Goals of KPIs? Why Your Culture Needs Both

I think this may be my most anticipated book of the year so far. Culture Works: How to

Create Happiness in the Workplace, by Kris Boesch, is for every CEO and HR Director out there. You CANNOT have ultimate success without a great culture. I know. I've worked at places that don't have it. I'm sure you have also. Kris gives you concepts, tools, and real examples to put into motion, a culture that help your employees and business grow. All of the usual barriers, and more, are discussed and planned out. Even one of the most missed opportunities - continued learning - is addressed. So if you want to take it a step further, there's a workbook and book club available also. This book launches today, and is available on her website, but will be available on Amazon on May 15th. I suggest you pre-order. To wet your whistle a bit, Kris Boesch is my guest blogger today. Enjoy.

Goals or KPIs? Why Your Culture Needs Both.

I’ve seen many organizations make the cultural mistake of either collapsing goals and key performance indicators (KPIs), or focusing on just one.

You need both.  If you just have goals, you’re missing daily motivating momentum and focus.  If you have only key performance indicators, you’re missing inspiring strategic progress. Goals are aspirational, strategically taking on inspiring opportunities or problem solving breakout challenges.  KPIs measure the health and success of each position through weekly, and in same cases daily, metrics.

• For example, in a bakery goals could include:
• Purchase a new oven by March 31st
• Add cinnamon raisin bread to our line by October 1st
• Open a new location by July 4, 2018

While KPIs could include:

•          Ratio of number of loaves baked to number sold
•           Scrap ratio – number of loaves burned or rejected
•           Batch cycle time

Hopefully you’re well on your way to making progress on your second quarter 2017 goals – having funneled clarity from big picture organizational goals to team goals to individual goals. If you’re not well on your way, don’t despair, make a goal to get it done!

This culture tip focuses on developing KPIs for each position in your organization.  KPIs are one of the many tools that support an extraordinary workplace culture.  Think about it–as an employee it’s incredibly empowering to know both where to focus my efforts and where I stand in relationship to expectations.  Similar to goals, KPIs should funnel from the organization to the team to each position.

How to Create Meaningful KPIs:

•          Should answer – how do we know this position (vs person) is accomplishing the mission critical work and is being successful?
•          Set weekly measurable expectations for each performance indicator. What reasonable number or range would indicate success and healthy on pace progress?  Sometimes the KPI is measured by a simple yes or no.
•          Employees have to have (almost) complete control over the number being measured – in some cases you may need to focus on LEAD indicators (actions, efforts, number of calls) rather than LAG indicators (results).
•          The KPI has to be KEY. There should be no more than three KPIs for each position.  When you find yourself wanting to create four, ask which of these is truly the END measurement?

Have employees self-report their numbers each week in a shared spreadsheet. This simple dashboard should quickly reflect the health of the organization.  You may even want to color code measurements red/yellow/green.  High-five greens.  Seek to understand and address the challenges behind yellow or red.  It’s not enough to measure, you have to witness and care about what you measure and then align next steps.

This is an ongoing process. If you find your dashboard is primarily green, but the organization is struggling, reevaluate what you’re measuring.  Uncover more pertinent key indicators and replace the prior ones.

***

Kris Boesch is the CEO and founder of Choose People, a company that transforms company cultures, increases employee happiness and boosts the bottom line. Her new book, Culture Works, and accompanying workbook are available now on her website and will be available on Amazon around May 15.

Who Are Your Employees Playing For?

This week, we're celebrating the paperback release of the 2014 best-seller, Why

Motivating People Doesn't Work...and What Does, by Susan Fowler. I liked it so much when it first came out that I just got done reading it again. The "traditional" ways of motivation just don't cut it anymore. Through real life examples and process Susan shows us how to understand the reasons people are motivated and to capitalize on them.

Today, I have the honor of hosting Susan Fowlers blog post, Who Are Your Employees Playing For? I know you'll get as much out of it as I did.


