Imagine you are in a jungle and happen upon someone who has fallen into quicksand. Sympathy is jumping in with them and agreeing this is bad. Empathy is acknowledging their situation is bad and then getting a vine to help pull them out of the predicament. Source: Rework, February 14, 2018. That's empathy - seeking to understand someone else's perspective and how their … [Read more...]
Create success when you disagree
Whether you are a frontline person, supervisor or middle manager, sometimes you get a decision handed down with which you do not agree. What you do at that point says a great deal about you and your ultimate success or failure. Source: Harvard Business Review, February 9 2018. To convince yourself of the decision, put yourself in the shoes of someone who believes deeply in … [Read more...]
The underdog strategy may make you a winner
Victimhood is a popular excuse these days for being unhappy. It doesn’t have to be this way. Certainly, there are people with greater advantages than you. This simply means you need to work smarter and harder to achieve your version of success and now there is a strategy that will enhance your chances of success. Source: Women@Forbes, February 6 2018. Have the courage to … [Read more...]
Learn to say, “No.”
If you say, “no,” to irrelevant things every day, you can spend more time on work that truly matters. Leaders must be willing to say, “no,” to time-wasting activities so they can say, “yes,” to valuable work. Here are some prime candidates for a “no” response. Source: Women@Forbes, January 30, 2018. With your own team, ask each of your direct reports to make at least two … [Read more...]
Why people quit
People are more likely to quit when they have a horrible boss. But in a recent study, most people who left a job said they were mostly okay with their manager. The decision to exit was because of the work. They left when their job wasn’t enjoyable, their strengths weren’t being used and they weren’t growing in their careers. Source: Harvard Business Review, January 11, … [Read more...]
5 tips to attract and retain associates
As the unemployment rate goes down, many employers find it hard to attract and retain engaged employees. What worked when unemployment was high is no longer effective. Additionally, this millennial workforce has different values than previous workforce generations. These tips about retention will go a long way to reduce turnover and its associated costs. Source: Forbes … [Read more...]
Close, but not closed
One of the more common questions I am asked when conducting sales development classes is, “What do I do when a customer commits but doesn’t follow through?” It usually spurs a lengthy discussion about the difference between close and closed. Source: Veterinary Advantage Magazine, December 2017. At commit, your customer, or the Decider, co-owns the outcome with you and that … [Read more...]
Perception is not always reality
I care about people and consider myself to be warm and friendly. At least that is what I thought. So, it came as a shock to discover that others often saw me as intimidating, cold and aloof. After recovering from the shock, I learned that what I perceived as leadership, others perceived as intimidation. What I thought was just being logical was perceived as being cold and … [Read more...]
Employee engagement more important than contentment
Employee satisfaction surveys are helpful tools in running a successful business. However sometimes the sense of contentment can be a sign of apathy and indifference rather than effectiveness. Engaged employees are essential. Measuring this engagement is well beyond the purview of satisfaction surveys. Source: Gallup News, April 12, 2017. Business or work units that score … [Read more...]
Lead humbly for best results
Effective leadership requires that you have an ego – just not a very big one. Too often leaders begin to believe their press clippings and develop an overblown sense of self. Effective leadership requires a well- developed sense of humility as demonstrated by New York Giants Quarterback Eli Manning during his one-game demotion as a starter. Source: Inc., November 30, … [Read more...]
Comfort and growth do not co-exist
Comfort can produce complacency. Complacency creates a false sense of security. A false sense of security creates vulnerability that leads to decline and eventually destruction. Effective leaders know this and create some discomfort in their organizations because it leads to growth. Source: Pulse, November 21, 2017. It may surprise you that your job as an open-door leader … [Read more...]
The need to please could be dishonest
Do you prefer to avoid confrontation? When someone asks you what you think, do you tell them what you think they want to hear or what you truly believe? Have you, or are you putting off having a difficult conversation with a staff member? Avoiding an honest conversation has a variety of personal and organizational downsides. Source: LinkedIn Pulse, October 30, 2017. The … [Read more...]
9 effective leadership reminders make leading easier
Leadership can be difficult, but I am always amazed by the number of people who make it harder than it needs to be by forgetting simple basics. Here are nine things to remember about leadership that will stop you from making it more difficult than it needs to be, and help you become a better leader. Source: Inc., October 2, 2017. As a leader, it is your job to put your … [Read more...]
Use the right measures of success
Real success is about who you are and how far you’ve come. If you worry that you’re not as successful as you should be, you may be evaluating yourself against the wrong criteria. Sometimes you just need a reminder as to what you’ve really accomplished. Source: Pulse, October 2, 2017. You’ve learned that the only people who never fail are those who don’t try. When you fail, … [Read more...]
Manage your manager
Whenever I write about management, I get the sense that sales reps, vet techs, receptionists and other employees check out. Yet, the effective management of your boss, by you, has a great impact on your job satisfaction and ultimately on your happiness. This article provides great tips to help you get started managing your manager or supervisor. Source: Harvard Business … [Read more...]
