Nothing's Impossible

Tis the season of hope, of dreams, of compassion, of thinking that things will be better for each of us in the future.  This year, I am seeing things a little differently for no specific reason, but just different.  Maybe it is because I have a senior in HS who will soon be leaving for college, with a sophomore in HS right behind him.  Maybe its the holiday lights, maybe I am just more aware of things this year than in years past.  

I had a conversation with a complete stranger over the phone the other day that gave me an epiphany of sorts.  While we working through some work related issues (she was working on a help desk in a contact center) we began small talking.  I found out the help desk was located in the same city as my beloved college Alma mater, Lawrence Kansas.  I mentioned to her that both my wife and I were alumni and that my oldest son had already been accepted there.  She mentioned to me that she and her husband had their first child who was now 2 years old.  We began talking about Thanksgiving and the holiday season in general.  Then it happened!

We spoke about how my boys had progressed to the age where they understood about Santa and weren't as impressed with all of the lights as they used to be.  She stated that her son was in complete awe of all of the lights and joy of this time of year.  We talked a little more but I had the greatest parenting/leadership lesson I have ever received.  When her son goes somewhere, his innocence and trust is placed with his parents that they will introduce him to positive new experiences.  It's like seeing the warm feelings that come over people the first time they see all the candles on a menorah lit up, or when a trail of lights is seen for the first time, a child is in awe.  As a parent, we often forget that life sometimes has jaded us, and we take for granted life's little experiences.  Our kids lives are full of firsts on a daily basis, especially when they are young.

As a leader, we often find ourselves making decisions but forgetting about the development aspect of a decision.  Critical thinking and evaluation lead to confident, well thought out decisions.  The most critical aspect of thinking and evaluation is experience and the outcomes of past decisions.  Just like a child seeing a holiday light for the first time or receiving a surprise gift, our teams are filled with the same awe when they see the results of their hard work.

For whatever reason, this year is a special year for me personally and professionally.  I have seen my children grow into solid young men; I have seen the team I lead more than double our customer base and become significantly more efficient; I have seen every team member extend and develop in some way.  It has been fun to be able to sit back and watch others talk about what has been developed with appreciation and allow each team member to celebrate their individual accomplishments.

It is easy for us to see how success and failure through our own lenses.  It is far more rewarding to see life through someone else's eyes though.  Be the encourager, the guide, the resource for others and remember it's not all about you.  This is easy to say, harder to do.  If you make the effort everyone wins!

Have a great week and an even better holiday season!

Take a moment for others

In my blog, I rarely bring in my day to day job into the discussion.  Today is an exception.  My primary career is that I manage a contact center in the student loan industry.  Whenever I tell people this, the initial response that I receive is, "Oh, you're one of those people".  My response invariably is, "No, I am one of those individuals with the white hats that can provide people with the best options for their situation." 

While my career has been within several verticals within the debt collections and customer service industries, my current path is one that provides guidance and solutions for individuals who are frustrated by their situation.  The team responsible for providing counseling to the consumer are all focused on one goal, and that is to get it right the first time we speak with an individual so that the consumer is able to make better informed decisions through resources and feedback we are able to provide to them.  We don't collect money and we don't set up payment arrangements.  Simply put, we explore options and solutions with consumers to allow them to successfully manage repayment of their federal student loan debt.

It is amazing how much information is available for consumers that people do not take advantage of.  There are times that bad things happen to good people.  Take for instance the situation of an individual who has become 60 days past due on their student loan pay.  The first thing that needs to be understood is how a person became past due (besides the obvious of not making a payment).  Not making the payment is the result, but getting down to basics and understanding if their were triggering events which caused payments not to be made timely.  In this example, the person had their hours cut 3 months ago, which forced them to make decisions about how their money needed to be spent.  The quick answer would be to choose a discretionary hardship forbearance on this debt.  However, what the consumer may not understand is that this is going to cause capitalized interest to occur as a result of the interest accrual since their last payment was made.  Due to interest capitalization, their principal balance will increase, resulting in a higher monthly payment amount.  By gaining an understanding of their situation, it may be learned that the spouse lost their job during this period for a family of 5.  Again, bad things happen to good people and their are better options than just digging a deeper hole.

As we enter the holiday season, it is important, that we all recognize that bad things happen to good people.  There are some out there that have been through situations that are completely outside of their control, while there are situations that people have made some poor financial decisions.  Most of us have been their at some point in our lives.  These situations cause stress for individuals and their families.  Typically, without intervention, bad decisions lead to worse decisions.

While not everyone will have an opportunity to positively impact a persons financial situation in the way that we are able to in the contact center I'm responsible for, we all have the ability to provide fresh perspective to those around us.  Take the time to be a positive moment to a complete stranger.  Ask a friend or a family member how things are going and if they have a plan.  Bottom line, invest time in others not just during the holiday season, but all the time.

If you are in a bad situation, know there are a myriad of non-profit resources available for you to talk about your situation.  Also, know that bad situations will lead to sacrifice.  Things you were able to do, you may need to give up until things are back in balance.  There is always a light at the end of the tunnel, and usually it is not a train coming at you.  Take a step back, breath, re-evaluate, and move forward. 

Situations can change, but only if there is a catalyst for them, and it all starts with us as individuals. 

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving and Hanukkah over the course of the next week and remember to have a positive impact on someone this week.

Progress, not perfection

Progress, not perfection.

This is a statement that I have learned over the last few years when in coaching and development situations.  I first heard this statement from a good friend that is in an AA program, and it is one that I have been able to transfer to coaching and development.

In my contact center, I have several front line representatives that are very hard on themselves for making an error.  They expressed to me that in other positions, errors were not acceptable and that they could lose their jobs for making mistakes.  My immediate question back to them was, what did you learn from that previous negative experience.  Typically their response was that they needed to slow down and make sure their work was correct the first time.  Interesting.  Slow down and make sure that you don't make the same mistake again. 

What I didn't hear from that interaction was that representative was never coached and developed.  How much effort would it have taken for the supervisor to spend an extra couple of minutes and have a conversation with that employee about their thought process, or what they were looking at when the error occurred.  Getting employee feedback as to the why an error occurred is more important than the error itself.  By doing so, it can lead to identification of process improvements, training gaps, or system enhancements.  At the human level, it can demonstrate to the employee that leadership really does care about them as individuals, not just numbers.

Whenever coaching a manager, supervisor, or front line agent, focus on root cause of the error.  The thought process leading up to the error is more important than the error itself.  Progress, not perfection means to me that errors and mistakes are going to occur.  What is more important though is what an individual learns from the error, and how the individual and organization can develop from the mistake.

Baseball is the best analogy for not being perfect.  What other profession can you be successful 30% of the time and have a 20+ year career and reach your professions Hall of Fame. 

Next time you find yourself with a teachable moment, take the time to remind the person that your expectation is that they are progressing forward, not backward as a trend.  Force them to critically think about what they are doing.  If you do so, you will have a much more engaged organization.

Have a great weekend!