Who Are Your Employees Playing For? by Susan Fowler

As the young man ducked his head getting into the elevator, I recognized him immediately as a new face on my favorite pro basketball team. I don’t seek out celebrity sightings and have never asked for an autograph, but like most people, I think it’s fun to see someone in person that you’ve watched on television.

I couldn’t help but ask him about the dismal circumstances of his team. “You must have been thrilled to be drafted by such a legendary franchise to play with the most winning coach in history,” I began. “But what’s it like now that he’s been replaced with a different coach, to have a losing record, and to learn this week that your teammate, who was known as the heart of the squad, has been traded to a conference rival?”

After a pause, where he must have been considering the risks of being honest, he told me, “It’s hard. You tell yourself it’s just a game and have fun. But, it’s also a business and my life and livelihood. My family depends on me.”

“How do you keep up the physical and mental energy needed to be a professional athlete under these circumstances?”

As the elevator stopped at the lobby, he shook his head as he ducked getting out, and said, “To tell you the truth, you stop playing for the name on the front of your jersey and you play for the name on your back.”

Of course, on the front of the jersey is the team’s name. On the back of the jersey is your own name.  I often think of that promising young player, caught in a situation he couldn’t navigate effectively. Currently, he’s playing on teams overseas, unable to take advantage of his untapped potential in the NBA.

I was reminded of this chance encounter again last week. I was on a coaching call, listening to an employee describe changes going on in her organization and how her sales territory is being rearranged and her clients being parceled out among other reps. I asked how she was handling her frustration, and she said, “I’m just playing for the name on the back of my jersey, not the front.”

My heart sank. I could hear the anguish in her voice. It is in our human nature to thrive through meaningful work in concert with like-minded people. Feeling alienated or unable to trust her tribe was threatening her sense of well-being.

As leaders, we need to help employees understand the reasons for their anguish. Then, we need to help them satisfy their psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence. Employees can’t thrive when their psychological needs are thwarted at work. When employees don’t thrive, they suffer–and so does the organization. Disengaged employees, who are so overwhelmed by circumstances that they simply give up and begin looking after their own best interests, are costing organizations billions of dollars every year.

As our coaching call continued, three lessons emerged that might help you deal with a disenfranchised employee.

1. This employee’s sense of autonomy was nonexistent. She felt she had no control over the changes “being done to” her. My question to her was, “What do you have control over?” We identified three areas of her role where her choices would make a difference in the quality of her experience.
2. She felt her sense of relatedness with the organization was compromised. She didn’t trust her company or the reasons for the changes being made. When I asked her why, she replied, “The changes are unfair.” Nothing erodes an employee’s psychological need for relatedness like injustice. My question to her was, “Have you discussed why the changes are taking place with your manager? Have you asked for a rationale so you can understand the reasons for the changes?” She admitted she had not. Should her leader have provided the rationale for change? Sure. But, even the best-intentioned leaders usually share an organizational perspective. People need a personal rationale–they need to understand why the changes are “being done to” them, their job, role, and world. I encouraged her to be a self-leader and seek out the answers she needed. With information in hand, she could then determine if the reasons for the changes were unjust or just unclear.
3. The employee’s sense of competence was diminished because she didn’t know how to navigate through ambiguity and uncertainty. But, she realized that identifying ways to refocus her autonomy and relatedness needs already made her feel more confident about moving forward.

I will continue tracking her progress. My hope is to hear about the success and flourishing that both she and her organization experience as she plays for more than the name on the back of her jersey.

*****

Susan Fowler implores leaders to stop trying to motivate people. In her latest bestselling book, she explains WHY MOTIVATING PEOPLE DOESN’T WORK… AND WHAT DOES: The New Science of Leading, Engaging, and Energizing. She is the author of by-lined articles, peer-reviewed research, and six books, including the bestselling Self Leadership and the One Minute Manager with Ken Blanchard. Tens of thousands of people worldwide have learned from her ideas through training programs such as the Situational Self Leadership and Optimal Motivation product lines. For more resources, including a free Motivational Outlook Assessment with immediate results, visit www.susanfowler.com.

