Figuring out how to be a great boss can be difficult especially when you’re managing so many different people.
This is what people have said in my workshops on employee engagement. when asked: “What makes a great boss” – someone who can lead and motivate you?
Seven Principles of Good Supervision
1. Tell me my role and your expectations. This is not micro-managing. It’s called clear direction. It gives people focus and accountability 2. Give me some autonomy. Give them something interesting to work on and rust them with this opportunity. That doesn’t mean you give a brand new person the most difficult account; Rather something that will stretch her and not cause major problems. 3. Discipline those who are out of line. I often hear this: “I wish my boss would tell James that this is just unacceptable.” Letting a “star” employee do whatever he wants really hurts the morale of the team. 4. Recognize and praise what I do. Everyone wants to be recognized when they’ve done something right. You can motivate employees by highlighting their strengths and not harping on their weaknesses. 5. Don’t lose your temper. It’s generally not productive and it’s not good leadership. It sets up “kill the messenger” syndrome which means your people will be afraid to tell you critical information. 6. Don’t hide or delay feedback. Give employees clear and constructive feedback on areas they need to improve or when they go off track. Don’t wait until you are about to fire them. It’s not right and it may not be legal. 7. Set me up to succeed. Indecisive leaders or those who keep changing direction just frustrate everybody and make people feel defeated. Get me excited. Tell me where we’re going and we’re going to get there and that I have your support.
Management Success Tip:
It’s very easy to get swamped with our daily activities and forget to execute the basic fundamentals of leading others. This is a bad habit and will result in more work and a less productive team. It’s worth reviewing these seven principles weekly to be a great boss.
How skilled are you at communicating messages to others? Effective communication is one of the keys to success. Here are some tips that you will find useful to communicate messages more effectively.
1. Notice your impact when speaking/delivering the message – what is going on with the other person? Watch for their nonverbal cues of disinterest or lack of understanding so you can adjust your delivery.
2. Who do you know that is an effective communicator? Study their approach and learn from them.
3. Seek feedback on your communication abilities from a friend or trusted peer.
4. Use vocal variety, such as volume, pitch and pace to emphasize your major point. It is easier for your listener to understand when your voice varies.
5. Avoid rambling – outline in your mind (or on paper) what you are going to say before you speak. Be succinct and concise.
6. Ask the listener to summarize what you said. Explain that this will help you to know if you communicated clearly.
7. Listen to the other person’s thoughts – reasonable people don’t need to get their way, they just need to be heard.
8. Set a limit on the number of times you voice your position when delivering a message.
9. Watch your nonverbals – are you using appropriate gestures and body language?
10. When disagreeing with someone, summarize what you think their position is before responding with your point of view. Avoid jumping in to respond without making sure you understand their message.
Pam Solberg-Tapper MHSA, PCC – I spark entrepreneurial business leaders to set strategy, take action, and get results. How can I help you? Contact me at CoachPam@cpinternet.com ~ Linkedin ~ 218-340-3330
This morning my inbox contained a special invitation that I want to pass on to women reading this blog.
The Berkana Institute invites you on a Walk Out Walk On Women’s Learning Journey to South Africa, November 1 – 12, 2011, to explore the role that women are playing in recreating community, government, and themselves.
I took this journey, with Meg Wheatley and 24 other phenomenal women from around the world, in 2006 – meeting women leaders who are changing the lives of others and their communities in the midst of what most would call poverty and without power, resources, or authority. It was transformational for me.
Women are playing the pivotal role in creating change. And in community after community, women as informal leaders have stepped forward to solve local problems without waiting for formal authority or resources. They have walked out of limiting beliefs about themselves and their communities and walked on to create sustainable solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems. Women of all ages have used their ingenuity and caring to figure out how to work with what they have to create what they need.
Sahra Luyt (far right in the picture) lives on the water near Cape Town. As a child she was taught to fish by her father and she brought this skill to the women of her township, creating the South African Fisherwomen’s Association (SAFWA) in 2000. Sahra’s leadership began when she got a captain’s license and began to fish the waters off the coast commercially (the boat in the picture is used by the fisherwomen to fish up to 5-miles out to sea). She trained other women to fish and captain and now 150 women are self-employed as commercial fisherwomen. As women became able to support their families, the word spread and 500 members now offer a soup kitchen and other benefits to the community.
