Maximizing People Potential

Stop managing so much and start coaching more

2010-12-01T15:10:00.000-05:00

In this time of unprecedented numbers of disengaged workers and overwhelming workloads start spending more time coaching. The process of coaching engages the hearts and minds of people, so you will more often get different results. The results can be immediate. When people feel valued and appreciated they respond with a higher level of motivation, they become more engaged in their work, they become more proactive in solving problems and collaborate more with team members. All of what I just described is a result of coaching, not managing. I’ve been working with managers to increase their coaching effectiveness and those are the tangible benefits and changes they observe in their employees. Coaching doesn’t require a huge amount of time; you can have a coaching conversation in less than seven minutes. These are what I refer to as the informal or spontaneous conversations that can be far more productive and powerful than the planned coaching conversations we most often associate with coaching. Set a goal to have at least one informal coaching conversation each week and begin to reap the benefits.

Adaptability

2010-05-13T13:11:00.003-04:00

I was talking to a colleague yesterday who teaches a Certified Personal Care course and we were discussing the value of being adaptable. I began thinking about this and decided that this just isn't a skill that applies to a variety of business situations this is an under rated life skill. I often discuss adaptability in the context of behavioral styles and creating effective relationships to achieve the results or outcomes we desire. The more I thought about my conversation the more I realized this is a life skill we are not teaching our business students. Being able to adapt to different people and situations will determine your success in life and business. I constantly stretch myself to increase my ability to adapt. And one of the ways I do that is to take the time to reflect on my approach to a particular situation, or how I interacted with a particular person or client. Then I ask myself a couple of questions. What went well? What would I do differently next time?

Tips for Increasing Accountability

2010-03-23T09:03:00.004-04:00

Holding people accountable for their results/outcomes/performance is a common challenge for all managers. So a question recently came up: "How can I tighten accountability? When you are coaching to increase employee performance/potential here are a few tips:

Always set clear expectations
Gain agreement when setting action items
If a situation/issue arises follow-up the same day or within 24 hours. Don't lump this discussion with any other discussion or previously planned follow-up out of convenience-it dilutes the importance of the issue/situation and it decreases accountability
Be specific when setting follow-up dates to discuss progress on action items

Hit the Reset Button

2009-10-16T14:40:00.004-04:00

I just spent a few days at a client location working with managers on advancing their coaching effectiveness. During the course of our discussions I made a few observations, one being managers have failed to set clear expectations. I've always said, you cannot coach until you have set clear expectations, and it's never too late to do so. Effective performance management systems start with setting goals and clear expectations. Coaching is part of an effective performance management system. A majority of the managers discovered that they hadn't set clear expectations. So, the first thing they are going to do is what I call "Hit the reset button". In other words they are going to have a discussion with their employees about expectations. Yahoo! These managers will be far more successful in applying their coaching skills after they hit the reset button.

Stick with six-get the most important things done!

2009-08-03T09:26:00.002-04:00

I am reading The Ultimate Sales Machine, written by Chet Holmes. This book is filled with excellent ideas and suggestions. The ideas he shares are proven to work, so I couldn't pass up sharing one that I use to plan more effectively and be more productive. The general principle is focus on the most important things you need to get done every day, and don't do more than six. On average you have six hours of productive time each day-so on average you can accomplish the six most important tasks in a day. Chet Holmes has tested this over many years, and now I've tested the "magic of six" over the past three months and it works. No matter whether it's a day or month-stick with the top six things you need to accomplish, and you will get them done!

You must prioritize your tasks and establish chunks of time for each task. "Chunking" things down is an excellent approach to doing any major task-so if you have been procrastinating doing something important because it takes too much time, chunk it down. Do 30 minutes per day on it, you will be amazed at the results. Once you have allocated the amount of time for each task plan your day. Plan the day according to whats most important first-enter your tasks in the appropriate time slot and stick to it. I use Outlook to plan my day, it doesn't matter what type of time management tool or calendar system you use-just pick one and use it every day.

I'll leave you with this quote, "You only have to do a little each day, to get a ton done."

Who makes up your social capital?