The Serving Leader

The newly updated edition of The Serving Leader: Five Powerful Actions to Transform

Your Team, Business, and Community, by Kenneth R. Jennings and John Stahl-Wert is one for your bookshelf.  Better yet, keep it on your desk.  It’s a small (154 pages) read with a big message.

The authors take you through their leadership model via parable, stopping throughout to discuss in more detail the five actions of transformation,

• Upend the Pyramid - You qualify to be first by putting other people first.
• Raise the Bar - To serve the many, you first serve the few.
• Blaze the Trail - To protect your value, you must give it all away.
• Build on Strength - To address your weaknesses, focus on your strengths.
• Run to Great Purpose - Arrange each person in the team to contribute what he/she is best at.

This all adds up to becoming the serving leader.  It’s time to step away for self-centeredness.  The book provides the traits and actions that are needed.  All that needs to be done is take it all to heart (there’s a lot of heart in this book) and put it into play.  This is a caring and sharing book for your team, family, and colleagues.

The NEW One Minute Manager

The New One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson is a book for all of

today’s leaders.  It doesn’t matter if you read the original or not, you’re going to want to catch up with the new updated edition.  The underlying principles remain the same, however the book describes how effective leadership is now based more on side-by-side relationships instead of the dying top-down interpretation.

The One Minute Manager has been a staple on any leadership book list since 1982, and the revised edition is going to ensure that it stays there.  A lot has changed, technologically and professionally, since the ‘80’s, so it just makes sense that “One Minute” changes.

The three “secrets” of,

• One Minute Goals - keep them front and center
• One Minute Praisings - be honest
• One Minute Re-Directs (formerly Reprimand) - for the learner (which we all should be)

have been updated, to make huge differences for a new generation of leaders.

There are so many quotes in this book that will become classic all over again.  “Never punish a learner - re-direct their behavior.”  “The best minute I spend is the one I invest in people.”

The book is still an easy 100 page read, so take advantage of an afternoon to make a difference for yourself and for those you lead.  One minute really CAN make a difference.

The Hidden Leader

Monday launched the new book, The Hidden Leader, by Steve Edinger and Laurie Sain.  It definitely hits the nail on the head and should be read by anyone who searches out leaders.  Future leaders aren't always the most confident extroverts.  They're the ones taking the initiative to get the job done.  Today I'm happy to host a blog post by author Steve Edinger.  Enjoy.

This post was originally published at www.edingergroup.com on August 1, 2014

On July 14th, 2014, I was running with the bulls in Pamplona. The running of the bulls is part of the Festival of San Fermin, which has been held annually since the middle ages, honoring the patron saint of the city. I ran on the last day of the festival with a small group of friends. On the return flight home I couldn’t help but reflect on the experience, and some parallels to my work with clients designing and implementing successful strategies. Here they are.

1. Clearly define your strategy in specific detail. We wanted to complete the run safely by:

Holding off on our start until the bulls ran by. Nobody can keep up with a bull running 22-24 mph and we wanted to run with the bulls (behind them really), not in front of the bulls.

Running as close to the left side of the street as possible. (In our observation of the run on the previous day, and video footage of past races, it seemed that because of the turn before the area of our starting position, they tended to drift to the right side.)

Sticking together in pairs. We used the buddy system to look out for each other.

Finishing the run by breaking left toward the 9 o’clock position of the bullring as soon as we entered.

Defining the outcomes with specificity is much harder than it seems, and good strategies are clarified so that they are easily understood. They are precise and specific as it relates to objectives, and how those objectives are going to be achieved. This is the most difficult part of executive work, as it requires patience, making tough decisions and judgments, as well as a lot of critical thinking. Because of that, leaders are often in a rush to just get this work done. It is much easier to read and respond to emails, attend meetings and focus on the tactical work that doesn’t require as much thought.