Worldwide women reinvest 70% of their earnings back into the community and the Fisherwomen are no exception. In addition to increasing education and healthcare in their township the Fisherwomen operate as a whole, each part contributing in different ways. They explained that they do this to protect their income, as individuals are not guaranteed a fishing license from year to year. When we visited, the total group income was divided among all the members regardless of how it was generated and provided financial stability for each member’s household.
More remarkable than their egalitarian community is their willingness to take on their government over rights that they feel are fundamental to their survival. As more Fisherwomen earned their captain’s credentials, they applied for more fishing licenses and got them. That is until the government determined that these licensing should go to men rather than women and began to discriminate against the group. Twice they sued the government for discrimination and twice they won.
Today the Fisherwomen face new challenges to their livelihood and rights as business women. Due to climate related change in water temperature, government regulated fishing quotas and seasons hamper their ability to catch good quality fish. The Fisherwomen are engaging the government again in order to integrate self-employed fisherwomen into the system and provide social support such as a pension fund, maternity benefits, and unemployment insurance.
Bringing it Home
Let me offer all readers of this blog, women in particular, the following simple yet powerful lesson from Meg during our learning journey: Follow YES!
To me this means:
Follow the possible. Take the resources that show up rather than wait for something different or more “perfect” to show up. What can you do as a leader with what you have?
Follow connections. Who do you know who can assist you, teach you, support you, or move your efforts forward. I call this “kicking the stone down the road.” With each connection you advance even if you can’t immediately see how it will take you to your goal.
Follow the law of two feet. This comes from Harrison Owen, the originator of Open Space Technology. When you find yourself in a situation where you are neither learning nor contributing use your two feet to take you somewhere that you can.
I recommend this trip as a means of developing women’s leadership here in the United States. America’s women leaders are faced with: changing their businesses as owners, their roles as employees, and their communities as members, our children as mothers, our future as educators, and our society as government agents.
To learn more or to sign up, please contact Lauren Parks at lauren@berkana.org or call (617) 422-6231.
What’s the first impression new hires have your company? Does it turn them on or turn them off?
The good news is that a new hire orientation program offers an opportunity to build a positive, engaging impression of the new company. The bad news is that that is going to happen whether you plan it or not. So why not get new hires off to a great start?
6 ways to get new hires to quickly feel part of the team.
1. Welcome new hires. How come when an employee leaves, there’s a party, but when she arrives, there is nothing to mark the occasion? Perhaps, a hat or shirt, to make her feel part of the team. Or a big bowl of candy on her desk so that people can come by to say hello and grab some
2. Give each new hire a buddy. Don’t make them feel like strangers. Ask someone, who will be working with the new hire, to show him around and teach him the ropes.
3. Get new hires up to speed fast. Many encounter delays and frustrations in getting the tools and training they need to be productive. Make sure they have their passwords, telephone numbers, emails, computer, etc. from day one.
4. Let the new hire feel special. Realize there is no substitute from a welcoming from the very top. If the CEO can’t spend a few minutes in person with new employees, they should at least send a welcome email or voice mail.
5. Create a video about the company. Tell about the history, the products or services, the customers or clients, and the employees who make it happen. This personalizes the company and helps new hires quickly become part of the team.
6. Go beyond the first day. Don’t cram the new employee orientation into only a few short hours. It should be spread out over their first 60-90 days. It is important for the new hires to be able to absorb the information and not feel overwhelmed.
Management Success Tip:
New hire orientation does not have to be dull or boring or a waste of time. Put on your thinking cap and come up with creative ways to get your new hires off to a great start and make them feel part of the company and part of the team.
In Skills for Leading the Fall (May 11, 2011) I wrote about a learning cycle for leaders that has three components:
Self-Awareness: Understanding the forces acting around you and within you, observing your behavior and using this to course correct.
Self-Discipline: The discipline to be “who” you need to be at the moment to deliver the results you seek.
Self-Direction: Taking the action where it needs to go – operating as both an observer of the larger system, being on the Balcony, and a leader on the Playing Field.
Today I am going to link this to the actions of leading, which I categorize along three dimensions: Doing, Thinking, and Relating.
