Earlier, I described two people whom I have coached in the past year. Both of these individuals have responsible jobs with excellent compensation. The first is a store manager of a large supermarket, and the second is a manager in a large multi-national manufacturing company. They both have the education, experience and opportunity to be successful in their careers. In fact, both of these people have the ability to move up in their respective organizations. The problem is that both of them are about to be terminated due to their failure to perform up to expectations.
The reason I have chosen to discuss these two people is that I come across similar situations fairly regularly where people have everything it ought to take in order to be successful. But for some reason they make a decision to commit “career suicide.” I have every reason to believe that within a year both of these managers could be reading the want ads looking for a new position wondering what went wrong with their last job. They will wonder this in spite of the fact that for over six months I met with, coached, counseled, prodded and even warned them that behavior change was needed immediately. But for the reasons I would like to discuss, these people have decided, “good enough is good enough.” As Larry Hodges, the former President of Mrs. Field’s Cookies, has said, “Good enough is not good enough.”
The reason I selected these people and this topic is that in both of these cases termination does not need to happen. With a little effort and behavior change both of these people could have long and productive careers in their companies. But unfortunately, that may not happen: I think we can learn from their mistakes not only for ourselves, but also for those people who report to us.
Jack Welch, the former Chairman of General Electric Company, once said, “Face reality as it is, not as you think it is, or as you wish it was. Face it head-on as it really is.” That advice is clearly what both of these people need to do, because in both cases they have constructed their perception of reality as they “wish it was,” not, “as it really is.”
First, let me update you on the situation with the store manager. Although his district manager has several complaints, his primary complaint is that the manager is indecisive and procrastinates. This is even true on time-sensitive problems where immediate action is critical. Nonetheless, when given a directive, this store manager nods his head as if he hears what is being said, seems to understand what needs to be done, and even has the ability to do what is needed. However, in too many cases he either can’t make a decision, or waits too long before beginning. Have you ever seen someone like this? These behaviors can drive people crazy!
Procrastination is a complex psychological behavior that affects everyone to some degree or another. With some people it can be a minor problem; with others it can be a source of considerable stress and anxiety. Procrastination is only remotely related to time management, (procrastinators often know exactly what they should do, even if they don’t it), which is why very detailed action plans usually don’t help.
As in the case with the store manager, the procrastinator is often amazingly optimistic about his or her ability to complete a task on a tight deadline. It’s common to hear expressions of reassurance that everything is on schedule. For example, he or she may estimate that a project will take two days to complete. That sounds like a lot of time, so the person delays getting started because there appears to be an abundance of time available.
At some point, the person crosses a point in time where he or she suddenly realizes, “Oh no! I’m not in control. This isn’t working.” And as a result, waits even longer because being out of control is so uncomfortable. Even though it may appear that procrastinators are lazy, actually, one of the most common root causes is a fear of being out of control.
There is no simple solution to procrastination. Improvement takes not only a personal commitment followed by discipline, but it also requires the person realize that the best way to maintain control of situations is through preparation and on-time performance. This isn’t easy, but it can be done.
The second manager has a much different problem. After considerable discussion, she finally admitted to me, “I am a sarcastic person.” Then she quickly added, “But I’m only sarcastic in order to get people to do what I need them to do.” She believes that sarcasm is a valuable motivator and is appropriate in the workplace.
The problem with sarcasm is that it is so potentially dangerous that practically nothing else can destroy a relationship faster. People have long memories and most people don’t soon forget when they are the victim of sarcasm. So this manager has systematically damaged almost every peer relationship she has in her company. In an assessment I conducted asking her peers to rate her effectiveness in interpersonal communications; almost every person gave her the lowest possible rating. Most of them apparently, had been the victim of her sarcasm.
Research indicates that the quickest way to improve organizational effectiveness is to improve interpersonal relationships. And conversely, the quickest way to fail is to erode interpersonal relationships.