2. Be prepared for your strategy not to go according to plan. How many projects or initiatives in your business have turned out exactly as they were planned? My experience has been that it is rare. On the morning of the run there was a light rain, which made the streets a little more slick than usual. Instead of the bulls running together in a pack (which is the best case) they got separated as they came around one of the turns. On this day, they were running closer to the left side of the street.  Despite your best efforts and research, you will never be able to rely completely on it, and you will never have all of the facts. For example, we learned only on the morning of the race that the Miura Bulls, renowned as Spain’s largest and fastest bulls, were reserved for the final day. Imagine how that made us feel.

Even if the assumptions we make in formulating strategies are incorrect, it is critically important to go through the progression of doing so. In the process you become keenly aware of different alternatives, capabilities, and scenarios, and if necessary can adapt quickly and make adjustments in real time. As Dwight D. Eisenhower famously said, “plans are nothing; planning is everything.”

3. Getting everyone in your company to understand and behave consistently with your culture is the most important thing you can do to get your strategy implemented.  Most of the runners in Pamplona shared the same goal—to finish without being punctured, pierced, or steamrolled. While there are always a few with different goals (some want to touch or run in between them), the vast majority shared that objective. But as soon as the rocket to start the race went off, things got pretty chaotic with runners of different speeds getting in each other’s way, and often hindering one another in their own rational self-interest.

Even when people in an organization have the same overall goals for the company to succeed, individual approaches can vary greatly. This tends to reduce quality of work and productivity, as well as create conflict. To prevent this, people must understand what is expected of them in your culture, and how they fulfill your strategy. Further, they need to have exemplars to look to as role models, and appropriate rewards and consequences.

4. Take time to evaluate your performance. For the entire day following the run as we traveled from Pamplona to Madrid before heading home, we relived every moment. The emotions leading up to the run, what happened during the run, what others saw from their vantage point and so forth. We only ran once, and in your organization the run is continuous.

My most successful clients are unquestionably those who review their strategy at regular intervals, make adjustments, and keep it dynamic. It doesn’t sit on a shelf in a binder. They work hard to integrate strategic perspective into all of the work they do and for any projects or initiatives.  They ask the question “how will this help us to achieve our strategy?”

The running of the bulls is an extraordinary and unique experience. While I’ll never do it again, I found valuable insights from the run that illustrated what is critical when creating and executing a strategy. Done well, you can still succeed even when everything doesn’t go as you expected. All 8 of us completed the running of the bulls, unscathed.

Scott Edinger is co-author of the new book The Hidden Leader. As founder of Edinger Consulting Group, Scott has worked with leaders in nearly every industry sector, helping them formulate and implement growth strategies, increase revenue and profit, develop leadership capacity, drive employee engagement, and attract and retain talent.

Don't Forget the Thanks

As Christmas quickly approaches don't forget to thank the people that have supported you all year. If you think about it for a minute you'll probably come up with a much bigger list than you thought you would. Thank your:

• supervisor/manager,
• team members,
• assistants,
• customers,
• confidant,
• mentors,
• spouse,
• family members,
• friends,
• business associates,
• students/learners,
• office mates,
• Military,
• first responders,
• financier,
• lawyer,
• dry cleaner,
• insurance agent,
• the kid that cuts your grass,
• dog walker,
• mail delivery/newspaper delivery, and
• God.

A pretty long list, right? You're probably starting to get the picture now. You have a pretty extensive "supporting cast". I bet you can think of more.

You didn't get where you are, all by yourself. You can't do what you do, all by yourself. You can't live the way you do, all by yourself. Skip to the end of the Scrooge movie and go right to the thanks!

The Idea-Driven Organization

Finally!  Someone wrote a great book about what I’m always talking about.  Alan Robinson

and Dean Schroeder’s new book, The Idea-Driven Organization should be read by all managers, executives and business owners.

