Leaders, Give Your Teams a Fresh Start

Each January, many organizations hold "Kick Off" meetings. They bring in their Sales people --and perhaps others too such as Sales Support, Operations, and IT-- for a big meeting, designed to start the New Year with excitement.

Such "kick off" meetings can be quite motivational. When they are successful, such meetings get everyone energized and focused on the strategic priorities for the year.

Why don't all leaders do the same for their teams?

Blogger and learning expert Annie Murphy Paul, publisher of The Brilliant Report, has highlighted some research that supports the effectiveness of these meetings.

She points to the work being done by Professor Katherine Milkman of Wharton on the "Fresh Start Effect."

The Fresh Start Effect says that people "are more likely to start a diet, go to the gym, and make commitments to reach (their) goals around the start of a new year."

Why is this?  There is something about January (and other temporal starting points such a birthday or an anniversary), Milkman has found, that makes us feel confident about the future, as though we can re-set and start over again.

So leaders should be capitalizing on this effect!

Here are some tips for leaders to help their teams start fresh and approach the new year with focus and vigor.

Gather the team - Getting everyone together, even for a day, is an investment worth considering. In today's business world, where teams are virtual, and team members are not co-located anymore, the bonds of team cohesion can weaken if you are not attentive to it. A cohesive team is a strong team.

Put first things first - Today's smart leaders know that the Number One priority is People.  When leaders make sure that their people are supported, aligned, and engaged, the results follow. "Putting people first" is the key to everything, especially safety, customer service, innovation, productivity, and profitability. A "kick off" meeting sends the signal that the team is critical to success.

Share the "Big Story" - Get everyone on the same page by letting them know The Big Story, i.e. the vision for the year. Achieving The Big Story requires everyone's effort and buy-in. It requires teamwork.  

So Leaders, Consider giving your teams a fresh start. They will enjoy it, and you will reap the benefits of it! 

Terrence Seamon designs and facilitates meetings that get results. Follow him on twitter @tseamon

7 Steps to New Hire Success

Speaking with a couple of college students who have internships this Summer, I was unpleasantly surprised to hear them say how bored they were. How they surfed the internet all day. How they “made up” work so that, when a boss walked by, they could “look busy.” How stressful they found it to have little or nothing to do all day.

Is this any way to treat a potential new hire? What sort of impression are these interns getting of your company? What produces this sad situation? In a nutshell, poor talent management.

With hiring on the upswing again, it won’t be long before you have some new hires. What are you going to do to avoid the outcomes above?

With the new science of employee engagement in mind, here are Seven Engaging Steps that you can do to get your new hires on the road to success:

1. Welcome warmly – Make sure the first day is a celebration. During the first few weeks, see that team members take the new hire to lunch a few times. Friendly socializing with the team will start the bonding that will later become cohesive work relationships.

2. Review job and expectations -Although this was discussed during the interview process, go over it again. Make sure that there is a clear grasp of what the new hire is there to do, who she is to work with, and what she is expected to produce. Take the time to draw her a picture of how she fits in to the bigger frame.

3. Plug the new hire in – Don’t keep the new hire sitting and waiting for things to happen. Instead, select one or more ongoing projects and attach her to the action as soon as possible. Describe her role initially as observer and listener; then, as soon as she is ready, as junior member of the team.

4. Engage fast – The prior step is an example of engage fast, a galvanizing approach to learning the business by jumping in vs sitting in a cubicle reviewing documents. The new hire will be immersed in the life of the department, and will quickly see what’s going on, who’s doing what, and how to contribute.

5. Assign mentor – New hires can get overwhelmed quickly. They will have a lot of questions. Pair her up with a mentor, ideally one of your staff who “knows the ropes” very well and has a positive outlook on the company. The mentor’s role is to take the new hire under his wing and continue the team and task socialization process begun on Day One.

6. Communicate frequently – Daily communication may sound like overkill, but in a high engagement approach such as this, anything less is high risk. Why? With so much new information to process, a newcomer can easily go off track, with questions, misunderstandings  and unrealistic perspectives starting to form in their minds. Much better to have engaging and intensive conversations with diverse members of the organization about what each party is doing, how they contribute to the organization’s goals, and how they inter-relate with each other.

