Posts

Let Employees Learn From Their Mistakes

Image
Mistakes happen. The best thing you can do as a manager and leader is to help your employee learn from his (or her) mistake.

If your employee is afraid of ever making a mistake, he will be paralyzed from taking action or taking even calculated risks. If he knows that mistakes happen in the course of doing business and that one learns from making mistakes, you will have a more productive employee.

Most important, be sure your employee knows that if he makes a mistake, he should let you know as soon as possible.

As soon as he does, quickly rectify the situation.

Then, discuss with him how the mistake happened. Find out what he did or didn't do. Ask him what he thinks he can do in the future to avoid the mistake from happening again. Chances are he has already figured this out. If not, teach him what he needs to do differently to avoid the mistake from reoccurring.

Finally, you may discover that the mistake happened because policies, procedures or your assignment instructions were confusi…
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen Well And Do Exit Interviews

Image
Knowing why an employee leaves your company can help you to reduce your employee turnover rate.

That's because you can use the reasons a departing employee provides to gather information about processes, people and departments that might need some redirection to correct situations that may have contributed to the employee's reasons for leaving.

So, do an exit interview whenever possible with each departing employee. Ask each person:
Why they are leavingWhat they liked about their jobWhat they would have changed about their jobHow they felt about the cooperation level among co-workersHow they felt about communication and interaction with co-workersWhether they received the necessary training to do their jobWhether they received frequent coaching and balanced feedback from their supervisorWould they recommend a friend apply for work at your companyHow they felt about their payHow they would describe the morale in the company and in their departmentWhat they would change about th…
Post a Comment
Read more

Book Review Of Full Engagement By Brian Tracy

Image
Best-selling author Brian Tracy's book, Full Engagement, provides practical advice for how to inspire your employees to perform at their absolute best. He explains that above nearly every measure, employees' most powerful single motivator is the "desire to be happy".

So, Tracy teaches you how to make your employees happy by:
Organizing their work from the first step in the hiring process through the final step in their departure from your company so they are happy with you, their work, their coworkers, as well as in their interactions with your customers, suppliers and vendors.Full Engagement includes these chapters and topics:
The Psychology of MotivationIgnite the Flame of Personal PerformanceMake People Feel ImportantDrive Out FearCreate That Winning FeelingSelect The Right PeopleInternal Versus External Motivation At a minimum, Tracy suggests that managers do the following when managing their employees:
SmileAsk questionsListenBe politeSay "Thank You"Keep…
Post a Comment
Read more

Five Ways To Get More Ideas From Your Employees

Image
Your employees have lots of ideas. So, be sure you provide the forums and mechanisms for your employees to share their ideas with you.

Hold at least a few brainstorming sessions each year, as well.
And, when you are brainstorming with your employees, try these five tips:
Encourage ALL ideas.Don't evaluate or criticize ideas when they are first suggested.Ask for wild ideas. Often, the craziest ideas end up being the most useful.Shoot for quantity not quality during brainstorming.Encourage everyone to offer new combinations and improvements of old ideas.
Post a Comment
Read more

Your First 100 Days As A Leader Will Make Or Break You

Image
There are seven major onboarding land mines that you are likely to come across as a new leader and there are specific points in the first 100 days where you are most likely to encounter them, explain authors: George Brant Jayme A. Check Jorge Pedraza in their new third edition of, The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan.
Ill-prepared, without a plan, and lacking proper onboarding, the land mines will get you. And, if you miss one or more of the critical tasks that must be accomplished in your first 100 days, you'll likely fail.
The book is packed with: Examples and case studies Action plans Tools, techniques and tricks of the trade The authors also explain why you need to start even before your official first day on the job. For example: Cultural engagement is extremely important in a successful transition; and it is essential that you know what your cultural engagement plan will be before walking in the door for Day One. A new leader's role begins as soon as you are an acknowle…
Post a Comment
Read more

Turning The Flywheel

Image
February 26 brings Jim Collin’s monograph to his iconic bestseller, Good to Great book. Titled, Turning the Flywheel, Collins explains why some companies build momentum and some don’t.

Eighteen years after writing Good to Great, Collins delves deep into the flywheel approach and how successful flywheels grow through four key stages – Through: Disciplined PeopleDisciplined ThoughtDisciplined ActionBuilding to Last
“One you get your flywheel right, you want to renew and extend that flywheel for years to decades – decision upon decision, action upon action, turn by turn – each loop adding to the cumulative effect,” explains Collins. One good flywheel example is Amazon’s, discovered in 2001: lower prices led to more customer visits, which increased sales volume, which attracted more third-party sellers, which boosted efficiency.
“Look closely at any truly sustained great enterprise and you’ll likely find a flywheel at work, though it might be hard to discern at first,” shares Collins.
Key to cr…
Post a Comment
Read more

10 Quotes From John C. Maxwell's The 5 Levels Of Leadership Book

Image
In the meantime, here are some of my favorites quotes from John C. Maxwell's book, The 5 Levels of Leadership that I believe should become a must-read book by any workplace/organizational leader:
Good leadership isn't about advancing yourself.  It's about advancing your team.Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.Leadership is action, not position.When people feel liked, cared for, included, valued, and trusted, they begin to work together with their leader and each other.If you have integrity with people, you develop trust.  The more trust you develop, the stronger the relationship becomes.  In times of difficulty, relationships are a shelter.  In times of opportunity, they are a launching pad.Good leaders must embrace both care and candor.People buy into the leader, then the vision.Bringing out the best in a person is often a catalyst for bringing out the best in the team.Progress comes only from taking risks and …
Post a Comment
Read more