Top Companies – Top Leaders

Fortune magazine and the Great Place To Work Institute just announced the Top 100
Best Companies to work for. (See Fortune, February 4, 2013 for the list).

259 firms and more than 277,000 employees were surveyed and asked to rate management
credibility, job satisfaction, camaraderie, pay and benefits, hiring practices,
communication, recognition, and diversity.

A common theme for the winners? Making their employees their priority.
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“If this place got any better, I might not go home at night.”

–SAS employee
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Employees are the priority . . .

Most of the top 100 companies have a voluntary attrition rate of < 5%, most are
in the top quartile for compensation, and most offer domestic partner benefits.

The other big differentiator was that almost all did a variety of “things” to keep
employees happy. Here are some that were highlighted:

-Onsite massages, fitness centers

-Promoting a work-life balance and tracking hours to ensure there was a balance

-“Catch” and reward others for a job well done; opportunities to appreciate others

-Formal idea sharing forums and regional gatherings

-Paid hours to volunteer or for sabbaticals

-10% of work time allowed for pursuing a work project of their choice

-Training, development, job rotation, job shadowing, mentoring

-Flexible work hours

-Having a sense of purpose; working toward shared goals

And one we thought was especially interesting, was where a CEO posted their personal
development plan for all employees to see, and track results.

Depending on the company you work for, and your individual role, you may be in the
position to influence some, and actually implement others. Which do you already
have in place? Which are you willing to influence or implement?

A Call to Action

On Monday, January 21st, the United States held their Presidential Inauguration. During the Inaugural address, many references were made to leadership actions and behaviors required for success.

“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving.
They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.”
–Conrad Hilton 

A Call To Action or to Collective Action?        

Comments were made about “collective action”, not simply a “call to action”.
Think in terms of COLLABORATION! For those familiar with Thomas-Kilmann, collaboration means being both assertive and cooperative. It means working together to find a solution that fully satisfies the concerns of both, and it includes digging in to an issue to identify underlying concerns and finding an alternative that meets both sets of concerns. It’s a win-win solution!

Successful leadership also requires embracing differences.
We say not only embrace the differences, but leverage them! We all have our own unique set of strengths; making use of everyone’s strengths can only make us a stronger “whole”, and increase the chance for obtaining the results we desire.

Leaders must set the tone and direction
We need to set and clearly communicate our goals. We need to identify our priorities, and as change is required, we cannot resist it. Rather we must lead through and manage the obstacles and resistance we encounter. “When times change so must we”.

Leaders work hard; they display ownership, responsibility, and accountability
We need to work smart, not just hard. Too often we respond to urgent issues and make them a priority over important issues. We need to not only display behaviors associated with ownership, responsibility, and accountability, we need to instill them in others.

Leaders must be willing to take risks
Risk has been defined as “undertaking a task involving a challenge for achievement or a desirable goal in which there is a lack of certainty or a fear of failure.”This means we will make mistakes; we will learn from them and we will grow.

We must take pride in what we do, we must harness new ideas and technology, and we must invest the time to assess what’s most important while maintaining our focus.
Which of these leadership actions and behaviors do you consider as your strengths? Which could be further developed? Now’s the time to take action!

Leading From a Distance

The Challenge of Leading From a Distance

As virtual teams become more and more a reality for growing numbers of people, leading them effectively is critical…
–Carl Eidson

Gone are the days when a leader and team members are all in one location. Leadership has taken on new challenges with the need to be effective across time zones, understand cultural differences, and keep telecommuters engaged and productive.

The number of remote workers is staggering. Reports show:

  • 64 million U.S employees hold a job that allows some telework
  • 50 million workers both could and want to telework
  • Roughly 4.5 million people telework daily
  • 20 – 30 million work from home at least one day per week

A primary reason for NOT exercising the telework option is “job security.”

What does this mean to you as a leader?         

As a leader, regardless of where your staff is located, make certain that common goals are clearly understood, encourage your team to value one another’s strengths, and provide one another other with healthy, timely feedback.

13 Tips For Leading From a Distance

Leading remotely also means you need to be an even more skilled and effective communicator. Here are some tips to be a great leader for your team, especially when remote workers are involved.

1. Don’t communicate just the bare minimum.

Share what is expected of each individual and each location and include the “big picture” and desired results.

2. Conduct weekly team meetings.

Skype and other video chat options provide a great way to connect and link names with faces while keeping everyone on the same page.

3. Ensure all interactions end with closure.

This means that everyone involved knows who is going to do what when.

4. Check in regularly with each employee.

You’ll find that some are happy to hear from you only if you/they need something, where others may want more frequent contact (weekly if not daily).

