The River of Negativity

Recently, I was asked if I could share my views and feelings on how to counter workplace negativity.  It is a topic that hits home for me.  I have had the fortune of working in environments where there have been very strict rules with very prescriptive consequences, as well as environments where there have been very fluid rules.

As I pondered this, it was apparent that I did not have a magic formula that has led to a lack of negativity in my current environment. I did realize the following though:

• Change breeds negative thoughts
• Negativity without a proper outlet festers and becomes a culture
• Culture determines employee engagement and ultimate satisfaction
• Employee engagement and satisfaction contributes to customer satisfaction
• Customer satisfaction is synonymous with the customer experience
• Customers typically will not speak highly of products and services that they have a negative experience with
• Organizations lose customers as a result of negative customer experiences

How can negativity in the workplace be combated?   Taking a look at the above simplistic negativity flow, it is easiest to combat negativity before it even is allowed to manifest itself.  As a leader, you have to take negativity out at its knees.  Here are some strategies that have worked.

• Ensure that change is communicated in a timely manner.
• Encourage staff to ask questions and follow-up on their concerns.
• Engage staff where they are, not where you think they are
• Inspect what you expect, but don't micro-manage
• Allow for midstream adjustments as not all changes or decisions deploy as envisioned
• Don't hide from decisions.  Be visible and approachable
• Provide status updates as to how change is progressing, even acknowledging learning opportunities
• Recognize staff whenever possible
• Celebrate milestones and accomplishments, no matter how small

Much of what is mentioned above are things you see talked about in books, articles, training classes, etc.  I can attest from experience that the first list can become your reality, if you don't adopt items from the second list.

What changes do you have planned?  Hopefully this post provides some nuggets to assist you successfully avoid workplace negativity by eliminating it before it has a chance to take hold. If it exists in your environment today, know that the course of negativity can be reversed through focusing on items in the second list, primarily through being visible, approachable, communicating, and taking the time to recognize positive outcomes, no matter how small.  Most importantly, have fun!

Have a great week!

Blogging...Not Blah Blah Blah

Communication is an evolutionary process.  It began as grunts, groans, and pictures drawn in caves, but has evolved into what we see today.  Plastered on billboards, on our phones, on television, in print, everywhere our senses are, there is some form of communication.  Blogging, is a form of communication as well.  Regardless of the medium, communication must be meaningful for the receiver.

I have recently been reading different blogs posted in a variety of different communities, and one thing has struck me.  If the message is not meaningful for the reader, it will not be read. 

Like any form of communication, there is a sender and a receiver.  The sender, must anticipate what their receivers are wanting to see and hear.  However, the sender does not always know and understand their audience.  They assume that the audience is listening, until their perception of their audience goes silent.  When do they go silent?  When all they hear is blah, blah, blah. 

Why do people blog?  For some it is an agenda they are attempting to further; or a product they are talking up; or a service they are selling.  There are a myriad of excellent writers in the blog world, and I know I have only read a handful of their work. Their work inspires my to continue writing with passion and conviction.  I enjoy reading about personal experiences that writers blog about.  I enjoy reading about how people have turned adversity into success, and now are able to provide better for themselves and their families. 

For me, blogging is more therapeutic. It allows me an opportunity to get thoughts out of my head and clears my mind when I have a busy schedule. It is good to know that every now and then, there are tidbits of advice, or information that a reader of my blog can glean. My intent is not to preach, but rather do a defrag of my mind (to put into more technical terms).

Take the time this week to read some one's blog and provide feedback on what they are writing about.  There will be blogs that you will read that are inspirational, and there will be others that you as the receiver of communication will hear...blah, blah, blah.

Have a great start to the week, and as always, if you have comments, please post them.  I will respond and I do appreciate you taking the time to read my ramblings.

They're here... Millenials!!

Whether leaders of today like it or not, a new generation is making an impact on the workplace.  Millennials or Gen Y'ers are forcing leaders of today to change their traditionalist thoughts of work.  When I think about this topic, I remember a song from the Musical, Hair that starts off talking about the differences between 1948 and 1968.  The differences between generations are not a 2012 phenomenon, but one that have been facing generations for generations.

It is really a matter of perspective.  Each year since 1998, Beloit College publishes a mindset list for incoming Freshmen so educators can put into perspective their students reference points.  As leaders, we must keep these reference points in mind as well.

Regardless of our industry, change is inevitable.  It is how we as leaders cultivate the change within our industries to continue to make us more viable.  If we stifle innovation and thought, we begin to choke out progress.  As I sit here in a Starbucks writing this blog post on my laptop, I know that others may be reading this on any number of devices, from their phones, to tablets, to a home PC, to their TV.  These mediums were not available 30 years ago.  We have become, as a friend of mine has told me I am, urgency addicts.

Millennials are children of these innovations.  They expect instant communication and feedback.  The postal service will no longer work for them.  As leaders, we must be communicating constantly.  We need to have open doors and open minds, the later of which can be somewhat difficult at times.  As leaders we need to respect that today's millennial workplace is better educated with less experience.  This needs to be channeled properly to ensure cultures are cultivated that grow thought and execution in our verticals.

Take a look over the course of the next week with those in your office (or virtual office).  Are there opportunities available to open our minds to change?  Can you as a leader be more inclusive of new ideas and channel ideas into action.  Communication is the key as it is imperative to explain why change can not occur, or conversely why it is occurring.  Explaining the why and the why now into understandable terms across the organization makes progress and innovation much more attainable.

