29 Oct
[email protected] Leadership

Employee Satisfaction

Improving job satisfaction could be the single most important thing a boss can do.
–Tera Allas and Bill Schaninger

If you are a leader, McKinsey Quarterly authors Tera Allas and Bill Schaninger claim there is only one question that you need to ask and resolve:

How do I make my team members’ lives easier—physically, cognitively, and emotionally?

This isn’t easy to answer, and not only do leaders need to take into account their team members satisfaction levels, but they must also satisfy the needs of stakeholders/shareholders and internal/external customers.

Enter Servant Leadership, which per Wikipedia is defined as:
A Servant Leader shares power, puts the needs of the employees first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible. Servant leadership inverts the norm, which puts the customer service associates as a main priority. Instead of the people working to serve the leader, the leader exists to serve the people.

Based on research, this mindset enhances relationships, team performance, and satisfaction levels. And it’s even suggested that managers are happier when they feel they are supporting others in their daily activities.

Conflict arises when workers are viewed as high performers for obtaining goals and possessing technical skills and as a result get promoted into leadership roles without taking into account “people” skills.

It’s probably no surprise that there is a direct link between employee satisfaction levels and the “boss relationship”, and surveys report that 75% of those surveyed said that their immediate boss was the most stressful aspect of their job.

As leaders we need to be very aware of our leadership style and our impacts on others. Dr. Travis Bradberry shares the “Worst Behaviors” to avoid:

  • Making a lot of stupid rules 
  • Letting accomplishments go unrecognized
  • Hiring and promoting the wrong people
  • Treating everyone equally
  • Tolerating poor performance
  • Going back on their commitments
  • Being apathetic

Next week we’ll talk about desired leadership skills and abilities; in the meantime, are there any behaviors you need to avoid to improve employee satisfaction levels?

There is one essential area where companies can create enormous social value: job satisfaction. –Tera Allas and Bill Schaninger

22 Oct
Journaling
[email protected] Leadership

Is Journaling An Art?

A personal journal is an ideal environment in which to become. It is a perfect place for you to think, feel, discover, expand, remember, and dream.
–Brad Wilcox

If you’ve been through the Leadership Journey program you know that we encourage journaling. Is it an art? No. It’s simply a place to record your thoughts, your goals, and even your disappointments.

Studies report that journaling can actually improve your health by reducing stress and negative energy. Interesting!

Getting started can be as simple as writing one sentence. Some ideas are:

  • Capture the behaviors that made your day successful.
  • What made you feel good?
  • What did you accomplish?
  • Where did you add value?
  • Were there any innovative solutions?
  • Did you inspire anyone?
  • Did you learn anything new?

You can also write about things that didn’t go as well as you would have liked. Capture:

  • What was the situation?
  • Why do you think it went “south”?
  • What have you learned from it?
  • What could you change?

You can also write about personal and professional goals.

  • What’s your dream job?
  • Is there a place you’d like to travel to? Write about it!

You can even just doodle or draw pictures. The idea is that you record and explore your emotions. It’s a place where you can get creative, dream, plot and plan, and release negative thoughts or ill feelings.

Give it a try!

Writing in a journal reminds you of your goals and of your learning in life. It offers a place where you can hold a deliberate, thoughtful conversation with yourself.
— Robin Sharma

 

15 Oct
Thinking
[email protected] Leadership

What Do You Think?

Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.
― Aristotle

What Do You Think about the concept of being a continual learner? That the more you know, the more there is left to learn? You’ve obtained degrees, certifications, licenses, etc, so does that mean you’re done learning? Hopefully not!

Often we need to keep our technical and professional skills up to date, but what about our “people” skills and even understanding our current passion and desires?

Do you devote time for increasing your awareness levels? Is self-development something you enjoy doing? What about being committed to better understanding and communicating with others and helping others do the same?

PeopleTek has created a LEADERSHIP COMPASS which is a combination of leadership skills, traits, behaviors, and talents, along with concepts from the Johari Window to help individuals better understand themselves and relationships with others.

Below is a subset of the components we recommend you assess, explore and develop. For scoring, use a scale of 1 – 10 with 10 being best.

  1.  Awareness:   Do you know which of your behaviors and skills are considered strengths versus growth areas? Do you know which behaviors and skills are considered strengths in your colleagues? What about their development areas?
  2.  Magic Dust: Do you have a clear understanding of the value you provide and your natural strengths and abilities?
  3. Vision/Mission/Goals: Are they written, communicated, tracked monthly, and do all of your behaviors support them?
  4. Communication: Are your messages accurately interpreted? Do you know how to use varied approaches and styles to improve results and enhance relationships?
  5. Clarity: Do you (or your team) clearly understand their roles, responsibilities, and desired organizational results?
  6. Accountability: Do you live up to your commitments? What about encouraging others to do the same?
  7. Conflict: Can you manage differences in a healthy, respectful manner?
  8. Influence: Do you have an effective presence that favorably impacts interactions and inspires others?
  9. Relationships: Are you proficient at building & maintaining lasting relationships?
  10. Feedback: Are you open and receptive to giving and receiving feedback?
  11. Inspiration: Do you empower and stretch others making them feel valued?
  12. Change: Do you embrace change and effectively communicate the “how and why”?