Incivility is killing us
Employee engagement is being touted as one of the great differentiators between companies that are great and the also-rans. Nothing has a greater impact on employee engagement than disrespect in the workplace. It impacts your performance at work, your quality of life outside work and even your health and longevity. Source: Quartz, September 15, 2017. Forty-seven percent of … [Read more...]
Poor Leadership is Expensive
There are countless examples of where the expense of poor leadership was millions, if not billions of dollars. Here are some of the real costs of poor leadership. Source: LinkedIn Pulse, September 13, 2017. When you have bad leadership, the best employees on the team will begin looking for a different environment. INSIGHTS: Those who had highly demanding jobs but no … [Read more...]
The answer to why
All kinds of things make us happy at work: hitting a goal, getting a promotion, landing a new client, completing a project; the list goes on. But happiness is temporary. The feeling doesn’t last. Nobody walks around energized by the memory of a goal hit 12 months ago. That intensity passes with time. Instead of looking for happiness at work, consider what is fulfilling about … [Read more...]
Evaluate and simplify leadership
Ask 100 experts to define leadership and you will get 100 answers. Ask them what constitutes effective leadership you will get 100 answers with 100 different nuances. There is no question that effective leadership is a complex subject with multiple facets. Sometimes, the simplest solution is the best. Here are three steps to evaluate your leadership effectiveness. Source: … [Read more...]
Everyone should see themselves as a leader (includes podcast)
Pat Malone often writes for AHD about leadership and communication. His assertions that you need not possess a title to lead are part of what is discussed in this podcast and article where Sue Ashford, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, breaks down her decades of research on leadership; who achieves it and how a group grants it. Source: … [Read more...]
Leaders ask the right questions
One skill that every effective leader has mastered is asking the right questions. Obviously, this is very helpful when you need information to make a well-informed decision. It is also helpful to check your assumptions when you think you have all the information before deciding. A simple acronym can insure you ask the right questions. Source: Evan Carmichael, September … [Read more...]
Enjoy work more by caring less
For work-obsessed Americans, the thought of caring less about our work is practically heretical. Yet, many of us are working more than ever, enjoying it less and finding less fulfillment from the work we do. So, it might be time for a radical change in our attitude. Source: Quartz, August 9, 2017. There are many ways to train yourself to care less about work. Sure, you … [Read more...]
Effective opening statements help make meetings matter
The number of producer meetings I have attended over the last two decades are innumerable. Unfortunately, most have been a waste of your time and a waste of your company’s money unless your sole objective was to create goodwill. If you have watched the mergers and acquisitions in our industry, you know that goodwill is the value of a business not related to assets or … [Read more...]
Beat the mid-summer slump
Unless you’re on vacation, dragging yourself into the office during the summer can sometimes feel like the last thing you want to do. It’s not just because the weather is perfect and you couldn’t imagine spending the entire day indoors. Sure, the office might be the last place you want to be because your colleagues are gone, and your productivity might feel like it hinges on … [Read more...]
Manage negative feedback
If you’re not getting negative feedback from time to time, you are not pushing your limits. Negative feedback is a fact of life and some negativity is especially personal and biting. So, being able to manage those situations in a respectful and effective manner is important to your overall success. Here is a classic illustration. Source: Inc., June 2017. I've written … [Read more...]
Coaching: Help other success
Since I was a good salesperson I would work with my reps and close more deals for them. After six months of running ragged closing deals without improving the total district sales, I realized that once again I had misinterpreted the trainer’s advice. For the first time in my life, I began to see the real value of coaching as a skill that helps others succeed. Source: Vet … [Read more...]
Gratitude improves response to electronic communication
The speed of today’s communication has been blamed for poor spelling, bad grammar, little to no punctuation and a variety of other communication breakdowns. The sheer volume of emails needing attention can be overwhelming. So, anything that helps get your emails noticed and better responded to is very helpful. Source: Power Social Media, June 2017. Emails that ended in … [Read more...]
Choose to thrive, not survive
I am consistently amused by the number articles focused on executive level leadership or women in leadership that have application throughout the ranks in an organization. This article is a good example. While written for executive women, it applies to both genders and across the entire spectrum of the organization. Source: Forbes, June 19, 2017. We have introduced … [Read more...]
Ruthlessly evaluate your performance
The most effective leaders I know have their own set of key performance indicators and ruthlessly evaluate their performance so that they don’t fall into the trap of believing their own press clippings. Sometimes it can be as simple as asking yourself the right questions and then being brutally honest with your answers. Source: Marta Wilson, June 7, 2017. Great leaders … [Read more...]
Help employees be accountable
Almost every day the news brings us another story of some personal indiscretion that is ultimately blamed on someone else. “The dog ate my homework,” and “she hit me first,” are two childish examples. Yet, we now have adults abdicating responsibility for their own misadventures. Unfortunately, this lack of accountability is becoming more prevalent in our workplaces. Managing it … [Read more...]