Leadership Skills - The Inside Track

One of the most provocative topics in present business is leadership. Managing, motivating and directing organizations is challenging, however, guiding personnel is more challenging. Recent research abounds on helping leaders motivate and improve morale, and most solutions fail.

While the available research is useful, it encapsulates issues denoting immediate change. The primary challenges are that in order to change results, beliefs must change, and further change can result from an event such as training or a workshop. Organizations, employees, and notably behavior will not change with one program. Changing beliefs requires a process. This helps stimulate attitudes and beliefs. When organizations develop a process methodology, silos decrease, productivity increases, and morale improves.

During our 15 years of research with hundreds of small and multinational organizations and business leaders, we find a lack of process. We believe that business functions similar to athletics; they both require commitment, energy, and practice. Leaders must take new processes, allocate accountability and time, and apply process principles. We developed PRACTICE to assist leadership deployment.

P – Personnel Comes First
The vital asset of any organization is an employee. Internal stakeholders are the nucleus of organizational function and production. Loyal core provides results and profits. Leaders must acquire, develop, and communicate to the core. Organizational culture exemplifies employee assets. Personnel retention and morale are higher when culture focuses on employees. Loyal employees like loyal clients assist in profitability.

R – Relationships with key Stakeholders
A study by the Corporate Leadership Council reveals the tremendous impact managers have on an employee’s level of commitment. It is imperative to note that individuals do not leave companies - they leave poor managers. Failure to build inter-office and departmental relationships contributes to negative morale. Research shows that taking time to build relationships with employees through personal interaction is a key step for high morale. Employees need to feel trust and respect.

A - Attentiveness to Strategy
Many leaders pay many large consulting firms, exorbitant fees for strategy. The only problem, the research remains in an office bin or shelf. The problem with strategy is two-fold, 1) executives that do not understand or believe it and 2) a failure to communicate the strategy to all organizational stakeholders. Strategy cannot sit on a shelf. Similar to blood through veins, strategy must produce within all functional levels. Failure to communicate speed, direction, and fuel consumption eventually leads to a tragic crash or a lost vehicle.

C – Communication Essentials
Research into leadership illustrates an interesting correlation with famous and egregious leaders. Ironically, both groups exemplify superfluous oratory. Leaders understand the need to communicate. Announcements good or bad provide feedback required by employees to understand purpose and direction. A failure to communicate is a failure to lead.

T – Talent Acquisition
1. Start with the right people. No firm we work with ever hires on a proactive basis. Most firms conduct employment searches reactively. Seek employees that fit with the organizational culture and with the obligatory skills. Never wait!
2.    Hire for skill – Talent is innate. Organizations hire for personality and behavior first and skill second. Skill is not interchangeable, behavior is. A great hire might have a wonderful temperament and lack the skill to plug a socket into an outlet. I recall a five star hotel that hired another level of housekeeping to repair floors. Hire the right people for the right job and lower costs.
3.    Look at best practices from best people – Management focuses on “fixing those that cannot” rather than “improving those that can”. Icons of performance exist in your organization. Discover what they do right and encourage others to emulate it.
4.    Passion – In the 1980’s Sylvester Stallone appeared again as Rocky this time with a theme, “Eye of the Tiger”. What a great metaphor for valuable talent. Seek to acquire talent that truly loves work.

I – Investments in Assets
Investment in the number one asset- people is vital. Never terminate training when results lower, rather increase them. The time for improvement is when things need improvement not when they are working well.

C – Cultural Strategies
Leaders develop the culture and those that do, have skin in the game. Apple UPS, Southwest, and many others illustrate an uncompromising need to serve clients and treat employees well. Develop cultures that strive for greatness not adversity.

E – Evolving with the Enigma
Organizations are enigmas just when you gain a resolution they change. Organizations must be open to and flexible with change. However, doing so requires critical, consistent, and collaborative analysis. Obtain a team that provides honest feedback, timeliness, and insight.

Similar to the athlete striving for perfection, leaders too must practice to alleviate imperfections. The best leaders constantly evaluate, seek success, and adopt new methods of improvement.