7. Ask for their ideas – If you have hired well, you will have added an enthusiastic person to your team. If you’ve engaged them with the steps above, you will have a “new idea engine” waiting to be unleashed. Ask them what they think about what’s going on, what they have observed, what they have heard. Ask them what they want to do. Listen and empower them to pursue what they are most excited about.

With an engaging approach to onboarding your new hires such as this, you will avoid the waste of talent described above. And you will be well on the way to new hire success.

Remember:  Every new hire is an opportunity to change and improve the brand of your business.

For more tips on managing talent, engaging people, and improving your workplace, visit my website Facilitation Solutions and invite me into your organization.

3 Things Real Leaders Do

Authentically leading and engaging others is a two-way street. It’s collaborative. And each party influences the other.

So here are three things that leaders do…that you can start doing today.

1. Leaders ask for input – Leaders know that power is not in position. Rather, power is in posture. And the most powerful posture is humility.  An open and receptive posture that invites and welcomes many voices and perspectives. “What are your thoughts?” is a positive power play with real potential. 

So, leaders actively seek the ideas of their team members. “What do you guys think we should do?” is not a sign of weakness on the part of the leader. Quite the contrary. It’s brilliance. Leaders ask for help. Leaders listen. And, in so doing, they engage and empower others.

2. Leaders seek wisdom before they take action – Leaders take action based on what they believe is wise, that is, the right course for the right reasons. Where do they find this wisdom? While leaders often have good ideas, even the smartest know that they don’t have all the ideas. There may be even better ideas out there among their constituents. The leader that seeks the wisdom of the people in the system is indeed a wise one.

3. Leaders learn and change – Leaders are agents of change. And all change starts with the man or woman in the mirror. The Self. The wise leader takes a long and honest look in the mirror. And resolves to make the necessary changes in himself.

So, if you are thinking about being a leader at work or outside of work, start acting like a leader.

Leaders, Are You Too Busy?

Today on LinkedIn, I posted this Leadership Thought of the Day:

If you are a leader at the senior level of an organization and you say "I'm so busy," something is not right. Why are you so busy? What are you doing?  

It's my paraphrase of a comment made the other day during a client engagement by the CEO of an organization where I was facilitating a day-long retreat for the senior leadership team.

He further explained what he meant.

The participants, vice presidents and Department Heads in a rapidly growing global life-sciences company, were reflecting on what it meant to be leaders in their specific context.  One of the topics was Focus.

The CEO got up from his chair and went to the whiteboard to draw some diagrams and explain his point of view.

Using Stephen Covey's Urgency/Importance grid as an illustration, he emphatically drew three stars in the Quadrant Two area.  He said:

"If you say 'I'm so busy' but you are not spending time here (Q II), something is wrong. What are you doing? Are you fighting fires all day? Are you doing things that your people should be doing?

"You should be delegating, coaching, and developing your direct reports. That's the investment we need here at our Company."

That's what leaders should be busy doing.

Build your people's capability, and they will build the business.

Terrence Seamon is a leadership development consultant, coach, and facilitator. Follow him on twitter @tseamon, and join his alliance on facebook, Facilitation Solutions.

Be the Leader your Company Needs

Confused by all the rhetoric about leadership?

Here's a way to cut through the noise and find the essence:

Be the leader your organization needs.

Today and Tomorrow.

Today
So much is written about leadership! Qualities of leaders. Traits of leaders. It's all interesting, to be sure. But, at the end of the day, you may be thinking: If you want to be a leader, what should you do?

Step One is look in the mirror. What do you see? Is that a leader looking back at you?
There are three things to look for in your self-assessment.

Leaders ask for input - Leaders know that power is not in position. Rather, power is in posture. And the most powerful posture is humility. An open and receptive posture that invites and welcomes many voices and perspectives. "What are your thoughts?" is a positive power play with real potential. So, leaders actively seek the ideas of their team members. "What do you think we should do?" is not a sign of weakness on the part of the leader. Quite the contrary. It's brilliance. Leaders ask for help. Leaders listen. And, in so doing, they engage and empower others.

Leaders seek wisdom before they take action - Leaders take action based on what they believe is wise, that is, the right course for the right reasons. Where do they find this wisdom? While leaders often have good ideas, even the smartest know that they don't have all the ideas. There may be even better ideas out there among their constituents. The leader that seeks the wisdom of the people in the system is indeed a wise one.

