Leading Customer Service

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Andy Uskavitch

Leading Customer Service

Good customer service doesn’t begin nor end with the customer.  

It begins with the leader and, well, I don’t believe it ever ends.

Defining Customer Service

You may have heard the saying that, “customer service is not a department,” right.  You may have a department called Customer Service, but by doing so, you make it feel as though that’s where it’s all taken care of.

  • But what about you, the leader?
  • Aren’t you supposed to be involved?
  • Don’t you have some say in the matter?

Absolutely, you do!  

If you want to dig even deeper, you should see that it’s everyone’s responsibility, not just yours, not just the Customer Service Department’s, but everyone who works within the organization. It is everyone’s responsibility to keep the organism healthy and functioning well.

Leadership is Influence

But leaders influence.  Some positively, some negatively.  Either one of those effects others’ customer service abilities.  You need to treat every employee you come in contact with, with the utmost sincerity and respect.

If you don’t do it, your employees won’t do it.  Unless you’re dedicated to taking the reigns to develop superior service in your employees, it’s not going to happen.

Taking a customer service class here and there or reading quotes on a poster once a month, is not going to furnish that sustained motivation that your employees need to provide that WOW service.

—————————————————————————–

L2L Reader Survey 2013 banner

—————————————————————————–

L2L Reader Quote: “Invaluable advice and encouragement!”

Doing Your Whole Job

“I don’t have time to take on anything extra.”  How many times have you heard that or thought it?  Well first, customer service is not “something extra.”

Customers are where your revenue and profit comes from.  In any organization, there’s typically somewhere else they could go, or at least just stop coming. So when you’re that dependent on something like customers, how can you call service, “something extra?”

In Lee Cockerell’s (former VP of Operations, Walt Disney World Resort) new book, The Customer Rules, he points out that:

 “Great leaders speak loudly and often about what they want their organizations to focus on and what employees are expected to do.”

Hello . . .  How many of you, or other leaders you know in your organization, speak loudly about customer service?  But you always hear about sales, production, etc.

Keeping Ahead of the Pack

Don’t wait for customer service to get bad before you do anything about it.  By then it’s too late.  The damage has been done.  Now you’re into damage-control mode – which takes a lot more effort.

Monkey see, monkey do, here’s an easy activity to do (didn’t mean for that to rhyme, but I’ll take it).  Go to a few local retail stores or restaurants.  Spend just a few minutes in each one, just observing the employees.  You’ll be able to tell what the management is like within just a couple of minutes because the employees walk the leader’s talk.

No matter how good the stores’ customer service “program” is, it won’t be successful unless the leaders walk the talk.

You can’t just focus on the everyday business stuff – products, marketing, sales.  In his book, Lee goes on to say that, “Managers have to recognize that sustained profits depend on their ability to generate consistent, ongoing, excellent service”.  You have to keep good service in the forefront of everyone’s mind if you want it to be consistent.

A Whole New World

We don’t live in a world anymore where we can focus on one product and be the only place to get it.  You may come up with a one of kind product, but you, very soon, will have competition.  You must lead the customer service attitude.

“But seriously, I have very little time.”  In Beverly Kay & Julie Winkle Giulioni’s newest book, Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go, they say it so perfectly – “let’s get real.  You’re having conversations already . . . What if you could redirect some of that time and some of those conversations to focus on careers?”

In this case, bettering customer service is bettering a career.  A few words here, and a few words there.  Just be sure you’re backing up those words with what you do.

Leadership By Example

Most people aren’t going to personally try to get their teams to improve customer service.  It has to come from you.  If you bring the horse to the watering hole, the horse will have a drink.  But if you offer a trough, the horse will always be able to get a drink.

You’re always looking for new and better ways to increase sales, improve products, or streamline production.  If you can’t increase customers or keep the ones you have . . . none of that will matter.

Do you walk the talk when it comes to customer service?  How much time do you spend talking to employees?  How much time could you spend talking to employees? I would love to hear your thoughts!

