What’s Trust Got to Do With It?
May 25, 2010 | Leave a Comment
“I don’t care who you are or what your title is, if I don’t trust you, I can’t work with you!”, Louis said vehemently.
We were in a leadership development workshop, discussing the integral role that trust plays within an organization, particularly between a manager and his or her team members. Louis serves as a Lead Operator on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. His rationale behind this statement isn’t hard to understand. In his role, he puts life and limb on the line every day, and if he can’t be absolutely sure that his co-workers are being safe and not cutting corners, he doesn’t want to work with them.
You may not be in a life and death situation in your workplace, but I can assure you, trust is just as important. Trust is an integral part of being a leader, whether you’re a leader by title or by influence. Frankly, it is an important part of any relationship.
Stephen Covey, author of “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” compares trust in a relationship to an emotional bank account. We can make deposits or withdrawals to the account. When we follow through and do what we say we’re going to do, we’re making deposits. If we make enough deposits, trust is earned and our account earns interest and grows. When we let someone down or fail to honor a commitment, we make a withdrawal. If we make too many withdrawals, our “account” will be “overdrawn” and trust is shaken.
Trust can’t be compartmentalized. Cheryl Biehl says, “One of the realities of life is that if you can’t trust a person at all points, you can’t truly trust him at any point”. To earn trust, our actions must be consistent. If I’m only trustworthy in some things but not all, it’s like cooking a huge pot of gumbo, then adding strychnine to the pot and saying that only part of the gumbo is poisoned. Now, give me a shot or two of Tabasco in my gumbo, but I’ll pass on the poison! Consistency is the key.
Are you earning your team members’ trust by acting consistently?
It goes both ways, too. “He who trusts in others will be trusted in return.” One thing that is apparently tough for many leaders to do is to place their trust in others. When I was just starting out in my career, I worked with a manager who assigned me an important project and let me run with it. Nothing could have been more motivating or inspiring than having her place her confidence in me. I truly wanted to do a great job so that I could show her she had made the right judgment call.
When you let a team member know that you believe in them, they will want to produce positive results – they’ll run through a brick wall for you – anything not to let you down.
Think about someone who made a significant difference in your life. Maybe it was a boss, coach, teacher, or even a parent or grandparent. Think about how it felt when they expressed their confidence in your abilities.
Are you showing your team members that you believe in them?
What’s trust got to do with it? In leadership and in relationships, it’s got everything to do with it.
Fired Up! Or Burnt Out?
May 7, 2010 | Leave a Comment
We’re all being asked to do more with less these days, but some people are feeling the pressures more than others. Are your employees still Fired Up! about their jobs, or are they Burnt Out?
I’ve heard from friends and colleagues lately that they are seeing more disengaged employees than ever before. Dubbed “The Walking Dead” by many management experts, these are the employees who are just going through the motions. They do the absolute minimum that they have to do just to get by. I’m willing to bet that you pictured a co-worker or team member when you read that last sentence. Yep, we all know at least one person who is burnt out, checked out, and pooped out. And yet, he or she is still taking up space on the job. (Hopefully it’s not you!)
The sad part about all of this is that disengaged workers were usually once engaged, enthusiastic, productive workers. So why do they become so discouraged? Disengagement typically begins with a change in the work – whether it’s a new boss, assignments, a change in work location, or being overwhelmed with extra duties, etc. There are a variety of reasons why people check out.
More commonly people get disengaged because they get little or no support from their leaders. My friend and colleague was telling me recently that she is nearing the point of burn out because although she’s been pulling extra weight for quite some time and doing a great job, she gets no acknowledgement, appreciation or recognition from her boss.
As leaders, we all need to be concerned about disengaged employees. Why? Because disengaged employees eat into your organization’s bottom-line, while breaking the spirits of co-workers. Disengaged workers are much more likely to:
- Be less productive
- Have an accident
- Cause errors
- Have an absenteeism and/or tardiness problem
- Provide poor customer service
Okay, before I get you totally depressed, let’s talk about what you can do as a leader to prevent disengagement, and maybe even re-engage those on their way to the check-out counter.
- Show some love! – Let your team members know how much you appreciate their efforts. A little bit of recognition goes a long way.
- Treat employees as individuals – A one-size-fits-all approach to leadership just won’t cut it. Honor individuality and results, not the process or how they arrived at the results.
- Create a greenhouse for your employees to grow – It is vital that team members have opportunities to continue to learn and develop their skills.
- Make employees partners – Clue them in to the big picture. Let them know the rationale behind what they are doing so that they can take pride and ownership in their work.
- Pay attention to top performers – They are always the first to leave if they become discouraged. Acknowledge their efforts. Sometimes just having you notice that they did their job with pride is enough to reignite them.
