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Archive for management

5 Benefits of Empowering Employees

By Donna Price, Marketing Strategist & Business Consultant on October 28, 2019 No Comments

empowering employeesEmpowering employees can have multiple positive benefits to the workplace.

1. Free Up Management Time:

Employees can take the lead on projects and tasks and free up the manager or leader to do other things.  The leader often has the responsibility of growing the company. When they tie themselves up in the day to day operations they remove themselves from this important task.

2. Company Growth

Growing the company, getting out and acquiring new projects, new clients and visioning greater success are all part of being the CEO or leader.  Employees can take on the day to day operations of organizations.

4. Empowering employees is good for morale.

When managers have to control every aspect of an employee’s work it is demoralizing to the employee.  When staff make suggestions or put forth ideas and they are never accepted or considered, or have to be the idea of the manger or leader, then employees stop making suggestions.  Staff do not work for pay alone.

5. Increased staff satisfaction

Work conditions play a major role in staff satisfaction and performance.  When staff are in a situation where they have little control, are not acknowledged for their work or ideas then their performance suffers.  The results for the team or the company are negative.  Turn-over increases and the costs to organization are impacted.

Empowering means giving up some control, but does not mean that the organization runs wild. Staff have great ideas.  It is gold.  They see ways to improve operations, get things done faster, easier for less cost.  The misconception of the micro manager is that only they care about the company.  When true leaders share their vision and passion for the company, employees can embrace that vision and passion as well. When that leader then empowers the employees to do great work, results can soar.

As the leader or CEO you can set up communication systems that empower employees and at the same time keep you informed and in the loop.  But you do need to follow through and let employees make decisions and not take back all control when you are informed of staff decisions.

Empowering instead of micro managing will result in better organizational results and free you, the leader up to further grow the organization.

When you develop an environment that coaches staff, then you are meeting with your staff consistently and regularly.  Your staff have specific goals that they are working on and reporting on and you are both tracking what the results are. That environment looks forward towards the company vision and strategic plan so that everyone is working in the same direction for the growth of the organization. This shift not only empowers staff but also empowers you as the leader to be the leader and focus on growth.

Download an excerpt of my book Employee Coaching or pick up a full copy. Employee Coaching and learn how to inspire staff to create the results that you need through coaching.

Schedule a strategy session with me to help you determine how you can shift from micro-manager to empowering leader.

Categories : Leadership, Management
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Leadership- A Key to Business Success

By Donna Price, Marketing Strategist & Business Consultant on October 12, 2019 1 Comments

Leadership is Essential

leadershipIn history students learn about the activities, good and bad, that individual historians label as  a good leader and leadership. We study their personalities to extract the qualities required for leadership.  Experts argue if leaders are made or born. I think it’s some of both, based on situations and the individual.  You can teach someone to lead but they must have the desire and certain personality or character traits to be effective and a high quality leader. Others are never taught leadership but in a situation that calls for leadership they emerge as a natural leader.

Leaders are sometimes defined as revolutionaries. During times of conflict or change one individual usually stands out. That person has the ability to motivate individuals to fight for something that is difficult. Martin Luther King Jr. is an example of a leader involved in a social cause. Wars require a leader. The absence of a leader in situations like these would be chaos.

In business, the roles of leader and manager are somewhat intertwined.

“Leader” usually implies a broad view, the person at the top, the visionary. The buck stops here usually means the leader is the one ultimately responsible for the success or failure of a given mission. Leaders utilize managers to help them complete their tasks. The “managers” are often not the “leader” but rather the implementer and at the same time they are expected to lead.

The current world situation calls for strong leadership. Recent changes in technology, economics, communication and social issues created problems that individuals and companies are struggling to deal with.  It seems as if there’s a whole new arena of leaders emerging. Bookstores offer numerous viewpoints by individuals promoting what they believe it takes to successfully lead a company. Some of these are excellent resources. Is there a magic formula? Can someone learn to lead by reading a book?

Many of the qualities of successful leaders from the past are still essential today.

Some things like integrity never change. Perhaps some individuals we looked up to as leaders forgot or disregarded qualities such as character. Society is fed up with immoral living, dishonesty and selfishness of today’s business leaders. Emerging leaders need to restore the “good name” formerly associated with leadership, as well as embrace the changes in our current global society.

Experts have different opinions on what makes a good leader. Most people would agree there are certain characteristics that all good leaders must possess.

