Thinking Out Loud!

Monday, January 19, 2015

Does Your Team KNOW they MATTER?

Does your team KNOW they MATTER?

Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay cosmetics, was quoted as saying, “Everyone wears an invisible sign around their necks that says, ‘Help me feel I matter’!” Whether your team members will ever tell you such a thing, as leaders this is something we should always assume our people are telling us!

Human Development theorist, Nancy Schlossberg, speaks to this very issue in her work on Marginality versus Mattering. Essentially, people feel marginalized when they are disenfranchised or ignored. On the other hand, people feel they matter when they hold the belief that someone cares. As leaders, we are often too busy with our own concerns that we take our folks for granted. We just ASSUME they know we appreciate them and their efforts in our businesses, schools, organizations, etc. Such assumptions are very dangerous to our work as leaders in that how will they ever KNOW unless you INTENTIONALLY make an effort to let team members know how important they are and that they MATTER. Below you will find 5 elements of Mattering:

Attention – someone notices me. This is an easy fix. Instead of just rushing by staff in the morning on the way to your office, make a point to slow down, say hello, and ask how they are doing.
Importance – someone cares about me. Do you tell team members how important they are on a regular basis? You may say "Sure I do" but do you tell them why they are important? What specifically do they do that is of value to the organization?
Appreciation – my efforts are noticed and valued. Much like the above, you need to tell you staff what each member uniquely contributes to organizational success. If you point out specific examples that tells your team that a) you are paying attention and b) what you value!
Other Gratification – someone is proud of my accomplishments. Nothing will impress a staff member more, especially a “millennial” or younger team member, if you write a note (NOT an email!) or buy them a coffee and tell them, “Hey, I was really impressed by the job you did with that project, customer, etc.”
Dependence – someone needs me. I know of no better way to garner commitment and loyalty but to communicate to someone that they are needed because only they can do what they do for the team.

I get it. You are probably telling yourself "I don’t try to take my team for granted". Of course you don’t but as the noted leadership expert, John Maxwell observers, most of the time people who detract from others do so unintentionally, however, leaders who ADD VALUE to others do so with a great deal of intention. Further, this also involves a great deal of work! But this is the work of leadership.

Think of it as an investment that will pay huge dividends in terms of employee engagement and satisfaction. Don’t just wait for the annual review to do this. Do it now and with a great deal of sincerity! I promise you will be both surprised and pleased by the RESULTS!

Yours in Leadership,

Bill Faulkner

Co-Founder – Out Loud Strategies

Independent Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team ^TM

Email = bill@outloudinc.com

Sunday, January 11, 2015

The Importance of PRE-Decisive Leadership!

Many of us will agree that effective leaders are decisive. One way or the other they will make a decision which sets people, places, and things in motion. In my own experience, there was nothing more frustrating than waiting on a decision from higher up the leadership food chain so I have vowed to not delay too long when my own team was waiting on me to weigh in on something where they needed guidance.

One of the reasons I believe effective leaders are timely decision makers is due to the fact that they have made PRE-DECISIONS. This is a concept pastor and author, Andy Stanley, writes about in his book, Next Generation Leader. Essentially, when it comes to leading with character and integrity, the best leaders have already made some key decisions.

They have already decided on their GUIDING VALUES.

They have already discovered what the MAIN THING is in their life and work.

They have already decided on their DEAL BREAKERS in terms of what they will and will not compromise.

They have already decided to ALIGN their decisions with their VISION.

Since effective leaders have already made such pre-determinations, then it is easy to see why they appear so decisive. They know the RIGHT thing to do even when it may be the DIFFICULT thing to do.

How can we apply this to our own leadership practice? Let’s face it, the moment we are faced with a moral dilemma or tough decision is not the time to be struggling with the response. We should already know what our guiding principles are and respond accordingly, otherwise, we could very easily go down the wrong path. Obviously, we cannot control the events and circumstances that confront us, but we can surely control our own responses when the push comes to shove. In order to do this, though, we need to do some pre-work.

What are your guiding values?

What will you never compromise regardless of the benefits to do so?

What is your vision for how you will live your life?

What is the core mission of your work?

If you can answer these and keep reminding yourself of the answers, then when the time comes to make decisions, it will almost appear natural because such decisions become an extension of ourselves. In other words, we define ourselves by the choices we make.

Yours in Leadership,

Bill Faulkner

Co-Founder – Out Loud Strategies

Independent Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team ^TM

Email = bill@outloudinc.com

Sunday, January 4, 2015

To GROW your people, you must KNOW your people!

To GROW your people you must KNOW your people!

I love growing people! Essentially that is what I have been doing since highschool. The term “development” has been in just about all the job descriptions for the various positions I have held in my career and, shockingly enough, it is my primary strength according to the Clifton Strengthsfinder instrument. You can say that developing and equipping people has been my life mission for some time now, though I may not have always realized that.

Just like personal growth, growing others happens by design, not be default. You have to be intentional about it and that requires you to KNOW the people who you are attempting to facilitate growth and development. In John Maxwell’s newest book, Good Leaders ask Great Questions, he dedicates the second part of the work to fielding common leadership questions he receives. One of the sections deals specifically with suggestions for helping others grow and some of those insights follow. But first, in order to grow people, you have to engage with them and ask them crucial questions in order to learn the following:

Intention (Do they even want to grow? Are they willing to pay the price for growth?)
Giftedness (Where do their strengths and talents lie? Are they able to use them in their current role on a regular basis? If so, where? If not, why not? Do you or they need to make a change accordingly?)
Interests (Where do they want to excel? WHAT do they want to learn more about?)
Learning Styles (How do they prefer to learn and grow? Do they like to read, attend seminars/webinars, watch videos, do new projects related to their growth areas, etc.
Eventual Life and Career Goals (How does all of the above align with their eventual career and life goals?)

Based upon those discussions, and you may need several of them, it is important that you help them create a Development Plan.

What will they do by when?
How and where can they practice new skills safely?
How will they know they are improving?
How will you monitor and coach on their progress?
What opportunities and experiences can you broker for them?

Obviously, it will be important that they select just a few, well-defined growth areas so as to not become overwhelmed. At this point, you may be thinking this will take a lot of work and you will be right! But this is what leaders do. They add value to others and grow their capacities. The alternative is just to have a bunch of followers who will be dependent on your actions and decisions. One note of caution, though, not everyone you supervise, teach, etc. may want to grow. In that case, help them as much as you can but spend most of your time and effort on those that want to improve.

Yours in Leadership,

Bill Faulkner

Co-Founder – Out Loud Strategies

Independent Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team ^TM

Email = bill@outloudinc.com