- Deal with poor performers quickly – Stop the spread of the “disease” before it gets to your top performers. When a leader ignores the poor performance of one worker, the morale of others is affected.
- Respect employees –What you do as a leader is like a boomerang. It will always come back to you. If you treat people with respect, you’ll likely be treated the same way, and vice versa.
You as a leader have tremendous impact on those around you. Just letting team members see that you’re concerned about them may be enough to reignite their enthusiasm and get them Fired Up!
Fired Up! Or Burnt Out?
May 6, 2010 | Leave a Comment
We’re all being asked to do more with less these days, but some people are feeling the pressures more than others. Are your employees still Fired Up! about their jobs, or are they Burnt Out?
I’ve heard from friends and colleagues lately that they are seeing more disengaged employees than ever before. Dubbed “The Walking Dead” by many management experts, these are the employees who are just going through the motions. They do the absolute minimum that they have to do just to get by. I’m willing to bet that you pictured a co-worker or team member when you read that last sentence. Yep, we all know at least one person who is burnt out, checked out, and pooped out. And yet, he or she is still taking up space on the job. (Hopefully it’s not you!)
The sad part about all of this is that disengaged workers were usually once engaged, enthusiastic, productive workers. So why do they become so discouraged? Disengagement typically begins with a change in the work – whether it’s a new boss, assignments, a change in work location, or being overwhelmed with extra duties, etc. There are a variety of reasons why people check out.
More commonly people get disengaged because they get little or no support from their leaders. My friend and colleague was telling me recently that she is nearing the point of burn out because although she’s been pulling extra weight for quite some time and doing a great job, she gets no acknowledgement, appreciation or recognition from her boss.
As leaders, we all need to be concerned about disengaged employees. Why? Because disengaged employees eat into your organization’s bottom-line, while breaking the spirits of co-workers. Disengaged workers are much more likely to:
- Be less productive
- Have an accident
- Cause errors
- Have an absenteeism and/or tardiness problem
- Provide poor customer service
Okay, before I get you totally depressed, let’s talk about what you can do as a leader to prevent disengagement, and maybe even re-engage those on their way to the check-out counter.
- Show some love! – Let your team members know how much you appreciate their efforts. A little bit of recognition goes a long way.
- Treat employees as individuals – A one-size-fits-all approach to leadership just won’t cut it. Honor individuality and results, not the process or how they arrived at the results.
- Create a greenhouse for your employees to grow – It is vital that team members have opportunities to continue to learn and develop their skills.
- Make employees partners – Clue them in to the big picture. Let them know the rationale behind what they are doing so that they can take pride and ownership in their work.
- Pay attention to top performers – They are always the first to leave if they become discouraged. Acknowledge their efforts. Sometimes just having you notice that they did their job with pride is enough to reignite them.
- Deal with poor performers quickly – Stop the spread of the “disease” before it gets to your top performers. When a leader ignores the poor performance of one worker, the morale of others is affected.
- Respect employees –What you do as a leader is like a boomerang. It will always come back to you. If you treat people with respect, you’ll likely be treated the same way, and vice versa.
You as a leader have tremendous impact on those around you. Just letting team members see that you’re concerned about them may be enough to reignite their enthusiasm and get them Fired Up!
Strategize for Success Conference
September 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment
I am so excited to be a part of the Succeeding Women’s Strategize for Success Conference to be held Friday, March 20th at the W Hotel. Read more and register at www.StrategizeforSuccess.com!
When You Tune Out, You Lose Out
August 3, 2009 | Leave a Comment
When I ask participants in my leadership development programs to list the qualities and characteristics of an outstanding leader, they always list “good listener” in the top ten.
As a team member, leader, manager, (or “wanna be”), one of the most important skills you can develop is your ability to listen effectively. Often we’re so busy barking out directions, delegating, and giving instructions, we don’t think about taking the time to listen to what another person is trying to tell us.
By becoming a better listener, you will increase your own productivity, as well as that of your team. You will improve your ability to influence, persuade, and negotiate. What’s more, you’ll avoid conflict and misunderstandings and be able to resolve problems with customers, co-workers, and bosses – all necessary for workplace success.
Clearly, listening is a skill that we can all benefit from improving. You probably spend more time using your listening skills than any other kind of skill. Like other skills, listening takes practice.Who knows? Improving your listening skills may even enhance your personal relationships! All I know is that when you tune out, you lose out!
The Power of Praise by Jennifer H. Ledet, SPHR
December 25, 2008 | 1 Comment
We have a big Golden Retriever named Tabasco. Tabasco has been a part of our family for eight years. If you have ever known the joy of owning a golden retriever, then you know how eager to please they are.We first got Tabasco as a puppy (he’s a very red golden retriever – hence the name), and my husband and boys wanted to train him for hunting. I had no objection because I knew from previous experience that training them for hunting makes for a very obedient pet.
