Category: Operations

Better leaders or better followers?

Is your company among the 87% of employers who say improving retention is a key priority?*

It’s a struggle for business owners and HR professionals alike – keeping employees, especially those deemed as high-potential. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the median number of years wage and salary workers had been with their current employer was 4.2 years in January 2018.

 

Business with a strong learning culture enjoy employee engagement and retention rates 30-50% higher than those that don’t. – Robert Half

Keep your employees by demonstrating your commitment to them.

Vistage Master Chair Christine Spray will be taking a limited number of applicants for her Emerging Leader Program, kicking off on April 2.
The program curriculum is organized into four modules – Personal, Interpersonal, Team, and Organizational. Today’s post shifts our focus away from the leader.
Researchers Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard developed the Situational Leadership Model to shed light on an oft-overlooked aspect of practical leadership development: the attributes of the staff.
The makeup of any given team is as diverse as the number of possible DNA sequences. People are on different intellectual, maturity, and motivational levels. Effective leaders need to address their staff where each employee is at. The Situational Leadership Model identifies these as the four types of leader/follower styles:
  • Telling
    • Staff are characterized by low competence and low commitment, being unable and unwilling to comply, with possible feelings of insecurity.
    • Leaders must focus highly on tasks, with clear instructions and regular follow up. The leader must be encouraging and motivational, offering praise for positive results and correction for less than positive results.
  • Selling
    • Staff at this level have developed some competence with an improved (but perhaps not reliable) commitment, and are open to becoming cooperative and motivated.
    • Leaders must still focus highly on tasks with a focus on developing a relationship with the employee, and spend more time listening and offering advice, less “telling” and more “suggesting” and encouragement, acting as a coach.
  • Participating
    • Staff is now highly competent, but not yet convinced in his or her ability or not fully committed to doing their best and excel.
    • Leaders no longer need to give detailed instructions but do need to be involved to ensure work is done at the level required, focusing less on the tasks assigned and more on the relationship between the individual employee, the leader, and the team.
  • Delegating
    • Staff now feel fully empowered and competent enough to take the ball and run with minimal supervision, and are highly committed, motivated and empowered.
    • Leaders delegate tasks with minimal follow-up, knowing acceptable or excellent results will be achieved; there is low focus on tasks and no need to compliment staff on every task, though praise for outstanding performance must be given as appropriate.
The Vistage Emerging Leader program provides a holistic view of leadership, along with training to apply what’s learned in the classroom to the workplace.
*source: Future Workplace and Kronos
WHO:
  • Companies with 20-500 employees
  • Employee is currently second/third in the management hierarchy, or poised to be in a management role soon, or identified as a rising star
WHAT:
  • 2-year program with six full-day programs every other month
  • Interactive workshops on 12 core leadership competencies
  • Mentor/mentee training for on-the-job reinforcement

WHY:

Benefits to your organization
  • Bench strength
  • Employee retention
  • Improved execution
Benefits to emerging leaders
  • Develop core leadership competencies
  • Improve career advancement opportunities
  • Grow your network with other emerging leaders

Leaders CAN be made. Here’s how.

Leaders CAN be made. Where will your next leader come from?

The saying is that leaders are born, not made. If you’re a parent, you know that’s not true. You were thrust into a situation of vital importance and stepped up to the challenge. Often, it’s outside events that ignite the leadership potential within each of us. When combined with dedicated and structured internal exploration, great leaders can indeed be made.

Simply adding a star performer to a team boosts the effectiveness of other team members by 5-15%. No wonder, then, that study after study shows stronger financial performance in companies that make proportionally greater investments in identifying and developing top talent.

-Harvard Business Review

Are you ready to invest in your top talent?

Vistage Master Chair Christine Spray will be taking a limited number of applicants for her Emerging Leader Program, kicking off on April 2.

The program curriculum is organized into four modules – Personal, Interpersonal, Team, and Organizational. Working from the inside out, participants will develop the core competencies necessary for successful leadership.

