work issues.

I know you like having that office to yourself, but try to have more of an open-door policy. You might be surprised on how that simple act can make a huge difference with your employees.

Leadership lessons, patriotic style

Fourth of July is just around the corner, which marks the day for many people to show off their patriotism through fireworks and BBQs.

To keep up with a patriotic theme, I sought out to write a blog article about leadership lessons from Thomas Jefferson since he is widely considered the original American patriot.

But that topic has already been covered by several books and blogs. So, I deleted that title and thought of another leader to focus on, but wasn’t satisfied about that either. I took a break from writing and signed on to the TBC twitter account to see what was going on in the leadership development world. While scrolling through tweets, I came across a familiar quote.

 Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.

 -JFK

Leadership quotes are extremely popular, as each can express a significant message. And maybe one key to being a good leader is to study the quotes said by great leaders of our past. After reading that JFK quote, I decided to focus this blog article on a few popular leadership quotes, and the lessons we can take from it.

A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader; a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves.

-Eleanor Roosevelt

As a leader or a manager, you want your direct reports to respect you and have confidence in your ability to manage. However, you also need to help ensure your direct reports see the potential in themselves. Empower others to contribute at higher levels through targeted development opportunities. Make it a point to hire people who can turn into leaders.

A leader leads by example, whether he intends to or not.

- John Quincy Adams

Leadership is the act of setting an example. When people see you working hard and meeting expectations, they are more likely to follow suit. If you have high energy and drive, your energy will inspire people and get them moving toward important goals. Also, keep mind that actions speak louder than words, and as the TBC President recently pointed out in his column, your every move as a leader is watched closely.

Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.

-Benjamin Franklin

Sure, you’ve earned your leadership spot, but you can’t quit learning and evolving. Shutting out the observations and perceptions of others limits your growth and development, and chances are pretty good that, over time, you will develop blind spots. Successful leaders are open to feedback – both positive and negative, and use it to improve their performance or change course when necessary.

Tell us, are there any leadership quotes that inspire you?

You’ve received the feedback. Now be open to it.

We talk a lot about feedback, and even call it a ‘gift’ for leaders. After all, feedback is a crucial development tool for leaders to use and improve their performance and interactions with others.



Feedback is essential for professional growth. But as a leader or manager, how open are you to receiving feedback?



Some may believe that if there is an issue, their coworkers will let them know so there is no need to start a feedback process in their company. But that is not always the case because it is human nature to withhold criticism. 



Let’s take for an example; you ate something at lunch that contained spinach and ended up getting it stuck in your teeth. You spend the rest of the day talking to people with the remnants of your lunch in your smile. Later in the day, you finally look in the mirror and are shocked to see you had a piece of spinach stuck in your teeth the entire time.

You think to yourself in embarrassment, “Why didn’t anyone tell me?” 



What does that have to do with feedback? Let’s say your subordinates view you as a micromanager who oversees every nitty-gritty detail of your team. You, on the other hand, believe you just stay on top of details, you have no idea you’re considered a micromanager. And why is that? Well, it really is extremely difficult to see in yourself what others see, and it is pretty unlikely that an employee will come into your office and let you know pointblank what people think of your management style.



This is when the 360 Feedback, which provides individuals with a well-rounded view of how others perceive an individual’s efforts, comes in handy. When the instrument guarantees confidentiality, it leads to more open and honest feedback. 



Listening to the perspectives of others is an important skill for those in management positions. It is especially important to listen to feedback from others about your own behavior, and to use it to change and improve your performance and interactions with others.



But if you are not open to the process, you will miss out some useful feedback that would improve your effectiveness. You have to acknowledge that there is always room to improve, and it is vital to begin listening to people’s suggestions and taking heed of them.



When you receive feedback, keep these development tips in mind:

• Ask for specifics when receiving feedback, either positive or negative. Keep listening until you understand what the person is trying to communicate to you.


• Use the three R’s to make sure you understand what a coworker is saying: Repeat, Restate, and Reflect.


• Ask for feedback that is performance related. Ask for specific suggestions for improvement.


• Don’t interrupt others when they are talking, even if you think you know what they are going to say.

Be open to feedback. If not, you will continue to walk around with spinach in your teeth, and who wants that?

Floating coffee grinds and … feedback

Feedback is a popular topic; however, sometimes an interesting way to illustrate a point is to provide a personal example. Let me explain how my recent experience with coffee grinds resulted in feedback.

I’m an avid coffee drinker. For a long time, I made coffee the standard way – measuring out coffee grinds and water. Last year, I became spoiled when I received a Keurig one-cup coffee maker for my birthday. I no longer have to worry about measuring coffee grinds; I put the K-cup in the dispenser and within seconds receive a fresh cup of coffee. No work or mess to clean up.