Leaders seek feedback - Leaders are agents of change. And all change starts with the man or woman in the mirror. Wise leaders take a long and honest look in the mirror. They seek feedback and consider it carefully. And resolve to make the necessary changes.

Step Two is look around you. What needs to be done?

Leadership is not about level. It's about leading. And leading is execution. It's making things happen. It is the courageous choice to identify a problem or a challenge and say "I will take a stand. I will take action. I will lead others by my example."

When Superstorm Sandy hit this region, teams of clean-up volunteers sprang into action, pitching in and helping fellow residents in towns at the New Jersey shore that were devastated. This is leadership in action. And it's going on all the time. Everywhere. Ordinary leaders in communities and organizations the world over. Men and women who may not make big salaries or garner big headlines.

Nevertheless they are leaders: people who see a crying need and they step up to it. They are making a difference.

Leadership is not a position. It's a choice.

Tomorrow

Step Three is look ahead. Where are you going? Where is your organization going?

As Warren Bennis said so well, Leadership is the capacity to turn vision into reality.

But first there has to be a Vision.

It's incredibly hard to predict the future with any degree of certainty. But I am convinced that you can create the future you desire.

What we need in changing organizations is a vista on the future.

The word vista means a pleasing view or prospect, a vision of the future (from the Latin videre "to see")

V = Vision of the desired state

I = Improvement-based culture

S = Situation assessment of the current state

T = Targets identified for the improvements

A = Actions aligned to the aims

With a positive vista on the future you desire, you can create the energy to make it happen in your organization.

That's real leadership.

Terrence Seamon is passionate about teams, leadership, organizations, and change. Follow him on twitter @tseamon, and join his alliance on facebook, Facilitation Solutions.

Note:  If you liked this post, be sure to read my next post:  Leaders, Do Not Mis-Lead Your Teams

Leaders, Are your teams empowered?

The key to your team's success is taking the risk of letting go and giving power to your people. That's essentially what the word 'empowerment' is saying. Yes, it's scary. It means giving up some control. But by making your staff stronger, you strengthen the whole organization.

India-based CEO Vineet Nayar has built a highly successful software company by embarking upon a management philosophy he calls "Employees First." In a blog post, he wrote:

“All too often, companies take employees — the lifeblood of every organization — for granted, and the hype surrounding their leaders overshadows the work that employees do. Together, employees have the power to find innovative solutions to the many problems we face. Yet, we prefer to wait for a superhero to change the world with the wave of a magic wand. Let's not fool ourselves; employees are at the core of every game-changing idea. They have built yesterday and today, and undoubtedly, they are going to fashion tomorrow. ”
Washington D.C.-based creativity consultant Kristen Barney, at her blog Insight & Interaction, writes "when an organization has a culture and practices that support everyone in stepping into their highest potential, leaders can expect members to take initiative and excel beyond what is possible when controlled from the top."

Nayar and Barney are right on the money. If you are a leader in your organization and you want innovation, your job is to build the culture and practices that will support your people stepping up to their potential.

Regarding the role of the leader, Nayar has said "Get out of the way!"

"The role of the CEO is to enable people to excel, help them discover their own wisdom, engage themselves entirely in their work, and accept responsibility for making change.” 
When a leader does this, the people will say “We did it ourselves.”

Together, employees have the power to find innovative solutions to the many problems we face.

Four key steps in learning to empower others...

Respect - Effective leaders have a deep respect for their followers. They show it by asking for input, by listening, by speaking the truth, by keeping promises, and by building trust.

Engage - Effective leaders practice lively engagement with their people, seeking their involvement in change initiatives, seeking their ideas and opinions on improvements, having frequent two-way conversations, and making them feel like they are part of the very heart of the business.

Acknowledge - Effective leaders notice each member of the team as an individual human being, recognizing each one's talents, strengths, issues, and goals. Effective leaders are great listeners, opening up to everyone's perspectives, even making sure that dissenting voices are heard.

LBYE - Effective leaders know that they lead by their example. They understand that 'everything they do teaches.' So they coach on a regular basis, always on the lookout for potential that can be evoked and developed.