2009-07-27T16:03:00.003-04:00

Whether you are a business owner, sales person, IT professional, supervisor or front line manager, vice president or CEO there is one thing we all must do to be more successful in business. Leverage social capital for greater success. Your social capital boils down to one thing only-your relationships. How do you build and maintain relationships? How do you sustain relationships? These are important questions to answer as you think about the single most important asset we all have in business today-relationships.

Customer Service Isn't Dead Yet

2009-06-18T10:10:00.002-04:00

I've been reflecting on a few recent customer service experiences and a conversation I had with a new acquaintance. So often our service experiences are dismal, disappointing, and down right poor! And it's time to share some thoughts. I recently stayed at a Hilton Garden where I always stay when traveling to a client in upstate NY. I have preferences listed in my profile, one being my favorite rooms. So I expected to be staying in one of those rooms this week and I had a unpleasant surprise when I checked in. The original room number was crossed out on the card key folder (my favorite room) and a different room assignment was hand written. The front desk attendant saw a "look" on my face that prompted her to ask me what was wrong. After telling her how I was feeling she promptly check the hotel records and switched me to a room near my favorite room. Her prompt action turned a disappointed client into a satisfied one, enough so to want to share it on the Internet. The other experience I want to share is about a newspaper subscription. I decided to change my subscription from a daily to a weekend. So I was downgrading my subscription-well they welcomed the change to my surprise (they were more interested in meeting my needs and retaining me of course) and gave me $1.00 off the rate since I signed up for automatic payments, and a few days later they sent me a letter thanking me for my subscription and included a $10.00 gift card to a local establishment-which I do frequent. I was thrilled and will be writing a letter to the editor of the newspaper to share this experience. Now by all accounts you may consider what these two companies did as nothing extraordinary-but for me they did. The moral of the story is that customer service does make a difference. What can you do to prompt your customers to talk good about you? If you want to brainstorm ideas or have a story to share email me at: carol@learningandperformance.net

Why Sales People Fail

2009-04-16T09:31:00.004-04:00

I've been delivering sales training for over seven years and there is a pattern of behavior I continue to observe. There is a tendency to make assumptions about potential clients and that clients have the same feelings/reservations as you do. Both create barriers to successful selling and more specifically barriers to creating successful relationships. Sales is more about the relationship and learning more about current and future needs and less about the product. I train bank professionals on how to build customer relationships and the most important aspect of the process is asking permission to gather information, and that requires asking questions. The single biggest barrier is that most of the participants will tell me I wouldn't want someone to ask me "that"question. Well it's not about you, it's about learning more about their needs so that you can meet those needs successfully. Just because you might not like someone asking you that question doesn't mean the client feels the same way. In other words don't assume the customer feels the same way as you do and you will be more successful at meeting their needs and building the relationship.

The Dialogue Needs to Change!

2009-03-30T14:33:00.002-04:00

You don’t have to join the recession. I know that sounds silly, but I’m a firm believer in the power of positive thought. Regardless of the economic climate you have a choice to be controlled and manipulated by the “doom and gloom” media frenzy, whether or not you choose to think powerless or powerful, fearful or fearless. You can be successful and create opportunity for success in this “new economy.”

I suggest that you focus on inspiring personal success in yourself and others. Whatever you focus your thoughts and energy on you will get more of. So why not spend your energy and thought on being successful in times of challenge and uncertainty, and guarantee yourself a positive outcome.

Visit my website at www.learningandperformancesolutions.com and read my article on Inspire Personal Success.

Fear Keeps You Contracted

2009-03-02T14:58:00.005-05:00

I was listening to three professional coaches this afternoon about how the current business climate is affecting the coaching profession. There was the usual talk about fee structure, marketing, etc. And then there was a comment made about what people do when they are economically concerned, fear of job loss, etc. and it's their reaction to what happens which today is mostly in the form of fear. Its fear that I've always said "holds people back." Well, it also is what causes people to contract, whether its how they spend their money, what risk they are willing to take to be more successful in their job, who they spend time with as well as how they spend their time. All of this impacts productivity, morale, managing and leading people. I believe one solution is to provide people with a strategy and framework to be successful and productive in the current climate. That strategy and framework is coaching, particularly group coaching. If as managers and leaders you are coaching and developing your people you will thrive and triumph in this economy. This will enable your employees to be more productive, more positive, grow and flourish, rather than be griped by fear and contract.