The following qualities I believe are essential for effective leaders. They are not necessarily in order of importance.

Passion. All strong leaders have passion.

They are totally committed to and sold on their cause. The end goal or result is the over driving force in their life. They eat breath and sleep this; sometimes to excess. Driven to succeed they also have the ability to ignite excitement in others. Without passion they could not enlist followers. Sometimes this is confused with enthusiasm or charisma. Having passion can lead to those behaviors but they are not requirements. Mother Teresa was not known for her enthusiasm.

Vision. Leaders have vision.

They look beyond today and see the big picture. Not content with how things are now they see something better in the future. A good leader is realistic about current circumstances but they don’t feel trapped. Their desire to succeed or make things better drives them to find ways to make this happen.

Self Confidence. Leaders possess self confidence.

They’ve had past success, they know what they’re capable of and most of all they understand the importance of never giving up. If they fail they continue trying until they succeed. Philosophers believe that thinking you can do something is half the battle. If you don’t think you can do something you probably will not even try. A confident leader inspires their followers to believe in themselves. They do not have a problem delegating duties to others.

Integrity. A good leader is truthful and dependable.

Followers of leaders with integrity do not have to wonder if something their leader said is true – they know it is true. This is based on past behavior and reputation of the leader.  Lies and deceitful behavior eventually surface. If this happens individuals are reluctant to follow someone they do not trust. Sometimes a leader doesn’t reveal all they know and they might even dress something up due to sensitive issues but integrity is buried deep in their essence. They don’t look for dishonest ways to do something or how to cheat the system. Jack Welch is a modern business leader known for his integrity.

Humble. Great leaders are humble.

They do not feel they are better than anyone else. They are willing to do everything they ask their followers to do. A leader recognizes the importance of teamwork and gives credit to others. It’s not their success but the team’s success. They don’t boast or brag and sometimes even have difficulty taking credit. Sometimes humility is incorrectly defined as weakness. Jesus, washing the feet of his disciples and other acts he did, is a great example of humility.

Knowledge. A leader must posses the knowledge required to complete their mission.

Leaders are usually avid readers, life long students, and view every situation as an opportunity to learn more. Knowledge and education are not the same. Sometimes individuals with advanced learning possess little knowledge. Knowledge is like advanced common sense. Much of it comes from life experience. A leader’s knowledge could be defined as wisdom. Wisdom is not only having knowledge but knowing how to use it in the most effective way. King Solomon, in the Bible, is sometimes referred to as the wisest man ever.  His writings in the book of Proverbs are thought by some to be the best how to instruction manual ever written.

Think outside the box. Leaders know that things and life constantly change.

They know clinging to current methods and refusing to consider all possibilities prevents growth and eventually leads to stagnation. Individuals who think outside the box know their ideas are not always right therefore they seek input from others. Sometimes this leads to radical change.  People resist change especially something drastic that affects them personally. Doing things like everyone else makes you “normal”. Breaking away from the status quo makes you “different”. Good leaders do not follow the crowd but rather search for the best way to complete their mission.

Accept Failure. Leaders know they do not always make the right decision but that most of the time they are right.

They admit their mistakes without making excuses. Mistakes for them are opportunities to learn. They don’t give-up or wallow in self pity. By admitting mistakes a leader reveals their humility. Though we want our leaders to be like super heroes, we also want them to be human.

Effective communicator. A leader can have all the above qualities but if they can not communicate with their followers it’s difficult for them to lead.

Communication isn’t just talking. Leaders are good listeners. They pay attention to the details, remember the important things and have the ability to say the right thing at the right time.  Communication from a good leader is positive. They give criticism if needed but don’t destroy egos. Leaders know people react more favorably to praise.  They praise more and criticize less. A leader does not reveal everything they know.  They don’t gossip or engage in communication that’s harmful to someone else or to the mission. They limit their complaining to those who can do something about the problem. Conflict is not discouraged but rather controlled. A leader knows they will not be friends with everyone but they are friendly. The leader who practices the above principles will have the respect of their followers.

Courage. Leadership takes courage.

With courage, passion, vision, integrity and humbleness a great leader can climb mountains.  Their businesses and the people that work with them excel and greatness is attained, not for the purpose of greatness but for the accomplishment of vision and mission.  Their goal is clear and compelling and being such their teams work with them to achieve it.  Great leadership remains unchanged decade to decade, century to century, and perhaps bad leadership remains unchanged as well.  But it is with great leadership that we continue to thrive and build great companies, communities and ultimately the world.  When leaders lead with quality, organizations thrive.