This manager’s second problem is arrogance. In the business world arrogance tends to be associated with a person in a position of power. Without organizational power, arrogance can appear misguided or even humorous. When a manager is in a position of power, he or she can be the victim of an over inflated perception of self that results in demonstrated arrogance. That seems to be the problem with this manager. She actually believes that she is indispensable in the organization and couldn’t be reassigned or terminated under any circumstance. She has created in her mind such a false sense of reality that she is unable or unwilling to accept the advice of others, even her boss.
So what’s going to happen to these two managers? Time will tell, but unless they begin to face reality as it is, very fast, they may be on the outside looking in, rather than on the inside watching their careers blossom. These are sad stories that, unfortunately, are repeated all too often.
While there are plenty of skeptics out, Coaching does get results. Documented research and the hands-on application of coaching, has proven this. If the coaching process is done properly and effectively coaching can yield a return on investment far greater than most people realize. What does successful coaching that gets results look like? Consider this rare inside look at how a Coach took an outside-in approach to helping an employee increase and maximize performance, not to mention saving his job.
Dear ________
I wanted to take an opportunity to thank you [again] for the workshops a few years back that have proven to be extremely valuable to me as a manager, mentor and coach and would like to share a recent success story with you if that’s OK?
We had an employee who has been with the company for many years – in fact he celebrated his 12th anniversary w/the Company on July 6th. He had slipped into a ‘rut’ over time and in coaching sessions had revealed to me that while he was “happy and content” with his current position and responsibilities, he felt he had been overlooked in compensation and promotion opportunities over time. (My perception based on his behavior and demeanor was quite the opposite – that of unhappiness and discontent.) I committed to him 2 years ago that I would personally do what I could to move him up, but that he had to “buy in” and take greater initiative before I could advocate any advancement.
As he continued to make some improvement, I recommended him for an officer promotion (with no additional compensation) a year ago, but was denied by leadership since they hadn’t observed the initiative necessary for advancement. I felt this would compel him to accelerate his efforts, but realized then and especially now that “rewarding” with an expected improvement isn’t likely to have the same impact as “rewarding” for observed improvement.
In the meantime, he continued to do just enough to get by and with a change in leadership, it was suggested that we let him go (outright w/no relocation or reassignment to another department). While this might have been justified at the time, I felt 11 years tenure w/the Company had some value and that he had untapped talent and skill that would undoubtedly add value to our department and to the company as a whole. I appealed for one last chance to coach him up, we put him under a stringent “performance plan” with required dates to reach expected competency in various areas.
The short story is that we are meeting at 3pm today to review his progress. As a result of his efforts, I have recommended and gained support from 3 levels of management (up to the Chief Credit Officer) to not only promote him from_______ to ______ but to promote his functional title resulting in a pay grade advancement in addition to a slightly more aggressive incentive plan – conditional upon a 9-12month timeline with increased responsibilities and expected competency in specific areas every 90 days. (This is an “open-end” comp change plan that may be extended if thresholds are not met as timely as expected.)
The end result will be that his salary will increase over time by ____ potentially within a 12 month period… Beats the heck out of 2.5% per year in my book! We now have a committed associate who is punctual, smiling when he reports to work and smiling when he leaves. Where he was once very stand-offish and unapproachable, he now exhibits a sense of humor and positive banter among his fellow associates.
In my opinion, today’s environment is much different than that of ______. No longer (at least for now) do our associates “choose” to work for us due to plentiful opportunities elsewhere. Unemployment is at unexpected levels so if we lose them today, they could potentially be unemployed for quite some time.
The outcome could have been quite different had this associate not accepted accountability and made sure that he reached deep within himself to make some personal changes. I am proud of the progress he has made and will be delegating and depending on him much more heavily in the months and years to come. His peers within the department and across the company have noticed, commented and documented the positive changes they have observed, up to and including the same leaders that advocated his termination only 5 months ago.