Here are self-directed exercises established and rising leaders can implement to enhance all four arenas where strong leadership skills are needed:

  • Build meaningful work relationships – Have intentional team interaction, like asking about interests outside the office or writing sincere thank you notes to individual members for jobs done well.
  • Motivate others – Write an open letter to acknowledge your team’s achievements, administer a team morale survey, or initiate a simple rewards program to show appreciation.
  • Strategize for improvement – Create a task force to make a “stop doing” list of outdated or cumbersome procedures and policies, ask individual team members to define quality and how the company achieves it.
  • Coach others – Conduct individual goal-setting meetings with your team, institute a new hire forum to discuss workplace excellence, and simply ask the team often, “how are things going?”
  • Drive positive work values – Openly discuss what it means to be value-driven, identify and clarify team norms for professional interaction, write the workplace values that define your leadership approach and share with all.
  • Build trust – Ask a small group to identify “trust busters” and work to eliminate these, establish a feedback group to discuss levels of trust within the team, define authentic behavior for yourself.
  • Conduct better meetings – Address latecomers to eliminate tardiness, let the team know you’re working on facilitation skills and ask for feedback, stop meetings midway to ask for suggestions, list ways to cut down on meetings.
  • Clarify issues – Create a committee to identify and prioritize team issues, find a personal mentor to talk openly about leadership issues, try to identify patterns in recurring issues, log how long it takes to resolve issues.
  • Vision – Discuss the future of the team with them often, keep a journal for visionary thinking of needs, wants, desire, and dreams, write the “best case” scenario for your team’s future and share with them.

Without the opportunity or external challenge, it’s hard to truly see a person’s intrinsic leadership capabilities. The Vistage Emerging Leader program provides the perfect opportunity for participants to learn the techniques of true leaders, and a forum to put those techniques to use to build confidence, face challenges, and make decisions.

WHO:

  • Companies with 20-500 employees
  • Employee is currently second/third in the management hierarchy, or poised to be in a management role soon, or identified as a rising star

WHAT:

  • 2-year program with six full-day programs every other month
  • Interactive workshops on 12 core leadership competencies
  • Mentor/mentee training for on-the-job reinforcement

WHY:

Benefits to your organization

  • Bench strength
  • Employee retention
  • Improved execution

Benefits to emerging leaders

  • Develop core leadership competencies
  • Improve career advancement opportunities
  • Grow your network with other emerging leaders

Signs you may actually be a micromanager

Leader or micromanager?

Leadership can be defined as the art of motivating a group of people to act toward achieving a common goal. But when does leading take on the ugly face of micromanagement?

Many business owners and leaders don’t realize that they are micromanagers. When we become business owners, we typically add new staff out of necessity. Everything else we’ll learn as we go…right?

What is micromanaging?

An extreme micromanager is the business owner or manager who excessively supervises the employees; even the smallest details have to be reviewed. Micromanagement to varying degrees is more common than you might think.

How are micromanagement styles created?

1)    Lack of trust: Lack of trust is one of the greatest factors in micromanagement. The leaders believe that no one can do the particular task as well as them.

2)    Fear of failure: Fear of failure can feed these behaviors. Staff might not realize how much is at stake.

3)    Being involved in every problem: Some believe that good leadership means “When my staff have a problem, they come to me to fix it.”

4)    Unclear expectations: Leadership development is not deliberate with clear expectations and measurable results.

Before you realize it, your staff becomes dependent on you to keep the business running. Regardless of the situation, as the business grows, at some point a leader’s bandwidth cannot attend to a vast number of tasks.

A company’s staff is one of your more valuable assets; sometimes we overlook the impact on morale by not giving individuals the autonomy to perform routine work. 

How to stop micromanaging your team

You need to take a leap of faith in your team. Recognize your fears. Share your desire to build an environment where you trust their ability make more decisions without your involvement every step of the way. Together, identify clear expectations between each of you.

As a Vistage Chief Executive Chair, I lead a group of high performing CEOs and business owners that create organizational cultures that challenge and entrust employees to exponentially grow their companies beyond any single person’s capabilities.

What have other CEOs done to stop micromanaging to create high performing teams? Start by looking in the mirror. Ask yourself these questions:

  • “What can I do to demonstrate my trust in team members?”
  • “How effectively am I hiring and retaining employees that align with the culture I am trying to create?”
  • “What behaviors am I displaying or enabling that are preventing my team from rising to their fullest potential?”

Try the 100 List Exercise

Below is an exercise my Vistage CEOs found helpful to intentionally identify and reduce micromanaging habits.

Objective: Build clarity so team members can make more effective decisions by reducing dependency on the leader.

  • At your next staff meeting, ask your direct reports to create a list of at least 100 items that currently need your approval. Sit silently.
  • What is this list telling you about your micromanagement habits? Yes, you probably need to be included in the $100,000 purchasing decision. But do they really need to ask what flavor coffee to buy for the break room?
  • Now, let your team know you need their help. As their leader, it’s time for a paradigm shift. You hired them for their expertise and experiences. You want to empower them to make better decisions without always seeking your approval.
  • You rate each line item:

A = Only I can make the decision

B = You can make the decision after discussing it with me

C = You make the decision on your own

Challenge yourself over time to delegate more decisions to your staff.