Categories : Leadership
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Undercover Boss — What Could You Learn?

By Donna Price, Marketing Strategist & Business Consultant on December 5, 2014 No Comments

undercoverbossWhat Can You Learn From Your Staff?

The new season of Undercover Boss premiers this Sunday.  When the show first started I didn’t watch… seemed goofy.  Then I caught an episode and was impressed.

Granted it is TV.  But there are real lessons there.

Each time I am able to watch — I learn something.  I see what could be learned by business leaders IF they were connecting with their front line staff.  It really is about “walking the floor”, so to speak.  Being in touch and really communicating.

Frontline staff KNOW what is happening within your organization.  They know what works and they are frustrated by what doesn’t work.  Often they are more frustrated that their input is not asked for or taken seriously.

Frontline staff can most often save organizations thousands of dollars… and in big companies probably millions.

In one episode the boss learned that the online reservation software didn’t communicate with the front desk software.  Customers that had made their reservation online had to wait up to a half hour to checkin while desk staff worked on getting the online information and inputting into their front desk software.  Now, I know you can see some problems here — customers are frustrated; staff are frustrated and efficiency is totally undermined.  Fixing this problem — improves the flow of checkin, saves tremendous time, makes customers happier and front desk staff are smiling.  That is just good for business!

So, how can you get this information if you aren’t one of the chosen to be on Undercover Boss?

1. Create a safe environment for staff to give you input.  It is valuable information.  Creative, learning organizations should always be evaluating how they operate and do business to improve. If staff feel threatened if they give feedback then you will never hear it.

2. Get your head out of it: Some organizations have leaders that have so much EGO in the game that they cannot hear anything from staff. This is extremely detrimental the overall operation of the organization. Staffs have such valuable information.  They have great ideas on how to streamline operations.  They see what is coming down the pike and can be helpful in planning or project management.  And most often they are also very loyal — even when they are treated poorly — not appreciated — and not empowered.

How Would Your Organization Change?

If you empowered people? If you asked for input and took it?  If leaders weren’t control freaks?

3. Empower your staff to be leaders.  Many organizations are seeing incredible results when staff are empowered to take personal responsibility for their job.

4. Talk to people.  Walk the floor.  Let people know who you are.  Listen more than talk and hear what their ideas are and give them credit for them. DO NOT be so small that you take ideas and credit.  Your staff will continuously improve your operations when you value their input and opinions.

Being a leader is challenging, no doubt.  But being a leader that stands all alone and doesn’t include a team creates an environment that will not produce the results that he/she is truly going for!

Undercover Boss: Great Wolf Lodge

Categories : Leadership, Management
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Leadership Navigator Radio: Screaming Employees

By Donna Price, Marketing Strategist & Business Consultant on November 8, 2012 No Comments

Handling Screaming Employees

November 8, 2012 at Noon EST

Leadership Navigator Radio

Do you have employees that are out and out fighting with each other at work?  Yelling, screaming, not getting along or perhaps has difficult relationships with their supervisor?

Conflicts in the workplace happen frequently and the fallout can be costly to the employer and the employee.  Developing the skills to resolve conflicts that arise can save your company significant money.  First let’s look at the costs:

  1. Decreased productivity due to the emotions involved in interpersonal conflict.
  2. time lost from work by employees
  3. time lost from work by managers involved in the conflict
  4. recruitment and training of new employees
  5. decreased productivity by other staff due to tension/stress and the overall work environment

The root of many conflicts is communication: either unclear communication, resulting in misunderstandings.  One strategy to address rising incidents of conflict is communication training.  Teaching people how to listen and how to talk clearly can prevent and decrease conflicts.  Communication is such a challenge.  So often, we feel we have been really clear, only to find out that the other person really misunderstood us.    Being a clear communicator takes commitment.  You need to be able to talk in a neutral sort of way, eliminating inflammatory emotions.  Speak from the heart and listen from the heart are good basic guidelines.  Beyond the basics, are to listen deeply to what the other person is saying and then to check-in with them.  Ask them: “is this what you are saying?”  It lets the person you are talking with know what you have understood and gives them the opportunity to clarify or correct misunderstandings.