Highly engaged cultures are action oriented and collaborative. They cherish and unleash the real personalities of the people who work there, resulting in creativity, fun and excitement. In addition to this energy, these organizations empower people through trust, training, and teamwork.

Organizations known for service excellence, like Disney, Southwest Air, and Costco, invest a lot in developing their people. Delegation of assignments and responsibility is a great way to develop others. Plus it empowers them to take on more, growing not only their skills but also their sense of ownership.

Effective leaders do everything in their power to support their people so that they can be successful. In a nutshell, the best leaders empower their people. By giving the team the tools, the training, the equipment, the information, and the authority, plus whatever else is needed to get the job done, the leader has set the team free. 

The best way to find out how effective a leader is, is to ask the led. The followers know best how well their leader is doing. 

Do you have the courage to ask them?

Terrence Seamon has over thirty years of business experience in leadership development, management training, team building, and organizational change, in both internal as well as external consulting roles. Terry has a Master’s degree in Education from Rutgers Graduate School of Education, as well as a Bachelor's degree in Human Communication from Rutgers. His main interest areas these days are change and transition, job search coaching, stress and wellness, employee engagement, and leadership development. You can find him on twitter at tseamonand on facebook at Facilitation Solutions.

For more guidance on Leadership, read Terry's book Lead the Way

Leaders, Are you acting with integrity?

I have long maintained that managing people is the second most difficult job on Planet Earth, the first being parenting. I often start my supervisory skills training classes with that.

The parallels between managing people and raising children are many. As are the lessons.

Just as we raise kids to be capable and to have a sense of responsibility for certain things, so also do we “raise workers” . . .

- to acquire the skills needed to do the job

- to be be aware of their responsibilities

- to be accountable for them, and 

- to take the appropriate actions necessary when they encounter issues....and when you are not around.

As parents we want our children to grow up to be good people. To be happy. To be productive and self-sustaining. To make the world a better place in some way.

Don't we want the same things for the people who work for us?

In a supervisory skills training for front line managers in the shipping industry, I asked them what they expect of their workers, most of whom are union employees.

They had a long list of answers including such items as "to get the job done," "to take care of the equipment," and "to work safely."

I asked the supervisors if such items were negotiable. They answered No. One said, "You can't compromise on things like that. If we don't stand firm on such expectations, it will hurt productivity, costs, and safety."

So we then delved into the key question: How do you, as Supervisors, lead, shape and guide your workers to meet and exceed the expectations?

My pastor Father Doug has a favorite saying: "Everything you do teaches." In the business world, we teach Supervisors that "you lead by your example" or LBYE for short.

This goes to the heart of Integrity which I like to define in three dimensions:

1) Doing the right thing: The leader with integrity encounters her people authentically. She doesn't hide behind her office door. Rather, she is visible, available, approachable. She listens and learns. She cares about her team and wants the best for them.

2) Doing what you said you were going to do: The leader with integrity follows through. She is true to her word. She can be counted on. If she makes a commitment, she will deliver on it. She has her team's back.

3) Making sure that your words and your actions are congruent with your values: The leader with integrity lives by a solid core of values. Values that guide her each day in all her decisions.

And integrity means honesty. She tells the truth, calling it as she sees it.She can be tough when the situation calls for it. But always with a caring intent. No matter what, there is always a pulse of heartfelt love motivating the Leader with Integrity, because it's all about that.

The "A" in LEADS therefore is for Acting: What you do and how you do it.

Effective supervisors act with integrity. Everything they do teaches. So they are mindful of their own conduct, self-aware of the signals their actions (and non-actions) may be sending to their teams.

If you are not getting the performance and results you want from your team, stop and take a look in the mirror. That's where the assessment must begin if you want to make meaningful improvement that sticks.

This article is the third in a series of practical tips for front line leaders.

Terrence Seamon has over thirty years of business experience in leadership development, management training, team building, and organizational change, in both internal as well as external consulting roles. Terry has a Master’s degree in Education from Rutgers Graduate School of Education, as well as a Bachelor's degree in Human Communication from Rutgers. His main interest areas these days are change and transition, job search coaching, stress and wellness, employee engagement, and leadership development. You can find him on twitter at tseamonand on facebook at Facilitation Solutions.

For more guidance on Leadership, read Terry's book Lead the Way