  • Be honest and vulnerable. Ask your staff, “how else am I getting in the way of your success?” and “How can you help me recognize when I am micromanaging?”

Keep this open dialogue as an agenda item with your staff. When challenges arise, fight the urge to solve the problem. Instead, encourage the team to collaborate and find ways without your micro-involvement. Imagine how your workday will change when you can spend more time working “on the business” and less time caught micromanaging “in the business.”

 

by: Liza LeClaire, Vistage International

Photo credit: ID9928936 © Tamás Ambrits  | Dreamstime.com

The who, when, why and how of effective delegation

 

Effective Delegation

Are you maintaining a healthy work-life balance?

Is your team taking ownership of projects?

Do you have ample time to check in on progress toward strategic goals?

Can you confidently take a break from your business and know everything will be OK?

 

If you answered NO to any of these questions, it may be a sign you are not delegating enough.

Not delegating the appropriate work to the right people as often as necessary can have serious personal and professional ramifications. The quality of work may go down, deadlines for urgent deadlines can be missed, strategic planning may likely be put off due to constant task execution, and burn out becomes a higher possibility.

One of the EOS® (Entrepreneurial Operating System) Five Leadership Abilities® is Delegation. Your ability as a leader to delegate and elevate is a discipline that is directly proportionate to the growth of your company. This allows you to elevate to your true skill set AND elevate the skill set of those around you. If a business requires 120% to run well, the effective leader will delegate and elevate the extra 20% that can’t be done personally. When you arrange the workload so you are working on the highest priority business objectives, and your leadership team and staff are working on meaningful and challenging assignments, you have a recipe for success.

 

When to delegate

Delegation allows you to make the best use of your time and skills, and it helps other people in the team grow and develop to reach their full potential in the organization. Delegation is a win-win situation for all involved when done correctly. Keep these criteria in mind when deciding if a task should be delegated:

  • The task should provide an opportunity for growth of another person’s skills.
  • Weigh the effort to properly train another person against how often the task will reoccur.
  • Delegating certain critical tasks may jeopardize the success of your project.

Management tasks, such as performance reviews, and tasks with specific staff assignments, should not be delegated.

 

To whom should you delegate?

Once you have decided to delegate a task, think about the possible candidates for accepting the task. Things to consider:

  • What experience, knowledge, skills, and attitude does the person already have?
  • What training or assistance might they need?
  • Do you have the time and resources to provide any training needed?
  • What is the individual’s preferred work style? Do they do well on their own or do they require more support and motivation? How independent are they?
  • What does he or she want from his or her job?
  • What are his or her long-term goals and interests, and how do these align with the work proposed?
  • What is the current workload of this person? Does the person have time to take on more work?
  • Will delegation of this task require reshuffling other responsibilities and workloads?

When you first start to delegate to someone, you may notice it takes longer to complete tasks. This is because you are an expert in the field and the person you have delegated to is still learning. Be patient: if you have chosen the right person to delegate to, and you are delegating correctly, you will find he or she quickly becomes competent and reliable. Also, try to delegate to the lowest possible organizational level. The people who are closest to the work are best suited for the task because they have the most intimate knowledge of the detail of everyday work. This also increases workplace efficiency and helps to develop people.

 

How to delegate

Delegation doesn’t have to be all or nothing. There are several different levels of delegation, each with different levels of delegate independence and delegator supervision.

People often move throughout these spheres during the delegation process. Your goal should be to move the delegate to one of the outer three spheres, depending on the task being performed. Make sure you match the amount of responsibility with the amount of authority. Understand that you can delegate some responsibility, but you can’t delegate away ultimate accountability. The buck stops with you!

 

Keeping control

Once you have worked through the above steps, make sure to brief your team member appropriately. Take time to explain why they were chosen for the job, what’s expected from them during the project, the goals you have for the project, all timelines and deadlines, and the resources on which they can draw. Next, work together to develop a schedule for progress updates, milestones, and other key project points.

You will want to make sure the team member knows you will want to know if any problems occur, and that you are available for any questions or guidance needed as the work progresses.

We all know that as managers, micro-management is not recommended. However, this doesn’t mean we must abdicate control altogether. In delegating effectively, we have to find the difficult balance between giving enough space for people to use their abilities, while still monitoring and supporting closely enough to ensure the job is done correctly and effectively. One way to encourage growth is to ask for recommended solutions when delegates come to you with a problem and then help them explore those solutions and reach a decision.