What do you do when the conflicts have escalated?  Resolving conflicts are good for everyone involved, but sometimes it’s hard to see that in the moment for the people directly in conflict.  As mentioned earlier, conflict is costly.  Sometimes as the owner, or manager we forget that there is a great cost to us but also to the employee.  Changing jobs due to a conflict means a great deal of change for an employee.  They might not be able to get the same level of pay; benefits; shifts, etc that they are accustomed to.   The impact to the employee and their family can be high.

As the leader you can set-up an effective environment to resolve the dispute by following some simple steps and laying out a couple of guidelines.

First, spend time talking with each person involved.  Let them know that your belief is that developing a shared solution is important to each person and that you value each of the employees involved.  During the individual meetings you can begin to gather information about what they see as the possible solutions.  Let the employees know that your intent is to meet with each of them and then with them together, to talk about their perspective and possible solutions to the conflict.

Use a simple & effective process: 

  1. Create a safe space for involved parties to talk. (private, neutral) 
  1. Set out the guidelines:
  •        Only one person talks at a time
  •        No interruptions, defending or justifying
  •        Come in with an open mind, open to the possible solutions and be willing to compromise. 
  1. Give each person an opportunity to tell their story, from their perspective.  Remind the other people involved that we are each listening, listening to each person’s perspective.  This is a key. 
  1. Paraphrase the stories of each person. This ensures that each story has been understood.  Using phrases such as “What I am hearing you say is…. Is that right?”
  1. After everyone has had an opportunity to tell their story, brainstorm possible solutions. Again, this isn’t a time to judge.  Whenever you are brainstorming you want all the ideas, good or bad, or out in left field.  One of them might be the idea that helps someone come up with the BEST solution.  
  1. Identify the solutions that work for each party. Ifs important that the solution is agreeable to each party and the company.  In order for the agreed upon solution to work and be successful, you need buy in. 
  1. Agree to do the solution.  The last step is the key to moving forward.

Some common pitfalls:

Don’t take sides. As the manager your interest is the company, the resolution of the conflict and each employee.

Don’t mandate a solution; you want the staff invested in the solution.

What do you do if staffs refuse to participate in conflict resolution?

            Offering staffs the opportunity to resolve conflict is a much better option than being disciplined, having supervisor mandated solutions or taking no action at all.  When staffs refuse to cooperate or participate, its time to talk with them about your company policies, their personal responsibility for their behavior and actions and your responsibility as the owner or manager to take actions based on their behavior.  The intent of this type of conversation isn’t to threaten disciplinary action, but to talk about the reality of the situation and the need to resolve it. Each individual makes choices, as supervisors our actions are based upon the behaviors and actions of the employee.  As the supervisor you are encouraging good choice making, but the reality is that some people will make a poor choice and choose to continue to act in ways that are not acceptable in your workplace.  In these situations you must then follow your organizations policies as outlined for your employees in the employee handbook.  Resolving the conflict and creating a good work environment for everyone is my first choice as the manager/supervisor/owner.

Conflicts in the workplace can be successfully resolved, by listening. Giving each person space to tell their story validates them and communicates to them their value to you and the organization.  Using the simple process outlined keeps you moving in a positive direction.

[slideshare id=8557040&doc=screamingatworkisnotanacceptablebehavior-110710115048-phpapp02]

What are the challenges that you face at work?

Tune into to Leadership Navigator Radio!

 

Categories : Leadership
Tags : , , , , ,

Screaming Employees

By Donna Price, Marketing Strategist & Business Consultant on November 9, 2010 No Comments

Screaming Employees? How to effectively resolve conflicts in the workplace

screaming employees
Are there conflicts in your workplace? Do you have employees that are out and out fighting with each other at work?  Are screaming employees effecting your workplace productivity? Yelling, screaming, not getting along or perhaps has difficult relationships with their supervisor?

Conflicts in the workplace happen frequently and the fallout can be costly to the employer and the employee.

Developing the skills to resolve conflicts that arise can save your company significant money.

First let’s look at the costs:

  1. Decreased productivity due to the emotions involved in interpersonal conflict.
  2. time lost from work by employees
  3. time lost from work by managers involved in the conflict
  4. recruitment and training of new employees
  5. decreased productivity by other staff due to tension/stress and the overall work environment

Communication:  At the Heart of Conflicts

The root of many conflicts is communication: either unclear communication, resulting in misunderstandings.  One strategy to address rising incidents of conflict is communication training.  Teaching people how to listen and how to talk clearly can prevent and decrease conflicts.  Communication is such a challenge.  So often, we feel we have been really clear, only to find out that the other person really misunderstood us.