What are you cultivating?

2008-12-08T08:06:00.003-05:00

In the words of Plato, "what you honor in a country, you will cultivate there." I attended an Athena Awards program that honors women who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership skills. I had the honor of speaking at the event and I spoke about what we honor will be cultivated. Yesterday's experience was a perfect example of what Plato said hundreds of years ago, that is still relevant today.

I am a big believer in what you focus on you get more of. Just imagine if we spent more time honoring those who demonstrate positive behaviors, extraordinary skills, acts of human kindness, strong leadership in tough times, a can do attitude, respect towards fellow workers and customers-what ever you honor you will cultivate.

What do you want to cultivate in your business, home, community? Think about whether or not you are acknowledging/recognizing (honoring) what it is you want to cultivate.

Red Zone

2008-12-01T07:51:00.004-05:00

How effective are you in your "Red Zone"? I'm not big on using sports analogies, but this one works. I was watching a Jet game last week and it occurred to me, we have a "red zone" in business. I asked my self a question-how effective is my performance when there is 20 yards to go to score a touch down?

What's your "Red Zone"? How effective are you? What's your proverbial "touch down play"?
Is it closing a sale? Is it how you use the the last two hours of the work day? Is it exceeding a clients expectations? Is it completing a project ahead of schedule? Is it bringing a product to market under budget?

"Simple Certainties"

2008-09-03T12:02:00.002-04:00

Do you ever think we make what we do too complicated? Whether it's life or work related. Well I was meeting with a gentleman about two weeks ago discussing some work I am doing for a client and he said it all boils down to "simple certainties". What does that mean? He proceeded to compare what I was talking about (mission, vision, values, changing human behavior, etc.) to what and who. All of what we want to accomplish in terms of changing human behavior which is at the heart of what I do with my clients is about what and who. We simply need to ask one powerful question. What's most important? Followed by who do I need to ask that question to and then we will have the ability to overcome any value conflict-which is what holds people back from changing the desired behavior. We all view life through our very own filters which consist of values, beliefs, and experiences. If our behavior or the desired behavior isn't in alignment with our values and beliefs we resist the change. So simplfy what you are doing and consider "Simple Certainties".

It's the customer stupid!

2008-07-30T17:02:00.003-04:00

I typically don't use negative remarks but today I had another less than good customer service experience and it is time to remind everyone about the importance of customer service at every size organization. Customer service makes or breaks a sale-I've been shopping for two big ticket items, central air conditioning and a water holding tank. The service experiences have been disappointing. Either the person answering the call doesn't display quality service skills or the person making the sales call doesn't. Individuals must realize that service impacts sales and you cannot have a successful business without both quality service and sales. It is the single most important aspect of the customer's experience and if it's the first experience it potentially can be the last. The beauty of correcting this is that it's not rocket science. It really doesn't have to be hard-be polite and respectful, don't interrupt, be knowledgeable in what you or your company sells, talk less and listen more, and remember it's about the customer-not you. Do these simple things and you will experience more success in selling and retaining customers.

Managing the Great Divides

2008-07-02T15:44:00.002-04:00

We have four generations in one workforce. How do you manage the different communication and behavioral styles and the different approaches to learning and work? These appear to be deep divides between the different generations. Or are there more commonalities than differences? I've been studying this for the last few years as it became a challenge in the "corporate classroom". Try engaging an 18 year old and a 50 year old in customer service training and the divide is very clear. But I also discovered from a customer service perspective their wants are similar. They both want respect, friendly and courteous service. From a learning perspective it is a different story. It is important to recognize what each brings to the learning experience and how each learn differently and accommodate those differences. Quite often I'll engage both to share their experiences and little is about right and wrong perspectives, just different. The same is true for managing this multi-generational workforce-demonstrate respect, leverage the differences in talent and encourage collaboration-it works!

Language is everything!

2008-06-12T14:43:00.002-04:00

I've been working with a group of "Middle managers" for the past six months on leadership and management development. One of the areas we have been focusing on is performance management, specifically setting performance expectations, reviewing performance, and conducting performance appraisals. It has become apparent how important language continues to be a critical component of being an effective manager/leaders, and particularly when setting expectations or assigning tasks. One of the mangers gave an example of how he asked an employee to complete a particular task. He asked the employee, "In your spare time would you type this letter?" How might the employee interpret this request? How clear are the expectations? Whether you are setting specific performance expectations or assigning a task, language is critical to achieve desired outcomes/results.