“The best executive is the one with sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.”

-Theodore Roosevelt

 

Key take-away: Delegate and elevate to your true skill set and that of your leadership team.

By Christine R. Spray

 

Photo: ID 103303519 © Andrey Popov | Dreamstime.com

Employer resources for employee work-life balance

 

Employer Resources for Employee Work-Life Balance

Happy employees is not something nice for employers to have, it is a need that’s directly tied to the bottom line. Of course, human happiness is worth so much more than a healthy balance sheet. Employers who foster a balanced working environment have employees that are more creative, not afraid to make mistakes, supportive of each other, contagiously happy, AND more productive. And let’s face it, it’s more enjoyable to work with happy people! Encouraging a healthy work-life balance is one of the easiest ways employers can influence employee happiness.

First, it is important to recognize a potentially unhappy employee who may be headed for burn-out. Some signs to look for:

  • Loss of interest: Burned-out employees cannot make themselves care about their work, which is the source of their stress.
  • Lack of emotion: Emotional responses are abnormal when someone is burned-out.
  • Loss of motivation: Former motivators no longer are effective.
  • Possible depression: Burnout is closely linked to depression.

Burnout is directly tied to increased turnover. Consider that when everything is totaled, 150 percent of an employee’s annual salary is the cost of turnover. This number is 200 to 250 percent for members of management.

Offer more employee control

Traditionally, employers set all of the parameters concerning jobs. Keeping all of the control, however, augments stress on employees. Simply offering employees more control over their time can help establish a better work-life balance. Studies show that employee control actually increases loyalty and productivity. When, where and how work gets done is the direct purview of employers. Depending on the type of work, flex time, job sharing and telecommuting may all be viable options for employers to consider.

Ask employees for suggestions

Employees have some of the best ideas on how to improve their jobs and the company as a whole. These ideas, however, are not always communicated. Many employees do not feel that people in management care, and that most managers do not have the time to sit down with each employee. The best way to hear about new, innovative ideas is to create an employee suggestion program. Some tips for improved participation:

  • Make it simple: Create a simple process for giving suggestions; complicated rules do not encourage creativity.
  • Respond: Let employees know that you have received their suggestions and will consider them.
  • Thank: Thank each employee who gives a suggestion, even if they are suggestions you do not use.
  • Reward: Employees who come up with useful suggestions need to be rewarded.

Reward staff

This may seem basic, but rewarding your staff is an effective method for promoting work-life balance. Employees who feel appreciated are more confident, and rewards reinforce the behavior you want to see repeated. Rewards can also provide breaks that reduce stress. Rewards do not have to break the bank. There are simple ways to thank employees for their service.

  • Public acknowledgment of service
  • Extra time off
  • Awards
  • Promotions
  • Parties

Establish consistent communication

Keeping employees informed not only makes them more accountable but also helps them understand where they fit into the overall picture. Such understanding is key for employees to feel valued. Companies using the Entrepreneurial Operating Systemâ (EOSâ) will be familiar with the 5-5-5. This tool is a quarterly conversation managers have with their direct reports to stay connected. It is a regular opportunity to make sure both parties are on the same page with essential roles and responsibilities as they relate to corporate core values. The 5-5-5 is also an excellent way to gauge employee happiness in the role.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Given the unavoidable stress of life, which may be exacerbated at work, employees may face times when they need professional assistance. EAPs provide employees access to counseling and other services. Without the aid of EAP counselors, the effects of stress can spiral out of control. Employer-sponsored EAPs give individuals the opportunity to seek help and learn the skills necessary to improve their work-life balance. Counselors can address a full range of topics causing employee stress, including personal crises, finances,  and substance abuse. EAPs are useful investments because they prevent turnover and reduce absences, plus give employees strategies for work-life balance.

Key take-away: Employers can and should take an active role in helping employees achieve work-life balance.

By Christine R. Spray

 

Photo: ID 13345878 © Aldegonde Le Compte | Dreamstime.com

Mastering your time during crunch time

 

Mastering Your Time During Crunchtime

Every type of business has periods of high demand. Whether you’re currently in your busy season or ramping up to it, some preparation right now can help you keep your workload and well-being in check.

Before you reach a breaking point with work, make the time and effort to implement some simple steps into your daily, weekly and monthly routines.

Set Goals

The key to effective time management, both professional and personal, is goal setting. Working towards a goal will help focus energy and reduce the stress that comes with not having a purpose.

