The Importance of Humility

Be confident, but have an attitude of humility. The key is to maintain the proper balance between the two.

In my corporate HR career, I had the privilege of being a client of Ken Blanchard Consulting. Ken is a renowned management guru and a best-selling author of many books, including “The One Minute Manager”. One of the words of wisdom I learned from this experience is “None of us is as smart as all of us”.

On the subject of humility, noted author Jim Collins included the following poignant story in his best-selling book “Good to Great”:

A leader’s mezzanine office contained both a nice size window overlooking the factory floor and a large mirror. Whenever a guest would praise the leader for a business accomplishment, he would direct the admirer’s attention to the window stating, “I can’t take the credit; see all those great people down there; they’re the ones who made this happen.” On the other hand, whenever things weren’t going so well, he would look in the mirror.

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Blanchard’s and Collins’ words provide us with a healthy dose of reality when we get too puffed up and start to think more highly of ourselves than we should.

 

Posted in Strategy, Management & Leadership

IMPROVING ACCOUNTABILITY

In a typical meeting, people share several ideas, goals and plans, but we’re all too familiar with what often happens next: nothing.

  • Days, even weeks go by, and no one brings their concepts to life.
  • Virtually no progress is made toward achieving the meeting’s goals.

When you follow up to ask everyone for an update, you often start to hear an array of responses that noticeably fit into one or more of the following excuses:

  1. Denial
  2. Blame
  3. Excuses

There are several ways to improve the accountability of your organization, and one of the quickest and easiest comes in the form of a simple two-part question that you should ask at the end of every meeting: “What are you personally going to achieve and by when?”

If you adhere to the following 6 steps carefully, more often than not you will bypass excuses for failing to take accountability (denial, blame, excuses) and employees will be left with only one choice: complete accountability.

  1. Ask the question atHere are some key reasons as to why a couple-married online cialis opacc.cv or unmarried fights over. the end of every meeting to summarize the actions required to move forward.
  2. Make sure every attendee in the meeting answers the question in front of the group.
  3. Make sure a specific date is given to the “by when?” part of your question.
    o “Next week” and “next month” are unacceptable because they are not specific enough.
  4. As each person answers their question, make note of their goals and deadlines
    o Draw a three column grid on a white board
    o Along the vertical axis, write everyone’s names. Along the horizontal axis, write “Goals” and “Deadlines.”
    o As people answer their questions, add their answers to the grid while everyone watches.)
  5. End the meeting by stating you will be emailing the summary of what everyone has agreed to.
  6. After the meeting ends, send an email (or assign someone to do so on your behalf) to the group with a summary of everyone’s goals and deadlines.

 

Posted in Organizational & People Development

How to Criticize With Tact and Diplomacy

As leaders we may choose not to use the word “criticize” and instead to substitute the word “coach” or “feedback”. However, regardless of semantics, a role that leaders cannot avoid is to point out to those who work for you when their actions, behavior, decisions, results or performance fall short.

Notice that I wrote “WHEN”…they fall short. That’s because even our best performers will occasionally fall short of our expectations. This role is uncomfortable for many leaders, so here is an approach to consider in approaching this role. Hopefully, it will not only may help you be more comfortable, but also help you to be more effective in this role:

  • What? Ask “what happened?” Don’t tell people, ask instead. Telling gives the impression that you are pre-judging without necessarily having all of the facts/information.
  • When? the best time to have this conversation is usually as soon as possible. However, if you are upset, perhaps a “cooling off” period is in order.
  • Who? Take into account what you know about the person being criticized. As individuals, each of us has a different “tolerance and acceptance” level. As Leaders, we need to know our people well enough to know who responds better to a proverbial “verbal kick in the pants” and who responds better to a proverbial “verbal arm around their shoulder”.
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  • Where? Obviuosly, where should be someplace private. If you feel the need to assert your authority, use your office. Other times you may choose to do so in a neutral place rather than it being a “home game” for you.
  • How? Make sure that you interject praise into your comments—but it must be genuine as all employees have “bull crap” radar. If possible (meaning if truthful), express your confidence in the individual to do better in the future.

 

Posted in Compensation & Performance Management

Retention of Key Talent

Due to gloomy economic conditions in recent years, many employees have decided to “nest” in their current organization—regardless of their level of satisfaction. “Nesters” typically fall into two main categories: (1) the “stayers”, who are committed to remain with their current company for more than  two years even though opportunities to leave become available and (2) the “leavers”, who plan to leave as soon as a good opportunity presents itself.

