Three Ways to Build Accountability in Your Team

Effective teams are accountable to each other for completion of their part of projects and for communicating how initiatives stand. Here are three ways to build team accountability.

Be accountable yourself. As a leader, set the example. Commit to your teammates that certain tasks will be done by a particular date, and then follow through.

Communicate regularly. Set up a recurring team meeting (live or virtual) and/or utilize group communication tools online or via email for communicating progress. For example, I work part time for a firm and we have a weekly staff meeting where we give updates on our responsibilities. Knowing I will be giving a report can keep me motivated and help me consolidate my actions into reportable elements.

Allow flexibility...to a degree. When assigning tasks and deadlines, be reasonable and realistic. Some projects are "if we can get to this," as compared to "we must do this." If a deadline comes up and a team member gets sick, be reasonable about extending it. Your team should feel comfortable asking for flexibility from time to time, although this should not become a habit. If it does, you may need to improve on how to set a deadline effectively and build more cushion into the original plan in the first place.

In what ways have you built accountability into your team?

Read more »

Five Ways to Help Your Team Develop their Professional Skills in a Tight Economy

In a tight economy, professional development is one of the budget cuts often made. While this is sometimes necessary, pulling back from providing development opportunities can be short sighted. Here are a few ways to keep your team learning while not breaking the bank.

Keep it a priority. Instead of "professional development" being the first thing to be cut, how about looking at other line items such as meal expenses, excess office supplies, or professional services that may be a bit overdone?

Consider local opportunities. There are still businesses out there that provide training classes that may not require your team to travel. Search "professional education" in your area and check out options.

Watch for community programs. Sometimes, recreation departments or places such as the local library offer educational seminars for a very reasonable fee. (For example, my husband and I are leading a financial literacy workshop on a Saturday morning where the registration fee is only $6 for non-residents!)

Search for online courses and webinars. Online options abound and provide flexibility for your team, without the expense of travel.

Bring in a speaker. Many small business people (such as myself!) would jump at the chance to come to your workplace to teach on a particular topic. Don't restrict yourself to the high cost experts. Ask around for good recommendations. You may be surprised at who is a good teacher in your very own town!

Allow a small budget for reading materials or association memberships. Allow all employees, including support staff, to spend $25 a year on a periodical, association membership, or online service that they feel will help them grow personally and professionally. Most companies can afford this small gesture, and it can have a big payoff, particularly if you let your employees pick what they would most be interested in.

Remember soft skills. You don't have to limit your team to industry-specific training. Consider workshops in time management, getting organized, wellness, customer service, financial literacy, etc.

Check your own resources. What skills do your employees have? Is there someone who would love the chance to teach on a topic such as time management? Notice the employees that excel in certain skills and give them the opportunity to share their knowledge. Maybe pay them a bit of a bonus for it! You may be grooming a great speaker.

Read together. Pick a great business book and have all employees read a section per week. Spend 10 minutes of staff meeting discussing the book. Give incentives for keeping up with reading and/or make it required.

There are many ways to keep your team sharp without sending them across the country for an expensive conference. Brainstorm creative ideas rather than cut the budget entirely.

Special note: sometimes, support staff is left out of "professional development." This is a BIG mistake. Not only does it contribute to a fractured culture, it sends the message that their work is not as important when in fact, the support staff is often the foundation of your company. ALWAYS include support staff in some type of professional development plan.

Read more »

Holiday Hints for Team Leaders

Give out small gifts or gift cards. Hang cards or small gifts on a tree and draw numbers to see which employee gets to choose first, second, etc. Check into laws about how much can be given in gifts/gift cards before it becomes taxable income to an employee.

Work on a community project together. Volunteer projects abound as well as opportunities to collect items for food banks and non profit agencies. Encourage your team to get involved.

Consider shutting the office down early or allowing team members to take a half day with pay sometime in December to run errands/do shopping.

If you can afford it, treat your team to a really nice restaurant and include spouses/guests. Then again, simple celebrations are nice too. Maybe the boss can have everyone over to his house. Or you can bring in breakfast.

Do some fun icebreakers at staff meetings. Keep the mood light throughout the month of December.

Beware of timing: the holidays is NOT the time to make major announcements like layoffs, etc, although unfortunately that hasn't stopped companies from doing so. If you must deliver bad news, do all you can to handle it graciously and with as much reasonable lead time as possible (it can serve your team members to know they may need to hold off on holiday spending if layoffs are looming.) If at all possible, try to run your business so these types of things don't have to happen during holidays.

Be careful of precedents. While large Christmas bonuses are wonderful, if it happens every year, your employees may come to expect that and be really disappointed when they can't get one. Instead, consider year round profit sharing options that spread the benefit into their regular paychecks, or do surprise bonuses at various times, with a kind but reasonable gift at Christmas.

Read more »

Approaching the Resistant Team Member

Not all team members will appreciate your team building efforts. Some people gravitate toward working as a team and others toward working independently. Here are a few ideas about engaging with a resistant team member.

Consider his/her personality. Some people are just naturally more cautious, private and contemplative. They aren't going to jump into activities right away. Be careful about demanding they participate in all team initiatives with the same enthusiasm your outgoing team members will display.

Use variety. Don't do high energy team building activities or require full participation all the time. Keep some initiatives low-key.

Talk one-on-one. When you can, spend some time with this team member in private and ask his or her advice or feedback on a project.

Avoid praising publicly. Some quieter team members hate to be publicly praised. Find what works for them.

Don't put him on the spot. You might think it is best to ask them, "Drew, what do you think of this?" but this may backfire on you. Again, talk privately, as in, "Drew, I think you may have a good idea about what we talked about at the meeting earlier. What do you think?"

