9/29/12

7 Ways to Earn Respect as a Leader


Are you feeling disrespected by your employees? It may be that you're failing in one of these seven areas.

Do you wonder why some people naturally gain respect, while others have to command or, worse, demand it?

Earning respect is in direct correlation to treating others with the same. Showing respect sounds like a basic skill, and yet somehow complaints about being disrespected run rampant around coffee rooms and bathrooms in companies around the country.

Are parents and teachers shirking their responsibility for turning everyone into good little citizens that can play well with others? Perhaps, but more likely, cultural norms have changed. Families allow for greater familiarity, and schools are more focused on test scores and class sizes than they are on teaching little Johnny and Susie to stand out as leaders.

But whether you are the executive in charge or a contributing team member, your ability to earn respect will impact your emotional happiness and ultimate career trajectory. Some people in authority believe they are entitled to respect simply due to their position or experience, but this sort of respect diminishes over time and can ultimately hurt the company culture.

Here are seven tips to help you be the leader who earns respect rather than just demands it.

1. Be consistent.
If you find you lack credibility, it's probably because you are saying one thing and doing another. People do pay attention to what you say until you give them reason not to by doing the opposite. You don't have to be predictable, just don't be a hypocrite.

2. Be punctual.
Nothing makes me lose respect for someone more then being made to wait. Time is the most valuable commodity for successful people. Missing appointments or being late demonstrates a total disregard for the lives and needs of others. Get control of your calendar.

3. Be responsive.
The challenge with contact management today is there are too many ways to communicate. Between Twitter, Facebook, Messenger, text, phone, Skype, and Facetime, people are in a quandary to know what is the best way to reach you. And even with all the channels, some people still don't respond in a timely manner, leaving colleagues hanging or chasing them. Limit your channels and respond within 24 hours if you want to appear communication worthy.

4.  Be right much of the time, but be comfortable being wrong.
The simple way to be right is to do your homework and state facts that are well thought out. Still, you may have to make a best guess now and then even when information is too scarce to know for sure. Take it as a qualified risk, manage expectations, and if you're wrong, smile and be happy you learned something that day.

5. Forgive others and yourself for mistakes.
If you're not erring, you're not trying. Healthy leaders encourage experimentation and create environments of safe failure. Encourage people to take mitigated risks, and set an example for how to shake off a failure and bounce back.

6. Show respect to others when they are wrong and right.
Disparaging people who make errors will reflect worse on you than those who err. On the flip side, any jealous tendencies toward those who succeed will surely be noticed by those around. Live as if in a glass body. Assume all can see inside your heart.

7. Help those who are holding you back, but not too much.
Good leaders help those around them succeed by overcoming weakness. But respect is lost quickly for the boss who placates habitual troublemakers at the expense of the group's success. Know when to support weak players, and cut them loose when they clearly hamper the result.
Too many people today assume leadership positions without consideration for their impact on others. The leadership vacuum in business today allows them to stay as long they manage acceptable results. Ultimately, your personal leadership legacy will not be remembered for your M.B.A., your sales numbers, or the toys you acquired. Most likely, it will be the positive, personal impact you created, one follower at a time.

http://www.inc.com/kevin-daum/7-ways-to-earn-respect-as-a-leader.html

9/21/12

Don't Just Buy Local, Buy Personal

Buying local is great, but to really support local entrepreneurs, go one step farther and buy personal.

A small business near me closed down. I feel terrible because it's partly my fault.

Every entrepreneur has big dreams. Many have small budgets, though, so they do the best they can.

They hope for great word of mouth since they have no marketing budget. They hope quality and service will turn an otherwise terrible location into a destination. They have passion and desire in abundance, and hope hard work and persistence will overcome any roadblocks.

In short, they hope.

And every day, people like me crush their hopes.

Granted in this case I'm only a little to blame. I knew the little clothing store was doomed the day it opened. It seemed obvious, just from driving by, that the owner loves clothing and fashion and hoped to build a business out of that passion, but it seemed just as obvious the business would eventually fail.

We've all seen entrepreneurs open new ventures that we can tell will soon go under. I'm sure you drive by a few every day. (If you're like me you sometimes make a little mental bet on how long they'll stay open. Six months is usually a safe estimate.)

I never stopped in this particular store. While I could say was more convenient to shop elsewhere, the truth is I didn't stop in because I never saw any cars in the parking lot. I was uncomfortable with how I would feel, and how the owner would feel, if I looked around and didn't buy anything.

I would feel guilty. I'm sure you've walked out of a store empty-handed and felt like you somehow let an eager, enthusiastic, bright-eyed owner down.

The owner would feel disappointed. Every business is an extension of its owner, and when a business is struggling perspective is in short supply.

You know you won't make every sale, of course, but remembering that it's business, not personal, is almost impossible.  The customer who doesn't make a purchase in some small way rejects your business... and therefore, by extension, rejects you.

Each potential customer carries the power of validation or rejection.

That's a power I didn't want. But I should have, because I could have made a difference, however small.
Each of us can make that difference. Instead of buying local, go a step further and buy personal.