What do you think about the need to continually learn, grow and transform? It’s always a great time to invest in yourself and others!

And you? When will you begin that long journey into yourself?
― Rumi

08 Oct
Keep On Truckin'
[email protected] Change, Success

Keep On Truckin’

Start by doing what’s necessary, then do what’s possible, and suddenly
you are doing the impossible.
—St. Francis of Assisi

Keep on Truckin’ is an oldie but goodie slogan from the 60s (some reports even say from the 30s!) that to many simply meant “hang in there”.  Seems like this a good time to remind ourselves, and others, to do just that!

Even those with the most positive mindset are feeling worn-out. When will we have normalcy, and what will define the new normal? No one knows the answer, but we can define how we address the unknowns, and hopefully along the way also help others.

Components required for success have not changed. Goals still need to be achieved with our vision and mission continually supported. Innovative thinking and enhancing existing processes are never ending, and we need to be aware of how we feel, and even more importantly be acutely aware if our attitude is dimming. So, what can we do?

Success contributor Lydia Sweatt provides 17 quotes to help us with a refresh.

  1. Your limitation—it’s only your imagination.
  2. Push yourself because no one else is going to do it for you.
  3. Sometimes later becomes never. Do it now.
  4. Great things never come from comfort zones.
  5. Dream it. Wish it. Do it.
  6. Success doesn’t just find you. You have to go out and get it.
  7. The harder you work for something, the greater you’ll feel when you achieve it.
  8. Dream bigger. Do bigger.
  9. Don’t stop when you’re tired. Stop when you’re done.
  10. Wake up with determination. Go to bed with satisfaction.
  11. Do something today that your future self will thank you for.
  12. Little things make big days.
  13. It’s going to be hard, but hard does not mean impossible.
  14. Don’t wait for opportunity. Create it.
  15. Sometimes we’re tested not to show our weaknesses, but to discover our strengths.
  16. The key to success is to focus on goals, not obstacles.
  17. Dream it. Believe it. Build it.

Do you have any favorites? Did any make you smile or maybe even cringe? One of our favorites is Wake up with determination. Go to bed with satisfaction.

Hang in there!

The comeback is always stronger than the setback.
Dr. Jill Murray

 

 

01 Oct
Stayingi Connected
[email protected] Interpersonal Skills

Relationships and Staying Connected

Everything we do right now — from sending emails to making calls to sending texts — is more important than ever. How we make people feel now is going to linger longer than these turbulent times.—Barbara Palmer

No doubt about it, work relationships are essential. It doesn’t matter if you’re a small business or work for a large corporation, are self-employed, or work in the service industry. All require that we stay connected and show genuine interest in those we interact with.

Networking and building relationships have changed in our current world. We still need to consider and connect with customers/clients, suppliers/buyers, shareholders/stakeholders,  and maybe public figures, vendors, and government agencies. Regardless of your line of work, you can’t let relationships go cold.

It’s not a good time to invite others to lunch or jointly attend a conference, but you can use email, social media, or zoom/webex, etc to have casual check-ins. Simply asking how they are doing and sharing wishes that their co-workers and family members are well opens doors and creates a connection. You can also ask about their line of work; many are suffering and a friendly ear that simply listens is valuable. Listen more than you talk!

For those that you have less frequent contact with, keep track of when you’ve last reached out to them. Jot down notes about your last connection and personalize the follow up for future touch points. (There are many tools available to use and even excel can be helpful to track names, dates and topics).

And, you can’t forget about those you work with on a daily basis: direct reports, colleagues, co-workers, bosses, outsource partners, etc.  What are you doing to stay connected and show you care about them? Most all are getting weary with “isolation”, and in the past vacation time was used to refresh and have a change of scenery. This is no longer the case; a friend pointed out that very few are taking time off as how that time is spent is limited. Most want fun, travel, or rest and relaxation in a desirable setting and those options are mostly on hold.

If you’re a leader, make your connection more than just about work assignments and quality reviews. There are many jokes, comics, and images that can be shared to make each day brighter and create a chuckle. Who wouldn’t appreciate something to smile about?

Relationships are the basis for all of life’s rewards and struggles.
–Lee Colan