Author: Lori Michele Leavitt

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Leadership -Connecting with (your) people to improve results. Step 5: NOW GET GOING

In this series we are talking about connecting – connecting to people, connecting people to the business results you want, and getting those results.

Let me intro this next step before we recap, so that those that have been reading along don’t have to repeat (thanks to those who gave me this good feedback; the recap is at the end of the post)…

In Step 4 you removed roadblocks to aligning people’s actions with Strategy. Woot! Let’s get going!

For Step #5, collect these materials:

1. Your 1-3 Critical Strategic Objectives, which are now mapped to show relationship and the priorities of these Objectives and their Steps

See the Recap below for links to these prior steps. Questions? Click to “Ask Lori”

2. Your Annual Budget

If you do not have access to this, even for your department, you may want to pass this blog and Leadership series on to someone who does. Continue reading “Leadership -Connecting with (your) people to improve results. Step 5: NOW GET GOING”

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Wow! We are building an A-Team

We’re building an A-Team!

In place of our individual Wow, I’m going to take this opportunity to share a list from Jim Collins, author of “Good to Great” of the key things an A-team needs. It’s a good list and if we absorb it, and live it, we too can keep the “Wow!s” coming!

According to Jim Collins, one of the key factors for building a world class organization – and keeping it great – is its people.

A-Team Qualifications — Let’s put it to good use now!

1. You know a person is a great fit for your team when they fit with your core values walking in the door. You can train for skills. You can’t train for values.

2. An A-Team person doesn’t need to be tightly managed. The moment you feel the need to micromanage an employee, you know you’ve made a hiring mistake.

3. The right person will understand that they don’t have a job – they have responsibilities.

4. The right person will do what they say they will do. They are accountable in every action.

5. The right person will have “window” and “mirror” maturity. When something goes wrong, they look in the mirror and say “I’m responsible. Here’s what I will do to grow and change.” When things are good, they point out the window and share the success and accolades with their team. They look outside of themselves to share the praise and recognition.

6. They think that what you do is really cool and believe it is a privilege to work for you.

Hey team… we are already achieving many of these. Wow! As you and I bring new people into the company, let us always keep this list in mind. It fits who we are.

Thanks to my local colleague, Anne-Marie Faiola, The Soap Queen, for posting this first. Look for this list and lots more good stuff in Jim Collin’s upcoming book due out in May 2009.

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Leadership -Connecting with (your) people to improve results. Step 4: Removing roadblocks

In this series we are talking about connecting – connecting to people, connecting people to the business results you want, and getting those results.

Recap:
In Step 1 you selected up to three of the most critical strategic themes or objectives. In Step 2 you mapped these themes to your Strategy so that key objectives can be prioritized and contrasted (it is not uncommon to have conflicting objectives that need to be sorted out). And in Step 3 you prioritized so that you’d be sure that what is most important gets done.

Now before we move on, it is critical to have a plan for identifying and removing roadblocks. You will face at least one. I’m going to list a few of the most common ones here, along with answers that have worked for others. I’d love to have comments and additions from readers.

Here are three common roadblocks to getting what you expect: Continue reading “Leadership -Connecting with (your) people to improve results. Step 4: Removing roadblocks”

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Wow! Trust as a retention strategy, protects your bottom-line

Timing matters. Trust matters. If you are not sure you have all the information, take time to dig deeper before you make a critical decision about people.

Here’s our “wow” for this week: This Wow! goes to two individuals who I had all but given up on. At one time, not so long ago, I felt each relationship was irreparable. When someone feels this way about you, and perhaps you feel it too, it is so easy to just break. One thing bonds people together strongly enough to avoid that break: Trust. We trusted ourselves and each other enough to dig deeper.

Why is this “wow!”? What changed? Did one give in to another’s demands? Actually no, and this is another aspect that is so powerful. What trust does is allow difficult conversations to be shared, and those conversations can lead to repair. To an outsider it may seem nothing. But truly this is huge. We are in business to build value. A leader cannot do that if he or she is not trusted or if he or she does not trust the team. But it goes even further than what may seem to you very touchy-feely stuff (which it is)… trust, or lack of it, and retaining people (or not) have a significant impact on the business bottom line…

Why is this important? Trust, and taking the time to dig deeper using objective methods, can ensure that you (the leader) are not making hasty decisions that will tear down value, and immediately and negatively impact your business bottom line.

If you aren’t building trust you will experience loss. If you are not tracking what goes right and wrong, throughout the year (and why) – and if you do not have the right data to identify the real causes (and rarely are we correct when we assume what someone’s intentions are) you cannot possibly make good decisions about people.

When you are unsure, it often makes the most sense… even to the business bottom-line… to retain a person and re-fit them in a role that plays to their strengths and supports your Strategy best. Also consider how you can adapt your style to support a better fit for all.