Establish some expectations. While you don't want to alienate these folks, don't let them control your efforts either. From time to time, there will be required events for the entire team and as a leader, you may have to be firm about it.

Be considerate of personal time. Some employees are resistant to activities that cut into "their" time even if most perceive it will be fun. For example, I know of people who didn't care to do an overnight retreat even though it was at a great place and was offered free.  Since you don't know the personal life of all your employees, avoid making "off time" events required. In turn, you may talk with the employee about an agreement that if you don't require them to attend off hours functions, you would like to see their full participation in activities/initiatives that do fall within their normal work time.

Watch work load. Some team building activities/meetings are seen as an interruption to an already heavy work load. Don't add more stress by ill-timed meetings. There are other ways to show appreciation and build team work during especially heavy seasons.

In the end, as the leader, you will have to determine if this employee's resistance is something you can work with or not. Being a team player is important, but having some grace with your employees is, too.

Read more »

Integrity in Appreciation

I was listening to a leadership podcast recently. The speaker was sharing ways to show appreciation to your team. Most of the ideas were spot on, but I was concerned about one of them.

This business owner greets his employee's birthdays with a Happy Birthday email. Nice idea, right? Well, he went on to share how the process was automated so that employees automatically get an email from him on their birthday. His assistant reminds him of whose birthday it is so in case they thank him in the hall, he will know what they are talking about.

Ouch.

That struck me as rather impersonal and borderline dishonest. Now, before you challenge me about automated systems, yes, I think there is a place for them. I, for example, do utilize pre-written text for various communications and greetings. And I like how Facebook, for example, has made it easier to put a birthday greeting on several contact walls fairly quickly. I just pause, though, at the thought of greetings going out automatically to team members without my personal awareness that day, particularly if the idea is to sincerely wish them a happy birthday and thank them for service to the company.

So my tip to you today is simple. When designing appreciation strategies, be sure to remember that your team members are real people with real feelings. If I was employed by this company and heard the CEO publicly explain this birthday system, I'm not sure I'd feel all that warmly greeted on my birthday going forward when I got his "personal" email to me.

What do you think? Am I being too sensitive?

Read more »

Is Your Timing Off?

"Hi honey. What did the doctor say?"

Innocent question, unless you are asking it at a fast food restaurant, of a man getting ready to serve customers, in front of said customers. Then it is poorly timed and inconsiderate.

This was a true story I observed not long ago. Before you judge this person though, think about the following points regarding your timing when interacting with your team.

Do you allow people to settle in before hitting them with questions? Maybe you don't mind "hitting the ground running" when you get to work, but many people prefer to have time to take off their coats, get their computer booted up, use the restroom, get coffee, insert routine here______ before tackling their tasks. If you've waited this long to get an answer, a few more minutes won't matter.

Do you make comments in front of others who are not involved? In the case mentioned above, none of us at the restaurant (customers or other coworkers) needed to know what Dr. ________ said. My guess is that the woman was worried (I think the coworker was her husband or relative) and as soon as she saw him she wanted to ease her mind. However, she made it awkward for him as he had to turn and say, "I will tell you about it later."  Be careful to have important conversations out of earshot of other employees who aren't part of the problem, solution, or project.

Do you interrupt coworkers who are working on a project? Interruptions occur all day long, and your culture may be accustomed to it. But when you can allow workers extended uninterrupted time to get their work done, you'll help productivity all the way around.

Do you announce information too soon--or worse yet--too late? Workplace communication is a tricky thing. When in doubt, err on the side of giving employees too much info rather than creating a vacuum. Vacuums fill with something...usually rumors.

Consider the ways your approach to conversation, communication, and questions may be just a little off when it comes to timing. Refine your approach, and you will probably see a jump in productivity and effective teamwork.

Read more »

Team Building Activity: Are You Puzzled?

What's the point?

This exercise requires cooperation, strategy, and project management. It cannot be completed by just one person, although various employees may spend more time on it than others. The goal is to complete a project using something from everyone, and to celebrate the accomplishment without having to identify the "best" contributor.

What you'll need:

A puzzle made up of enough pieces that you can equally divide among all employees in a particular department. Each employee should have no more than 10 pieces.

What to do: 

Announce that the team will be assembling a puzzle together over the course of a period of time that you select. (I recommend your first puzzle take no longer than two weeks to complete.)

Distribute baggies or envelopes with an equal number of puzzle pieces to employees.

Establish a place where the puzzle is to be assembled, perhaps a table in a break room or workroom.

Tell employees that they are to contribute to the puzzle one time per day. Contributing can be as simple as laying one of their pieces on the table, or spending a couple of minutes trying to fit together pieces that are there. They can only contribute one piece a day each (or whatever works to get the puzzle done in the time period you have established.)

Throughout the time period (for our example, two weeks) you should begin to see the puzzle come together. At first, there will just be loose pieces on the table. However, as the supply grows, there may be some attempts to fit pieces together.

Be sure to encourage along the way and establish some type of reward the whole team can enjoy once the puzzle is completed (i.e. lunch brought in.)

You may wish to frame the puzzle and hang it in the room when it is done.

If you try this at your workplace, please let us know how it went!

Read more »

Tangible Improvements to Workplace Culture

There's a lot of talk about culture in workplaces, the atmosphere created by the people who spend time there and the norms that everyone in that particular environment adapts to. Cultures vary widely. You'll find a different culture at Google than you will on Wall Street. Part of that relates to the type of industry, the need (or not) for formality, etc. 

There are several tangible elements to consider as you develop a sense of culture and teamwork unique to your organization. Here are some random but important segments of a workplace culture.

