Are you swayed by the crowd?

Photo courtesy of Karen_O’D (Creative Commons)

It is tempting as a leader to make choices and decisions based on what your team, clients or customers want most. But that’s not always what is best for your company or organization.

Whether you are considering changing your hours, altering your process, or adding a new product line, it is important to that you evaluate all of your options instead of listening to the loudest and most urgent voices. The following steps may help you determine the best path in those situations:

• Input from different areas – Be sure to talk not to just the most vocal group wanting the change, but talk to each department or segment affected. Find out how the change will impact their area, whether that is an increase in phone calls or changes in how they will have to process. Ask a lot of questions!
• Consider all sides – Look at pros and cons for each option, and consider not just the immediate need, but what is currently working and what is frustrating those affected.
• Look at long term – Don’t just look for a quick fix. Be sure to look at long term affects, including cycles or seasons, and how the change will play out over months or years.
• Don’t be influenced by personalities – Remember that it’s business, not personal, so don’t let the characters involved be part of your decision.
• Take your time – Actually, take the time appropriate to the magnitude of the decision.  Don’t be rushed or drag your feet.

As a leader, you must be intentional in making those big decisions. While it is tempting to go with the requests of the majority, consideration must be given to all sides of the issue and all parties involved. Yes, change is difficult, but changing back is harder!

What decision have you made because of the crowd that you regretted later?

 

Nourishment of the mind and soul

What are you reading lately? Do you have a stack on your bedside table?

One of the most important things a leader can do is read to stay stimulated, keep a sharp mind and improve their leadership skills.  I know from my own experience that many times a business book will present material I’ve seen before, but it does so in a way that strikes a chord and makes a difference in my leadership or productivity now. That’s right – it makes sense now when it didn’t on previous encounters with the same information. Bingo – inspiration!

So here’s what I’m reading and why:

• The Impact Equation by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith (release date 10/25/12 – if you haven’t already pre-ordered, I highly recommend it. I originally requested a preview copy so I could write a review, since I’m taking the Blog Topics Master Class with Chris Brogan. But what I’ve discovered is that there is so much information about getting your message out that I have highlights and post-its on practically every page and am having to read slowly to absorb it all! This will definitely be a book I revisit often.
• How to Talk to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere by Larry King – this was homework for Blog Topics Master Class, but has turned into a nice little read. Larry King has a delightfully casual style of writing, so it feels like we’re sitting down with a cup of coffee for a chat. I’m learning all sorts of ways to be a better conversationalist.
• Love Works by Joel Manby – interviewed by Chris LoCurto for the EntreLeadership podcast, I cannot wait to dig into this material which promotes values like patience and empowerment in the workplace.
• God’s Promises for You by Max Lucado – a friend lent me this tiny volume that is jam packed with scripture and commentary broken down into different topics like praise, trust and grace.

Your turn, what are you reading and why?

 

Categorizing when you defy categories

How do you describe yourself? Your leadership? Your skills?

It is natural to try to fit people into categories, and especially the folks you work with – they are great with numbers, or she’s an artist, or he gives terrific presentations. There are personality profiles such as the DISC profile, which will define you as dominant, influencing, steady or consistent or Meyers-Briggs, that will refine your style to things like introvert/extrovert, thinking/feeling, etc.

But do you discount or overlook a person’s other skills or talents because you have tucked them into a particular pigeon-hole?

For instance, I am a high high C on the DISC profile and an ESTJ on Meyer’s-Briggs, which means that I am highly analytical and detail oriented. I fit very neatly in that category and thrive in very structured environments creating lots of plans, lists and guidelines.

And yet, I have an artistic side with my writing and graphic design. What wildness is this? Maybe I don’t fit so neatly in that structured category after all.

Have you done that with your team members?

Don’t get me wrong – I definitely agree with working within someone’s dominant personality style, but I think it’s important to remember that they may have other qualities as well. And we shouldn’t just assume they are only what they project most often.