My intent w/this email is NOT to boast (for in fact I am humbled), but to testify to the effectiveness of the “Coach Approach” rather than dictatorial management style. What a great tool to bring out the best in others, and what personal satisfaction comes from it as a result.
I sincerely hope that all is well with you and yours. THANKS again! I APPRECIATE YOU!!
Respectfully,
_____________________
The testimonial above clearly shows that coaching does get results. Factor in the value of not having to hire, train, and develop a new employee, that you didn’t lose an employee with 11 years of experience, and that the person is an “officer level” candidate, you can see a cost savings of six figures — potentially getting close to seven figures by the time everything is said and done. Coaching can directly and indirectly affect the bottom line. Take the time to coach and get the results you need.
While there are plenty of skeptics out, Coaching does get results. Documented research and the hands-on application of coaching, has proven this. If the coaching process is done properly and effectively coaching can yield a return on investment far greater than most people realize. What does successful coaching that gets results look like? Consider this rare inside look at how a Coach took an outside-in approach to helping an employee increase and maximize performance, not to mention saving his job.
Dear ________
I wanted to take an opportunity to thank you [again] for the workshops a few years back that have proven to be extremely valuable to me as a manager, mentor and coach and would like to share a recent success story with you if that’s OK?
We had an employee who has been with the company for many years – in fact he celebrated his 12th anniversary w/the Company on July 6th. He had slipped into a ‘rut’ over time and in coaching sessions had revealed to me that while he was “happy and content” with his current position and responsibilities, he felt he had been overlooked in compensation and promotion opportunities over time. (My perception based on his behavior and demeanor was quite the opposite – that of unhappiness and discontent.) I committed to him 2 years ago that I would personally do what I could to move him up, but that he had to “buy in” and take greater initiative before I could advocate any advancement.
As he continued to make some improvement, I recommended him for an officer promotion (with no additional compensation) a year ago, but was denied by leadership since they hadn’t observed the initiative necessary for advancement. I felt this would compel him to accelerate his efforts, but realized then and especially now that “rewarding” with an expected improvement isn’t likely to have the same impact as “rewarding” for observed improvement.
In the meantime, he continued to do just enough to get by and with a change in leadership, it was suggested that we let him go (outright w/no relocation or reassignment to another department). While this might have been justified at the time, I felt 11 years tenure w/the Company had some value and that he had untapped talent and skill that would undoubtedly add value to our department and to the company as a whole. I appealed for one last chance to coach him up, we put him under a stringent “performance plan” with required dates to reach expected competency in various areas.
The short story is that we are meeting at 3pm today to review his progress. As a result of his efforts, I have recommended and gained support from 3 levels of management (up to the Chief Credit Officer) to not only promote him from_______ to ______ but to promote his functional title resulting in a pay grade advancement in addition to a slightly more aggressive incentive plan – conditional upon a 9-12month timeline with increased responsibilities and expected competency in specific areas every 90 days. (This is an “open-end” comp change plan that may be extended if thresholds are not met as timely as expected.)
The end result will be that his salary will increase over time by ____ potentially within a 12 month period… Beats the heck out of 2.5% per year in my book! We now have a committed associate who is punctual, smiling when he reports to work and smiling when he leaves. Where he was once very stand-offish and unapproachable, he now exhibits a sense of humor and positive banter among his fellow associates.
In my opinion, today’s environment is much different than that of ______. No longer (at least for now) do our associates “choose” to work for us due to plentiful opportunities elsewhere. Unemployment is at unexpected levels so if we lose them today, they could potentially be unemployed for quite some time.
The outcome could have been quite different had this associate not accepted accountability and made sure that he reached deep within himself to make some personal changes. I am proud of the progress he has made and will be delegating and depending on him much more heavily in the months and years to come. His peers within the department and across the company have noticed, commented and documented the positive changes they have observed, up to and including the same leaders that advocated his termination only 5 months ago.