Summer is a great time to evaluate

2008-06-02T07:58:00.004-04:00

As we approach the summer months, this is a great time to focus on your development. Typically most businesses do slow down and this is the perfect time to evaluate your professional development goals. Summer is a more relaxed time of year which is why it's such a great opportunity to focus on yourself. Is there a course you've been wanting to take, or have you been trying to improve a particular skill and haven't had the time, is there a goal you haven't worked on during the first six months of the year? These are just a few questions to ask yourself and take advantage of the summer to evaluate your successes and identify what you want to focus on for the remainder of the year.

Not getting enough feedback? Ask for it!

2008-05-11T21:34:00.004-04:00

I've been working with a group of middle managers in small government and I'm hearing that a lot of them haven't received feedback from their manager (boss) in years. In most of their municipalities there are no formal procedures for performance management. So, you have to wonder how people know what is expected of them. Here are some thoughts that I have been sharing with these folks. All of us need and want feedback. Feedback is one of the most valuable tools to create a motivating, engaging work environment. So, if you are not getting enough feedback, ask for it. The other thought I'd like to share, is don't not provide feedback to employees because your boss is not providing it to you. Don't use that as a reason not to be an effective manager.

Are you growing or dying?

2008-04-28T10:28:00.002-04:00

Are you stretching yourself to expand your talents, achieve better results, be a better manager or leader, or develop a new skill? I’ve been doing quite a bit of reading on success principles, and what successful people do differently, and how to become more successful as a person. These principles can be applied to our work life as well as our personal life. I have begun to see some patterns or common practices as I learn more about successful people and one of common practices is that successful people constantly stretch or challenge themselves to grow and learn something new. If we are not stretching ourselves to grow and learn we are doing the opposite-dying. With growing comes some discomfort, but with that discomfort come some of your best learning experiences. I help people become more effective in selling products and services and one of the learning activities is video tapping them in a client interaction. Boy does it generate a lot of anxious and nervous learners, but consistently the feedback is positive and that it wasn't as bad as they thought and it’s the most valuable part of the program. They grow more from that 10 minute learning activity than from the entire 2 day program. What are you doing to grow?

People before Policy

2008-04-16T16:30:00.001-04:00

We all know what it’s like to be a client or customer. There are businesses that still put their policies before people. When was the last time you heard the proverbial “I’m sorry we can’t do that” or” it’s not our policy”? It happens too frequently and it’s poor customer service in my book. I’ve been working with a client for the past year on improving their customer service levels to external and internal clients and they conducted a survey recently to see how they are doing. Happily I can report that the survey results were better than last year across all categories, but there’s still room to improve in select areas, one being a question concerning whether they put people before policy. Although there has been improvement the EVP of this organization wants to see continued improvement, so they implemented “COP”, Challenge Our Policies”. The employees have been asked to challenge the policies that they think are not in alignment with “people before policy” and must provide suggestions for improvement. It’s working; there have been several suggestions that are being considered for implementation.

Take 10

2008-04-02T14:15:00.002-04:00

Have you ever been frustrated about not making progress towards achieving a goal? I know I have and it can feel defeating. I was listening to Rory Cohen, Co-Founder of Entelekey Inc. last night speak about Take 10 Now!, a system to help people take action towards their goals. It's actually quite simple, by taking 10 minutes of focused energy/time towards a particular goal each day, you will successfully achieve it. In fact, the cover story for Entrepreneur magazine features this concept, "Start a Business 10 Minutes a Day". So I decided to put the concept to the test with a very small goal. I've been wanting to organize and set up a file system for a pile of articles/resource material for months, and as the pile grew larger the less I wanted to tackle the goal. Well in just 10 minutes I was on my way to organizing the pile. I tossed half of it-and made smaller piles by topic. I then took 10 minutes the next day and created folders for each small pile. In two days, goal accomplished. And this was a small goal relatively speaking. My final thought is to "chunk" the time you spend on taking action towards achieving your goal into minutes rather than hours. Action is "King" when it comes to ahieving any goal. I challenge you to try this on.