http://iowacomicbookclub.com/wp-includes/Text/Diff/content.php I had a call from a client who I worked with years ago. We had successfully hired an employee for a very key position in his company. He has called me regularly to share how great of an employee she had become over years. She has been great with his clients, great with her budget, great with the other folks on the team…He could not have been happier.
Then, one day recently, he called to tell me that his “amazing employee” was suddenly dropping the ball. “Beth, I don’t understand it!” he exclaimed. “She is making mistakes on things where in the past she has performed flawlessly! I am actually thinking about firing her because it is so bad.”
Okay. I always advise my clients to first take a big, deep breath when becoming frustrated. Then, I advise them to take another big, deep breath and look at performance issues from various perspectives before firing once high performing employees.
I continued the conversation by asking, “Have you asked her what is going on?”
“Well, no. I haven’t,” he replied.
I encouraged my client to talk to his beloved employee with empathy and compassion to uncover what may be behind her sudden shift in behavior. I suggested he state something like this, “You know, I have noticed that you haven’t been yourself lately. Are you okay?”
As it turns out, she did have some personal trauma happening in her life, discovering someone close to her had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. She confessed to feeling like a total wreck. She also expressed that having a conversation with her boss, my client, was really helpful. And while she continued to have a tough go of it for the next several months, but she was able to get help when she needed and turn her performance around.
So, when you see job performance decline in a great employee, before you discipline in any way, check in with their emotional well-being. As a great leader, you will really be glad that you did.
I spoke at a conference in San Antonio for the Independent Bankers Association of the state of Texas (IBAT). I had the privilege of hearing the CEO, Chris Williston, speak about his 35 years of involvement with the organization as he prepared to exit. He had grown the IBAT into the largest association of independent bankers in the country. It was obvious that he had made great friends in the group and would completely be missed as a leader. His exact quote was, “I have never worked a day in my life.” He then shared how grateful he was for the organization, that he loved the people and the work, and that he wished for all people to have the happiness in their jobs like he did. He was passionate, articulate and humble.
I have thought about that speech on and off for the past week. I realize how rare it is that people feel this way about their job. Why is this so? How is it that Chris, who had “fallen into this job,” was so successful?
Here are a few observations to Chris’ satisfaction:
There were enough parts of his job that suited him perfectly. He was a natural relationship builder and spent a great deal of his time doing just that: getting to know independent bankers.
He had enough control in his job that when his constituents needed something done, and it was right for the organization, Chris had the power to get it done.
Chris had the resources to delegate the work that he disliked to someone else. He could focus on the parts that he loved and passed off the rest.
He oversaw his own growth and that of the association.
I have so much respect for someone who leaves an organization way better than they found it. Chris Williston is one of those people. Do you empower people in your organization to thrive, contribute and grow? It could be the difference between an unhappy workforce and an happy one.
My daughter, Katy was just selected to participate in a Chem-a-thon, a chemistry marathon through her high school. It is a very high honor… sort of.
For those students who are selected, they “get” to drive on a bus for 1 ½ hours to go take a 4-hour standardized test, then drive back to school for another 1 ½ hours in the middle of the hardest year and the most challenging time of year in high school. In addition, they are still held accountable for other tests, papers and group projects that are due before the end of the year. As Katy so eloquently put it, “You want to be chosen. You just don’t want to DO it. AND, I even have to BUY my own t-shirt!”
So, is this reward really a reward?
While I was at a clients’ office this past week, I overheard some employees complaining about being “rewarded” for being chosen to sit on an advisory committee for their boss. Same thing. They wanted to be chosen, but there were so many extra projects that were required, with no extra time to complete them and no extra resources to get the projects completed. One employee sighed “Working all weekend is NOT a reward!”
Rewarding your employees can be so satisfying for both parties. It can dramatically improve morale and it is a great way to create a culture that all parties love. Just make sure that the reward is actually a reward.
And, please, please PLEASE don’t make them buy their own t-shirts!