My intent w/this email is NOT to boast (for in fact I am humbled), but to testify to the effectiveness of the “Coach Approach” rather than dictatorial management style. What a great tool to bring out the best in others, and what personal satisfaction comes from it as a result.
I sincerely hope that all is well with you and yours. THANKS again! I APPRECIATE YOU!!
Respectfully,
_____________________
The testimonial above clearly shows that coaching does get results. Factor in the value of not having to hire, train, and develop a new employee, that you didn’t lose an employee with 11 years of experience, and that the person is an “officer level” candidate, you can see a cost savings of six figures — potentially getting close to seven figures by the time everything is said and done. Coaching can directly and indirectly affect the bottom line. Take the time to coach and get the results you need.
The New York Times recently did some anecdotal research on feeling awkward with talking to friends, in person, to resolve differences. Of course, these social habits are likely to rub off into the work place, and may affect your employees and therefore your business. Do you see a problem with your employees not being able to resolve differences in person? A lot of problems can arise in business from not being able to negotiate a problem, which is a critical social competent skill, as well as a vital business skill. The reliance on the Internet and cell phones have made it easier for people to avoid situations that make them feel uncomfortable.
Is technology hindering our face-to-face ability to communicate? Although the ability to text and e-mail is terribly convenient in a world where time is so vital, is it allowing people to avoid conflict? Although these technological mediums are important, we need to remember how important it is to use face-to-face contact. It is important to have this face-to-face to reduce ambiguity and clearly be able to work through situations that inevitably will arise.
As the younger “texting” generation becomes more integrated into the work place, a greater need to focus on face-to-face communication will become vital. The ability to negotiate problems and handle situations up front and strategically will be critical for the success of your business.
Most successful organizations encourage and welcome the open discussion of opinions and ideas. Among diverse groups of employees, there are bound to be differences in opinions, something that may seem, initially, to be an obstacle that organizations must overcome. To the contrary, those differences have the potential to elevate organizations to the next level of performance. Conflict is natural, and it can be productive. More important than the mere existence of conflict is how that conflict is handled.
So how can conflict be resolved so that teams or organizations are productive and successful? How can a win-win situation be created? The key is shifting the focus from defeating each other to defeating the challenge in such a way that everyone benefits, and in order for everyone to win. A relationship of trust must be developed.
How to create a win-win situation when dealing with conflict:
1. If conflict exists, acknowledge it.
Although this step can be difficult, acknowledging the conflict will inspire a sense of relief. When individuals share a commitment to work jointly towards agreed-upon solutions, they will become partners in the process.
2. Find common ground between the parties involved.
View conflict from the perspective of the organization’s goals. What is the vision that unifies individuals despite their differences? If everyone is committed to the organization’s goals and can find common ground, they should be willing to address any issue that threatens their attainment of those goals.
3. Understand all sides of the issue.
Gaining understanding does not mean gaining agreement. One person does not need to agree with a different point of view to understand another’s perspective. The purpose of this step is to gain the information you need to be able to put yourself in the other person’s shoes, try to comprehend and understand their points of view.
4. Attack the issue, not each other.
When individuals are attacked, rather than attacking the issue at hand, everybody loses. Learning how to confront the issues will create an environment conducive to dialogue and conflict resolution and will result in teams that function at a higher level. The goal is to reach a collaborative solution that allows each party involved in the conflict to achieve individual and team goals without violating any personal values.
5. Develop an action plan.
The final step in this process is to outline what each party is responsible for and how they will meet those obligations. This action plan should be formulated in writing so that each party is able to be accountable for their parts of the plan.
How would this process look if we were to play it out in a team meeting?
Team members involved in the meeting will need to make a list of the current challenges or conflicts that exist within your organization – these should be issues that, if overcome, would improve the overall performance of the organization.