Here are some ways to explore your team members’ strengths and better utilize their skill sets:

• Evaluate – find out what your team members’ strength areas are and under what conditions they work best. But also look at what their secondary areas of strength and interest. Ideally, this should have been determined before you put them in their position, but at least make sure they are in a suitable work situation.
• Talk – ask what parts of their job your team members enjoy the most, and what other areas they might like to explore.
• Observe – when does your team member excel, but also, when does she light up? What really brings a smile?
• Challenge – challenge your team member to find ways to utilize their other strengths. Are there other areas of your business or organization that could benefit from even a short term project using their other strengths?

The best leaders don’t just rely on the primary strength areas of their team members, but know them well enough to develop their other areas of passion as well. Imagine how much more successful your team would be if team members contributed all of their assets. And how much happier!

How can you expand the effectiveness of your team by using all of their strengths?

 

Keeping up when you’re in front of the fire hose

Photo courtesy of Swift Benjamin (Creative Commons)

Picture flashing red lights and alarms blaring and a deep voice saying “caution, caution” – that is my brain on overload! I love to learn, and I will seek out books, conferences and conversations where I can absorb new information to make myself a better leader and a better person.

I have a huge pile of books (both literally and “stacked” in my Kindle Fire) that I want to read. Most are business/leadership books, like The Impact Equation by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith, How To Talk to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere by Larry King, Love Works by Joel Manby and The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. On top of that, I’ve been to 3 different conferences in the last couple of months.

Lately, I feel like I’ve been blasted by a fire hose of inspiration!

I have struggled with how to use all that information in the best way, and not be so overwhelmed that I let it all slip away. I’ve discovered a few tactics to help process and use all that  information effectively:

• Take notes – your brain can’t possibly remember all that you heard or read, so notes, even references to page numbers, highlights or snippets of information can remind you later on.
• Process – set aside some time a day or two after your finish the conference, book, etc. and think about and jot down what your biggest takeaway ideas were. What impressed you?  What made you say “aha”?
• Share – if possible, talk with someone else, whether or not they were at the same conference or read the same book. Sometimes verbalizing your impressions causes you to remember things that would otherwise have stayed hidden. And if that person shared the experience, they might remind you of points you missed.
• Decide next steps –what are the next steps you need to implement based on what you learned? Don’t hope that you get it done, write it down and add it to your calendar or task list right now so you will see it and DO IT.
• Revisit – after a week or two, revisit your notes and next steps. Have you accomplished what you noted? What additional steps or tasks do you need to make progress? Are there additional resources you could seek to progress more?

It’s so exciting to come out of a conference fired up by the speakers and the new ideas, or finish that book with conviction of how you will improve. But we both know that when the routine and demands of your work and life press in, you slip back into old habits. By taking a few simple steps, you can keep the new information fresh, prolong that inspiration and stay motivated to make the changes you desire.

How do you take in and process a flood of new information and motivation?

 

Blending old and new – how do you find balance?

I grew up in Huntsville, Alabama, a city that is a mix of rich history and cutting edge technology.

Yes, it is called the “Rocket City” and is home of the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. But it also boasts a vibrant historic district with an emphasis on protecting the heritage.

I recently visited my mom and did my morning run through the Twickenham and Old Town districts. As I jogged past homes with historic markers from the late 1700’s and 1800’s, some with huge white columns, sweet front porches, and quaint gardens, I thought about the history behind those walls. But I also wondered what high tech wonders were hidden behind there as well.

In any business or organization, it is important to find a balance between “this is how we’ve always done it” and “jump on the bandwagon of the latest craze.” The challenge is to make sure you are keeping the best of the old, while blending the right amount of new. How do you keep it fresh yet functional?

• Keep what works – determine those processes that have worked well in your industry, business or organization. Protect those. No sense in changing something that is working well, unless you can make it better.
• Respect your customer base (or donor base or volunteer base) – it’s great to move into social media or other technology, but if you have an older customer base unfamiliar with computers or email, don’t do away with other forms of communication and leave them out. Find a way to continue to serve them.
• Stay on the cutting edge within reason – while it’s exciting to try out every new technological toy, be reasonable and upgrade when you need to and can afford it.
• Create excitement around your changes – when you do decide to add new features or processes, communicate it effectively. Give plenty of notice, and explain that “we’re improving your experience” so people get excited about the new and don’t feel a sense of dread.
• Test, test, and test some more – be sure your new process or technology will work without a glitch before rolling it out. There’s nothing worse than having to apologize because you moved too quickly. You will lose the trust of those you serve if you don’t do your due diligence.
• Honor your past – the past is what got you where you are, so don’t discard it. Find a way to value the people and processes that led to your success.