**********

Never miss an issue of Linked 2 Leadership, subscribe today here. 
Learn, Grow & Develop Other Leaders™

——————–
Andy Uskavitch
Andy Uskavitch is Leadership Development at Florida Blood Services
He develops and facilitates Leadership, Motivation & Teambuilding Seminars
Email | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Blog |  (727) 568-5433

Image Sources: image.naldzgraphics.net

Related articles

Filed under: Leading & Developing Other Leaders, Organizational Health, Practical Steps to Influence | Tagged: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

On Leadership and Counting Carrots

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Alan Mikolaj

Carrot and Stick

“When you blame others, you give up your power to change.” ~ Dr. Robert Anthony

So What’s Your Carrot?

Do you know what motivates others at work? Research from Duke University and George Mason University reveals that, although you might think you do; you probably don’t.

At regular intervals over a forty-year period, executives were asked to rank what they thought motivated their employees. They consistently got it wrong.  Executives erroneously believed that external factors and incentives such as compensation, bonuses, job security, and promotions are what most motivated their employees.

But what do the employees say?  They report that it is inherent factors, such as interesting work, being appreciated for making meaningful contributions, a feeling of being involved in decisions, and being part of something bigger that motivates them the most.

However, employees were no better off predicting what motivated their bosses and peers. They got it wrong, too; believing it is external factors that motivates others – especially their superiors.

The fact is, executives report being motivated mostly by autonomy, their inherent interest in their work, big challenges, and a sense of relatedness with colleagues.

True Incentives & Rewards

In psychology we call these biases – particularly the self-serving bias and the extrinsic incentive bias. We give more credit to internal and inherent motivations to ourselves than we do to others and think others are more externally motivated than they probably are.

These biases between boss and employee can lead to sub-optimal incentive, reward, and compensation programs. It can lead to negative thoughts such as

“Since I can’t pay my staff more and promote them like I want to, they don’t seem very motivated. I guess there’s nothing I can do.”

———————————————————————————————

L2L Reader Survey 2013

———————————————————————————————

“Each morning I come in, my inbox is filled with mail and the first thing I read is L2L. Always!”

———————————————————————————————

Eroding Trust

But more importantly, these biases and their corresponding negative thoughts erode trust. Anil Saxena recently wrote of trust in a recent L2L blog and how trust can only develop when our relationships are adult ones.   When they’re not and we allow biases and negative thinking to flourish instead, this can erode trust and make working well together difficult.

This doesn’t mean that money, promotions, and the like are not important. They are. Just much less than we think.

Other research shows that as long as employees feel they are earning a fair wage, inherent factors begin to take over as motivators, or if not met, as a detriment.

Lee Ellis also recently wrote on an excellent piece here on L2L about trust and coaching.  He learned employees valued two attributes most from their leaders: support and helping direct reports develop.

This can’t happen unless you also have some clues about what motivates them.

Undercover Revelations

I don’t watch much commercial TV, but one show I occasionally enjoy really knows how to bring this awareness out in bosses: Undercover Boss. In almost every episode I’ve seen, the CEO has an eye-opening experience not only about what frontline employees and their supervisors do, but more importantly, what motivates them.

The boss always walks away from the experience with a transformed perspective.

When both bosses and employees reduce blame and finger-pointing by reversing erroneous beliefs and ANTs (automatic negative thoughts) about each other, we foster trust, engagement, and a better working environment – and we know this leads to higher productivity, reduced turnover, higher customer satisfaction, and increased profits.

And who doesn’t want that?

How do you foster a keener awareness of what motivates your employees? How do you use that knowledge and awareness to develop trust and motivate others? What beliefs can you let go of that will help you be a better leader?

**********

Never miss an issue of Linked 2 Leadership, subscribe today here! 
Learn, Grow & Develop Other Leaders™

——————–
Alan Mikolaj

Alan Mikolaj is a Professional and Inspirational Trainer, Keynote Speaker & Author
He is the author of three books and holds his Master of Arts  in Clinical Psychology
Email | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Book | Web

Image Sources: anticap.files.wordpress.com

Related articles

Filed under: Coaching Corner, Emotionally Intelligent Leadership, Leadership Lessons Learned, Practical Steps to Influence, Servant Leadership | Tagged: , , , | 14 Comments »

4 Challenges Every Leader Faces

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Dr. Bill Donahue

Life is Good

Regardless of the leadership role we play, there are common challenges every leader faces as we seek to build an organization or guide a team.

With challenges comes tensions, remedies, and goals. Are your ready to face them?

Here are 4 common challenges that every leader needs to overcome. Each of these challenges create tension just by facing them.