Purpose. Do your employees have a real purpose for working for you other than getting a paycheck? Do you get them excited about the mission of your organization?

Meetings. The type of meetings you have, when you have them, who attends...all those things contribute to a sense of teamwork, or lack thereof. I remember years ago when a new pastor came on board for the church I worked for. I was office manager and had not been included in staff meetings. He changed that and allowed me to come. That type of decision can bridge gaps between departments.

At the same time, if you are making employees attend meetings for which they play no useful role, they may be grateful for you to release them from that obligation.

Fun. Some workplaces have more fun than others. Within reason, can you allow for a bit of play time? Use bright visual aids? Bring in lunch occasionally or a special breakfast treat?

Gifts. I started a new job not long ago, and within 8 weeks I had already found a great tote bag on my desk one day and a Starbucks card the other. These items came from other business opportunities the bosses had been to, but it was great to feel appreciated with these little gestures they could have kept for themselves. Are there product samples you can randomly give out? Treats you can stick in mailboxes?

Compensation. While a sense of purpose is important, most employees work to earn a living too. Review guidelines for average pay in your area for certain types of jobs and make sure you are not being a cheapskate. Consider additional compensation such as profit sharing or benefit perks that help the bottom line be bigger for that employee. This is especially nice when it comes as a surprise. For example, if you have a profit sharing or bonus plan, it can be great fun for employees to see what "extra" will be in their check this week. Talk about motivating!

Personal Workspace. Female workers especially like to feel comfortable in their workspace. Allow employees to decorate their space within reason and show their creativity. Try to provide privacy for those having to share a larger room, either through staggered schedules or room dividers. Make sure their workstation is ergonomically correct. Give them somewhat of a budget to get supplies or equipment they need in order to do their job more comfortably and efficiently.

 

Common workspace. Take pride in the common areas in the workplace. Keep the break room and bathrooms clean. Provide beverages and snacks. Have meeting spaces that are uncluttered. If possible, have some view of the outside, keeping windows clean. Have some agreed upon standards for how the overall office/workplace is kept (i.e. reasonable standards of neatness.) Sometimes, you can assign an employee to maintain a particular common area. One place I worked gave this job to the receptionist and daily, she was sure to keep the workroom straightened up.

Take care of a few of these tangibles and create the productive, welcoming culture you want for your team!

Read more »

Four Things Your Team Needs from You

If you are a team leader, you will have followers. To do the job well, you have to provide them with some important things. Here are four of them.

Clear expectations. It is difficult to read someone's mind. When you clearly share what needs to be done and what the priorities are, your team members can plan their work accordingly. When in doubt, spell it out, but don't be patronizing!

A listening ear.  You can learn a lot by listening to your team members. Prompt discussion. Ask questions. Find out how things can be better, from their point of view.

Time. Particularly if you are new leader, your team will need time to learn how you like to do things. Don't expect them to adjust to your preferences over night.

Space. Micromanaging doesn't help anyone. Give your team members some authority over their projects. For example, allow reasonable freedom in writing and formatting documents. Allow them to suggest changes to a long standing task...you might find a much more efficient method to getting it done!

While there are lots of things you will need to do to be a good team leader, these four are an excellent start!

Read more »

Four Warnings for Team Leaders

Do you want to be a leader? Consider these warnings first.

It's not about you. Obvious, right? Not so fast. How many people take on a leadership role because it positions them for advancement or recognition? Many natural "leader types" also can struggle with affirmation addiction. You must instead serve your team and that could mean a lot of time staying in the background.

Eventually, they won't need you. That is if you do your job right. Your goal in leading this team is that they will eventually handle the project, do the tasks, or fulfill the mission with less and less input from you. The best sign that you are a good team leader is when people don't even notice you at all, but instead see the great work your team has done.

Attitude flows down, not up. If you are in a critical, grumpy mood, prepare for a listless, fearful team. If you are over exuberant, expect your team to be skeptical. Find a reasonable balance within your personality that consistently provides your team with a positive, effective atmosphere in which to do their best. You don't need to have a celebration party every week, but you could take them out to lunch once in awhile. You don't have to have an open door policy all day long, but staying tucked in a cubicle never wanting to be interrupted doesn't work either. Be approachable, but also hands off when necessary.

Change is coming. All organizations evolve and change over time. What requires your leadership now may not be needed in three to five years. Take it from me. I had leadership roles in two different organizations and in both situations, the position I started out with eventually faded away, leaving me unemployed (once by choice and once not) after 10 and 5 years respectively. Yet it's always led to the next great step for my vocation.

Team leadership is a great, rewarding challenge. Know what to expect when you take on that role. 

Read more »

Four Ways Criticism is Good for You

It zaps the energy from your day--that snide comment you overheard about how you handled the project or that email from a disgruntled customer. Criticism. We've all experienced it, and if you are in any position of leadership or influence, you'd better be prepared for a higher dose of it than some.

But criticism can actually be good for you--if you handle it right. Here's why.

Criticism humbles you. Pride is a dangerous thing. On the one hand, being appropriately pleased at a project you have accomplished or something someone you supervise has done can be a healthy element of team building. But thinking more highly of yourself than you ought to can lead to bad feelings and embarrassment eventually. Criticism can be a helpful early warning sign that you think too much of yourself while others don't feel the same way.

Criticism might contain some truth. Yes, some criticism is completely unreasonable. But most "jabs" do have at least a small element of truth to them. For example, a very friendly person can be a great asset to your team, but could also be too talkative. A criticism of "She just dominates the conversation all the time," could hurt, but may very well be true. When you receive a criticism, ask yourself what part of it you can actually benefit from.