I see five differentiators between the “stayers” and the “leavers”. These factors are what tend to make employees “stayers”:

  1. Confidence & trust in company leadership – This is when employees feel they work for a well led organization that is heading in the right direction.  It also is when company leaders have created a culture of trust among employees.
  2. Empowerment – Employees that feel trusted by leaders (this is the other part of the “circle of trust”). This trust is demonstrated by leaders empowering employees to take independent actions and decisions within a defined set of parameters.
  3. Environment for success – This means people in jobs for which they are capable and are given the necessary tools (equipment, training, direction, etc.) to be successful.
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  5. Professional growth – Very few employees do not have a desire to develop and grow professionally. The employer’s role in this factor is to create an environment of continuous learning and provide opportunities to for employees to advance their careers both in terms of professional satisfaction and financial rewards.
  6. A fair exchange – For this to be exist, employees must feel that what they give to the company and what they receive in return is fair. Employees evaluate every aspect of the employment arrangement, including but not just rewards and recognition).

Often the most effective way for an organization to assess where employees stand on these five key factors is to periodically conduct confidential employee surveys conducted by an outside third party. The confidentiality and outside party features help to cause employees to feel that they can express their opinions in a completely candid way with no concern about negative consequences.

Posted in Talent Acquisition, Executive Search, Employment & Employee Retention

THREE COMMON WAYS TO DE-MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES

Sure, as employers we wish that all of our employees would be self-motivated. I am sure you agree that this is simply not the case.

The case is, although we can create an environment that fosters motivation, we have to rely upon individuals to embrace such an environment as a means to become motivated. Unfortunately, we do indeed have the potential to de-motivate employees.

Here are three ways (in no particular order) by which as employers we can either knowingly or unknowingly de-motivate our people:

1. Public criticism

At some point, every employee (as well as we ourselves) is going to perform our role in a manner that is less ideal. However, pointing out someone’s mistake in front of others is clearly not the proper way to address the matter.

Instead, do so one on one in private, with the objectives of the discussions being for her/him to:

  • Be presented in a positive, non-deflating manner that her/his actions/performance did not meet your expectations
  • Be given instruction or coaching as to the right way
  • Accept your criticism
  • Act upon your instruction and/or coaching in order to improve her/his performance

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2. Lack of praise

When an employee has done something worthy of praise capitalize on it. Your failing to acknowledge a job well done (especially if you routinely fail to praise exceptional work) can lead employees to feel that you only recognize their failures.

In turn, this can lead to their questioning the value of making the extra effort, and thus de-motivate their pursuit of excellence.

  • Whereas criticism should always be done in private, public praise can be very powerful.

3. Failing to keep a commitment

It is vitally important for our employees to trust us and our words. Trust can be difficult to attain, but is very easy to be lost—with re-gaining it being even more difficult.

The loss of trust in us by our failing to keep a commitment or fulfill a promise is a surefire way to cause de-motivation.

 

Posted in Employee & Labor Relations

Rising Health Care Costs

Health care continues to get significantly more expensive for small businesses, according to a recent survey by the National Federation of Independent Business. The almost 1,000 participating companies reported a 12% increase over last year.

According to the NFIB, the rising cost of healthcare was cited as the number one business concern. When one considers the following statistics, it is easy to understand why.

  • 66% of small businesses expect the higher costs to lower profitability
    NOTE: This is not 100% because some employers intend to pass on some or all of the higher cost to their employees, with others hoping to increase productivity to offset at least a portion of their increased health care expenses.
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  • 40% say the increase in these expenses will lead to the postponement or elimination of investment in their businesses.

The NFIB notes the small business community is generally confused by the Affordable Care Act. Only 17% of business owners surveyed say they are very familiar with the law, while 49% say they are only somewhat familiar with ObamaCare. Over 40% of business owners say the media has been the primary source of information.

Posted in Benefits Management

Three Ways Your Company May Be in Violation of Employment Laws

Here are three common ways employers violate employment laws:

1. Misclassifying or Not Classifying Employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act

The Fair Labor Standards Act describes under what set of circumstances an employee meets the requirements to be classified as “exempt” as opposed to be classified as “non-exempt”.

  • Employers are not required to pay exempt employees overtime at the rate of time and ½ for all hours in excess of 40 in an given work week.
  • Employees who are non-exempt must be paid at this rate for all such hours.

The best way for employers to avoid running afoul of the law is to have a formal process in place that it uses to determine what the proper classification is for each of its positions.

2. Failing to Pay Non-Exempt Employees Overtime Because It Was Not Authorized

An employer is required to pay overtime to an exempt employee for hours in excess of 40 in a work week EVEN though the employee worked some hours without authorization from the company.

The existence of a policy prohibiting additional hours of work beyond an employee’s regularly scheduled hours does NOT relieve the employer of this overtime payment obligation.

The best way for an employer to deal with this matter is to have a written policy communicated to all employees. It is important that the policy clearly state that under such circumstances the company will pay overtime at time and ½, but the offending employee will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, up to and including discharge for repeat offenders.

3. Categorizing Individuals as Independent Contractors Who Are Actually Employees

This subject first amped up the government’s attention to a very high level during the Silicon Valley explosion. It was discovered that a significant number of companies where hiring individuals as independent contractors who in reality where employees. In some instances, the actions were viewed by the government as an attempt by violators to avoid providing of benefits and their incurring the accompanying expenses.Ambrina can be purchased for an average price of $42.00 for a 20-count bottle, as frankkrauseautomotive.com viagra 25 mg opposed to the artificially synthesized ones? Many of these have also been cleared by FDA.