When I started at TBC, I noticed the company had a standard coffee maker – the type where you measure out the coffee grinds and water. I didn’t think it was a big deal to make coffee in the typical way again; after all that is how I used to make coffee. Still, when it was my turn to make the coffee, I could not remember the correct ratio of coffee grinds to water. The result? Extremely bitter coffee. But I learned from my mistake and became better at making coffee.

However, all was not what it seemed.

I made coffee the other day and I didn’t think twice about it, until the next day when a coworker asked who made the coffee the day before. While I was surprised someone would inquire about coffee from the past, I still anticipated a compliment of some sorts. So I smiled and said I made the coffee.

The coworker did not smile back, but instead asked, “Did you notice the coffee grinds floating around in your coffee cup?”

Hmm I did notice it, but I didn’t think it was a big deal. Some cups of coffee have a few floating coffee grinds, others don’t. I never really thought about it before.

He then playfully joked the coffee was more like eating coffee grinds than actually drinking coffee. To back up his point, he informed me when he cleaned out the coffee maker there were clumps of coffee grounds on the bottom.

My ratio of coffee grinds to water was a complete fail.

We eventually found out the reason for my coffee disaster. When I made the coffee, the coffee filter was not placed properly in the container, therefore not all the coffee grinds made it through the filter, and it was not brewed efficiently. The end result was floating coffee grinds in each cup of coffee. Yum.

I was a bit embarrassed but also grateful that my coworker told me about the issue. Without that feedback I might have made coffee the same way, which may have produced plenty of coffee grind snacks, not exactly the coffee experience we all would like.

Feedback is so important. Without feedback, we all operate with blind spots, which can get in the way of performance.

Now with the awareness I received from feedback, I know how to make a better cup of coffee.

Signs you are a bad boss

As I was searching for leadership development articles to share on our twitter handle, a Wall Street Journal article caught my attention – “Five Signs You’re a Bad Boss”.



The article states that many bosses are simply clueless about their own appearance and behavior to their employees. Here are a two of the five signs the article points out with a bit of our commentary mixed with it.



Most of your emails are one-word long: If you’re in the habit of answering emails with a simple “yes” or “no” – you could come off as unapproachable and possibly alienate your employees. You may definitely be in the doghouse if you only answer the emails with a “y” or “n”, because while you may view your “y” as yes, the recipient may view it as “why”. Talk about confusion.



Okay, we’re not asking you to compose a novel in your emails, just make sure your message is clear to the recipient. Also, remember that a simple “thanks” goes a long way.



Lack of face-to-face time: Technology is great. However, if the last time you talked to your employees in person was before Christmas, it might be time to talk with them face-to-face. After all, managers gain trust from their employees through face-to-face time.

So put the BlackBerry down and go talk to you employees – in person. Get to know your employees. Ask them about their backgrounds, experiences, education, and so on. Be willing to share this type of information about yourself.



Additional TBC Commentary

Here are the other three signs the article listed: yelling, your employees are out sick a lot, and your team is working overtime but still missing deadlines.



This article also caught the attention of TBC founder Dr. Daniel Booth. He had a few more poor management practices to add to the list.



#1. Failure to set compelling goals, keep them current and make sure employees are bought in and aligned. We all want our work to be personally meaningful and in this climate it is equally important that we know our work is important to our organization.



#2. Failure to collaborate with the team. Giving lip service to participative management doesn't cut it. Collaboration doesn't mean consensus on every decision. It's an attitude about employees' capabilities and motivations and an intention to harvest those ideas whenever possible and practical.



Conclusion

Here’s a tip - solicit feedback from your group members about how you can improve your own performance. 360 Feedbackcan enable managers to identify weaknesses that need to be improved as well as strengths that can be leveraged.

Listen carefully to the feedback - it may help you go from "bad boss" to "good boss".



If you want to see the complete WSJ article click here.



Sources: Daniel Booth, Ed.D., Founder, The Booth Company, WSJ

Help manage away bad habits

Talented, hard-working employees are the heart of any organization. But what do you do when stellar performers in the organization display destructive behavior patterns?

Now everyone has their own quirks, and we all learn to work productively in spite of them. However, there are some highly competent people who are held back by fatal personality flaws. The habits can result in consistent problematic behavior, according to the Harvard Business Review article, “Managing away bad habits”.

The authors of the article uses the term “bad habits” not to describe compulsions like nail biting or smoking. The term “bad habits” is shorthand way to describe deep-rooted psychological flaws. At best, people with these “bad habits” create their own glass ceiling, which limit their contributions to the company. At the very worst, these people sabotage their own careers.

If it the situation seems hopeless – it’s not. There are effective ways to help people recognize and correct the bad habits. Managers that help employees break through their own personal glass ceiling provide the ultimate win-win scenario for both the individual and the organization.