Have a great week!  Become a thought leader within your organization if you are not already one.

Deep Thought

Remember if you will Saturday Night Live back in the late 1980's, early 1990's.  Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handy...  Today's blog is one of those such moments....

I rarely write in the first person, because I really feel that what I write about here is not about me, but about others.  However, my thoughts are different today.  I had a thought recently while I was having a meeting with a direct report of mine.  We were talking about customer engagement and how effective we were being not with our consumer engagement, but our clients that hired us. 

Since we have had very few requests come in from our clients, and our consumer ratings have been consistently strong, we wondered if there are issues beneath the surface.  Thus my recent thought, that "the messages often lost are in the words never spoken".

What this statement means will be interpretted by each person individually.  Here are my two cents.  As a vendor, service provider, retailer, etc., it is easy to get caught up with positive vibes when no one seems to be complaining, however, are you sure there is not something brewing beneath the surface?  Are you surveying your clients and touching base with them on a regular and ad hoc basis?  How do you know what their "ping" points are? 

On a personal level, are you connecting with those that really matter?  In any relationship, communication is the key to success, even at times where you may not personally feel like communicating.  My self-perception is that I am shy and introverted, although I have been told just the opposite in almost all facets of my life.  Communicating with others is something that I really struggle with, especially when it comes to "chit-chat".  My preference is to be more of a listener and analyzer to gain perspective.  However, in order to be successful in my line of work I have found that I need to proactively communicate with clients and staff.

I have found that by not being proactive in my communication, I have often lost messages in words that were never spoken.  There is the old saying that when one assumes...  I have learned never to assume.  People, personally and professionally, appreciate proactive communication more so than reactive communiction even if it's as simple as just checking in call.

The messages often lost are in the words never spoken.  Make it your goal to not lose a message today.  Then make it a goal for a week, then a month, and pretty soon it will become a habit, both personally, and professionally. 

Have a great week!  And feel free to communicate back with me!

Inspect what you Expect

One of the greatest attributes of a leader is to be able to develop those whom are being led, as well as become a leader among their peers.  As a leader of people, it is drilled in that in order to be successful an effective leader must delegate.  What happens often times is that leaders delegate tasks, however, they do not effectively follow through to make sure assigned tasks are completed competently and on time. 

When assignments are not effectively executed, many leaders become managers, or even worse, micro managers because in their minds, they can not trust that when they delegate the task is able to be completed.  As a result, a leader can never truly develop their direct reports. 

It is important to remember that most tasks fail not as a result of the person the task is delegated to.  They typically fail because the assignment of the task has not been set up properly.  There are a myriad of leadership classes that leaders can learn the principles of effective delegation, but here are a few key reminders.

• Provide background  - What is the problem that is needing to be resolved and why is it important to the organization?
• Gain commitment - Is this a problem that has relevance and is not perceived as simply busy work.
• Resources needed - Who and what is required for effective execution?
• Time frame - When does the task need to be completed?
• Checkpoints - When will there be progress reports?
• Review - Once the task is completed, ensure that feedback is provided to the person that the task is delegated to.

Feedback throughout an assignment is essential, but in setting up the task assignment, it is important for the leader to allow two way feedback to all of the above points.  A sure way to see a task fail is if the person responsible for completing the task gets the feeling that they are flying blind.

By allowing mistakes and course corrections to occur, leaders develop others by providing them valuable experience and instilling confidence in others abilities.  At the end of the day, we always need to be thinking succession planning.  The best way to do that is by allowing others to drive results and providing individual feedback when timely and appropriate.

Remember, leadership is not about us, it is about the constant strengthening of the organization and applies to all organizations.

Have a great end to the week!

Leadership Lessons from Mom

On this Mother's Day it is important to remember the CFO's in our lives.  That is Mom, the Chief Family Officer.  I first heard this term on a commercial on the radio, and today on Mother's Day it seems appropriate for remembrance of these unsung hero's.

From the day that each of us are born, typically it is our Mom's that not only provide nurturing, but also provide us guidance through the good times and bad.  When tough decisions need to be made, we turn to Mom.  When financial decisions need to be made, we need Mom's blessings.  Through our years, it is our Mother's that have the hope their development of us will allow us to reach our full potential. 

As a Chief Family Officer, Mom really has final say over Dad, whether he wants to admit it or not.  Dad's will take their direction from Mom and each child understands the hierarchy in the family can make what decisions.  As we progress past High School and into College and the workforce, we translate the understanding of who decision makers are in the workplace.  We gain an understanding that the professional organization, much like a familial organization, must have a person who is truly looking our for the best interests of each individual and the organization as whole.  In most families, Mom is this person.

As each person embarks on their careers, we remember the lessons of our family organization.  How tough decisions are made, how we communicate with one another, when to play, and when to be focused.  The business organization is one that we spend 40+ hours per week at and where we need to effectively communicate, make tough decisions, work hard, and play hard with our professional family.

At the end of the day, we learn more about how to interact with others through watching the interactions of our mother's.  We are successful, as a result of the drive and desire to succeed that our mother's instill in us.  Think about how your first interaction with a CFO was really your mother, the Chief Family Officer.
Today, I leave you with some quotes and thoughts...  Remember your Mother today on this Mother's Day.

Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs... since the payment is pure love. ~Mildred B. Vermont

Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever. ~Author Unknown

I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life. ~Abraham Lincoln