Being a clear communicator takes commitment.  You need to be able to talk in a neutral sort of way, eliminating inflammatory emotions.  Speak from the heart and listen from the heart are good basic guidelines.  Beyond the basics, are to listen deeply to what the other person is saying and then to check-in with them.  Ask them: “is this what you are saying?”  It lets the person you are talking with know what you have understood and gives them the opportunity to clarify or correct misunderstandings.

Download an excerpt of my book Employee Coaching or pick up a full copy. Employee Coaching and learn how to inspire staff to create the results that you need through coaching.

Schedule a strategy session with me to help you determine how you can shift from micro-manager to empowering leader.

Categories : Leadership, Management
Tags : , , , , ,

A Bully in the Manager’s Office

By Donna Price, Marketing Strategist & Business Consultant on October 20, 2010 No Comments

Bullies Live In The Manager’s Office Too

Bully Leader

Bullies don’t just exist on the playground.  They also sit in the manager’s chair or the CEO’s office.  Bully leadership is sharp, authoritative, angry, and feels uncomfortable to those in contact with it. Bully leaders believe that they are rallying the troops, getting everyone on board.  But that is not what happens.  The bully leader barks out orders, threatens consequences and uses strong, harsh statements to “motivate” people to do what the leader wants.

The “motivation” that results is limited.  And that is what the “Bully Leader” doesn’t realize. Bully Leaders are scary for people so they do what they need to do but there is a sacrifice.  The sacrifice occurs in the work performed.  People do what needs to be done and that is all.  They don’t go above and beyond.  They don’t share their knowledge and ideas with the leader.  The Bully Leader wants and needs to be the one with the great ideas.  They don’t want to share the limelight.

The bully leader believes their approach is working because they see results.  They don’t see the limitation or the impact of their style.  What they see are results.  The results are what needed to occur.  The Bully Leadership style is reinforced and continues on.  What they fail to see is the results that could have happened with a more open, empowering leadership style.  They fail to see the impact of their leadership on their staff.  They fail to recognize the negative effects.  These negative impacts are costly to the company.  As a result:

People are not empowered.

Bully leaders miss out on the great ideas of their staff.

  • People respond with decreased motivation, interest and commitment or loyalty.  This can lead to decreased productivity and quality.
  • People may have physical responses that increase absenteeism.
  • People may have their emotional responses that mirror the leaders creating a bullying atmosphere that permeates the organization.

What motivates the Bully Leader?

Bully Leaders want control.  They lack trust in other people.  They believe that no one will or can do the job as well as them.  Out of their fear and lack of trust comes their assertion of aggressive behaviors.  They also have a history of using bullying techniques to control their world.  It has a history of working for them, feeling empowering to them and maintaining their own safety.

The results of the bully leader are far less than that of an empowering coaching leader.  This effective leader trusts that people can and will do their job.  Through their empowerment, staffs exceed expectations.  The leader has time to create new business opportunities, nurture existing client relationships and pursue greater results.

A bully leader can shift and become a empowering coaching leader through intentional focus and work.  There are several steps they need to take to make this shift:

  • Recognize that their bullying approach is not effective
  • Commit to the change
  • Work with a coach to learn: coaching skills, creating a coaching work environment and empowerment strategies
  • Work with the team to transition from being bullied to being coached.  This step is the hardest because it requires trust on both sides and trust has not existed for this team in the past.  The leader will have to build trust and be patient during this transitional time. Their commitment to change will have to extraordinary to demonstrate their trust of others and their willingness to risk their own vulnerability.
  • Recognize accomplishments of the team and each success.

Bullying behavior can be shifted to that of a collaborative leader with focused work on the part of the leaders. Organizations continue to recognize the negative impact a bully has their overall outcomes and work to shift the leader’s behavior or move bullies out of the organization. Take action today to shift your organization to one of empowerment and collaboration and see the results within the company change.  The benefits are astounding.  You will see increases in employee performance, loyalty, idea generation and sharing, team work, focus, and implementation of strategic goals.  These all contribute to improved overall success of the organization.

Take our Assessment:  Are You Leading or Are You Bullying?

Compass Rose Consulting provides leadership development resources through the Real World Leader’s Institute

Categories : Leadership, Management
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