If you are a manager, here are six behavior patterns to look out for in employees:

The Hero
The hero always pushes himself or herself – and subordinates – too hard to do too much for too long.

The MeritocratBelieves the best ideas can and will be determined objectively and ignores the politics inherent in most situations.

The BulldozerRuns over others in a quest for power.

The Pessimist
Always worries about what could go wrong rather than considering how things could improve.

The Rebel
Automatically fights against authority and convention.

The Home Run HitterTries to do too much too soon – in other words, swings for the fences before learning to hit singles.

As a manager, what can you do?

· Learn how to empower others to contribute at higher levels by providing special assignments, constructive feedback, and targeted development opportunities.

· Make a list of the key strengths and limitations of your colleagues and each person on the team. Find ways to utilize the strengths and to build understanding.

· Ensure that your teams have defined their purpose, goals, and vision. To be a team, team members must share their goals, and their work needs to be interdependent.

If you want to read the entire article, you can purchase it on the TBC site.

It may take plenty of time and energy on your part, but when a member of the team reaches his or her potential, both the person and the organization will benefit.

Receiving feedback is a gift – it really is!

The holiday season is upon us, and the exchanging of gifts is one of the core aspects of the holiday. Gifts can be fun and all, but sometimes they are just plain bad and unnecessary. You could probably do without receiving a sweater with a picture of a poodle on it, or a giant hand back scratcher.

Still, there are certain gifts that can serve a long-term benefit. For leaders and managers, receiving feedback can be a gift that keeps on giving.

Yes, you read correctly – feedback is a gift. Before you start to groan and roll your eyes at this thought, hear me out. When done properly, feedback is a powerful professional development tool for leaders and managers.

After all, do you know there are actually two distinct perceptions of you? One is how you see yourself, and the second is how others see you. These views can influence your ability to lead, so it is crucial to find the blind spots between the two views.

For example, you may be great at holding people accountable but bad at setting clear expectations. Feedback gives you the information about your impact on others so that you don’t continue to operate with those pesky blind spots.

One way to gather feedback is through 360 Feedback. Unlike traditional reviews and feedback, 360 Feedbackevaluates job performance based on confidential responses from managers, peers, direct reports, and other stakeholders. Since the opinions are voices anonymously, it encourages a higher level of honesty.

Let’s go back to our “gift” example. Receiving feedback is something you can’t give yourself - self-perception can only go so far. However, if people receive feedback from different sources, they can develop the tools necessary to improve weakness and capitalize on strengths. A person who gives you feedback, whether it is positive or negative, is giving you a gift; so make sure you acknowledge that gift.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind after you receive feedback.

· Try not to take the feedback personally. Be open to what you see and hear.

· Take the time to evaluate the information and consider specific actions for improvement.

· Use feedback to clarify goals and track progress toward goals.

· When you make a decision, get in the habit of considering the impact it will have on the people affected by it.

As you can see, unlike an ugly sweater, feedback is one gift that retains its value.

The importance of anonymity in Watergate and 360 feedback

When I decided to write about the subject of anonymity, the first example that came to mind was the Watergate scandal. I can probably thank my journalism background for that – I think it’s a requirement to watch All the President’s Men before you can officially become a reporter. Okay, I’m kidding. Well…kind of.

Anyway, the newspaper coverage by the Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward fueled the focus on the Watergate event and the investigation. However, the duo would have not been able to uncover nearly the amount of information they did without Woodward’s anonymous source – Deep Throat.

Woodward promised Deep Throat that he would not reveal the man’s position with the government, nor would he ever quote him in his articles. With the promise of anonymity, Deep Throat told the reporters inside information that made headlines across the world.

It was important to keep Deep Throat anonymous for that situation. When it comes to 360 Feedback, anonymity is also a vital component.

The purpose of 360 degree feedback is to provide an accurate and well-rounded view of how others perceive the participant’s efforts. The feedback comes from raters that can include the person’s managers, peers, direct reports, etc. Without obtaining feedback from all sides, people may continue to work with blind spots in the workplace.

For some raters there may be an intimation factor associated with giving feedback. This could stem from a fear of conflict or the chance that what they say could impact their own job. In those cases, the rater may give bland middle of the road ratings, which will not benefit the participant or the rater.

Rater anonymity is key to the success of a 360 Feedbackprogram because it will lead to more honest and open feedback from raters. The knowledge that their identity is confidential allows the raters to focus on each question individually and think about specific work-related examples to justify ratings. When selecting a vendor, look for an instrument that guarantees the answers will remain confidential.

So anonymity is important – whether it’s for a key source that helps uncover a political scandal, or for raters with 360 degree feedback surveys.