1) The Learning Challenge

Learning is optimized when truth meets life. The world is full of theorists and visionary dreamers. Their ideas are creative and often stimulating.

But we cannot determine the viability of an idea until it is tested in the crucible of reality.

Therefore, learning requires a gathering of facts and ideas, and the simultaneous action of putting such ideas to the test. I find that gathering information and shaping a hypothesis or strategy are both essential to learning.

  • Too much fact gathering can result in paralysis from analysis
  • Moving too quickly without thoughtful reflection and information affirms the old adage “haste makes waste.”

Usually a new idea needs about 30-60 days to percolate and investigate – then it is time to start shaping some initial experiments, pilot programs or beta tests. Then you can do some trial and error, assess and see if you need to gather more information and what kind of data you need.

2) The Development Challenge

Most organizational leaders are too busy executing yesterday’s strategy to make time for developing tomorrow’s leaders. Empowerment is needed, but it must be accompanied by skill development. F Former Harley Davidson CEO Teerlink once said this:

“If you empower dummies, you get dumb decisions faster!”

So we must provide empowerment and motivation as we develop others, but skill training cannot be neglected or you get zeal without knowledge.

Any development strategy requires attention to the “heart” – passions, motives, dreams – and skill development for the “hands” of every leader. Help an emerging leader know what to do but also why it needs to be done so that people change and the mission is accomplished.

3) The Reconciliation Challenge

Leadership and conflict go hand-in-hand. First we must know how to manage it; listen, speak truth, identify areas that must be addressed, take responsibility for your part, agree to a solution, move ahead with integrity, and out the past behind.

But then we need to reconcile the relationships. It is one thing to solve the issue. But it is quite another to rebuild the relationship.

People tend to take one of two approaches:

  1. A gentle, kind approach designed to woo the person back into the relationship
  2. A direct, confrontational strategy that immediately brings truth to light and requires a direct response.

The “kind” people tend to circle the field hoping the conflict will go away or things will smooth over on their own. The confrontational person tends to shoot first and ask questions later. To hold these in tension is probably the better approach overall.

Speak the truth but do it in a gracious, even tone, seeking to understand the other person even as you point out the problem or issue. Give them some space to explain and response, but make sure you speak the whole truth.

4) The Impact Challenge

Every leader wants to make a difference in people’s lives and yet accomplish the mission or task. But there is often a tension when working with a team.  

Do we put more energy building relationships on the team and investing in people or focus on getting the job done with excellence and efficiency?

  • The answer to this question is YES.
  • You must hold both in tension.
  • You cannot ignore one and do the other.

Relationship building experiences, down time, meals together, and some relationship-building exercises are needed.

And a clear understanding of what success looks like for the project is equally important so that the task is completed with excellence. You can do both.

Here is a summary:

Challenge to Meet

Tension to Face

Desired Outcome

Learning

Truth—Life

Personal Transformation

Development

Hands—Heart

Skillful Passion

Reconciliation

Kindness—Confrontation

Healthy Conflict

Impact

Task—People

Team Effectiveness

What does your team struggle with? It might help to set some time aside to review this chart and name the tensions you see. Ask your team to work through them openly and honestly, knowing that the tension will never go away, but that there are ways to navigate them together.

**********

Never miss an issue of Linked 2 Leadership, subscribe today here.
Learn, Grow & Develop Other Leaders™

———————
Dr. Bill Donahue
Dr. Bill Donahue is President of LeaderSync Group, Inc
Bill is a professor at TIU and a Leadership Speaker and Consultant
Email | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Web

Image Sources: jasonpetermann.com

Filed under: Authentic Leadership, Conflict Management, Leadership Lessons Learned, Leadership vs. Management, Leading & Developing Other Leaders | Tagged: , , , | 2 Comments »

On Love and Leadership

Posted on January 27, 2013 by Andy Uskavitch

Leading in Love

“Love is a many splendored thing.”  “All you need is love.”  “Love me tender.”  “Love to love you baby.”  “Thou shalt love thy neighbor.”

Hmm.  I didn’t see anything about loving your employees.  I’m not saying you have to “love” them.  I’m talking about a simple relationship.  Think of it as love, without the . . . “love.”

Understanding Love

When we’re IN love, we’re in a whole ‘nother mindset.  Leadership is a different mindset also.  Lets take a look at some of the basics.