An employer’s establishment of an individual’s correct status can be easy to get wrong. This is reflected in the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court has on a number of occasions held that there is no single rule or test for determining whether an individual is an independent contractor or an employee for purposes of the FLSA.

To avoid problems in this area, an employer must be very carefully examine the factors which the Court has considered significant. These include:

1) The extent to which the services rendered are an integral part of the principal’s business

2) The permanency of the relationship

3) The amount of the alleged contractor’s investment in facilities and equipment

4) The nature and degree of control by the principal

5) The alleged contractor’s opportunities for profit and loss

6) The amount of initiative, judgment, or foresight in open market competition with others required for the success of the claimed independent contractor

7) The degree of independent business organization and operation

 

Posted in Talent Acquisition, Executive Search, Employment & Employee Retention

INCENTIVE COMPENSATION-5 MOST COMMON MISTAKES

Incentive compensation can be a great way for an organization to incent employees to work to the best of their individual abilities and to work together collaboratively. Both of these in place greatly enhance an organization’s likelihood of achieving or exceeding its objectives.

However, as LoDico’s Law #2 states, “There are lots of wrong ways to do something that’s right or good.” This certainly applies to incentive compensation plans.

The most common mistakes that organizations make that in turn diminish the value and impact of an incentive compensation plan are:

1) The potential rewards are insufficient to cause employees to be appropriately motivated to strive enthusiastically toward achieving the necessary performance levels to trigger reward payments.

  • If you fail to avoid this mistake, it does not matter if you avoid the other mistakes.

2) The plan is too complex.

  • It needs to be designed and communicated in such a way that participants can easily grasp how it works.

3) The metrics upon which rewards are based are outside the control or influence of participants.
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  • In compensation terms, this refers to the “line of sight”. In simple terms, it means that employees need to clearly see how their roles impact the outcomes upon which they will be rewarded.
  • The harder it is for them to see the connection between their work and the rewards, the less is the effectiveness of the plan to accomplish what is stated in this blog’s first paragraph.

4) The goals are perceived as too difficult to achieve.

  • The goals should strike a balance between being challenging and being achievable.

5) There is insufficient communication to participants as to the actual performance goals in comparison to the performance levels needed for rewards to be given.

  • To use a sports analogy, at any given time, the players need to be able to look to the scoreboard to see if they are winning or not.

Posted in Compensation & Performance Management

John Wooden’s “Pyramid of Success”

There are a number of parallels between coaching a sports team and leading a business team. The late John Wooden is considered by many to be the most successful sports coach of all time. His UCLA basketball team won 10 NCAA national championships, including 7 consecutive ones. I doubt this is a record of success that will ever be matched, let along exceeded.

Wooden’s “Pyramid of Success” is very applicable to a business team as it is focused on how to make the individuals in the organization grow and in turn help the organization to maximize its potential. Coach Wooden provided the following simple but powerful 10 keys to building a championship team::

  1. Listen … to those under you
  2. Care … for them, genuinely, for their own good, not just for what they can do for you or the organization
  3. Give recognition … everyone wants it, and it encourages them to do even better
  4. Be prepared … the Boy Scouts had it right, it’s a key to success
  5. Work hard … success doesn’t come without it
  6. Be enthusiastic … and be contagious with it
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  8. Be patient … it can take time
  9. Be confident … it breeds an attitude for success
  10. Mistakes happen … don’t be surprised by or afraid of them
  11. Respect is a by-product … lead the right way and it happens

Below is a copy of his “Pyramid of Success”:

pyramid

Posted in Teams & Teambuilding

Dealing in Conflict: Part 2

Part 1 on this subject talked about some of the causes of conflict and the potentially damaging consequences of unresolved conflicts in the work place.

The good news is that by resolving conflict successfully, you can solve many of the problems that it has brought to the surface, as well as getting benefits that you might not at first expect, such as:

  • Increased understanding and insight into the situation by the involved parties.
  • Stronger mutual respect
  • A renewed faith in their ability to work together

Here is a six step process that has been proven to be highlyThe most important feature of this medicine is 36 hours of cialis without prescription view address celestial pleasure is guaranteed. effective. The six steps in the process are straightforward; however, the degree of effectiveness is directly related to how capable and how committed an organization is to going through each of the steps and the paths down which those steps will take it.

The steps are identified below:

  1. Clarify what the disagreement is.
  2. Establish a common goal for both parties.
  3. Discuss ways to meet the common goal.
  4. Determine the barriers to the common goal.
  5. Agree on the best way to resolve the conflict.
  6. Acknowledge the agreed solution and determine the responsibilities each party has in the resolution.

 

Posted in Teams & Teambuilding