The authors start out stating that, “Most managers have difficulty believing that there is enough value in employee ideas to justify the effort of going after them”.  But, “some 80 percent of an organization’s potential for improvement lies in front-line ideas”.

Hellooooo.  Anyone who thinks otherwise is totally off-base.  The people that know the most are on the front lines – the people doing the jobs.  They see the everyday in’s and out’s – what doesn’t work or how it could work better.

I’m not bashing consultant’s (most of them anyway), but your own people have far more working knowledge.  Start there.  Great leaders make great things happen and Robinson and Schroeder show HOW to make things happen by implementing employee generated ideas.

The key is in creating an environment in which employee’s feel comfortable submitting ideas.  Not just one, but multiple ideas.  This book shows you how to take off the blinders to become open to ideas.  For one, take a look at those stuffy, idea-quelling SOP’s to see what kind of impact (positively OR negatively) they’re actually making.

There are so many great stories/examples from around the world, and thought provoking ideas to implement, that you’ll be ready to make drastic changes to your organization before you’re half way done reading.

Recognition Linked to Performance

Bob Nelson, author of 1001 Ways to Reward Employees, completed a study a few years back on how employee recognition impacts performance and in turn assists managers in creating a productive team.

In his study, he found of managers that:
90% said recognizing employees helps them to motivate them.
84% said recognizing employees provides them with practical feedback.
80% said recognizing employees for good work makes it easier to get the work done.
78% said recognizing employees helps them to be more productive.

73% of managers said that they received the results they expected when they used employee recognition.
99% said that if they didn't get immediate results, they would eventually obtain the desired results.

Take another look at those statements.  Who's point-of-view are we looking at?  Not the employees - the managers'.  Yes, the employees desire and need recognition for their own good, but look at the production side and see that it's just plain good for you and your organization.

Get Noticed In A Noisy World

Recently, I had the honor of being chosen as one of 100 people (out of 800 candidates) to be a part of the Launch Team for Michael Hyatt’s new book, Platform: Get Noticed In A Noisy World.


Michael Hyatt is Chairman of Thompson Publishing, the 7th largest publisher in the U.S. His blog, called Intentional Leadership, is ranked #1 in the leadership category.

Anyway, back to the book. The premise of this book is that just having a good idea for writing a book, getting a record contract, gaining funding for a startup business, or anything creative for that matter, is not enough. Just having a good – even great – idea doesn’t get you in the door anymore. What a life changer this book could be to a lot of people. Now I’m not just saying that because I’m on the Launch Team. The Launch Team is formed, in part, to get good honest feedback.

These days you need to have a “platform”. Michael gives you a step-by-step guide on how to build that platform. He shows you how to use an online presence to build your brand and gain connections. If you want to be heard, people have to be listening. “People like you and me can get noticed and win big in an increasingly noisy world.”

Many books on similar subjects give you a lot of fluffy page fillers. Platform gives you the to the point information that you need. According to Michael, there are three things that building your platform provides:

• visibility,
• amplification, and
• connection.

In order to be visible, you have to have a stage – Blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc. In order to be amplified, you need to be able to be “heard” above the crowd, especially through social media. In order to be connected, you have to be able to engage your fans, customers, and supporters.

I could go on and on about all the great – and usable - information that’s in this book (personal responsibility, elevator pitches, online media kits, building your home base, generating online traffic, brand monitoring, etc.), but you’ll get more out of it by reading it yourself.

Just remember, whatever your “product” is, it has to be good – it has to WOW. One of Michael’s favorite quotes, by David Ogilvy, is, “Great marketing only makes a bad product fail faster.”

Platform will be released on May 22nd. But don’t order the book prior to that! That's an odd thing to say, isn't it? But if you wait to order the book the week of May 21st he'll give you $375.98 worth of extra FREE products. You can sign-up to be notified here: http://michaelhyatt.com/platform.

