Embrace Technology

For the most part, the promise of technology making our lives easier is true. In reality, there may be times when technology seems like a leash or an anchor tethering us to our work even when we’re away, and most of us have felt a fleeting bout of resentment brought on by our own dependence on today’s technological wonders. If you’re one of the many who would practically require a surgeon to be separated from your cell phone, you understand this all too well. However, using the right technology in the right way can help us to increase productivity and accuracy, make processes more efficient, and transform our world in ways that would be otherwise impossible.

The trick is to find the right balance. Technology changes so quickly that resolving to have the latest and greatest at all times is unrealistic, costly, and even counter-productive. At the same time, avoiding new technology for the fear of something new replacing it within a short period of time would be equally detrimental. While the old adage discourages us from trying to fix that which is not broken, systematic pursuit of growth and improvement is an absolute must. It would be irresponsible to avoid that which is new simply because the old ways seem to work.

As a leader/manager it’s up to you to seek out ways to improve the company’s current processes. Utilize the talents and resources available to you to assess and evaluate those processes, and make your decisions accordingly. There are many factors to consider – the size of a company, number of employees, ROI etc. If what makes your company special or unique are hand-crafted products, then introducing technology for mass production will make little sense. If, however, outdated processes are left as they are simply because of the resistance to change, you may be overdue in your evaluation. Seek out and embrace new technology – especially if it will cut your costs, improve productivity, give you an edge over your competitors, and/or generally make life easier.

Employees Are An Asset

Your employees are an asset to both you as a leader/manager and to the company as a whole. You already know that in order to get the most out of our assets, we need to take care of them. The same idea applies here – we must give the right kind of care and consideration to our employees in order to get their best in return. Hiring people is expensive. You (and the company) spend considerable time and energy to find and hire every single one of your employees. Furthermore, you hire people for a reason – you need a person to do certain work and you believe that this is the right person for the job. After you spend all this time and energy looking and hiring, it’s crucial that you take care of this asset. Failing to do so would be like buying something expensive then forgetting about it and leaving it to fall into disrepair. That would simply make no sense.

There’s nothing worse, nothing more toxic and wasteful than a company where the employee is seen as the enemy. If you feel the need to micromanage and believe that your employees can’t be trusted and must be watched every minute of the day, there’s something very wrong. You’ve either managed to hire the most sorry bunch of misfits this side of the Mason-Dixon Line, and need serious help with recruiting the right people, or you’re a paranoid micromanager and should get some help. Either way, if this is the kind of environment in which you work (and maybe even promote), then you have some serious work ahead of you.

Take a look at your employees and assess their talents and performance. Why were they hired? Are they doing the job? Are they living up to their potential? What are you doing to consistently get their best? It’s your responsibility as a leader/manager to evaluate and act accordingly, so that you (and the company) can reap the benefits of your employees’ gifts and talents, and nurture and develop their potential.

If you do work for a company where employees are not seen as assets, and feel overwhelmed by the idea of taking on the corporate culture, do your part by taking care of the assets in your department. Take care of the employees that you manage and reap the benefits that will come your way. Read through some of the previous posts to get ideas on how to coach and develop your employees, how to keep them happy, and how to get their best time and time again.

Taking Time To Recharge

Summer is in full swing. Traditionally, this is the time when people everywhere take time to get away, relax, and be with their families. Given how undermanned and thinly stretched some companies have become as a result of the economic chaos, the idea of employees taking time off may be a daunting one. This blog already addressed the importance of you taking time off to recharge. The same applies to all of your employees. Just as being able to get away and clear your head makes you a better and more effective leader/manager, having time off from work makes for happier, healthier, and more relaxed employees, and improves employee performance as a result.

Your responsibility as the leader/manager is to ensure that everyone gets some time away from their job. It’s up to you to figure out the logistics and make sure that it’s business as usual for the rest of the company. Being short-handed is no excuse for not giving your people much deserved vacation time. We all know that weekends tend to be short and full of errands and don’t count as vacation. You may even have to convince a dedicated employee to take some time off. So whether it’s a couple of long weekends or an actual week off, you have to figure out a way to let your employees take some vacations with minimal disruption to everyone else. Whether you spread the workload of the absent employee among his fellow workers or hire a temp to fill in, find a way to figure it out. Everyone needs time off. Never taking an actual vacation can lead to employee burn out, compromise the quality of their work, and even lead to them leaving the company. Be a leader/manager and take the bull by the horns. Be proactive and take care of your employees as well as yourself.

Minding Your Emotions

Part of being a great leader/manager is setting the right example for others. Part of setting a great example means not only being aware of your emotions, but also being in control of them (and the related behaviors). Emotions are part of being human, but emotional reactions must be kept in check at the office. It’s one thing to show excitement or disappointment, but emotional outbursts are an absolute no-no. The last thing a leader/manager needs is for his people to think that highly emotional behavior is acceptable at the office. When emotions run high, others may catch the fever and things can escalate.