Once that list has been created, you will need to prioritize the conflicts, which are the highest priority, and which are lower on the scale. After you have established your priorities, ask yourselves the following questions:
1. Who are the parties involved? (acknowledge the conflict) 2. Where is the common ground? (gain points of agreement common ground) 3. What is each party’s view point? (seek to understand all sides of the issue) 4. What are the potential solutions that would benefit everyone involved? (attack the challenge, not the people) 5. What must we do to accomplish our goals? (Develop a specific, time bound action plan.)
Remember, conflict can be beneficial. Seek to embrace conflict in a positive way and you’ll be creating win-win partnerships that benefit everyone.
Recently, a client invested time and money into training all of their employees with the goal of achieving more effective communication throughout the organization. The training was provided to nearly 1,300 employees at several facilities. This many people in a very short span of time made the situation a little bit out of the norm but clearly doable. What made this task challenging was that many participants came from several different cultures and countries, which meant that English was either the individual’s second, or possibly even their third language.
So, picture the scene…..Communication Skills training, lead by a facilitator in the English language given to a group comprised of international cultures and languages and including Cambodian, Laotian, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Russian, and Hmong. Easy training to conduct, right? It posed some unique challenges. One major component of this training involved using the DiSC profile. Let’s face it, even those who are native English speakers don’t always understand all of the words and their definitions in this profile and not all English words have a direct equivalent word and meaning in other languages. For example, the work accountability does not translate into Spanish. The closest you can get is the word responsibility and these words are doesn’t really say the same thing. Since translators were not provided, we had to rely on the efforts of one patient facilitator and the teamwork of the group.
To make the classroom dynamics even more challenging, some of these participants were going through an internal culture change. The organization had recently acquired several of these locations and many of the workers had been transferred from a facility in one state to a location in another state. This meant that many participants had not had the opportunity to establish relationships within their peer groups. Integration was still in its infancy stages and some cultures don’t always mix well together. The “we vs. them” mentality that often develops when new players join a team was still prevalent. It was clear that our facilitators had some animosity to overcome.
With these obstacles, our facilitators really had only one choice…which was to involve the participants in helping each other, particularly in their native tongues. We knew that people might not want help from a peer because it would expose their weakness with a language. What we didn’t expect, however, was that some people who speak the same language, i.e., Cambodian, clearly had cultural barriers of their own.
One particular person, a Cambodian who was able to read and speak English well, finished her DiSC profile relatively fast. When the facilitator asked her for help with other Cambodian speaking people; she was not only hesitant but her resistance was physically expressed in her face. Yet, with a specific description of what the facilitator needed and purpose of her help, along with some encouragement, the participant finally agreed to help the others. This was a big step for her and the other Cambodians.
This cooperation and assistance became very critical to the success of the program. Without this support many of the other participants would not have been able to complete their DiSC profile and continue with the learning. The point here is that true teamwork can take place, even in very simple forms, when we are able to clearly articulate the common purpose that we share. Finding the common ground for our people and teams with diverse circumstances can overcome all kinds of obstacles and help improve relationships within an organization to continue to foster the teamwork effort.
People are like fingerprints, no two are alike. Because each person has unique histories, talents, abilities, and behavior traits, we receive, internalize, and react to feedback just as differently. Yet receiving and responding to feedback and coaching is critical if we are to grow, improve, and become better, more well rounded individuals.
This past week I took my family on an extended weekend trip to the lake to get our last summer fun in before school gets underway for the kids and the weather begins to turn cold. As I was leaving my neighborhood in my truck (Bed full of cargo, and boat and trailer in tow), the individual driving a vehicle in front of me decided to make a turn into a supermarket parking lot. This immediately created a problem for me. Not only was the driver not in the turning lane/shoulder of the road, he didn’t put on his turn signal until the very last moment. This chain of events could have caused an accident if I hadn’t proactively hit my breaks and creep into the other lane in an attempt slow my truck and boat in order to avoid crashing into his car.