Congrats! Wow! Trust has allowed us to dig deeper, retain people, and build value.

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Leadership -Connecting with (your) people to improve results. Step 3: Prioritizing

In this series we are talking about connecting – connecting to people, connecting people to the business results you want, and getting those results.

Recap:
In Step 1 you selected up to three of the most critical strategic themes or objectives. In Step 2 you mapped these themes to your Strategy so that key objectives can be prioritized and contrasted (it is not uncommon to have conflicting objectives that need to be sorted out).

Step 3 is to prioritize so that you are doing the right things. Continue reading “Leadership -Connecting with (your) people to improve results. Step 3: Prioritizing”

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Have you experienced times like these? Help others through it.

Some of our friends, family and colleagues may have yet to experience bad times – so they may have more difficulty coping than those (of us) who have failed (and come out just fine) many times. My colleague Bill Dueease of The Coach Connection, recently shared his wisdom through a business group I am part of. I doubt I could say it any better (I like to expand “what you have control of” to “what you can affect”)…and I wanted to share it with you! Whether you are managing employees or working with peers out of work or in a struggling business, or struggling yourself – I think his words will help you:

Bill states:
Having been through this sort of thing several times, some much worse, and having ended up better off than when I started, I found some things that have always helped me. I hope these help you and others as well.

1. Separate the factors you have control over from those you do not. List the factors that affect you that you have no control over, and create a way to monitor them, but do not worry about them. Just like the weather. You monitor and adjust to the weather, but you have no control over it. Continue reading “Have you experienced times like these? Help others through it.”

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Leadership -Connecting with (your) people to improve results. Step 2: Mapping Strategy

In this Leadership series we are talking about connecting – connecting to people, connecting people to the business results you want, and getting those results.

In Step 1 you selected up to 3 of the most critical strategic themes or objectives. Now you will prepare to share these objectives or themes with those who need to act in order for Strategy to be executed.

I’ve decided to share with you how our company is taking these same steps. I hope this helps clarify the process…

For Abrige Corp the most critical objectives fall into these themes:
“Get Visible!” & “Systematize Everything.” I’ve logged these into our STRATEGY application, below: Continue reading “Leadership -Connecting with (your) people to improve results. Step 2: Mapping Strategy”

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Wow! Team Stick Strategy

Big businesses in the U.S. are receiving bailout funds. Whether they “deserve” this or not is something many of us question. I for one am always loathe for dollars to be thrown to who yells the loudest or can harm the most, rather than those positioned to add the most value. Ok. It’s done.

So what?! Lots of things happen “just because” and we can whine about it, or we can make our own success. Every action is our choice.

We choose to keep adding value with what we’ve got… We are sticking to it! We are confident, accountable .. and we trust that our journey is adding value, including to those in our company.

Here’s our “wow” for this week: This Wow! goes to Abrige & C-Secure team members who are doing all they can with the resources at hand today…knowing there is a better tomorrow and that we control that. The prize is near from this entrepreneurial journey. You know who you are, because you are here. You exhibit confidence, trust and accountability. We are sticking together.

Why is this “wow!”? Choosing to stick when pay or perks become more tightly linked to performance requires confidence, trust and accountability. One must have the confidence in themselves that they can complete what was started. There must be trust that the leader will steer the company well if all the crew are doing what they are supposed to do. And accountability is required to meet promises to reach a long term goal, which may require more effort with less reward in the short term. We will remain strong because we have confidence, trust and accountability. Continue reading “Wow! Team Stick Strategy”

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Leadership -Connecting with (your) people to improve your results. Step 1: Strategic Themes

Overwhelmed with your days right now? Underwhelmed with your business or job?

Let me re-introduce you to …connection… starting with the people around you…

I’m a bottom-line gal… and I am here to tell you to get social within your organization. I am positive that doing so will improve performance across the organization. No worries if you haven’t really excelled at this to date. We can tell and if you look around you, you are not the only one. (and it’s not your fault entirely… technology, and actually performance management systems specifically, has played a role in this trouble and I’ll get to that later in this series). But you CAN realize improvement quickly, by making a few small shifts in how you connect with people.

So how you do this without changing who you are? Continue reading “Leadership -Connecting with (your) people to improve your results. Step 1: Strategic Themes”

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Wow! Thinking like an owner

Today more than ever a leader needs their team to care and tend to the bottom line. We’ve got that – Wow!

Here’s our “wow” for this week: This Wow! goes to —- who decided that he and a friend could build an application we needed, and do so on their own time. This way we could get exactly what we wanted, and without a subscription cost. —- was watching out for opportunities that would help us, and for the impact on our bottom-line. This is exactly what one means when they strive to have their team “thinking and acting like owners.” That we have this in our team deserves a resounding, Wow! Continue reading “Wow! Thinking like an owner”