Give yourself the best possible chance of success by setting SMART goals:

  • Specific: Goals should be clear and state what you want to accomplish and why it’s important.
  • Measurable: Measurable, quantifiable goals let you know when you’re successful.
  • Attainable: All goals, particularly short-term goals, must be achievable with respect to all pertinent constraints.
  • Relevant: Goals must be relevant to the situation and align with other goals.
  • Timely: Goals require specific deadlines.

Keeping an overarching positive approach to all goals not only keeps propelling you toward completion but can help release your internal “happy drug”, dopamine. Dopamine produces that feeling of pleasure when goals are achieved. Break down your big goals into smaller goals so you have more frequent dopamine releases.

Set goals for the two quarters preceding your crunch time. Based on those outcomes, set goals for each month prior to your deadline. Further break down monthly goals into weekly goals; remember, give yourself the best chance of success!

Commit to Your Calendar

Anytime, but particularly busy times, your calendar is your best tool for managing your priorities and reaching your goals. The secret is to put EVERYTHING in your calendar.

Before your first work day of the week, review your calendar to make sure all tasks related to your goals have an appropriate amount of time scheduled. Client and team meetings should be included of course, but look closely at every deadline for the week and make sure time is allotted for everything. Do you need to do research on a unique client circumstance? Schedule it. Is there a client who is typically slow to send required documents? Schedule time to make a list of outstanding materials and send a reminder. Many people find it helpful to also schedule a time block for making and returning phone calls, rather than constantly being interrupted throughout the day. Be sure the timeframe for each task is realistic.

There is an abundance of calendar apps and software, for both individuals and teams. A tool that allows setting reminders is helpful for more time-consuming tasks. For calendars shared with others, one nice function is the ability to set a “do not disturb” notice. Sure, things will come up. But set your schedule, protect your boundaries, and you, your colleagues and your clients will all be happy.

Do not forget to schedule personal time too!

Take “Me Time”

Even during the busiest days and weeks, a healthy, balanced life is critical for meeting goals during the busy season. While it may seem counterintuitive, work-life balance can actually increase productivity.

The risks of extended periods of intense work are well documented. Overworking takes a physical toll on your body and health. It can also lead to alcoholism, sleep disorder, depression, and damaged personal relationships.

“Me time” doesn’t have to be a spa day or something else extravagant. True “me time” is much simpler. It’s anything you do just for yourself. There is no set expense or time frame to follow when taking “me time.” It can be as simple as taking a walk or browsing the Internet for 15 minutes. The only imperative concerning “me time” is that you actually take it. This is where the calendar comes in!

Put your “me time” on your calendar, and honor it as you would any other task or meeting. You will likely have to adjust your personal preferences during busy time, say working out for 20-30 minutes rather than your usual 60 minutes. During busy times, it’s also important to put all personal and family obligations on the calendar, too. Your pet’s annual vet visit, movie night with your family, grocery shopping – life must continue during peak work times. The people in your personal life are likely supporting you during this time. Be sure to thank them and recognize that time with them is equally as important as the time at work. Your calendar is your reliable resource to make sure you keep all the balls in the air.

Stay focused

Even with SMART goals in place and reliance on your calendar, everyone struggles with focus at some point. And of course, there are always unforeseen “fires” that pop up.

Many people confuse the urgent with the important. Urgent tasks do need to be done quickly, but that does not make them important. We are often stuck completing urgent tasks at the expense of the important ones. Important tasks are the ones that help us meet goals. Often, urgent tasks, such as fixing the copy machine, are distractions from what is important. Learning the difference between urgent and important helps maintain focus.

The Urgent/Importance Matrix

Recognize too, when you are not making progress on your tasks. It may be a sign to take a short “me time” break. Maintaining flexibility is an important skill that takes practice. There are many influences on your schedule beyond your control. Being flexible simply means you are not resisting the inevitable changes of life. Flexibility is not passivity. It is being able to embrace change. This will reduce stress and improve focus and balance. For example, clients that do not remit their information on time will impact your schedule, so adjust your calendar for that day and move the late client to another day.

Too often, the phrase “it’s a marathon, not a sprint” is used to describe the journey toward meeting goals. However, life can be a bit of sprint during busy time. And like any good athlete, training and preparation are critical. Make the time to set your goals, schedule the time to meet them, keep your eyes on the finish line, and you’ll be a winner.

By Christine Spray

Photo: ID 91665892 ©creativecommonsstockphotos_Dreamstime.com