Put aside price/value calculations and rational market theory and survival of the fittest and take a chance on a new or struggling entrepreneur. Buy a few items from a local mom and pop. Hire the small restaurant down the road to cater a non-critical event. Call a new vendor and ask for a quote.

Sure, you already have established vendor relationships in place, but why not give other small businesses the opportunity to win you over? In the process you may find a great new vendor... or you might not.

But what's the worst that can happen?

You might spend a little more. The meal might not be great. The quote might miss the mark. That's okay. No matter what happens, be gracious. Be complimentary. Say something nice. Say thank you.

Pick a small business and give it a chance. Will you, alone, keep it afloat?

Of course you won't. I couldn't have saved that clothing store. But I could still have made a meaningful, even if momentary, difference.

At the heart of every business is a person with a dream, and few things are sadder than realizing your life will fall short of your dreams.

So stop in. Take a look around. Provide a moment of hope.

A little extra hope may be all that entrepreneur needs to keep going.

http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/dont-just-buy-local-buy-personal.html

9/11/12

How to Manage Managers

When you work for yourself, as most entrepreneurs do, the notion of "managing" those you have hired to do just that may seem quaint in light of all the work you need to catch up on. But as the company you started begins to grow, and you hire more and more people to fuel that growth, it is a good idea to take a step back from the day-to-day grind and consider what it might mean to both you and your company if you devoted some of your time to thinking about how best to manage your managers. After all, the more people you empower to make decisions, and that free you up to think more strategically, the faster, at least in theory, your company can grow.
"Don't fall into the trap of believing that management is an indefinable art," says Ed Muzio, CEO of Group Harmonics, a workplace consulting firm in Albuquerque, New Mexico. "It's not. The key to managing anyone is to set clear performance expectations in advance, and hold the person accountable. That may be more difficult to do for managers than direct workers, but it's no less important."
How does one best managing a manager anyway? Here are some strategies to consider:
Managing Managers: Set the Vision
The first key to managing your managers is to make sure your managers know what they're managing toward.
One way to do this would be sharing clear short-term (one year) and long-term (three- to five-year) business plans, says Jenni Luke, national executive director of the Step Up Women's Network, a national membership organization for women: "This provides measurable goals to achieve in the short term and gives long term vision for the business so that when managers must make decisions independently, they have the proper strategic context in which to make them."
Another approach to aligning your vision with your managers, says Jill Morin, CEO of Kahler Slater, an interdisciplinary design and consulting enterprise in Milwaukee, is to ascertain answers to questions such as:
  • Do they embrace your organization's vision?
  • Are they on board with your core beliefs, your values, and your mission?
  • Do they have a clear image of what the future holds when the business achieves its vision for success?
"The bottom line," Morin says, "is without these essential starting points, it won't matter who or how you manage."
 
Managing Managers: Document the Details and Communicate
As a boss, one of your goals should be to make sure that your managers have all the tools necessary to do their jobs well. As part of that, you should make developing an employee handbook, which contains policies on issues like vacation and over-time as well as structured feedback regarding performance a priority. "Having the handbook will help you set expectations with the team before problems arise, and they will arise," Luke says.
Managers need to understand not only the "what" but also the "why" behind any strategic plan," says Morin. That way, they can offer their own ideas on enhancing and executing the plan, and do so without needing your involvement every step of the way.
"Yes, Jack Welch said it first, but you cannot over-communicate the vision, goals, and strategies for the business, especially if your managers are smart, committed, and passionate about achieving success," she says. "And why would you have hired them in the first place if they weren't?"
Bi-weekly individual meetings and bi-weekly team meetings serve the purpose of checking progress against goals but also enable the sharing of best practices and experiences that others on your management team can benefit from, says Luke. Then, supplement these regular meetings with quarterly meetings focused on the bigger picture such as budget, product or program development or long-range planning so that the managers know they will be expected to contribute to this top-level thinking and planning. "Giving your managers the freedom to do the work and engaging them in planning should engender a sense of ownership in the success of the business unit which is exactly what you need," she says.


Managing Managers: Measure Tasks
A key part of knowing how well a manager is doing is to establish straight-forward quantitative measures based on the performance of their team, says Luke, who suggests looking at objective goals set in your business plan such as:
  • Is your manager achieving revenue targets?
  • Are they operating on budget?
  • Have they developed new customers?
Dr. Alice Waagen, founder and president of Workforce Learning, a leadership development company in Washington, D.C., says that you can even establish clear performance guidelines about what makes up a good manager along the lines of something like:
1. A good manager creates short- and long-term goals for all staff.
2. A good manager sets realistic standards and targets to measure progress to plan.
3. A good manager provides specific, objective feedback on an ongoing basis, informing, enlightening and helping staff members improve their performance.
"For managers to succeed, they need time to learn to manage" she says. "And then, once they do, they need to be held accountable for their results."
"When you add all that up, it means that you need to clearly communicate to your manager what you expect them to accomplish through his or her staff," Muzio says. "For example, you might say, 'Your job is to make sure the five people who work for you make 400 widgets each week,' or, if the goals change, 'your job is to make sure each of the five people who works for you has a clear performance target, hits the target, and together those targets roll up to the output goal you and I set together each month. You can vary the structure, but keep the simple focus: Your job is to make sure your people produce what is necessary."