Love shows kindness . . . and kindness makes you someone who’s likeable.  People see that you’re someone they want to be around.  Someone that will be good to them . . . and in turn good for them.

Here is something the Bible says about love:

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 New Living Translation (NLT)

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

On Leadership and Love

As a leader, you need to be there for your employees.  You don’t have to win the “most popular” award every year, but you do need to be liked enough that they’ll be with you and follow you.  They can help you as much as you can help them.

In love, you lose your selfishness.  You become devoted to another.  We’re all selfish in one way or another, but we can get over that.

We’re always trying to get ahead.  Doing so in the wrong ways is being selfish.  Taking the credit for something that belongs to an employee(s) is selfish.  Don’t do it.  If the credit belongs to someone else, give it.  If it can be honestly shared then great.  Want what’s truly best for your staff.

Love is full of thoughtfulness.  It comes with the territory.

When you fall in love, thoughtfulness comes quite easily, right.  Buying flowers, opening doors, doing the dishes or laundry.  It’s a wonderful time.  Then over time it often starts to slow.  Just like in leadership.

Changing to Improve

When we become leaders or get promoted, we try hard from the outset – open-door policies, awards, being an open part of the team.  Then as time goes on, the door closes, the awards get put on the back burner, and you become “the boss.” But just like in love, we have to keep trying, changing, and improving our leadership skills.

When in love, we think the best of our love interest and show appreciation.

This person means the world to us and she/he is the best thing to ever come our way.  We buy flowers, we hold hands, we smile (a lot), we show the world how we feel.

Building Trust

In business we must think of our staff as the best in the business – or at least in the organization.  There’s another word you can use to describe this . . . TRUST.  If we don’t believe in and trust our employees then that’s what they’ll give us right back. It becomes a vicious circle that keeps growing until there’s absolutely no positive relationship at all.

How long do you think a love relationship would last like that?  Even the slightest bit of appreciation is better than none at all.

Love can harbor no jealousy.

If your love has a better job, so what.  If she/he has a bigger network or gets more awards, so what.

Leading With Humility

There’s no one leader in this world who knows everything.  Don’t pretend you do.  You can’t keep yourself surrounded by a bunch of “yes men.” A good leader will have people who have knowledge at ALL levels (even more than you) and have varying ideas.  You can sometimes learn as much from some of your employees as they can from you.

With love comes intimacy.  (And you know what I’m talking about.  Don’t go running to HR!)

In leadership, intimacy just means knowing your people.  Think of Tom Peters’ Managing by Wandering Around (MBWA).  Get out and see your folks.  Talk to them.  Find out about their families, their interests, their hopes for the future.

Find out what they need to do the best job that they can.

Being Faithful

Love generates faithfulness.  Love is a choice, not just a feeling.  It’s not a reaction, it’s an initiated action.

We choose to love someone because we feel a need and a want to be with that person.

Like love, leadership is a choice.  Leadership is not for everyone.  It takes a certain type of person to be really successful.  If you don’t want to do the job to the best of your ability . . . step away.

Effective Communication

And maybe most importantly, love needs communication.  Love needs open communication.  No beating around the bush.  No, “you should know what I’m thinking.”  Pure open communication . . . with discussion.

Leadership is no different.  We have to communicate clearly and concisely with our employees.  You can’t hold someone accountable for their work if they don’t know what they’re supposed to do.  People WANT to do their best.  They can’t do that without all the puzzle pieces.

And remember that even if you don’t have something to share, they still need to know that.  When people feel they’re lacking communication, they start filling in the gaps themselves.

A Work in Progress

People will commonly say, “If you loved me ________ would come naturally.”  That’s so untrue.  Like I discussed earlier, we have to keep trying new things, modifying, and advancing.  Our leadership skills are no different.

They’re both a continuous work in progress!

How is your relationship with your staff?  What can you work on, short-term, to make things better?  What can you work on, long-term, to make things better?

**********

Never miss an issue of Linked 2 Leadership, subscribe today here. 
Learn, Grow & Develop Other Leaders™

——————–
Andy Uskavitch
Andy Uskavitch is Leadership Development at Florida Blood Services
He develops and facilitates Leadership, Motivation & Teambuilding Seminars
Email | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Blog |  (727) 568-5433

Image Sources: ountylive.ca

Related articles

Filed under: Authentic Leadership, Organizational Health, Servant Leadership, Team Building Leadership | Tagged: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Hey Leaders: Knowledge is Power, So Cultivate It

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Marie Maher

Growing Knowledge

As leaders/managers, we have all been in situations where a stellar employee for personal or professional reasons, moves on to a better or different opportunity in his/her career. 