I was irritated by the situation and offered up some feedback to the driver. In my attempt to slow tons of my steel truck and fiber glass boat, I gave a couple of honks on the horn followed by a quick flick of my heads lights (meaning get out of the way and quick or I will crash into you). What really bothered me was the reaction this guy demonstrated to my warning. He pulled to an immediate stop, and offered some crude hand gestures through his window and proceeded to drive slowly. It was clear he wanted to turn this issue into heated verbal or physical argument by his behavior. I told to my wife “that guy is a jackass.” Not from his driving abilities, but from the way he responded to my feedback. My feedback was not intended to show rage. I did not lay on my horn and start yelling. I gave a couple of honks and a flicker of my headlights telling this guy that his current behavior was going to cause an accident. That’s why cars have horns.
His reaction caused me to evaluate my perceptions of both giving and receiving feedback. I thought about how I would have reacted if I had been honked at. My conclusion is that we all need to be more open to feedback and coaching and not take personal offense to it. In order to grow, and develop we learn from others. If we are to enhance our abilities and expertise, we need to receive feedback, either supportive or corrective.
Supportive Feedback
This is all about reinforcing the positive. When you see someone doing something great and want the behavior to continue, or simply recognizing someone for their work. It is geared to continually improving performance.
Corrective Feedback This is about changing behavior, performance, and results. It occurs when an improvement or change in needed. It is important to understand that corrective feedback is not negative or abusive in its style, it is only intended to correct the behavior at hand.
While it is important for us who both give and receive feedback to understand these two types, we can hit higher levels of performance if we are a little more open, a little less sensitive (on the receiving end), and ensure our point of view is clearly communicated. Let’s recommit ourselves to the concept of feedback.
The Value of You We all like to see results. Whether it is in the work we do, our bank account, or other personal activities, results make us feel good. The life of Warren Buffett is a great story about leadership that gets results. He spent decades mastering the financial industry and understanding how to get results. Regardless of how you feel about his approach, philosophy, or business style you cannot argue with the effectiveness and success he and his organization has had. In 2008 Warren Buffets net worth was estimated at $62 billion dollars. Those results were achieve by a lot of focus on the bottom line.
So how does Warren Buffett’s success apply to you? In November 2009, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates participated in a Town Hall meeting at Columbia University. During this event the following question was posed by a student:
Student Question: “Mr. Buffett, Mr. Gates, thank you for being here today. My name is Justin, I’m a second-year MBA, as I get ready to graduate, I was wondering, what’s the one thing that your MBA didn’t prepare you for when you got out into the real world?”
Warren Buffett Response: “Well, I was — it prepared me very well, not the whole degree, but specific professors prepared me very well for what I wanted to go into. I knew I was interested in investing, like I say, from the time I was six or seven years of age. So I was lucky that I found what turned me on early on. And I had these two marvelous professors here at Columbia that just being around — I had read all the stuff they had written. So it wasn’t I was acquiring lots of incremental knowledge but I was getting inspired. They were terrific for me. They treated me like a son. They would take me out to dinner. Ben Graham did the same thing for me. So it gave me confidence in myself. It just propelled me into a field I already love with a terrific tailwind from these professors that believed in me. [APPLAUSE] But let me add one point because — to the MBA situation. Right now, I would pay $100,000 for 10% of the future earnings of any of you. So anybody that wants to see me after this is over — [LAUGHTER] [APPLAUSE] If that’s true, you are a million-dollar asset right now, right, if 10% of you is worth 100,000? You could improve — many of you, and I certainly could have when I got out, just in terms of learning communication skills. You know, it’s not something that is taught. I actually went to a Dale Carnegie course later on in terms of public speaking. But if you improve your value 50% by having better communication skills, that’s another $500,000 in terms of capital value. See me after the class and I’ll pay you 150-thousand.”
Monetary Value of Learning and Communication
This matters because it illustrates the importance of learning and effective communication. As individuals, it is important to develop ourselves. Whether you get an industry trade degree, look at going through a mini MBA program, or complete a Masters Degree at Columbia University, ongoing development of yourself is important to you, your future success, and ultimately your net worth. Investment in learning will pay huge dividends. If good communication skills are worth an additional $50,000 to Warren Buffet, it’s worth far more to you individually.