I am learning how to box. Unbeknownst to me, much of the work in boxing is in your legs. You must be able to avoid the competitors swing by moving around. “Float like a butterfly; sting like a bee,” said Mohammed Ali. And he was right! While to the observer, boxing looks like punching is the top priority, it isn’t. The boxer wins, not through the jab but by not running out of steam in his or her legs.
My instructor coaches that the secret to not running out of steam in your legs is to recruit the hamstrings to do their part. They are the largest muscle in the body so making your quads do all the work is inefficient. You must invite the hamstrings to engage, to participate, and to do the heavy lifting. Do you know how HARD this is? I am so used to letting the front of my legs carry the load that I don’t have any idea how to recruit my hamstrings!
Ugh.
The word ‘recruit’ of course inspired me to think about how we engage our employees. We all have those few people who carry the weight of the team, and we let them. It is easier in the short term to rely on those that you have relied on before. But, as my boxing instructor says, “This is bad mechanics.” When you rely too heavily on one small group (of employees or muscles), you end up burning out them out. This is how we end up with injured muscles or people who quit. You have to recruit others on your team to take on new challenges in order to be a well- rounded, balanced organization. Encourage cross training and sharing of ideas that create efficiencies. Maybe the quiet one in a meeting has the idea that will carry the business forward in entirely new ways! You won’t know until you ask.
As you are assigning tasks and duties on your team, remember to mix it up. Have people lead the way that don’t normally take on leadership responsibilities. Ask someone who never volunteers to complete a special task. When you recruit the large muscles to do the heavy lifting, you are a better leader. And boxer.
Today, September 6th, marks my 20th wedding anniversary. My husband Randy and I celebrated the milestone last weekend by going to the restaurants where we dated. It was an epic way to celebrate!
But 10 years ago, we woke up on the morning of September 7th – a day late – both realizing at the same time that we had forgotten our anniversary… our 10-year wedding anniversary! Holy moly! Though it turned out to be a funny story that we can look back on and laugh about, we also realized how close we came to that funny story being a painful memory: How would we each have felt had I forgotten our anniversary but Randy didn’t… or vice versa?
For the past several weeks, I have asked employees of various companies how long they have been in their current position and when they started. Do you know that most of the people I surveyed can tell me the exact date that they started at their current position? However, when I ask their supervisors to tell me when their valued employees started at their job, most can’t give the correct answer.
Remembering someone else’s work anniversary might not seem like a big deal to you, but it might be a big deal to them. At the very least, it’s a missed opportunity to recognize a milestone and boost the morale of one of the people who make your organization what it is. What’s more, it as easy as setting a reminder in your calendar, and the recognition can be as simple as a card, a gift certificate for a coffee shop or a box of donuts. This is an easy and inexpensive way to let your employee know how much you value them, and a little recognition goes a long way.
And, if you forgot an anniversary like Randy and I did, make sure that the next one has an EPIC celebration attached to it.
This week, I wanted to share some success numbers with you. I have a client, MEP Engineering, who I have worked with for some time. They have embraced A-list Interviews and the Response Analysis System™ wholeheartedly. In fact, in their latest newsletter, they highlighted their hiring process as one of the reasons their firm has been so successful this year. This graphic is their own, featuring their statistics from 2016:
In using A-list Interviews’ 3 Step Interview Process, they’ve been able to efficiently screen an average of 50 candidates for each offer they make. They’ve achieved a 21% growth rate in 2016; whereas this source reports the average employee growth rate for their industry is 3.5%. In addition, while the average staff turnover rate for their industry is 13.3%, their turnover rate is 1%.
Figures like that show a rapidly expanding organization whose hiring process not only keeps pace with increasing demand, but is finely tuned to identify quality candidates.
That’s what success looks like.
Congratulations to MEP Engineering on your tremendous growth! It’s been a pleasure to continue working with you. May 2017 be just as prosperous and successful!