Throwing stones

By Caroline Fox

A recent conversation got me thinking about how some people’s feedback process is like being stoned. Stoned you may ask? As in having rocks thrown at you? As in the way they used to kill people?

Yes, that is what I mean.

There are lots of references to stoning throughout history. It is a practice that has been mentioned in religious texts and historical documents, and is still practiced today in some countries. When someone is stoned, people surround them and throw rocks at the victim repeatedly until they either 1.) are too hurt to continue moving, or 2.) die from their injuries.

By now, you probably have an image of men and women dressed in suits chucking rocks at some poor, unsuspecting individual cowering in the corner. Please refrain from using this technique as your next form of office feedback. We don’t want anyone to be injured, hurt, bruised, or worse.

So where does this analogy come into play?

Sometimes, when upper-level managers or peers give feedback, they are giving the equivalent of a mental stoning. Instead of being tactful, constructive, and guiding in their comments, they are instead rude, harsh, brash, and destructive. Rather than acting as a mentor or coach, they act as human attack dogs.

These comments, while destructive when said to an individual’s face, can be even more harmful when said behind the person’s back. For example, “Ben” says, “Greg is so clumsy and slow, he doesn’t understand anything I say, and he never makes any sense when he talks,” to a few coworkers. The office rumor mill begins to run, and before long Greg is either drunk at work, on a controlled substance, or has a developmental issue. Upper level management hears these rumors, and Greg’s reputation is ruined by the rumors that are untrue.

What Greg needed was someone to help him work on his communication skills and his listening skills. He needed someone to coach him about how to ask the right questions and give the right answers. Maybe his clumsiness was a trait that cannot be fixed by executive coaching, or maybe it was just the result of nervousness (which can be fixed). His behaviors, which were observed by “Ben,” could have been coached and changed if there had been some sort of positive feedback system in place. Instead, Greg never earns the respect of his coworkers, becomes apathetic, and performs at sub-par levels. His drive and motivation “dies” because of the wounds inflicted by the sharp tongues of his gossiping coworkers.

This is an extreme situation, but it is not all that far-fetched. How many people do you know that talk about coworkers behind their backs? How many people have hurt feelings after group meetings when their ideas are discredited, made fun of, or dismissed without thought?

Next time you are in a position where you feel like gossiping to coworkers, remember a famous quote that might change your mind about harmful “stone throwing” gossip:

“Let he among you who has not sinned cast the first stone.”

Remember your faults before ripping apart someone else’s.

It’s something to think about.

Article Summary and Reflection: “Ouch, that’s some earsplitting feedback”

Everyone has their own feelings on feedback. Some people look at feedback as a gut-wrenching and nerve-wracking experience, while others embrace it as an opportunity to improve. Whether you love it or hate it, most people do agree that it is necessary. Suzanne Rumsey, former HR professional-turned-consultant, offers some interesting thoughts and tips on feedback in her post on the Fistful of Talent blog. Here’s a summary of her major points, intermixed with some of the feedback from readers:

• Most of your workforce sees feedback as negative—if it were positive, it would be called “praise.” People don’t always like giving it; people don’t always like receiving it. The only way people get through giving/getting feedback is by saying that it “for their own good.” But in reality, “impact trumps intent – always. If the recipient negatively experiences the feedback, they aren’t going to care a wit about the giver’s intentions.” So make sure your impact is a positive one.

• Stick to observations and describe what you saw, heard, or read. For example, you could point out that you saw how Joe made a face at Jane when she proposed an office-wide recycling competition. Being specific and describing what you saw gives realistic feedback in a concrete example that can be changed.

• Avoid negatively charged words when describing your co-workers’/bosses’/etc. actions. Words like “ignorant,” “arrogant,” or “lazy” set off emotional responses and can create a defensive response. This means that 1.) The receiver will shut down and will not absorb your feedback, or 2.) The receiver will not know how to correct the behavior (given as an adjective) and will be unwilling to put themselves in a similar situation again. So stick with words that aren’t loaded. Or, just leave out adjectives all together: stick with just the facts, a.k.a. your observations (see above).

• Avoid euphemisms: This has to be my favorite tip. Don’t use abstract language when describing their performance (Rumsey uses the example “Sold beyond the close”—what does this mean to someone who has no sales experience?). Instead, use concrete language that provides specific behaviors that can be corrected or changed.

• One reader suggested the “3W” method:
  What: What we’re talking about—a concrete example
  Why: Why this is important
  Wait: Be quiet and listen to what they have to say. Wait as long as you need to, even if it is uncomfortable to you. They are already uncomfortable; it’s the least you can do.
  

Overall, Rumsey and those who commented recommend one underlying theme: concrete examples. The best way to give feedback is to provide specific examples of behavior, minus the flowery language, that can be changed. So the next time you give feedback, hang up your Shakespeare hat; instead, get straight to the point.