Heavily Invested
Ask yourself this question. What would an investor ask you at the annual shareholders of YOU meeting? At a high level, you might hear questions such as:
- Do you understand what it takes for you (and your organization) to win today?
- Do you understand where and how we can increase profit margins?
- Are you cutting operational expense to increase profit margins?
- How can you create distance or differentiation from the competition?
- Is the organization focusing on what matters?
If you can answer those questions, you are doing great. If not, look to refocus your efforts. Educate or develop yourself to the point where you can answer them. You are heavily invested in yourself so what do you want your future earnings look like? Are you a million-dollar person? It’s hard to argue against hard results.
With companies merge, employees leave one company for another, and new members of the workforce land their first jobs, many individuals are trying to form new teams. Regardless of the situation, most organizations encourage open and candid discussions between staff members among employees throughout the organization. These differences in perspective can elevate teams to a higher level of performance. Differences in opinion and/or outright conflict is natural, and it can be very productive. The key is how to use conflict to our benefit so we can reach these higher levels of performance.
So how does one operate on a conflicted team? We still need to be able to create a win-win solution for the team and the organization. How do we use conflict to our advantage?
1. Acknowledge Conflict
Acknowledging conflict can be uncomfortable, yet once the conflict is recognized and discussed the team will feel a sense of relief. People tend to be more effective when they can agree to work together and find mutually satisfactory solutions to common problems.
2. Gain Common Ground
Is there common ground between the parties involved in the conflict? Put the conflict in perspective based on the team’s goals. If everyone is committed to a common purpose, they should be willing to address any issue that may affect the team’s final outcome.
3. Understand Each Point of View
Gaining an understanding of difference perspectives does not necessarily mean gaining agreement on all sides. Here we must take the time both to understand and be understood as we gain information from all sides.
4. Attack the Issue(s), Not Each Other Bickering or fighting with someone on the team is an unwanted stress, yet the issue needs to be addressed in order for the team to maximize its potential. The goal is to reach a solution that allows everyone to achieve individual/team goals without violating anyone’s values.
5. Develop an Action Plan
a. The team will outline specific steps that each person on the team will take in order to reach the team’s goal. Each person will be accountable for his/her role in the action plan, and the plan will be written on paper so that each person is aware of his/her responsibilities to the team.
As team members utilizes this five-step process to address issues and conflicts, they will see more win-win situations and the team will increase their levels of productivity.
The author Scott McKain makes a strong case for Organization Distinction. He states that too many organizations have lost customers trying to meet their competition conditions rather than making their own. McKain explains that organizations can succeed by focusing on four cornerstones, Clarity, Creativity, Communication, and Customer.
The author’s fist cornerstone discussion and one he insists must be first, is Clarity. How can you sell anything unless you know what it is? This concept certainly made me think about my own situation. What is it that makes the organization different than the rest of the pack? I quickly realized that I couldn’t state in “High Concept” what our company really does. High Concept is a short, less than five words, statement of who an organization, a team, or a person is.
The second cornerstone is Creativity. Thank you, Scott McKain for taking me out of the box called “Out of the Box.” I agree the term has become so convoluted that it is confusing. Creativity cannot grow without roots, the knowing why and what we are creating. My manager certainly doesn’t want a song when he needs a story. The author gives a series of steps that are well worth considering and applying to your situation.
At first the third cornerstone, Communication, the process of telling the organization’s story, seemed a bit hokey. Why an organization is created seemed quite obvious to me, the organization wants to sell or promote its product or service. However, the author is saying because your competitor has the same product, you need to tell why you are different. This difference is solely because of your story and includes all of the reasons you chose that particular product or service to support. Secondly, you need to let everyone know what it is that makes you unique. Finally, McKain tells us you can’t sell what you don’t know. I found this was exceptionally beneficial for me. It is well worth the effort to write the story down before you try to sell the world about your passion.
