by Beth | Oct 28, 2016 | Good Management
On our last road trip across Kansas, we had been driving for hours under blue skies, with temperatures in the 70s and no wind. Suddenly, the only radio station within reception range broke into the broadcast with a tornado warning. Tornado warning? There wasn’t a cloud in the sky! What are they talking about? There must be some mistake.
Faster than I thought possible, the black clouds rolled in. The rain came down so hard that it was difficult to see the road ahead. The wind picked up dramatically, and off to the right we saw the tornado. (Randy took this photo from our car as we raced across I-70.) Then, as quickly as it started… it was over. Luckily, there was very little damage, but I will never look at Kansas the same way again.
The tornado seemed to come out of nowhere… but in retrospect, it didn’t. We had warnings; we just didn’t listen to them.
A similar situation happens to businesses more often than they care to admit. In fact, this is almost exactly what happened to Wells Fargo bank. The sales quota scandal didn’t come out of nowhere. There were multiple warnings to HR, to managers, to the Executive Team… and every warning was ignored. The cost – both monetarily and to their firm’s reputation – has been and will continue to be astronomical.
If you hear rumors or whispers of something going on in your business that doesn’t seem right, know that those are usually the tip of the iceberg. It is almost always far bigger than you are aware of, and you must heed those warnings quickly.
It is the only way to avoid your business being swept up by a tornado.
by Beth | Sep 30, 2016 | Company Culture, Leadership
Have you ever seen a bunch of live crabs put into a bowl? They crawl on top of each other to get out, and the crab on top is pulled down by the others. Ultimately, there is so much fighting for the top position that the crabs just wear themselves out. What a crabby bunch. (Pun intended)
So what do you do when you have your own bunch of crabby employees?
Whatever you do, don’t be a crab back at them – it’s the equivalent of that crab bowl, with everyone stepping on everyone else. In other words, quit complaining! This is the moment when you need to be the leader and help elevate everyone’s mood and energy level.
Here are a few suggestions:
Bring Legos to a Staff Meeting: One reason that people get crabby is because they need a distraction. Instead of your ordinary Monday morning staff meeting, do something different to help your employees think outside the bowl. (Click HERE to read my blog on this subject.)
Encourage Volunteering: There have been many studies that prove getting out of the office improves productivity, creativity and morale. I have a client who has a volunteer policy: A different employee per month chooses their favorite charity and on the last Friday of the month the whole team goes to volunteer.
Re-Stating the End Goal: Many candidates talk about how unhappy they are at work; one common reason is because they have lost sight of the company goal and how they fit into that picture. Why are we doing what we are doing? What is my purpose here in this company? How are my efforts contributing to the big picture? The more articulate you as the leader can be about this, the more satisfied your staff will be.
Say Thank You: Thank you! I am continually surprised by how effective a simple “thank you” is. I received communication from several employees from my restaurant this weekend (we are planning a reunion!), and many of them have told me how my thanking them before they left every day had a huge impact on them as employees. Several have adopted that habit as leaders. (Click HERE to read my blog on this subject.)
One final tip: Remember that organizational attitude flows from the top down. If your crabby employees complain all the time, ask yourself if you are complaining all the time. If so, try these tips for yourself!
by Beth | Jul 18, 2016 | Attitude, Employee Retention
Business people-showing teamwork
Last week, I met with a new client and I was introduced to their new employee, Stephanie. “But we call her Jan.” said my client.
Wait… what?
Apparently when Stephanie first started her job, my client said to her, “What’s up, man?”
She asked, “Did you just call me Jan?”
And, the name stuck: EVERYONE in the office calls her Jan!
When my client told me this story – in front of Stephanie – everyone laughed and laughed (including Stephanie herself). I now call her Jan as well.
The camaraderie in that office means more to employees than we can really measure, because moments like these are what create company culture. When you have this type of easy rapport with your staff, the harder conversations like those around mistakes are actually easier to have. Business runs more smoothly and people are more willing to try new things. When people try new things, innovation happens, growth occurs and turnover is reduced.
That’s why hiring the right candidate – your IDEAL candidate – is so important. The ideal candidate is one who will not only fit into your company culture, but will themselves end up embracing and nurturing it!
Remember: A rose by any other name… would still be Jan. Or Stephanie.
by Beth | Apr 6, 2016 | Employee Hiring
My daughter Katy recently attended a baseball game with a group of friends. One of the pitches hit the catcher in the shoulder and bounced off. Katy cried out in alarm, “The squatty dude is hurt!”
Her friend Jorge looked at her in alarm, exclaiming, “Oh Katy!” and threw his head in his hands. He sat up with a deep sigh, and said “What is the squatty dude called?”
“Uhh… I don’t know.”
“The Catcher. What is the guy called who is holding the ball?”
“Uhhh… the thrower?”
“He is called the pitcher, because all players throw.”
“Ohhh!” Katy said.
By this point, all of her friends gathered around for Katy’s education. Another friend asked “What is the name of the guy with the bat?”
“Well, he’s the swinger, of course!”
Welcome to spring training! This is what your new employee feels like on their first day of work. Even if they had experience in their particular role in the past, they don’t know your company’s culture and they don’t know some of the terminology and language that your people use. What’s more, they don’t know the “inside jokes” that come from day-to-day interactions with coworkers and special events with the organization; the new employee barely knows where the bathroom is!
Training a new employee is much more than just showing someone where the files are saved and how to process reports. It’s an opportunity to welcome a new person into the fold and show them the best of your organization: to demonstrate the knowledge and experience of your team members and to showcase the bond that those people have when they’re interacting with each other and doing their jobs.
Bless Katy’s friends for filling her in on terms that she didn’t know. Yes, they laughed at her, but she laughed right along with them. They formed a bond with each other because her friends took the time to train her!
And when Jorge asked her “Do you know who the Kansas City Royals are?” she replied (in true Katy fashion), “Of course! They are the baseball team that won the… uhh… really, big game…”
Jorge has his work cut out for him…
by Beth | Jul 14, 2015 | Attitude, Employee Retention, Leadership
One dreary Monday morning, a friend of mine dragged himself into his weekly staff meeting. Sighing deeply, he prayed that his enormous coffee would somehow get him through the worst time of the week… the weekly staff meeting. BORING!!!
This week, however, his manager came in and dumped a huge bucket of Legos on the table. He grabbed the flat green stand, attached three Legos to it, and turned to the employee sitting to his right and said “Take 3 Legos, add it to mine, then pass it to the next person. Let’s see what we can create.” Then, the manager went on with the regular staff meeting. Same format, same information, but the atmosphere had dramatically changed. What the team created was an unnamable, indescribable Lego blob, and a whole lot of laughter on a dreary Monday morning. My friend bounced back to his desk with a spring in his step that had nothing to do with his huge cup of coffee.
What transpired after that was mind blowing. The team got closer, created more, cooperated more, and laughed at inside jokes around the Lego disasters that came out of those meetings. Then, it became the responsibility for other team members to bring an activity to the staff meeting. What really mattered was that manager got his team out of the rut they were in, and suddenly there was a huge shift in energy and innovation.
If you are the manager of a team and you dread your own meetings, then certainly your employees do as well. Take a moment to figure out how to get yourself out of the rut and then provide a cure for the interminable dreaded staff meeting. A little play time does wonders.
(Dedicated to Alex Deison, Logan Deison, Logan Gilbert, Alex Gilbert and Josh Gilbert: the men in my family who are true Lego connoisseurs.)