Criticism can open dialog. Often a critic doesn't welcome face-to-face dialog about the problem, especially if he/she has used a protected means to take the jab (i.e. email, Facebook comments, voice mail message, etc.) If you are courageous enough to confront the critic with sincere questions and a teachable spirit, you may actually build a deeper relationship that greatly improves from where it started.

Criticism can help you improve how YOU give feedback. If you've ever received a harsh, unfair criticism, let it remind you not to give criticism in the same way. We often don't realize how we approach things until we've received the same treatment ourselves.

No one enjoys criticism but there's plenty of it to go around. While it is unorthodox to consider it a gift, it really can be one.

Read more »

Team Building Tip: Make Employee's Jobs a Little Easier

A simple tip today...pick one or two employees on your team and ask them this simple question: "What would make your job easier today?" Then, as quickly as possible, try to act on that suggestion if it can be reasonably applied. If not, suggest an alternative that will help improve that employee's day.

For example, let's say one of your support staff has to drop off the outgoing mail at the post office each day after she leaves work. Is it possible to hire a courier, or erect a secure mailbox at which she can put the outgoing mail instead?

Read more »

Did You Hear about Ryan's Peformance Review?

Gossip is a rampant problem in organizations. Some organizations have a very strong policy against it, to the point of someone being possibly fired if caught participating. It can be a cancer that will ruin your team, but even the best people can get caught up in it. Why?

There are a few reasons why participating in gossip is the "easier choice" for people, even if they truly believe it is not a good practice.

Need for acceptance. It's perhaps counterintuitive, because after all, gossip by nature

alienates someone. But for those doing the gossiping, there is some satisfaction in

knowing that someone else sees a situation or another person the same way or has

experienced the same problems with them. In the illustration above, if several

coworkers have problems getting along with Ryan, they may unite in the gossip about

his review.

Desire for information. Gossip can arise when there are holes in communication or a

feeling of "We're not being told the whole truth." People will start to fill in holes by

brainstorming possibilities, and we all know where that can lead. False conclusions or

imaginary scenarios become "fact" as more people hear about them.  “Ryan sure

looked troubled when he left the bosses office. I'm sure the company must be

considering layoffs, and Ryan is the first.”

Feeling of inadequacy. Though we don't like to admit it, deep down many of us are

fully aware of what we believe are inadequacies or weaknesses. When we hear about

the alleged behavior of someone, we feel a little better when we think, "I would never

have done that!" If someone concurs by mentioning the same thing, we feel

particularly validated in our own sense of right and wrong. "I hope they brought up

his frequent lateness. I would never clock in 30 minutes late every day."

The reasons given above do not justify gossip, nor am I suggesting you should simply tolerate it. However, it is wise to consider the "why" behind behavior. What is going on in people's minds and hearts that leads them to speak ill of co-workers or the organization? This can be a first step in helping you develop a more effective way to deal with the behavior. 

Read more »

Eight Team Building Lessons from Jesus

By today’s standards, Jesus may not be the first person you would pick as an example of a great team leader. He wasn’t on Facebook sharing links to leadership articles. He didn’t have an organizational chart. He often did things that didn’t make sense to His followers. But take a look at what we can learn from Him.

He consulted His own leader. Jesus spent a lot of time with His Father. In fact, it was after an extended time in the wilderness that Jesus then picked his team. I imagine that God gave Him some wisdom about who to select and why.

He kept His team small. Although Jesus interacted with a lot of people along the journey of His ministry (at times speaking to very large groups), His core group of disciples consisted of only 12 people, and His closet buddies numbered three. This demonstrates that you can only really effectively invest deeply in a limited number of people at one time. Relationships that are deep and effective take time, and you can't spread yourself wide and deep all at once. You may be an influential leader with a ton of Facebook friends or Twitter followers, and that's okay. But you have to know what you are capable of in terms of teaching and mentoring, and limit your close contacts to those with whom you can effectively interact long term. If your organization is getting big, you probably need to consider bringing on other team leaders.

He didn't choose the best and brightest. This really goes against conventional wisdom, but rather than hold an in-depth series of interviews, Jesus chose men that He knew could become devoted followers despite their personality quirks and foibles. That's not to say these men didn't have intellect and talents, but they certainly had hang ups...doubt, pride, fear. Jesus didn't let that stop Him from choosing them. He saw into their hearts. I’m not saying an interview process isn’t important, but if all we see in candidates is their skill, abilities and past successes, we can miss what they are truly like, how they will fit in the culture, and whether or not they will be loyal.

He taught along the way. We don't see Jesus doing an intensive "discipleship training" weekend retreat with the disciples before they started hanging out with Him. He didn't send them away to seminars. For His small group, He picked people with a certain kind of heart and then poured into them on a daily basis. It was more of a process of mentoring as they “did life" together. He taught the disciples as they fished, as they came across those in need, as they dealt with each other.

He helped them with their skills. Remember when Jesus recommended the fishermen to change where they were throwing the nets? He was interested in what they did for a living and helping them do it better.

He asked questions. Questions like "Who do you say that I am?" drew the disciples into discussion. Jesus knew the best approaches to learning.

He experienced a failure. In the world's eyes, anyway, the choice of including Judas on the team was a massive fail. But instead, this incident shows the love and mercy of God. Since even the Son of God had someone close to him who made the choice to reject Him, He understands that pain when it happens to you.

He had a succession plan. Jesus knew He would not physically be with these men on earth forever. He trained them and encouraged them about going out on their own and left a legacy called the Holy Spirit so He would never truly be gone from them. A good team leader knows he/she will not be here forever and that development of other leaders is a top goal.