© 2008. Drew J. Stevens. All rights reserved.

Posted in Drew Stevens, Drew Stevens PhD, Employee Performance, Expertise, Human Resource Management, Leadership, Leadership Training, charismatic leadership, define leadership, effective leadership, effectiveness, executive leadership, good leadership skills, leadership coaching, leadership defined, leadership effectiveness, leadership qualities, leadership skills, leadership style, leadership theories, productivity, productivity techniques | No Comments »

Selling Skills for Job Seekers

The economy has taken a dramatic turn for the worst and people are scrambling for numerous reasons. One of the most daunting is the number of individuals being terminated. Unemployment is up and this is not time for that faint of heart.

Terminated 3 times in a six-month period is how to begin a consulting organization, I can attest to the stress. After all, I am an OPP – Out placed Professional. Ironically, it was not long before I began a new career, discovered a new attitude, and controlled by destiny. The key to your success is to use existing selling skills.

1.    By natural tendency, selling professionals are inquisitive individuals. The best professionals are detectives and consistently seek new methods for success. Out placed individuals must emulate selling professionals. The best people continually read the press, and research organizations that might need new talent.
2.    Selling professionals create communities. Job seeking individuals must tap into existing networks to provide the leads for new opportunities.
3.    Conducting searches requires competitive intelligence. The newfound time requires a makeover of your resume to decipher the differentiation you bring to a new opportunity. Draft your resume as a proposal, thinking about outcome and value not about you!
4.    Selling professionals never stop asking provocative questions. Job seekers must too. Draft a series of questions that provide insight into opportunities and to the three F’s- Fit, Finances, and Find. Develop questions that provide methods to seek new organizations.
5.    Selling professionals know how to close. Job seekers must use closing techniques that advance the search. If you desire employment, you must ask for it. It is imperative to follow up.
6.    Job seekers must have a competitive spirit. I recall a young woman I interviewed. She arrived with three manila folders, one for her resume, one with historical information on the company and its products and one on the competition. I hired her on the spot. She was prepared, enthusiastic, and ready for success. When arriving for the interview ensures success, knowing something about the organization you seek employment.
Present employment seekers must be aggressive. The competition is fierce, the opportunities small and the differentiation about equal. Attempt your best efforts using the success stemming from successful selling professionals.

2008. Drew J. Stevens. All rights reserved.

Posted in Drew Stevens, Drew Stevens PhD, Employee Performance, Human Resource Management, Sales Management Training, Sales Training, account management, business selling, effectiveness, efficiency, sales and marketing, sales coaching, sales effectiveness, sales help, sales manager training, sales skills, sales strategist, sales strategy, sales success, sales techniques, sales trends, self development, self help, self mastery, selling, selling effectiveness | No Comments »

How to Increase Morale at Work

Emerson states, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm”. A majority of the issues related to worker productivity stem from enthusiasm or the lack thereof. Individuals simply go to work despite their abhorrence of their employer, the monotony, and the products. There is no passion or pride.

Much of this issue stems from practices embedded within an organizational culture affecting morale and productivity.   These include:

•    Leadership not serving as exemplars – some leaders today are narcissists, demeaning and ruthless. More importantly, leaders’ salaries can exceed employee pay by 425 times the average worker.  Leaders need to act in harmony with employees and enure equal treatment of all. Cultures where this practice occurs frequently include McDonalds, Fed Ex and UPS where employees and management are one.
•    Little or no accountability  - The United States economic system is currently in financial turmoil and no one is accountable. Employees need to know that mistakes may count for learning but criminals are punished for repeat offenses.
•    Career planning and succession planning is null – simply put there is no succession planning. Most CEOs and senior managers join an organization from competitive industries and companies. Whatever happened to the mailroom climb?
•    Too many silos and departmental infighting – Companies are in business for one reason- to create clients. End the infighting and focus on the most vital asset!When the fighting ends (and everybody understands their reason for being employed) perhaps harmony arrives.

