Posted: October 24, 2023 | Categories: Leadership, Management, Self-Improvement

“Compared to what we ought to be, we are only half awake”

-William James

Most of us live far within our limits.  We always remember those teachers, parents, coaches, and other special people who took the time to see our potential and push us to our limits.

In 5th grade, I was an under-performing student.  One day at the beginning of the school year our teacher, Mrs. “M”, announced a big project that was upcoming:  A class yearbook!  As she described the details of the endeavor, I thought to myself, “That’s going to be a lot of work for someone.”  I was right, and I soon found out it was me!  Mrs. “M” announced that I was the editor.  I didn’t want the job, and politely and respectfully told her “no thanks”.  She wouldn’t take “no” for an answer.  She said she had seen my writing and communication skills and I was the one for the job.  “You really mean that?”, I asked.  “Yes, I do!”, she replied.

I got to work on the project and gave it my best.  It turned out great, and during the process I was able to develop my natural talents to a much higher level.  The impact of Mrs. “M’s” challenge is still working for me today at age 74.

One of our jobs as a leader is to help build others and make them more successful.  To do this, we need to push our team members out of their comfort zone in the direction they were meant to go.  Mrs. “M” helped me to wake up, see my gifts, and dig in.

Posted: October 17, 2023 | Categories: Leadership, Management, Self-Improvement, Team Building

Many years ago I was working for a company that put a big emphasis on mentoring.  As a senior account rep, I was approached by my supervisor (Bill) to mentor a team member who had just been hired.  With my natural love of coaching, I eagerly agreed to take on the mentor assignment.  The first thing I did was ask Bill, “What are the most important areas of professional development you would like me to focus on?”  Bill replied with a predictable menu that included prospecting, tracking, learning specific terms, and sales language.  Then Bill concluded with, “And I want you to work with him on the weekly forecast sheet we turn in every Monday.”  I looked at Bill and saw a twinkle in his eye.  I thought, “You son of a gun”.  You see, I was not consistent at turning in my weekly forecast sheet.  I knew that was going to change immediately if I wanted to lead by example – and I did.  Bill knew it too.  How sneaky!  He tricked me!  No, he didn’t.  Bill was just being a resourceful leader.  His delegation was well thought out.  He designed it so that both me and person I was mentoring would grow.

Instead of nagging me about doing my report every week, Bill put me in a situation where I would naturally want to do it.  I did become consistent with my reports and I didn’t feel manipulated.  Bill created a “win-win”.
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Posted: May 18, 2023 | Categories: Leadership, Management, Team Building

Turnover is costly. Is that an understatement? How many times have we seen a treasured team member give their surprise two-week notice? In each case it is unlikely that the person leaving decided to do so that day.

Now let me ask you a question: Do you change the oil in your car regularly? Why? Your car is probably working fine.  Why bother? It is called preventive maintenance. We value our car and want to keep it properly maintained for a long life.

How about our team members? What do we do to stay in step with them so they don’t give us a farewell? Here is a recommendation from Richard Finnegan, a consultant specializing in engagement and retention. In his book, “The Stay Interview”, he recommends we conduct one-on-one “stay interviews” at regular intervals with our staff members. Here are the five questions he recommends:

1. When you come to work each day, what things do you look forward to?
2. What are you learning here?
3. Why do you stay here?
4. When was the last time you thought about leaving our team?  What prompted it?
5. What can I do to make your experience at work better for you?

If we can do these interviews we can greatly reduce the frequency of those “surprise” resignations. Let’s practice good, regular, preventive maintenance with our team!

Posted: April 4, 2023 | Categories: Management, Self-Improvement

Have you ever been asked, “Do you have any hobbies?”  If your answer is, “I really don’t have any”, you may be missing something.  The happiest people I know have hobbies.  Those who are in constant stress tend not to have hobbies.  They don’t have the time…right?  Let me tell you about my friend, Dan.  He is 84, and living a life most people only dream of:

Dan began his career in pharmaceutical sales.  He was a champion performer and retired after 30 years on top of his game.  His next move was immediate:  He went to a career in executive coaching and team development.  He became a cohort of mine, and did brilliant work.  He retired after 15 years of coaching.  He was ready for his next career as an entertainer.

Dan is a natural performer and he started his own business of doing comedy and nostalgia shows for nursing homes.  He soon became quite successful, and was booking over 100 shows per year.

Dan is an example of the value of hobbies and avocations.  I can easily think of ten more people with similar stories.  There is one thing we can learn from every one of them:  Always have a hobby or avocation.  Doing so helps ensure balance, reduce stress, and may lead to our exciting next venture in life.

Posted: February 20, 2023 | Categories: Management, Self-Improvement, Team Building

One of the most remarkable traits of a strong leader shows up when we talk to them one-on-one.  We walk away feeling good about ourselves.  Good leaders are people builders.  By contrast, have you ever had a conversation with a “people shrinker’?  By that I mean, after the interaction, you feel a little smaller than you did before.  That’s no good.  We build our businesses by building our people.

I would like to illustrate by sharing the most indelible example of people-building I have ever experienced.  The year was 1976.  I was single, 27 years old, and managed a business in a modest sized suburb of Chicago.  I was headed into the bank to make a deposit, and as I entered the doorway, I passed by a young girl selling candy.  My first thought was, “Oh boy, here comes another person shoving something in my face and trying to sell something.”  She didn’t say anything.  She just smiled a beautiful, genuine, smile.  I got ahold of my attitude, and politely asked her what she was selling.  She was selling candy bars as a fundraiser for her sister’s school.  I told her I didn’t want a candy bar, but I would buy one for her.  I gave her the dollar.  We had a short conversation, and moved on.

Several months later I was looking forward to a first date with someone I had been interested in for a long time.  When I went to pick up my date at her house, her sister came down the stairs and said, “That’s him”!  You guessed it, that was the girl that I bought the candy bar for, and she was selling them for her sister, the person I was taking out for the first time.  Things went well.  The bottom line:  That first date and I have been married for 45 years.  Imagine if I didn’t get control of my attitude that day and was abrupt with her sister.  This may be a personal example, but we all know our own examples of people who act kindly.  I end with this question:  Are you a people builder or a people shrinker?  Every human interaction is a moment of truth.  Make it a good one!