Gone are the days where an employee starts working in an organization immediately after high school or college and stays in that same workplace until retirement.

Knowledge is Power

It is a highlight for any manager to have an employee who is a quick learner, very intelligent, self-sufficient and is very efficient and effective in their current position.

It is an extra bonus when they have some longevity in the position.

This type of employee also tends to be a leader and has no problem when assigned a task or project. They often are the ones taking the ball and running with it with little to no direction.

Bridle the Power

This person generally has an extensive knowledge base in their head. This can often cause some unintended situations. Although they can be a breath of fresh in one moment, they can also end up on the other end of the spectrum and be harmful the next because they are so smart.

This dichotomy can be avoided if the manager has the right steps in place.

The last thing you want as a leader is any negative impact to your team, organization, or project. So it is best to get a handle on all of these smarts. Especially before they decide to move on to another new opportunity elsewhere.

Preparation and Change Management Is Key

Here are some steps to make sure that if or when the time comes and that star employee chooses to move on, you are prepared and any gaps or changes in staff are transparent to both your internal and external stakeholders:

1)  Every once in a while, immerse yourself in the weeds. 

In a leadership position, you are not expected to know every granular detail of any employee’s/team’s work.  However, it is a good practice to occasionally take an interest in the details of an employee’s/team’s project or task.

Have a sense of what is involved in their work.

You may be very surprised to see how much effort it takes to get from Point A to Point B.

2)  Cultivate learning like a seed. 

Encourage lifelong learning in your organization at all levels.  On your immediate team, always take a vested interest in the aspirations of your employees.   Encourage them to be all they can be and to take that mantra with them until they retire (no matter whether they choose to pursue other opportunities internally or externally or stay in their current position).

If they would like to learn work for which another team member has primary responsibility for, support that person in any learning endeavors.  In other words, as a manager and leader…INSPIRE, EMPOWER AND MOTIVATE!

“The seeds of knowledge may be planted in solitude, but must be cultivated in public.”  Samuel Johnson

3)  Don’t operate in a silo. 

Ensure that your lines of business/employees are not operating in a silo.  Always encourage cross collaboration across departments and among employees and have an idea of what other areas/employees do.

In an emergency situation, you may have to rely on resources from other teams temporarily until you can back-fill a position.

4)  Have process documents prepared and kept up to date.  

A best practice in any organization and for any leader should be to have process documents, procedures, process flows, etc. prepared and kept up to date.

5)  Have a succession plan in place for C-level positions. 

It is critical your organization have succession plan for C-level positions so your organization can continue operating without any disruption.

6)  Be a champion and shepherd of change management. 

The day has come which any leader dreads like the plague.  The highest performer on your team or person in a key executive level position officially gives their notice.

At first you wish that you could clone the person.

However, instead brush the dust or lint off of your change management toolkit.  Depending on the influence of the person leaving and until you can find a replacement, the ride in your organization or team may be a little bumpy.

However, between fostering lots of collaboration and navigating affected employees through the sea of change management, you will soon see the silver lining in that dark cloud. 

“Success with change is less like engineering an event and more like navigating a journey.” ~ Dr. Rodger Dean Duncan

Does your organization have any best practices in place to promote learning and knowledge sharing?  If so, what are they? What contingency plans are in place on your team if a key member decides to pursue other opportunities? As a manager, have you ever lost a key player on your team?  If so, how did you handle it? I would love to hear your thoughts!

**********

Never miss an issue of  Linked 2 Leadership, subscribe today here!
Learn, Grow & Develop Other Leaders™

———————
Marie Maher
Marie Maher is Director of Operations Analysis at The College Board
She manages projects and new operational initiatives for testing programs
Email | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Web | Skype: Marm69

Image Sources: altongansky.typepad.com

 Related articles

Filed under: Emotionally Intelligent Leadership, Leading & Developing Other Leaders, Servant Leadership | Tagged: , , , | 2 Comments »

Leaders: How to Set Expectations For Success

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Denis G. McLaughlin

Dunce

Leaders: People will perform up to your expectations – set your expectations at your team’s full potential, then help them succeed.