Is That You?

Is that you?  What does that mean?  It means that you're recognizing someone.  It's a pretty simple example of the word "recognize", isn't it?  But that's the point.  Recognizing people is simple.

Most managers spend more time pointing out mistakes than achievements - even though their staff do more things right than wrong.  A feedback ratio of one positive to three negatives doesn't really do too much for morale.  But I bet, if you turn it around, that a ratio of three positives to one negative will really do wonders for the motivation of your staff.

Sit down and really think about how much you recognize people.  Compare work to your personal life.  For some of you I bet you recognize people in your personal life more - spouse, kids, neighbors, buddies, etc.

Put yourself in your staff's position.  Personalize it.  Say your neighbor's been ill, so you mow his yard.  Next week you mow it again.  Come Monday morning you see him walk to his car, give you a wave, and he drives off to work.  How does that make you feel?  Not too awful good does it?

Getting NO feedback is just as bad as getting negative feedback.

Use the acronym that Lee Cockerell, former VP of Operations at Walt Disney World, uses - ARE:

• Appreciation
• Recognition
• Encouragement

Lee describes ARE as a "cost-free, fully sustainable fuel, one that builds self-confidence and self-esteem, boosts individual and team performance, and keeps an organization running cleanly and smoothly".

Appreciation - Recognition - Encouragement . . . a little goes a long way.

The Buck Starts Here

I'm presenting a corporate program on change tomorrow and in my research and development I found a very interesting "chain of excellence". It comes from, my fave, Disney.

Disney's Chain of Excellence goes like this:
Leadership Excellence -- Cast Excellence -- Guest Satisfaction -- Loyalty & Financial Results.
Every level is dependent on another. You can't have Cast Excellence unless you have Leadership Excellence. You can't have Guest Satisfaction unless you have Cast Excellence. You can't have Loyalty & Financial Results unless you have Guest Satisfaction.

The thing that really stands out after looking at this model is that you can't have any of the three levels unless you have the first - Leadership Excellence. This isn't where the buck stops, it's where it starts!

Leadership development and succession planning should be a top priority for all organizations.

Leaders Look for Results Instead of Salutes

"Look for results, not salutes.” This is a great quote that comes from a chapter in Captain D. Michael Abrashoff’s book, It’s Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy. In it he describes how he broke down the time honored traditions of officer/enlisted separations. Not completely, of course, but enough to make a harmonious difference.

It takes just simple things sometimes to make a difference, and to show that you, as a manager/supervisor, are part of the team and not just the overseer. For instance, Captain Abrashoff talks about taking his place at the end of the food line at steel beach picnics (cookouts on the flight deck). This just normally is not done – officers go to the front. It wasn’t long, of course, before other officers took his cue and were doing the same thing. Going to the end of the line was one of many ways of showing his crew that he genuinely cared for them and he was working WITH them.

You can easily use these same types of techniques in civilian business. Just like the military, we also have ranks and privileges – executive parking spaces, cafeterias, even restroom’s. But take a look at the difference in where you spend most of your time. In your office – which is segregated far from the lower ranks?

I often talk about Tom Peters' concept of MBWA (management by wandering around). Step out of your hideout and become part of the team. Make it habit to eat in the break room once a week. Give staff the opportunity to talk with you freely, whether they’re happy about something or concerned. This is where new ideas and improvement comes from.

From 12/19/08

What Does It Take?

What does it take to recognize employee's? Not much.

Michael LeBoeuf, author of The Greatest Management Principle in the World said, "Everybody works smarter when there's something in it for them." For you managers that have been around for "awhile" that may be a lot of hoo-hah. For you leaders that work in "the now" it makes a lot of sense.

Reward programs are extremely important today, and contrary to common thought, it does NOT have to be expensive. What's expensive is not having a reward program.