By the time Tabasco was a year old he was officially trained for duck hunting and was a pretty obedient dog, as expected. I realized early on that once he’d been trained to obey, he could be taught anything. So, my big contribution to his training was that I taught him to fetch my morning newspaper every day. Okay, I know that I don’t have a future as the next Dog Whisperer, but I also realized that a little praise goes a long way with him. He is so eager to please that he is very thorough with this assignment. Each time I praised him, he would look for something else to bring to me. Now, if I don’t watch him carefully, he will retrieve my newspaper, my neighbor’s newspaper, my neighbor’s shoe, well you get the picture! (My neighbors know to just ignore the dog slobber and teeth marks by now !)
Have you ever noticed that a little praise goes a long way with people too? Now I’m not saying that you should use dog training techniques for enhancing your people skills, but…. this praise thing really does seem to work with anybody… subordinates, team members, family members, and yes, even dogs.
The experts call it positive reinforcement. The idea is that when you see a behavior that you want repeated, you acknowledge, praise, or even reward the individual. (Cheese or a dog bone work for Tabasco, but I suggest you find out what your team mates like and offer them that instead!) I believe that most people are like Tabasco, in that they are eager to please. The more they are praised for a certain behavior, the more likely they will be to repeat it.
Here are a few powerful action steps you can take to develop the habit of congratulating instead of criticizing.
Catch people doing something right and/or doing the right thing. You can train yourself to be more tuned in to the positive. When you spot something praise worthy – let ‘er rip!
Be sincere and specific. People will see right through false praise and ooey-gooey mush.
Don’t take others’ efforts for granted. Even when they’re just doing their job, acknowledge their dependability and dedication. Sometimes you may have to really reach to find something good to acknowledge. Even if you just commend them for chewing their food thoroughly – do it.
A handwritten note or card goes a long way with most people and it costs you very little.
Set yourself a goal to recognize a certain number of people each day. It will push you to constantly look for the positive.
These techniques aren’t intended for use with subordinates only. Try them on your managers, co-workers, team mates, family members and even your dog! I’d like to hear your ideas for recognizing and rewarding the people in your life. Chime in and share your own Powerful Tips!
To Your Success,
Jennifer
People Power! by Jennifer H. Ledet,SPHR
November 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Regardless of your education, background, experience, technical expertise, or ability to solve complicated mathematical equations, you will sink your career quickly if you don’t’ have good people skills and the ability to form positive relationships with co-workers and customers. So what, you say? How important are effective work relationships?
Many successful individuals cite their ability to form and maintain positive interpersonal relationships as the foundation for their success. Effective work relationships form the basis for promotion, pay increases, goal accomplishment, and job satisfaction.
So how does one hone the skill of developing beneficial relationships – or “People Power” – as I call it?Well, here are a few simple, but definitely powerful actions you can take to build positive relationships:
- Treat people with respect. No one wants to be belittled, degraded, or otherwise discounted as a human being or as an employee.
- Recognize the achievements of others. A little praise can go a long way, with subordinates as well as co-workers. Think about how nice it is to receive a pat on the back for a job well-done. Pass it on! Encourage employees to praise and recognize each other as well.
- Be open to others’ ideas, thoughts, and strategies. Before you rush to cut someone off, butt in, or interrupt them, try really listening. You might actually learn something.
- Always give credit where credit is due and never play the blame game when things don’t go well. No one wants to have their mistakes pointed out for all to see. Instead focus on possible solutions to the problem.
- Although you may be intently focused on getting the job done, it only takes a moment to exchange pleasantries and to show sincere interest in other people.
My last point on building interpersonal relationships is to take some time to get to know the individual. I think that the golden rule should always be applied when it comes to treating people with respect. But at work, you may want to use the “Platinum Rule”: Treat others as they wish to be treated. To do so, you will need to get to know them to find out how they wish to be treated – and you will need to understand yourself as well.
As a certified facilitator for DiSC behavior and self-development instruments, I have come to appreciate the importance of self-awareness and understanding in the workplace for team members, and particularly for anyone in a leadership role. By having this self- understanding, you can learn to appreciate and value the differences we all bring to the organization. You’ll also learn to adapt your communication style to have more positive interactions in all directions within your organization. I have found the DiSC instruments to be effective and valuable in all industries and with all levels of employees.
Having proficient people skills – or “People Power” – will have a greater positive influence on your organization, your career, your personal relationships, and your life, than any technical competencies you might possess. So get the Power!
To Your Success,
Jennifer