Names Effect Enthusiasm

Sports teams select names that are meant to encourage the team to succeed and inspire the fans to cheer.

Some professional teams have names that represent action like:

  • The San Diego Chargers
  • Detroit Tigers
  • Chicago Bulls

Other teams have names that celebrate their towns like:

  • The New England Patriots
  • Phoenix Suns
  • Montreal Canadians

Can you imagine sports teams with a name like: “The Fumblers” or “The Strike-Outs” or “The Penalty Box?” Of course not.

Naming People

Similarly, no person should be named in a way that limits their opportunity to achieve success like: “Advanced as far as they can” or “Not smart enough” or “Not leadership material.”

Maybe that person’s strengths are better used in another role that will free them to shine.

Successful Leaders don’t limit growth, they help people discover and develop their strengths.

German author and politician Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said:

“Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you will help them become what they are capable of becoming.”

The level of enthusiasm of your team, and of you as the leader of the team, will be positively influenced by having a positive image of each member of your team.

Names Influence Effort

Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson performed an experiment in 1966 known as The Pygmalion Effect, which tested the effect of teacher expectations on student performance.  Teachers across 1st through 6th grades were told that certain students were expected to perform at a very high level in the coming year.

Rosenthal and Jacobson then randomly assigned students to randomly selected teachers and gave the names of the students to the teachers.

At the end of the school year, this randomly selected group of students achieved markedly higher gains in IQ scores than the rest of the students.  Why?  Because the teachers expected these students to be successful and worked hard to make sure they were.

People will achieve up to the limit of their expectations.

James Rhem, the executive editor for the online National Teaching and Learning Forum, said:

“When teachers expect students to do well and show intellectual growth, they do; when teachers do not have such expectations, performance and growth are not so encouraged and may in fact be discouraged in a variety of ways.”

Leaders have to expect that each of their team members will succeed, then work hard to make sure that happens.

Names Should Fit The Role

Abraham, the patriarch of the Jewish Nation, was once known as “Abram” which means “Exalted Father.”  At that time he had one son, Ishmael, and he was near 100 years old.  God appeared to Abram and told him that his descendants would number more than the stars.  From that point forward he would be called “Abraham” which means “Father of Many Nations.”

Marion Morrison used the stage name John Wayne because he wanted to be a rugged movie star.

What’s In a Name

Theodor Seuss Geisel began signing the name Seuss to his work in his college’s humor magazine.  The correct pronunciation of Seuss is “Soyce” but it was mispronounced “Suss” which sounded like “Goose” as in the nursery rhymes.  That was fine to Theodor who intended to use his pen name for his humorous work anyway and save his real name for a future serious project.

The “Dr.” was added to his first published book in honor of his father who wanted Theodore to be a doctor.

From this day forward, every member of your team should be named “Successful,” in the specific role they have been assigned.  The definition of success may be different in each role.

Your job as the leader is to help define success for each person and assist them in accomplishing up to their new name – Successful.

From the inspirational diary of Anne Frank comes this truth:

“Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news.  The good news is that you don’t know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!”

What name have you given to your team, and to each member of your team?  Do you believe that they can be successful?  Have you limited the growth of your team by naming them “Unable to succeed?”  Your expectations of your team will drive their performance.

**********

Never miss an issue of Linked 2 Leadership, subscribe today. 
Learn, Grow & Develop Other Leaders™

———————–
Denis McLaughlin
Denis McLaughlin is President of Leadership GPS, Inc.
He is a Leadership Development Expert, Coach, Teacher, Speaker, and Writer
Email | LinkedIn | Facebook | Blog | Web

Image Sources: blog.darnipora.lt

Related articles

Filed under: Authentic Leadership, Coaching Corner, Leading & Developing Other Leaders, Practical Steps to Influence, Values-Based Leadership | Tagged: , , , , | 4 Comments »

Leaders: The Keys to Purposeful Motivation

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Denis G. McLaughlin

Carrot and Stick

You motivate everyone around you every day whether you know it or not.  Motivation can be a positive force or a negative force.  They key to success in motivation is to recognize its power and use it to positively change the lives of everyone on your team.

Successful leadership relies on motivating your team to accomplish the goals you have set.