Here are a few examples:

pay for a trade magazine subscription
off-site training seminar
lunch with the CEO
day off with pay
certificate
traveling trophy
pay for a professional membership
"thank you" and a handshake (wow, what a concept)
tickets to a game
restaurant gift card
make your own taco party
visit to headquarters
free car washes
spa day
bowling party
off work 1 hour early
Entertainment book
lottery tickets (hope there's not a $20million in it)

All of these things are either inexpensive or basically free to you. Add a little fun to your recognition program and watch employee's get more involved and stick around longer.

Schmoozing

I had a great time last week at the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) Expo in Orlando. It was actually my first time attending, but definitely won’t be my last.

Networking is so important these days for advancement. One of the best ways to network is by joining associations related to your profession. Just about every profession has at least one association. You can connect with people all over the world through the organizations website (blogs, forums, etc).

With membership in the group usually comes an annual meeting or conference. Now you have a great opportunity to “put faces to the names” and meet many more people (and maybe have a nice vacation mixed in).

At this year’s ASTD Expo I was able to meet one of the great “guru’s” in leadership, Ken Blanchard. That was an extreme honor. You know why you always see pictures of him smiling? Because that’s exactly the way he is. I was able to talk to him for just a couple of minutes, but that was all it took to know that he’d be just a pleasure to be around.

I was also able to meet Kevin Eikenberry, Guy Harris, and Becky Robinson of the Kevin Eikenberry Group. Kevin and Guy wrote the remarkable book, From Bud to Boss, which I had the honor of reading, pre-launch, and writing about here on my blog, Twitter, and Linked2Leadership. What fantastic people they are.

So check out your professional associations. You never know what doors it will open or success it will bring.

It's The Little Things

In a recent blog by Mike Reardon, Disney Institute Facilitator, he describes a personal note left in his room by a Marriott Courtyard housekeeper, wishing him a good stay. It made his "whole stay more enjoyable". Funny how some of the most "trivial" things can make such a difference.

Well sometimes it IS just the "little things" that make the biggest difference. That goes for customer service and employee motivation.

About 11 years ago I was walking into the building I worked in and I picked up a piece of trash (as I normally do). My supervisor saw me from her office window and about five minutes after I reached my office she came around the corner, told me she had seen what I'd done, thanked me, and gave me a little "good job" sticker. Not much. Just a sticker. But I really appreciated it. So much so, that I still have it to this day.

Don't ignore good service just because you don't have it "within your budget". Sometimes it's JUST THE LITTLE THINGS that MAKE THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE.

Share The Milk and Cookies

Who's one of the greatest manager/leaders of all time? Look no further than the North Pole. Yes, I'm talking about Santa Claus.

One of my favorite leadership books is "The Leadership Secrets of Santa Claus-How to Get Big Things Done In YOUR "Workshop"...All Year Long". It's very easy to relate to.

Santa says that one of his biggest benefits of being him is the fact that he's on "the point". All of the elves and reindeer work their "ears and antlers off" all year so the mission and vision can be fulfilled, yet Santa's usually the one that gets all of the credit. He's the one that gets to travel all over the world, attend meet and greets, and have his picture plastered all over greeting cards. The elves and reindeer don't get to experience all the fun so "their feelings of satisfaction and accomplishment must come in different ways".

Just like you as a leader, Santa must help his elves and reindeer see the "positive differences" that they're making. He practices MBWA (management by wandering around) just like you should be doing. He shares thank you letters and posts them on a bulletin board labeled "SEE WHAT YOU MADE HAPPEN" - just like you should be doing. He uses crayons to draw diagrams showing the link between the elves and reindeer and the smiling children that get the presents - that's communication that you should be providing (maybe not with crayons though).

Nothing motivates an employee - whether elf or not - more than actually seeing that they're contributing and making a difference for the organization and their customers. So look for ways to make it happen for your staff.