Managing Managers: Manage Behavior

Employees usually don't quit businesses, they quit bosses. That means that while tracking how a team performs quantitatively is critical in evaluating a manager, "it should also be an equal priority to assess qualitative measures of skills such as leadership, strategic thinking, and business development instincts, which can be a far more challenging task," says Luke.
That's why you want your manager to maintain positive, functional relationships, Muzio says. "Don't dismiss expectations about relationships as soft or emotional; they are extremely practical," he says, pointing out that it costs at least two- to three-times an employee's annual salary to find a replacement. "Good interpersonal relationships lead to output consistency and group longevity. A manager who leaves unhappy, dysfunctional relationships in his wake is a manager that will cost you money in employee complaints and turnover."
So how can we actually measure and evaluate to these standards? Waagen suggests tips such as:
1. Look for telltale signs of bad management, such as missed deadlines or unusually high absenteeism or turnover. Chances are, if you do not see these key signs, the manager is doing a pretty good job.
2. Walk around and talk with the manager's direct reports. Are employees engaged and involved? Are they excited by their work? Do they appear to have a clear idea of the specific tasks or projects they need to accomplish and why?
3. Interview employees. Ask them when was the last time they talked with their manager? Probe whether or not they are happy on the job. Their responses can provide terrific feedback.


Managing Managers: Be a Coach, Not a Referee

Even the best managers mess up sometimes, and "people problems" – which are usually brought to your attention when a subordinate comes to you to complain about his or her manager - are often the cause, says Morin of Kahler Slater. She suggests that you resist the temptation to get directly involved or, worse, to fix the problems yourself.

"Instead, use these challenges as opportunities to coach your managers on how to deal with conflict – personally, professionally, and productively – rather than ignore or dismiss it," she says. "Then you can circle back to assess progress."
One of the mistakes any CEO can make is forgetting to look in the mirror. Said another way, keep a close watch on your own behavior as a way to inspire your managers to emulate you, says Marilyn Suttle, a Detroit-based personal and professional development coach. To do that, she suggests asking yourself questions like:
  • Do you shy away from conflict?
  • Do you demand and force rather than encourage and inspire?
  • Do you ask questions and solicit input from others in the company?
"The point," says Suttle, "is to become a role model and mentor your managers into becoming the best versions of themselves."

http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/08/how-to-manage-managers.html

9/6/12

5 Power Questions for Your Sales Team

Smart questions bring in good answers. If you want to know what's really going on at your company, make sure you're asking the right ones.

Your interactions with your sales team have an obvious impact on business--and the questions you ask can enhance or degrade your company's performance.

By asking the right questions, and then carefully listening to the answers, an astute leader can influence and gain insight into an employee's business competence and morale, as well as a team's overall effectiveness. As a bonus, you'll enrich morale by showing your sales team you understand their key concerns.

Here are five smart questions that can give you a deeper understanding of employees, the business, and the competitive marketplace.

1. What is the biggest obstacle to adding new customers?
Reps are cautious to court new accounts if they believe the company will not be able to service them effectively. So the answers to this question can reveal operational issues, such as a lengthy procedure for setting up new accounts or order processing problems within your company.

On the other hand, if you get the answer, "Only my lack of time," that's good news: It says that all systems are in good order and that morale is likely high.

2. What is working and what isn't?
Such open-ended questions will quickly identify chronic complainers as well as uncover significant problems. When asking this question, be prepared for fix-it requests that may or may not be valid, such as, "We need more samples," "Delivery is too slow," or "We are not competitive." You may need to do some digging to find out whether the problems really need solving.

Most importantly, answers to this question communicate morale. If the responses suggest that little or nothing is working, then you have a morale issue. That's a sales killer, and a leader should uncover and fix causative issues.

3. What are your most (and least) significant opportunities
The answers to this question indicate where a sales team is focusing its attention. The answers may signal that a sales team is operating contrary to company plans--perhaps spending time on a product or service that is not in the company's best interest, for instance. You may also uncover an opportunity that management has not previously identified.

4. If you had a magic wand and could fix one problem, what would it be?
This question forces a targeted answer to avoid a rambling discussion. A wise leader will ask why an employee picked a particular answer, and follow up by soliciting suggestions to correct it.

While the specific answer may give you additional insight into business challenges, it's the suggestions that indicate the depth of a salesperson's business understanding. An unfeasible answer implies a shallow understanding; practical answers convey a solid business understanding.

5. Who is your toughest competitor--and what are they doing right?
One of a leader's most important duties is to stay current with competitors. Your sales force faces the competition each day; team members should have the best on-the-ground reconnaissance.

Once you know the competitive landscape, you can proceed with "risk vs. opportunity" analyses. What you do not want is to find out after the fact that you could have avoided a sales failure by countering competitive activity.

By asking power questions of the sales team, leaders keep in touch with team morale while staying informed about the competition and showing that they care about the team's success. When issues need correction, take action quickly, and give credit to an idea's originator--both clear signals that a good leader is in charge.

http://www.inc.com/john-treace/sales-management-power-questions-sales-team.html