Lee Iacocca said this: “Management is nothing more than motivating other people“

Purposeful Motivation

Purposeful motivation is not a one-time event.  It isn’t something you set in motion and let it run.  You can’t just delegate motivation to someone else.  As a successful leader, motivation is your number one job.

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.”~ Zig Ziglar

As basic to life as a shower is, so is motivation to leadership.  You just can’t lead without it.

The In’s and Out’s of Motivation

There are two types of motivation: Positive and Negative Motivation.

Positive motivation works by drawing people in. Negative motivation works by pushing people out.

Let’s examine both of these types of motivations to see how they work toward organizational excellence.

On Positive Motivation

Congratulation, Celebration, and Cultivation will bring Calibration

To motivate your team to succeed:

  • Congratulate members on their positive outcomes
  • Celebrate positive movement towards the goal with the whole team
  • Cultivate the strengths of each person on your team
  • If you do these things, they will Calibrate their behavior to your expectations

Congratulate

“If you woke up breathing, congratulations!  You have another chance.” ~ Andrea Boydston

Every day each member of your team does something worthy of your congratulations.  Let’s start with showing up for work.  Do you say good morning as you walk in the door?  This makes for a great way to start the day.  Wouldn’t you like to hear someone say, “Thank you for allowing us to benefit from your strengths today?”

Then there are the obvious ones like completing projects on time, facilitating a meeting well, giving a presentation to the executives.

Nothing says thank you like saying thank you. It’s that simple.

Celebrate

“There are exactly as many special occasions in life as we choose to celebrate.” ~ Robert Brault

Somewhere near the end of a year, each team will be establishing its goals for the following year.  These goals usually define success as accomplishing something by year-end: sales goals, profit goals, new customer goals, etc.

The leader sets the vision for how the team will accomplish its goals.

It’s hard to stay motivated if the goals are something that can only be achieved twelve months in the future.  Help your team stay motivated by breaking the year-end goals into smaller pieces: quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily goals.

Then you can celebrate reaching goals not just at the end of the year, but at the end of each day, week, month, and quarter.

Cultivate

“Mentor, mentor, mentor. Encourage and cultivate the next generation of leaders” ~ Tom Peters

It is human nature to grow, to become better every day.  A leader can tap into that desire and provide opportunities for their team to achieve greater and greater success.  Investing time with your team through mentoring is an essential component to motivation.

Calibrate

cal·i·brate  [ kálli bràyt ] Noun: To check, adjust, or determine by comparison with a standard. –  American Heritage Dictionary

As your team sees their success, they will model their behavior after yours.  Through your motivation, a cycle of expanding success is started.

On Negative Motivation

Domination and Denigration will bring Repudiation

To motivate people to fail:

  • Dominate each discussion with only your opinions
  • Denigrate individuals by focusing on every misstep and weakness
  • And they will Repudiate your behavior and leave

Dominate

“Your job is to make the best decision, not to decide.” – Jamie Dimon

There is a limit to the knowledge of any one person.  The leader who limits decision to only their opinion will see their team lose interest in offering differing thoughts that many times are better thoughts.

Denigrate

“Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations” ~ Steve Jobs

The only way to never make mistakes is to never try.  The leader who disparages their team for mistakes will soon find the team stops trying.

Repudiate

“Lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life”  ~ Napoleon Hill

Loyalty is a two-way street.  But it starts with the leader being loyal to the team.  Negative motivation is a sure way to eliminate loyalty, and ensure failure.

So what are some of the ways you can learn to positively motivate your teams toward achieving excellence in their daily work? What are some of the tricks and techniques that have worked best for you? Conversely, what have you seen in your workplace that has soured the mood and made people leave? I would love to hear your thoughts!

**********

Never miss an issue of Linked 2 Leadership, subscribe today. 
Learn, Grow & Develop Other Leaders™

———————–
Denis McLaughlin
Denis McLaughlin is President of Leadership GPS, Inc.
He is a Leadership Development Expert, Coach, Teacher, Speaker, and Writer
Email | LinkedIn | Facebook | Blog | Web

Image Sources: michael-whitehead.com.au

Filed under: Leading & Developing Other Leaders, Practical Steps to Influence, Team Building Leadership, Values-Based Leadership | Tagged: , , , | 6 Comments »

Next Page »
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 38,454 other followers

%d bloggers like this: