Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

If you’re having a difficult time clarifying inconsistencies you are hearing from an employee about a project’s/task’s progress, try asking these questions (or making these statements) the next time you meet with the employee: •  Here’s what I see. Here’s what I hear you saying. •  Here’s what we know so far. •  So let’s see if I’m on track with you… •  Let’s see where we are… •  How about we step back from a moment and look at a few different ideas… •  Did I hear you correctly when you said…? •  Am I missing something here? Always be sure you’re on the same page and have the same understanding of the progress being made with your employee’s projects.

Debbie Laskey is my trusted resource for expert advice on marketing, customer service and leadership. I've had the honor of featuring her on my blog in the past. And, today, Debbie shares her keen insights on  the importance of employee engagement . As background, Debbie has nearly 20 years of marketing experience and an MBA Degree. She developed her marketing expertise while working in the high-tech industry, the Consumer Marketing Department at Disneyland Paris in France, the nonprofit arena, and the insurance industry.  Question: How do you define employee engagement? Debbie : Erika Andersen (@erikaandersen on Twitter), author and leadership expert, defined employee engagement in a post for  Forbes , and it has stuck with me:   “If a company’s focus is ‘How can we give our customers what they want,’ then that company needs great employees to come up with the ideas, to make the great products, to interact with the customers. Employees aren’t a begrudged necess...

There are  eight specific actions  business leaders can take to  show that they value their employees , according to  Andrew Leigh , author of the book,   Ethical Leadership -- Creating and Sustaining an Ethical Business Culture . Those  eight behaviors  are: Attention  -- Pay attention to what people say to show your interest. Listen  -- Make time to hear what colleagues, peers and employees have to say to show you care. Positive Language  -- Find words and phrases to show employees they're needed.  Examples are, "We couldn't have accomplished this without you," "That was really useful." Document  -- Put praise in writing to increase its impact.  Make clear where the credit belongs. Micro Sessions  -- Create two-way communication sessions. Visits  -- Schedule visits to teams and work areas. Stories  -- Share stories that highlight unusual contributions and provide your personal response to them. Invite...

According to  Bob Rosen , author of the book,  Grounded: How Leaders Stay Rooted In An Uncertain World , there are  six universal desires  about what employees want from work, regardless of their age:  A sense of purpose and meaning. Belief that they are making a contribution. An opportunity to use their skills and talents. An opportunity to learn and grow. A significant amount of autonomy. Respect. 

"The challenge for the organizational architect is to systematically create the blueprint for an organization that  consciously connects everything to purpose ," explains author   Clive Wilson , in his book,  Designing the Purposeful Organization . "The product of doing this are measurable results and, importantly, a felt sense of success. Wilson's book is packed with  case studies  and  activities  that help you put to practice in your organization the learnings from the book. Clive Wilson My favorite part of the book is the " 10 Questions on Engagement,"  that all start out with, To what extent... ...does your organization  facilitate opportunities  for engagement within and between all stakeholder groups, so that they may share perspectives, learn and grow together in support of the organization's purpose? ...do  people come together to examine the way things are done , criticize processes and behaviors with a v...

"The challenge for the organizational architect is to systematically create the blueprint for an organization that  consciously connects everything to purpose ," explains author   Clive Wilson , in his book,  Designing the Purposeful Organization . "The product of doing this are measurable results and, importantly, a felt sense of success. Wilson's book is packed with  case studies  and  activities  that help you put to practice in your organization the learnings from the book. Clive Wilson My favorite part of the book is the " 10 Questions on Engagement,"  that all start out with, To what extent... ...does your organization  facilitate opportunities  for engagement within and between all stakeholder groups, so that they may share perspectives, learn and grow together in support of the organization's purpose? ...do  people come together to examine the way things are done , criticize processes and behaviors with a v...

As explained in  John Baldoni 's, book,   Lead With Purpose ,  Marshall Goldsmith  suggests all leaders make it a habit to regularly ask their employees these  six questions : Where do you think we should be going? Where do you think you and your part of the business should be going? What do you think you're doing well? If you were the leader, what ideas would you have for you? How can I help? What suggestions or ideas do you have for me?

According to a survey as reported in John Baldoni’s book,  Lead with Purpose , more than  80 percent  of those surveyed say that  leaders can best demonstrate that they truly do put people first by : Delivering intrinsic awards (comp time, bonuses, etc.)  Offering developmental opportunities  Providing timely recognition  Promoting from within

As explained in  John Baldoni 's, book,   Lead With Purpose ,  Marshall Goldsmith  suggests all leaders make it a habit to regularly ask their employees these  six questions : Where do you think we should be going? Where do you think you and your part of the business should be going? What do you think you're doing well? If you were the leader, what ideas would you have for you? How can I help? What suggestions or ideas do you have for me?

Here are 10 tips for how to maximize employee involvement: Have active ways to  listen to your employees . Check often with employees  to see if the information you are sharing with them is what they need and what they want. Share information about customer satisfaction  with employees. Discuss financial performance  with your employees and be sure everyone understands the importance of profitability and how they can contribute to profitability. Allow ad hoc teams among employees to form to address organizational problems  and work with those teams to tackle the identified issues. Encourage employees to make suggestions  for improvement whether those ideas are large or small. Take an idea from one employee and share it with other employees  and teams and let everyone make a contribution to build upon that idea. Train! For long-term employees, find ways to  keep their jobs interesting through new assignments  and challenges. Cond...