High emotions are not only a bad example for your employees, they can also affect your business decisions. A decision that may be emotionally satisfying at the moment may prove to be disastrous (and irreversible) in the long run. Furthermore, making emotionally charged decisions will create an atmosphere of uncertainty, where irrational decisions are a high possibility. No one likes to walk on eggshells, especially when the reason is the boss who has the potential to “flip out” at any time.

Although leader/managers are fully human, and therefore emotional creatures, you have a responsibility to keeps your emotions in check, make rational decisions, set a good example, and promote a healthy work atmosphere. No small feat, but it’s all part of the job. If you think all of that is difficult, imagine trying to manage a group of emotionally irresponsible or unstable people. Instead, mind your emotions and give them something good to imitate.

Self-fulfilling prophecies

Just as good parents expect the very best from their children, so does a good manager when it comes to his employees. My last post talked about using stories as a way to teach and inspire. I’d like to share with you (a short version of) a story from my own past.

Nick was a troubled young man I coached during a time when a judge had ordered him to work at an office where I was employed. He came from a troubled background that led him to problems with drugs. Those around him expected him to fail and he followed that path. He was lucky to stand in front of a judge who wanted to give him a chance to make different choices. Eventually an opportunity presented itself where he was introduced to people who not only expected different and better things from him, but actually believed that he was capable of succeeding. In an environment where his past was not seen as his destiny, Nick was treated as if he was no different than anyone else there. Conveying positive expectations and beliefs in both verbal and non-verbal ways produced tremendous results. In the end Nick found his way onto a different life path. His journey wasn’t easy and the work never-ending, but he continued to make better choices long after he left our office. I eventually lost track of him, but hope that he continued to do the right thing.

I chose to share this story because it illustrates what tremendous difference expectations can make – be it those of others or the self. The story underlines the importance of expectations in self-fulfilling prophecies, as well as self-efficacy and the need for positive things in life. It shows how others’ expectations seemed to have shaped this young man’s life – as if choosing a life’s path for him.

So where do expectations fit into your daily life at the office? Do you have a difficult employee who’s bound to be nothing but trouble? Or one who’s never going to be anything more than a slacker? Pay close attention to your approach. What message are you sending? Your messages go beyond what you say – your body language can negate all of your words. How are you contributing to their behavior? Do you expect this person to be anything more than what you’ve seen so far?

I won’t tell you that expectations alone will fix all problems, but they make a tremendous difference in getting what you need from others. Consider that the next time you’re assessing one of your employees.

What's in a vision?

When facing change one of the most important elements is having a clear vision. The lack of one can have disastrous effects. Think about your goals. How do you see the end results? Your vision must be clear and well defined, and it should only take you a few minutes to communicate it to others. Make it short, sweet and to the point – and yes, interesting. At the end of the presentation (of your ideas) it should be obvious that your audience understands and that their own interest has been provoked.

But before a vision can inspire and be shared by others, it has to inspire you – the leader. Your vision must be in harmony with your own values, and you must be willing to set an example with your own actions. This goes back to the idea of walking the walk rather than telling people to do as you say, not as you do. It’s your task to convey the image of an exciting future to others, appealing to shared values and aspirations, thusly enlisting them to share the vision. If others see your passion and enthusiasm, they’re going to get curious. This curiosity provides you with the opportunity to share your vision with others, hopefully inspiring them and enlisting their help in achieving that vision.

Keeping Great Employees

There have been countless changes brought on by the recent economic turmoil. Many companies have resorted to drastic changes in their attempts to survive. Not all were able to survive. Cutbacks and layoffs sent ripples of fear and uncertainty around the globe. And those who still have jobs are grateful to have them.

Being grateful to have a job is not the same as being happy with the job and the company. Once the current economic situation improves (and it will) and people feel more comfortable making any kind of moves (and they will), it’s very likely that some of those unhappy souls will dare to make some serious changes – yes, quit. Are you prepared to lose some of your talent? Can you afford it?

So how will you keep your employees? How will you ensure that they’re happy – especially in an environment riddled with cuts and raise freezes? It’s quite simple.

Let us assume that you already know that while people work for a paycheck, they need more. Feeling valued and appreciated makes a tremendous difference. But is that enough? Times are tough and work is stressful. Now more than ever employees need to be able to connect with others at work. Give them a way to share their joys, fears, and concerns – a safe place to vent and express themselves – and you’ll be helping to build a community, stronger teams, and more loyal employees. Having a sense of belonging inspires people to stick around in good times and in bad.

So what are some ways to strengthen your teams and inspire your employees to stay? It doesn’t have to be complicated. Organizing lunches to bring people together over food and corporate sports teams are oldies but goodies. But why not take it up a notch? Support networks and work-related/professional clubs are a great way for people who have something in common to connect. Hobby and interest groups can be engaging and a great deal of fun. Online networking and blogging have become such a large part of today’s culture. Why not make them part of the company’s culture. They can offer so many ways for people to connect. They can be as formal or informal as you want them to be, but it’s a good idea to offer more than one way for people to connect.

Put on your thinking cap and come up with some of your own ideas. Remember to lead by example and inspire others to participate. Most importantly, have some fun doing it.

Leaders and Managers

A while back I found a story on businessweek.com, which spoke of Brian Alger, a Toronto-area entrepreneur who bought the Pop Shoppe – a chain of soda stores, which operated most successfully in the 1970s. At its peak, the Pop Shoppe was selling 1 million bottles a day at over 1000 locations across Canada. Its product was a discount soda, which could be purchased in cases of 24 bottles where the consumers could mix and match the different flavors to their liking. The Pop Shoppe closed in 1983.

When Alger decided to bring back the Pop Shoppe, he considered the different options. As a manager, he had to examine the many alternatives and make decisions regarding the potential success of the business. He scrutinized the idea of re-opening the Pop Shoppe stores, but decided against it because today’s consumers prefer the convenience of buying their soft drinks at the same store where they get the rest of their groceries. Alger realized that placing the product on the same shelves with the multitude of other sodas would result in failure since the big companies can sell their products for less.

He decided to sell his product using the nostalgia card. Available at various stores, his soda would be a treat, which could bring back the childhood memories for the many who enjoyed it years ago. The retro appeal would attract today’s youth. Since it would be seen as more of a special treat, the higher price would be acceptable to consumers. Alger also decided to keep the original recipe formula to ensure that favorite flavors would taste just as good as they did so long ago. Additionally, he decided to keep the label on the bottle simple and understated. This would make it stand out from today’s busy soda labels. This is another way to play the nostalgia and retro cards.

I’ve chosen to share this story with you because it demonstrates the various responsibilities a manager faces while making business decisions. It also underlines the necessity to have some sort of vision of a direction for the business – clearly a task for a leader. Finally, although the story doesn’t get into any details about Alger working with a team of people, it stands to reason that his journey included placing himself in a leadership role.

Reflect on your own journey as a manager and examine how much of your daily efforts include being a leader. Once you have a better understanding of that ratio, you can tweak and adjust it to better fit it to specific situations.


http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/dec2005/id20051216_985463.htm?chan=sb

Leading by Example

“Do as I say, not as I do.” How well do people respond to that seemingly simple sentence? How well did you respond as a child? As an adult? As children we felt disappointment at hearing those words. As adults, that disappointment can easily morph into resentment.

Put yourself in a position of having to follow a leader who sends the message of do as I say, not as I do. Whether he actually says those words, or conveys the message with actions (or lack thereof), your response will be the same. Why should you follow a leader who doesn’t walk the walk? Would you find yourself questioning his ability to lead? How much respect would you have for him?

If you want your employees to take you seriously, all of these questions are worth asking as you examine your own position and leadership skills. Do you invite your employees to follow you as their leader by leading by example? Do you have their respect? Do you treat them as capable professionals, or as children who should simply do as you say, not as you do?

Set an example for others and inspire them to do what you want them to do by doing the right things yourself. It’ll be easier to get your employees on your team, and having their respect will make it simpler to be a more effective leader. Remember that your success as a leader is a work in progress, but it’s in your hands nonetheless. Learn from your mistakes and search for opportunities to improve yourself every day.

Creating Positive Vibes

Times are tough – they’ve been tough for a while. Your company may have experienced cutbacks and reorganization. People are stressed, overloaded, and pushed to the limit. All of this is a perfect recipe for morale problems. Once again, it’s up to you to do something about it. The simplest and least expensive thing that you as the leader/manager can do is to make sure that your employees know that you appreciate what they do. If your employees are truly putting forth their best efforts, let them know that you’re aware of their hard work.

It can be as simple as walking up to an employee to thank them for their efforts. A handshake or a pat on the back can really make a difference. You don’t have to spend half an hour chatting it up or re-living the project play-by-play. You can take a couple of minutes at a meeting to recognize someone, speak up while you pass them in the hallway, or just walk over to their desk to talk to them.

Be as specific as possible. If you’re recognizing the work someone did on a particular project, say so. If it was their suggestion or idea that made some notable difference, tell them that. Finally, if you just want to thank them for showing up each day, doing their best, and being part of the team, tell them exactly that. Most importantly, be GENUINE. Lip service can do more damage than you can imagine.

As always, there are a couple of things to consider: (1) keep an eye out for opportunities to recognize people, but don’t do so if it’s not deserved, (2) make sure that you’re not focusing on any single person in such a way that others may think you favor them, and (3) don’t thank everyone for everything all of the time – it won’t seem genuine or have the same effect.