Your organization will stagnate and fail if you don’t continue to find better ways to do business. As fast as the world is changing, leaders must be able to keep up. The challenge is to advance at the right speed and in the right areas to continue our success.

How do you blend the old and new for your business?

 

Finding strength in your weaknesses

Let’s be honest – you’ve probably lost count of how many times you have had a performance review, and your boss goes through all the things you do well, and then there’s a pause. For effect. And then you have to listen to him tell you about your “areas of opportunity” and how you need to improve your performance in those areas.

We hear so much these days about working in your strengths. Author Tom Rath’s book Strengthsfinder 2.0 as well as author Marcus Buckingham’s books Now, Discover Your Strengths, Go Put Your Strengths To Work, and Standout, all encourage us to identify our assets and utilize them more effectively.

Yet as a leader, you probably will have responsibility for areas that are not your strengths. So how do you work around that and still help your team succeed?

One of my “areas of opportunity” is public speaking. As a high C on the DISC profile, I am all about details, planning, and strategies. Give me a big problem and I can break it down into smaller pieces and get those organized into a logical progression to get to the solution.

But tell me I have to present that solution to a group of people (more than maybe 5), and I freeze up and start looking for excuses why someone else should do it.

Over the years, I have discovered some strategies to cope with my areas of weakness, that may help you become more effective in your leadership:

• Partner– combine efforts with someone who is strong in the area(s) you are not, and share the responsibility.
• Train – learn how to do it – take classes, do exercises, work with someone – you may never consider it a strength, but at least you can improve.
• Practice – make time to work on that area so that you are more comfortable with the tools, skills or process.
• Write it out – write down what you hope to accomplish, whether that’s the outcome of a project or situation, so you can gain confidence. Seeing what “successfully finished” looks like can help you see alternatives to getting there.
• Discipline – just buckle down and do it. Thinking about it is often worse than just doing it.

While a good leader works within his strength areas to excel with his team, a great leader does not shrink back from finding ways to overcome his weaknesses. The key is to find the strategies to work through  the weakness and still accomplish the goal.

As a leader, what do you do to overcome your weaknesses?

 

Communication isn’t just talk: How I took my store to #4 (Part 4)

At its core, leadership is about inspiring people to do their best. Several years ago, I took over a broken bookstore (near the bottom of rankings in a major chain), and in a little over a year, brought it back to 4^th in the company out of hundreds of stores, based on metrics including sales, customer satisfaction, profitability, etc.

This is Part 4 of a 5-part series (Read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3) in which I will share leadership basics which can inspire your team to greatness. Even though I am no longer in the bookselling business, these principles are transferable to any leadership situation.

Photo courtesy of Tatiana12 (Creative Commons)

If everyone is not on the same wavelength, then any plan you develop is doomed. You must ensure that everyone on your team understands your culture, your core values, and what winning looks like.

In my store, we talked about how to serve our guests at every opportunity, and shared stats and stories at every shift meeting so that each team member knew where we stood, and what was expected of them. And we opened the store each day with the words, “It’s showtime!”

Share the Good and the Bad
We shared the positive customer satisfaction reports as well as the negative ones. If we received an unsatisfactory report, we would discuss remedies at a shift meeting to avoid that situation in the future.

Communicate Early and Often
When interviewing potential team members, we talked about the guest culture and the importance of that mindset. As a team member came on board in training, the concepts had already been introduced and were reinforced.

One of our team members was an artist, so he created signs with Disney characters and phrases that were posted near the door to the back office and the back storage room to remind the team of our principles. If someone had a less than guest-like interaction, the leader on duty would suggest they “go backstage” to regroup, and would cover for them, if necessary.

By sharing sales and customer satisfaction numbers with the team, they became invested in keeping those numbers strong. We celebrated as our ranking increased through the company. The credit was also shared with the entire team.