If you’re having a difficult time clarifying inconsistencies you are hearing from an employee about a project’s/task’s progress, try asking these questions (or making these statements) the next time you meet with the employee: •  Here’s what I see. Here’s what I hear you saying. •  Here’s what we know so far. •  So let’s see if I’m on track with you… •  Let’s see where we are… •  How about we step back from a moment and look at a few different ideas… •  Did I hear you correctly when you said…? •  Am I missing something here? Always be sure you’re on the same page and have the same understanding of the progress being made with your employee’s projects. Thanks to Jane Murphy for these tips from her book,  What Could Happen If You Do Nothing .

Your employee will appreciate your acknowledging his/her birthday, advanced degree graduation achievement, wedding engagement, wedding, or other personal milestone event. If they share with you information about any important event in their life, take the opportunity to congratulate them, honor them and acknowledge them. You can give them a card. Or, take them to lunch. Or, even a simple handshake can go a long way. Taking an interest in your employee goes a long way and it's one of the easiest,  meaningful  actions you can take. If you manage a large team, you'll likely want to create a way to help you remember upcoming milestone events for each of your employees.

Take the opportunity today to teach an employee something new. Nearly everyone likes to learn and is capable of tackling a new challenge. Teach your employee something that expands his (or her) current job description. Teach something that will help him to get promoted within your organization at a later date. Teach him a skill that uses new technology. Or, teach him something that will allow him to be a more skilled leader and manager in the future. You can even teach something that you no longer need to be doing in your position, but that will be a rewarding challenge/task for your employee. The  benefit  to your employee is obvious. The benefit to you is you'll have a more skilled team member who is capable of handling more work that can help you to grow your business and/or make it run more efficiently. Be a leader who teaches.

According to  Flavio Martins , the author of the new book,  Win The Customer , the most important team building hour of the day is lunch hour. He explains (using insights from  Joel Spolsky ) that, "great workplace cultures and places where people love to work are environments where people are emotionally involved, happy and excited to come to work. One of the keys to achieving this is getting to know each other as individuals and a part of a team. Having this type of relationship helps keep team members engaged with each other, as well as with the organization and its overall goals." He adds that, "being part of a group and fostering camaraderie by eating lunch together is vastly superior to eating by yourself at work. A simple 30- to 60-minute break away from your desk spent with others is a stress reducer and a great way to develop the sense of culture within an organization. Therefore, encourage your team members to take time to sit down with oth...

As a leader, your focus may gravitate toward your lower level employees and your higher level employees on your team. But, don't forget your  middle-layer  employees  who appreciate your attention and coaching, and your  training  and opportunities for new challenges . Often these employees are more eager to learn and to  tackle  new projects because they have the drive to move up and to learn new skills. And they recognize they have a shorter path to achieve advancement. So, develop your middle layer employees. It's a win-win situation.

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.

"The challenge for the organizational architect is to systematically create the blueprint for an organization that  consciously connects everything to purpose ," explains author Clive Wilson , in his book,  Designing the Purposeful Organization . "The product of doing this are measurable results and, importantly, a felt sense of success. Wilson's book is packed with  case studies  and  activities  that help you put to practice in your organization the learnings from the book. Clive Wilson One of my favorite parts of the book is the " 10 Questions on Engagement,"  that all start out with, To what extent... ...does your organization  facilitate opportunities  for engagement within and between all stakeholder groups, so that they may share perspectives, learn and grow together in support of the organization's purpose? ...do  people come together to examine the way things are done , criticize processes and behaviors...

To help you bring out the best in your team, you need to get close and understand their skills, abilities, and motivations. So, the authors of the book,  Your First Leadership Job , recommend you hold  getting-to-know-you conversations  with each of your direct reports. Ask these  open-ended questions . Let each team member know the purpose of the meeting in advance. And, don't cheat by adding in work-specific questions. What do you enjoy doing most as part of your work? Why? What do you  miss most about the jobs you've had in the past? Why? What things about your current job do you enjoy the least? Why? How do you cope with or relieve stress? To help you do your job, what could I change about: Your work environment? The content of your work? How you get your work done? What form of recognition do you prefer or not prefer?

As explained in John Baldoni's, book,  Lead With Purpose , Marshall Goldsmith suggests all leaders make it a habit to regularly ask their employees these six questions: Where do you think we should be going? Where do you think you and your part of the business should be going? What do you think you're doing well? If you were the leader, what ideas would you have for you? How can I help? What suggestions or ideas do you have for me?

" Frustration  in the workplace is a silent killer," claim authors  Mark Royal  and  Tom Agnew  in their terrific book,  The Enemy of Engagement . Further, "in an organizational context, frustration is not as simple as failing to get something you want. Rather, it involves the inability to succeed in your role due to organizational barriers or the inability to bring the bulk of your individual talents, skills, and abilities to your job." Royal and Agnew further explain that a  staggering number of highly motivated, engaged, and loyal employees quit trying--or quit, period---because they feel frustrated . And what's causing all that frustration?  It's lack of  enablement .  According to Royal and Agnew, as employees grow in experience in their roles, they begin to focus less on learning the ropes and more on achieving desired results. In the process, they are increasingly confronted with enablement constraints that...