Causes of low morale correlate to the organization, its culture, and its management. After 25 years of research in this area, we find five factors contributing to organizational morale. A study by the Corporate Leadership Council revealsthe tremendous impact managers have on an employee’s level of commitment. It is imperative to note that individuals do not leave companies - they leave poor managers. Organizational mis-management contributes to negative morale. As recent as 2006 the Gallup Organization estimated there were 32 million actively disengaged employees costing the American economy up to $350 billion per year in lost productivity. Such loss includes absenteeism, tardiness, and poor work.

To dilute the productivity impact, research shows that taking time to build relationships with employees through personal interaction, is a key step managers can take to keep morale high. Employees need to feel trust and respect from their managers. Employees desire feedback from management to understand their work matters.

Ending the morale issue is not easy but there are cures.

1.    Begin with talent acquisition – Start with the right people. No firm we work with ever hires on a proactive basis. Most firms conduct employment searches reactively. Seek employees that fit with the organizational culture and with the obligatory skills. Never wait!
2.    Hire for skill – Talent is innate. Organizations hire for personality and behavior first and skill second. Skill is not interchangeable, behavior is. A great hire might have a wonderful temperament and lack the skill to plug a socket into an outlet. I recall a five star hotel that sought advice to correct housekeeping flaws. After five minutes, it was easy enough to terminate staff and find those without flaws.
3.    Look at best practices from best people – Management focuses on “fixing those that cannot” rather than “improving those that can”. Icons of performance exist in your organization. Discover what they do right and encourage others to emulate it.
4.    Passion – In the 1980’s Sylvester Stallone appeared again as Rocky this time with a theme, “Eye of the Tiger”. What a great metaphor for valuable talent. Seek to acquire talent that truly loves work. Passion too is innate. Employees must love what they do and how they do it. When passion is high so too is morale.

5.  Focus on the Customer - Managers, the organization, and the employees must vehemently focus on the customer. Remember Winnie the Pooh, try finding Eeyore amongst staff at Disney; Southwest Airlines and FedEx, all intensely focus on servicing the client.

Lastly, managers must constantly strive to provide feedback to employees. Feedback is not an annual performance review event. It is imperative that daily communication exists for good information and improvement. Coaching, counseling, and mentoring are components of organizational morale. In addition, many attend church and hear the words, “It is right to give thanks and praise”. Many watch professional sports and view coaches coddling athletes. We can learn something here; simple words of thanks and praise constantly improve morale and employee relationships.

Finally, the first item terminated during economic volatility is training. Research finds that employees are assets and require that treatment. Never stop training; this improves productivity and morale at all times.

Issues of low morale and productivity are onerous, volatile, and difficult to control. There is a need for management, the organization, and the individual to assist with success factors. Much is dependent on the desire to change; methods chosen and consistent follow through. However, if you do nothing you still have a morale issue. Take the time, seek remedies, and keep morale high. Doing so, lowers attrition, improves productivity, increases profitability and most importantly- reduces stress.

© 2008. Drew J. Stevens Ph.D. All rights reserved.

Posted in Drew Stevens, Drew Stevens PhD, Employee Performance, Entreprenuership, Human Resource Management, Leadership, Leadership Training, Management, Management Training, business development, business selling, effectiveness, efficiency, life balance, motivation, negativity | No Comments »

Training Is a Must for Performance Improvement

I advocate training but not for training sake. As many readers know my emphasis is two fold, those that treat training as an event. Individuals cannot change behavior in a six-hour training session. Like biting fingernails or twirling hair, training requires habit changes. Training must be a process that requires several sessions, perhaps years rather than a one-time kudos.

Nothing is more irksome then hearing the CEO or HR professional from a multi-billion dollar organization state there is no money in the training budget. Human Capital is assets not liabilities. The current trend traced to economics is rote with excuses of cutbacks. Typically, training budgets are the first line item.

My doctoral work and a recent article written by Jorina Fontelera indicate the need to train employees. Training when conducted consistently, helps with both worker productivity and morale.

Posted in Drew Stevens, Drew Stevens PhD, Employee Performance, Expertise, Human Resource Management, Management, Performance Management, Uncategorized, effectiveness, efficiency, improve customer service, job training, productivity, productivity techniques, workplace performance | No Comments »

Secrets of Successful Leadership

Secrets of Leadership Success

Drew Stevens Ph.D.