One leader, who we will call Sam, experienced his leadership as Doing when I first met him: achieving results, making tough decisions, and having authority over others. His leadership style was Pacesetting: focused on his personal achievements, operating from an “expert” stance, and defining success by results only. During this period Sam’s leadership was based on his technical know-how and his ability to personally get things done. This worked well until he became a team leader.
As a team leader Sam’s Pacesetting style was derailing him…fast. With coaching Sam began to experience his success as occurring through the success of others. The Relating dimension of leadership activities emerged and Sam began to see himself as a coach instead of an expert. He shifted his attention to developing others using relationship to create collaboration, effectiveness, and trust. Not only did Sam’s team benefit emotionally, their results improved as their relationships with each other improved. Sam began to show up on the corporate talent radar and within the year he was promoted, specifically for his ability to bring forth a high-functioning team.
Now, when Sam spoke of himself, it was as a results oriented leader of people. This allowed Sam’s Doing to shift from tactical to strategic, which was of particular interest to him. As his team broadened their perspective and used their diversity to accomplish stretch goals they became acknowledged as high-performers. Again Sam was promoted, becoming the leader of a product with a globally dispersed brand team but no direct reports.
In this new role, Sam recognized quickly that too much Doing with too little Relating was threatening his new team’s performance and motivation. Initially frustrated with his lack of power and authority, Sam focused on the Thinking dimension. He began his tenure by meeting and listening to the majority of team members. Then, taking all this as food for thought, he designed a two-day meeting that brought the whole group (around 80 people) together in conversation rather than presentation. It was a stretch for the group and Sam had to tailor the meeting in real time to ensure the mix of Doing-Relating-Thinking was working.
Over the year he spent much of his time thinking and reflecting before acting (Doing and Relating). In this way Sam added multiple new perspectives and actions to his leadership playbook. For example, there were times when he took the perspective of general manager, CFO, and even CEO. At other times he led from the perspective of one of the line functions or external stakeholders. The outcome? You guessed it, Sam was promoted to a position that required him to intentionally weave together all three dimensions.
Lessons for Leaders
Using Self-Awareness Sam intentionally chose which leadership activities to focus and act on in the moment – Doing, Relating, or Thinking.
Using Self-Discipline he continuously integrated the three dimensions so that his leadership balanced organizational functioning (Relating), performance (Doing), and innovation (Thinking).
Using Self-Direction Sam developed himself while guiding the direction of those he was leading.
Now that you’ve met Sam reflect on two questions:
How do you define the Doing, Thinking, and Relating activities of leadership?
How do your actions as a leader depend on your definition of these?
If you have a bad apple on your team, is it better to try and salvage the person or just get rid of that person?
Clearly, if the person can do the job and just isn’t goofing off, you want to put some energy into coaching that individual to improve his or her performance. Others think it’s their job, as supervisor, to try to “save” everyone – hoping that they will become better performers. But is that wise?
Not according to a successful CEO of a health care company. “The top commodity a manager has is his or her time. And if you waste too much of it on a lost cause, you’re turning yourself into overhead – costing the company money rather than a profit center – contributing to the profitability of the organization.”
How Do You Spend Your Time?
He suggests dividing your employees into three categories and then look at where you spend the majority of your time and resources. Is it with the:
Eagles: Top performers who fly and soar?
Robins: Those who come to work and get the job done, but who don’t rise to the top?
Turkeys: They need to get better – or else?
Management Success Tip:
Nine out of 10 managers will say the lion’s share goes to the turkeys – and that’s not good! The better approach is to spend most of your time encouraging the eagles to keep soaring and developing the robins to become eagles. If you have a turkey on your team, then quickly decide whether it’s worth your time to salvage that person. Remember, your time is your most valuable resource. Don’t squander it. Manage it well!
Over the last 20 years numerous business and management authors have identified awareness as a key success factor for leaders. One way to broaden your awareness uses a 4Quadrant approach to frame your perspective, thinking, behavior, decisions, and actions. Unlike the BCG 2×2 matrix, these four quadrants metaphorically capture the four topographies of an organization: ME, WE, CULTURE, COMMUNITY.