Finally the last corner stone is the customer. Here the author hit the nail on the head. One of my pet peeves is trying to purchase an item only to have the salesperson tell me that I want something else. Just as he stated, I seldom go back to that business. Certainly, customers may not know about or understand new products, but they do know what they are looking for and what they will spend their money on. Taking time to learn the wants of your customer is not only an important way to develop truly impressive distinction, it is critical if you are to succeed.
While reading industry books, I often make write comments in the margin. In this book, “Good Point” far exceeded the “I’ll think about this” or “Missed” notations. This book compelled me to consider what it is that makes me distinctive. What makes my organization distinctive? How I can become distinctive? I highly recommend this book to any organization trying to survive in these turbulent times, and to take up the author’s charge; Don’t be simply value-added; Be Distinctive.
The helm or steering mechanism of a ship adjusts the angle of the rudder, and in turn, changes the direction of the ship. In the 18th century as technology increased ships began to increase in size. While this growth was advantageous, at the same time the ships became increasingly difficult to control. Thus a ship master needed an invention to foster technical growth but at the same time keep the ship on course. Today’s steering wheel was designed to connect to the tiller of the boat, with a block and tackle. This addition provided a considerable increase in the ship’s mechanical capabilities and resulted in smoother operations with less effort.
I relate this story of the steering wheel because the world economy is going through some stormy waters. Although the changes going on may turn out to be good in the long run, it is still difficult to stay the course in the middle of these “troubled waters”. More than ever we need strong leaders to step up and take the “helm”, provide guidance, and “steer” their teams in the right direction.
A strong leader will effectively partner with each employee and provide direction, guidance, and coaching. He or she can help team member adjust their personal courses and move into “smooth water”.
Providing constant support takes a lot of effort but it will be worth it in the long run. Consider the following points when helping your team stay afloat:
Communicating frequently with each team member
-Will reduce or eliminate fear of the unknown
-Encourages confidence in individual performance
Building understanding within your team
-Instills ownership in the tasks to ensure success
-Keeps each person focused on the goal
Encouraging respect between members
-Promotes synergy
-Supports a relaxed and engaging environment
Maintaining your integrity
-Retains trust in you and the organization high
-Inspires integrity from team members
“It is not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what is required.”
So, picture the scene…..Communication Skills training, lead by a facilitator in the English language given to a group comprised of international cultures and languages and including Cambodian, Laotian, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Russian, and Hmong. Easy training to conduct, right? It posed some unique challenges. One major component of this training involved using the DiSC profile. Let’s face it, even those who are native English speakers don’t always understand all of the words and their definitions in this profile and not all English words have a direct equivalent word and meaning in other languages. For example, the work accountability does not translate into Spanish. The closest you can get is the word responsibility and these words are doesn’t really say the same thing. Since translators were not provided, we had to rely on the efforts of one patient facilitator and the 
This past week I took my family on an extended weekend trip to the lake to get our last summer fun in before school gets underway for the kids and the weather begins to turn cold. As I was leaving my neighborhood in my truck (Bed full of cargo, and boat and trailer in tow), the individual driving a vehicle in front of me decided to make a turn into a supermarket parking lot. This immediately created a problem for me. Not only was the driver not in the turning lane/shoulder of the road, he didn’t put on his turn signal until the very last moment. This chain of events could have caused an accident if I hadn’t proactively hit my breaks and creep into the other lane in an attempt slow my truck and boat in order to avoid crashing into his car.
The author’s fist cornerstone discussion and one he insists must be first, is Clarity. How can you sell anything unless you know what it is? This concept certainly made me think about my own situation. What is it that makes the organization different than the rest of the pack? I quickly realized that I couldn’t state in “High Concept” what our company really does. High Concept is a short, less than five words, statement of who an organization, a team, or a person is.