A recent IBM Global Human Capital Study mentions that 40 percent of organizations believe that a lack of leadership capability is one of the primary workforce related issues. As companies and employees grow and mature one of the ailments of many organizations is developing the needed bench strength for the future.

As researchers in this area we notice several factors that contribute to these issues:

1.    Succession Planning – Both an aging workforce and ineffective succession planning continually impact leadership development. A recent Wall Street Journal article “Hiring a CEO from the Outside is More Expensive” depicts the issues organizations face due to ineffective succession planning. Executive pay tracker Equilar found that firms typically pay 65% more to hire outside CEO’s. With burdensome profits and a failing economy organizations need to save costs wherever possible.
2.    Knowledge Management – We live in a knowledge economy and as oftentimes written when individuals leave organizations, they take with them knowledge. Content is king and much as heirs and heiresses pass down fortunes, knowledge must be treated similarly. Leaders must allow employees to cross pollinate and learn each area of the business. In the not too distant past many CEO’s began in the mailroom.
3.    Talent Acquisition – The best method for succession planning begins with hiring the right people.  Not enough firms spend time here. According to a 2007 study of 37,000 employees (Manpower), 41 percent of companies worldwide are having trouble finding suitable talent. Make this a priority. Look inside and outside the organization for those individuals that can impact the organization.
4.    Skill Acquisition – Productivity begins with understanding the job function, the industry and the competition. Not enough time is spent on training and development. Too many firms use elearning and software to augment human interaction and investment. However, firms are not seeing sufficient returns. For production to rise, more commitment must be spent on training and development. Further most organizations believe that a one time training event will boost productivity. This is untrue. Training is an inducement to change behavior, such augmentation taking months to rehabilitate. Training is an investment, a process that must be taken seriously.
5.    Dichotomy – The success of FedEx, Disney, Southwest and many other top-flight organizations is the spirit and passion binding the culture. Individuals love leaders that communicate, respond to queries and allow all to share a common voice. Participative management is a leadership trait envied by many.

Leadership today requires a different business strategy. While many have coined phrases such as Sale, Web and Business 2.0, there is also a need for Leadership 2.0. With so much change and turbulence there is a need for a nimble, faster and yet pragmatic leader. The need for knowledgeable quick leaders is more prevalent then ever before. Organizations must work smarter not harder to remain competitive and the successful leader is pinnacle to its success.

©2008 Drew Stevens Ph.D. All rights reserved.

Posted in Business Communication, CEO challenges, Drew Stevens, Drew Stevens PhD, Employee Performance, Human Resource Management, Leadership, Leadership Training, Management, Management Training, Performance Management, effectiveness, efficiency, organizational success, organizational techniques, organizational tips, productivity | No Comments »

The Problem with Certification (some)

In the last several years there has been much hype and marketing related to certification training. Certifications are special designations attributed by numerous professional societies so that members get the opportunity to enhance particular skills. Exemplars include Residential Relocation Designation for those in the Real Estate Industry and Chartered Accountant for the Accounting Industry.

While there is a need for particular organizations and its members to have such designations, a plethora of these certifications have developed over the years. There is certification for Project Management, Selling, Speaking, Consulting and even Customer Service. At some point, the average professional must begin to question the worthiness of such programs.

Questions to ask must include:

1. Who are those the certify those they certify? What reporting procedures are in place to ensure legitamacy.

2. What is the value? Many associations provide the certification with little explanation as to member value

3. What is the ROI? It is vital for you to understand what returns you receive when you spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours. One must also understand if there is a track record of proof.

If you seek certification you might want to question:

1. What is the projected revenue stream upon certification? There are associations for both speaking and selling even training and yet no one is willing to take the bullet to illustrate the relevance to future revenue. If the certification does not lead to revenue growth do not do it!

2. Ego. Many individuals take certification simply because they devour seeking alphabet soup after their name. There are two issues to heed, 1) you are in business to create clients not to stroke your ego, 2) what is the benefit to the client? If you are in business for you and no one else, then eliminate the office and look at the bathroom mirror the remainder of the day since that is all you will sell to.