Keep On Wandering

I sware by Tom Peters' Management By Wandering Around (MBWA). It’s really more than what the name implies. It’s not enough for leaders to just “walk around”. It’s also not “just a theory”. MBWA has been embraced, over the years, by highly successful organizations such as Hewlett-Packard, GE, PepsiCo, LucasFilm, Disney, and 3M.

As you “wander”, in order to be effective, you should be doing at least these three things:
• listening to what staff are saying,
• using the opportunity to continuously discuss the organization’s values face-to-face, and
• be prepared AND able to give people on-the-spot assistance.

At first, staff may suspect that MBWA is just an excuse for you to spy and interfere. That'll subside when they see the walk-arounds happening regularly, and they see that it actually benefits THEM. It works best when staff see that you are genuinely interested in them and their work and also see that you are there to listen and help. If things you see or hear require some type of follow-up, then make sure you take care of it.

Here are a few tips to assist in making MBWA a success:
• Publicize the fact that you are out wandering 50% of the time.
• Appear relaxed as you make your rounds. Staff will reflect your feelings and actions.
• Remain open and responsive to their questions and concerns.
• Observe and listen.
• Make sure your visits are spontaneous.
• Talk with staff about what they like – family, hobbies, vacations, or sports.
• Ask for suggestions to improve operations, service, etc.
• Try to spend equal time in all areas.
• Have meetings in others’ spaces rather than your own office all the time.
• Catch staff members doing something right and recognize them publicly.
• Convey the image of a coach – NOT an inspector.
• Encourage your staff members to show you how the “real work” of the company gets done.

The point is - make your walk-arounds count. Go out there with a purpose, and make a difference.

Walk That Talk

In the past, I’ve known so many supervisors and managers that talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. Good leadership means that you “walk the talk”. Leading is sometimes like raising children – sometimes there’s really not much difference at all. If you’re going to say “do as I say”, you also have to “do as you say”. That goes for any situation. You, as a leader, are on stage . . . the star of the show. You’re being watched more than you realize. In some cases, some may even call it stalking.

Over the past number of years, leaders have been getting more into the “employees are important to me” frame of mind. That’s a good thing. But at the same time, if you tell your staff, “if you are ill, stay home”, you can’t take things away from them or give them bad appraisal marks if the do (unless it’s obviously being taken advantage of).

If you keep telling your staff that they’re doing a good job when they’re not – that’s your fault. You can’t take things away from them or give them bad appraisal marks.

If you give your staff a survey to find out what’s on their minds or what problems or issues they have, then never do anything with the information, youuu might be a redneck. Oops, sorry - actually they’ll lose confidence in you and your abilities to effect change.

If you reap praise on your staff, as you should, but then take all the credit when it comes to your bosses – they’ll lose confidence and acceptance in you.

Are you seeing some kind of trend here?

Leadership Rule #1 – You’re the Leader – You’re being watched – You must be the example – You must set the bar – You must do as you say.

Tell The Truth

I just read the coolest quote from Pixar President Ed Catmull. He said, "Management's job is not to prevent risk but to build the capability to recover when failures occur. It must be safe to tell the truth."

Wow. The End.

Recognize Daily

Good leaders remember to recognize and motivate employees. Great leaders do it every day. Take a look at the following methods for ensuring that praising employees becomes a part of your DAILY routine:

Make employees a part of your weekly "to do" list. Add the names of the people who report to you to your list of goals to accomplish. Then cross off names as you give them praise.

Use voice mail. Rather than using it only to assign tasks, leave employees voice mail messages praising them for a job well done. Do it from your cell phone on the way home if you need to.

Write notes at the end of the day. Keep a stack of note cards on your desk, where you can't ignore them. At the end of the day, take a couple of minutes to write thank-you notes to any of your employee's who made a difference that day.

At the beginning of the day, put 5 coins in your pocket. Throughout the day, each time you praise an employee, move a coin to your other pocket. Pretty soon it will become habit and you won't need the coins.

It doesn't always take a lot to make that leap from good to grrrreat. A bit of appreciation goes a long way.