5. Revisit the team goals and objectives.

Use “here’s where we are” statements, ask questions, and invite everyone to share their opinion and thoughts about the progress that is being made.

6. Ask your direct reports what they’d like to hear about.

In addition, ask for their feedback as to whether you are keeping them adequately informed.

7. Create an information checklist.

This should detail what information needs to go to whom.

8. Leverage email to communicate general information.

Use your checklist to aid with identifying whether the entire team needs to be in the loop or not. When in doubt, over-communicate.

9. Determine how the team wants to work together.

Ask: What are the dependencies?

10. Expect conflict and encourage healthy differences.

Conflict is natural to human interaction, but it doesn’t need to be a bad thing. In fact, a difference of opinions and multiple ideas how to solve a problem is healthy for an organization/team and promotes creative solutions.

11. Establish best practices.

This could include developing a list of characteristics associated with high-performing teams. Set and communicate expectations and consistently reward and recognize results.

12. Encourage your team to value one another’s strengths.

Have them provide each other with healthy, timely feedback which will ultimately build trust. As we all know, effective communication is a must but trust is the basis for strong and successful teams!

13. Support and “sell” your team!

Keep your boss and other leaders informed of your teams’ accomplishments and successes!

Let us know your tips for leading from a distance!

Inspire, Influence, Motivate

Did you know that in the U.S. it’s estimated that only 30% of the workforce is truly engaged when at work? (That means 70% of all workers are merely “showing up”, biding their time for other opportunities, or are actively disengaged)!Not only does productivity suffer, but negative behaviors and attitudes run rampant.Are you as a leader in the position to motivate, influence and inspire engagement levels?  ABSOLUTELY!

“In motivating people, you’ve got to engage their minds and their hearts.  I motivate people, I hope, by example – and perhaps by excitement, by having productive ideas to make others feel involved”.

–Rupert Murdoch
Despite hearing throughout the years that motivation only comes from “within”, we believe as leaders we have the ability to inspire, influence, and yes, even motivate others.

You’ve heard us speak about “magic dust” (strengths and passions); identifying what our team members are passionate about, and recognizing and utilizing their skills goes a long way towards enhancing levels of engagement and motivation.

We can learn from the U.S. Army.  In their 1973 handbook, they encourage leaders to:

Allow the needs of your team to coincide with the needs of your organization

Reward good behavior (especially those that support the goals of the team/organization)

Set the example

Develop morale and esprit de corps

Allow your team to be part of the planning and problem solving process

Look out for your team

Keep them informed

Make their jobs challenging, exciting, and meaningful

Counsel people who behave in a way that is counter to the company’s goals

Find out what makes your team proud and how they feel they add value; allow them to do what they do best!

Recognizing and rewarding what they view their greatest skills to be will set the stage for motivation, results, and increased levels of engagement.

Make “motivate, influence and inspire” one of your 2013 goals!

Your Direction For 2013

Happy New Year!  The holiday season is winding down and now it’s time to establish a clear direction for 2013.  In the words of John F. Kennedy “Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.”

Setting our direction keeps us moving forward; we need to know where we want to end up, and we need a plan for reaching that destination. PeopleTek’s COMPASS can help!

SETTING A CLEAR DIRECTION

By using the PeopleTek COMPASS, you will:

(Re)Discover your passion
Reconstruct your career
Influence productivity for growth
Establish and share a direction to achieve success

So, how should you start using the COMPASS? We suggest reviewing your VISION, MISSION, GOALS, MEASURES and BEHAVIORS.

Are they documented?

Do you “live” the behaviors necessary to realize them?

Have you communicated them?

Could you change any behaviors to better support the attainment of your VMGM?

Based on our experience, the biggest mistake people make when setting goals, and the biggest misconception people have about goal setting is that don’t think they need them; when they finally realize they do need them, they don’t write them down.

Another issue is that people think their goals need to be perfect. Not true! Goals must be re-visited, and revised as necessary.

Use the COMPASS components to assist you. As a reminder the components are:

C – Clarity and Communication
O – Optimize Differences
M – Manage Change
P – Plan, Persist, and Organize
A – Appropriately Handle Conflict
S – Sustain/Enhance Relationships
S – Skillfully Influence Others

For each of the components, ask and answer:

What is known and shared about your strengths and opportunities?

-In what ways could you be more open and authentic?

-Who can you ask for feedback to learn more about your strengths and areas for improvement?

-How could you be more creative and innovative?

-What can be added to your development plan to  strengthen the components and be more impactful?

Recommended reading:

LEADERSHIP  – Rudolph W. Giuliani
Wishcraft: How To Get What You Really Want— Barbara Sher & Annie Gottlieb

Start the new year off by leading with purpose and direction!