3. Education. If it is additional education you seek that is admirable. The advice here is to seek that education congruent with both your clients and your desire for knowledge as it relates to present and future clients. These can include CEU credits or additional degrees at the graduate and doctoral level. You might desire a two to three day seminar at many prestigous Executive Education Programs. Many of these alternatives provide a greater return in networking then certification will.

4. Accreditation. Seek education only from accrediting bodies.

5. Be mindful. There are many institutions today that seek to gain from student enrollment and shy from solid eduational practices. Many of these institutions can be found in your Spam filters or were previous good e-learning institutions however they now suffer from avarice. If you desire a solid education then find a solid learning institution.

Certification is not a bad concept however, you need to answer the imperative questions before embarking on this journey. Ensure you can obtain a return for your precious time and money. And do it to assist your clients, not you!

©2008. Drew Stevens Ph.D. All rights reserved.

Posted in Business Communication, Customer Relationship, Employee Performance, Expertise, Human Resource Management, Management, Management Training, Organizational Skills, Performance Management, Sales marketing, Tips and Techniques, Training, alliances, business building, business development, business selling, effectiveness, efficiency, inquiry managment, job training, marketing, organizational secrets, organizational techniques, positive results, sales and marketing, sales selling, sales skills, sales strategist, sales success, sales techniques, small business success, small business techniques, training and development | No Comments »

Employee Feedback Systems

Performance issues will continue as long as managers do not diagnosis the problem. It is too costly to production and to the Human Resource function to continually fire and re-hire as a result of employment malfunctions. The typical cost of rehire and retraining is three to four times the employee salary, let alone the time and money lost in productivity.

Value
There is a grave misunderstanding regarding performance reviews. These vital documents are meant to review performance. However, many organizations use this tool to console, condemn, and criticize talent. I migrated to my current business solely because a former sales manager placed new goals and expectations after delivery of a performance review. These goals were so unreasonable; they were not met and used as a termination tool. A source of frustration for many employees is using the Performance Review as a punishment rather than a corrective tool.

Policies and Procedures
Employees must know who they will report to, at what time, why they are doing their job, and who it affects. The most imperative principle - have the employee sign the document. Too many firms are using internal intranets to deliver policies. Worse yet, many have the employee click a button as affirmation for reviewing the document. There is little accountability and knowledge to denote the information was read. Contemplate the human side. Get your employee to sign this document with the manager present. There is little room for error and question with a witness present.

Job Description
The job description is another document that provides accountability. The information suggests hours of operation and areas of responsibility. While time consuming to develop, the document eliminates questions with responsibilities and tasks. Management surveys suggest obtaining an employee’s signature.

Goals and Objectives
Supervisors that create goals can use them for performance measurements. To help make life easier for the supervisor, the goals can roll up into the annual performance review. Since there is a running daily or monthly record of accountability, goals help to make the annual process easier and more efficient.

Reward
• Catch them doing something right.
• Offer training to enhance performance.
• Provide flex time for a job well done and for extended hours.

About Drew Stevens Ph.D.
Drew Stevens is a sales expert who assists your organization to sell and service clients in less time. Drew is the author of six books including Split Second Leadership, Split Second Selling and Split Second Customer Service. Drew has over 150 articles on selling and service and is frequently called on the media for his expertise. For more information, contact Drew at 877-391-6821 or drew@gettingtothefinishline.com.
©2007 All Rights Reserved. Drew Stevens Ph.D.

Posted in Employee Performance, Human Resource Management, Performance Management, Training | No Comments »

When a layoff is the reward for experience

Circuit City’s move to replace veteran employees with cheaper workers results in anguish and lawsuits.

By Marilyn Gardner | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

Follow the thoughts of Drew Stevens as he discusses layoff issues with Christian Science Monitor freelancer Marilyn Gardner.

Please follow the link:

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0416/p13s02-wmgn.html?page=1

Posted in Employee Performance, Human Resource Management | No Comments »