How about you? Do any of these examples from Jesus' teambuilding resonate with you?

Read more »

Team Building Activity: Explore Your Community

Take your team on an exploration of the neighborhood, town or city in which your workplace is located. The longer we work at one place, the more likely we will fall into "auto pilot" in our commute and as we interact on our grounds.

To do this well, pick a couple of creative employees and give them permission to take an afternoon to develop a short tour of the neighborhood. Ask them to find places that may have been overlooked. (For example, when I went to work in a new place, I discovered a beautiful park just up the road. Others who had worked there for quite awhile were glad to be reminded of the  nice place for a lunch break.) Allow them to do a little research about the history of the town or to try out a new place for lunch.)

Select a half day (or full day if you are bold) and tell employees they can dress casually. Take the information the first employees put together and take your team on a walk. End with a lunch at the little known park or restaurant.

At the lunch, talk about what new things the team discovered about their work community. Then, expand the conversation to brainstorming about things they may be overlooking at work. Ask questions such as:

• What interesting services could we begin to offer our clients?
• How could we make our own workplace more appealing/welcoming?
• How can we engage within our own neighborhood more effectively?
• How would we grade our neighbor's perception of our workplace?
• What places in the community stood out to you as professional, approachable, and/or places where you would want to do business? Why?

If you note some type of improvement to take back at the workplace, be sure to implement it within a month. If you don't act on feedback quickly, your follow through credibility will be diminished. Have fun!

Read more »

Four Ways to Improve Your Communication as a Leader

Why is it that some companies have a reputation for being poor in communication? Hundreds of emails are sent, policies posted, and meetings held, yet employees find out about issues that affect them "through the grapevine," or don't have input into important decisions, or take surveys that don't seem to cause any ongoing, helpful changes.

Could that be said of your organization? Are the people on your team just floating along in their jobs, frustrated because they aren't aware of what is going on or aren't consulted on matters that affect them directly? If you are a manager, you have a responsibility to improve communication with your team. Here are four ways to do so.

Spend time with your employees, especially your direct reports. Shadow someone for a few hours or a day. Take in what their position really entails. The TV show Undercover Boss specializes in this, helping CEO's get into the trenches to realize what their employees really deal with.

In particular, watch for tasks that don't seem to make sense in the big plan. For example, is a secretary having to fill out a form each week that simply gets filed away and never looked at, but because "We've always done it this way," it gets done? Does an employee feel restrained from making decisions because they have to get every step approved or aren't given a budget to work with?"

Conduct meaningful meetings. Don't have meetings just for the sake of meetings, but handle important items on a consistent basis. If you have a weekly staff meeting, make sure to cover valuable items like upcoming events, possibly policy changes, etc. Make it a place employees know they can come to for answers to questions, updates on how the department and company is doing, and a safe place to air challenges.

Don't cancel meetings! If you have a weekly meeting (that follows the criteria above) avoid the, "oh, we don't have to meet today" temptation that comes when, for example, a couple of staff members are out on vacation. I remember one time when two bosses were out of town that the support staff decided to bring in breakfast and still "meet" during the regular staff meeting time on Friday morning. It turned out to be a very valuable time talking about personality types, and answering questions for a new employee (who happened to be me!) It increased our bond. So, even if you won't be around during a regular meeting time, suggest the staff still meet.

When in doubt, go ahead and communicate. It is better for employees to hear about issues directly from the leadership than through the grapevine. Try not to allow for "vacuums" where employees hear a little something but try to fill in the rest because they don't have adequate facts to go on. Yes, there are times you will have to keep things confidential, but if you communicate regularly, your team will grow in trust. So, when you do have to keep something quiet, they may be more likely to rest in your leadership.

Communication is an ongoing challenge for any organization. Start with these steps so your company won't be one of the ones with the reputation of "they never tell us anything."

Read more »

It's a Team Sport

One of the most successful motorsports company in NASCAR is Hendricks Motorsports. Currently the home of five-time champion Jimmie Johnson, who is poised to make a run for a sixth championship, Hendrick's Motorsports is known as a team that depends on all its employees in order to succeed.

Even so, last year Rick Hendrick felt the need to do some switching around of personnel within some of the shops. Some teams he left together, some had crew chief changes.

A good leader knows when to make and changes and when to leave things alone. There is danger in resting on the laurels of a successful team, such as becoming complacent and not investing in leaders of the future. There is also danger in making constant changes, something creative leaders need to be careful about. Teams need time to adjust to changes and if you shake things up to often, they will become demotivate, thinking, "What does it matter? It'll change again next week."

You have to assess the state of your team from time to time, get their feedback, and evaluate their progress, not always by just watching numbers. Take that data, observation, and intuition and use it to make strategic, and timely changes when necessary so your team can regularly cross the finish line in prime form.

Read more »

Three Ways to Improve Your Listening Skills - When You Aren't a Good Listener

What's that you said?

I'm not a great listener. I'm sorry to admit that, but it's the truth. As a visionary, multi-tasker, fast-paced, creative person, I often miss the opportunity to truly engage deeply with others because my mind (and sometimes my mouth) are more likely to get active than my ears.

I hope there are others like me who feel the need to improve their listening skills. If so, listen up to these three tips on how to improve your listening skills when you aren't naturally good at it. (You great listeners out there can skip directly to the comments and tell us your pointers!)

Eliminate distractions. I may not be a deep listener, but I can pick up on a lot of stuff going on around me. While that can be a good skill (you need people on your team who can naturally sense the pulse of an organization), it can also cause me to get distracted. 

These days, we have made it even easier to be distracted with immediate access to email, texts, Facebook statuses, etc. Lately I've been making some changes to help eliminate distrations, These include turning off notifications for several items on my smartphone, dealing with work email when on work time and not giving out my work email address to any non-work-related contacts, listening to classical music when I am writing (I can't choose music with lyrics because that distracts me.) You can also reduce distractions visually by meeting with people in a private office and closing the door (a window is a good idea to maintain accountability with privacy--that's another subject.)

Practice. From time to time, put down the second or third task you are doing and simply engage in what is before you. Since social media became a big part of my life and business, I notice myself not even fully watching shows very often. Typically I'm scrolling through statuses or tweets while a TV show shows in the background. I need to reconsider how social media has reduced my attention span and practice taking in the conversation, play, movie, or whatever is before me.

Ask questions. Fight the urge to think about what you are going to say next. Instead, listen to what a person is saying and think of a question to ask them to draw out the facts or feelings even more. Examples include, "How did you feel after that?" "What happened next?"

Good listening is a wonderful skill but not everyone comes to it naturally. If you aren't one of the naturals, all is not lost. Improve by eliminating distractions, practicing and asking questions. Over time you will see improvement in how you engage with others.

Question: What do you do to help yourself listen more effectively?

Read more »

Questions to Invite Dialog with Your Team

“How do you think we are doing?"

How would your employees answer that question? Is the culture in your workplace such that they would feel comfortable sharing both the positive and negative issues? Or would they clam up, fearful of sharing openly?

To build a good team, you must invite dialog and provide a safe environment for it. Dialog begins with questions and is met with LISTENING. Leaders in particular need to develop their listening skills (speaking to myself here) so that their experience and intelligence don't get in the way of being open to other solutions. But listening will be dealt with in another blog post. For now, here are some questions to get you started in opening dialog with your team. Note that not all questions are directly related to work. That is on purpose. Your team mates are not robots...they have a life outside the workplace...they are people, not just workers. So try some of these questions to draw out your team.

What is the best thing that happened to you (outside of the workplace) this week?

What makes you feel most encouraged at work?

If we could change one thing about your workspace, what would it be? (Note how specific this is. Avoid asking what thing they would change about work as a whole. They may have several ideas and be afraid of being negative. Narrow it down to help them think more clearly.)

If I allowed you a $_______ budget for your department, to do with what you wanted, what would you try?

Which one of our policies seems most outdated to you?

What new thing did you learn personally in the last three months?

If we planned a staff field trip, where would you like to go?

If money were no object, what would you want to see the company do long-term?

What perk could we add to our benefits package that would help you the most?

Do you feel we are living up to our stated company values in day-to-day practice?

This is by no means exhaustive. What other questions can you come up with? Share in the comments below!

Read more »

Do You Change Your Oil Regularly?

I'm married to an auto technician. Keith knows the value of doing a regular oil change on a vehicle. After a number of miles, oil begins to get dirty, fluids go down, and an engine doesn't run at peak efficiency. Gas mileage goes down and the life of the car may be shortened.

It's the same way with the professional development for members of your team. Unfortunately, with a tight economy, professional development can be one of the first budgeted items to cut. It can seem hard to justify the cost of a class or conference when profits have gone down or income is low. But there are ways to continue to develop your team while keeping costs down. Here are a few ideas:

Read a book together. Select a recommended business book and assign a reading and discussion schedule.

Watch a webinar. Have your teammates enroll in an online webinar on a particular topic. It's even better if the webinar is offered multiple times so your employees can choose what works best for them. (Set a deadline for completion of the seminar.) Discuss the topic as a group over box lunches.

Encourage networking. If there is a professional organization for  your industry that has a local chapter, encourage your employees (particularly support staff who can feel neglected when it comes to professional development) to get involved. Often these local meetings are inexpensive and a great opportunity to learn. (I'll be speaking to an organization for legal professionals in February, for example, in my own city.)

Check into local training. You may not be able to afford to send all your team members to an out of town conference, but there may be a local training center that offers classes on computer skills, work relationships, writing, etc.

Bring in a speaker. Partner with one or two other organizations to bring in a speaker on a topic that would help all of you. This could be less expensive than sending all your employees away yet still give a sense of "newness." For example, HOPE Unlimited (sponsors of this blog) offers several seminar topics that can be customized for your team needs and budget.

Think outside the box. Professional development doesn't have to be restricted just to your own industry. Consider generic but valuable topics such as wellness, CPR, proofreading skills, or financial skills training (i.e. budgeting) that can improve your employee's quality of life and have positive effects on your workplace culture. Sprinkle in a seminar or field trip "just for fun," such as visiting a local museum or having a cooking class.

Keep professional development a priority. By regularly instituting "required" professional development opportunities, and even rewarding those who attend, your employees will feel cared for and you will experience a more effective and positive workplace culture. This, in turn, can build your bottom line...whatever that may be!

___

Keith and I would love to come work with your team, to build better relationships and productivity. Contact us about our DISC assessments, workshops, and consultations.

Read more »

Relational Assumptions

"Oh, it will be fine. She won't mind." Have you ever said that? Have you assumed that a friend would, for example, welcome another person to come along for lunch? That a coworker doesn't mind when you run ten minutes late regularly? Think again.

You have unique relationships with every individual in your life. You are close to some friends and co-workers, pleasant with others, and perhaps even at odds with others. Some of the challenges that can occur in relationships (at home, work and in the community) happen when assumptions are made. So keep the following in mind as you relate with others.

How would you describe this person’s personality? Some people have a "the more the merrier" attitude about life and it may be safe to assume they don't mind others joining in the fun. Try not to assume their willingness every time you make plans though. Other personalities are thrown off when plans are changed or unexpected guests arrive.

Have I been listening to them? Sometimes we get to know people well enough that we start tuning out their thoughts and feelings, thinking we already know how they will respond. However, they may be changing as they grow or face different circumstances. So always listen attentively.

Am I asking questions? Rather than assume, as in our example, that is okay to invite others to an activity to which you have been invited, why not just ask? "Would you mind if others joined us?" can help avoid assumptions and hard feelings.

Am I being flexible? Take a look at your own personality and tendencies. Do you want things a certain way and feel out of sorts when it doesn't go your way? We feel more strongly about certain things than we admit sometimes. I have had that happen. Often, there is no need to strongly react. If I do, and examine my heart, it may be from a place of pride or fear.

Avoiding assumptions goes a long way toward protecting relationships. Even if someone's behavior is predictable, never assume something more isn't going on in their lives. It is better to ask questions and communicate rather than make assumptions, even with people you know well.

Read more »

Teambuilding Activity: Scavenger Hunt

Have a creative person on your team develop a scavenger hunt or quiz based on facts about your organization. This works well, for example, if you work in a building that holds a lot of history, but you can do it with any situation.

Hand out or email questions and have a deadline for turning them in, and schedule a little party for giving out prizes for the most answers correct, or fastest completion of the quiz.

If you want to be a little more elaborate, set up clues around your building, town, or city and have people work in teams to get to a final destination. You can be waiting at a restaurant or rented room with a special treat to congratulate the employees as they finish.

The goal in this game is three-fold. First, if well-researched, it will provide information about your company and location that will educate your employees. Secondly, it will sharpen your teams' thinking skills. Lastly, it will be fun. Fun companies retain good, devoted employees which has a positive affect on your culture and bottom line. That's a win-win for everyone.

Read more »

When YOU Leave

It's hard to say "goodbye" isn't it? Last week's post was about handling the departure of a teammate. This week, let's talk about you.

At some point in your career, and maybe several times, you'll be saying "goodbye" to a job and teammates. How you leave is important. The following principles apply whether you liked your job, or hated it, or somewhere in between.

Give a good notice. I know, I know. Some people feel that because a company can kick you out at any time with little to no notice, you shouldn't have to give them a notice when you want to leave. Sorry folks, that's not professional. Do that, and  you are ultimately hurting yourself. You can't control the company, but you can take responsibility on your end. Give at least a full two-week notice, sometimes more in certain circumstances. If you are asked to leave before fulfilling it, leave graciously.

Tell teammates. If appropriate, talk to teammates and give them whatever is reasonable information about why you are leaving. This helps dispel rumors. Maintain confidentiality when you need to, but don't be afraid to explain a few things—in a positive way—if it will help.

 

Don't burn bridges. As tempted as you may feel (depending on the circumstances) to badmouth a manager or the company, DON'T DO IT. Bitterness only reflects poorly on you, and may leave a bad taste to your former coworkers. A poor attitude can come back to haunt you when you are searching for new positions. Make people miss you!

Create a good reference. Behave in such a way that the company can't help but give you a good reference. (If you are being fired, this may be rather hard, but if you handle even that professionally, it can reflect well on you later.)

Think of your replacement. Do whatever you can to make the transition easy. Organize files. Save electronic files in one simple to find place that he/she can sort through to find something later. Don't leave emails unanswered. If possible, spend some time training him/her yourself.

Communicate. A few days before your departure, set up an "out of office" message on your email, educating people that you are leaving, and who will handle messages in your place. This will give you a few days to still be around if there's a question YOU have to answer, while helping people learn to direct their inquiries elsewhere.

Thank your co-workers. Take some time to write a summary email of appreciation, naming specific things you enjoyed about working with particular departments or people. Try not to miss anyone. Find something about each department you can praise. Set up this "all employee" email to go out just before you leave. If you wish, and the company is okay with it, provide your contact info going further.

Make a clean break. Ideally, take a break between jobs. Be available for calls and emails, but let the former staff members initiate. Be careful about making too much contact with them during the first month off staff (as if you are still employed.) It will be easier for them and for you.

Maintain connections. This may seem contradictory to the tip above, but if you give some space and time between the tips, it can work well. Set up lunch visits or stop in occasionally. Connect on social media if you are comfortable with that. Don't ask too many questions about how things are going at the workplace, and don't entertain gossip. Instead focus on friendships. You may find that these folks truly are friends, or that they were just pleasant co-workers. Either one is okay as long as you know the difference.

For the most part, I tried to follow the above principles during a recent job transition. One of my coworkers responded to my “goodbye” email with “This impresses me as one of the most delightful DEPARTURES  I’ve ever seen.” 

May yours be the same.

Read more »

When Someone Leaves

The day I wrote this was my last day on a church staff. I'd been working part-time for a large church for over five years, and full-time at my own church for ten years before that. I worked for non-profit organizations prior to that, and with only one exception (and my own business) I've been in the non-profit sector for all of my career.

I'll be continuing my own business, and later this summer will be joining a firm part-time for a position related to, but different from what I have been doing. It's exciting but odd to step into a somewhat-new industry.

I've been blessed with good teams at both churches I've worked for. I didn't experience the "but if you really knew him/her behind the scenes" stuff some church staff members experience. I was able to leave with grace in both situations, although both departures were prompted by reorganization, not my own desire to leave and move on. God has worked in my life through both the time spent on these staffs, and the way the departure was handled.

As much as teambuilding helps you build a "family" feel in your workplace, someone is going to leave sometime and the team will change. Here are a few tips for handling it well with your team.

Communicate, yet protect: depending on the circumstances around the departure, keep in mind the feelings of the person leaving. Communicate to staff based first on appropriateness and whether the person will feel awkward with everyone knowing why they are leaving. If you can't, or shouldn't share all details, try to communicate in a way that leaves little tolerance for rumor mongering. 

Celebrate: find a way to celebrate the person, either publicly or privately. Have a cake (see the photo of mine above) and allow staff members to share compliments. Or if the person hates being the center of attention, circulate a card to give them before they go. A card may be a better option if the departure was less than pleasant, because it still acknowledges his/her contribution.

Cut the cord: as hard as it is (and I didn't like it either) there comes a time when the employee and the organization have to make a clean break. Establish a time for an exit interview when the employee can voice final thoughts, turn in keys, parking passes, etc. Don't treat him/her like a criminal but be professional. As quickly as possible, turn off their email account so lingering emails aren't left unhandled. Have an "out of office" message to redirect clients to the proper staff person.

Continue the relationship: this may be contradictory to what I just wrote, but keep the relationship going in a modified way if it is appropriate to do so. In my case, I still attend one of the churches I used to work for and maintain friendly relationships with former co-workers from both churches. I wouldn't hesitate to get involved in activities at either church. If there are opportunities for the person to volunteer, consider allowing him/her to do so. Encourage people to stay in touch by email or Facebook should the former employee enjoy that and the leaving was under good terms.

Consult with remaining employees: make sure to figure out who will be doing what in the absence of the former employee (particularly if you don't have immediate plans to replace them.) Allow for ideas and don't just dump on others without consulting them first. As much as possible, try to handle things that come up without calling the former employee very much. (This depends in part on how well the employee transitioned work, communications, etc. to others, but if you can figure things out on your own, do so.)

Whenever an employee leaves, part of the team is affected for at least a little while. Consider those affects and do what you can to make the transition as smooth as possible for the leaving employee and those that remain behind. Change isn't easy, but it's a fact of life, particularly in the business world. A little effort can go a long way toward helping it be as smooth as possible.

Read more »

Peanut Butter and Honey

As I write this, I am sitting in my favorite writing spot, a coffee shop on the banks of the river in my city. Today I decided to have a whole wheat bagel with peanut butter and banana. There is leftover peanut butter, so I decided to add a little honey to it, stir it together, and finish it up just as it is.  Yum!

You can't see the honey in the container. But you can taste it. It's that little bit of extra sweetness that brings the peanut butter to "treat" level.

That "honey" is the same thing you will find in a workplace culture that has the undeniable, indefinable feeling of "this is a great place to work." Where does that culture come from?

Taking care of your employees.

Your people are your teammates. One organization I know refers to their folks as team members more than as employees. That language elevates the dignity of every position, whatever the title they hold.

It may seem to be common sense that you should take care of your teammates, but it's amazing how many companies lose sight of common sense, particularly the larger they get. It becomes more about policies, procedures, rules, standards, etc. I'm all for fairness, for consistency, for smart business practices. But above that, these are people we work with.

Do you know anything about their personal life? You don't have to know their life story, but are you aware of any dimension beyond their work.

Do you know of a hobby or talent or passion that is lying untapped? Can you work it out so they can shine with that skill in some task in your workplace?

Are they distracted by a personal problem?

When is their birthday? The anniversary of their hire date?

Have you ever said "thank you" sincerely? (Not just the typical "thanks" at the end of every email.)

Do you go out to lunch with a variety of co-workers rather than the same group of peers?

Do you gossip or complain rather than uplift people to others?

Do you ever initiate casual conversation to build relationships rather than just talk about work projects? (For conversation starters, follow me on Twitter. Every day at 2:30EST I provide info about what unique holiday it is and it can prompt interesting discussions with your coworkers.)

If the peanut butter is your organization, the honey are these extra but invaluable things that you do to be sensitive to the feelings of those around you. Believe me, you will get far more cooperation by adding a little sincere honey to your surroundings by being thoughtful rather than being demanding, pushy, and overly direct. Maybe, in part, that's where the saying "You catch more flies with honey..." came from.

Application: What one suggestion above can you begin to implement to build better relationships with your coworkers?

Read more »

Administrative Lessons from Esther 8

Over at my Break Time Bible Study site, we are going through the book of Esther. Chapter 8 is fantastic for noting the value of teamwork and effective administration so I am sharing the content here that will appear there later this week. Enjoy! - Beth

In chapter 8, some excitement occurs in the story of Esther. It is at this point that the king makes a decision to "approve" Esther's request that her people, the Jews, be saved from destruction. Isn't that great?

Yes, but...

What if the king's scribes didn't respond quickly to write the edict? (v. 9)

What if people didn't know all the individual languages, to be able to write in that language, for all the various provinces? (v. 9)

What if the "sealing" of the edict hadn't happened properly, to affirm the authority of the command? (v. 10)

What if the person who "wrote in the name of the king" didn't accurately portray what the king wanted? (v. 10)

What if the mounted couriers didn't speed to deliver the news? (They didn't have email or Facebook back then.) (vv. 10, 14)

For that matter, what if those who took care of the horses did a sloppy job, resulting in sluggish, overweight horses that couldn't gallop? (It is noted that these horses were of prime pedigree.) (v. 10)

What if a specific date (the thirteenth day of the twelfth month) hadn't been specifically chosen? (v. 12)

What if copies weren't quickly made (they didn't have copiers) so all provinces could get the same message? (v. 13)

The Jews would have died.

Do you see how important good administration, training, and teamwork is?

Read more »