ME
In this quadrant everything is personal and subjective. ME is the place from which we all act, perceiving the moment, interpreting it, turning it into the Ladder of Inference that produces our behaviors. Leadership awareness begins with you, in the form of mindfulness, presence, and getting on the balcony to observe your actions and interactions. ME is also the quadrant where you become aware of others as individuals – seeing them in the moment and not disguised by past behaviors, accomplishments, or titles.
Self-awareness creates emotional clarity and understanding of the root cause of our actions, decisions, and behaviors – the story behind the story of our most common behaviors. Few of us are completely “present” to our emotions and feelings, so starting with ME grounds us and places us in the situation at this moment (space and time), preparing us to consider the other three quadrants before we act. With Self-Awareness we can also develop our Self-Discipline and Self-Direction.
WE
Awareness of the team or group dynamic is the second quadrant and this is often the focus of leadership development. Leading from WE builds organizational capacity, connecting people by creating cohesion between groups and leveraging the strengths and interpersonal relationships within the group. In this quadrant, leaders actively and intentionally generate individual and organizational learning.
The foundation of this quadrant is conversation. Awareness in the WE Quadrant begins with identifying what kind of conversation you are having. Is it a discussion, focused on accountability, tasks, and right action? Is it a dialectic, identifying the creative tension of thesis and anti-thesis and forging the way to synthesis? Is it dialog, inquiry that builds on reflection and takes into account imagination and mystery? From conversation, leaders shape internal and external cooperation and collaboration to become competitive advantage.
CULTURE
Culture is a leader’s silent partner and either a powerful ally or covert opponent. When you leave the room culture remains to direct the actions and behaviors of others. Culture is the context in which you lead your organization, the fabric of every work day. It defines organizational values and beliefs, meaning and sense-making, and sets the boundaries of Us/Them, In/Out, Authority/Force. Culture holds the organizational narrative, the stories we tell about ourselves. In this way it creates “the context in which the truth may be perceived as the truth1.” When you admonish a key contributor to: “Go ahead, take a risk. Stretch until you get your hand slapped.” culture determines if they believe you.
By becoming aware of this quadrant you are able to sculpt culture as you go through your day. What should be amplified or reinforced in this situation? What should be dampened? Is this behavior enabling or restricting? The CULTURE Quadrant is where leaders of leaders have their greatest impact. Here is where you develop the leadership of others and create organizational identity.
COMMUNITY
Awareness in this quadrant operates on the enterprise level, the interface between the company and society (local, regional, or global). The first step in understanding this quadrant is to define the system of which you are a part. We commonly see the organizational system as composed of its internal parts and external partners, but companies are also parts of a larger whole. How are your actions impacting the whole? How does your enterprise contribute to the functioning of the greater good?
Being aware in the COMMUNITY Quadrant is less about politics and power and more about purpose and interdependence. In this quadrant leaders expand their networks, tap into internal and external Communities of Practice, and take advantage of weak links to grow their organization from the outside in. Are we aligned to purpose, ours and a higher systemic purpose (for example: sustainable markets, balanced growth and resource management, health and well-being on a societal or global level)? At this level leaders are confronted with the dilemmas of doing business in an increasingly interdependent world, one where subprime lending practices can stop ships from sailing and US employment is driven by a European financial crisis and an earthquake half way around the world.
It takes seconds at act habitually, but we may have to live with the results for months or years. Take a breath…consider the 4Quadrants, and then act.
1 – Harrison Owen, The Power of Spirit, How Organizations Transform. Pp. 162
One of my coaching clients received feedback that she needed to work on her tone and how she delivered messages. Since these skills are essential leadership skills, she needed new ways to speak more effectively to others. Her first step was to become aware of the specific behaviors that were preventing her from communicating successfully.
Here is a “yes/no” quiz that she found helpful to create self awareness when communicating messages:
1. Are you aware of your impact on others when you deliver messages?
2. Are you aware of the tone of your voice and your nonverbals?
3. Do you frequently interrupt to interject your opinions?
4. Do you go “on and on” to get to your point across?
5. Do you show impatience as you wait for the other person to finish speaking?
6. Do you spend more time talking than listening?
7. Do you restate your opinions/point of view often?
8. Do you check in with others to ensure they understood you accurately?
9. If someone disagrees with you, are you closed minded to their point of view or do you tell them they are wrong?
10. Do you finish other people’s sentences?
Stay tuned for my next Blog “10 Tips to Communicate Messages Effectively”
Pam Solberg-Tapper MHSA, PCC – I spark entrepreneurial business leaders to set strategy, take action, and get results. How can I help you? Contact me at CoachPam@cpinternet.com ~ Linkedin ~ 218-340-3330
It’s the small things everyday that can bring down employee morale and it’s the small things everyday that can raise it as well.
