Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Hellllooooo?!

I have but one question . . . "How hard is to say hello?"

"Hellllooooo" is what I'd like to just say sometimes as I walk by some people - managers - in the morning.

When you become a manager, director, or what have you, it's not a license to become arrogant. I greet everyone I know - and then some - the first time I encounter them each day - and even throughout the day.

Your greeting, or lack of, tells a lot about you. It shows staff how approachable, or not, you are. It shows staff how interested, or not, you are in them. It shows staff how appreciative, or not, you are of them.

You may not be in the best mood and not really want to converse with people, but if someone extends a greeting to you, you ARE expected to return the greeting. Even just a simple "hello" or "hi" will do. And don't forget eye contact.

Just as we tell staff who work with customers to leave their problems at the door before punching in, you as a leader, need to do the same thing when dealing with staff and co-workers. Remember: all eyes are on you.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Feed Your Employee's

By FEED, I don’t mean buy them lunch everyday (although once in awhile would be great). I mean feed them knowledge and experience.

With all the talk about Millennial’s, Gen-Xer’s, Y’s and Z’s, we’re seeing more and more employee’s that don’t want to take over the reins of the company. They just aren’t quite as ambitious these days as say the Baby Boomer’s have been.

Employees don’t have their sights on the corner office as much as they used to. They’re perfectly happy trying to balance work and life – with an emphasis on life. There’s too much challenge and demand on CEO’s and VP’s these days so the ambition to get that high is lacking.

Now that’s not to say that today’s workforce is lazy - to the contrary. They work very hard. Actually, a recent study found that the notion of Gen-Xer’s being lazy was way off and that it’s really just the opposite.

Now is the time to start grooming – learning and training - or you may just find your succession plan slipping away.