Know What Is Important
New releases were pointed out and team members were challenged to stay abreast of where titles were displayed and shelved. How much better was it when we could just walk a guest to the front table and hand them the book, rather than take the time to look it up and head to the section? And we frequently tag-teamed – if you overheard a request and you knew where it was, you just took the guest there and let the other team member help someone else.

We also created a list of the strengths and interests of each team member, so if a guest was asking about science fiction, but that wasn’t what you read, you could call on your co-worker who was an avid sci fi fan for advice.

Photo courtesy of Sean MacEntee (Creative Commons)

Lead by Example Every Day
Leadership and a winning culture do not thrive by being presented once and then put aside. Culture must be modeled by everyone every day, especially you as a leader. It must be discussed constantly. Each encounter should be an opportunity to reinforce those ideas and concepts.

If a team member slipped and referred to a customer, they were gently reminded to say guest. The terminology infiltrated every part of what we did. We even incorporated the word guest into our closing announcements!

When have you succeeded because your communication was so strong?

Read the conclusion, Part 5, “It’s Showtime.”  Thanks for reading!

 

What winning culture looks like: How I took my store to #4 (Part 3)

At its core, leadership is about inspiring people to do their best. Several years ago, I took over a broken bookstore (near the bottom of rankings in a major chain), and in a little over a year, brought it back to 4^th in the company out of hundreds of stores, based on metrics including sales, customer satisfaction, profitability, etc.

This is Part 3 of a 5-part series (Read Part 1 and Part 2) in which I will share leadership basics which can inspire your team to greatness. Even though I am no longer in the bookselling business, these principles are transferable to any leadership situation.

Photo courtesy of Julie Rybarczyk (Creative Commons)

The culture of your organization is probably the most important aspect of your winning plan. At the bookstore, we built a culture of excellence by treating our customers like guests. Based on the ideas of Disney, and the book, Be Our Guest, we translated everything into terms of welcoming guests into our home, the store. And we interpreted that on every level from answering the phone to greeting people at the registers.

Keep It Simple
By boiling the principles down to 3 main ideas, we were able to instill the principles in every team member:

• Treat everyone like a guest
• Leave it better than you found it
• Exceed expectations

Communicate Culture At Every Level
These simple concepts modeled and repeated by the leadership team, filtered down the ranks to every team member. We communicated with each other as well as with every guest (customer) who came in the store with respect, kindness and generosity.

Treat Everyone Like a Guest
We greeted each guest who came in the store to make them feel welcome, and offered assistance without being pushy.

The team was challenged to be creative in interpreting what “be my guest” looked like, so it was fun to see how each person excelled. It could be making recommendations of additional titles, a fun way to answer the phone, or interesting conversations during the checkout.

Leave It Better Than You Found It
We focused on keeping the store neat and orderly, from the shelving standards to cleanliness.  Team members had section assignments, and were expected to check the order of the shelving periodically and if there were problems, they could request help to get the order corrected, whether that was a block of time for themselves or a team to help reorganize.

Sharing new release titles was part of the morning routine before the store opened, as well as during the day as new team members began their shift. We talked about what we were reading or listening to in order to be knowledgeable when recommending titles to our guests. Inventory levels were monitored closely so we could reorder titles quickly.

Neatness of the store was valued, so we were always picking up, straightening and restocking. To this day, I cannot go into a bookstore without straightening the stacks of books!

Exceed Expectations
No matter what the situation, we encouraged team members to exceed the expectations of our guests.

If we did not have the book or music a guest was seeking, we offered several options for finding it, from ordering it to checking another store (even a competitor).

Customer satisfaction levels skyrocketed as we focused on guest service. Team members from other stores requested transfers because they heard that our store was the “jewel in the crown” of the stores in the area.

What does a winning culture look like at your company?

Read Part 4, “Communication isn’t just talk.”  Thanks for reading!

 

Play your first string: How I took my store to #4 (Part 2)

At its core, leadership is about inspiring people to do their best. Several years ago, I took over a broken bookstore (near the bottom of rankings in a major chain), and in a little over a year, brought it back to 4^th in the company out of hundreds of stores, based on metrics including sales, customer satisfaction, profitability, etc.