When money is tight and raises are non existent or when the heavy work load seems never-ending, managers tend to forget the “basics” of management- that the supervisor’s recognition and appreciation are the key drivers for employee motivation and morale.
Morale Boosters
Here are seven quick, inexpensive things managers can do that will keep workers motivated during tough times.
1. Say thank you. Show appreciation for good work by baking a batch of cookies for the team or surprising them with pizza,, or sending them flowers, chocolate or a bunch of balloons. It shows your people that you care and appreciate them.
2. Have informal coffee talks. Pull an entire work team together to openly talk about what’s going on in the world and how it affects business. Encourage employee questions. This decreases negative rumors and also gets employees focused on work rather than on griping.
3. Surprise with spontaneous treats. Rent an ice cream cart or a popcorn machine. Take coffee and donuts to each person’s work station. How about a package of Lifesavers™ during a stressful time?
4. Offer stress relief activities. Hire a local massage school to offer free 10-minute chair massages once a week. A distinctive and fun way for a company to convey that it recognizes the rough times and it cares about their staff’s well-being.
5. Support community involvement. Provide company time for teams of employees to serve dinner at a local shelter, help build houses, adopt a family for a holiday, or collect money for a common charity. It not only serves as a motivator in that people feel they are doing something with a purpose but also creates a positive public image.
6. Make people feel valuable. Talk with key employees about the types of projects, training, or experiences they would like to have. Times may be tough for people to get jobs, but your best people are also the most marketable. One of the main reasons people leave or are unmotivated is because they don’t feel valued by their manager or company.
7. Free car washes. Express exterior car washes cost around $5 per wash. That means for $100, you can give 20 employees a shiny car every month. Or have a fund raiser for a community organization on your parking lot. They bring the people and the supplies and you pay them $5 for each car washed. This tells the employee you appreciate them and tell the community you care.
Management Success Tips:
Sometimes, simple works best. These seven morale boosters are a great way to create positive energy, develop pride and keep workers motivated during tough times.
Many are promoted into management positions because they do their present job well, perhaps better than others on the team.
Unfortunately, many new managers are just thrown in without training and then left to sink or swim. Some make it; some don’t.
Avoid these four mistakes that many new supervisors make. Included are comments from supervisors who are or have been in your shoes.
1. Not hiring the right people from the start.
“Hiring people who are too similar to me has been a mistake.”
“I didn’t pick up in the interview that they were exaggerating their experience and I got burned.”
“I encouraged a group manager to hire an internal candidate when an external candidate was better qualified.”
2. Letting poor performance go unchecked.
“I kept someone on who should have been let go.”
“I didn’t recognize that someone was in way over her head.”
“Keeping a person in a position where he failed was my biggest mistake.”
3. Not realizing the importance of employee recognition.
“I didn’t give credit when it was due to individuals who made major contributions.”
“I failed to acknowledge someone who needed to be rewarded. I have regretted that for years.”
“I didn’t give enough praise to someone who turned out to be one of my best employees and she left.”
4. Not pay attention to what’s going on with staff.
“I didn’t pick up on signals from disgruntled employees.”
“I regret not seeing the signs that someone was going to leave.”
“I failed to clearly understand an employee’s situation and ended up losing him.”
Management Success Tip:
Many new managers fail to reach out for help thinking they have to be all-knowing. Soon they find themselves dealing with one crisis after another. This can lead to a failed project or, even worse, the loss of their job. So, don’t be the Lone Ranger. Quickly acknowledge what you don’t know or are uncertain about. Then find those around you who have the experience or knowledge to guide you. This accomplishes two things: It recognizes them for their expertise and gets them committed to your success.
Readers, what success tips do you have for new supervisors or managers?
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