This is Part 2 of a 5-part series (Read Part 1) in which I will share leadership basics which can inspire your team to greatness. Even though I am no longer in the bookselling business, these principles are transferable to any leadership situation.

Photo courtesy of Anne Rossley (Creative Commons)

A strong leadership team is one of the most critical components of winning. Your team multiplies your efforts and expands your influence. Like the first string on a football team, they have the skills and finesse to lead the rest of the team to success.

I arrived at the store following the firing of the General Manager and several other leaders. A new merchandising manager came on board with me, and the inventory manager remained for a couple of weeks before I had to replace him too.

With a broken store and poisonous culture, I needed to put the right leaders in place to partner with me. I sought hard workers, but also leaders who were passionate about books and about upholding standards.

Multiply Yourself
I needed leaders eager to train others so they could expand their reach. It is important to be sure you are doing the right things, but even more important to coach and train your team members so that everyone models the same behaviors. How frustrating is it when you have to constantly redo things because someone does it differently?

The key action is to train your team to the standards so everyone plays by the same rules.

Coach Instead of Punish
I encouraged my leaders to pay attention to the team to ensure compliance, but since the remaining team members were wounded by the former leaders, gentle corrections were needed rather than heavy handed punishment.

By leading from a humble place and coaching constantly, I started solidifying the leadership team and setting the groundwork for improvement. Each new leader brought a positive attitude and uplifting spirit that spread through the entire team.

Praise Publicly
As our sales and customer satisfaction numbers started to rise, it was important to praise the team publicly. We started choosing an “Employee of the Month” and posting the framed certificates in the hallway, so everyone coming in the store saw who had done well. At morning meetings, we celebrated the folks who had great customer satisfaction reports. We cheered when we saw a team member do something great, whether that was to finish shelving their section in record time or find that obscure title for a customer. By recognizing the good behavior, we encouraged more of it.

When has your team been the key to winning?

Read Part 3, “What winning culture looks like.”  Thanks for reading!

 

Stripped to the studs: How I took my store to #4 (Part 1)

At its core, leadership is about inspiring people to do their best. Several years ago, I took over a broken bookstore (near the bottom of rankings in a major chain), and in a little over a year, brought it back to 4th in the company out of hundreds of stores, based on metrics including sales, customer satisfaction, profitability, etc.

This is Part 1 of a 5-part series in which I will share leadership basics which can inspire your team to greatness. Even though I am no longer in the bookselling business, these principles are transferable to any leadership situation.

Photo courtesy of Giles Douglas (Creative Commons)

What does it take to move from failing to winning? In some situations, the first step has to be stripping away the parts that are rotten in order to expose the basic studs that are sound. When I took over a failing bookstore, we did exactly that – took away all the practices that worked against us, and started from the basics of bookselling and customer service.

After several years of poor leadership, the team’s bad attitudes and poor habits were rampant. The former leadership in the store had not stayed current with company initiatives, and seemed to even have done the opposite in some cases. Training, procedures, inventory controls and even the shelving order were not consistent with the overall company norms. Customer service was poor, and sales were dismal.

Build Trust
The first action had to be to start building trust with the remaining team. Having been through such a tumultuous change, those who were left needed to know that I was steady and interested in doing things the right way for them and the store.

Coaching and praise were two important elements of building their trust. One of the biggest differences between me and their former leader was that I was present. They saw me shelving, helping at the information desk, ringing people at the registers, and merchandising front tables pretty much every day. They were beginning to understand that I was not just the leader of their team; I was a part of the team.

Maintain Standards
Many of the standards of good customer service are simple acts of focus and attention. I modeled things like speaking to people as I moved through the store and walking a customer to a section when they asked for a title, and my team began to do the same things. Paying attention to how they were shelving or setting up displays and gently correcting as necessary helped them understand the standards and the importance of adhering to them.

Practice Consistency
I repeated myself – I repeated myself A LOT. Slowly the trust level rose, and the whole atmosphere began to improve. My team began to have a more positive attitude, and the store conditions began to improve. Customers were being served better and finding what they needed more often. Smiles became more frequent on the faces of my team as well as the customers. Sales slowly began to improve.

When have you had to go back to the basics to improve a situation?

Read Part 2, “Play your first string.”  Thanks for reading!